Riverbank.
After a fierce battle came to a halt, spiritual energy still rippled through the sky, and the plants on the ground drooped and withered. Cultivators were stationed at several points to tend to the spirit veins damaged by True Fire or Geng Metal. The scene was bustling amidst the ruins.
Though both sides desired the Wilderness and thus strove to fight in the air rather than on the ground, considerable damage had still been done during the battle. Fortunately, Guan Kan had died at the source of the land's veins, causing the water vein to surge with vitality, so the loss of spiritual energy was not too great.
Kong Guxi descended from the air and lifted his Dharma robe. His two legs looked as though they had been gnawed by dogs, missing chunks here and there, exposing translucent flesh and pale white cartilage.
The Capital Immortal Dao's dharma artifacts are formidable. These wounds will be difficult to heal.
His mana was nearly exhausted, leaving him unable to heal, and the wounds were further complicated by residual mana. He quickly swallowed two pills, hastily covered his legs again with the robe, and spoke to the Profound Peak Gate disciple approaching to greet him, "The peak masters have all suffered serious injuries. I saw that Guest Cultivator Sun and Guest Cultivator Wu seemed in better condition. Where have they gone?"
The disciple hesitated twice before replying, "Replying to the gate master, the two have gone to Lord Chenghui's hall to report."
Kong Guxi paused for a moment, then quickly nodded. "Good... good... I was too slow. I shall go there at once!"
He looked around and saw not a single guest cultivator in sight. Only his family member, Kong Qiuyan, was tending to their disciples within the formation. Most of the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators had fallen, and those still standing had gone ahead to receive the Li Family's people.
When he looked more closely, he found that even the disciples dispatched from their own gate were few, with no more than a handful scattered about. A dozen or so lay groaning on the ground.
He could not help but ask, "The disciples of the Seventeenth Peak... why are there only a few of them left?"
There had been little involvement of Qi Cultivation Realm or Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators in this war between the two sides. Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators fought in the skies, while the Profound Peak Gate disciples on the ground mainly faced esteemed families crossing the river, who were hardly formidable opponents. Although the enemy had more Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators and many accidental deaths had occurred, the losses should not have been this severe.
The disciple paused, uncertain how to explain. A disciple like him could sense some things, but the lofty gate master might not. He quietly replied, "To answer the gate master... the brothers fought along the river, retreating as they fought. Perhaps they flew a little farther along the way and lost their way. If we wait a while longer, they should return."
"Lost their way?!"
Although Kong Guxi had not been in charge for long, he was no fool. When he heard those words and saw the disciple's expression, he suddenly understood. Pressing his lips together, he spoke bitterly, "Oh... let them go then... perhaps it is for the best."
The Profound Peak Gate was not a gate that had sprung from nothing. Most of its disciples came from the esteemed families of Lake Xian and Shanji Prefecture. If those places fell into enemy hands and they could not even protect their own families, then their disciples leaving on the wind was only natural. Though Kong Guxi felt bitter sorrow, he still understood in his heart, When Shanji is completely lost, more will leave.
Enduring the pain, Kong Guxi took to the air. A man clad in ochre armor with a dark-patterned face mask, wielding a spear and an axe, his body covered in blood, flew down.
He descended before Kong Guxi and rasped, "Fu Yuezi has just tended to his wounds and has come at once to pay respects to the gate master."
Fu Yuezi had just fought four opponents alone, and had two shattered ribs that were exposed to the air. Kong Guxi quickly helped him up, covering his own shoulder as he pushed him forward a step and said, "Go see Lord Chenghui. Why waste time coming to see me?!"
Fu Yuezi refused to move. Kong Guxi, too injured to push him, sighed and stepped back. At that moment, an elderly man hurried up to him and halted hesitantly. His hair was disheveled, his crown askew, his appearance wretched, and his eyes bloodshot.
Kong Guxi felt as if an ice pit had cracked open in his chest at the sight, chilling him to the soles of his feet. The back of his left heel, already sliced away, throbbed with hollow pain as he asked, "Old brother... what is the meaning of this?!"
This elder was the very one Kong Guxi had sent to Jingyi Mountain early on. After Changxi's death, he had crushed the jade pendant he carried to summon aid. Now he had returned in disgrace.
The old man fell to his knees with a thud, crying and lamenting as he answered, "The people stationed in the market at Jingyi Mountain said that Daoist Master Xuan Yi was not in the mountain... and those disciples were so haughty they would not even lower their heads to look at me!
"I then asked about seventeenth brother, but they said he refused to meet me. The family sent eight letters before... and he never replied to even one... Now... now! I went to Yuezhou Island and was driven out!"
"What?!" Kong Guxi felt his breath leave his lungs, leaving him momentarily dazed. It took several breaths before he recovered as he asked in disbelief, "Did he not request provisions from the gate just a year ago?"
"Yes..." replied the elder.
Kong Guxi understood now and nearly collapsed. The man who had not shed a single tear even while fighting, covered in blood and flesh, now broke down crying, choking out two sobs before swallowing them back like a strangled rooster.
"Alas... it's over now... how am I to explain this to Daoist Master Zhaojing?!"
He wiped his tears. With both his own younger brother and Daoist Master Xuan Yi proving unreliable, Kong Guxi feared the Li Family might reconsider their alliance, and if that happened, his own ruin would be absolute.
Beside him, Kong Qiuyan was equally uneasy. Glancing at her gate master, she asked helplessly, "What else can we do... He has reached the shore and refuses to set foot on a sinking boat..."
A heavy silence fell as they looked at one another. Kong Guxi's elder brother's expression was bleak. He glanced around and asked, "Where are they?"
The three words struck them like a heavy hammer. The elder read their faces and understood, his body going limp as if his bones had been drawn out.
He asked, "With Profound Peak Gate's allies merely watching and Jingyi Mountain shutting us out, our family is in dire straits. It would be better to abandon the gate early and seek refuge on the sea... at least then there might be a chance at survival!"
Kong Qiuyan closed her eyes silently and replied, "Who would follow you to such a forsaken place? Sun Bai? Which guest cultivator would? How many Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could you possibly support on some random island?"
Beside them, Fu Yuezi fell to his knees with a thud, choking with emotion as he said, "No matter where the gate master goes, I will follow unto death without hesitation!"
Kong Guxi was horrified by what he heard, his soul scattering in fear as he shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting?! We follow only the Daoist Master's orders! Where do you two get the courage to speak out of turn?!"
Leave the mainland? Leaving was unthinkable. The Profound Peak Gate was too important, and there were still elders within striving for breakthroughs. Even if the gate were to fall, Kong Guxi would not dare harbor even a thought of departure. One would have to be mad to do so!
What are they trying to do? This would be a slap in the Li Family's face... and if that happens, where in this vast world would we still find a place to exist?!
The chill crawling up his spine snapped him out of his grief and rage. His face flushed red as he shouted loudly, "Remember this well! Even if we die, the Kong Family will die in Jiangnan! We will die fighting the Capital Immortal Dao! As long as the Daoist Master permits it, even if there is but one patch of land left in Jiangnan, as long as we can raise our heads and see the spirit mountain in the north, we will go nowhere else!
"If elder brother dares speak such words again, do not blame me for showing no mercy with my sword!"