Yaoguang Fairy Path

The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight penetrated the clouds and shone on Bingbing's crystal clear wings, Ye Shuyao and Li Yuru were sitting cross-legged on its broad back, closing their eyes and concentrating, immersed in the mysterious realm of cultivation. Surrounding them were endless mountains and lush forests, a peaceful and tranquil scene.

However, this tranquility did not last long. When Bingbing was passing through a dense forest, a sudden burst of painful roars and the sound of fierce fighting broke the tranquility around her. A heart-pounding demonic energy quietly spread in the air, like dark clouds covering the sun, making the entire space depressing and heavy.

Ye Shuyao and Li Yuru woke up from their cultivation almost at the same time. They opened their eyes and quickly scanned the situation below with their sharp gazes. They saw that in the area wrapped in thick demonic energy, several cultivators were being besieged by several hideous and terrifying demonic cultivators.

"It's the breath of the demon clan!" Ye Shuyao frowned slightly, and a cold look flashed in her eyes. She didn't expect that the demon clan that Master mentioned would let us appear here. Then she patted Bingbing's back lightly, signaling her to lower her altitude. At the same time, she formed seals with her hands, ready to fight.

"Shuyao, let's go!" Li Yuru stood up without hesitation upon seeing this, with a fiery fighting spirit burning in his eyes. At the same time, he tightly grasped the Fire Feather Sword, and spiritual power surged around him, like a fire phoenix about to spread its wings and fly high.

As Bingbing slowly descended, the two rushed into the battlefield like two bolts of lightning.

Ye Shuyao took the lead and waved her hands lightly. A crystal clear ice lotus bloomed in her palms, and then turned into a pure and flawless flame - Ice Lotus Pure Fire, attacking the nearest demon cultivator. The flame seemed cold, but in fact it contained the terrifying power to burn the sky and boil the sea, instantly freezing and devouring the demon cultivator's protective magic energy.

At the same time, Li Yuru also launched an offensive. His body was as agile as a dragon playing in the water. The Fire Feather Sword in his hand seemed to have life, and with a series of movements, it danced out gorgeous sword shadows.

With a delicate cry, the Blazing Feather Art was performed with all her strength. A huge phantom of a fire phoenix rose into the air from the tip of the sword, carrying destructive power, and pounced directly on the remaining demon cultivators. The fire phoenix's wings spread out, and every feather contained a blazing flame. Wherever it passed, the demonic energy dissipated, and the demon cultivators screamed miserably.

"Hmph, the demon cultivators don't hide well and dare to come out to cause trouble. Then all of them will stay here!" Ye Shuyao snorted coldly, and the thunder dragon attack followed. Thick lightning bolts were like dragons emerging from the sea, interweaving in the air to form an impenetrable electric net, completely trapping the remaining demon cultivators.

Several monks wearing the sect's disciple uniforms collapsed to the ground in fear when they saw someone trying to rescue them. One of the male monks took a breath and shouted to Ye Shuyao and the others, "Let's go." After saying that, he rushed forward again with his fellow disciples.

An injured demon struggled to get up from the rubble, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness. He stared at Ye Shuyao and Li Yuru and sneered in a hoarse voice, "Hmph, two little girls, you dare to meddle in the affairs of our demon clan?"

Ye Shuyao was puzzled when she heard this. They didn't seem like the demons she had encountered in the secret realm before, who only cared about killing. They seemed different. She began to test them with words: "Why are you here?"

The demon cultivator sneered even more, seemingly unwilling to reveal too much: "Humph, you don't need to know. The war between the righteous cultivators and the demons has just begun!"

Li Yuru's smile deepened upon hearing this. She took a step forward, her tone carrying a hint of provocation: "Bah! I see you all look as ugly as Muggles, and you like to seek death. I want to see what tricks you demons can come up with. I might as well tell you that the current world of cultivation is full of powerful people. They can easily take you down, humph!"

After saying that, Li Yuru's figure flashed, the Fire Feather Sword was already in his hand, ready to deal with the attacks of the demons at any time, while Ye Shuyao stood aside, forming seals with both hands, and released the Ice Lotus Pure Fire again to provide support.

"As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Just wait and see." Seeing that Ye Shuyao and Li Yuru were not easy to deal with, he let out a cold snort from his throat and turned around to escape.

"You want to run? You want to eat shit? Stay!" Li Yuru kept chattering as she and Ye Shuyao attacked almost simultaneously. One ice and one fire, the two attacks intertwined like lightning and attacked the demon cultivator.

The demon cultivator on the opposite side gradually became unable to withstand the pressure. After barely resisting a few moves, he was hit in the heart by Ye Shuyao's Ice Lotus Pure Fire. He fell to the ground and lost his combat effectiveness.

After completely dealing with the remaining two demon monks, Ye Shuyao and Li Yuru turned to look at those monks.

The young man leading the other side barely managed to support himself and stepped forward, casting a grateful glance at the two. "Thank you, fairies, for your help! We are disciples of the Qingfeng Sect, and were attacked by these demons while on a mission."

The young man paused for a moment, his eyes filled with grief and anger. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "Several of our junior brothers and sisters perished here, leaving behind no souls. Their appearance was too sudden, and they were so powerful that we were no match for them..."

Ye Shuyao frowned upon hearing this. "Wait, what do you mean by saying your junior brothers and sisters' spirits didn't even remain?"

The male cultivator's expression was filled with fear when he said this. "He...their souls were eaten by the demons."

Sucking the souls of cultivators? This was similar to what happened in the secret realm before. Ye Shuyao looked at Li Yuru with a serious expression, "The matter of the demon clan is indeed full of doubts. We must hurry back to the sect."

Li Yuru also nodded: "Indeed, this matter is of great importance. We must report the situation to the sect leader and the elders as soon as possible."

Ye Shuyao turned around, her eyes piercing as she gazed at the Qingfeng Sect disciples. Her voice was as gentle as a mountain spring, "My fellow Daoists, this matter concerns the peace of the cultivation world. It is best to return quickly and report the movements of the demons you encounter to your sect in detail."

After a slight pause, he spoke again: "I am Ye Shuyao, a disciple of Lingxiao Sect, and this is my senior sister, Li Yuru. If you find any more clues about the demon clan, please let us know."

"Thank you Fairy Ye and Fairy Li for your help! My name is Ji Changfeng." He didn't expect that the other party was actually from the Lingxiao Sect. The world of cultivation is known for having hundreds of immortal sects, but there are only a few that can be called famous. Small sects like theirs usually stay away from disciples from big sects, for fear of offending some big shot.

Then he bowed deeply to Ye Shuyao and Li Yuru again, "We will report today's events to the sect truthfully. If there is any news about the demons, we will report it to the Lingxiao Sect. May the friendship between the two sects last forever, and may we fight the demons together!"

......

At the foot of the towering mountain of Lingxiao Sect, sunlight dappled onto the ancient ladder to heaven, and each step seemed to bear the traces of time.

Ye Shuyao and Li Yuru stood side by side, looking at the stairs that seemed to lead straight to the sky. The scenes when they first entered the sect appeared in their minds like a tide. At this moment, there was a different light flashing in their eyes.

After a while, Ye Shuyao exhaled softly, her eyes gentle and deep, as if she had penetrated the long river of time and returned to the youthful days when she first entered the sect. "Yu Ru, I want to walk this ladder to heaven again."

Hearing this, Li Yuru curled up the corners of her mouth into a playful smile, and her bright eyes flashed with cunning.

He looked at the seemingly endless ladder to heaven, then looked at Ye Shuyao, stuck out his tongue playfully, and said with a smile: "You are not tired, there are three thousand steps. I don't want to feel the soreness and numbness in my legs and feet again. That feeling... is simply unbearable. Then I will go back and report the matter of the demon clan to the sect master and the elders. See you later."

Ye Shuyao looked at Li Yuru's back as she flew away on the sword, with a gentle smile on her lips, and whispered softly: "Okay, see you later." Then, her gaze fell back on the ladder in front of her.

I climbed up step by step, feeling indescribably relaxed and contented all the way. I even hummed "Eighteen Bends of the Mountain Road" and admired the scenery on both sides of the ladder while climbing.