Dong... Dong...
The sound of the bell shook off the snow in the forest, waking up Ye Anping who was concentrating on his breath with his eyes closed in the tower on the mountain top.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw the stove in front of him that was about to go out. Gu Mingxin and Feng Yu Die were leaning on his shoulders, taking a nap together in a blanket.
Seeing that the two had no reaction, Ye Anping thought he was hallucinating and didn't think much about it. He just tightened the blanket that had slipped a little, closed his eyes again, and started condensing energy to pass the time.
Xiao Tian and Xue'e sneaked in to get information for more than two hours, and they hadn't come back yet.
Therefore, he didn't know the details of the situation in the Moonfall Gorge.
Ye Anping could only wait and see how He Qingjiao was going to deal with his sister and Yunluo.
Judging from the information he had now, if He Qingjiao were to act normal, she would most likely choose to defend Moonfall Gorge.
After all, most of the disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect in Moonfall Gorge specialized in alchemy.
Although their overall cultivation was not low, and there were several Nascent Soul-stage cultivators among them, only a couple of demonic cultivators could be considered combatants when facing the Heavenly Cloud Peak Sword cultivators brought by Yunluo.
Avoiding direct battle and defending was the optimal choice for Moonfall Gorge at the moment, without a doubt.
However, he condensed his energy for less than half an hour when the distant bell rang again, the sound entering the tower through the window.
Dong—!
"..."
Ye Anping did not think he was hallucinating this time, and he looked toward the window with a small frown.
Feng Yu Die and Gu Mingxin were also awakened by the bell.
Feng Yu Die slurped the drool flowing down the corner of her mouth because of her sweet dream, and she asked in a daze, "Master Ye, is there a bell sound..."
"Hmm..." Gu Mingxin looked at Ye Anping's handsome face and smiled. "It's the Spirit Bell that summons disciples... There are four kinds of bell sounds in the Heavenly Demon Sect. The one just now should be the call for war..."
Before she finished her words, a golden ball rushed in through the wall and shouted urgently, ''Anping, just now the Elders of the Moonfall Gorge summoned all the Heavenly Demon Sect disciples inside, and it seems that they are preparing to confront Miss Xiao and the others head-on. I just heard from the black bastard that Miss Xiao and the others are less than a thousand miles away from here.''
"Hmm..." Ye Anping lowered his head and thought for a while, then looked around. "Where is Xue'e?"
"The black bastard asked me to come back and tell you that she is closely watching He Qingjiao."
With a grave look, Xiao Tian pointed at Gu Mingxin and continued, "Anping, that He Qingjiao's bloody aura is even thicker than this obstinate black girl. It looks like that Sword Spiritual Body recorded in the Heavenly Dao Scroll… just like Yun Kunwu."
?
Gu Mingxin was stunned for a moment. "What do you mean by 'obstinate black girl'?!"
When Feng Yu Die heard her mention "Yun Kunwu", she suddenly remembered what she had experienced in the Sword Sect a long time ago. That man named Yun Kunwu almost took Xiao Tian away...
"Young Master Ye…"
"... It's okay."
Ye Anping comforted her softly, then stood up, walked around Xiao Tian to the window of the tower, and pulled out the bolt before pushing the window open with both hands.
Squeak—
The biting cold wind blew in through the window gap, numbing his face.
Ye Anping narrowed his eyes and looked into the Moonfall Gorge. His sight passed through the heavy snow falling from the sky, and he saw that the originally dark valley had been lit up with circles of lights, centered on the huge alchemy furnace and spreading outward.
Then, several flying boats slowly rose from the valley, accompanied by countless flying swords with blood-colored light, and poured into the entry gate of the Moonfall Gorge.
Ye Anping pondered for a while, took off the magic tool used to hide his aura from his waist, and cast a Long-Distant Vision spell to look at the bow of the leading flying boat.
He Qingjiao stood alone at the bow against the wind, looking at the horizon covered by dark clouds in the northwest. She immediately felt Ye Anping's scrutiny and turned her head, meeting his eyes from a distance of thousands of feet.
Ye Anping did not hide, and neither did she.
It was not until the flying boat sailed away that the two people's intersecting lines of sight were cut off.
Seeing that He Qingjiao had no intention of rushing over in person, Ye Anping roughly guessed her personality.
She was really arrogant. Perhaps in He Qingjiao's mind, only Gu Mingxin could be called a worthy opponent in this world, right?
"Ah..."
Ye Anping let out a breath. He thought that He Qingjiao would lead the Heavenly Demon Sect to defend Moonfall Gorge, so he was ready to help his sister by opening the gate from the inside after she and the others arrived.
But she came out by herself, which saved him the effort.
Ye Anping turned and looked behind him. Feng Yu Die and Gu Mingxin had already packed up at this time, put on their bamboo hats, and wrapped their face scarves against the snow, then walked over. "Young Master Ye, shall we chase after them?"
"Hmm..."
Ye Anping closed the window and took the two of them down the stairs. He pushed open the door, then stepped on his flying sword, chasing after the many demonic flying boats, concealed by the heavily falling snow.
… …
Among the black mountains, seven immortal ships, three in front and four at the back, were soaring through the air. The flags embroidered with the stars-and-moon symbol of the Black Star Sect fluttered in the air. The disciples of Heavenly Cloud Peak carried boxes and moved among the immortal ships on their swords.
At the bow of the immortal boat in the center of the front row.
"Greetings, Senior Pei!"
"Ah... um, hello..."
Two Heavenly Cloud Peak disciples who were busy with odd jobs saw Pei Lianxue coming to relax and bowed respectfully, cupping their hands to pay their respects for her as a Senior with smiles on their faces.
On the other hand, Pei Lianxue had a blank expression on her face. Not knowing how to respond, she waved her hands in panic, nodded, and quickened her pace, going around them.
Because Pei Lianxue, accompanied by Xiao Yunluo, had killed all the demonic cultivators in their way in the past few months, her name was known to everyone in the Black Star Sect, especially the disciples of Heavenly Cloud Peak.
Many people were proud to be her junior brothers and sisters, and Pei Lianxue didn't even know that she had a lot of little fans in the Black Star Sect.
Some more extreme people even thought that the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect was not worthy of her and wanted to defend her...
Other than those who had become Pei Lianxue's fans because of her strength, many people liked her personality even more. She was not like the other Nascent Soul-stage Elders who always asked, "Have you been practicing diligently lately?" almost as soon as they saw them, and in a very fierce way.
"Sister Pei is beautiful and gentle... so good."
"Yeah... I wonder if she accepts disciples. Elder Qin beats us every time in sword practice. It would be great if Sister Pei taught on Heavenly Cloud Peak..."
"I heard that there is a sister Liang in Heavenly Cloud Peak who practiced sword with Senior Pei before. Why don't we ask her when we go back if she can take us with her?"
... …
Watching the two disciples turn around and walk out of sight, Pei Lianxue breathed a sigh of relief.
She was not used to dealing with people fawning over her. In the past, her brother would have covered for her, but now that he was not here, she was very nervous every time someone came to greet her.
Pei Lianxue pursed her lips, and then walked up to the high platform at the bow alone, facing the wind and looking into the distance. "Stinky brother, why haven't you come to me yet… Sigh..."
Pei Lianxue puffed up her cheeks and suddenly made up her mind. After reuniting with her brother, she would stick to him for three days and three nights. Even if he went to the toilet, she would lie on his back and go with him...
However, Brother had already stopped eating a long time ago, so he didn't need to use the toilet anymore… Then, she would just take a bath and sleep with him...
Pei Lianxue propped her elbows on the railing, looked into the distance, and gradually began to daydream. It had been a long time since she practiced dual cultivation with her brother. She wondered if his yang energy was okay. If his yang energy exploded outside, then wouldn't the Second Idiot just sit back and enjoy the fruits...
"Woo~~~"
Pei Lianxue frowned and suddenly remembered something.
A few days ago, she passed by the door of Yunluo's room and heard her calling
"Anping~ Anping~~" or something like that inside.
She thought that her brother had secretly returned, so she kicked the door that Yunluo had locked and broke in. Yunluo was so frightened that her face turned pale...
Xiao Yunluo explained for a long time, saying that she was just too lonely because she couldn't see her brother. She asked her if she wasn't lonely?
Pei Lianxue didn't know. Although she was quite irritated when she couldn't see her brother, she couldn't say she was lonely... After all, brother wasn't dead… She really couldn't understand Yunluo...
Tap tap—
Footsteps sounded behind her, followed by Xiao Yunluo's voice. "Lianxue... Aren't you cold here?"
Pei Lianxue came back to her senses and turned around to see Xiao Yunluo and Liang Zhu coming over. She said, "I used to enjoy the breeze with my brother when I was a kid. I'm used to it."
Liang Zhu looked pretty relaxed at this moment. He made a lot of money following Pei Lianxue and Xiao Yunluo. He was responsible for collecting the spoils wherever they went.
Although the items they obtained had to be handed over to the Black Star Sect's Spiritual Item Pavilion for inventory and distribution, there were many opportunities for kickbacks.
However, these kickbacks were trivial matters. The main thing was that he had never stepped into danger once when following Pei Lianxue and Xiao Yunluo, and he didn't have to fight or anything.
Pei Lianxue could handle it all by herself.
His only responsibility was to investigate the enemy situation and then transport the spirit stones and magic tools of the demonic cultivators...
"A few hundred miles away is Moonfall Gorge. According to what I have learned before, Moonfall Gorge is full of Alchemy cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Sect, and they have little combat power... The only one who is more difficult is Yue Wuming, a Dharma cultivator in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul, who is the Elder in charge of Moonfall Gorge."
Xiao Yunluo nodded. "Lianxue, when the time comes, don't worry too much, just charge ahead. Brother Liang and I will coordinate the disciples of Heavenly Cloud Peak to assist you..."
Liang Zhu glanced at her. "Young Miss Xiao, why are you calling me brother, I'm not worthy..."
"Anping and Lianxue both call you that. Anping is Liang Xiaoliu, Lianxue is Liang Xiaoxue, and I am Liang Xiaoluo..."
"..."
Listening to her, Liang Zhu felt his life had shortened, and he quickly waved his hand to indicate 'don't', then he continued seriously, "When we got here, Yue Wuming has probably received the news. Considering their combat power, he would probably want to defend the Moonfall Gorge to the death. Although there is no big formation inside, there are many hidden caves. Miss Pei, don't charge recklessly... Being surrounded is not a good thing."
"Well, okay!!"
"Alright, I'm going back to the cabin."
Liang Zhu cupped his hands and turned to walk down the platform and head toward the cabin.
Watching him walk away, Xiao Yunluo smiled and approached Pei Lianxue, whispering to her, "Lianxue, do you know? I heard from the disciples of Heavenly Cloud Peak that since we crossed the river, he and the Empress kept exchanging letters. You think that he and Tong Zilan…"
?
Pei Lianxue frowned at her, and she asked in confusion, "Yunluo, why are you asking about this?"
"Isn't this boring... We spent half a month crossing the river, and we didn't encounter any demonic cultivators or demonic beasts. I have nothing to do in the cabin every day, so I just listen to the gossip. Lianxue, aren't you interested? Wasn't he the Empress' personal bodyguard in the past..."
Pei Lianxue tilted her head expressionlessly. "Brother Liang is A Ting's adoptive father, and Elder Tong is A Ting's biological mother. I think it's quite normal..."
Speaking of this, Pei Lianxue suddenly saw, from the corner of her eye, a flying sword with a stream of light, rushing toward her.
A Black Star Sect disciple who had gone ahead to inquire about news landed in front of her and Xiao Yunluo in a panic.
Seeing her anxious face, Xiao Yunluo immediately put on the demeanor of a Young Lady, puffed out her chest, and raised her head, frowning. "What's wrong?"
"Young Miss Xiao, about a thousand demonic cultivators have already left Moonfall Gorge and are coming on flying boats straight toward us..."
Before the person finished speaking, Liang Zhu, who was supposed to return to the cabin, suddenly ran back and looked at her with a puzzled look. "Is the news true?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. There are a total of ten flying boats, which are full of disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect..."
"Does Yue Wuming have such confidence?" Liang Zhu frowned, holding his chin and thinking for a while. A possibility soon came to his mind, and he said, "Miss Pei, Miss Xiao. I'm afraid that the Heavenly Demon Sect has sent reinforcements to Yue Wuming. I haven't heard anything… I don't know how many reinforcements and how strong they are. For now, it's best…"
Xiao Yunluo also understood what he meant, and she quickly ordered the Black Star Sect disciple, "Go and check again... Then, Brother Liang, you tell the disciples to slow down the boat and let's take a step back. Yue Wuming seems to want to provoke us, so let's not fall for it..."
Pei Lianxue had no objection. Her brother taught her how to fight, but he didn't teach her how to lead a group in a fight.
Before, she, with Xiao Yunluo, Liang Zhu, and four others, just killed the enemy one by one and ran away if she couldn't beat them.
But now, she was leading more than seven hundred disciples, and many people would die if they couldn't beat them.
So she completely handed over the command to Liang Zhu and Xiao Yunluo.
"Yes."
The disciple bowed and responded, then hurriedly flew back toward the Moonfall Gorge. Liang Zhu also went down to the deck to tell the disciples to change direction and raise their alert.
However, it was not known whether the Black Star Sect disciple came back too slowly, or if the flying boats of the Heavenly Demon Sect were too fast.
Liang Zhu had just arranged to turn, but not long after, Pei Lianxue at the bow seemed to have sensed something and suddenly turned her head toward a mountain peak covered in black snow not far away.
Xiao Yunluo, who was directing the disciples to place items, saw that her expression changed. "Lianxue… what's wrong?"
"There is a killing intent."
"Ah?"
Startled, Xiao Yunluo turned her head and followed Pei Lianxue's line of sight but only saw a blood-red spiritual light that suddenly flashed in the originally calm black clouds behind the mountain.
Whoosh—
Then, a blood-colored light, along the right side of the mountain, drew a perfect arc and shot straight toward her and Pei Lianxue.
"Hiss—"
Xiao Yunluo was so scared that she took a deep breath and shouted immediately,
"Enemy attack!! All disciples in defense formation!!"
However, the distance of several thousand feet from the mountain was only ten breaths at the speed of the arc of light.
The Heavenly Cloud Peak disciples running on the deck heard her shouting but didn't react immediately. They froze before running to their respective positions to prepare the formation and cover the immortal boat with a spiritual shield, but it was too late.
Fortunately, Pei Lianxue was the first person to notice the blood-colored arc of light.
While Xiao Yunluo was commanding her disciples to defend against the enemy, she summoned the Snow Jade Spirit Sword, jumped from the bow in one step, and raised the sword, placing it in the path of the arc of light.
Ding—!
It was not until Pei Lianxue intercepted the arc of light with the sword that she found that it was a black iron feather arrow.
The rich blood wrapped on the feather arrow collided with the ice-blue cold air wrapped on the Snow Jade Spirit Sword above the bow before spitting into countless blood-like brilliance, splashing everywhere.
Pei Lianxue felt that this force was quite strong, so she immediately increased her strength and pressed her arms down.
Swoosh—
The ice-blue sword light swept across the arrow, and in just a moment, it split the arrow and the forest below it into two.
"Yunluo, it's amazing!!"
"Ah... it's amazing..." Xiao Yunluo froze before she understood that Pei Lianxue meant that there was an amazing demonic cultivator, and she gulped.
After all, if Lianxue said it was an amazing demonic cultivator, it shouldn't be just ordinary amazing...
The disciples of Heavenly Cloud Peak on the deck had also set the formation at this moment, but they didn't get to activate it.
Countless spell lights with demonic energy suddenly emerged from behind the mountain, passing the mountain in a parabola and heading toward the Black Star Sect's flying boat.
The burst of spells was overwhelming, instantly illuminating the dark world covered by the black cloud.
Xiao Yunluo took a deep breath and clasped her hands. She flew above the seven immortal ships, closed her eyes, and muttered a spell.
The Black Dragon spirit surged from her body, and before the magic spells of the demonic cultivators fell, it condensed into a spiritual shield, wrapping all seven immortal boats.
Rumble---
The magic spells of the demonic cultivators exploded at a close distance, and the hull shook violently.
Liang Zhu took several steps to stabilize. He looked at Pei Lianxue and Xiao Yunluo and expanded his voice with spiritual power to draw the attention of the Heavenly Cloud Peak disciples. "All disciples, listen to the order, set up the formation!!!"