Chapter 45 Mission
Before returning to Zhaojian Palace, Su Yang hurried down the mountain road and stopped Luo Xuanyi halfway. He looked extremely gloomy, as if something big had happened.
He didn't say it directly, but said: "The sect has ordered us to go to Feiyan Pavilion now."
Seeing his expression, Luo Xuanyi guessed something big was happening, but she didn't ask any further questions. She felt sorry she couldn't inspect the forbidden technique she had acquired, but without further ado, she and Su Yang headed straight for Feiyan Pavilion. Along the way, countless streams of light simultaneously glided across the sea of clouds, flying in the same direction. The sheer force of the moment was enough to indicate something significant was definitely happening. Luo Xuanyi's doubts grew even more intense.
As soon as their feet touched the Feiyan Pavilion floor, Jiao Xing instantly teleported them into a vast room. Everyone present looked at them simultaneously, their expressions similar to Su Yang's, though their gazes lit up slightly with a hint of eagerness. Luo Xuanyi roughly counted the disciples present, and there were a thousand of them.
If these were simply crudely churned-out outer disciples, they would be nothing more than a drop in the bucket for the Zang Yao Sect, which controlled two states and relied on mass production. But these people were clearly not. They were neatly dressed, adorned with various magical instruments, and their demeanor and cultivation were remarkable, making them instantly recognizable as inner disciples. Besides the disciples, several others, dressed in steward uniforms or even the patrol uniforms of Guizang disciples, stood in groups of three or four in various corners of the room. They appeared to be chatting leisurely, but in reality, their eyes were casually scanning the crowd, as if they were monitoring them.
Sikong Qian was also among them. When he saw the two people coming, he smiled and nodded as a greeting.
Luo Xuanyi slowed down her pace, head lowered, and followed Su Yang, finding a less crowded spot to stand. The nearby disciples immediately developed complex expressions, seemingly filled with excitement, yet also veiled in fear, not daring to approach. Fearing she'd say too much and make a mistake, or even get herself into trouble, Luo Xuanyi decided to suppress her curiosity and wait.
The aroma of various medicines was still lingering in the air of Zhaojian Palace. Outside the ancient and huge palace, a middle-aged Taoist priest was leisurely admiring the scenery of Ruoyu Peak, but his heart was not as calm as he appeared.
Taoist Hua Shen carefully sealed the newly refined Bodhi Pill in Zhaojian Palace. Just as he was about to summon Su Yang, he remembered that Su Yang, Luo Xuanyi, and even the entire Ruoyu Peak had been emptied of all living people except for the materials. He simply stood up and went to the back hall. His leisurely attitude was completely different from the commotion of the tens of thousands of people gathered outside.
In fact, it was not just the disciples who were summoned. All the elders in the sect except Taoist Hua Shen had gathered at the abbot Lingyuntian under the summons of the sect leader. Only Taoist Hua Shen did not show up no matter how long he waited. The sect leader was unable to break through the Zhaojian Palace to forcibly capture Taoist Hua Shen, so he had no choice but to send Master Weican, who was in charge of the outer sect's Burial Flower Valley and had a barely acquaintance with him, to invite him.
Master Wei Can smiled gracefully, stroking his long, purposefully grown beard. He cursed those old, malicious men countless times. What kind of friendship was this? Without the materials, even Daoist Hua Shen dared to fight and arrest the Daoist leader. If he hadn't known Daoist Hua Shen still had plenty of materials, he wouldn't have dared approach Daoist Hua Shen, the master of Zhaojian Palace. If they didn't dare, he'd just come up with an excuse to force his way out because he was young and had the lowest cultivation level. One day, he'd chop them all into pulp and use them as fertilizer, just like his predecessors!
Just as he was daydreaming, he felt a tremor in the Zhaojian Palace. He felt a chill run through his body, and he wanted to flee right then and there. However, the Zhaojian Palace held the heavens and earth in check. He felt his spiritual power nearly reversed, but there was no other sign of it. He immediately made the decision to remain where he was and not resist. He watched as time and space distorted slightly. In an instant, the vast Zhaojian Palace transformed into a small wooden hairpin that landed in the hair of Taoist Hua Shen, who strolled leisurely. He immediately wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead and stepped forward.
Taoist Hua Shen didn't even look at the smiling face of Master Wei Can. He just untied the two laces and put them back into his sleeves. He didn't even change the clothes on his body whose original pattern and color could not be seen. He was too lazy to even use a cleaning spell. He just stroked his sleeves that were wrinkled by the medicine with his hands, took a light step forward with his left foot, and landed in the Lingyuntian Hall.
He simply bowed to the Daoist Master sitting in the upper seat before settling down to his own seat and closing his eyes to ponder. His position was quite prominent, below the Daoist Master and the three First-Character Elders. As the outer sect elder leading the Danxin Pavilion, he shouldn't have been in such a high position. However, in terms of strength, Daoist Hua Shen was second only to the Daoist Master. Even the Daoist Master didn't dare to attack him easily. If it weren't for Daoist Hua Shen's single-minded focus on alchemy, the First-Character Elder within the sect would have been replaced.
The elders dared not speak out, but when Master Wei Can returned, the Daoist leader remained calm. Elder Yan, the first of the Yi Zi elders, spoke eagerly, "I'm sure all of you Daoists already know that the true identity of the Ancient Soul Hall ruins at Jingyunpo has finally been discovered. However, the disciples of Feiyan Pavilion and Guizang Temple who went there together all died in the expedition, bringing back no useful information and nearly missing out. Daoist Guan personally inspected the ruins a few days ago and realized how precious they are."
Hearing Elder Yan speak first, Elder Guan frowned slightly. He first observed the Dao Master's expression before carefully saying, "It was the Dao Master who specifically instructed me to do so. Otherwise, I would have almost missed the secret. This Jingyunpo ruins is a cave dwelling left behind by a great alchemist of the Ancient Soul Hall. Back then, it must have been used as a battlefield for slaughter and accumulated countless souls. Combined with the spiritual treasures within, the entire Jingyunpo is itself a restriction within the Sumeru Small World. If the restriction cannot be broken, one will be drawn between the small world and the outside world and crushed. That's why so many disciples have been lost."
"So the purpose of gathering us disciples now is to sacrifice people and break the restriction. Why not just use the outer sect instead of capturing us, the only ones left?" One of the inner sect elders said rather unhappily. As soon as he spoke, Taoist Hua Shen opened his eyes and looked towards the Taoist leader in agreement.
The Daoist leader then spoke, "This site is truly too important. It's likely related to the Heavenly Dao Esoteric Sect, which is why they had to summon the sect's elite."
As soon as they heard that it was a matter of Heavenly Dao, there was no more strange sound in the hall.
After a long pause, Hua Shendao's gaze blazed as he spoke, "The Wanhun Sect's texts were essentially scattered, and most were destroyed by the righteous cultivators of the time without regard for their own lives. Only a small portion has been recovered from various ruins. Even this glimpse reveals just how profound and ingenious the Wanhun Sect was back then! Given its importance, the sacrifice of a few disciples is nothing to worry about."
Perhaps the biggest obstacle agreed, and naturally no one in the hall objected. To put it bluntly, if they themselves, as elders, obtained the classics, they would surely be able to examine and copy them, potentially even leading to a drastic change in their cultivation methods, much like how Taoist Hua Shen accidentally convinced Teruma Palace to recognize him as their master. As for the dead disciples, they were dead, and they could be taken back in.
Moreover, from the Daoist Master's determined tone, he knew the sacrifice wouldn't be an inner sect disciple, so there was no need to object. Ultimately, before reaching maturity, Zang Yao Sect disciples were merely classified as high- and low-quality materials for the elders to use. After they reached maturity, they had to guard against them killing and replacing them. As long as the death was worthwhile, the elders with more disciples present were eager to send most of their disciples away.
"Then it's settled. Let the disciples handle all of this. We have gathered here for another important matter, one that concerns our thousand-year plan."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall immediately became restless like a fire.
"Is it about to begin?" "Finally...but..."
The Daoist leader looked around, and all the noise vanished. Only a deep voice could be heard: "Fellow Daoist Bei Lian."
Among the crowd, True Lord Bei Lian was not as unrestrained as before, and walked out solemnly.
The human-driven wheel of fate began to turn for the third time...
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