Chapter 375: Dust-Free Valley

The defensive barrier surrounding the market opened a hole two zhang in diameter, serving as the entrance to the barrier.
Su Che and the others immediately flew in. Yan Gu released his true vital energy, pushing the dozen or so possessed beings who tried to follow in far away.
As the entrance closed, those possessed beings watched helplessly as their prey “escaped” inside. They screamed frantically and began attacking the barrier again, acting completely irrationally.
“Hao Jiang from Qingyun Sect, greeting the two elders,” said the bearded cultivator, rushing forward to pay his respects.
Others nearby followed suit, bowing to Su Che and the others.
Since Yan Gu had already changed his appearance, no one could recognize his true identity. Moreover, having advanced to the later stage of the Yuan Ying realm, his spiritual energy fluctuations had changed greatly. Even the Dark Abyss Sect leader might not recognize Yan Gu under his disguised appearance.
After that, Su Che and the others were invited into a nearby shop. In the VIP room, tea and fruits were served before they discussed the matter at hand.
“We come from another cultivation realm and are here on Mu Lan Star to visit an old friend,” Su Che spoke first. “We never expected to encounter such strange events. Where did so many possessed beings come from on Mu Lan Star? What’s the reason?”
Hearing that Su Che and the others were Yuan Ying-level elders from another cultivation realm and not there to rescue them, the bearded cultivator Hao Jiang felt somewhat disappointed. Yet, he still had to honestly answer Su Che’s questions.
“I am of humble status, and I truly know little about the specific reasons. Please forgive me, elders.”
Hao Jiang apologized first before explaining, “I only know roughly that Mu Lan Star has undergone tremendous changes due to the gravitational pull of several planets in the nearby star systems. A year and a half ago, the tides began to change, causing sea levels to rise and flooding large areas of land.”
“Later, the Earth’s crust also changed, with frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Huge cracks, like chasms, appeared everywhere on the land, as if the end of the world had arrived.”
“Half a year ago, a demonic force spread from the core of the Earth. It is said that an ancient demon god, disturbed by the continuous earthquakes, awakened from its slumber and returned to the world, intent on destroying all living beings.”

“This kind of demonic force is intangible and extremely eerie; it cannot be destroyed. Killing one possessed person only leads to more people being corrupted. That’s why we’re trapped here, unable to eliminate those possessed ones outside—out of fear that we might become the next ones…”

Hao Jiang explained in detail the characteristics of the primal demonic energy, which were largely consistent with what Elder White Demon had said before. However, the cultivators of Mu Lan Star weren’t as experienced as Elder White Demon and didn’t realize that this incredibly eerie demonic force was the origin of all demons in the world—the primal demonic energy.

To be precise, it was probably impure primal demonic energy, like baijiu diluted with water—having a weak taste and extremely low purity.

Elder White Demon said that true, pure primal demonic energy would even make the true immortals of the immortal realm fear it, too afraid to touch it for fear of being corrupted and ruining their path to immortality.

Hao Jiang didn’t know much, but based on his description, Su Che and Elder White Demon could roughly guess that it was the massive gravitational pull from the Five Elements Spirit Stars that caused various disasters on Mu Lan Star, releasing the primal demonic energy buried deep in the Earth’s core for countless billions of years—thus creating so many possessed people.

Of course, this was just their speculation; the actual reason might be much more complex. But what happened on Mu Lan Star had little to do with Su Che. Even if the entire planet was destroyed, it wouldn’t affect him at all.

The key issue was that since they had already come to Mu Lan Star, they shouldn’t return empty-handed. At the very least, they needed to capture a Rat in the Infant Demon stage.

So, Su Che asked, “Hao Jiang, are all those Yuan Ying cultivators on Mu Lan Star gathered together, trying to find a solution to the demonic plague?”

“Yes,” Hao Jiang replied. “Two months ago, the Yuan Ying masters from the three paths—immortal, demon, and fiend—gathered in Dustless Valley. It seems they still haven’t found a solution.”

“Dustless Valley…” Su Che sent a message to Yan Gu. “Do you know that place?”

“Yes, master,” Yan Gu replied. “Dustless Valley is one of the top sects in the path of immortality, with the longest history and the highest status. Many major events in Mu Lan Star’s cultivation world are held there.”

“It seems we should make a trip to Dustless Valley,” Su Che thought. “That’s not bad. With those Yuan Ying cultivators gathered together, if we use clever tactics, we might be able to capture a few more…”

So, Su Che and the other person got up to take their leave. Under the gazes of countless eyes in the market town, they flew out of the defensive barrier. Working together, it took them just over a dozen breaths to capture hundreds of possessed beings and lock them away in the Immortal Prison. Since they encountered them, it must be fate. Capturing all these possessed beings would also bring temporary peace to the cultivators in the market town, as they wouldn’t have to deal with those possessed beings constantly attacking the barrier and disturbing their minds, which was extremely annoying. Of course, this was only a temporary solution; it didn’t address the root cause. Those cultivators still had to stay inside the market town and dare not go outside, as they might turn into the next possessed beings. Su Che and the other person, using the Star Emperor Compass, had already gone far away, but the market town was in an uproar. “Am I seeing things? How dare those two elders capture those possessed beings and put them in their magical artifact space?” “Yes, that demonic energy is extremely strange. No one dares to be touched by it. How dare those two Yuan Ying elders do such a thing?” “Could it be that they’re not afraid of being demonized? Do they have a way to completely destroy or suppress that utterly evil energy?” “If that’s the case, then there’s hope!” “I hope so.” Hearing the discussions of the people, the bearded Hao Jiang fell deep into thought. After a moment of silence, he sent several communication spirit talismans in quick succession… Juechen Valley was located tens of thousands of miles away, and Yan Gu’s flying speed wasn’t fast. They needed to come up with a proper excuse to infiltrate the valley’s entrance. Along the way, they kept encountering possessed beings rushing at them wildly. Su Che captured them all and sent them to the Immortal Prison for Lao He to execute, while using the less pure primal demonic energy to absorb and assimilate into Chaos Energy. It turned out that this primal demonic energy could actually serve as a great supplement for Chaos Energy, accelerating Lao He’s cultivation speed. If too much Chaos Energy was generated and exceeded Lao He’s capacity, the excess would be stored in the Immortal Prison space as black energy spheres floating in mid-air. These energy spheres served as a firepower reserve for Xiao He, ready for him to use at any time. “Perhaps it’s because primal demonic energy is extremely primitive, belonging to the first generation of primal energy after Chaos Energy. That’s why absorbing and assimilating it has such a special effect,” Lao He mused. Su Che agreed. An hour later, Su Che, disguised alone, arrived at the entrance of Juechen Valley.

The so-called Dust-Free Valley does not mean that the headquarters of this supreme sect is located within a valley, as there is no valley large enough in the world to accommodate hundreds of thousands of cultivators. Instead, that valley is situated within the sect itself, covering a relatively small area, yet it serves as the core sacred zone of this supreme sect. Every two to three generations, the Dust-Free Valley manages to produce a great cultivator at the Transcendent God stage who ascends to the Spirit Realm, thanks to some miraculous effect of that valley. However, the exact reason remains the highest secret of the Dust-Free Valley, known only to a few Progenitor Immortals from each generation. With a heritage spanning over 70,000 years, this secret has never been revealed, demonstrating just how thorough and stringent their confidentiality measures are. Such a vast supreme sect cannot keep its protective formation fully activated all the time, like a small market would; otherwise, it would go bankrupt within a month. Their protective formation is only partially activated, serving mainly as an alarm system. Once an obsessed person intrudes, they must be captured alive—killing is not allowed—only temporarily confined. Thus, almost everyone in the Dust-Free Valley is on duty, taking turns to form a massive surveillance network through human sentries and patrols, preventing obsessed individuals from reaching the deeper areas of the sect’s headquarters. “Faced with such a situation, any sect leader would be extremely troubled, right?” Su Che thought to himself. When he took control of the Tianxuan Sect, how should he approach a similar situation? As soon as Su Che entered the protective formation of the Dust-Free Valley, a patrol team came to greet him, led by someone with the strength of the later stage of Foundation Establishment. Judging from his attire, he seemed to be a direct disciple. Inside the Immortal Prison, Yan Gu could observe events outside through a water mirror created by Lao He, allowing him to guide Su Che at any time with basic knowledge of the cultivation world of Mu Lan Star and how to handle inquiries from others. Su Che introduced himself as “Xuan Yu,” a hermit who only focused on cultivation. He had just emerged from seclusion a few days ago and learned about the series of strange events in Mu Lan Star, so he came to the Dust-Free Valley to join his fellow cultivators in response to the call… The others had no doubts about Su Che’s account, as at this stage, the realms of immortals, demons, and monsters must work together to confront this disaster. As long as someone was normal and not obsessed, the Dust-Free Valley welcomed them all. Moreover, Su Che was already at the Progenitor Immortal stage, making him a significant asset.

However, since a lone cultivator like Su Che could successfully reach the Yuan Ying stage, it inevitably attracted envy, curiosity, and even jealousy. Su Che was taken to a VIP room in the Dust-Free Valley. After waiting for a while, a middle-aged man in the middle stage of Yuan Ying came in after knocking on the door. “Master, this is the third elder of the Dust-Free Valley, ‘Yuan Jing’. He has a fairly good reputation,” Yan Gu introduced immediately in the Immortal Prison. “I am Xuan Yu. It’s an honor to meet Brother Yuan Jing,” Su Che said, standing up to greet him. “Please sit down, Fellow Daoist Xuan Yu.” Yuan Jing greeted him and said with a gentle smile, “Fellow Daoist Xuan Yu, do you recognize me?” “I’ve seen you from afar a few times, but back then, I was just a Jin Dan-level lone cultivator and not qualified to get to know Brother Yuan Jing,” Su Che explained humbly. “It’s truly remarkable that you, as a lone cultivator, were able to advance to the Yuan Ying stage. You must have great perseverance and favorable opportunities, which is truly admirable,” Yuan Jing said seriously. “I would be overjoyed to get to know you.” After exchanging polite remarks, the two got down to business.