"What's wrong?"
Lu Zhaozhao peeked at Jin Ke, but he guiltily avoided her gaze.
"Um, junior sister, you need to be mentally prepared."
Jin Ke's words made Lu Zhaozhao serious. She stared at Jin Ke, listening carefully to every word.
"The demons appeared at the Golden Banquet, and everyone joined the melee. It was then that everyone discovered that Master Yunxian was seriously injured, and his cultivation had fallen below the Nascent Soul stage. Rumors circulated that he had fallen in love with his disciple..."
Jin Ke's voice grew softer and softer, and he couldn't help but glance at Lu Zhaozhao.
Lu Zhaozhao's face was sullen. She had already known about this matter since it was written in the book, so she was not surprised. However, she thought that someone like Yun Xian would not feel good if this matter were made public and discussed by others. This would make her emotions fluctuate even more and make it even more difficult for her to react suddenly.
She raised her chin, signaling Jin Ke to continue.
"After what happened to Master Yunxian, coupled with Nianzhi's rebellion, the news of your death, and... before you left, you stabbed Yingche, and your fate is unknown. In short, the Qinghui Sect suffered a heavy blow after that. Originally, everyone was debating whether you had any dealings with the Demon Clan, until a few months ago when Fellow Daoist Yingche woke up, which cleared your name."
"You're saying my senior brother woke up? He's not dead?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhaozhao immediately inquired.
"No, no, he said that although you were controlled at the time, you deliberately deviated a bit, so the needle didn't pierce your heart. Plus, Fairy Yaotong intervened in time, saving your life. He also guaranteed that you, Junior Sister, are definitely not a member of the Demon Clan, and firmly believes that you are still alive. Fairy Yaotong thinks so too, and so do I!"
Lu Zhaozhao barely listened to what he said after that, only breathing a sigh of relief when she heard that Ying Che was still alive.
This was Lu Zhaozhao's sin in the original book, which led to the subsequent tragedy. From the day she transmigrated into the book, she had been thinking about how to avoid this scene. Heaven rewards those who persevere. At that moment, she finally overcame the control and regained some control over her body, causing the sword to deviate slightly.
"Um, junior sister, why did you disappear for the past two years, and why did you come from that direction..."
Jin Ke looked at the border not far away, beyond which lay snow-capped mountains.
"By sheer luck, I escaped with my life there. By the way, how did you end up here?"
"Me? I was ordered to guard this place. There is currently chaos internally, and in order to prevent any opportunists from taking advantage of the situation, each sect takes turns sending people to guard the border. It just so happens that it is my turn these days."
Jin Ke patted his chest and said.
Lu Zhaozhao lowered her eyes, her mind filled with thoughts. She said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Jin, for perceiving what has happened over the years. Now that I am alive, I should hurry back to the sect to let you know I am safe."
"Oh right, right, it's time to go back." Jin Ke nodded haphazardly. After saying goodbye to him, Lu Zhaozhao immediately set off on her way back.
Along the way, the sights she saw were all beyond her expectations.
War raged and swept across all directions.
Houses were burned down, fields and forests were destroyed, and the once bustling city was deserted. The few figures that could be seen immediately hid after hearing the noise.
Everyone was extremely vigilant, as in such an environment, their lives were precarious and they could lose their lives at any moment.
Halfway through her journey, she arrived at a capital city, where three large characters hung forlornly on a dilapidated city gate.
Pingyang City.
She was very familiar with this capital city. For some reason, Lu Zhaozhao stopped in her tracks and changed direction instead of passing through the place she was supposed to pass by.
After a series of twists and turns, when Lu Zhaozhao finally re-entered the territory of Emperor Huizong of Qing, she could hardly believe her eyes.
The once renowned and prestigious sect, with its thousand-year history, is now utterly desolate.
The large stone tablet inscribed with "Qing Hui" is broken in half and covered with marks of swords and knives.
Lu Zhaozhao approached and gently placed her hand on it.
A wave of sadness washed over me.
The surrounding magical herbs and exotic flowers and plants are gone, replaced by large pits that have been burned.
"Senior Sister Lu?"
Someone behind her spoke uncertainly in a low voice. Lu Zhaozhao turned around and saw a disciple from the outer court. The moment he saw Lu Zhaozhao's face, he was first incredulous, then extremely excited.
"Senior Sister Lu! It really is you, Senior Sister Lu!"
Overjoyed, he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the land. Some disciples who were nearby came out to check, and when they saw Lu Zhaozhao, they were all stunned. Some of them even dropped the scrolls they were holding without realizing it.
"Quick! Go tell the elders that Senior Sister Lu is back!"
Someone shouted, and others immediately reacted and ran inside.
Elder? Which elder? Shouldn't she see her senior brother and sect leader upon her return?
Just as Lu Zhaozhao was lost in thought, she was surrounded by disciples who looked at her with teary eyes, as if she had suffered some great injustice.
Realizing something was wrong, her intuition told her that something serious must have happened.
She hurriedly ran into the sect. As she ran, most of the surrounding halls were destroyed, some were being rebuilt, and there were far fewer disciples.
She ran all the way to the main hall.
The main gate, which was usually open, was now tightly shut, with only a small crack in the side door.
Lu Zhaozhao stopped, her feelings of trepidation upon returning home reaching their peak at that moment.
She took a deep breath, raised her hand, and pushed the door open.
The blast of dust made her cough violently.
Upon entering, the hall was dimly lit, with only a few candles lit.
She walked forward step by step.
Walking into the innermost room, she saw a hunched figure.
The man was staring intently at the portrait hanging on the wall.
Lu Zhaozhao looked up and saw that the person in the painting was none other than the Celestial Immortal.
"You're back." An aged voice came, and the person turned around. Lu Zhaozhao's eyes widened.
"Elder Cang Jiong!"
She simply couldn't believe that the sprightly old man from the Discipline Hall had aged so much in just two years.
"Hehe, don't you recognize me? Looks like I've really aged a lot in the last two years."
He turned his head and looked at the painting, his eyes seemingly glistening with tears.
Are you wondering how the sect has become like this?
Lu Zhaozhao nodded, then suddenly realized that he couldn't see her, so she spoke up in response.
"Two years ago, the demons of the Western Regions came out in full force, and we have been fighting them for the past two years. Yun Xian... well, you probably won't see him for a while. In short, years of conflict have left our sect's disciples depleted. Ying Che just woke up a few months ago, and his body is severely damaged. He is still recuperating. Do you want to go and see him?"
Lu Zhaozhao lowered her head, she hadn't expected that Emperor Huizong would suffer such a severe injury this time.
"Elder, there are some things you don't need to hide from me. Qinghui has stood strong for thousands of years and cannot be easily defeated. What exactly has happened during this period?"
Her tone left no room for doubt. Cang Jiong glanced at her in shock, then thought back to the Golden Banquet two years ago, where she was the champion and looked down on her peers. Now that she had returned, her aura had become even stronger, and even he couldn't tell her cultivation level.
The younger generation is truly formidable; perhaps it's time to let go.
"Zhaozhao, your master has made a terrible mistake. He actually, he actually..."
"He fell in love with his disciple, who is also a demon spy, is that right?"
Cang Jiong's eyes widened, and he said, "You know?"
“To be honest, it’s not wrong for Master to be moved, but his mistake is that he is not strong-willed and he can’t judge people well,” Lu Zhaozhao said coldly. “So, I want to know, how could the sect have fallen into such a state of ruin in just two years?”
"What nonsense are you spouting! It is a great taboo for cultivators to be moved by emotions! He cultivates the path of ruthlessness, yet he knowingly violated it, causing his sect to lose face in front of the world. If it weren't for that, how could he have ended up in such a predicament!"
Cang Jiong was furious, his tone full of disapproval.
Lu Zhaozhao finally understood. Yun Xian's dereliction of duty had caused Emperor Qinghui to lose face, and other sects were eyeing him covetously. However, she believed that the reason was not that.
"My master's cultivation has regressed, my senior brother is seriously injured and unconscious, my junior sister has defected, and I am also missing. This is what gave those who were eyeing us a chance to take advantage. The power of speech within the sect has fallen into the hands of the elders. If the sect had taken a firm stance, things wouldn't have come to this, would they? Judging from the arrangements outside the sect, has the sect been retreating and hiding from the world all these years?"
Lu Zhaozhao pressed on relentlessly, leaving Elder Cangjiong speechless for a moment.
"I see, I understand now. I'll go check on my senior brother."
She left those words behind and turned to go.
Perhaps her words were too shocking, or perhaps her demeanor was too serious, because no one dared to provoke her.
She reached the summit without any obstacles.
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