Watching the Mountain

Chapter 278: Chapter 170: A Draw

Young people are driven by action. Once they decide on something, they can’t wait to get started.

Luo Qianxue and Chu Lingxiao stayed at the Profound Pure Sect for three months. Once they had grasped the fundamentals of Xu Ran’s Swordsmanship, they eagerly returned to their respective Sects to advance the plan they had discussed: promoting exchange and cooperation between the disciples of the three Sects.

In the Cultivation Realm, a Sect’s Chief Disciple wields immense power—even more actual authority than an ordinary Elder.

They can participate in the management of all Sect affairs. As long as the Sect Leader, the Peak Masters of the various branches, and the Supreme Elders don’t object, a Chief Disciple can push through a decision even if some Elders are against it.

Their first step was to select a group of disciples from each Sect to visit the others in rotation for exchanges and discussions. This served as a gesture of goodwill, after which they encouraged everyone to undertake missions together.

This was relatively straightforward for Chu Lingxiao’s Illusion Spirit Sect. The territories of the Illusion Spirit Sect and the Profound Pure Sect were adjacent, with no other Nascent Soul Influences between them, so they could be considered neighbors, more or less.

For Luo Qianxue’s Jade Radiance Immortal Sect, however, this posed a problem. They were separated from both the Profound Pure Sect and the Illusion Spirit Sect by the land of three prefectures, making it difficult to team up for missions.

Of course, this wasn’t an insurmountable obstacle. Some people always enjoy traveling far and wide. Nevertheless, for the time being, it would certainly be difficult for Luo Qianxue’s Jade Radiance Immortal Sect to team up with the Profound Pure Sect and the Illusion Spirit Sect for missions.

The Illusion Spirit Sect, on the other hand, being close to the Profound Pure Sect, had already begun to experiment with this.

In truth, the disciples of the Profound Pure Sect were initially unhappy that their Chief Disciple, Li Daoyi, was spending all his time with Chu Lingxiao of the Illusion Spirit Sect and Luo Qianxue of the Jade Radiance Immortal Sect.

The Profound Pure Sect’s relationship with these two Sects was mediocre at best. Furthermore, both of them had nearly defeated Li Daoyi during a previous grand inter-Sect competition, which spoke volumes about their potential.

In theory, they should have been rivals—future arch-enemies, even. Yet here they were, spending all their time together.

Moreover, Li Daoyi used to regularly practice his Sword Technique and Daoist Technique on the various peaks, but since Luo Qianxue and Chu Lingxiao’s arrival, he had rarely offered guidance to the other disciples. This only increased their disapproval.

However, after the battle against the Demon Court’s Five Young Demon Saints, all those objections vanished.

Everyone came to a consensus: as prodigious talents, it was only natural for Chief Disciple Li Daoyi, Luo Qianning, and the others to appreciate one another. They believed the group should spend more time together for discussions and exchanges to grow stronger, faster.

The fact that their battle against the Demon Court’s Five Young Demon Saints had restored the honor of both the Cultivation Realm and their Sects was proof enough.

Consequently, when Li Daoyi and his counterparts pushed for inter-Sect exchanges, the process went much more smoothly thanks to that battle with the Demon Court. Disciples from all three Sects responded with considerable enthusiasm.

Xu Ran observed the moves Li Daoyi and the others were making. He was quite eager to see how far these young people could go and whether they could bring the relationship between the three Sects to the next level.

One day, after Li Daoyi came to his Cave Mansion for another sparring session, Xu Ran invited him to sit down.

The two chatted about the recent exchanges between the Profound Pure Sect and Illusion Spirit Sect disciples as they drank Spirit Tea.

When he heard Li Daoyi say everything was going smoothly, Xu Ran congratulated him, but a part of him worried, ’I hope no accidents happen.’

Yet, sometimes things have a way of happening just as you fear they might.

Just as they were speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the Cave Mansion. Lu Mingchen burst in, his face pale and his voice trembling.

”Grand-Master, Eldest Brother, something’s happened! Our Sect’s disciples were ambushed during a joint patrol with the Illusion Spirit Sect! Many are missing.”

Li Daoyi shot to his feet. ”What mission? Where?”

As Lu Mingchen explained, they learned the details. The incident took place in Gray Rock Canyon, on the border between the Profound Pure Sect and Illusion Spirit Sect’s territories.

The mission was a joint effort between disciples from the Profound Pure Sect’s Qing Xuan Peak and the Illusion Spirit Sect. Each Sect dispatched ten disciples, with Chu Lingxiao himself leading the team from the Illusion Spirit Sect.

Their objective was to investigate a newly discovered cave within the canyon that was emitting abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuations.

According to the tearful testimony of two Profound Pure Sect disciples who managed to escape, their team encountered an unknown Array trap deep inside the cave, which instantly separated them.

In the ensuing chaos, they heard the startled cries of several of their peers and a sharp yell from Chu Lingxiao, followed by a violent explosion of Spiritual Qi and the collapse of rock.

They escaped by a stroke of luck. Looking back, they saw the cave entrance was sealed by fallen rock. One of their fellow disciples was lying unconscious near the entrance, covered in blood. The rest of the disciples were missing, and Chu Lingxiao and the Illusion Spirit Sect team were nowhere to be found.

So they suspected the Illusion Spirit Sect was behind the whole thing.

When the news reached the Profound Pure Sect, it immediately caused an uproar within the Sect.

Li Daoyi rushed to Celestial Profound Peak to attend an emergency meeting.

The atmosphere in the hall was tense. Some Elders argued for immediately holding the Illusion Spirit Sect accountable and unilaterally terminating all attempts at cooperation. Others believed the priority was rescuing the survivors, but that raised a question: how should they form a rescue team?

If the team consisted solely of Profound Pure Sect members, what would they do if there really was a trap inside set by the Illusion Spirit Sect?

But if they invited the Illusion Spirit Sect to join the rescue, who could truly trust them?

Li Daoyi stood in the center of the hall, facing the many gazes of doubt and concern. He straightened his spine, his voice clear and devoid of its usual gentle, smiling tone.

”Fellow Daoist Chu is a friend I personally invited to join this mission. I can vouch for his character. He is not the type to conspire and plot. This was just an accident.”