CHAPTER 271: CHAPTER 0268: MAYBE THAT’S HOW THE PLOT GOES

Because of Lin Fan’s meddling, the Sect Leader could only relent. Naturally, he agreed.

The most critical point was that the Sect Leader already thought this matter was quite severe.

When it came to demons, there was absolutely no room for complacency. Deep down, he truly wanted to deploy the Taiwu Taoist Pen to subdue the chaos over at Kunyu Mountain.

"Young friend, my heartfelt thanks for your assistance." Vice Sect Leader Ren cupped his hands gratefully.

Lin Fan smiled and said, "Elder, you’re too polite. If we ignored trouble that didn’t concern us, wouldn’t that be just too cold-hearted? Besides, it’s best if we can help. This way, the situation at Kunyu Mountain won’t spiral out of control and harm innocent people."

Vice Sect Leader Ren was deeply impressed by Lin Fan’s sense of righteousness.

For Taiwu Immortal Sect to produce such a disciple was truly admirable.

If things hadn’t escalated to this point, Kunxu Palace wouldn’t have come to Taiwu Immortal Sect with such an excessive request. Even he felt that their request had gone too far.

If someone came to Kunxu Palace seeking to borrow their treasure of the sect, they wouldn’t necessarily agree.

There were too many complexities and implications at stake.

"Young friend is absolutely right."

Vice Sect Leader Ren expressed his gratitude once again.

Several days later.

When Sect Leader Bai Qiu removed the Taiwu Taoist Pen from the Taiwu Immortal Sect, it caused a significant stir, shaking the sect’s fortune and unleashing torrents of spiritual energy.

Without a supreme treasure anchoring the sect’s fortune, disasters and tribulations would surely increase for the sect.

There was no evading these calamities.

But for the short term, nothing major would occur.

Kunyu Mountain.

"It’s only been a short time since I last left, but who would’ve thought things would escalate this badly?" Lin Fan truly hadn’t expected the demonic mist spewing from the abyssal cavern at the center of Kunyu Mountain to have spread so aggressively.

He knew Kunxu Palace must have already done everything they could to stop the mist from expanding. If they could control it, they wouldn’t have come to Taiwu Immortal Sect for help.

Lin Fan raised his head and looked up. In the sky was an enormous Eight Trigrams Formation. Thousands of rays of light descended from the heavens, but they couldn’t penetrate the demonic mist. Instead, they landed within Kunyu Mountain, their primary purpose being to suppress the surrounding demons.

Now, faintly, one could see countless demons moving within Kunyu Mountain.

Vice Sect Leader Ren stood with his hands behind his back and said, "Master Bai, as you can see, this demonic mist continues to spread. We’ve tried many methods but to no avail. What’s worse, this mist is terrifying—it can even corrupt plants. Look over there; those plants have been demonized by the mist and have become highly aggressive."

"At this rate of expansion, the mist will reach Kunxu Palace within three months. By then, any disciple below the Three God Realm will be unable to resist it and will be corrupted by the mist," he said.

That was precisely why Kunxu Palace sought help from Taiwu Immortal Sect, borrowing their treasure of the sect to suppress the area. Only the Taiwu Taoist Pen possessed such capabilities.

Sect Leader Bai Qiu’s expression grew grim. What Vice Sect Leader Ren said was no exaggeration. He could already sense the terrifying power within the mist that could corrupt all things.

"Very well, Brother Ren. Rest assured, I will give it my all."

Then.

Sect Leader Bai Qiu threw the golden pen into the air. In an instant, dazzling golden light illuminated the heavens and earth, so radiant that even the blazing sun hanging in the sky seemed dim in comparison.

Immediately afterward.

A radiant golden figure appeared.

This figure was the spirit of the Taiwu Taoist Pen. As it had been anchoring the fortune of Taiwu Immortal Sect for so long and had been nurtured by the Spirit Vein’s energy, the pen had undergone revolutionary changes.

It had condensed a spirit rooted in the Taiwu Immortal Sect—the Taiwu Spirit.

Lin Fan gazed at it. It was a middle-aged man exuding an aura of mystery, giving the impression that such an entity shouldn’t exist in this world.

A vast, ancient aura emanated from the man.

The man held the Taiwu Taoist Pen in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he used the heavenly vault as his canvas, letting the pen’s tip dance gracefully. Then, with a sharp dip of his wrist, he brought the pen down firmly.

Brilliant light erupted in all directions.

A single character materialized.

’Suppress.’

The character ’Suppress’ landed on the edge of the demonic mist.

The man continued writing, one ’Suppress’ after another falling from the sky, landing all around.

"What incredible power! This pen is something else. Just one character and I’m already feeling its pressure. I really want to touch it and see what grade of treasure it is," Lin Fan muttered to himself, curious. He hadn’t known Taiwu Immortal Sect had such a treasure. No one had ever mentioned it, and he’d never thought to ask.

Now that he was seeing it, he was thoroughly awed.

Before long.

The middle-aged man standing midair stopped writing. He extended his arm forward and froze in that position. Soon, the pen’s tip began to tremble, forming a vortex that hungrily absorbed spiritual energy from all directions, nearly draining the surrounding heaven and earth of their spiritual energy.

Then, with a decisive stroke, the pen’s light engulfed the entire sky.

The character ’Exterminate’ descended, unleashing a terrifying power. The spreading demonic mist was instantly obstructed.

"It worked!" Vice Sect Leader Ren exclaimed joyfully.

"No, this is just the beginning," Sect Leader Bai Qiu replied.

Vice Sect Leader Ren didn’t quite understand what Sect Leader Bai meant. But soon, he realized. At the edge of the mist, light surged, pushing the mist back inward.

The spreading mist didn’t just stop—it was forcefully driven back, which was truly astonishing.

It was pushed all the way to the borders of Kunyu Mountain before the suppression finally lost momentum.

"There’s nothing more to be done. This is as far as it goes," Bai Qiu said. He could feel a power within Kunyu Mountain resisting the Taiwu Taoist Pen, preventing the pen’s energy from completely driving the mist back into the abyss.

Vice Sect Leader Ren said, "This is already amazing. I didn’t think it would be possible to push the mist back—this has truly exceeded all my expectations."

The Sect Leader waved his hand, retrieving the Taiwu Taoist Pen.

The burst of power just now didn’t merely contain immense mana and the Immortal Dao Law but also the fortune of the entire Taiwu Immortal Sect.

What kind of force could contend with such a Taiwu Taoist Pen?

What on earth was lurking within Kunyu Mountain?

"Sect Leader, can I touch our sect’s treasure just once?" Lin Fan asked eagerly, his curiosity getting the better of him. He really wanted to know what kind of existence the Taiwu Taoist Pen was.

The Sect Leader gave a mysterious smile and replied, "Keep dreaming."

"So stingy," Lin Fan muttered. "It’s just a touch—why be so petty?"

Vice Sect Leader Ren focused his gaze below. Each time the mist tried to spread outward, some mysterious force would suppress it back. For now, the situation seemed under control, and Kunyu Mountain’s stability was assured.

"Master Bai, thank you for your righteous assistance," Vice Sect Leader Ren expressed his thanks.

Bai Qiu said, "No need for thanks. It’s good that we could help Kunxu Palace. After all, we are all great sects of the Immortal Path, and mutual assistance is only right. However, the situation at Kunyu Mountain needs a thorough investigation. If you ask me, this seemed premeditated. Brother Ren, have you uncovered anything about what’s happening here? Why did the demons choose this place to make their move?"

"We don’t know yet. We have absolutely no leads. I suspect this has something to do with the Ten Thousand Saint Demon King. Perhaps we’ll only know more once the demons take action themselves," Vice Sect Leader Ren said.

Lin Fan stood facing Kunyu Mountain, stroking his chin, deep in thought. As clever as he was, even he couldn’t figure out what secrets might be hidden here.

As for venturing into Kunyu Mountain himself.

That was out of the question.

It was too dangerous, and he had no intention of risking his life. Better to stick to his own tasks and leave the bigger problems to the higher-ups.

"The Ten Thousand Saint Demon King..." Bai Qiu pondered for a moment. "If it’s truly him, with his Void Realm cultivation, I don’t think he’d be capable of this. I suspect there’s a Void Realm or even True Immortal Realm demon involved here."

Shaking his head as he failed to come to a conclusion, Bai Qiu said, "Well, Brother Ren, we’ll be taking our leave. If the situation at Kunyu Mountain worsens, you must inform us, no matter what."

"Of course," Vice Sect Leader Ren said, cupping his hands in farewell.

Soon, the three left the area.

But not long after departing, Lin Fan abruptly stopped. He suddenly thought of something—so many times in stories, after successfully suppressing a threatening place, the protagonists would leave brimming with confidence. And then, shortly afterward, something would go wrong, undoing all their efforts.

Quietly, the calamity would resume its invasion.

"Lin Fan, what’s wrong? Aren’t you coming?" Bai Qiu asked.

Lin Fan said, "Sect Leader, I don’t think it’s that simple. When the Taiwu Taoist Pen suppressed the area just now, whatever’s lurking in the Kunyu Mountain Abyss didn’t resist. I think it might simply be waiting for us to leave. As soon as we’re gone, it’ll act. Why don’t we go back to check? We might discover something."

Vice Sect Leader Ren chuckled. "Young friend, you’re worrying too much. With the Taiwu Taoist Pen’s power suppressing the area, how could such a thing happen?"

Lin Fan said, "Let’s just take a quick look. Worst case, we waste a little time, and at best, we’ll catch something early. Isn’t it worth it?"

Vice Sect Leader Ren smiled without responding, appreciating Lin Fan’s genuine concern for Kunyu Mountain. He found the young man quite commendable.

"Ah, I don’t know what goes through your head sometimes... Fine, we’ll go back and take a look. It’ll at least give us peace of mind," Bai Qiu relented. The three then turned back toward Kunyu Mountain, although he shared Ren’s confidence in the Taiwu Taoist Pen’s suppressive power.

He truly believed they were overthinking it.

At this moment.

The now-empty Kunyu Mountain seemed peaceful. This had once been a scenic area of idyllic mountains and rivers, but ever since the abyss appeared, its beauty had turned sinister.

Suddenly.

The abyss began to quake.

A pitch-black, scale-armored arm shot out from the abyss, extending rapidly. Its massive hand slammed down fiercely on one corner of the mist’s edge.

Boom!

The ground shook.

The glowing character ’Suppress’ left behind by the Taiwu Taoist Pen flashed, transforming into a sharp Sword Intent that sliced toward the hand.

Slash!

The aura imbued by the Taiwu Taoist Pen was overwhelmingly sharp, shaving off an entire section of scales.

But the strength of the arm was immense. It seemed to be channeling some kind of Divine Skill. With a sudden downward force, the glowing ’Suppress’ character shattered. The seal on that corner was torn open, and the demonic mist began to spread once again.