In the chaos, the order of the market had completely collapsed.
Amid the broken walls and ruins, the roars of demon beasts and the wails of cultivators intertwined.
In this apocalyptic scene, the disciples of the Lingyin Sect finally made their move on a large scale!
"Great! The Immortal Masters from Lingyin Sect have arrived!"
The Dark Old Man, having narrowly escaped death, slumped onto the mud mixed with snow.
Chen Ye appeared much calmer.
All of this was expected by him, as the market was a crucial industry of the Lingyin Sect, and they couldn’t sit idly by.
However, their speed was indeed beyond Chen Ye’s imagination.
Moreover, observing the escape lights in the sky, there were many Foundation Establishment cultivators.
All this indicated that the Lingyin Sect was well-prepared.
Earlier, the reason Chen Ye did not rescue Lin Qiongyu was because he saw that a disciple from the Lingyin Sect had arrived, so he did not need to intervene.
If he had saved her himself, their entanglement would have deepened.
The more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to attract trouble,
especially a female cultivator like Lin Qiongyu.
Although she appeared pitiful, she had a deep mind and was very good at using others.
Unless necessary, it’s better to keep a respectful distance.
Of course, except for adorable little girl disciples.
For example, his two disciples were like two little animals raised at home.
They wouldn’t cause him any trouble and could alleviate loneliness.
If not for these two disciples,
Chen Ye would really just be cultivating tediously at home...
As he was thinking this, the door to the bedroom creaked open a crack, and the two little ones also heard the gradually subsiding sounds of battle outside and the scolding voices of the Lingyin Sect disciples.
"Master, are those immortals outside?"
Qing Jun couldn’t resist any longer, poking her little fluffy head out from the door crack, pointing with her small hand at the escape lights occasionally flying across the sky.
Chen Ye scowled: "Come here!"
"!"
The little girl trembled with her thin legs, walking shakily up to Chen Ye, twisting her fingers,
"Qing Jun has always been obedient inside..."
"Then where are you now? Didn’t I tell you to hide inside?" Chen Ye extended his finger and lightly tapped the little girl’s head, squinting as he appraised Qing Jun from top to bottom.
This little girl had improved her meals a lot recently, visibly gaining some flesh, no longer the pitiful skin-and-bones figure she was when they first met.
But why was she still so thin and small? She should, in theory, be well-fed and chubby.
Could it be due to cultivating the Body Refining Technique...
The little girl righteously stated: "It was Master who called me out!"
Well.
This girl was always so full of reasons and had even learned to talk back.
However, Chen Ye realized belatedly that, aside from this, the little girl was quite obedient.
Because she was so timid...
Chen Ye squatted on the ground and cleared his throat: "Open your arms."
"Uh?"
The little girl’s fingers twitched, and her big black-and-white eyes blinked with a hint of confusion and wariness, but she hesitatedly opened her slender arms.
Who would have thought,
The next moment, Chen Ye slipped his hands under the little girl’s arms and lifted her up, holding her securely.
Not bad, the little girl was soft and fragrant, and holding her felt quite nice.
Just a bit too thin... A little more flesh, and Chen Ye couldn’t imagine how comfortable it would be to hold her.
"Master! Put me down!!"
Qing Jun immediately became anxious, her little face flushed red, and her little feet kicked continuously, like a kitten lifted by the scruff.
Chen Ye patted her back, holding her steadily but with a serious face: "It was Qing Jun who asked to be held."
"No! It was clearly Master who told Qing Jun to open her hands..." Qing Jun protested angrily.
"Opening your hands is asking for a hug, Qing Jun didn’t refuse, so you agreed, didn’t you?" Chen Ye justified.
"!"
Qing Jun was momentarily stunned by his crooked logic, her phoenix eyes widened in disbelief.
For a moment, she didn’t know how to refute, so she could only puff up her cheeks angrily, looking like a little pufferfish.
Achievement unlocked: Disciple actively asks for a hug!
Chen Ye’s mood, previously dreary due to the changes in the market, brightened again.
Of course, he only held her briefly, taking a symbolic bit of "advantage," and soon put the anxious little girl back down.
As soon as Qing Jun’s feet touched the ground, she quickly ran behind Granny Li, complaining:
"Granny, Master bullied Qing Jun again!"
Granny Li’s wrinkled face carried a teasing smile.
This Chen Ye was still as unserious as before, but now this unseriousness had lost its previous sharpness, replaced with more of a human touch.
She chuckled: "Qing Jun, cultivate well, and when your cultivation level is high, Master won’t be able to bully you anymore!"
"Mm!" Qing Jun nodded vigorously, full of motivation.
Now, in the little girl’s mind, she didn’t know how miserable her Master was!
...
The aftermath on Shunshui Street was quickly taken over by several disciples from the Lingyin Sect.
Leading the group was a female cultivator, the Shunshui Street patrol disciple, Li Qiuyun.
She pinched a spell between her fingers, and a cyan flying sword danced and whirled in front of her, its sword light sharp and fierce.
With each strike, she could accurately slay a demon beast.
The junior brother Liu beside her was slightly inferior, his cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, but his flying sword was equally fierce, his expression relaxed:
"Senior Sister Li, look at how fierce this demon beast’s attack is, it must be the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect behind this! It’s likely they’ve colluded with the demon cultivators of the Emotion Crossing Sect. The earlier destruction of Stone Mirror Town was probably also their doing!"
Li Qiuyun’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she said coldly:
"Junior Brother Liu, be cautious with your words! The Ten Thousand Puppet Sect is also one of the five major sects in the Yan Kingdom, how can you make accusations without evidence?"
The Ten Thousand Puppet Sect acted mysteriously, and their disciples were skilled in refining various types of puppets, making their strength not to be underestimated.
They have always had overt and covert fights with the Lingyin Sect, and their relationship was not amicable.
But without solid evidence, such accusations would only increase the disputes between the two sects if they got out.
Upon hearing this, Junior Brother Liu gave an embarrassed smile.
His offensive became fiercer, clearly wanting to perform well in front of Li Qiuyun.
At this moment, they noticed Lin Qiongyu trembling in a corner, being forced back continuously by a slightly smaller demon beast, her situation perilous.
"Senior Sister, I will go rescue her!"
Junior Brother Liu shouted, sweeping his flying sword to drive back the demon beast in front of him, then turned and rushed towards Lin Qiongyu’s direction.
Li Qiuyun also noticed the situation over there, her flying sword turned, and a sharp sword qi beheaded the demon beast in front of Junior Brother Liu.
"Tsk, worthy of Senior Sister Li, it seems we can finally return to the Lingyin Sect this time..." Junior Brother Liu said admiringly.
Li Qiuyun was noncommittal, glancing at Lin Qiongyu who was rescued.
Seeing her hair and ornaments in disarray, looking embarrassed, and with the Red Flood Dragon Spear piercing through her abdomen, Li Qiuyun frowned slightly: "Taoist Friend Lin, what happened? Most of the demon beasts here are only at the early or middle stages of Qi Cultivation, with your and Taoist Friend Xue’s mid-stage Qi Cultivation, how did it come to this?"
"Many thanks...many thanks to Taoist Friend Li for saving my life!"
Lin Qiongyu was still in shock, realizing the rescuers were Lingyin Sect disciples.
At first, she was stunned, the Lingyin Sect disciples really came?
Her eyes lit up with the desire to survive, her voice choked with sobs, she explained intermittently:
"It was Chengjun, he...he suddenly went crazy, saying the market was in chaos, that we might as well enjoy ourselves before dying, and then...then he started being inappropriate with me. In my panic, I accidentally stabbed him...then the demon beasts rushed in..."
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, her snow-white neck bearing several clear finger marks, indicating a struggle.
Junior Brother Liu heard this, revealing a slight disdain on his face.
Clearly, the two were dao companions, how could they draw blades over such matters?
Being straightforward, he frankly remarked:
"Hmph, just loose cultivators biting each other! At a time of crisis, instead of uniting against the enemy, they slaughter each other, truly despicable!"
His words made Lin Qiongyu’s eyes evade, filled with shame.
Li Qiuyun ignored Junior Brother Liu’s comment, just glanced at Xue Chengjun’s corpse, which still lay unpeacefully, and a few other corpses who clearly died by cultivators’ hands, pondering.
She simply treated Lin Qiongyu’s wounds briefly, then walked over to the corpses of those Tribulation Cultivators not far away.
By this time, the demon beasts on Shunshui Street were being cleared by other disciples, and the disciples gathered around Li Qiuyun.
"This is..."
Junior Brother Liu’s expression changed slightly; these Tribulation Cultivators had died from an extremely sharp and concentrated magic, their bodies riddled with holes imbued with Gold Element Spiritual Power.
Among them, one was wearing a First Tier Middle Grade magic robe, but its defenses were shattered by nearly twenty attacks, dying a miserable death.
"Taoist Friend Li, Taoist Friend Liu, long time no see...these three took the opportunity to loot, so to protect myself, I had to kill them."
Chen Ye finally pushed open the courtyard gate, explaining.
"It’s you? Why is it you again?"
Junior Brother Liu, at first glance, thought he saw wrong, but upon looking closely, he realized it was indeed Chen Ye.
This realization made him laugh uncontrollably,
"Fellow sect members, this here is the Chen Ye that Junior Martial Uncle Bai spoke of!"
When Junior Brother Liu said this, the surrounding Lingyin Sect disciples were first stunned, then all reacted, bursting into fits of teasing laughter.
"Oh? So this is the famous Senior Chen!"
"Tsk tsk, no wonder Junior Brother Liu gives him special attention, turns out he’s the one Junior Martial Uncle Bai mentioned!"
"Senior Sister Li, see, isn’t this fate?"
For a while, teasing voices filled with mischief echoed incessantly.
Chen Ye, however, maintained his usual composure, having enough thick skin to withstand the playful jests of these youngsters.
But...
He did feel a bit displeased.
These sect disciples looked down on him, a loose cultivator, freely making jokes without concern.
But the problem was, didn’t they care about Li Qiuyun’s dignity?
It would be fine once in a while, but kept being said, it seemed like bullying.
Chen Ye watched Li Qiuyun with interest, curious how this typically cold-faced female cultivator would handle this.
Sure enough, Li Qiuyun’s spirited face first blushed slightly amidst her peers’ laughter and then quickly became shrouded with a layer of frost.
She abruptly turned her head, her voice cold enough to drop icicles: "Silence! The sect’s misfortune, the market’s calamity, yet you still have the mind for playful banter, what decorum!"
"Wrong, Senior Sister, we were wrong!" The few disciples who were still laughing pleaded continuously, and only then did Li Qiuyun coldly snort.
Enough.
Chen Ye understood now; despite Li Qiuyun’s cold exterior, her nature was rather soft and easy to talk to.
Yet, because she seldom smiled, her peers enjoyed teasing her.
Junior Brother Liu had been observing Li Qiuyun closely; seeing her cheeks blush slightly, he became immediately unhappy.
Senior Sister, truly embarrassed?
If he had known, he wouldn’t have made this kind of joke!
He glanced at Chen Ye’s tranquil, nonchalant demeanor, and despite Chen Ye’s rather handsome looks, he couldn’t quell his sudden annoyance.
He stepped forward, pointing at the Tribulation Cultators’ corpses on the ground, furiously questioning:
"Chen Ye! Let me ask you! When the market fell into chaos, and demon beasts rampaged, while we sect disciples were fighting fiercely, where were you as a cultivator? Why didn’t you take action to help, instead hiding here? Were you planning to reap the benefits of others’ struggles, and loot amidst the chaos?!"