Chapter 239: Three Sects

In the dark night far away, a blazing line of fire shot up from outside the Hundred Refinements City gate, instantly illuminating the sky with flames, trailing a dazzling scorching fire trail as if splitting the entire firmament in two.

In the blink of an eye, that firelight crossed a distance of several hundred zhang, like a burning, glowing meteor tearing through the night sky, arriving above the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.

The old man in hemp clothes and Lin Xun'er looked up, both feeling a chill in their hearts.

At this moment, a fireball about a zhang wide hovered suspended above the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, its flame light blood-red, the air distorted, surrounded by rings of flame whirlpools that stirred up waves of scorching heat, lighting up the entire surrounding street as if it were day.

And as that glaring flame light visibly faded rapidly, a blurred figure shrouded in flames was revealed.

The martial arts pressure radiating from him was even more terrifying and horrifying than that of the previous Hundred Refinements Peak Master!

……

At the same time, in the dark, densely wooded mountains, several figures leaped continuously in the darkness, rushing from different directions toward the core area where the Nine Peaks of the Falling Spirit Peak were located.

Not long after, on a hilltop tens of li outside Hundred Refinements City, in the damp air of the night mountains which was already extremely cold, a chilling, bone-piercing yin wind suddenly blew; where the yin wind passed, nearby pine trees and shrubs were coated with a layer of ice crystals and frost.

Three figures clad in black robes blended almost perfectly with the dark night, their toes treading the yin wind as they leaped among the branches and treetops, climbing up toward the hundred-zhang-high hilltop.

Arriving at the summit, the three figures stepped lightly onto the tops of three pine trees; the branches did not bend or sway even slightly, showing that the three had already reached the realm of treading on leaves without leaving a trace.

Under the hazy night, the faces of the three were faintly revealed beneath their black hoods; all were elders over sixty years old, their skin loose and wrinkled, their eyes lowered and gloomy, with faint wisps of chilling yin qi swirling around their bodies.

However, just as the three stopped moving, their expressions suddenly shifted; they then turned their heads and cast their gaze together toward the other side of the hilltop.

In the blink of an eye, two middle-aged men, also clad in black robes, accompanied by four subordinates, leaped up silently from the dark forest below, appearing within the sight of the three old men.

The two leading middle-aged men were tall and burly, their faces like ancient bronze; their sharp, knife-like gazes fell upon the three black-robed elders, then their eyes narrowed slightly as they raised a hand to stop the subordinates following behind from advancing further.

"So it is the 'Three Elders of Profound Yin' from the Taiyin Yuan Sect, seniors. This junior greets the three seniors."

The group halted their movement on a mountain rock, and the leading middle-aged man among them spoke first.

Along with the other middle-aged man beside him and the crowd of subordinates, they bowed together toward the three elders standing on the pine branches ahead.

The three old men glanced over the six who had arrived; one of them moved his lips slightly, emitting a dry, rasping sound like sandpaper rubbing, and asked:

"Are you people of the Tianxia Alliance?"

Hearing this, the leading middle-aged man did not deny it, but nodded lightly and replied:

"Seniors' eyes are sharp as torches. Myself and Brother Yu are honored to serve as the Left and Right Helmsmen of the Yuanzhou Branch of the Tianxia Alliance."

The aura surrounding the old man was cold and yin; he let out a dry laugh, yet continued to ask:

"But why do you people of the Tianxia Alliance secretly infiltrate the territory of the Falling Spirit Peak? What are your intentions?"

The two helmsmen of the Tianxia Alliance exchanged a glance; that Helmsman Yu's eyes shifted slightly, he bowed, and said:

"Our purpose must be the same as the three seniors'. Not long ago, the Alliance received news that the Great Li court intends to take action against the Falling Spirit Peak."

"This matter arose suddenly. Our branch alliance master places great importance on it; to verify the truth of the news, he specifically ordered us two to come and investigate."

Hearing this, the Three Elders of Profound Yin exchanged a glance; the old man who had spoken earlier moved the corners of his mouth and said:

"You people of the Tianxia Alliance are indeed well-informed. We three old fellows only received a message from our sect not long ago, which is why we came to this Falling Spirit Peak."

Speaking thus, he raised his head and gazed toward the direction of Hundred Refinements City in the distance, saying:

"Now it seems the Great Li truly spent a great price to take action against the Falling Spirit Peak this time."

Hearing this, the two helmsmen of the Tianxia Alliance both nodded together; earlier, while rushing along the road, they had seen from afar two distress signals fired consecutively from the direction of Hundred Refinements City.

They had even faintly seen that the Master of Hundred Refinements Peak, Zheng Yunfeng, seemed to have already taken action, only to be defeated by his enemy.

Of course, due to the great distance, they were not entirely certain about this matter, so they quietly moved closer toward Hundred Refinements City, where the signals had been sent, wishing to investigate the truth.

At this moment, Helmsman Yu pondered for a short while, then bowed to the Three Elders of Profound Yin and asked:

"The Great Li court taking action against the Falling Spirit Peak is indeed unexpected. How do the three seniors view this matter?"

Hearing this, one of the old men let out a cold sneer and said:

"The Great Li court regards us four great sects of the Jianghu as thorns in their eyes and flesh in their throats. If Emperor Yuanwu wishes to take action against any sect, we are not at all surprised."

"However, that the Great Li court would use such Lei Ting methods to exterminate the Falling Spirit Peak, without even a whisper of wind beforehand, is indeed something we did not expect."

At this, another of the Three Elders of Profound Yin narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression cold and yin as he said:

"Of course, this matter is good news for us. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits. If the Great Li court and the Falling Spirit Peak both suffer heavy losses, it will be our opportunity. Perhaps the four great sects of the Jianghu will become three great sects in the future."

Upon hearing these words, the two helmsmen's expressions shifted.

However, just at this moment, a faint sound of sword whistling came from the night in the distance.

Instantly, everyone on the hilltop, including the Three Elders of Profound Yin, turned their heads together toward the sound.

Then, a silver sword light was seen tearing through the night, suddenly rushing up from below the mountain; in the blink of an eye, it shot to the space above the hilltop.

"This old man observed that this hilltop offers the most open view, most suitable for watching a battle. I did not expect this summit to be so lively."

A hoarse, old voice sounded; everyone looked up and saw an old man in white robes standing on a sword, floating in the night sky.

The long sword beneath his feet hummed, its blade shimmering with silver light, causing sword qi to crisscross in all four directions across the entire hilltop.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the Three Elders of Profound Yin all showed a strange expression on their faces and said in a deep voice:

"Your Taiyan Sword Sect does not wish to get involved in Jianghu conflicts; why have you come here as well?"

The two helmsmen of the Tianxia Alliance also recognized the identity of the old man in white robes and hurriedly bowed, saying:

"This junior greets the senior Silver Moon Sword Lord."

The old man in white robes waved his hand and said:

"No need for formalities."

Then, the long sword beneath his feet trembled slightly, carving out a silver arc; with a sharp clang, it fell into the sword sheath on his back.

The old man in white robes then floated lightly down onto a mountain rock at the summit; his gaze turned toward the Three Elders of Profound Yin, he lightly flicked his sleeve, and smiled, saying:

"You of the Taiyin Yuan Sect and the Tianxia Alliance wish to take action against the Falling Spirit Peak, even intending to drag the Taiyan Sword Sect into it. Of course, we do not wish to get involved."

(End of this chapter)