Chapter 854: First Setback
Early the next morning, a ray of sunshine penetrated the clouds and fell on the Luoxia Valley. Gu Jiuchen once again embarked on the journey to the Demon Cult with the detailed plan drawn up by his new allies and Ye Linglong.
Ahead is a dangerous demon sect and an unknown destiny. Can Gu Jiuchen successfully persuade more members of the Demon Cult to rebel? Will his actions trigger a strong backlash from the Demon Cult?
All this is still unknown...
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and Gu Jiuchen and his party had already embarked on their journey. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, they chose a secret mountain road. It was rugged and difficult to navigate, but it added a bit of chilling atmosphere.
"Jiuchen, this trip is extremely dangerous, so be careful." Xuanfeng was worried and couldn't help but warn him again.
Gu Jiuchen nodded slightly, his eyes firm: "Don't worry, I know what's going on."
Ye Linglong patted Xuanfeng's shoulder and comforted: "Brother Xuanfeng, don't worry, Jiuchen is not alone, we have prepared a complete plan for him."
As she said that, she handed an exquisite bag to Gu Jiuchen, "Here is the transmission talisman that Mingyue and I worked on overnight. If there is danger, just crush it and we will arrive immediately."
Gu Jiuchen took the kit and touched the soft fabric with his fingertips. He seemed to feel Ye Linglong's warmth and concern. He felt warm in his heart and slightly raised the corner of his mouth with an imperceptible arc: "Okay."
The new ally is named Ling Feng, who was once an elder of the Demon Cult. Because he was dissatisfied with the leader's brutal rule, he secretly contacted the Righteous Way, hoping to overthrow the Demon Cult's rule. In this operation, he was Gu Jiuchen's guide, leading them deep into the hinterland of the demon sect.
"Sect Leader Gu, as far as I know, the Demon Sect is not monolithic. There are still many people like me who are dissatisfied with the leader, but they just dare to be angry and dare not speak out." Ling Feng led the way while introducing the internal situation of the Demon Sect to Gu Jiuchen. , "As long as you can convince them, we can work together internally and externally to dismantle the demonic sect in one fell swoop!"
"Yes." Gu Jiuchen cherished his words like gold, but Lingfeng could feel the firmness and determination in his tone.
Along the way, they overcame obstacles and climbed mountains, and finally arrived at the Demon Sect's sphere of influence three days later.
"Ahead is the Black Wind Ridge. After passing the Black Wind Ridge, there is the Blood Demon Palace, the main altar of the Demon Sect." Lingfeng pointed to a ghastly mountain peak in the distance and said, "Heifeng Ridge is the headquarters of the Demon Sect. The last line of defense is heavily guarded and we must be extremely careful.”
Ye Linglong narrowed her beautiful eyes and looked around, only to see the rugged rocks on the Black Wind Ridge, filled with miasma, and exuding an eerie and terrifying atmosphere.
"It seems that we must be prepared to break in." Xuan Yu drew the sword from his waist and spoke solemnly.
Gu Jiuchen's eyes were like a torch, looking at the Black Wind Ridge shrouded in mist, and he felt an uneasy premonition in his heart.
The thick darkness of night shrouded Black Wind Ridge, and the dark winds in the mountains were like ghosts crying and wolves howling, making it even more eerie. Gu Jiuchen and his party hid in the dense woods, using the cover of night to sneak quietly towards the Demon Sect's main altar.
"Shh, there's someone in front!" Ye Linglong's slender fingers gently pressed Gu Jiuchen's arm, her beautiful eyes shining with vigilance.
Gu Jiuchen understood this and immediately signaled everyone to stop, hold their breath and concentrate, hiding behind the dense branches and leaves.
I saw two demon sect disciples wearing black costumes, holding long knives, patrolling along the mountain path. They looked alert, their eyes were like lightning, and they scanned the surroundings from time to time.
"It seems we have to change our route." Mingyue whispered, "Heifeng Ridge is heavily guarded, we must be more careful."
Ling Feng frowned and lowered his voice and said: "If you take a detour, it will waste a lot of time. I remember that there is a secret passage not far ahead that can lead directly to the vicinity of the Blood Demon Palace, but..."
"Just what?" Xuan Yu asked.
"It's just that the secret passage is very narrow and has many mechanisms. If you are not careful, you will trigger the mechanisms and arouse the vigilance of the Demon Cult." Ling Feng explained.
Gu Jiuchen pondered for a moment and said decisively: "Without further delay, let's take the secret road!"
The group of people followed Ling Feng's guidance and came to a hidden cave. The entrance of the cave is covered by rocks. If you are not familiar with the terrain, it is difficult to find that there is a cave here.
Ling Feng carefully moved away the rocks, revealing the dark hole, and a cold and damp breath hit his face. He took out a torch from his arms, lit a torch, and walked into the cave first.
Inside the cave, the space is narrow and only one person can pass through. The rock walls on both sides were carved with strange runes, emitting a faint light.
The group of people filed in and moved forward cautiously. Suddenly, Xuan Yu, who was walking in the middle of the team, accidentally touched a raised stone on the rock wall.
A soft "click" sound was particularly harsh in the silent cave.
"No, the machine was triggered!" Ling Feng's face changed drastically and he exclaimed.
As soon as he finished speaking, the rock wall above his head suddenly cracked, and countless sharp arrows poured down like raindrops.
"careful!"
At the critical moment, Gu Jiuchen dodged and stood in front of Ye Linglong. At the same time, he waved his long sword to block the sharp arrows one by one.
However, there were too many sharp arrows, and even though Gu Jiuchen had great martial arts skills, it was difficult for him to completely resist them. Just as a sharp arrow was about to hit Gu Jiuchen's shoulder, a figure suddenly rushed forward, pushed Gu Jiuchen away, and blocked the fatal blow for him.
"Ling Feng!" Everyone exclaimed.
Ling Feng groaned, a sharp arrow was stuck in his chest, and his clothes were dyed red with blood.
"You..." Gu Jiuchen supported the shaky Ling Feng, with a complicated look in his eyes.
"I'm fine..." Ling Feng endured the severe pain and said weakly, "Go... Don't worry about me..."
Gu Jiuchen looked at Ling Feng deeply, knowing that this was not the time to hesitate, and said decisively: "Let's go!"
The group didn't care about hiding their whereabouts anymore, and they all used Qinggong to rush towards the depths of the cave.
Outside the cave, two patrolling demon sect disciples heard the noise and rushed over immediately.
"What's going on? Did someone break in?"
"Let's go in and take a look!"
The two demon sect disciples walked into the cave carefully with long knives in their hands. There was a corpse lying on the ground, with a sharp arrow stuck in his chest, and the blood had coagulated.
"It's Elder Ling!" One of the demon sect disciples exclaimed, "How could he die here?"
"Could it be... He betrayed the demon sect?" Another demon sect disciple's eyes flashed with a look of surprise.
"This is a serious matter. We must report it to the leader immediately!"
The two disciples of the Demon Cult left in a hurry. A storm was quietly brewing inside the Demon Cult...
Ling Feng's death was like a huge rock, stirring up thousands of waves on the calm lake of the Demon Cult. Speculations about why he appeared in the secret passage and why he died spread like wildfire inside the Demon Cult. Some said that he was killed by righteous people, while others suspected that he betrayed the Demon Cult and colluded with outsiders in secret. For a time, people were panicked and the atmosphere inside the Demon Cult became extremely tense.
When the news reached the Blood Demon Hall, the leader of the Demon Cult, the Blood Demon Patriarch, was furious and immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the matter. Ling Feng was his confidant and trusted him deeply, but now he died in the secret passage inexplicably, which made him feel humiliated. More importantly, if Ling Feng really betrayed the Demon Cult, how many secrets did he reveal to outsiders?
"Waste! A bunch of waste!" The Blood Demon Ancestor roared, "You can't even keep an eye on one person, what use is there for me to have you!"
Under the hall, all the elders of the Demon Sect were silent, and no one dared to offend the leader at this time.
At the same time, Gu Jiuchen and his group had evacuated Black Wind Ridge and returned to their temporary base in the nearby mountains.
"Damn it! How could this happen?" Xuan Yu slammed his fist on the table, his face full of self-blame, "It's all my fault for being too careless, triggering the mechanism, and implicated Elder Ling..."
"It's not your fault, no one thought that the secret passage was so dangerous." Ye Linglong comforted, "Fortunately, we all got out safely, and Elder Ling... will also understand us."