Chapter 776: Again?

The four prefectures that had been packed tightly together had already restored their original clear sky.

Back then in Da Nanzhou, given enough time, even an ape demon at the fifth-grade Taiyi Immortal realm could destroy three prefectural cities, let alone seven great demons who had reached Huang Liuliu's transformations.

But within this vast Daoist arena, aside from stirring up intense panic, there had been not a single casualty.

The black clouds Shen Yi had summoned were nothing more than a ruse to draw attention; under the cover of that shadow, Nan Huang and Bai Lu were able to act freely.

At this moment, statues of Taixu Zhenjun that had been sent in ahead of time were surrounded by common folk everywhere; whether they had previously been under trees or between Tian Geng ridges, they were now spontaneously lifted by the crowds to the highest place within their reach.

A line of figures swept across the horizon.

As You Yao took in these scenes, she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, closed her eyes, and felt an inexplicable wave of dizziness.

Everything she had ordered Yun Miao to prepare had now become a wedding dress for someone else.

Not only had that Taixu devoured all the imperial qi from this demon calamity, he had also planted his own moves within his own Daoist arena; to root them out completely would take who knows how long.

"Reporting to Martial Uncle, we had just finished making arrangements and had not yet begun to act when a group of people from Lingxu Cave slipped in ahead of time, spreading demonic lies to mislead the public, utterly brazen to the extreme. It was as if they had timed it perfectly: the very moment the great demons entered the prefecture, Taixu Zhenjun happened to appear, giving us no time to react at all."

Two disciples knelt on the clouds, answering fearfully.

Behind You Yao, Lu Tong suddenly stepped forward, hauled the two of them up by their collars with each hand, and said angrily, "How could there be such a coincidence in this world? It must be that Yun Miao was hiding malicious intent and had conspired with Lingxu Cave in advance!"

Hearing this, You Yao opened her eyes, and a flash of undisguised killing intent swept through her narrow, elongated gaze.

The two disciples, forced to their feet, were terrified to the extreme, but still said trembling, "It probably has nothing to do with Senior Yun Miao…"

The two swallowed hard, daring to conceal nothing, and faithfully recounted everything that had happened earlier in Zhenning Prefecture in full.

"…"

He Tong raised an eyebrow, his expression somewhat complicated.

Just hearing about this matter secondhand, he could appreciate how utterly humiliated Yun Miao had been at the time; let alone that Taixu Zhenjun had just arrived from Da Nanzhou, even if the other party were Yun Miao's own father, no one would sacrifice their own future to pave the way for someone else like that.

"Are you saying he never made a move from start to finish, and just quietly dropped down like that?"

Even though Yun Miao's suspicion had clearly been cleared, the killing intent in You Yao's eyes had not diminished in the slightest; on the contrary, it burned fiercer than ever.

She stepped onto the auspicious clouds and shot forth again at full speed.

The group soon found Yun Miao, his gaze unfocused, beneath a mud wall of a village; he was slumped there in utter dejection, and even upon seeing these people from Master Qingguang's cave, his face remained utterly numb.

You Yao strode forward, her slender five fingers gripping his collar, hauling him up in one motion and slamming him hard against the mud wall.

"All that cultivation of yours, that bag full of dharma artifacts—you've refined them straight into a dog's belly!"

She gnashed her teeth, wishing she could tear this trash apart with her own hands; if only he had shown a shred of backbone and tangled with that insect-demon disciple for even a short while, it would have been enough for her to reach Zhenning Prefecture.

"I… I wasn't confident… of beating him…" Yun Miao the True Person tilted his head askew, his voice hoarse.

His own future was severed, his face utterly lost; there was no longer any possibility of remaining in Beizhou.

"Confidence, confidence—your head is full of nothing but scheming these things. From the start of the calamity until now, when have you ever done a single thing that earned others' respect? If such a perfect, flawless opportunity truly existed, would it ever fall to the likes of you?"

You Yao the True Person contemptuously flung this Daoist to the ground: "Falling to this end, you truly have no one else to blame."

Yun Miao the True Person sat sprawled on the ground; the numbness on his face finally faded a few shades. He gazed up at You Yao in a daze, then suddenly let out a mocking laugh: "Yun Miao has become the laughingstock of Beizhou, true, but where exactly are you better, You Yao? What difference is there between you and me?"

At these words, He Tong's expression suddenly shifted slightly, wanting to make him shut up.

But You Yao had already coldly curled her lips: "A difference? The difference is this—anyone who dares to provoke this seat, even if I have to throw everything away, I will make them pay the price!"

"…"

Yun Miao the True Person's pupils twitched slightly, somewhat dazed.

You Yao looked down at him: "What do you have left? What more do you have left to lose? Clearly possessing nothing, yet you can only hide away in a place like this, weeping and wailing like a child—and you dare compare yourself to this seat?"

These words were like a flash of sword-light, completely tearing apart the last shred of Yun Miao's face.

There had never been any real caution; say it a thousand ways, in the end it was simply cowardice.

Once he could still use "enduring humiliation for a greater purpose" as an excuse, but now there was no chance left; to keep enduring, beyond mere fear, what other reason was there?

"Kill—"

Yun Miao gasped for breath in great heaving gulps, his features gradually contorting, and suddenly let out a low roar: "Kill him!"

He, the dignified chief disciple of Lingxu Cave, had already fallen to the point of being mocked by everyone—all because of that insect-demon disciple. How could he now let the other party have an easy time of it?

"Shut your mouth!"

He Tong suddenly kicked Yun Miao over; this Daoist rolled twice on the ground, covered in dust, yet paid it no heed, his eyes gleaming with feral light, like a maddened wild beast.

"You Yao, don't."

He Tong had no time to deal with this wretch; he turned and gripped the black-skirted woman's arm, saying in a low voice, "Though you are honored as the senior sister, if you continue to act so stubbornly and make such a scene, this little one will have no choice but to report to Hongze Daxian and ask him to come forward and handle it."

"…"

You Yao looked at He Tong indifferently, then suddenly swept her sleeve, sending him reeling back over a hundred zhang with a surge of clear light. She arched a brow slightly, her voice laced with coldness and savagery: "Suit yourself."

Proud as she was, how could she possibly accept becoming, like Yun Miao, a laughingstock passed from mouth to mouth among fellow disciples?

Repeated forbearance had only invited that person's escalating impudence, wanting to step on her to climb his way step by step to the position of chief disciple of the Sanxian Sect.

Today, that insect-demon disciple must die!

"Who will come with me?"

You Yao rose into the air; beneath her, Yun Miao's face was utterly savage as he wordlessly summoned auspicious clouds, and Lu Tong beside him followed without the slightest hesitation.

The two beside her were concerned with the immortal sect's face; he was no immortal, merely a Dao child—but even as a little demon child, the death of his elder brother required a human life to repay.

"You've all gone mad…"

He Tong watched helplessly as the three of them sped toward Kaiyuan Prefecture; no longer daring to delay, he manifested a pair of wings and beat them toward the Daoist temple atop the peak of Qingguang Mountain.

To brazenly lay violent hands on a fellow disciple would surely give this great calamity an entirely different flavor.

And You Yao, who had set such a precedent, how could she possibly come to any good end?

When that time came, it would no longer be as simple as losing a Daoist arena.

He Tong exerted every ounce of strength to hurry along; as a demon immortal of the same realm as senior disciples like You Yao, by the time he landed at that cloud-shrouded Daoist temple, he was drenched in sweat all over—though whether from exhaustion or fright, he could not tell.

"This little one requests an audience with the Daxian!"

It could spare no thought for the usual proprieties, barging straight into Master Qingguang's monastery. Striding quickly as it went, it called out in a loud voice: "Immortal Master Youyao has lost her reason. She's taken that True Person Master Yun Miao and the Deer Lad and headed for Kaiyuan Prefecture, intending to commit murder. Please, Great Immortal, decide what to do!"

A quiet room, its wooden door slightly ajar.

Qingguangzi sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. The instant he heard this news, the skin of his face twitched involuntarily.

But when he opened his eyes, he gazed quietly at the flustered Crane Lad, pondered for a moment, and showed no sign of rising.

"Great Immortal…" The Crane Lad's face was full of confusion, at a loss for what to do.

"Sigh, it does need to be dealt with."

Perhaps because there were no outsiders present, Qingguangzi no longer put on airs in front of this Daoist lad who had followed him for many years. He gazed into the distance beyond the mountain and sighed softly: "But since she's already gone, there's no rush for this one moment."

Even a Da Luo Jinxian who has leapt free of the two realms cannot achieve a heart unmoved like still water.

That child he had raised with his own hands, for the sake of a momentary pique, had disregarded her own immortal lineage. It was certainly a little heartbreaking, but putting oneself in her shoes—at her age, hadn't he himself been just like that, so free and easy in repaying kindness and grudges?

Since the great mistake had already been made, her reputation could no longer be salvaged.

A faint feeling of lamentation gradually rose in Qingguangzi's heart. That Miss had already prepared herself to bear all the punishment. As her master, was he supposed to imitate Lingxuzi and block her once more at Tashan, so that when she was suppressed and made to repent, she would still bear a grudge against him?

Moreover…

Qingguangzi let out a long breath. Here in Beizhou, when had Qingguang Cave ever been bullied by Lingxu Cave? Let alone the present situation of repeated brazenness, showing no restraint at all.

As a senior martial brother, Qingguangzi could understand Lingxuzi's unwillingness to lose face before the Sect Master and their master. The other's taking in that worm-demon from Nananzhou could be considered as sharing Qingguangzi's burdens.

But of all the things they should not have done, they should never have laid hands on Qingguang Cave's things.

A full four prefectures' worth of sacred ground—Yan Shidi Lingxu really doesn't fear bursting his own gut.

Last time injuring Youyao could be let pass, since after all they had the right on their side. But now putting on this overbearing manner again—do they truly think this senior martial brother has no temper?

This time I'll sit for half a day more, giving that child Youyao a chance to vent her anger. It won't have been for nothing, this master-disciple bond.

Thinking of this, under the Crane Lad's stunned gaze, Qingguangzi slowly closed his eyes.

……

Kaiyuan Prefecture, Tashan.

Many fellow disciples of the Sanxian Sect had long grown accustomed to this Zhu Shixiong Taixu's eccentricities.

He'd rather spend manpower and resources building houses for refugees than put up a great hall for himself. Even that immortal shrine was the same—charitably one might call it plain, but to put it unkindly… the whole thing reeked of poverty.

This would normally be a thing to be mocked, but so long as one's ability was strong enough, it became a kind of refined taste.

Clearly, Shen Yi—who had just extracted a large sum of Imperial Qi from Jiang Shijie Youyao's sacred ground, then withdrawn in triumph and returned safely to Tashan—had already proven his formidable methods through action.

The outcome of this contest already had its answer.

Although Zhu Shixiong Taixu had not yet truly taken those four prefectures, with this single move, the many statues the Lingxu Cave disciples had set up in that sacred ground would, given time to ferment, make the ownership of these four prefectures only a matter of time.

"Zhu Shixiong Taixu, I have a few decent immortal craftsmen under me. Why don't you pick a spot, and I'll have them come build you a hall? Though this mountain peak is carefree and at ease, those common mortals can't appreciate your refined taste."

Among the current disciples of the Sanxian Sect, Shen Yi had already implicitly become a being on equal footing with those three… no, to be precise, he should already be showing a tendency to replace Jiang Shijie Youyao.

Coincidentally, the other party had only just begun to rise, like a great tree putting down roots, with no vines yet clinging to it.

Everyone naturally spared no effort in trying to curry favor and befriend this heaven's favored.

"No need, thank you."

Shen Yi shook his head—this was no mere pleasantry.

Even back in Nanyang Treasure Land, when he was in Qingzhou of Da Qian, he had already tasted what it was like to have temples built for him.

But compared with that situation, now actively sending people to deliver his own statues to various places, doing the same thing as the other Sanxian Sect disciples, still made Shen Yi feel a certain discomfort.

Fortunately, at least he could still feel that discomfort.

This showed that even after tasting the flavor of Imperial Qi, he had ultimately not sunk into being a bird of a feather with these people.

If one cannot blend in, then nothing can be changed.

This is a very simple principle.

Just as Shen Yi liked peace and quiet, yet he did not drive away the crowd around him, nor did he expend energy to perfunctorily deal with them—because for now he still needed these people to remain at Tashan.

Thinking of this, he fell silent and looked toward the horizon.

After making so many preparations, he only hoped that one would please not suddenly come to her senses.

As if responding to Shen Yi.

The next moment, a raging, rampant aura came rolling in like a tide—one moment still outside Kaiyuan Prefecture, the next sweeping across Tashan.

The majestic mountain, before this sea of qi, was like a withered branch buffeted by wind and rain, seeming as though it might be blasted to pieces at any moment.

The many smiling disciples' faces turned dark in an instant.

Almost everyone guessed at something.

After all… that one was not doing this sort of thing for the first time.

Only what was unexpected was that even though last time Uncle-Master Lingxu had stepped in to reprimand her, she showed not the slightest repentance.

What kind of dog-shit rule is this?!

Those four prefectures of your Qingguang Cave—were they taken back by soft words? How is it that you're allowed to rob others, yet others may not rob you?!

Besides, Zhu Shixiong Taixu hasn't truly gone to seize the sacred ground—he only collected a sum of Imperial Qi, as a counterstrike for the last dispute over Kaiyuan Prefecture.

At the slightest provocation putting on this look of wanting to fight and kill—why not just skip the tribulation and directly appoint you to sit on that Immortal Emperor's throne.

Under the gaze of all.

Three figures slowly gathered in the sky.

Her black skirt swayed. The woman wore a precious crown on her head. She merely stood with her hands at her sides, yet stirred heaven and earth into turmoil, her momentum in no way inferior to the black clouds that had earlier shrouded the four prefectures.

When the onlookers saw the two behind her—especially that Daoist in a purple-cloud long robe—some disciples could not help but spit: "Wait, that Master Yun Miao actually came with outsiders to coerce his own junior martial brother?"

Uncle-Master Lingxu must really be blind as a bat to have chosen such a disciple.

"Jiang Shijie, don't go too far…"

Last time when the Puti Sect attacked, the disciples had all scattered in flight. But this time, though somewhat lacking in confidence, they still spoke up to rebuke: "A dispute over sacred ground—who acts like you do? In front of all those common mortals, raising such a clash of arms—wouldn't that just throw away the immortal family's face for nothing?"

Feeling the discontented gazes of the crowd.

Yet the corner of You Yao's lips curled into a sneer—when had these people ever dared to talk back to her face like this?

This enormous gap gathered in her mouth into a single ice-cold word.

"Scram!"

The contemptuous words rang out mightily, making many disciples all clench their fists tight.

They stared fixedly at that black-skirted figure in the sky, no longer holding the slightest trace of respect in their eyes, only uniform contempt.

At this moment, a single slender figure finally stepped out slowly, taking the place at the very front of the crowd.

"Everyone, go back first."

Shen Yi waved his sleeve casually, raised his eyes to look up at the sky, and said softly, "If you stop now, I'll pretend none of this ever happened."

Hearing this, You Yao pondered for a moment, then suddenly laughed aloud: "Why so polite all of a sudden? Do you know you're about to die?"

"What if I don't stop?"

The woman suddenly switched to a different face, her killing intent surging as she pressed her palm down; the Qingguang chessboard that had once blotted out the sky above Kaiyuan Prefecture appeared once more.

Ten thousand fierce beams of light descended like an inescapable net from above.

"And what will you do about it?"

"..."

Shen Yi spread his five fingers slightly; a streak of Bai Mang quietly sliced across the sky, severing every beam of Qingguang light.

The Bai Mang landed in his palm, transforming into a simple, archaic green-edged sword.

His expression unchanged, he stared at the longsword in his hand.

After a moment, Shen Yi casually flicked a sword flourish, looked back up at the sky, and said lightly:

"Come."

(End of chapter)