IVYSCP - Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Seven days later, the Ancient Yao Forest Realm closed.
All the sects returned fully laden, their Qiankun Pouches stuffed so full they bulged, as if they wished they could have emptied the secret realm entirely and carried every yao beast home.
"Sect Leader!"
"Elder!"
Streaks of light flew toward the skyships waiting outside the secret realm. Disciples from every sect joyfully reported their good news.
Only Piaomiao Sect and Shangtianqiong Sect looked less than pleased when they emerged. Shangtianqiong's situation was especially grim. Ten had entered, but only one came out unscathed. Four were dead beyond recovery, four had been crippled, and Cui Heng was nowhere to be found.
Ling Qingyue kept an eye on the commotion over at Shangtianqiong while comforting the dejected young cultivators beside her.
"Even though you slept for seven days and did absolutely nothing, those tens of thousands of spirit stones are enough to push your cultivation up a stage. And besides..." Ling Qingyue leaned in close and whispered in their ears, "Just look at Shangtianqiong. Aren't we doing better than them?"
There was one more thing Ling Qingyue did not mention. The dream-eating tapir had devoured several of their dreams, which meant they would not be troubled by nightmares for a very long time. Having steadfast Dao hearts would greatly benefit their cultivation.
Lu Yao let out a long sigh. "That's true."
Ling Qingyue patted the back of her head. "Why all the gloom at such a young age?"
Lu Yao clutched her head and shot her a mournful look.
Did Senior really not know why she was worried? They had already left the secret realm, and Senior was still keeping that girl with her. What if... what if the Immortal Venerable found out about the two of them!
Just as she was thinking this, Lu Yao caught a glimpse of a pale golden streak of light flying over from the Piaomiao Sect skyship. Her heart lurched. She grabbed the sleeve beside her and stammered, "Sen... Senior! The Immortal Venerable! The Immortal Venerable is coming!"
Ling Qingyue gave a mild "Oh." "Let her come. Why are you making such a fuss?"
Lu Yao stared at her in shock. "???"
Such a cold tone! Before they entered the secret realm, they had been so intimate.
The streak of light landed before them and resolved into a tall, graceful figure. Pei Yin glanced at the neatly assembled young cultivators and nodded at them. "Go on to the skyship. The elders are waiting for you."
"Yes."
Lu Yao had meant to leave too, but she simply could not set her mind at ease. She dawdled for a long time without taking a single step.
Pei Yin looked at her, the corner of her lips curving slightly. She spoke casually. "Lu Yao."
Lu Yao instantly went rigid. "Ye... yes!"
Ling Qingyue blinked and looked at Pei Yin.
"Was Elder Ah Xi well in the secret realm?"
Ling Qingyue: "..."
Lu Yao's peripheral vision strayed toward Ling Qingyue. She found that Ling Qingyue was still standing beside that young woman, and her head felt ready to explode.
"Well, very well! The elder was extremely well."
Of course she was well, wasn't she? New love, old love, one after another.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she lifted her eyes and met the woman's cold, clear gaze. The hairs on Lu Yao's back prickled. She hurriedly mounted her sword and flew toward the skyship. "I... I'm going on ahead! I just heard my senior sister calling me. Fare... fare... farewell!"
She had just taken off when she realized she had forgotten to bow. Lu Yao hastily made up for it in a panic, then fled without looking back.
Ling Qingyue watched Pei Yin and clicked her tongue. "Frightening a child."
Pei Yin said flatly, "She was looking out for you."
With that, she gave her doppelganger a look, telling her to return to the skyship as well.
She stepped over to Ling Qingyue's side. The tip of her finger rose, and a barrier formed around them of its own accord.
"Did you see clearly?"
Ling Qingyue nodded. "Clearly. Cui Heng didn't come out."
She had deliberately delayed leaving the secret realm until the very end precisely to see whether Cui Heng would appear.
After exiting the secret realm, most immortal sects would normally set off on the journey home, but this time everyone had stayed where they were. By now, what had happened in the Bone Burial Ground had already spread.
Those four Shangtianqiong disciples who had died had undergone demonization.
Quite a few people had already released their divine sense, observing the Shangtianqiong side from a distance, neither too close nor too far.
At this moment, aboard the Shangtianqiong skyship...
Bai Cha knelt before Lou Wudu. She was the only one among the Shangtianqiong disciples to have walked out completely unscathed.
"What happened?" Lou Wudu's voice was deep and cold.
Bai Cha hid nothing. "Junior Sister Cui Heng ordered us to surround and attack that Elder Ah Xi from Piaomiao Sect. We were outmatched. Five died, four were injured. Sect Leader, it was because I failed to stop them in time that this catastrophe occurred. I could not recover my junior sisters' bodies. This is my fault. I beg the Sect Leader to punish me."
Beside her, the four crippled disciples stared at her with venomous eyes, full of bitter resentment. At this moment, they were all thinking the same thing. If Bai Cha had not hesitated back then, how could they have ended up like this?
Lou Wudu stroked the jade ring on her right thumb, her gaze deepening.
After a long pause, she spoke softly. "You certainly have nerve. When did I ever permit you to pick a fight with Piaomiao Sect? Ending up like this is nothing but the consequences of your own actions."
The four disciples jerked their heads up.
"Since your meridians have already been crippled, that saves me the trouble of doing it myself. As of today, you are expelled from Shangtianqiong. Make the best of what remains to you."
Lou Wudu said this and raised her hand. Several disciples behind her stepped forward and pulled the four to their feet.
"Sect Leader, spare us! Sect Leader!"
"It was Senior Sister Cui Heng! Senior Sister Cui Heng made us do it! Sect Leader!"
"I won't dare do it again! Sect Leader, let me off just this once!"
With Shangtianqiong's resources, even though they had been crippled, there was still a chance of recovery. But once expelled from Shangtianqiong, they would be utterly worthless. They would never survive in this Immortal Realm.
Lou Wudu ignored them utterly. Her gaze shifted to Bai Cha. "And what about the other few? What happened there?"
Bai Cha shook her head. "I had originally placed their bodies together in one spot, but when I went back, they were gone. Later, I heard from people from other immortal sects..."
Bai Cha hesitated, then carefully lifted her eyes and glanced at Lou Wudu.
"Say it," Lou Wudu said, her expression growing faintly impatient.
Bai Cha lowered her head. "They said that in a certain part of the Bone Burial Ground, they had seen those junior sisters. Their corpses had undergone demonization."
Lou Wudu's pupils contracted violently. In an instant, she was before Bai Cha. She raised her hand and hauled her to her feet. "What did you say?!"
Bai Cha was badly startled. She repeated, "My junior sisters' corpses underwent demonization."
"Demonization..." Lou Wudu murmured under her breath, then demanded sharply, "Who told you this?"
Bai Cha gave several names.
Immediately, people were dispatched to the nearby skyships. Before long, several individuals were brought back. Seeing Lou Wudu's dark expression, they trembled like sieves and haltingly stammered out what they had witnessed.
Among them were people from Wushi Sect and Lingxu Immortal Palace. Chi Que and Ying Ying came along as well.
Mu Xiaoyao was somewhat afraid, but with Chi Que right behind her, she remained fairly composed when facing the Sword Venerable's grim expression. "They came straight at Piaomiao Sect's Elder Ah Xi, covered in demonic qi. They didn't seem disoriented. It was like they were specifically targeting Elder Ah Xi. There were a lot of people around, but they only attacked Elder Ah Xi. In the end, it was Elder Ah Xi and her people who subdued them. Then suddenly, a sandstorm rose in the Bone Burial Ground. I couldn't see anything clearly. After the sandstorm passed, their bodies had turned to dust."
"Ah Xi..." Lou Wudu narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, signaling to a disciple.
That person bowed her head in acknowledgment, then headed toward the Piaomiao Sect skyship.
Chi Que and Ying Ying stood together. Ying Ying gave Chi Que a meaningful glance.
Ah Xi again. Did this Ah Xi have some kind of grudge against Shangtianqiong?
Chi Que also blinked back at her.
No idea.
Their wordless exchange ended. Ying Ying lifted her gaze toward the distance. A streak of light flew over and came to a halt right in front of them. Ah Xi had the Immortal Venerable following right behind her.
Ying Ying marveled inwardly and nudged Chi Que with her elbow.
Ling Qingyue boarded the Shangtianqiong skyship. A feeling both unfamiliar and familiar welled up in her heart. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two acquaintances. She glanced over and was about to look away when Ying Ying suddenly smiled at her. Ling Qingyue paused, then returned a smile.
Lou Wudu gave Pei Yin a slight nod. "The Immortal Venerable has come as well."
Pei Yin returned the greeting. "Mm."
Lou Wudu raised her eyes toward Mu Xiaoyao, who was standing beside Chi Que. Chi Que understood and spoke up. "Xiaoyao, repeat what you just said."
Mu Xiaoyao nodded and recounted the events at the Bone Burial Ground once more.
As soon as her words fell, before Lou Wudu could speak, Ling Qingyue hurriedly broke in. "I was just coming to speak with the Sword Venerable about this! That many of them ganging up and bullying just me—that's not right, is it? Sword Venerable, you absolutely must discipline them properly! What kind of behavior is it to use numbers against a single opponent? Anyone who didn't know better would think the Sword Venerable bore ill will toward Piaomiao Sect!"
A wave of gasps rose from all around.
She really dared to say it.
Lou Wudu looked at her. After a long moment, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "How could that be? I will naturally discipline them. Those four crippled disciples have already been expelled from Shangtianqiong by my order. However, what I want to know now is about the other four disciples who died. Why did they undergo demonization, and why did they attack only Elder Ah Xi? Does Elder Ah Xi know the reason?"
Ling Qingyue furrowed her brow with a troubled expression. "To be honest, I don't know. After they demonized and attacked me, perhaps they were carrying out a grudge held in life. And afterward, just as that young cultivator said, when the sandstorm rose, no one could see anything. By the time we could see again, the demonic qi on them was gone, and their bodies had turned to dust."
It was well-reasoned and left the blame squarely on Shangtianqiong in every word.
Lou Wudu gave a soft laugh. She was far too familiar with this tone of voice from the person before her. So familiar, in fact, that she knew this speech was half truth, half lie, concealing more than it revealed.
"In that case, I fear there must have been a demon lurking within the Ancient Yao Forest Realm, which caused their bodies to demonize. My apologies for troubling Elder Ah Xi to come over."
Ling Qingyue's eyes curved. "No trouble at all. But I was surrounded and attacked in the secret realm and nearly lost my life. Merely expelling those people from the sect—I'm afraid that's not enough."
Lou Wudu clasped her hands behind her back. "And what does Elder Ah Xi think would be appropriate?"
Ling Qingyue produced the gift list she had prepared just now and handed it over. "Please review this, Sword Venerable. Settle this together with the previous toll fee."
Lou Wudu accepted it and glanced over the contents. A smile surfaced on her face, but her fingers gripping the list tightened more and more.
In addition to one million spirit stones, there were over a hundred varieties of rare spiritual herb materials, plus twenty superior-grade dharma swords and a hundred medium-grade dharma swords.
These items, if given to any minor sect, would be enough to nurture them into an immortal sect capable of ranking among the Seventy-Two Sects.
Ling Qingyue looked at her with a beaming smile. "Does the Sword Venerable find this acceptable?"
Lou Wudu folded the list, suppressed the fury in her heart, and nodded with pronounced coolness. "Acceptable. Tomorrow, I will have someone deliver the items to Piaomiao Sect."
She then asked, "I wonder if Elder Ah Xi has any interest in the Heavenly Secrets Assembly two months from now?"
"Of course I do." Ling Qingyue took a step forward. "The Sword Venerable is offering the Jiuge Sword as the first-place prize. How could I possibly not go?"
Lou Wudu watched her with a smile that was not quite a smile. "Then I shall await Elder Ah Xi at Shangtianqiong."
Having said this, she cast an imperceptible glance at Pei Yin, who stood behind Ling Qingyue.
The Shangtianqiong skyship was the first to depart. The other immortal sects naturally had no reason to linger either, and they followed close behind.
Lou Wudu entered the main chamber and saw Cui Heng seated in meditation, regulating her breathing. She asked coldly, "Just now, were you trying to kill her?"
She had sensed the killing intent surging violently within Cui Heng's heart.
Cui Heng opened her eyes. She furrowed her brow, looking rather confused. "Wasn't it you who wanted to kill her? All that killing intent came from you. And back then, wasn't it also you who acted from the shadows to..."
"Enough." Lou Wudu cut off the words she was about to say, her voice sharp.
Lou Wudu did not want to hear any more. She sat down on the other side, her palm clenched tightly as she suppressed her fury. In the end, unable to bear it any longer, she slammed her palm down and shattered the low table.
"Why? Why could she come back?"
Lou Wudu let out a low laugh. Beneath the disordered strands of her hair, her eyes had grown bloodshot. Her entire bearing looked crazed and obsessive. "I have to know who allowed her to return, and how she came back."
Cui Heng watched her in silence.
At this moment, it seemed her words had just been proven true. The killing intent had indeed come from Lou Wudu.
Cui Heng raised her hand and pressed it to her chest. The sword wound there had already healed, but within her beating heart now pulsed an extra wisp of restless, agitated blood.
Watching the skyship disappear into the clouds, Pei Yin turned her gaze to the person beside her.
Ling Qingyue had asked the Piaomiao Sect elders to take the others back first. The two of them had stayed behind for the time being.
"What is it?"
Ling Qingyue turned and stared intently toward the depths of Crouching Dragon Valley.
"Something has been watching me this whole time."
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