Stepping on the demon door, the witch becomes the strongest.

Chapter 647 Go and move reinforcements
If we talk about Xu Jin's impression of the Zhenhai Team, the earliest one was the "Harem Team" rumored in public opinion.

Except for the captain, all the others are women, and all of them are young and beautiful girls. It is hard not to think too much.

But if we talk about empirical evidence, there is really no evidence - especially from a results-oriented perspective, Yan Yu is still single and not with anyone, which seems to prove that he doesn't seem to have any other thoughts about the girls in the team.

Then there were rumors that Yan Yu actually liked men, for example, there was some strange triangle relationship between him and Liu Longtao, and between him and Li Zhaojiang... Now from Xu Jin's own perspective, there was indeed no gay relationship between Yan Yu and Li Zhaojiang, and he was obviously more interested in deputy captain Li Minghu.

As for Li Zhaojiang, he was just a toy that they used to tease and entertain themselves during their flirtation.

Xu Jin deeply admired and respected his older sister, Li Minghu. Mature, steady, intelligent, and intellectual, she looked like the kind of girl who had been raised in a well-educated family. Within the team, she was responsible for developing training plans, designing team tactics, and honing cooperative relationships. She also shouldered the responsibility of reporting and communicating with the higher-ups of the Annan Army. In comparison, Li Zhaojiang, despite being the team leader, seemed like a child who hadn't grown up yet.

Or, considering their actual age, Li Zhaojiang is the typical male college student, and the other boys in the team are similar. Only Li Minghu is too precocious, giving off the vibe of a well-seasoned female career elite.

It was actually difficult for someone with her cunning personality to find a partner, because if the opposite sex of the same age was not more mature than her, they would appear too immature in her eyes. Fortunately, there was a man like Captain Yan, who completely surpassed Li Minghu in strength, skill, status, and maturity. Therefore, Xu Jin naturally came to a conclusion:
No one deserves Li Minghu more than Yan team.

Under this premise, Li Zhaojiang's criticism of his sister's choice seems even more foolish and childish... Captain, don't you think about it, besides Captain Yan, who else can your sister look up to? Who among the active monks is worthy of her?
If you really care about your sister, you should support their couple with me!
Everyone returned to the vicinity of the sword-fighting competition arena. Li Zhaojiang was about to move forward when he was suddenly stopped by Li Minghu.

They hid behind the cave entrance and quietly probed forward with their spiritual sense, and found that the Taoist gatekeeper inside was fighting with three ascetic monks.

At the forefront was the Vishnu ascetic, holding a golden Dharma wheel in each hand, attempting to block the gatekeeper's two-handed sword control technique. However, the difference in cultivation level was too great, and the thrown Dharma wheels were simply unable to withstand the onslaught of the red and blue swords, and the defense line was almost completely defeated.

Whenever a flying sword broke through the Dharmachakra defenses and was about to kill, the Sakti ascetic behind him would put his hands together and shoot a red light from the red auspicious mole between his eyebrows. Whenever it hit the flying sword, its movement would slow down for a moment, allowing the Vishnu ascetic to escape and be reborn.

Nearby, a Shiva ascetic waved his hand, unleashing a cloud of poisonous sulfur fire that transformed into a flock of crows in mid-air and shot towards the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper calmly executed a sword technique, wielding his azure flying sword in a night battle of eight directions. With a few sweeps, he annihilated the fire crows.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that these three ascetics were no match for the gatekeeper, and they had only survived by coordinating and holding each other back. If they made even one mistake, they would be wiped out instantly.

At this moment, a gray shadow suddenly shot out silently from another entrance in the distance!

This was a ghost curse from a sorcerer in the southern region. He restrained the living soul and refined it into corpse oil, refining it into a black magic with extremely evil intentions. It moved secretly and flew at an extremely fast speed, instantly sinking into the body of the Sakti ascetic.

The latter's eyes immediately became dull, and he turned around and shot the red light between his eyebrows towards the Vishnu ascetic, as if he had been bewitched by the sorcerer's ghost!

Vishnu Ascetic had never expected that his teammates would attack him. He was hit by the red light from behind and froze in place as if petrified. Then a red flying sword pierced through his chest and he died tragically on the spot!
"You foreign rats!" The Taoist gatekeeper was not pleased but angry, sneering, "Let's see how long you can hide in this rat hole!"

Without Vishnu ascetic leading the way, the other two monks had almost no resistance against the red and blue swords and were easily taken care of by the Taoist gatekeeper.

At this time, there was no one in the competition arena, and the Taoist priest guarding the gate had also disappeared. Only many holes with shadowy figures remained - obviously, not only the monks from the Lu Kingdom, but other foreign extraordinary people who arrived here were also hiding behind various passages and watching.

There is no way to continue exploring without dealing with the Taoist gatekeeper.

But in order to deal with the Taoist gatekeeper, it is very likely that you will be attacked by others in the process. The fate of the three ascetic monks just now is the best example.

The situation seemed to be at a stalemate. Whoever stepped forward first would be targeted, so everyone lying in ambush was waiting, hoping that others would take the initiative and step on the landmine for them.

Li Minghu's spiritual sense swept across the area surrounding the competition venue again, revealing eight openings, each leading to eight different routes. He and Yan Yu had come from one of these routes, so that could be ruled out. The passage they were currently in had also been thoroughly explored by A Jiang and Xu Jin, and it didn't lead to the Zhenmei Sword Sect's headquarters.

No. Of the six cave entrances, four have confirmed foreign transcendents lurking behind them. If one of these four cave entrances led to the Zhenmei Sword Sect's headquarters, then the transcendents would have gone directly there to explore and plunder, rather than guarding the perimeter of the swordplay competition arena. This would mean they've already explored the path behind them and confirmed there's no other way to go.

Li Minghu's gaze fell on the remaining two cave entrances. They happened to be adjacent to each other, and were no different in appearance from the other six cave entrances. There was no sign of an ambush hidden within the caves.

Which one will it be?

"The left is more likely." Yan Yu suddenly said.

"Why?" Li Minghu pondered for a moment and said, "Is it because it happens to be facing the route we came here?"

"And what's on the route we came from?" Yan Yu asked.

"There is a giant sword engraved with the words of Zhenmei Sword Sect!" Li Minghu immediately realized.

In a sect, the mountain gate and the main hall entrance are often located opposite each other and on the same central axis. This is designed for symmetrical architectural aesthetics. Guests entering through the mountain gate can walk straight to the main hall. If the main hall is placed on the left, guests will have to turn a corner to enter, which sounds strange.

While Li Zhaojiang and Xu Jinlai's route was also guarded by numerous sword puppets, it lacked any stone inscriptions inscribed with the Zhenmei Sword Sect, indicating that this route was most likely a fork in the road. The route Yan Yu and I took, which contained a sword tablet inscribed with the "Zhenmei Sword Sect," was most likely the main path to the mountain gate.
Generally speaking, the square in front of the temple is located just after the main gate. Outer disciples practice swordsmanship here, and the headmaster announces sect affairs here. In the event of an invasion, the square in front of the temple also serves as the first frontline fortress, a crucial checkpoint for defending the sect's main hall.

The sword-fighting competition arena here is actually a very large room, which is completely reasonable to use as the square in front of the sect's temple.

"What are you discussing?" Li Zhaojiang was puzzled.

"They're determining which direction to go next." Xu Jin explained to Li Zhaojiang, "The core of the secret realm is likely to be at the sect's headquarters, and that's where we're going."

"I know." Li Zhaojiang asked thoughtfully, "But if we want to pass this sword fighting competition, we have to defeat the Taoist gatekeeper, right? If we can't take it down immediately, and there are foreign extraordinary people attacking from behind, won't we be in danger?"

"There's no need to defeat the Taoist gatekeeper." Li Minghu said calmly, "We'll just hold him back for now, retreat to the cave entrance opposite, and leave immediately."

Li Zhaojiang suddenly realized: "That's right! The cave door opposite is not locked, why don't we just go through? Anyway, the Taoist priest guarding the gate can't chase us out!"
After careful consideration, the four of them left their hiding place and went straight into the sword fighting competition arena.

The Taoist gatekeeper with two swords on his back immediately appeared. Before he could say anything, Li Zhaojiang put his hands together and immediately released the Yuanci divine light, which rushed towards him fiercely!
The primordial magnetic divine light was originally iron-black, but after being refined to perfection by Li Zhaojiang, it turned pure white. With a simple sweep, the gatekeeper's twin swords flew out of his back, engulfed in the primordial magnetic divine light!
Li Zhaojiang laughed heartily, thinking that his divine light was indeed the nemesis of all things of metal and iron. He was about to call on Old Yan to join him, but he heard Yan Yu shout:
"Go! Don't stop!" As soon as the words fell, the furious Taoist gatekeeper jumped up, his body and sword merged into one!

The fusion of man and sword was the Sword Immortal's most unreasonable ultimate move. With the sword's radiance surging, it directly broke free from the restraints of the Yuanci Divine Light and pursued the four people.

Li Zhaojiang was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body and he quickly turned and ran away. Yan Yu quickly summoned his puppet Ah Zhen and shot out a Red Feather Nine Phoenix Fire, forcibly delaying the fusion of man and sword for a moment, giving Li Zhaojiang the opportunity to escape into the cave.

The Taoist gatekeeper rushed to the edge of the sword fighting arena, and released the state of unity between man and sword. His face turned blue and black, and his face changed ferociously. Suddenly, he said in a vicious voice:

"Alright, alright! If you dare to tease me like this, then I won't have to worry about any formalities!"

"Thief, wait for your death!"

He fiercely flexed his sword techniques, and the red and blue swords immediately slashed towards the crowd, but were blocked by the invisible barrier that emerged at the cave entrance. The gatekeeper's sword technique changed again, and both swords simultaneously launched an Eagle Strike Sky Slash, creating a series of sparks and explosions on the barrier!

Yan Yu immediately knew something was wrong and quickly shouted:
"Hurry up! Follow me!"

He activated the Dividing Cloud Eight Trigrams Step and charged ahead. Li Minghu and Xu Jin also activated the Divine Speed Technique and followed closely behind.

Li Zhaojiang ran the slowest. After all, he was a master of fixed-point artillery. His basic movement skills were not as solid as those of the sword immortal. Just as he was about to call for help, the puppet Ah Zhen grabbed him by the collar and dragged him quickly behind the crowd.

In just half a minute, the Taoist gatekeeper finally broke the barrier and then chased after him aggressively.

As soon as he left, the sorcerers and ascetics who were lying in ambush around him could no longer stay there. They appeared from behind the cave entrance almost at the same time, rushing into the sword training ground and trying to get into the cave.

The cave entrance was not spacious and was blocked in front. The people behind were afraid they couldn't get in, so they just attacked the front randomly, trying to force their way out!
Let's not talk about the internecine violence among these people. Yan Yu and his three companions were running wildly in the passage. They saw that the surrounding floors, walls, and ceilings were all paved with blue bricks, which formed an extremely obvious contrast with the rough and unprocessed cave terrain outside.

Obviously, this passage must lead to the headquarters of the Zhenmei Sword Sect!
Before the sword light caught up with him, the sound of wind and thunder could be heard. Across the road, Yan Yu immediately sent a voice message:
"Xu Jinzhaojiang, you go to the right and we'll go to the left!"

"Okay! Be careful!" Li Zhaojiang hurriedly followed Xu Jin and turned to the right. He ran for two minutes before reacting.

Wait, why do I have to go with Xu Jin, but Lao Yan can go with my sister?
I had to act in an emergency and it was impossible for me to argue with Lao Yan at that time. Now when I think about it later, I can only blame myself for reacting too slowly. Otherwise, if I had said first, "I'm going with my sister, Lao Yan, you take care of Xu Jin", the situation would be completely different now!
"If we have to split up the teams, Team Yan and Deputy Team Li would be a better fit together," Xu Jin suddenly said. "Team Yan is very strong. Even if Deputy Team Li has health problems, they will definitely be able to protect her."

"Indeed." Li Zhaojiang still had confidence in Yan Yu's strength, so he could only nod solemnly.

--------

In the Pure Land Sect's headquarters, the ascetics and sorcerers who broke in were attacked by a large number of wandering ghosts.

To combat the sword puppet monsters cultivated by the Zhenmei Sword Sect, the Pure Land Sect was forced to employ the method of using ghosts to subdue demons. They used formations in the middle reaches of the Underworld River to open up a channel to the Yellow Springs Underworld, summoning a large number of wandering ghosts who followed the river's current to their base. The Pure Land monks then nurtured and cultivated these ghosts, allowing them to fight each other in the hope of cultivating sufficiently ferocious and powerful ghosts.

Due to the era of extinction of Dharma, the positions in the underworld were vacant. In the years after the fall of the Pure Land Sect, these ghosts continued to devour each other and evolve, thus giving birth to many starving ghosts, hanged ghosts, water ghosts, plague ghosts, mother-and-child ghosts, etc. There were also higher-level Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Ghosts, Black and White Impermanence, which wandered around the outer circle of the sect's residence.

Xie Ruoxi possessed the Jade Pivot Thunder, a weapon specifically designed to counter Yin ghosts, so he and Yun Jin had almost no trouble navigating this situation. Chen Lingyun also possessed the Prison Banner, a weapon capable of suppressing Yin ghosts. Whenever she encountered a ghost along the way, she would simply activate her Heart Capture Technique to capture it within the banner. If it was a decent creature capable of being cultivated, she would keep it; otherwise, she would simply let the ghost within the banner devour it, her face filled with pure joy.

Zhao Yuanzhen felt more and more depressed as he watched, thinking that Lingyun had made a fortune this time, while I still had nothing... I was so angry!
Where exactly is the treasure room of this sect?

She looked around boredly when she suddenly saw a waterfall in the distance—no, it was water pouring down from above! That was Yun Jin's Southern Dipper Galaxy secret technique!
Time moved forward half a minute, and Xie Ruoxi was guarding the door of the Sutra Library when he suddenly saw a ghost floating in the distance.

Without thinking, she held a Jade Pivot Thunder in her hand and struck out, instantly blowing the ghost to ashes.

However, this Yin Gui was not a wild ghost from the sect, but a soul servant driven by the Yin magician. It was suddenly attacked and destroyed by an unknown source, which immediately aroused his suspicion.

After confirming the location, the Yin magician gathered a few companions and quietly moved towards Xie Ruoxi.

However, Xie Ruoxi's true energy was extremely abundant, and his spiritual sense scanning range was extremely large. He immediately confirmed that an enemy was approaching, and quickly turned around to ask for help and shouted:
"Yunjin, someone's coming! Five people!"

Su Yunjin had no choice but to put down the jade slip and scan the downward direction with his spiritual sense. Seeing that the five sorcerers were rushing towards them without hesitation, he knew that their whereabouts had been exposed, and he quickly made out the magic spells in his hands.

The secret art of the Southern Dipper Galaxy slammed down, mixed with countless Gouchen star sands, mixed into the river flow like a high-speed cutting water knife, directly wrapping up the three sorcerers rushing in front and grinding them into several pieces!

The remaining two sorcerers ran slower, but they escaped this time and turned around and ran away to avoid the water of the Milky Way.

Xie Ruoxi was not willing to be outdone. He gathered up the thunder magic with both hands and threw it far away, intending to kill the two fish that had escaped the net!

All failed.

Su Yunjin was speechless, and only heard Xie Ruoxi laugh:

"They're too far away. Next time, let's wait until they get closer before we take action."

The two sorcerers who had managed to escape kept their distance and hid in a safe place. After discussing privately for a while, they realized that the people on the other side were most likely monks from Lu Country.

Why was the monk from Lu hiding in that room? Was there some treasure inside that needed to be looted?
Thinking of this, and realizing that they were no match for the Lu cultivators, the sorcerers immediately made up their minds:
Go get help!

(End of this chapter)