After eating a little less than half a bowl of Earth Immortal meat, Bao Gu returned to her room, sat down in meditation, and began absorbing and refining it.
Bao Nianhui had originally planned to deliver some Earth Immortal soup to her Martial Uncles after she finished eating. Unfortunately, the soup was far too nourishing. The moment it entered her mouth, it melted into pure, overwhelming power that seeped into her dantian and meridians. Her entire body grew hot, and her meridians felt as though they were about to burst. Frightened, she set down her bowl and scrambled toward the house. By the time she reached the rear courtyard, she was already in unbearable pain. She did not even have time to return to her room before sitting cross-legged beneath the eaves and beginning to refine the energy.
Qingying felt no discomfort whatsoever. She ate bowl after bowl with incredible enjoyment, until the cauldron was empty before she even realized it.
Unwilling to accept it, she checked the cauldron again, only to discover that it had been simmered so perfectly that not even a scrap remained. She wanted to make another pot. Then she looked at the courtyard overflowing with rare spiritual treasures, and at her weak Master and Junior Sister, who could not withstand too much nourishment.
She wanted to pick the treasures and stew them herself, but she felt awkward because they did not belong to her. Taking something without asking was theft!
What an ugly thing it would be for the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor to be called a thief! How humiliating for her father! She would have asked permission, but those two were cultivating and could not be disturbed.
So Qingying could only rub her barely half-full stomach and wait miserably for the two cultivators to finish.
***
Once Zi Yunshu finished refining her magical artifact and emerged from seclusion, she toyed with the crystal-clear fire-element treasure she had just forged and walked out of her room with light steps. At a glance, she spotted the half-closed gate of the neighboring courtyard.
A half-closed gate meant someone was inside. She slipped into the courtyard and peeked around the corner, where she saw Qingying staring gloomily at the cauldron before her, then peering toward the room. Finally, she propped her cheek in her palm and let out a long sigh.
Zi Yunshu walked over to the cauldron and curiously examined the Heavenly Emperor Cauldron. Even though it had been reduced to the size of a cooking pot, it still possessed an imposing presence and exuded a naturally ancient, domineering aura.
She glanced at Qingying.
“What’s wrong?”
She circled the cauldron, studying the imprinted runes. She wanted to research its construction and forge an imitation. Even if the imitation ended up being a forbidden artifact, it would still be worthwhile.
Qingying pointed toward the room and the rear courtyard with a mournful expression.
“See those two sitting there cultivating? They’ve been at it for four days, and neither of them has shown any sign of moving.”
“Only four days! When I was breaking through a cultivation realm, I lay in a dragon pool beneath the mountain range for 175 years without moving.”
Qingying’s eyes shifted.
“I seem to remember that your courtyard also has plenty of rare spiritual treasures and medicines.”
Zi Yunshu immediately looked at her warily.
“What are you planning? Let me warn you—don’t even think about taking anything from my courtyard. Everything there belongs to someone.”
Qingying drooped at once and sighed mournfully.
“The greatest pain in this world is seeing a courtyard full of spiritual treasures, carrying Earth Immortal meat in your pocket, and staring at a cauldron without being able to put anything in and start cooking—or get any of it into your mouth.”
Zi Yunshu’s eyes lit up.
“You want to stew Earth Immortal meat? You should have said so! Come on, take out the meat and set up the cauldron. What flavor do you want? Wood-element spiritual treasures are the best. Water and fire are slightly inferior, while metal and earth are out of the question. Personally, I recommend mixing water, fire, and wood.”
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and lifted her skirt, looking as though she were about to tend the vegetable garden in her own courtyard. She stretched out her delicate hands toward the spiritual treasures and precious medicines she had long since taken a fancy to but had never found ingredients good enough to cook.
Qingying froze. She turned to look at Zi Yunshu, then glanced toward the neighboring courtyard.
“Wait… Isn’t your courtyard next door? These… these belong to my Master, Martial Uncle, Senior Brother, and Junior Sister…”
After saying that, she remembered that the treasures were going to be used to stew Earth Immortal meat. How could she possibly be willing to stop Zi Yunshu? She almost wanted to roll up her own sleeves and help pick them.
She pointed toward a crystal-clear white lotus growing in a jade basin piled high with top-grade wood and water spirit stones.
“That lotus! Pick that one! Lotus-type spiritual treasures and medicines are my favorite!”
Zi Yunshu rolled her eyes at her.
“Lotus treasures are for viewing. You may look, but you may not eat them!”
Qingying was not stupid. Seeing Zi Yunshu’s reluctance, she thought of the Demon Saint and immediately understood. She obediently sat there and watched her Little Martial Grand-Aunt act like a thief without trying to stop her.
Zi Yunshu glanced at her.
“Don’t just sit there like an idiot. Go to the kitchen and wash the Earth Immortal meat. Slice it thin, and chop the bones into one-inch pieces. The knife and cutting board are in the jade cabinet against the kitchen wall. Open it and you’ll see them. Chop the seasonings too. The third cabinet on the left is full of them. We’re having spicy Earth Immortal hotpot.”
After giving her a long list of instructions, Zi Yunshu saw Qingying staring blankly at her.
“You aren’t going to tell me you don’t know how to do any of that, are you?”
“I know how to eat!”
Zi Yunshu gave Qingying a disdainful look and sighed inwardly.
I’m not good at cooking either.
For the past two years, she had simply ordered Bao Nianhui to handle it. Bao Nianhui was obviously too busy to help her now, so Zi Yunshu’s eyes shifted. She took out a voice-transmission jade and contacted Yu Jianming.
“Where are you?”
“Little Martial Grand-Aunt, you’re out of seclusion! Master and I are at the viewing stand watching the sect competition.”
“You still aren’t tired of watching that? It happens every three years. I’m tired just hearing about it. Hurry back and cook.”
Yu Jianming lowered his voice.
“Master, Little Martial Grand-Aunt wants me to go back and cook.”
Yu Mi’s voice came through the voice-transmission jade.
“Go.”
“Then this disciple will be off!”
The connection was severed.
Within a few breaths, Yu Jianming appeared at the courtyard gate. The moment he stepped inside, he rolled up his sleeves, pulled out an apron, tied it around his waist, and asked:
“What would you like to eat?”
Qingying recognized the apron as the uniform worn by the kitchen cooks. She clapped her hands excitedly.
“Senior Brother, you’re actually a cook too!”
Yu Jianming froze.
While he was still trying to process that, Zi Yunshu stuffed a small jade basin containing more than ten kinds of spiritual treasures and precious medicines into his arms. Qingying went even further and shoved an entire human leg at him.
The leg looked as though it were made of jade, yet it was covered in thick, long hair. The sheer weight nearly crushed Yu Jianming to the ground, and the sight of the hairy leg almost disgusted him into throwing it away.
Fortunately, his composure was excellent and his cultivation was sufficiently profound. He managed to hold himself together.
Zi Yunshu poked the copper-colored Earth Immortal leg in his arms. It looked so much like a human leg that she blinked.
“This isn’t a human leg, is it?”
She swept it with her spiritual sense and immediately relaxed.
“Don’t worry. Just stew it. The bone structure, flesh, and aura are all different. Ah, no, wait—I want hotpot!”
Yu Jianming steadied himself. Since his Junior Sister had handed him the leg, he naturally knew what it was. After Little Martial Grand-Aunt said it was not a human leg and he personally checked it, he finally relaxed.
Would a human grow golden leg hair that glowed with divine light? The hair should not be thrown away, either. It could be refined into flying needles and used as hidden weapons.
He asked:
“Can I remove the bones and refine them into an artifact?”
Earth Immortal bones refined into a magical treasure would be incredibly cool. Yu Jianming’s handsome face split into a wide grin.
“Make soup,” Zi Yunshu said.
Qingying nodded in agreement.
“Mhm. Soup.”
Yu Jianming sighed inwardly.
“All right.”
He carried everything toward the rear kitchen. After only two steps, he noticed a majestic ancient cauldron on the table. His eyes lit up, and he walked over to circle it in admiration.
“Wow, this cauldron is amazing! Did you forge a new one, Little Martial Grand-Aunt? Your artifact-refining skills have advanced again!”
“Wow! Its ancient grandeur and domineering presence are completely natural!”
“Wow! Imprints of the Heavenly Dao’s laws!”
“Wow! There’s divine radiance inside…”
“An immortal treasure!”
He noticed that the cauldron’s body was green. Focusing his eyes, he took another look and suddenly recoiled in shock.
“Am I seeing this correctly? Is that the Green Jade Divine Metal recorded in the Record of Exotic Treasures? This aura… there’s no mistake! It was definitely forged primarily from Green Jade Divine Metal! They say Green Jade Divine Metal possesses divinity…”
He was so excited that he almost asked when Zi Yunshu had acquired such a tremendous opportunity and obtained an immortal treasure. Then he glanced at the person standing beside him and suddenly remembered the cauldron’s origin.
He froze for a moment before quickly recovering.
“This cauldron is excellent. It’s perfect for stewing Earth Immortal meat.”
He tossed the heavy Earth Immortal leg and the small dish of spiritual treasures into the cauldron, then wrapped both arms around it. He was preparing to carry the legendary immortal treasure—the imperial artifact of the Upper Realm—into the kitchen.
From now on, he would be someone who had used an imperial artifact from the Upper Realm!
He exerted himself and tried to lift the cauldron.
It did not move even slightly.
Yu Jianming used more strength. It still did not budge. He took a deep breath, circulated all the spiritual power in his body, and used every ounce of strength he possessed.
The cauldron was as if it had fused with the air and been welded into place. It did not move, shift, or even tremble.
Yu Jianming nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
The cauldron would not move!
He had no choice but to abandon his plan to carry it into the kitchen. He scooped the Earth Immortal meat and the basin of spiritual treasures back out, then resigned himself to carrying everything back and forth one trip at a time.
After several trips, Yu Jianming could not help complaining.
“Little Martial Grand-Aunt, our courtyard cannot possibly be robbed. Next time you refine something, could you leave off these restrictions? It won’t fit into a storage treasure, and hauling it back and forth is exhausting.”
Zi Yunshu glared at him in annoyance.
“If I didn’t put these restrictions on it, you spendthrifts would have already taken the whole set away as gifts. No matter how many sets I forge, they would never be enough. Are you trying to work me to death?”
Yu Jianming gave an awkward laugh.
“Everyone under heaven knows that Fairy Yunshu of Xuantian Sect is a famous grandmaster of artifact refinement. Anything you make is a supreme-grade magical treasure. Even a bowl would be an ultimate treasure!”
Zi Yunshu snorted heavily.
“Don’t flatter me. Unlike my father, I don’t enjoy that kind of sycophancy.”
At the mention of Zi Tianjun, Yu Jianming’s expression became solemn. He continued working on the cooking.
“Little Martial Aunt, something has happened. Jing Wenyuan and Cheng Wu are dead.”
Zi Yunshu froze in surprise.
“My father actually let them leave the mountain? I said long ago that people like them would be slapped to death twice the moment they stepped outside the mountain gate and thrown by the roadside!”
Even so, she still felt uncomfortable. She frowned and shook her head.
“We all knew what they were like. Normally, we couldn’t be bothered to argue with them out of consideration for Grandmaster—”
Yu Jianming paused.
“Before this, all they did was make sour remarks, annoy people with their mouths, take petty advantages, and use underhanded tricks that were beneath notice. But ever since Little Martial Aunt returned, they began acting strangely.”
“Little Martial Aunt accepted Junior Sister Qingying as a direct disciple. To avoid trouble, she had me enroll Qingying with the group scheduled to become true disciples after the Grand Competition.”
He then recounted every event that had happened afterward to Zi Yunshu in full detail.
“After Martial Aunt gave me her instructions, she returned to her courtyard. She has been cultivating behind closed doors for the past few days and has not asked about anything happening outside. The people under me reported that the atmosphere at the various peaks has become strange lately. It feels as though a storm is about to break.”
“Now the disciples of every peak are spreading a rumor in private that Martial Aunt is forcing Sect Master to abdicate so that I can become Sect Master.”
Zi Yunshu stared at Yu Jianming in astonishment.
“They’ve gone mad! And my father hasn’t done anything?”
Yu Jianming merely arched a brow. He lowered the cleaned spiritual treasures into the cauldron, took out a water-storage artifact, poured in spirit spring water, and then picked up a cleaver to deal with the Earth Immortal leg.
Zi Yunshu understood the meaning behind that raised brow. Her expression immediately became serious.
“Tell me when dinner is ready!”
She stepped out of the courtyard, transformed into a flood dragon, and flew straight toward Xuantian Hall.
When Zi Yunshu landed outside Xuantian Hall, she happened to encounter several disciples under her father walking out.
The disciples brightened when they saw her. They exchanged secret glances, hurried over, bowed, and called out warmly:
“Senior Sister.”
Then their expressions darkened, and they lowered their heads one after another with the appearance of people struggling to contain their grief.
Zi Yunshu glanced at them.
“What happened?”
One of them opened his mouth to speak, but another stopped him. He pulled him backward and hissed:
“Do you want to die too?”
Then he turned to Zi Yunshu.
“Little Martial Aunt, nothing happened. Really. Qiyun Peak and Star River Peak are in complete chaos right now. We’re going to take a look. We’ll be leaving first.”
He grabbed the other man and tried to pull him away.
The disciple broke free, rushed two steps to Zi Yunshu, and dropped to his knees with a thud.
“Little Martial Aunt, Junior Brothers Wenyuan and Cheng Wu were both driven to their deaths! You know that Junior Brother Wenyuan had no filter. He was only a little too proud and lacked tact, but he had no evil intentions. He was always the sort of person who said whatever he thought. Who could have expected that this would bring him a deadly disaster?”
“Now even Master has been dragged into the matter and is in grave danger. There is someone… someone relying on their past achievements who has openly declared that the Sect Master should be removed. Please uphold justice for the Sect Master and for all of us!”
Zi Yunshu frowned.
“Stop crying. Get up and tell me what happened.”
One of the peak masters cupped his fists.
“Reporting to Little Martial Aunt, this is what happened. On the day of the opening ceremony for the Grand Competition, an inner disciple of Lingyun Peak had his qualification to compete taken away for no reason and caused a scene in the plaza. Junior Brother Jing could not stand it and came forward to say a few words—”
Zi Yunshu interrupted him.
“What do you mean, for no reason?”
The peak master hurriedly explained:
“Yu Jianming simply said, ‘Cloudsea Forest wants your slot,’ and canceled that disciple’s qualification to compete! Which peak’s disciples do not earn their places through strength? With a single sentence, Yu Jianming erased three years of someone’s hard work and even damaged that disciple’s future. How could he accept that?”
“That disciple declared that he would win back the slot he deserved through the competition, and the matter turned into a huge scene. Junior Brother Jing could not stand by and watch, so he spoke up for fairness and became a target. His second disciple was even stabbed in the chest right there, leaving more than a dozen enormous holes!”
Another peak master cupped his fists.
“Reporting to Little Martial Aunt, it was a girl named Qingying. She claims to be Bao Gu’s newly accepted disciple. Her battle prowess is frighteningly high, and she does not even put Grandmaster in her eyes. The moment she attacked, she struck that disciple from Lingyun Peak into critical condition.”
Another peak master said angrily:
“That Qingying entered the sect after already studying under another master, and she does not use Xuantian Sect’s cultivation techniques. How can Xuantian Sect allow an outside force to interfere and injure one of our own disciples?”
Zi Yunshu nearly burst into tears.
Father, these are the disciples you raised!
They had caused this much trouble, and even the deaths of two people were not enough for them. Now they wanted to drag her in and use her as a weapon. Was the division between the two factions not enough? Did they plan to start another internal rebellion and split the sect?
If they truly possessed the strength to challenge the other side, she would have praised them for having some ambition. But with their current abilities, Zi Yunshu did not even have the energy to rant.
She looked at the peak masters.
“I will ask my father to strip all of you of your positions and send you down the mountain to gain experience for several hundred years. Once you break through to the Void Tearing stage, he can decide whether you are allowed to return based on what you accomplish during your travels. If you still have not made any progress by then, do not come back.”
She paused and continued:
“I heard from Yu Jianming that the various peaks are spreading a rumor that someone is forcing my father to abdicate and install Yu Jianming as Sect Master. I think that sounds perfectly suitable.”
The peak masters were all stunned.
That was her own father!
They were her own martial brothers! No matter how close a nephew-disciple or grand-disciple might be, how could they be closer than her real father and her own junior martial brother?
Zi Yunshu paused again, then raised her hand and pointed toward the enormous statue standing before Xuantian Hall.
“Do you know who that is?”
One of the peak masters answered in confusion:
“Patriarch Xuantian.”
“Do you know who Bao Gu’s true master is?”
A peak master gave a disdainful snort.
“Zhuo Wangchuan. I heard he had only just entered the Deity Transformation stage when he died.”
Those words were especially grating to Zi Yunshu. She coldly swept her gaze over him.
“Yes, he had only just entered the Deity Transformation stage when he died. What a heroic man—and what a tragic, stirring death. Yet some people enjoy the foundation preserved by his sacrifice and still look down on him.”
The peak master’s expression changed.
“Senior Sister, that is not what I meant.”
Zi Yunshu curled her lips faintly.
“Yu Mi brought Bao Gu into the sect and registered her under Senior Brother Zhuo’s name. But from the very first day Bao Gu entered Xuantian Sect, she was raised at my side. I personally taught her sword control and her basic training. Even the first flying sword she used was forged by me.”
“People outside say that Yu Mi brought Bao Gu into Xuantian Sect and raised her, which is why Bao Gu is so deeply attached to her. That is only half true. The people who truly raised Bao Gu were A-Sheng and me. From the age of thirteen until she was twenty-five, she was raised at our side.”
“She is a child A-Sheng and I raised with our own hands. Even A-Sheng, the master she ended up with, was found for her by me.”
The expressions of everyone present changed several times, their faces turning pale, then green, then white.
“Bao Gu has three masters. I only taught her basic training, so I do not count as one of them. Senior Brother Zhuo was her registered master. She has two true masters. Do you know who they are?”
One of the peak masters wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
“We await Senior Sister’s instruction.”
Another peak master’s expression shifted.
“One of them is Elder Demon Saint. Who is the other?”
Zi Yunshu pointed toward the statue standing beside them.
“Him.”
One of the peak masters forced an awkward smile.
“Senior Sister must be joking. Patriarch Xuantian died tens of thousands of years ago. Even if Bao Gu had the opportunity to obtain his inheritance, she could at most be considered a nominal successor from a later generation. She cannot be called Patriarch Xuantian’s direct disciple.”
Zi Yunshu coldly snorted and looked over all of them with open disdain.
“The remnant soul of Patriarch Xuantian residing in the Xuantian Sword emerged and personally accepted Bao Gu as his disciple. He then fused a wisp of his soul consciousness into Bao Gu’s spirit sea, passed down his cultivation techniques, and protected her all the way.”
“Furthermore, she was personally acknowledged by Patriarch Xuantian’s wife, the Grandmaster Ancestress. She obtained all of Patriarch Xuantian’s inheritances. In your eyes, does that still not make her his direct disciple?”
Her expression turned icy.
“Strictly speaking, by seniority, she is Xuantian Sect’s second-generation Grandmaster Ancestress!”
“Jing Wenyuan told Bao Gu to get out of Xuantian Sect? If I had been there, I would have killed him with a single swipe of my claw the moment he said those words. Would he still have had the chance to spout such nonsense?”
“What use is there in keeping someone who insults his master and ancestors?”
She coldly reprimanded them:
“My father indulges you. Yu Mi, Feng Menglong, and the others put up with you for his sake. They let you clowns leap around because they cannot be bothered to argue with you. Did you really start thinking that you were important?”
“You have been scheming in private these past few days, haven’t you? Fine. I will assume that every one of you has reached the Earth Immortal realm. Go storm Lingyun Peak and see what happens. If you can escape alive, I will cut off my head and let you kick it around like a ball!”
The peak masters had never seen Zi Yunshu this furious before. They trembled uncontrollably.
Yu Mi, who had been sitting at the nearby viewing stand, noticed the disturbance and slowly walked over.
“What made you so angry?”
Zi Yunshu glared at her.
“With all this happening, you just sat there and did nothing?”
“Wasn’t there still you?”
Yu Mi walked up to Zi Yunshu and smiled.
“When it comes to Grandmaster, there are some things you, his daughter, can say easily, but I, his grand-disciple, cannot. You can contradict him to his face. I cannot.”
She put an arm around Zi Yunshu’s shoulders.
“Little Martial Aunt, don’t be angry. We can discuss everything after the Grand Competition.”
Zi Yunshu glared at her.
“You aren’t afraid they will storm Lingyun Peak?”
Yu Mi smiled brightly. She glanced at the peak masters standing nearby, whose expressions had become exceptionally ugly, then looked back at Zi Yunshu.
“Don’t worry. They are still disciples of Xuantian Sect, after all. I will be careful to use a light hand and try to leave them alive.”
The peak masters’ expressions turned even worse. Yu Mi was clearly treating them as a joke.
They did not dare to cause trouble in front of Zi Yunshu. At the same time, they were secretly alarmed by the words exchanged between Yu Mi and Zi Yunshu.
Had their secret plotting been exposed?
Zi Yunshu glared at them.
“Go back and pack your belongings. Once the Grand Competition ends, leave the mountain. Anyone who stays even one day longer will be crushed to death by me!”
The peak masters retreated with terrible expressions. One of them left, then returned, slipped into the rear hall of Xuantian Hall, and went to find Zi Tianjun.
After watching them leave, Yu Mi asked:
“You really intend to kick them down the mountain to gain experience? I am afraid Grandmaster will not be willing to part with them.”
Zi Yunshu replied with great dignity:
“My father is going with them.”
“Pfft!”
Yu Mi could not hold it in and burst out laughing.
Zi Yunshu gave her an annoyed look, then remembered something else.
“The Earth Immortal meat in the courtyard is simmering. It should be ready in another couple of hours. Remember to come back and eat, or Qingying the glutton definitely will not leave you any soup.”
“I am going to have a talk with my father.”
With that, she hurried into the rear hall of Xuantian Hall. The very disciple who had slipped inside was already reporting to Zi Tianjun with an expression of impending disaster.
“Master, this is terrible! Senior Sister supports Bao Gu in removing you as Sect Master and making Yu Jianming Sect Master!”
Zi Yunshu immediately struck out with a clawed palm and sent him flying. He slammed into the wall, spat out a large mouthful of blood, and crashed heavily to the floor. He struggled several times but could not get back up.
Zi Yunshu dragged over a meditation cushion and sat down in front of Zi Tianjun, who was meditating with his eyes closed.
“Father, you have not gone out to gain experience in a long time. I think you should take a trip. Why not leave the sect’s affairs to the Council of Elders and take all these disciples and grand-disciples of yours out to gain experience?”
Zi Tianjun abruptly opened his eyes.
“You also think I am unfit to be Sect Master?”
Zi Yunshu glanced at the disciple in the corner, who was currently gulping down medicine.
“Father, your disciples think that being disciples of the Sect Master makes them superior. They look down on everyone else and have become increasingly reckless. I am worried that they do not know the immensity of heaven and earth and will continue courting death until they lose their lives.”
“If you cannot bear to give up the position of Sect Master, shall I go persuade Bao Gu to ‘get out’ of Xuantian Sect and establish another sect?”
She put particular emphasis on the words get out, while smiling brightly. Clearly, she was implying something else.
Zi Tianjun stared sharply at her.
“Shu’er, you are my daughter.”
“I never asked you to stop being my father.”
Zi Tianjun was rendered speechless with anger. He then asked:
“Was this Bao Gu’s idea?”
Zi Yunshu replied:
“If this were Bao Gu’s idea, do you think someone with her temperament would put it so gently?”
She glanced at Zi Tianjun.
“If your disciples were not your disciples, everyone would have killed them at least eight hundred times by now for your sake. I ran into several of them outside today. Judging by their expressions, they wanted to recruit me to help them deal with Bao Gu and the Lingyun Peak faction.”
“Father, your daughter’s battle prowess is weak. Bao Gu only raised a hand and hauled me right in front of her. Qingying is even more terrifying. She is currently setting up a cauldron in the courtyard and stewing Earth Immortal meat.”
“I think they must feel that Earth Immortal meat is not enough for Qingying and want to add a clear-braised flood dragon soup. Father, how do you think your daughter would taste if she were red-braised? Skewers would not be bad either.”
Zi Tianjun trembled all over. His expression shifted between green and white.
Zi Yunshu’s smile faded, and she became serious.
“Father, let me say something offensive that you may not want to hear. The current Xuantian Sect has little to lose. Keeping your disciples and grand-disciples merely means feeding a few more idlers. Without them, the sect is hardly short-handed, and their absence will not affect the sect’s foundation or inheritance.”
“If they are too ambitious and try to cause trouble, they cannot stir up any significant waves. But if you establish a precedent for factional infighting within Xuantian Sect, you will bear the reputation of being the sect’s eternal sinner.”
“Let me say something even less pleasant. Even if Bao Gu never returns, Yu Mi does not become Young Sect Master, and Yu Jianming does not become Young Sect Master, which of the disciples under you is actually qualified?”
“If you believe they are capable of handling matters, then my request is simple. Send them out for a hundred years. Confiscate their identity tokens and make them gain experience without using Xuantian Sect’s name for protection. If they can return alive, I will acknowledge that they are capable.”
“I will have Bao Gu inform every force in the cultivation world that, from now on, when Xuantian Sect’s disciples go out to gain experience, the Cleaver Gang will provide them with no protection. I hear the Cleaver Gang is building a realm-breaking gate and desperately needs cultivation resources. Surely Xuantian Sect no longer needs to accept tribute from the Cleaver Gang, right?”
“Father, the Earth Immortal meat in the courtyard is simmering. Come over and have a bowl later. I am going back now.”
Zi Tianjun trembled with anger.
As Sect Master, he possessed no dignity at all among Lingyun Peak or the disciples of Yu Mi’s generation. Every one of them outwardly obeyed him while secretly defying him. They appeared respectful on the surface, yet none of them truly thought much of him.
Now even his own daughter’s words implied that he was an incompetent Sect Master and that all his disciples and grand-disciples were useless resource-wasters.
He could not bear the humiliation. He grabbed the meditation cushion in front of him and wanted to throw it at Zi Yunshu. In the end, she was still his beloved daughter. No matter how unfilial or infuriating she was, he could not bring himself to do it.
Zi Tianjun could not understand it. His disciples were merely devoted to him. Why could the group centered around Lingyun Peak, together with his own daughter, not tolerate them?
Was it merely because they had offended Bao Gu?
Wenyuan and Cheng Wu were already dead!
He realized that his disciples had been right. The faction led by Lingyun Peak would never take them seriously. Sooner or later, they would strip his disciples of their authority, sideline him as Sect Master, or even remove him entirely.
Previously, Zi Tianjun had thought that no matter how much the Lingyun Peak faction relied on their achievements and profound cultivation to look down on everyone else, he had been the head of Xuantian Sect and then its Sect Master for nearly a thousand years. His disciples and grand-disciples were spread throughout the world. Surely they could not commit such an act of betraying their master and ancestors?
He had never expected that his disciples’ warnings would actually come true.
Today they looked down on him. Tomorrow they would ignore him. The day after that, they would be thinking about removing him as Sect Master.
The foundation he had worked so hard to establish, after he had served as leader and Sect Master for a thousand years, had now led to him being told to take his disciples out to gain experience—a disguised expulsion from the sect!
Zi Tianjun’s eyes turned blood red, filled with shock and fury.
They wanted to remove him as Sect Master?
Then he would purge the sect!
He had originally restrained his disciples and prevented them from acting recklessly. Now it seemed he should never have stopped them.
He sealed the rear hall of Xuantian Hall, took out a voice-transmission jade, and issued a series of Sect Master’s orders in one breath. Dispatch tokens were sent out one after another, mobilizing all the sect’s combat resources.
With lightning speed, he surrounded Lingyun Peak and Xuantian Plaza. Even the branch factions led by Feng Menglong, Hua Sheng, and Lu Lei—factions friendly with Lingyun Peak—were surrounded completely.
Zi Yunshu had barely left when Zi Tianjun made his move. Everything happened so suddenly that it took everyone by surprise.
When Yu Mi saw a fleet of several hundred warships suddenly appear above Xuantian Plaza, she froze in shock. She stared up at the warships locking onto the plaza and could not react for a moment.
Hua Sheng, Feng Menglong, and the other elders and peak masters on the viewing stand were likewise locked down by the warships. They stood there in confusion.
What was going on?
Yu Jianming was still working as a cook in Cloudsea Forest when one of his disciples reported that the Sect Master had ordered a purge of the sect and taken control of Lingyun Peak and Xuantian Plaza.
His first thought was that it was impossible.
Zi Yunshu had just landed in Cloudsea Forest and brought out two jars of wine to drink with the Earth Immortal meat when she heard the report through her voice-transmission jade. She froze on the spot, utterly dumbfounded.
What was her father trying to do?
She had already explained everything so clearly to him. If he refused to calm down, that would be one thing—but was he actually going to risk his life?
After standing there in a daze for quite some time, she finally reacted. She slapped a hand against her chest.
“Oh no! Could it be that my words were too humiliating and wounded my father’s pride, making him furious?”
Yu Jianming turned toward Zi Yunshu with a blank expression.
“Little Martial Aunt, what exactly did you say to the Sect Master?”
Zi Yunshu blinked.
“I told him to take his disciples out to gain experience for a hundred years before returning. I also told him that the difference in strength between the two sides was enormous, and that his disciples could not stir up any waves, so they should stop jumping around.”
Yu Jianming laughed helplessly.
“You really are his daughter. The Sect Master’s thirst for power and vanity are both tremendous, and he has grown accustomed to being flattered by an entire crowd of disciples. Telling him not to be Sect Master is no different from asking him to die.”
“If you were not his daughter, he would have struck you on the spot. Forget telling him to give up the position—even touching his disciples or taking away the slightest bit of authority from his hands is something he cannot tolerate!”
Zi Yunshu blinked repeatedly, still unable to understand.
What use were power and vanity? Could they help with cultivation? Could they help someone become an immortal?
Was going out to gain experience not a good thing? It would improve their cultivation, broaden their horizons and knowledge, and benefit their future progress.
If A-Sheng had not preferred peace and disliked becoming entangled in worldly disputes, Zi Yunshu would have gone out every day.
She had merely asked her father to take his disciples out to gain experience and broaden their horizons. Once they had seen more of the world, they would understand how narrow-minded and pointless it was to spend all day fighting among themselves over their tiny patch of land.
A purge of the sect? A purge of the sect!
Whom was he purging? What had anyone done that was so rebellious that they deserved to be purged?
Yu Jianming untied his apron and headed outside.
Qingying saw that the Earth Immortal meat had just been sliced and had not even been placed in the cauldron, yet Yu Jianming was already leaving. She immediately panicked.
“Hey! We’re in the middle of cooking!”
Zi Yunshu came back to her senses. Remembering that her father would not even survive a single slap from Qingying, she shuddered. She took out a handful of high-grade pills refined by A-Sheng and stuffed them into Qingying’s arms.
“Good girl, sit down and eat some pills. Entertain yourself for a while, and do not go anywhere. I’ll go take a look and come right back.”
She transformed into a flood dragon and was about to rush out of the courtyard when a terrifying energy aura surged toward them from every direction.
The overwhelming power made her shiver. Then she suddenly realized that someone was manipulating the mountain-protecting grand formation.
Not good!
With Qingying and Bao Gu present, if her father truly intended to purge the sect but feared being counterattacked, he would definitely seize control of the mountain-protecting formation first and use its power to suppress them.
Her father possessed the token Bao Gu had inscribed to control the grand formation, so he could activate the mountain-protecting formation.
Yu Mi had one as well.
Whoever seized control of the mountain-protecting formation first would hold the decisive advantage.
