The courtyard before him was heavily guarded, and within the shadows, Ji Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam.
Even with a protective mountain-guarding formation in place at their own sect's gate, such extensive security was hardly a sign of hospitality. It was more akin to the guard presence in a high-ranking county jail, and perhaps only a commandery city would boast such a level of fortification.
After a moment of contemplation, Ji Yuan moved his mind, and the white jade flying sword beside him shot out, cleaving open a rift in the void before him. He stepped into the void, and when he reappeared, he was already within the courtyard guarded by numerous cultivators.
The place felt somewhat desolate, with no maids or servants in sight. Only six people sat cross-legged in the courtyard, seemingly meditating and practicing their breathing, but in reality, they were attentively observing their surroundings.
However, Ji Yuan's appearance did not startle the five Nine Profound Sect disciples before him. It was only when he transmitted his voice with his divine sense that they looked towards him with surprised joy.
"What's going on?"
While transmitting his voice, Ji Yuan also scanned the surroundings with his divine sense, confirming that there were no hidden traps. He breathed a slight sigh of relief. But upon sensing that the other four inner sect disciples in the house behind them were all weak and listless, a sharp glint appeared in his eyes.
With his mastery of the Way of Alchemy, even a mere scan with his divine sense allowed him to discern that they had clearly been poisoned. Fortunately, as inner sect disciples with late-stage second realm cultivation, they were not lacking in spiritual pills and elixirs, and had managed to temporarily suppress the poison within their bodies.
"We were careless and fell victim to the machinations of the local sect," Xue Yang said with a bitter smile, a hint of self-reproach in his eyes. He led Ji Yuan inside, into the house behind them, and simultaneously transmitted his voice with his spiritual energy, recounting the events of the past few days.
Upon receiving the opponent's communication, they had ceased their search and headed towards the rendezvous point mentioned in the message. However, as they were about to arrive, they encountered unexpected trouble and ran into a group of fellow sect disciples. An unavoidable skirmish ensued. Because they had to conceal their origins, they couldn't use many of their skills, and by the time the opponent's third realm cultivator arrived, they still hadn't defeated their adversaries. Fortunately, Xue Yang and the others had prepared for such eventualities and managed to temporarily deceive the sect's cultivators.
However, the opponent's third realm cultivator enthusiastically extended an invitation, and under the circumstances, they had no choice but to accept and visit their stronghold.
"Who would have thought that they would poison us in the wine and incense?" Xue Yang shook his head. "This poison was dispersed in different places. Individually, it had no adverse effects, but combined, it formed a potent toxin." If it weren't for the disciples from Heavenly Cauldron Peak, their own detoxification pills wouldn't have been enough to suppress such a potent poison. The reason for the local cultivators poisoning them was to force them to swear an oath and willingly accept a restriction, thereby becoming a member of their sect.
"It seems that most of the cultivators in this sect are bound by such means, forced to become part of it." Xue Yang also expressed his feelings, having never heard of a sect acting in such a manner before. Even among the Five Demonic Sects, such incidents were rare, as oaths and restrictions were not foolproof, and keeping a large number of resentful individuals around could lead to trouble at any moment. Yet, this sect had done so, and from their current observations, it seemed to have reaped considerable benefits.
As Ji Yuan listened, he approached the poisoned disciples and examined them thoroughly. Although they were severely poisoned, under the care of the Heavenly Cauldron Peak disciples, their lives and fundamental health were not in danger. Moreover, while such a potent poison might be troublesome for others, Ji Yuan, with his mastery of the Way of Alchemy reaching the grandmaster level, could handle it, even though his primary focus was not on the study of poisons.
"Detoxification is not difficult," he nodded slightly, then spat out a stream of light from his mouth. A nine-story small pagoda appeared in the room, hovering in the air above the four individuals. Silken streams of pure light cascaded down, penetrating their bodies. Ji Yuan formed a hand seal, and a suction force emanated from the pagoda, stripping the toxins from their bodies and absorbing them. It was fortunate to have the Mysterious Heaven Soul Devouring Pagoda; otherwise, even though he could detoxify them, it would have been much more troublesome, and it would have taken at least ten to half a month to achieve any significant results.
In less than half an hour, the toxins within their bodies were completely absorbed. After a while longer, they all awoke from their meditation. Although the toxins were completely gone, their bodies would not recover immediately. The four disciples appeared somewhat weak and would need several days of rest to fully recover. Fortunately, their ability to mobilize spiritual energy and engage in combat was not significantly impacted; they were not completely incapacitated.
"Right, if it weren't for that kid you captured, we would all have been poisoned," Xue Yang said, as if remembering something. Ji Yuan, who had retracted the Mysterious Heaven Soul Devouring Pagoda, showed a hint of surprise in his eyes. According to Xue Yang, it was thanks to that young man that they discovered someone lurking in the void outside the courtyard, secretly observing them. This allowed Xue Yang and the others to heighten their vigilance and avoid falling into a complete trap. Otherwise, they would now be contemplating how to break free from their oaths and restrictions.
"You all rest for a while and try to recover your strength as much as possible," Ji Yuan pondered for a moment, then said, "I will go and disrupt the foundation of the mountain-guarding formation as much as I can. Once the formation stops operating, you will all break out with all your might." With the strength of nine inner sect disciples, even when facing third realm cultivators, their combined efforts would give them the power to fight. This was especially true against second realm cultivators who were not part of a well-established sect; most of them were likely a rabble forcibly subdued by the sect's underhanded tactics.
Xue Yang nodded. Although Ji Yuan hadn't elaborated further, he had a general plan and quickly filled in some of the details. After giving a few instructions, Ji Yuan summoned his Natal flying sword, using its divine abilities to silently merge into the void and leave the courtyard. As for the Nine Profound Sect disciples, they would seize the opportunity to adjust their condition and prepare for the upcoming battle. Even without the mountain-guarding formation, facing a dozen or twenty cultivators of the same realm, even if each individual was not as powerful as them, they still represented a force that could not be underestimated.