“How did so many people manage to get into Kunling Mountain? Could there be a problem? In my opinion, I had better go look for it myself.”
Yu Qing naturally did not want to go, so he used fallacious reasoning to argue his case. However, the group already disliked him, and having found a reasonable solution, they would not let him continue to lead them by the nose. Without giving him a chance to speak, they took him away directly.
Yu Qing had considered resisting, but Le Shu and Gan Li were not to be trifled with. They were two experts at the Upper Xuan realm, so for the time being, he could only be sensible and comply. Otherwise, he might end up suffering.
He knew perfectly well that his words had annoyed this group of people just to save his own life.
The bright moon was clear and bright, occasionally obscured by floating clouds.
A mountain peak made of white stone appeared ghastly pale under the moonlight, making it quite conspicuous in the dead of night.
A human figure flashed into the air, hovering to survey the mountain peak below.
The people on the mountain also stood up one after another, and the leader was the scruffy looking Yan Yao.
There were not many people around him, only three. The others had withdrawn in all directions to search for people, and the people present were not disciples of Kunling Mountain, but Xiang Zhen, who carried a large sword on his back.
Xiang Zhen had also met the searching Kunling Mountain disciples on the way. After asking about the situation, he immediately rushed over.
Seeing the sudden appearance of Xiang Lanxuan, Yan Yao, who was looking up with his head raised, felt guilty and was quite nervous.
Fortunately, at this moment, another figure flew up from the foot of the mountain. A flash of white landed right in front of him. It was none other than Huan Yushan. Seeing this, Yan Yao breathed a sigh of relief. With his master here, he was no longer afraid.
Xiang Lanxuan also flashed to the ground at this time, watching coldly from the sidelines. Huan Yushan asked Yan Yao directly, “What is so urgent?” Yan Yao glanced at Xiang Lanxuan. There was no way he could say what was going on in front of her, so he pretended to breathe a sigh of relief and said, “There is nothing much. In short, Master is safe.”
After admitting his mistake, he began to advise his master not to run around alone anymore, suggesting they wait until the manpower was fully assembled. Grand Elder Huan naturally did not object to this for the time being.
Xiang Lanxuan, watching from the sidelines, actually found this master and disciple pair quite interesting. One was evasive and scruffy, while the other had the bearing of an immortal. The disciple was even lecturing the master. If she did not know the truth, she really would not have guessed they were master and disciple.
After temporarily stabilising the situation with Xiang Lanxuan, the master and disciple quickly found an opportunity to speak in private.
There were many rare plants here, and a major sect focused on spiritual plants naturally had a fondness for them, so it was normal to wander off to satisfy their curiosity.
Leaving the mountain peak, the master and disciple gathered under a large tree at the foot of the mountain that seemed to be covered in fruits resembling chilli peppers. Only then did Grand Elder Huan ask again, “What is it?”
Yan Yao glanced at the mountain peak before quietly revealing all the arrangements instructed by the sect leader.
Upon hearing the decision of the sect leader, even with the seniority and status of Grand Elder Huan within the sect, he could not help but draw a sharp breath. He deeply felt that his martial nephew was incredibly bold, daring to take action directly against the people of the Daye Department, and the target was even the Grand Executor of the Daye Department. He had never even dared to think about such a thing before.
However, after weighing the matter carefully, he still sighed, “Indeed, things have come to this, and there is no way back. Rather than trembling and hoping for the mercy of those major powers, it is better to take the situation into our own hands and take control of this immortal mansion. We will fight for a promising future. How can a major sect of a thousand years remain under the control of others forever? Compared to the sect leader, it seems I am truly old. Let us just do it this way.”
Yan Yao asked in a low voice, “When do we make our move? How do the disciples need to cooperate?”
After a moment of thought, Grand Elder Huan shook his head. “There is no need for the time being. Earlier, we encountered a towering giant tree with people singing and dancing on it. They are likely the guards of the immortal mansion, and we might not be able to defeat them. The strength of Xiang Lanxuan can still be utilised. Her strength alone is worth countless disciples on our side. If she can be used to block them, there is no need to expose ourselves immediately. Once she is prepared, I am afraid there will be complications.”
Grand Elder Huan shook his head. “If we truly tear up the facade, she might not be able to take advantage of me. Moreover, she is too conceited and does not take our Kunling Mountain seriously. She actually dares to act alone, which is equivalent to handing the opportunity to control the situation right into our hands.
Later, I will divert her and control her whereabouts, while you will arrange manpower, broaden our intelligence network, and search the perimeter. Do not allow the people of the Daye Department to get close to her. Once you discover them, immediately forge her decree to divert the key personnel of the Daye Department, ensuring that the two sides no longer have the opportunity to meet. We will deal with them when we have the time later.” Upon hearing this, Yan Yao was overjoyed and nodded, “Master is wise. This plan is excellent.”
After reaching a decision, the two strolled back. Before they even returned to the mountain peak, they saw a crowd of people swarming towards them.
The newcomers were none other than Elder Qu, who had led a group to rush over. He had also met the disciples sent out by Yan Yao on the way and hurried over upon hearing the news. Seeing Xiang Lanxuan safe and sound, Elder Qu immediately felt something was strange. He was someone who knew the highly confidential inside story and did not understand why Grand Elder Huan could still be at peace with her.
Not knowing the reason, he could only pretend to be ignorant and express his relief at finally finding them.
Thus, Huan Yushan also had an excuse. He mentioned the discovery of a divine tree and asked Elder Qu to leave half of the manpower for Yan Yao to command, making it easier for Yan Yao to gather the scattered personnel. The rest would leave with him.
Xiang Lanxuan naturally left with them as well.
After watching the group disappear into the night, Yan Yao looked back at the manpower left behind by Elder Qu. He turned around wanting to give some instructions, but then caught sight of Xiang Zhen sitting alone on a corner rock looking at the moon. He walked over and asked, “A divine tree has been discovered. Are you not going to take a look?”
Xiang Zhen shook his head. “I have no interest in that.” Yan Yao asked, “Then why did you run into the immortal mansion? Just to wait for that Zhang Zhichen? You might as well go broaden your horizons first. You might obtain some fortuitous encounter. I will wait here for you, and when he arrives, I will pass the message to him.”
Xiang Zhen looked back at the sword on his back, then looked up at the moon. “I am rather simple and cannot do two things well at the same time.” The implication was clearly that he had no interest in any fortuitous encounters in the immortal mansion.
Yan Yao frowned. Suddenly, someone nearby shouted, “Someone is coming.”
He immediately turned to look and saw a group of people flying over in a rush. Once he clearly saw who the newcomers were, he nearly broke out in a cold sweat.
Hearing the commotion, Xiang Zhen jumped down from the rock because Yu Qing had arrived.
The group that arrived with him was naturally the people from the Daye Department.
Le Shu, who had arrived after a long and arduous journey, was not polite at all. He walked right up to Yan Yao and asked, “Is there any news of the Grand Executor?”
Yan Yao replied, “The Grand Executor just left with a group of people not long ago and left a message for me to pass on to you.”
Le Shu asked, “What message?”
Yan Yao pointed in a direction opposite to the destination of Xiang Lanxuan. “Go that way. There is a grand canyon dozens of miles away. The Grand Executor instructed that once I see you, I should notify you to hurry to the valley and lie low as soon as possible, so as to be ready for her orders at any time. No one is allowed to move without her command.”
The reason he knew there was a grand canyon in the distance was because he had seen it during his previous search.
Xiang Zhen, standing nearby, did not know if what he said was true or false. He had been standing on the sidelines the whole time and had not heard the entire conversation between Xiang Lanxuan and the others.
Hearing this order, Le Shu dared not delay. He immediately waved his hand and shouted, “Let us go!”
Yu Qing still wanted to take the opportunity to stay behind, but Le Shu pushed him and forcibly took him away.
Anyone with half a brain knows that the person who opened the immortal mansion might know the inside story of the mansion, or at least know more than others. Yan Yao also wanted Yu Qing to stay, but he was afraid of creating unnecessary complications and arousing suspicion. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and watched helplessly as the people from the Daye Department took the man away.
He also slowly breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling a lingering fear. It was truly close. If this group had arrived even a little earlier, they would have run into Xiang Lanxuan.
Looking back at Xiang Zhen, he found that the man had actually abandoned this place and ran off, following Yu Qing and the others as they left.
Yan Yao immediately waved over a reliable Kunling Mountain disciple and instructed in a low voice, “Take a team and follow them. Say you are accompanying them. Leave marks along the way to make it easier to find them. Once they are hidden, you must keep a close watch on them, especially that Zhang Zhichen. He is very important to us, and you must not let him run away…”
He gave instructions on all the specific details one by one.
After understanding the instructions, the Kunling Mountain disciple immediately selected ten fellow disciples to rush and catch up with him.
Feeling unhappy about being coerced away, Yu Qing saw Xiang Zhen sticking close to him again along the way and asked in puzzlement, “Why did you run in here too?”
When he said this, his tone revealed a sense of deep annoyance.
He did not even need to guess that sticking by his side definitely meant wanting to fight him again.
“That Grand Executor suddenly came looking for you late at night and searched every room in the garden, only to find you missing.” Xiang Zhen roughly recounted what had happened.
After hearing this, Yu Qing frowned. Now he was certain of one thing, which was that his judgment was correct. Xiang Lanxuan did not discover his traces of entering the immortal mansion because she was following him. It seemed she had anticipated that he would go to the Spirit Valley.
Thinking of this, he could not help but look back at Ke Ran in the crowd, roughly understanding something.
Nan Zhu, standing nearby, found it amusing. “I say, Brother Xiang, why did you run in here to join the fun? Now look, the gate to the immortal mansion has already closed, and none of us can get out.” “Closed?” Xiang Zhen was stunned. “We cannot get out?”
Nan Zhu chuckled. “Would I lie to you about this? Anyway, we have no way out for the time being. If you have the ability, you go out.”
Unexpectedly, as soon as the words fell, Xiang Zhen frowned. His sword flew out of its sheath and sprang into the air. He also leaped up, stepped on the sword in mid air, and flashed away, just flying off on his sword like that.
Nan Zhu was dumbfounded and muttered, “I was just saying it casually. How could he take it seriously without even thinking?”
He truly did not expect that his casual remark, just a joke, would actually drive the man away.
The others were also quite surprised.
The Kunling Mountain disciples who had hurried over were also somewhat surprised to see someone run off. The man had flown away on his sword, and it was too late for them to stop him. However, seeing that the person who left was Xiang Zhen, they did not care too much, because it did not affect anything.
Still, they came over and asked what was going on. Upon learning that he had gone to check because he heard the entrance was closed, they paid even less attention to it.
Of course, it also aroused a bout of shock and doubt among them. The entrance was closed? These Kunling Mountain disciples were not aware of this.
The speed of flying on a sword was quite fast, at least faster than skimming across the ground. A figure passed through the vast starry moonlight, descended from the sky, and landed under the jade archway. The newcomer casually grabbed the sword in his hand.
At this time, three Kunling Mountain disciples had already gathered under the archway, jointly attacking the seal at the exit. They were none other than Qin Fujun and two of his fellow disciples.
Seeing someone arrive, the three temporarily stopped their attack. Seeing that it was Xiang Zhen, they were all somewhat surprised.
Xiang Zhen only said one sentence. “Move aside!”
The three exchanged a glance and quickly scattered to let him try.
Xiang Zhen flashed forward, swung his sword with both hands, and fiercely slashed at the mirror like void.
Whoosh! The blade sank deep into it, but it did not break the seal in the slightest, and there was barely any sound.
He sheathed his sword, spun around, kicked off the jade archway to leap into the air, stepped on his sword, and flew into the sky once again, heading straight up into the high altitude.
Unable to see his figure anymore, Qin Fujun and the other two looked at each other again.
Shortly after, a thunderous commotion seemed to whistle through the air. The expression of Qin Fujun changed slightly, and he waved his hand, saying, “Move away quickly.”
The three had just flashed a bit further away when a streak of cold light flashed under the moon, striking the sealed gate like lightning.
Boom! A dull echo rang out. The shockwave of the fierce wind raised sand and stones from the ground, blowing away countless orchids as if they were withered grass, and dust filled the air.
Bang! Xiang Zhen, trapped in the seal, was suddenly bounced out. His sword stabbed into the ground, ploughing a long, deep trench before he finally stopped. He slowly stood up, staring solemnly at the seal in front of the gate, knowing that he could not open it at all with his own strength.
He immediately asked the few people, “Is it really impossible to open it?”
Qin Fujun replied, “I do not know.”
Xiang Zhen lowered his head slightly, his expression revealing a sense of dejection. The reason he had rushed over anxiously upon hearing that he could not get out was because there was still a woman waiting for him in the outside world.
Looking at the sealed exit, Qin Fujun also sighed and said to his two fellow disciples, “We cannot get out either. Let us go back and report to Grand Executor Xiang.”
“Grand Executor Xiang should already be with Martial Uncle Yan Yao and the others.” A Kunling Mountain disciple pointed in a direction. “Let us go that way.”
“Hmm.” Qin Fujun nodded and led the two away.
As they brushed past Xiang Zhen, he suddenly asked, “Are you looking for Grand Executor Xiang?”
The three stopped and looked at him. Qin Fujun nodded. “Yes, is there a problem?”
Xiang Zhen hesitated a little. Although he was not good at dealing with worldly affairs, he was not stupid either, and he did not know if it was appropriate to casually expose the whereabouts of someone.
Qin Fujun saw his concern and quickly explained, “She ordered us to go to the outside world to recruit personnel from the Daye Department. Now that we cannot get out, we have to go back and report to her. We have no other intentions.”
Xiang Zhen thought for a moment before explaining, “Executor Xiang and that man named Yan Yao have already met and separated. It seems they went to some place with a divine tree. That is all I know.”
Upon hearing the words divine tree, Qin Fujun and the other two immediately knew he was not lying. They immediately cupped their hands to thank him and quickly returned the way they came.
Xiang Zhen, on the other hand, faced the sealed gate and felt melancholy for a long time. Having no other choice, he could only soar into the air once again, fly away on his sword, and go search for Yu Qing and the others.