Chapter 160 The choice of a sect has never been about choosing a model sect...
A piece was placed on the chessboard, and the white piece was completely surrounded by the black pieces.
Ji Mingran looked up.
Her resentful face was reflected in his dark eyes. Yu Tianxing chuckled in a low voice, "Want to continue?"
"Oh dear!" Guan Wangzhen, who was squatting to her left, covered her face, unable to bear to look.
“Hmm…” Sitting to her right, Shen Qingluo looked away, shook her head and sighed.
Zhu Shibai, who was sitting not far away fiddling with the Hidden Life Sword, said without looking up, "I told you before, Grandma's personality isn't suited for this."
Ji Mingran grumbled as he threw the chess piece back onto the board: "This kind of old-fashioned stuff isn't suitable for someone as innovative as me."
Guan Wangzhen clicked his tongue: "Grandma, just admit you're not good at chess. With your straightforward playing style, anyone can beat you."
Yu Tianxing picked out the black and white chess pieces that Ji Mingran had carelessly put into the chess box one by one, and put them back into the corresponding chess box according to color, saying softly, "You clearly have a sure way to win."
As he spoke, Yu Tianxing paused, his long, slender fingers holding the chess piece pausing. As if he had thought of something, a faint smile appeared in his dark eyes: "But you couldn't bear to use it on me."
Ji Mingran glanced down at the chessboard where he had lost fifteen games in a row, and asked in confusion, "Did I?"
Guan Wangzhen looked left and right at the two of them, then moved next to Shen Qingluo and muttered, "See? Love really does lower one's intelligence. Yu Tianxing is a decent person, yet he can still lie through his teeth. We two are going to make a big name for ourselves, so we must remember to stay away from love."
Shen Qingluo pushed the red head back with one hand, frowned and pondered seriously, "What could Mingran's sure-fire way to win be?"
"I don't know." Ji Mingran picked up a white piece from the chess box: "Let's play again."
Just as the chess piece was about to be placed, a large hand suddenly slammed down on the chessboard, causing it to shake.
A head was raised from one side of the table where the chessboard was placed, its eyes glazed and its hair disheveled.
He flipped over and slurred, "Zhu Huo is just unreliable."
"Master, you've been enjoying listening to the chess game all day, haven't you?" Zhu Shibai returned the Hidden Life Sword, thanked Yu Tianxing, and then stepped forward to help his master.
The white-haired elder, who had been standing quietly under the ancient locust tree with his eyes closed, opened his eyes upon hearing this and laughed, "He's just talking nonsense while drunk; don't take it seriously."
The drunkard is Liu Zhiqing, the master of Quanfeng Peak.
The white-haired one is Qi Qingling, the peak master of Kuangfeng.
Entrusted by the sect leader Yuan Liu, the two peak masters went to Luan Peak to take care of the demon Yu Tianxing, who had been brought back by the sect's junior master.
On that day, on the eastern coast of the desolate continent, Zhu Huo posed a question, and immediately gave an answer:
"You all, go back."
Return to Dingsheng Sect.
She anticipated that Yu Tianxing would refuse, and preemptively said, "This matter still needs to be discussed. If it is true, you will be the best help."
Ji Mingran pointed at Yu Tianxing and asked, "Senior Sister Chen, aren't you afraid that all of this is fake, and that I've let a wolf into the house and brought a demon back to the sect?"
To avoid controversy, she originally planned to resolve the issue of the mutated species with Yu Tianxing before returning to the sect, but Zhu Huo made this suggestion.
Zhu Huo scoffed, "Your senior brothers and sisters aren't all dead yet. Just because we can't travel far doesn't mean we lack the strength to resolve the conflict. Besides, it's easier to keep an eye on him when he's right under our noses."
With the five peak masters of Dingsheng Sect and the sect's protective formation, they could certainly protect the sect if they wished.
The difficult part is being willing.
Ji Mingran's eyes sparkled, and she said sweetly, "Thank you, fellow senior brothers and sisters."
Zhu Huo smiled and said, "You're welcome, Junior Sister."
She raised her eyebrows and turned to Yu Tianxing defiantly, asking, "And you? Do you dare to come?"
Yu Tianxing bowed and said, "Thank you, all the peak masters. However, these evil creatures are searching for me everywhere, and they are very likely to follow me to the Boundless Continent."
Zhu Huo: "The sect's grand formation that our junior sister awakened is about to come in handy."
She immediately gave the order: "Stop talking nonsense. First, work together to clear out the demons on the East Chu coast. Then pick out ten demon cultivators or demon beasts that have parasitic mutant species and give them to me as evidence. The rest of you can return to Dingsheng Sect together."
Without room for argument, she urged the young cultivators to move.
The peak master who remained at Dingsheng Sect had already received the message from Zhu Huo and was waiting at the Jiwuzhou ferry to meet him.
The return to the sect went smoothly, and Ji Mingran took Yu Tianxing to temporarily reside in the Guancai Garden of Luanfeng in Dingsheng Sect.
The Dingsheng Sect members acted decisively and coordinated from within and without. By the time the cultivators from the Desolate Continent siege operation cleared away the remaining demonic cultivators on the battlefield and reported to the ten cultivators of the Dao Sect, and then Chongjue led his men to the Dingsheng Sect, it was already the day after Ji Mingran returned to the Dingsheng Sect.
Ding Shengzong's actions were not made on a whim.
To ensure stability, the three peak masters who remained in the sect were: Lin Peak Master Dong Lu, who was responsible for monitoring the sect's borders; Quan Peak Master Qi Qingling; and Kuang Peak Master Qi Qingling, who came directly to Luan Peak, ostensibly to connect with his junior sister, but in reality to keep an eye on Yu Tianxing.
Anyone who crosses Luanfeng must undergo a purification ritual forbidden by Taoist magic.
Not to mention the disciples of Luanfeng Peak themselves, even the disciples of the other peaks of Dingsheng Sect had reservations about this. They were unable to use any of their Dao techniques, which was unacceptable to cultivators who were used to using Dao techniques.
To put it bluntly, it means a lack of security.
On the day Yu Tianxing resisted, the disciples of Dingsheng Sect's various peaks were ordered by Sect Master Yuan to return to their peaks and not go out.
The two peak masters, one at Luan Peak and the other at Yao Peak, were on guard against the infamous demon's movements.
However, this handsome young man with a cold face followed closely behind their junior sister. When they arrived at the suspension bridge, he did not stop walking and accepted the suppression of the forbidden Taoist magic without blinking.
After crossing the bridge, the indifferent-looking young man glanced back at the suspension bridge, caught up with Ji Mingran, and asked in a low voice, "If there's a chance, I'd like to add more planks to this bridge so it'll be easier for you to walk on in the future. What do you think?"
Standing on this side of Luanfeng, Liu Zhiqing witnessed firsthand the goodwill extended by the demon lord, but their junior sister completely ignored it: "Don't bother with that. This bridge changes every now and then, so repairing it would be a waste of time."
Liu Zhiqing, a cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage, had clear eyes and immediately noticed that the demon's shoulders were drooping almost imperceptibly.
Behind them, the cold-faced demon lord followed closely beside their junior sister and whispered, "Alright, I'll look at the others. Just tell me if you need anything, just like before, okay?"
Liu Zhiqing: "..."
To remain highly alert, Liu Zhiqing, who had abstained from alcohol for three days, immediately resumed his drinking and began to drink heavily.
His disciple Yuan Liu was puzzled and disappointed in his master, so he could only send his junior brother Zhu Shibai to take care of him.
Zhu Shibai arrived, and Guan Wangzhen and Shen Qingluo also came.
Guancaiyuan, which had been quiet for many years, was unusually lively.
"Senior Brother Liu." Ji Mingran turned his head to look at the drunken man, then at the white-haired elder, and said with a smile, "And Senior Brother Qi, thank you both."
Ji Mingran suddenly expressed her gratitude. Yu Tianxing glanced at her, put down the chess piece, and turned to face Liu Zhiqing with great ease. He bowed and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Peak Master Liu."
He then turned to Qi Qingling and bowed again, saying, "Thank you, Peak Master Qi."
Qi Qingling's eyes lit up, and he chuckled, "Not bad."
On the day Yu Tianxing arrived at Dingsheng Sect, he paid his respects to the peak masters and sect leader of each peak. He was polite and courteous, and his every word and action showed the demeanor of a disciple of a prestigious family.
If it weren't for the fact that everyone knew about it, who would have thought that this noble and elegant handsome cultivator was the very one who caused such panic among the spiritual cultivators?
Liu Zhiqing shuddered and said, "I don't like you, nor do I like your master." Her cloudy eyes stared at Yu Tianxing. "I came here because of him, so there's no need to overthink it."
These words were harsh, but Ji Mingran still smiled and said, "I heard from Donglu that this time the four peaks unanimously agreed to let me and Yu Tianxing come together."
Liu Zhiqing spoke clearly and slowly, "This matter involves a natural disaster that nearly destroyed the sect three hundred years ago. Even the slightest clue will not be overlooked by Dingsheng Sect."
“Junior Brother Liu, though that may be true, it is truly rare for you to come to this academy. We really haven’t been here for a long time.” Qi Qingling stroked his long beard, looked at the white clouds in the distance, and squinted his eyes as he sighed, “The scenery here is truly something to miss.”
Guan Wangzhen darted to Qi Qingling's side and whispered, "What's wrong, old man? It sounds like there's something else going on. Did you guys not come before because of Liu the Drunkard?"
When his disciple spoke nonsense, Qi Qingling simply reached out and gently tapped his forehead, saying, "I was just worried that your Uncle Liu might get drunk and fall off the cliff while crossing the suspension bridge."
"That old man is just trying to scare us again." Guan Wangzhen pouted, darted back to Ji Mingran's side, and casually picked up a fruit and ate it.
For a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage, what is there to worry about when crossing a mere suspension bridge?
Ji Mingran then asked, "What does Senior Brother Qi miss?"
Qi Qingling chuckled and said, "It's simply a longing for the years that have been forgotten."
“The old man is talking nonsense again,” Guan Wangzhen said. “What can we remember about the years that have been forgotten?”
Guan Wangzhen immediately started to argue, but Qi Qingling just smiled and patted his red hair.
Just then, the sect jade token attached to the end of his beard floated up. Qi Qingling glanced at it and said, "Chong Jue is coming on strong. I'm afraid little Yuan Liu won't be able to handle it."
Liu Zhiqing flipped over again, leaving Zhu Shibai, who was trying to help him up, empty-handed: "Hmph! I know his own limitations, how could he not handle it?"
“Oh dear, it’s gotten to the sect level. Let me take a closer look,” Qi Qingling grabbed a beard and wiped his sect’s jade token: “Hongqi Sect, Beast Taming Sect, Zhu Family, Shen Family, Hehuan Sect, Liuhuan Valley, more than half of the ten Dao Sect cultivators have come. No wonder he’s in trouble.”
Zhu Shibai's expression hardened slightly: "This commotion doesn't seem like something we'd do to reason with them."
Liu Zhiqing swayed as he got up from the ground: "Let Yuan Liu, this little brother, show off. He doesn't even believe his master will punish him."
Ji Mingran was stunned: "Is Senior Brother Liu alright?"
Qi Qingling said, "He's just saying one thing and meaning another! Junior Sister Ji," he said solemnly, "the situation is serious, so I'm entrusting this task of guarding the demon to you."
After saying that, the serious old man winked at him: "Based on my observation over the past day, I believe you have this ability."
Ji Mingran readily nodded: "Okay. However," she had always wondered, "is it worth it for Dingsheng Sect to do this?"
Based on her spiritual observations, reputable families cherish their reputation the most.
She chose to stand by Yu Tianxing's side and was prepared to bear the consequences.
If the Dingsheng Sect were to sever ties with her now to protect its reputation, she could accept it without hesitation. For the Dingsheng Sect, this would be the most convenient and appropriate option.
Qi Qingling burst into laughter: "Your dull senior brother probably didn't tell you that three hundred years have passed, and our Dingsheng Sect has only been a little more low-key. We have never been a model sect!"
"Junior Sister Ji, please stay here and let me go and meet the people who came."
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