The whisk’s tassels brushed against her neck, bringing a trail of numbing itch.
It wasn’t strangling her, but whenever Wei Mingyi turned to look at that eerily bewitching woman, a subtle, sharp tug would be felt. Wei Mingyi could only focus her entire attention on Wu Chongyun, even stepping closer to her, using her gaze as a silent inquiry.
Wu Chongyun pursed her lips. She had nothing to say to Wei Mingyi, so she simply didn’t answer. After all, Wei Mingyi was long accustomed to her silence. A moment later, she casually loosened the whisk. Her gaze swept imperceptibly over Wei Mingyi’s neck. She said, “Is it done?”
The greatest obstacles in Xingyang City had been the Zheng Clan Patriarch and that strange woman who suddenly appeared. But the former had now been killed by the latter, so the obstacle naturally disappeared. There were still scattered Daoists left, but none were significant. A “whoosh” sound was heard; it was Su Xuanjing tossing the Celestial Overseer Token she had taken from the Zheng Clan Patriarch. Wei Mingyi’s spirits lifted. She reached out and caught the token. A few breaths later, that Celestial Overseer Token silently melted away.
Perhaps it was Su Xuanjing’s action of throwing the token, but the gaze of the self-proclaimed Xie Xianqing also fell upon Wei Mingyi. From the information given by the System, Wei Mingyi judged the other party harmless. She met Xie Xianqing’s gaze openly and gracefully. The green snake hissed, flicking its tongue, coiling and slithering along Xie Xianqing’s body. The insect-pattern markings adorning her face, far from ruining her beauty, lent her a distinctive allure.
Like an SR character you’d want to collect in a gacha game.
Wu Chongyun swept Wei Mingyi with her whisk, uttering a single word expressionlessly: “Go.”
The matter wasn’t finished yet. Besides dealing with the Zheng clan’s Xingyang City, there was still the Wang clan’s Langya City. The faster they acted, the less pressure there would be on the Spirit Heart Sect.
After watching the System fully reclaim the land of Xingyang City, Wei Mingyi conveniently shut off the spirit vein there, making it “desolate,” just like Cangwu City. As for “reallocation,” that was a matter for after everything ended. She signaled Wu Chongyun, who nodded slightly. A resonant sword cry rang out. The Chongyuan Sect and Hidden Moon Sect Daoists spread across the area quickly gathered back together, mounted their flight-lights, and sped toward Langya City.
In the Wang clan’s Langya City, almost everyone with any notable cultivation had mobilized to seize the Spirit Heart Sect. Seeing the Zheng clan Daoists trapped at the Spirit Heart Sect without deeper consideration, they sought to exploit this rare, golden opportunity to weaken the Zheng clan’s power. Because of this, Langya City was practically an empty shell. For Wei Mingyi, “reclaiming” it took no effort at all.
By the time the Wang clansmen, with great difficulty, managed to get the news to the Wang Daoists, all of Langya City was already in Wei Mingyi’s pocket. Only the Celestial Overseer Token, still in the hands of the Wang Clan Patriarch, remained.
Heavenly light expanded, the red sun rising in the east.
Brilliant rosy clouds illuminated a thousand miles, but the remaining Wang and Zheng Daoists trapped at the Spirit Heart Sect had no heart to appreciate them. Upon learning of the Zheng clan’s calamity, the Wang Daoists, naturally, fought with desperate ferocity. The Zheng clan, unwilling to perish, wanted to return to their family. Consequently, the fighting grew even more intense than before, escalating to a life-or-death struggle.
Both families’ Daoists suffered casualties. Among them, Qi Wugua, who had been protecting the Spirit Heart Sect disciples at the side, would also seize opportune moments to strike, taking the lives of these hateful clan scions. When word finally came from the Wang clan that Langya City had also been ambushed, the Wang Clan Patriarch finally realized what was happening. One moment, they had been locked in a death struggle; in that very instant, they finally ceased fire, turning the same hate-filled glares they shared with the Zheng clan onto Qi Wugua.
Though the Wang Clan Patriarch yearned to raze the Spirit Heart Sect to the ground, returning to their clan territory was even more critical. But it was all too late. The instant he realized the truth, the Chongyuan Sect’s group also arrived at the Spirit Heart Sect.
“Truly, we’ve troubled you, Fellow Daoist,” Su Xuanjing said, offering a Daoist bow to Qi Wugua.
Qi Wugua let out a quiet sigh of relief. Although she had used an artifact to trap the two families’ Daoists, maintaining that artifact required her magical power. Had the Chongyuan Sect been delayed much longer, the binding artifact might have been broken by the Wang and Zheng Daoists. In that case, the Spirit Heart Sect would lack the strength to withstand a joint assault by the two families. Luckily, the aristocratic families were still just mud that couldn’t hold up a wall; luckily, the Chongyuan Sect’s group had arrived in time.
Those who arrived outside the Spirit Heart Sect were not only the Chongyuan Sect and Hidden Moon Sect Daoists. Xie Xianqing had been trailing behind them the entire way, following from the Zheng family to the Wang family, and finally to the Spirit Heart Sect. It wasn’t that Wei Mingyi and the others hadn’t wanted to shake her off, but with Xie Xianqing’s Nascent Soul cultivation, evading her notice was far from easy.
When Xie Xianqing’s trail was first discovered, Su Xuanjing’s mind had been strung taut, only gradually relaxing after Wu Chongyun told her, “It’s no matter.”
Wei Mingyi furrowed her brows, glancing at Wu Chongyun with worry several times.
The Sect Leader and the others truly place great faith in Shizun.
“Chongyuan Sect… so it was you!” The Wang Clan Patriarch’s teeth ground audibly. Then, a sudden flash of insight struck him. Raising his voice, he demanded, “Was it also you who did the deed at Cangwu City in the past?” After Cangwu City became a desolate land, the Chongyuan Sect hadn’t moved away. At first, they had assumed the master-disciple lineage had nowhere to go and could only dwell in that cursed land. But now, thinking carefully, when Cangwu City and the old Wang clan had mutually wounded each other, only the Chongyuan Sect benefited the most!
The master-disciple lineage had always hated the aristocratic families. The Chongyuan Sect indeed had few members, but Su Xuanjing had reached Golden Core 3rd Layer. With the sharpness of her sword, she could truly sweep through all sides! The Wang Clan Patriarch was livid with fury. He spat hatefully, “Aren’t you afraid the Feng clan will come knocking? The Heavenly Dao Alliance will also bring justice for us!”
“The Feng clan can barely protect itself; why would it care whether you live or die?” Feng Cangcang raised an eyebrow, her tone mocking. “As for the Heavenly Dao Alliance, do you gentlemen truly think they would pay the price to reclaim some remote backwater they never valued in the first place?” The three major aristocratic families under the Feng clan didn’t even possess a true spirit vein, and the local “specialties” from the wilds weren’t enough to spark anyone’s greed. Looking across the Nine Provinces, what they saw as a major city, the great clans dismissed as a tiny, insignificant parcel of land. In their eyes, the Feng clan might seem like a mountain, but in terms of family power, the Feng clan wasn’t even worth ranking. Especially after their most powerful Clan Patriarch had fallen—now they were nothing at all.
The Zheng clan Daoists were also glaring death at Feng Cangcang. They had met Feng Cangcang before and knew she was an envoy sent by the Feng clan. Yet now, she was mingling with the Chongyuan Sect! Had the Feng clan allied with the Chongyuan Sect? No, impossible. It could only be that this person had betrayed the aristocratic families! “You traitor!” The Zheng clan Daoists were beside themselves with rage, the taste of blood thick in their mouths.
Feng Cangcang laughed.
If their Dao Convictions differed, so did their bearings. Such people were not worth arguing with.
The Wang and Zheng clan Daoists, after their life-or-death struggle, though not dead, were more or less wounded. Looking at Su Xuanjing and her group, though they too had fought, the opposing Daoists couldn’t be called evenly matched. Su Xuanjing’s side possessed greater spare strength. Su Xuanjing didn’t waste words with them. They had already done it; they might as well finish it completely.
This battle at the Spirit Heart Sect ended extremely quickly. For one, Su Xuanjing’s group held the advantage of timing, terrain, and unity. Secondly, Xie Xianqing, who had been trailing them to the Spirit Heart Sect, stopped merely observing. She slaughtered the Zheng clan Daoists with terrifying speed and cruelty. Hatred burned in her heart; when she looked at the Zheng Daoists, her expression bordered on madness, carrying a frenzied ruthlessness. But once the Gu insects had completely devoured the Zheng clan Daoists, she became miraculously calm again, standing silently off to the side.
In this final battle, Wei Mingyi didn’t really fight. She took the Celestial Overseer Token the Sect Leader threw her and let her cheat item consume it. At this moment, on the map, both Xingyang City and Langya City clearly appeared. Their territory suddenly expanded, yet no achievements were triggered. Because their renown had only been earned among 4th-Rate clans, it remained stuck at the most basic stage. Her Achievement Points hadn’t increased. Later, upgrading the Mountain Protection Array to formally encompass these lands within the “invincible” range might even cause her to hemorrhage points.
After the Wang and Zheng clans vanished, the minor aristocratic families wouldn’t know what choice to make. If they weren’t wise enough, she and the others would be busy again for a while. Wei Mingyi mulled this over, but then she remembered the Sect Leader and the others would handle such matters, and she relaxed. She was just a minor Meridian-Opening cultivator; she only needed to make requests. How they were achieved—let the Sect Leader worry about that.
Su Xuanjing indeed needed to handle the aftermath. After settling that group, she invited Qi Wugua to come with her to the Chongyuan Sect. The Spirit Heart Sect had also contributed; the benefits couldn’t be monopolized by the Chongyuan Sect alone.
On the journey back, the group was far more relaxed.
Upon stepping into the Chongyuan Sect’s great array, Wei Mingyi glanced back at Xie Xianqing and muttered in confusion, “Why is she still following us?” This person probably had a blood feud with the Zheng family. Now, having taken her revenge, shouldn’t she be laughing to the heavens and seeking her freedom?
Su Xuanjing also noticed Xie Xianqing stopping outside the great array.
Having cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, Xie Xianqing sensed the Mountain Protection Array’s unusual power and didn’t rashly intrude. She halted outside the mountain gate, her eyelids lowered, occasionally raising a hand to stroke the green snake’s head.
“Fellow Daoist, what is this?” Su Xuanjing asked. Save for knowing her name was Xie Xianqing, she knew nothing. Though they had briefly traveled together, they were still strangers. She had no intention of inviting the other into the Chongyuan Sect for a visit.
“To repay a kindness,” Xie Xianqing raised an eyebrow, her tone serious. “If not for you attacking the Zheng clan, they would never have released me.”
That made sense, but—
“What is your relationship with the Zheng clan, Fellow Daoist?” Su Xuanjing didn’t beat around the bush, asking directly. Within the Mountain Protection Array, she felt much more secure. With a wave of her hand, she signaled the disciples to return, then stood less than ten feet away, speaking with Xie Xianqing.
“I was once a member of the Zheng clan. Now, I am not,” Xie Xianqing said placidly.
Su Xuanjing showed a look of understanding. Another person, like Feng Cangcang, who, though of aristocratic birth, deeply hated their own family. But Feng Cangcang could join the Chongyuan Sect because, first, her allegiance was genuine, and second, her cultivation was low enough to be suppressed. But this Xie Xianqing was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, her Dao cultivation even higher than Su Xuanjing’s own. Recruiting her might bring danger.
After a moment’s thought, Su Xuanjing said gently, “The Chongyuan Sect is only a small sect.” Not counting the affiliated Hidden Moon Sect, they themselves only had a few members.
