Chapter 98 Part 1

Qiu Xianyun smiled leisurely: "Thank you Senior Brother Qingyan for being considerate. It saves us from an ugly confrontation. However, this junior still needs to lead the way for us, lest you regret later and want to silence us. With just us few small fry, we have no power to fight back!"

Qingyan said, "Junior Brother Qiu, don't make one mistake after another. It's not too late to turn back now!"

Qiu Xianyun looked at him smilingly without responding.

Qingyan sighed, shaking his head. "Go then. I hope you can keep your promise and send Tu Qing back!"

Qiu Xianyun grabbed the Core Formation cultivator named Tu Qing and left. Zhou Yin and Yun Zong naturally also quickly disappeared into the vast night.

The two elders felt a bit embarrassed. The hostage-takers had escaped because the two of them didn't use their full strength earlier.

However, when Qingyan turned around, he didn't blame them. At least on the surface, he showed no dissatisfaction and respectfully invited them to go back and rest.

Qingyan said, "Senior Uncles, with the Sect Leader dead, I need to go handle the aftermath. Why don't you two go back and rest first? I've troubled you greatly this time and feel terrible about it."

Hearing him say this, the two elders felt even more awkward. "Why don't we go with you to take a look? Qinghe's death is very strange. Maybe we can find some clues."

Qingyan nodded. "Alright then."

He first ordered the crowd to disperse before leaving with the two elders.

The disciples of Yuheng Peak naturally clustered together as they walked. Cao Hang whispered, "Don't you think there's something fishy about this? I don't believe Yun-shishu and Zhou-shishu would kill the Sect Leader!"

Pang Yi said, "But Qingyan-shishu said..." Seeing Cao Hang glare at him, he couldn't help coughing. "Actually, I don't believe it either. But now that it's like this, who knows what will happen to Shangxuan Sect in the future!"

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but start to worry.

Indeed, with the Sect Leader now dead and the elders of the other six peaks also incomplete, could it be that Qingyan would become the new Sect Leader? After this incident, could Shangxuan Sect still maintain its position as the number one sect under heaven after losing so many Nascent Soul cultivators...

Everyone's hearts felt as heavy as the foggy night, unable to see the road ahead.

He Yun's heart was heavier than anyone's. From the moment she betrayed Qingying and pledged allegiance to Qingyan, she knew she had embarked on a path of no return.

In one's life, to accomplish something, three things are indispensable: character, luck, and strength.

He Yun was an ambitious person to begin with. Back in Mirror Sea Sect, although her diligence couldn't compare to the ascetic cultivation of Zhou Yin, she was still much more hardworking than most people. Under such efforts, she quickly became a rising star among the new generation of Mirror Sea Sect disciples.

Later, when Mirror Sea Sect merged into Shangxuan Sect, due to her aptitude and diligence, she was able to become a disciple of Qingying, the Yuheng Peak Lord. While other Mirror Sea Sect disciples were still trying to adapt to their new life, she had already become a personal disciple of the peak lord in one leap.

This was an immense opportunity, and He Yun was naturally very excited, throwing herself wholeheartedly into cultivation, hoping to become a high-level cultivator as soon as possible.

However, the good times didn't last long. Her cultivation soon hit a bottleneck, and no matter what, she couldn't cross the hurdle of forming her golden core.

Although her master Qingying was generous with guidance, she couldn't possibly stay by her side all the time. Shangxuan Sect had no shortage of spiritual medicines, so the only explanation was that He Yun's state of mind wasn't up to par.

Left with no choice, He Yun could only enter closed-door cultivation again and again, only to fail each time. As time passed, the gazes of her fellow disciples inevitably carried a hint of peculiarity.

Moreover, with her strong personality, in the entire vast Yuheng Peak, she didn't have a single friend. Among her past companions, Zhou Yin was rarely around, and she looked down on Liu Xiaowan. The only one she could exchange a few words with was Huang Wenjun of Yaoguang Peak.

Unwilling to just quietly fade into obscurity and eventually become an ordinary cultivator, or even persevere until her demise, beneath He Yun's calm exterior hid a restless heart that couldn't help but lie low, yet could erupt at any time.

She finally found an opportunity.

Even if there might be no turning back.

But at least, once she formed her golden core, maybe she could still frequently meet that person in the cultivation world, and even slay demons and eliminate evil alongside him...

"How is Junior Sister Qingying doing now?"

The voice above her head made her compose herself. She respectfully replied, "Master is currently unable to handle affairs and has been staying in the alchemy room. Senior Sister Tan has taken over all matters of Yuheng Peak."

In fact, He Yun hadn't done much. She had merely followed orders to watch her master's every move and prevent her from leaving. But at this point, with her intelligence, she must have noticed something amiss about Qingying's sudden decline in cultivation, and even saw through many things about how Senior Sister Tan suddenly replaced the two senior sisters originally in charge of Yuheng Peak's affairs.

But what could she do? From the moment she did this, she was destined to no longer be a disciple trusted by Qingying.

Qingyan said gently, "You've done well. This is a bottle of Jade Nourishing Immortal Milk. With it, reaching mid Core Formation stage shouldn't be an issue."

He Yun took the white jade bottle, feeling somewhat excited. She knew how precious this Jade Nourishing Immortal Milk was. Shangxuan Sect had very few of them.

In the past, for someone like her, even as a peak lord's disciple, it would have been impossible to obtain. The Jade Centipede Pill that Zhou Yin had given her before was merely to consolidate her foundation and make forming her golden core more assured.

But with this bottle of Jade Nourishing Immortal Milk, there would naturally be no more obstacles. It was equivalent to forcibly raising her cultivation using medicinal power.

"This disciple thanks the Sect Leader!"

Hearing her drop the "Acting" prefix before "Sect Leader", Qingyan smiled, still calm and collected. "I am the Acting Sect Leader, not the Sect Leader. There's no need for that. You may go now."

"Yes, this disciple takes her leave."

Qingyan watched her depart and ordered the disciples outside to close the main door before turning to the rear hall.

With a snort, a figure emerged from behind the screen of green pines and white cranes. He was dressed in black robes from head to toe, with even his face half-hidden under a hood.

"Aren't you tired? Just watching makes me tired for you. If you had let Qinghe die earlier, it wouldn't be so troublesome!"

Qingyan sighed. "Senior Brother Qinghe has treated us well. I never intended to let him die. If he was willing to smoothly hand over power, I naturally would have taken good care of him."

The man let out a couple of cold laughs and pulled down his hood, revealing that he was actually Qingxuan, who had been "killed" by Qiu Xianyun earlier.

"I have already secretly sent people to catch up with your disciple, kill him, and then frame them for it. Killing one's master and fellow disciples, you can then announce it to the world, exposing their crimes and expelling them from the sect. The disciples of Shangxuan Sect will hunt them down, and they will never be able to turn things around!"

Qingyan was shocked, "You, you actually did this!"

Qingxuan sneered, "Qingyan, don't pretend to be virtuous after being a whore. What's with that expression? You agreed to this plan at the time. If you wanted to be a good person, you shouldn't have gotten on this boat. Now acting all righteous, don't you feel hypocritical?"

Qingyan collapsed into a chair, not speaking for a long time.

Seeing this, Qingxuan softened his tone and walked over to pat his shoulder.

"From now on, who will dare to look down on you, who will think you are the most useless among the Seven Peaks? Rest assured, standing behind us are the immortals from the upper realm. Even if the sky falls, there will be people to hold it up. The world is in chaos now, and everyone wants a piece of the action, even the lofty immortals are no exception.

"With what happened to Qinghe, no one will suspect you, because if it were anyone else in this world, they couldn't have silently destroyed his cultivation. Since I'm already 'dead', I can't appear in front of people. Once this matter is settled, you will be the undisputed Sect Leader of Shangxuan Sect, as long as those six old men don't make trouble... Otherwise, we can ask the upper realm to make them disappear too!"

Qingyan shuddered and cried out, "Absolutely not, that will throw Shangxuan Sect into chaos!"

Qingxuan sneered coldly, "You sure care a lot about Shangxuan Sect. In the future when we ascend to the upper realm, that will be our true accomplishment. What does the rise and fall of Shangxuan Sect have to do with us?"

Qingyan sighed, "There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. You're trying to get a share of the tiger's spoils!"

Qingxuan was dismissive, "So what, we each get what we need. They want the world's fortune and the spiritual energy of the continent. By then we will have long ascended, even if all the cultivators on the Taichu Continent die, it has nothing to do with us!"

Qingyan knew his temperament was extreme and didn't say more. But one moment he thought of Qinghe who treated him well, the next he thought of how he had been overlooked all these years, and his thoughts became a bit chaotic.

Speaking of Yun Zong and the others, after leaving Shangxuan Sect, they flew north.

Qiu Xianyun had captured that Core Formation cultivator named Tu Qing and hadn't said when he would release him.