Chapter 304

"The Immortal Sect wants to borrow our disciples precisely to keep it secret."

"If the secret is so vital they're willing to break Immortal Law to protect it, how can they possibly let those disciples return alive as promised?"

"This…"

Dan Yangzi opened his mouth, suddenly left speechless by the question.

He had indeed felt the Five Great Sects—Wendao Sect, Lingjian Mountain, et al. had been relatively courteous this time; aside from the blunt confrontation at Yuheng Hall, they showed no overt aggression, so he thought perhaps lending disciples wouldn't be so bad.

But he had overlooked that if the sect truly needed to borrow Danzong disciples back to their mountains, those disciples would have no chance to return once used.

Indeed, prolonged peace had truly eroded people's vigilance.

Yuan Li slightly shifted his hand, lighting sandalwood incense with a white candle: "If Danzong compromises today, it will invite endless, relentless pressure. Moreover, what they seek to refine is no virtuous thing—it contradicts our sect's teachings…"

"What exactly are those Immortal Sects trying to refine?"

"You need only know that if it were a good thing, they wouldn't need to hide it."

Yuan Li murmured, extinguishing the incense smoke, watching the white tendrils curl upward, his deep eyes like black whirlpools.

After hearing this, Dan Yangzi and the others exchanged glances, then nodded slowly.

It seemed the abbot's elder brother clearly knew the origin of those precious materials, which was why he resisted so fiercely.

At this moment, Yuan Li inserted the sandalwood incense into the brazier before him, bowed low in kneeling worship, then rose: "When our Danzong was shattered and torn apart, our disciples were enslaved for a hundred years. If we lend out disciples today, how can we face our ancestors? Danzong people must stand this way—live or die, no middle ground."

"Elder brother speaks truly…"

As the ancestral hall fell suddenly silent, the sandalwood incense began to burn slowly downward.

Soon, the sky darkened; the cool winds circling the mountain grew fierce, making the lush greenery atop the peak sway westward.

Amid this roaring wind, over twenty allied clans—Jin, Jing, Xu, Bie, and others—appeared within the mountains, standing between Danxia Plaza and Yuheng Hall.

Soon after, the sect elder Dan Xunzi stepped into the incense-wreathed ancestral hall and bowed to Yuan Li, who knelt on the mat.

"Abbot, the Lian, Gong, Sha, and Pu clans have left the mountain."

Yuan Li looked up, startled: "They left now, seeing the storm coming?"

Dan Xunzi nodded: "They departed from the back mountain shortly after the Kaiyang Hall meeting, without informing our Danzong."

Before Yuan Li could speak, Dan Yangzi furrowed his brow in anger: "The Gong and Pu clans I can accept—they're already weak, with few strong cultivators—but how could the Lian and Sha clans do this? The pills we give them yearly are coveted even by Immortal Sects!"

"Elder Yang, some clans aren't grateful for kindness."

"Heartless, ungrateful wretches—how could Elder Hui still marry his two granddaughters to them!"

Dan Xunzi pressed his lips shut: "Yuan Cai and Yuan Jie were taken down the mountain with them."

Dan Yangzi clenched his fists: "Do they think Danzong will surely be destroyed today, and that even after taking the two girls, they'll still get our pills?"

Dan Xunzi said nothing—but his silence was an admission. A wave of furious curses erupted through the ancestral hall.

After a long silence, Yuan Li's face darkened as he waved his hand to the others: "Enough. Each man follows his own will. Fear in the face of an Immortal Sect alliance is natural. We have no right to demand they die for Danzong."

Dan Yangzi's fury burned on: "When we sealed these marriages, we gave them people and pills—they didn't speak like this then!"

"In this battle, strength is key. None of these four clans have anyone worth relying on. Their absence won't change the outcome. It's just a pity—my Caiwei was always too willful…"

"This isn't Caiwei's fault…"

Yuan Li sighed softly: "I don't blame her. I'm merely helpless—when disaster strikes, with no allies to rely on, we can only lead our disciples to death."

Danzong had long relied on marriage alliances to bind nearby minor clans, strengthening its ability to resist risk, yet it had always feared allying too closely with powerful clans.

In times of peace, this was an excellent strategy: preserving independence while deterring petty schemers.

But when the world turned chaotic, its flaws became glaringly clear.

Before powerful forces, the clans Danzong had bound appeared pathetically small.

Yuan Li had long feared this problem, and thus he had pondered deeply over Yuan Caiwei's marriage, hoping to change Danzong's fate.

Especially as chaos in Qingyun Heaven grew increasingly frequent, he felt he must act.

Ji You was not his first choice for his daughter's husband; he had considered countless others—nobles of high status—all to secure greater backing.

Unfortunately, his daughter kept delaying marriage, leaving them with no escape when disaster finally came.

Yuan Li returned to himself and stepped out of the ancestral hall, leading the elders up to the top of the sleeping quarters, then gazed toward the distant mountains, waiting for nightfall.

As they waited, they suddenly saw a figure appear atop the distant mountains.

He held a long sword, his white robes fluttering as he strolled along the ridge, head bowed as if searching for something, like a man gathering mountain goods to take home.

Once the Danzong elders recognized him, they all turned to look at Yuan Li—and saw the abbot watching the figure too.

Tian Shu Academy had a heretical disciple named Ji You; many felt he perfectly matched Danzong's former son-in-law criteria.

He had no clan, no backing, and excellent talent—he could be directly taken as a son-in-law. Moreover, he and his daughter seemed genuinely fond of each other; marrying her to him would be ideal.

But Yuan Li had later refused because he feared precisely this situation.

At this moment, the sun slowly sank into his pupils; the final gleam of light blazed across the horizon, breathtaking in its intensity.

Beyond that last ray of daylight, night slowly climbed the sky.

Meanwhile, on the summit of Danshan, Yaoguang Hall.

All female Danmasters of the Upper Five Realms gazed out through their windows, nervously watching the horizon's light fade, their poison elixirs clenched tightly in their hands.

At this moment, Yuan Chen stepped out from the deepest meditation chamber, his face pale.

He had just learned of Danzong's current crisis; now entering the front hall and scanning the room, he saw Yuan Bingqing standing by the door: "Big sister, where's my sister? Have you seen her?"

Yuan Bingqing turned to him: "Follow me."

Yuan Chen immediately followed Yuan Bingqing out of the hall, where he saw Yuan Caiwei waiting by the door: "Big sister…"

Yuan Caiwei turned at the sound: "What are you doing out here?"

"I… I'm worried about you, Father, and Mother."

"Aunt Rong was sent away. Father is fine. The Immortal Sect disciples waited a day, hoping he'd come to his senses—because they dare not slaughter outright, and they lack the courage to kill a sect abbot."

Yuan Chen opened his mouth: "Really…?"

Yuan Caiwei nodded: "Ji You said even the supreme Immortal Sects, after pretending to be virtuous for so long, won't easily reveal their true hearts. What they want most is to seize the Danzong disciples they need, while leaving Danzong intact for the world to see—even if it's just an empty shell."

"Brother-in-law? Where is he now?"

"I don't know…"

Yaoguang Hall wasn't only for female disciples; Hong Zhen, Wen Bin, Lu Ze, and other male disciples also guarded outside.

Hearing the brother and sister's conversation, they glanced back slightly.

Danzong faced disaster; death hung thick below the mountain, yet their Holy Maiden still clung to the words of a Tian Shu Academy disciple as if they were salvation—it left them with a bitter taste.

True enough, the words were not false.

If even one of the Seven Immortal Sects perished here, it would shock the entire world; Qingyun Heaven would see this behavior and fear for themselves.

So even an empty shell, they would spare Danzong.

But with a great enemy at the door, empty words of comfort were useless.

Hong Zhen and Wen Bin turned to Yuan Caiwei: "Sister, take Yuan Chen and Bingqing back inside—the outside is unsafe."

Yuan Bingqing also pulled Yuan Caiwei's sleeve: "Yes, sister, come back inside."

"You go back. I'm staying here…"

"Don't act on impulse. Staying here won't change anything."

Yuan Caiwei said nothing, only clenched her jade-white hand—her resolve to remain firm.

In truth, this wasn't the first time Hong Zhen and the others had tried to persuade her.

At Shen Hour, when all female disciples entered the hall, she had stood by the door, staring down the mountain, refusing to enter.

Hong Zhen and the others couldn't understand her actions, but seeing her unyielding will, they stopped urging.

To them, if the Immortal Sect disciples slaughtered Danzong's allied clans and captured the abbot to arrive here, there would be no difference between inside and outside the hall.

They could use threats of life and death to force the abbot to withdraw the Holy Artifact's protection—or simply kill its wielder.

The Immortal Sects did care about the world, unwilling to slaughter utterly.

But that was their ideal outcome, not their bottom line—because if truly pushed to the brink, no one knew what might happen.

So for these disciples guarding the perimeter, if death was inevitable, dying alongside Sister Caiwei was not a bad choice.

As they pondered, Wen Bin suddenly pulled a jade pendant from his pocket: "Sister…"

The moment his voice emerged, it was instantly drowned by a thunderous roar rising into the sky.

At that moment, every eye reflected countless beams of Immortal light exploding from below, crashing onto Danxia Plaza.

The Five Immortal Sects had truly chosen to strike at nightfall.

As they stared in shock, a gale, summoned by sorcery, whipped through the forest, bending ancient pines, and the overwhelming force sent the disciples guarding the hall door stumbling backward, their faces instantly pale.