Five days later in Seven Star City.
Dong—
Dong…
At dawn, the morning bell rang from the drum tower, echoing throughout the city bathed in the light snow of winter.
In the Heavenly Pavilion with the Moon Shadow Sword Sect's flag hanging above, the calming incense in the incense burner filled the entire room in a cloudy haze.
Yun Tianchong, wearing a golden robe, paced back and forth, stopping from time to time to look at the ancestral hall in the corner, and then continued to pace again, looking impatient.
After knowing Yun Jiujiu's situation, Yun Yiyi immediately dispatched twenty-four Sword Sect disciples, including a Nascent Soul Elder to Heavenly Sorrow City, wanting to bring Yun Jiujiu back before anything happened.
However, five days passed, and the twenty-four people did not send back any messages, so Yun Jiujiu's life and death were still uncertain.
Yun Yiyi worked on the internal affairs of the Sword Sect while her father had been pacing in the middle of the room for five days without stopping. His eyes were now bloodshot.
Finally, she couldn't help but persuade him. "Dad, it's useless for you to stroll around here. You should go back and rest for a while, and then go to the Elders' Pavilion to discuss the matter of the demonic cultivators with the leaders of the other sects in the Southern Region."
"..."
"Anping has sent the map of the Eastern Region and the list of spies. We should also..."
Yun Tianchong paused and turned to look at his eldest daughter, but he saw that her face was calm at the moment, and even a little detached.
He couldn't control his emotions and asked angrily, "Yiyi!! Are you so cold-blooded?!"
Yun Yiyi stopped speaking. "..."
"I know that you didn't have a good relationship with Jiujiu before, but she is still your..."
Snap!
Hearing what her father said, Yun Yiyi couldn't help it. She grabbed the ruler beside her and slammed it on the table. Showing a rare look of anger, she stood up and cursed.
"Yun Tianchong, you are almost three thousand years old, and you still can't tell what things have priority?! Didn't you see how many cultivators from the Southern Region died in the previous attack on Seven Star City? It's been almost a month since we started cleaning up, and the golden shells outside the city haven't been cleared up yet.
You, a cultivator in the late stage of Deification, have done nothing for the past five days, except wandering back and forth here. I asked you to inform the Elders of each sect of the news sent by Ye Anping, but you didn't go, and you didn't go to the meeting of the Elders' Pavilion. Look at you... What the hell are you saying?! No wonder Grandpa Yun wanted to beat you up before!! You jerk..."
Seeing the usually gentle Yun Yiyi cursing angrily, Yun Tianchong was speechless.
Yun Xi, who was helping Yun Yiyi in the corner, also said, "Stop arguing. Jiujiu is so powerful. Didn't she kick Dad's balls to pieces? These three or four spies of the demonic cultivators can't do anything to her."
?
Yun Tianchong felt awkward, but it made sense. Even considering the Nascent Soul cultivators in the three regions of the west, south, and north, Yun Jiujiu was among the best. After the incident with Yun Kunwu of the Sword Sect, Yun Yiyi and Yun Xi took the initiative to give their cultivation resources to Yun Jiujiu.
In addition, she had good aptitude, and her cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds. It could be said that the only people in the Immortal Family who were cultivating faster than her were Ye Anping and his friends.
But...
"But she is stupid! She is easily angered, impulsive, and stubborn!! Just like her mother. I took her home with a pot of wine. "
After Yun Tianchong finished speaking, he realized that what he said was wrong and immediately shut up.
"..."
Yun Yiyi had a dumbfounded look on her face, not knowing what to say. "..."
Listening to this, Yun Xi wondered if her luck was inherited from her mother, and after thinking about it, she felt that this should be the case.
If her mother had good luck, how could she have met her lousy father?
"Sigh…"
The three of them sighed at the same time, and thought at the same time: What sin did their Yun family commit?!
At this time, there was a knock on the door.
They turned their heads simultaneously and looked at the door. "Come in!"
Zhang Yihe walked into the room after hearing the answer. Seeing the miserable faces of the three people, he swallowed his saliva and whispered, "Master Yun, Eldest Miss, Third Miss, a black crow just brought a wooden box."
Saying that, Zhang Yihe walked in holding a simple mahogany box and placed it in front of Yun Yiyi.
"Miss, this..."
Yun Yiyi didn't know what Zhang Yihe meant by this look, and she didn't say anything.
She picked up the wooden box and opened it to take a look.
However, when she saw what was inside, her hand trembled and she dropped the box directly on the ground.
Bang—
A handful of golden hair, along with a golden identity badge in the box, fell to the ground.
When Yun Xi and Yun Tianchong saw it, their eyes widened, and their breath stopped.
The room suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Yun Tianchong's teeth started chattering, and he fell on the red carpet in the room. Looking at his second daughter's hair and badge, his face turned pale.
Although Yun Yiyi was also frightened, she was the first one to come to her senses.
She took a deep breath, picked up the hair and badge on the ground, observed carefully for a while, and then looked at the three people in the room, comforting them.
"The hair and the badge are not stained with blood, which means that the demonic cultivators did not kill her. Dad, don't worry. I think the demonic cultivators captured Jiujiu to threaten the Sword Sect..."
"Don't worry?!" Yun Tianchong looked at Yun Yiyi angrily. "How can I not worry?! Since ancient times, the immortal female cultivators who fell into the hands of demonic cultivators..."
Yun Xi saw Yun Tianchong's despairing expression and quickly comforted him. "Dad, that won't happen. Jiujiu has no figure and a bad temper. Most of the demonic cultivators will look down on her."
Yun Yiyi knew that Yun Xi was comforting their father, but this was really unpleasant to hear. She lowered her head and thought about it. After all, Yun Jiujiu was the second daughter of the Sword Sect.
The demonic cultivators would probably make a fuss about this matter, and they might send another letter soon:
—Your Yun family doesn't want anything to happen to Second Miss, right?
To threaten the Sword Sect with this would be troublesome.
Yun Yiyi clenched her fists, looked at her father, and then at Yun Xi beside her, thinking that probably the two of them won't be able to make a decision.
"Anping..."
Yun Yiyi called this name softly, as if she wanted Ye Anping to give her courage first.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then frowned at Zhang Yihe, calling him in a solemn voice. "Zhang Yihe."
Zhang Yihe no longer dared to smile as usual. When he heard Yun Yiyi calling him, he immediately knelt on one knee and cupped his hands. "...Yes, Miss, please speak."
"Go and prepare an obituary to inform all the disciples and Elders of the Sword Shadow Sword Sect. The Second Young Lady of the Sword Sect accidentally fell into a trap when she was fighting with the demonic cultivators in Heavenly Sorrow City in the Eastern Region and died..."
As soon as these words came out, Yun Tianchong and Yun Xi looked up at her in shock.
Even Zhang Yihe was shocked. He hesitated for a long time and did not dare to accept the order from Yun Yiyi.
Yun Tianchong stood up immediately and grabbed Yun Yiyi's collar. "Yiyi?!!"
"Let go." Yun Yiyi frowned and bit her lips. Seeing her father open his hand, she retorted, "The demonic cultivators will definitely make a fuss about this matter in the future. Dad, if they threaten you with Jiujiu to kill the leaders of the Southern Region immortal sects, what will you do?"
"..."
"Also, if other sects in the Southern Region hear that Jiujiu was captured by the demonic cultivators, they will know that the demonic cultivators grabbed the Sword Sect's weakness, and they will be more or less wary of our sect in the future."
"..."
"This is for the best! I am the Young Lady of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect. I will make the decisions that you cannot make, and I will bear any responsibilities. There are still countless cultivators fighting the demonic cultivators in the Eastern Region. How could we… sniff… because of one person…"
As she spoke, Yun Yiyi seemed to have lost control of her emotions. Tears suddenly squeezed out of her eyes, sliding down her face, and gathered on her chin, as if about to fall.
She sniffed, raised her sleeve to wipe her tears, and then frowned at Zhang Yihe who was dazed on the side. "Zhang Yihe!!"
"Ah… I am here."
"Didn't you hear what I said? What are you waiting for?"
"..."
Zhang Yihe opened and closed his mouth several times as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't say it. He looked at Yun Tianchong and Yun Yiyi, then looked back at Yun Xi, and finally, as if he had given up, he nodded. "Yes, Miss!!"
Then, he ran out.
After Zhang Yihe left, the room fell silent again. Yun Tianchong looked at his daughter, whose face was covered with tears, and his heart twitched. He looked back at Yun Xi, who was lowering her eyes and biting her lips.
After a long silence, Yun Tianchong closed his eyes, took a deep breath, stood up straight, and took Yun Yiyi into his arms. "Yiyi, Xi… Daddy is sorry."
"..."
"This shouldn't be done by you." Yun Tianchong paused, and then shouted, "Someone come here!!!"
The voice amplified by spiritual power echoed inside the Heavenly Pavilion. The two disciples in the Core Formation stage who were guarding the pavilion downstairs jumped up immediately, entered the room, and bowed. "Master."
"Call back all the disciples and Elders who have gone out, and choose a day to attack Heavenly Sorrow City."
Hearing this, Yun Yiyi widened her eyes slightly, and she raised her hand to stop him. "No! The situation inside and outside Heavenly Sorrow City is unclear now, and we don't know how many demonic cultivators are inside. It's the same as sending ourselves to death..."
"Yiyi, I haven't completely given you the position of sect master. I am still the Patriarch of the Sword Sect now."
"But..."
"Since your grandfather died, the Sword Sect has been in decline, shrinking to the border of the Southern Region. But even if it has fallen from a major sect to a second-rate sect today, our Sword Sect is by no means something that can be trampled by everyone. If you swallow your anger, you will be unworthy of your grandfather's name."
Yun Yiyi frowned and retorted. "But we can't just go to our deaths like this, going to the demonic cultivators' territory in the dark and fighting with them. Ye Anping is collecting information in the Eastern Region right now. Maybe…"
"Yiyi, the Immortal Family can't rely on him alone. At least we'll go and find out what the situation is in the Heavenly Sorrow City. If the Sword Sect is destroyed in this battle, it will be a reason for the Immortal Family to attack this city in the future."
Yun Tianchong turned his head and looked at the two Sword Sect disciples who came in. "Thousands of years ago, when the Immortal Family took back the Central Region from the demonic cultivators, it was also like this. Because they had no idea about the situation in the Central Region, they didn't dare to advance for decades. Yiyi, do you know how they broke the deadlock?"
"..."
"At that time, the Law Sect of the Western Region, the Flowing Moon Sect of the Southern Region... a total of more than one hundred seventy immortal sects charged into the Eastern Region at the cost of the entire sects' destruction. This allowed the Immortal Family to seize the Central Region back successfully. Yun Tianmu, your grandfather, also died while exploring the way here..."
"..."
"Besides, Patriarch Zu has already set an example. The old woman Red Moon even took me to Bright Star Sect on purpose. It seems that she also wanted me to see what Patriarch Zu did. She probably expected this situation a long time ago."
"..."
"The immortal path is that the later generations walk on the road paved by the predecessors. Perhaps the legendary Heavenly Dao Scroll is the same. Hehe—"
Yun Yiyi gritted her teeth, and she was silent for a while. "Dad, let's wait for Anping... maybe he..."
"It's not that I don't believe in him. After all, he is the disciple chosen by your grandfather, but we can't rely on him alone." Yun Tianchong patted Yun Yiyi on the shoulder. "If I don't come back, you will take Xi back to the Southern Region and then go to the Black Star Sect."
Without giving Yun Yiyi a chance to speak, Yun Tianchong turned around, threw his robe, and led the two Sword Sect disciples out, leaving Yun Yiyi and Yun Xi standing there in a daze.
Yun Yiyi frowned, turned back to open the window, and looked up at the sky. "Anping, what should I do... Sigh—"
… …
After walking out of the pavilion, Yun Tianchong looked back at the seven-story building behind him, and he couldn't help but feel a little more guilty.
He owed his daughters a lot, and now that Yun Jiujiu was in trouble, he was afraid that he would never be able to redeem himself in this lifetime.
After sighing deeply, he was ready to go to other sects in the Southern Region to discuss and see if any of them were willing to follow him to attack Heavenly Sorrow City.
But as Yun Yiyi said, the Immortal Family knew almost nothing about Heavenly Sorrow City now, and all they had was outdated information from a thousand years ago. It was highly likely that other immortal sects would not go with his Sword Sect.
While Yun Tianchong was thinking about this, panicked shouts suddenly came from the bottom of the Heavenly Pavilion stairs.
—"Patriarch Yun!! No... No, not good!!"
Yun Tianchong looked over and saw Chang Long, Guo Zhiruo, and Hu Renyi, the three demonic cultivators who had followed Yun Jiujiu out.
They were covered in wounds and limped, supporting each other. Only Chang Long looked slightly better.
Yun Tianchong frowned and raised his head slightly, with a murderous intent in his eyes.
Seeing him like this, Chang Long and the other two were frightened and stopped in their tracks, but they still thought that as long as their identities were not exposed, they would be lightly punished at most.
Moreover, on the way back, they deliberately sparred with each other and got injured all over.
"Patriarch!! The Second Young Lady was captured by the demonic cultivators in Heavenly Sorrow City... We..." Chang Long nodded and pointed at the injuries on Guo and Hu behind him, saying apologetically, "We failed to protect the Second Young Lady..."
Yun Tianchong took a deep breath and looked at the two Sword Sect disciples who had followed him down. The double plum blossom tattooed on his forehead revealed a faint spiritual light. "Chang Long, Guo Zhiruo, Hu Renyi, how many years have you been in the Sword Sect?"
"Uh..." The three of them didn't know why Yun Tianchong asked this, but they answered, "More than twenty years."
"More than twenty years... You couldn't cure your rotten roots in more than twenty years? I heard that Elder Tianxing used to like you, Guo girl, and raised you like a granddaughter... My Moon Shadow Sword Sect has never treated you badly."
Although his tone was gentle, every word was sharp.
Chang, Guo, and Hu trembled when they heard this. They immediately realized that they had been exposed, but they couldn't figure out how.
For the demonic sects, these three were one of the trump cards that would never be used unless it was absolutely necessary.
They had been in the Sword Sect for more than twenty years, and they had always been very careful not to make any mistakes.
It couldn't be that they were exposed as demonic cultivators after making a mistake once, right?
Even if it was a big mistake...
Guo Zhiruo hurried to explain. "Patriarch, the matter of the Second Lady..."
Yun Tianchong actually wanted to give them a chance, thinking that if these three people could change their nature, they could be "double agents" and help rescue Yun Jiujiu.
In this way, he could make up for his mistakes, forgive these three people, and allow them to stay in the Sword Sect in the future.
However, when he heard Guo Zhiruo still wanting to explain, his last bit of pity was exhausted.
"I have never killed women before, even if they were demonic cultivators, but today, I will break this rule."
As his voice fell.
Whoosh—
A sword was unsheathed at some point, but when it appeared in Yun Tianchong's right hand, it was already stained with bright red.
Blood flowed down the blade, gathered at the tip of the sword, and then dripped beside his shoes.
Drip-drip—
After one breath, a golden light flashed.
The heads of Chang Long, Guo Zhiruo, and Hu Renyi slid off their shoulders and then rolled down the thousand steps behind them one by one.
Yun Tianchong raised his head slightly, looking to the east. "Jiujiu, keep these three people first. In a few days, Daddy will offer all the demonic cultivators in Heavenly Sorrow City as sacrifices for you."