Chapter 455: The Soul of Nethercloud Sect!

"Senior Brother Ye, Senior Brother Ye, something terrible has happened!"

A Nethercloud Sect disciple ran into the main hall, his expression extremely tense.

"It's Junior Brother Zhao Xin. What news from outside?" Ye Yuan asked.

Zhao Xin said frantically, "Zichen Sect has sent thousands of martial artists, marching in full force toward Nethercloud Sect!"

"Heh, Junior Brother Zhao, do you still doubt the power of the grand formation? Even if tens of thousands came, they would never return!"

"But... but this time the leaders are Liao Wenguang, a Soul Sea Fourth Layer Supreme Elder, and He Jun, a fourth-rank formation master! I'm afraid..."

When Zhao Xin learned this news, his legs went weak with fear.

A fourth-rank formation master was a terrifying existence, the bane of protective sect grand formations!

Even if they couldn't break the formation, they could find its weak points or even weaken its power.

Combined with the brute force of a Soul Sea realm expert, breaking the formation didn't seem so difficult.

If that happened, Nethercloud Sect would be in grave danger!

No matter how strong the Two Extremes Chaotic Heaven Grand Formation was, it was only a quasi-fifth-rank formation, not beyond the scope of fourth-rank formations.

The Nethercloud Sect disciples never expected that Zichen Sect actually had a fourth-rank formation master.

This Zichen Sect had hidden itself too deeply!

Before this, although Zichen Sect was known as the second largest sect in the Southern Domain, it only had five or six Soul Sea realm experts, the strongest being at Soul Sea Third Layer.

This time, Zichen Sect had revealed all its strength.

Compared to Zichen Sect, Heaven Qian Sect was pathetically weak!

Not only were they completely outmatched in the number of martial artists, but also in quality.

And now, Zichen Sect had sent a fourth-rank formation master, which was utterly despair-inducing.

Fourth-rank formation masters, like alchemy kings, were extremely rare in the Southern Domain.

Before this, only Heaven Qian Sect had a fourth-rank formation master. The Nethercloud Sect disciples had never heard that Zichen Sect also had one!

A few days ago, Ye Yuan had sent Zhao Xin and others to gather information, and they had stumbled upon such shocking news.

The moment Zhao Xin got the news, he rushed back to the sect without stopping to report to Ye Yuan.

Unexpectedly, Ye Yuan didn't even frown, only saying calmly, "Meet arms with arms, meet water with water. Don't worry, Junior Brother. A mere fourth-rank formation master can't stir up much trouble."

Zhao Xin was stunned, then excitedly said, "So even a fourth-rank formation master is no match for you, Senior Brother? That's great! Senior Brother, whatever you do, we fully support you!"

After killing Ma Yi, Ye Yuan had become like a deity in the eyes of the Nethercloud Sect disciples.

If Ye Yuan wasn't afraid, what did they have to fear?

Moreover, killing Ma Yi had greatly boosted the confidence of the Nethercloud Sect disciples.

In their hearts, Soul Sea realm was no longer invincible. Wasn't Ma Yi, powerful as he was, killed by Ye Yuan in one move?

Although a fourth-rank formation master was terrifying, seeing the calm expression on Ye Yuan's face, Zhao Xin instantly felt full of confidence.

What did a fourth-rank formation master matter?

With Senior Brother Ye here, Nethercloud Sect would surely stand firm!

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Heh, you've worked hard, Junior Brother. Go back and rest. As long as we brothers work together, even if He Mingde himself comes, what can he do to me?"

After Zhao Xin left, Ye Yuan walked to Desheng Peak.

This place, originally used for sect tournaments, had now become a cultivation sanctuary.

On the entire square, there were now about two hundred Nethercloud Sect disciples.

Among the remaining disciples, most of those who practiced swordsmanship were here.

Some of these disciples were meditating to comprehend sword intent, some were practicing swordsmanship, some were sparring—all sorts of activities.

Ye Yuan swept his gaze around briefly, his eyes landing on Tian Yu.

Tian Yu was sitting in meditation with his eyes closed. Though the surroundings were noisy, he seemed to be in another world.

Five days had passed since Ye Yuan carved the 'sword' character.

During these five days, Ye Yuan came every day to observe the progress of his fellow disciples.

And in these five days, the one who improved the fastest was not Mo Yuntian, but Tian Yu!

Ye Yuan was extremely sensitive to sword intent, and he could see every subtle change in his fellow disciples.

On the first day, Tian Yu stood motionless before the giant stone, staring at it for an entire day!

From the second day onward, Tian Yu no longer looked at the 'sword' characters; he just sat there meditating.

After four days, the sword intent on Tian Yu was condensed but not dispersed, restrained but not released, showing a tendency to surge upward.

All the fellow disciples were comprehending the 'sword' character on the giant stone, but no one came within ten zhang of Tian Yu.

Mo Yuntian appeared beside Ye Yuan at some point, also observing Tian Yu in the distance.

"Junior Brother Tian Yu has exceptional talent. After only one day of contemplating your carving, he has made such great progress," Mo Yuntian remarked with emotion.

Mo Yuntian was also extremely gifted, but compared to Tian Yu, he fell short.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Senior Brother Tian Yu is indeed astonishingly talented, but his great progress is also due to circumstances."

"Oh? How so?"

"Senior Brother Tian Yu grew up surrounded by praise and never suffered major setbacks. During this trip to the secret realm, he was captured as a slave by martial artists from the Hurricane Realm, which was a great humiliation for him. After returning, Supreme Elder Tianfeng was detained by Zichen Sect, which further stirred his fighting spirit. Before this, Senior Brother Tian Yu had already comprehended the rudiments of true intent, and his rudiments were derived from the 'Azure Firmament Purple Sun Sword Art,' so my carving could inspire him greatly. Also, my main cultivation technique is a fire-type technique, and my sword intent contains a trace of fire intent. It's only natural that he benefited the most," Ye Yuan explained.

Hearing this, Mo Yuntian suddenly understood.

"Alas, what Nethercloud Sect lacks most now is time! If Tian Yu and Wu Jiu and this batch can grow up, our sect can rise again!" Mo Yuntian sighed.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "The torch passes on; Nethercloud Sect has a soul and will not perish!"

Since joining the sect, although Ye Yuan had some unpleasantness with the Ouyang family, he could feel the spirit passed down by Nethercloud Sect—the sect's high-ranking members were all ambitious.

From Lu Yan on the Nine Heavens Road in Qin State, to Tianfeng, to Luo Qingfeng and Xiao Jian, they all shared a consistent spirit: the hope for the sect's revival!

For this goal, they could unhesitatingly sacrifice themselves!

And this soul was also vividly displayed in the disciples before him.

Facing the siege of Zichen Sect, they unhesitatingly chose to sacrifice themselves for righteousness.

With a soul, Ye Yuan believed that Nethercloud Sect would not be destroyed!

At this moment, Tian Yu, who had been meditating for four days, stood up again and went to the giant stone to contemplate the carving.

Seeing this, Ye Yuan smiled slightly and said, "It seems the sect's revival is promising."