From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 223 New Dilemma: Xiao Yao Forges Ahead

The icy fingers, like iron claws, gripped my shoulders tightly, and the chilling voice hissed like a venomous snake, sending shivers down my spine.

I turned around abruptly, but only saw a blurry black figure disappear into the night.

Qingyao and Lingyu immediately drew their weapons and cautiously looked around.

"Who is it?!" Ling Yu shouted sharply.

The night wind howled, swirling fallen leaves into a fluttering dance, but no one responded.

I took a deep breath to suppress my unease.

"It's nothing, maybe just a petty thief passing by." He said this, but in his heart he had a feeling that this was no accident.

Back at Xingyao Pavilion, the joy of victory was quickly overshadowed by the harsh reality.

Resources remain a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads.

Looking at my disciples' increasingly gaunt faces, I felt as if a boulder was pressing down on my heart, making it hard to breathe.

The spirit stones in the warehouse are almost gone, and the pills are almost finished. If this continues, it will be difficult to maintain the status quo, let alone develop and grow.

This tense atmosphere, like a plague, quickly spread throughout Xingyao Pavilion.

As I walked through the stronghold, I could clearly feel the gazes cast upon me by my disciples. They were no longer filled with the worship and awe of the past, but rather with doubt and anxiety.

Whispers rose and fell, like countless mosquitoes buzzing in my ears, disturbing my peace of mind.

"This can't go on..." I muttered to myself, rubbing my throbbing temples.

Worse still, internal conflicts have begun to emerge.

The scarcity of resources makes the issue of allocation extremely sensitive.

Some disciples began to complain about the unfair distribution, and even blamed each other, with arguments frequently heard within the stronghold.

I tried to mediate, appealing to their emotions and reasoning with them, but to little avail.

Everyone felt wronged, and everyone felt they deserved more.

I stood in the center of the council chamber, looking at the arguing crowd before me, and a sense of powerlessness welled up inside me.

The unity that once existed has become so fragile, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

The oppressive atmosphere, like an invisible net, enveloped the entire Xingyao Pavilion, making it suffocating.

"Enough!" I slammed my hand on the table, the loud noise silencing everyone instantly.

I looked around and my gaze fell on a disciple who looked dissatisfied.

"You think I'm being unfair?"

The disciple stiffened his neck, seemingly wanting to argue, but ultimately lowered his head and remained silent.

I took a deep breath and was about to speak when I heard a voice from outside the door: "Sect Master Xiao, Mo Yan requests an audience."

Demonic flame?

What is he here to do?

Despite my doubts, I still had him brought in.

As soon as Mo Yan entered, he greeted me with a broad smile and cupped his hands, saying, "Sect Master Xiao, how have you been?" I returned the greeting with a forced smile, but alarm bells were ringing in my mind.

Mo Yan is a well-known trader among the demons, cunning as a fox, and he won't get up early for nothing.

His appearance at this time is definitely not a good thing.

As expected, Mo Yan got straight to the point: "I heard that Pavilion Master Xiao has recently encountered some difficulties, so I came here specifically to offer my help." As he spoke, he took out several boxes of spirit stones and pills from his storage bag and piled them in the center of the council hall, where they shone with an alluring light.

Looking at those resources, I felt no joy, but rather a heightened sense of vigilance.

There's no such thing as a free lunch; Mo Yan's "good intentions" must have some ulterior motive.

Before I could even speak, I heard a disciple excitedly shout, "Sect Master, these resources are enough to sustain us for a while!" Another disciple chimed in, "Yes, with these resources, we can get through this difficult time!"

Seeing their ecstatic expressions, I felt a pang of bitterness in my heart.

They are too young and too easily blinded by immediate gains.

"Demon Flame, what do you want?" I asked directly.

Mo Yan smiled and said, "Sect Leader Xiao is indeed straightforward. My request is simple: as long as you agree to cooperate with me, these resources are just a deposit, and there will be more in the future."

Cooperation?

I sneered inwardly.

Cooperating with the demons is tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin.

"How do we cooperate?" I asked, my tone icy.

A glint of light flashed in Mo Yan's eyes as he slowly said, "Help me open a passage to the Immortal Realm..."

Before he could finish speaking, the council chamber erupted in chaos.

"What?! Cooperate with the demons? Absolutely not!" "Sect Master, you must not agree to it!"

Looking at my disciples, who were in a fit of rage, I felt even more agitated.

How could I not know the dangers of cooperating with the demons?

But how can Xingyao Pavilion survive if it doesn't agree?

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and the air around me seemed to freeze, the atmosphere becoming extremely tense.

I felt unprecedented pressure, so much so that I couldn't breathe.

I began to doubt my decision and my abilities.

Am I really doing the right thing?

I opened my eyes and looked at the menacing enemies around me, my heart filled with despair.

The outpost was enveloped in a suffocating and dangerous atmosphere, as if it would be swallowed by darkness at any moment.

I looked at the demonic flames and slowly began to speak: "I..."

"...I need to think about it." In the end, I didn't immediately agree to Mo Yan's request.

Seeing the indignant expressions on my disciples' faces, I realized that even for the sake of Xingyao Pavilion's survival, this path was not viable.

Cooperating with the demons will cause us to completely lose the hearts of the people, and Xingyao Pavilion will become a mere shell of its former self.

I took a deep breath, suppressing my agitation, and scanned the crowd with a firm gaze.

"I know everyone is worried right now, but please believe me, I will never let Xingyao Pavilion be destroyed! Rather than sit and wait for death, we should take the initiative!"

"I've decided to lead a group of members deep into the 'Misty Forest,' the border between immortals and demons, to search for resources!" My words exploded like thunder in the council hall.

"What?! The Misty Forest? That's a notoriously dangerous place!"

"Sect Master, please reconsider! Monsters roam that place, and there are all sorts of deadly traps!"

The disciples were in an uproar and tried to dissuade him.

I raised my hand to signal them to be quiet. "I know it's dangerous, but fortune favors the bold! Rather than waiting to die here, we might as well take a gamble!" My tone left no room for argument, and my eyes gleamed with determination.

I looked at Lingyu and Xuanfeng, my two most trusted partners, and asked, "Would you like to come with me?"

"We swear to follow the Pavilion Master to the death!" Without hesitation, the two knelt on one knee.

Looking into their determined eyes, a warm feeling rose in my heart, and the originally oppressive atmosphere eased a little.

I began to select people and eventually chose twenty elite disciples.

Before setting off, I entrusted the affairs of Xingyao Pavilion to Qingyao and instructed her to keep a close eye on the movements of Moyan.

The Misty Forest, just as its name suggests, is shrouded in thick fog all year round, so dense that you can't see your hand in front of your face.

The moment you step into the forest, a chilling aura hits you, sending shivers down your spine.

"Everyone be careful, stay close to me!" I whispered, while releasing my divine sense to investigate the surrounding situation.

The Misty Forest is fraught with danger; a single misstep can lead to utter destruction.

Using my past life's experience and keen sense of danger, I skillfully avoided many traps and led everyone deeper into the forest.

"Sect Master, you are truly a prophet!" a disciple couldn't help but exclaim.

“Yes, if it weren’t for the sect leader, we would have fallen into the trap long ago!” another disciple chimed in.

Seeing the admiring looks they gave me filled me with a sense of accomplishment.

I understand that I must lead them out of this predicament and prove that my choice was right.

Suddenly, I sensed a powerful demonic aura approaching...

"Watch out!" I shoved the disciple beside me aside and drew my longsword, pointing it forward.

"Roar—" A deafening roar echoed through the forest, and a huge black shadow slowly emerged from the thick fog...

"Prepare for battle!" I said in a deep voice, a cold glint flashing in my eyes...

In the thick fog, the enormous black shadow gradually became clear, revealing itself to be a gigantic three-tailed fox demon!

Its scarlet eyes stared intently at us, it let out a low growl, and its sharp claws dug deep furrows in the ground.

My heart sank. This fox demon was at least at the Golden Core stage. With our current strength, we would definitely not come out on top if we fought it head-on!

"Scatter and break through!" I shouted decisively, taking the lead in swinging my sword at the fox demon to buy time for the others to escape.

The sword flashed, and the fierce sword energy cut through the thick fog, but only left shallow marks on the thick fur of the fox demon.

It roared angrily, and its huge tail swept towards me like a steel whip.

I narrowly dodged it, but the powerful gust of air shook my internal organs so badly that I spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Sect Master!" Upon seeing this, Lingyu and Xuanfeng immediately brandished their weapons and rushed forward, engaging the demon fox in fierce combat.

The other disciples also drew their swords and formed a sword formation to defend against the low-level demonic beasts surging from all around.

I endured the excruciating pain, quickly swallowed a healing pill, and rejoined the battle.

I knew that we had to get rid of this fox demon as soon as possible, or everyone would perish here.

Just when we were about to give up, I suddenly noticed that the fox demon's attacks seemed to be slowing down, and its eyes were becoming somewhat unfocused.

My heart was moved. Could it be...

?

I carefully observed my surroundings and finally discovered that under a giant tree not far away, there was a spiritual herb that emitted a faint glow.

The herb was pure white and emitted a refreshing fragrance; it was the legendary "bewitching herb"!

I was overjoyed and immediately changed my strategy. Instead of fighting the fox demon head-on, I used my movement skills to lead it towards the bewitching grass.

As expected, the fox demon became increasingly sluggish and its attacks became weaker due to the influence of the bewitching grass.

Finally, the fox spirit inhaled enough of the scent of the bewitching grass, collapsed to the ground, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Let's go quickly!" I didn't dare to delay and immediately led everyone away.

After exploring the misty forest for several more days, we finally found a small resource point.

Looking at the shimmering spirit stone mine and various precious herbs before them, the disciples cheered with joy, their fatigue vanishing instantly.

"Great! We are saved!"

"The Pavilion Master is wise!"

Seeing their ecstatic expressions, my heart was filled with joy as well.

This harvest is enough to sustain us for a while.

Back at Xingyao Pavilion, I immediately organized people to start collecting resources.

Looking at the spirit stones and pills gradually piling up in the warehouse, my heart was filled with hope.

However, just as we were basking in our joy, I suddenly felt a cold, sinister gaze watching us from afar...

"Someone's there!" I turned around abruptly, only to see an empty forest...