Elder Yu shook his head and said, "Junior Feng, you have not seen the ruthlessness of this plan. This action is not just directed at the Mingcang Sect alone. If we do not retaliate, all sects in the Xuanmen may follow suit, and the consequences would be unimaginable."
Li Xiu was moved and said, "Indeed, Junior Brother has deep foresight. I had not anticipated this point."
Feng Daoist was initially stunned upon hearing this, then his expression became solemn, clearly realizing that this matter must be approached with caution.
Seeing him deep in thought, Elder Yu and Li Xiu exchanged a glance and said, "Although Senior Brother Baili appointed Junior Feng to lead the situation, this matter is significant. Why not ask Senior Brother Baili for his opinion?"
Feng Daoist raised his head, his eyes blazing, and said, "This is a small matter I, Feng Qingping, can handle."
Elder Yu made a respectful gesture and said, "It is better to act sooner rather than later. Then, Junior Feng, please issue the decree."
Feng Daoist pondered briefly and said, "Confronting Zhang Yan head-on is a last resort. I intend to start with a small sect to intimidate all sects. Do you know which of these sects is closest to the Mingcang Sect?"
Li Xiu said, "Linqing Temple, Bi Yu Xuan, and Beichen Sect all have strong ties with Zhao You Heavenly Pond. However, if we talk about closeness, it is Bi Yu Xuan, as the pavilion master’s daughter and Zhang Yan’s seventh disciple are a Daoist couple, hence their families are very close."
Feng Daoist said, "Then it will be this sect!"
Elder Yu stroked his beard and said, "The Mountain Gate Formation of Bi Yu Xuan is inherited from the Nanhua Sect. I wonder how Junior Feng intends to break it?"
Feng Daoist waved his sleeve and said, "This is easy. I will ask my elder uncle to lend the ’Blood Salamander Earth Muddler’; breaking their mountain gate will not be difficult."
Li Xiu’s eyes brightened upon hearing this, nodding repeatedly, "With the Blood Salamander Pot, breaking this sect’s mountain gate should not be difficult. However, once the sect is besieged, Zhang Yan will surely come to aid. If he comes in person, how should we handle him?"
Feng Daoist laughed heartily, "What is there to fear? If Zhang Yan indeed comes to rescue, I will personally hold him halfway. My Daoist cultivation compared to his is not weaker, so it’s a good opportunity to duel with him."
Elder Yu nodded, "This plan is feasible. Zhang Yan does not have a Cave Heaven True Master behind him; in haste, he will not be able to mobilize many people. However, one person must be noted, the Mingcang Sect’s Day Sky Hall Elder Peng Yuzhou. For some reason, he is now serving under Zhang Yan. This person is also a Great Cultivator of the Third Realm. If Junior Brother intercepts Zhang Yan, who will fend off this person if he arrives?"
Feng Daoist smiled faintly, "Su Daoist from Haiyin Sect has always been friendly with me. I can write to him to step in and occupy Peng Yuzhou."
Elder Yu was invigorated, "Good, this could really work. Once the mountain gate of Bi Yu Xuan is breached, and those small sects of the Xuanmen know that even the Mingcang Sect cannot protect them, they will surely restrain themselves."
Li Xiu’s eyes flickered at this moment, "I believe we can first send a few men to feign an attack on Linqing Temple as a diversion."
Feng Qingping looked around and said, "Then it shall be so. All of you will depart with me tomorrow to attack Bi Yu Xuan. Once the mountain gate is broken, annihilate the entire sect!"
Upstream of Qu River, where it meets Long Water, a Dharma Platform six zhang high was being erected, with hundreds of Bi Yu Xuan disciples moving jade stones below, setting up prohibition array flags, while Yan Xiaoyang and a Gu-named elder from the sect stood outside on alert, keeping watch.
Though they were following the Dharma decree of the Mingcang Sect, for over twenty days, Bi Yu Xuan dared not go deep into the mainland, only building Dharma Platforms along both sides of the river.
Elder Gu looked at the scene before him and sighed, "Fortunately, the jade array flags for setting up the Dharma Platform were supplied by the Mingcang Sect. If Bi Yu Xuan had to provide them, setting up a dozen such platforms might exhaust our resources."
Yan Xiaoyang scoffed, "This is something the Mingcang Sect should do. Otherwise, asking us to exert the effort and bear the costs makes no sense."
Elder Gu, hearing his words, seemed to detect dissatisfaction with the Mingcang Sect and was shocked. Glancing around, he said, "Be wary, Nephew Yan. Master Cai of Mingcang Sect is not far away. If he overhears, it might harm the relations between the two sects."
Zhang Yan’s strategy not only required all sects to set up Dharma Platforms at places where spiritual mechanisms gathered but also dispatched several Nascent Soul cultivators to patrol everywhere. This was both to guard against the Demon Sect Leader and to oversee each sect, ensuring they wouldn’t slack off or try to avoid work. Cai Rongju had arrived at Bi Yu Xuan yesterday, so the disciples within the sect could not afford to be lax.
Yan Xiaoyang snorted and muttered, "Understood."
Fearing that his temper might flare up again to say more, Elder Gu changed the topic, "Nephew Yan, in my humble opinion, why not set up the Dharma Platform inside the mountains and rivers tomorrow? What do you think?"
Yan Xiaoyang furrowed his brows tightly, "Elder Gu, don’t you know that if we leave the cover of the river, the lives of our sect’s disciples will be jeopardized?"
Elder Gu laughed, "That’s not difficult. The North East Splendor is crisscrossed with waterways. Where there is no water route, you can use Mana to carve one out. Besides, the places where spiritual mechanisms aggregate are often picturesque locations..."
Yan Xiaoyang suddenly interrupted him, "Elder Gu, this method was pre-determined by my Mum. It’s not your concern."
Elder Gu became silent for a moment, then sighed, saying earnestly, "Nephew Yan, I know you are concerned about the safety of our sect’s disciples. But surely you realize how other sects are performing. Given our familial ties with the Mingcang Sect, we must not fall behind, right?"
Yan Xiaoyang felt inexplicably displeased hearing the mention of family ties. At that moment, there was a gurgling from the water, and soon a carp surfaced with a blood-stained letter in its mouth.
His expression changed, quickly taking it and hastily opening it, his face turning grave upon seeing its contents.
Elder Gu asked with concern, "What is it?"
Yan Xiaoyang took a deep breath and solemnly said, "Downstream, two Dharma Platforms have just been destroyed."

Comments

Loading...