Chapter 332: Xiang Qiyu Sect in Terror

Xiang Qiyu Sect, Ancestral Hall.

Candlelight fills the hall with brightness; faint green smoke curls upward. It has burned for over three thousand years and has never been extinguished since it first lit.

Even during the crisis of the Xuetudian a thousand years ago, it endured until the Restoring Ancestor emerged from nowhere.

"I wonder how the battle ahead is progressing?"

Li Li Qingyun carefully swept the accumulated incense ash from the floor and wiped the spirit tablets of each Ancestor, doing so meticulously by his own hand, daring not to delegate the task to magic.

Cleaning the Ancestral Hall is the supreme honor of the sect.

Previously, Sect Master Lei Lei Linghe was responsible for it; now it is him.

Its significance within Xiang Qiyu Sect is extraordinary, signifying the absolute successor to the next generation of the lineage, naturally gaining the support of many disciples and Jin Dan cultivators within the sect.

Crack!

In one corner of the Ancestral Hall, soul lamps are stored, each bearing a trace of divine consciousness left by sect cultivators, allowing for a simple determination of life or death.

This sound has appeared frequently in recent years; sometimes it even occurs densely, exploding into a cluster, terrifying beyond measure.

"I wonder which disciple has once again fallen at the hands of the demonic thieves of the Xuetu Dao..."

Li Li Qingyun sighed, about to speak, when suddenly he was startled, his hair standing on end.

"Zhou Zhou Kunlong!"

"Ancestor Zhou Kunlong!"

"A Jin Dan of the sect has fallen in battle. What is the current state of the war? Could it be that Master and the others have also met with disaster?"

At the thought of this possibility, his heart trembled; he approached the shattered soul lamp and confirmed it three times.

"Yes, it is indeed Ancestor Zhou Kunlong!"

Li Li Qingyun took a deep breath to calm himself.

He produced a jade slip to send a message to his master, then, without revealing his intentions, secretly summoned the disciples on the list, arranging for each to wait at more than ten completely different teleportation arrays.

He quickly arrived at a secret chamber on Tianlei Peak known only to him and his master, waiting silently for something.

If no reply came within a quarter-hour, or if the reply lacked the secret signal agreed upon by master and disciple,

he and the many lineage disciples would immediately leave the mountain gate and go into hiding separately.

"Little Junior Uncle?"

Li Li Qingyun hesitated for a moment.

"Better to wait until the news is confirmed before notifying her maid."

"Your Majesty, please drink this cup."

The white-browed old cultivator smiled broadly and offered another cup of fine wine. Although he had previously abstained from alcohol entirely, preferring only to drink tea and discuss the Dao, at this moment he was no different from a long-time drunkard.

"Senior Brother Li truly has a great capacity for drink..."

Princess Princess Chiyan, the Fox King, her cheeks flushed pink, leaned over in a delicate manner, seemingly unable to withstand the wine's power, revealing a large expanse of snow-white bosom, her body scent enticing, making one's heart harden like iron.

"Haha, compared to Your Majesty, it is nothing."

The white-browed old cultivator also felt his mouth dry and his tongue thick, unable to fully maintain self-control.

Alarm bells rang loudly in his heart!

He shifted half a body length aside without leaving a trace.

In terms of magical combat, he had considerable confidence; he had also had multiple wives and concubines and was not a man of asceticism.

But in matters of the bedchamber and the art of dual cultivation,

such a seductive creature was not within his qualification to enjoy; a single lapse in attention would see his essence drained, his realm greatly diminished, and even if he did not die, he would become a puppet.

"Senior Brother Li is truly unfeeling."

Princess Princess Chiyan looked at him with resentful eyes, stirring great pity in one's heart, causing one to constantly recall in the mind what terrible mistake one had made and consider how to make amends.

"Your Majesty, you are too kind..."

The white-browed old cultivator's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts; just as he was about to activate the Clear Heart Art to sweep away desire, his expression changed drastically.

He suddenly rose.

Violent pressure spread in all directions; his divine consciousness rudely invaded every corner of Blood Stone Mountain, including the healing and secluded cultivation places of the great demons of the demon kingdom and the Jin Dan cultivators of Xiang Qiyu Sect.

"Senior Brother, what has happened?!"

A manifestation of pressure appeared; Zhou Zhou Sanyan, at the mid-stage of Jin Dan Zhong Qi, erupted with magic power and rushed over, landing before him, the heat waves from the Huo Yan Shan treasure before him steaming, making the air blurry and transparent.

It was already in a state of war.

"Junior Brother Zhou, has your healing been completed?"

Princess Princess Chiyan, the Fox King, lay lazily among the seats, seemingly entirely unsurprised.

"Follow me."

The white-browed old cultivator and Zhou Zhou Sanyan flew out from the mountain peak to the secret chamber where Zhou Zhou Kunlong was in secluded cultivation; he waved his hand, sending forth a bolt of Lei Chong Guang that made the stone door boom loudly, revealing the scene within.

In the spacious secret chamber, no one was present.

"Zhou Kunlong is not here? When did this happen?!"

Zhou Zhou Sanyan's expression also changed.

This was not the sect; even during his secluded cultivation, his divine consciousness had been continuously dispersed across an area of over ten kilometers in radius, and he had never detected anyone leaving.

"A message from the Ancestral Hall: Junior Brother Zhou Kunlong's soul lamp has been extinguished."

"What?"

"Who dares kill him?"

The white-browed old cultivator's words made Zhou Zhou Sanyan fly into a rage, while a chill also rose in his heart.

"What demonic magic technique could kill a Jin Dan cultivator without any of us detecting it?"

"Whether it was Xuetudian's doing is still hard to say."

The white-browed old cultivator's face was icy. He flew into the cave dwelling where the Great King Kong Que was in closed-door cultivation, and struck out another bolt of terrifying Lei Chong Guang. The thick cave door was blasted into fine powder.

Empty. Nothing inside.

The two martial brothers exchanged a glance, each able to catch a thread of cold killing intent in the other's eyes.

The two slowly flew back to the peak.

"Nation Lord, why such impatience when Xuetudian has not yet been destroyed?"

The white-browed old cultivator stared at Princess Princess Chiyan, the Fox King, who lay languidly among the cushions, her alluring curves on full display. His voice was cold, killing intent radiating outward: "Where is the Peacock Demon King? Was it he who killed our sect's Junior Brother Zhou Zhou Kunlong?"

Although somewhat displeased in his heart,

he fully recognized this newly born Jin Dan of the sect, and felt joy for him — the sect's strength had grown by several degrees more.

Moreover, although he had just formed his core, a Jin Dan is a Jin Dan; in terms of status, he was no different from them.

If he could kill Zhou Zhou Kunlong now, he could kill the two of us martial brothers as well!

"Senior Brother Li, please accept my condolences. The Demon Nation and Xiang Qiyu Sect remain allies…"

Princess Princess Chiyan had anticipated this and showed no fear. She smiled, about to say something, when her jade countenance stiffened: "What? Zhou Zhou Kunlong is dead? That's impossible."

"Where is that peacock?!"

Zhou Zhou Sanyan roared.

"Two Jin Dan vanished without a trace — surely that is the Nation Lord's doing, a natural divine ability of the fox race, yes?"

The white-browed old cultivator's expression was utterly cold: "Hand over that peacock. I don't need his life — just abolish his cultivation. Your house and mine can still stand together against Xuetudian, and not let any single power grow unchecked."

"Senior Brother Li, do not frame and slander. What does this matter have to do with me?"

Princess Princess Chiyan denied it flatly.

She reached out to the Peacock Demon King — no response.

She reached out to the Demon Nation — the Peacock Demon King was still alive; his soul lamp had dimmed somewhat, but he was still alive.

'After killing the Xiang Qiyu Sword Son, could the peacock have taken a fancy to both the Nine-Orifice Golden Core Fruit and a cultivator's Jin Dan? With these two items, his breakthrough to mid-stage Demon King is entirely possible.'

A thought surfaced in her mind.

"Is he hiding somewhere now, in closed-door cultivation, attempting a breakthrough?"

If it were her, she might very well do exactly that.

What Demon Nation, what demon race's interests — compared to her own breakthrough to the next realm, what did they amount to?

As for a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator killing two Jin Dan in succession?

Even in her dreams she had never imagined such a thing — far too fantastical.

"And you still ask what it has to do with you?"

Zhou Zhou Sanyan laughed coldly.

Threads of cold killing intent spread among the three Jin Dan and the great demon.

……

On the teleportation array beneath the pool.

"Hey, haven't seen you in quite a few days."

Jiang Ding took out a third-grade upper-quality Soul-Searching Talisman and a third-grade lower-quality Soul-Settling Talisman, placing them on the forehead of the Peacock Demon King whom so many people had been longing for.

(End of this chapter)