The Azure Pond Sect.
The immortal formations were brightly lit, while all the peaks were sealed off except for Yuanxing Peak, where people bustled about. The mountain was nearly entirely forged from golden iron, adorned with thousands of iron pillars linked by iron chains. It was a rather grim and intimidating view.
Yet in the main hall atop the peak, its master stood with a spear in hand, brow furrowed with deep anxiety.
Ning Hejing had received the news early. Chi Zhiyun had never truly trusted his brother Chi Zhiyan. While he didn’t believe Chi Zhiyan would recklessly squander all their forces, he feared that his subordinates might lie to him. So he had secretly placed informants in several locations.
When Li Xuanfeng crushed the Buddhist cultivators and the north fell silent, a specialized courier flew back from the riverbank. He had used talismans and all his mana to barely make it to the city’s market. Upon collapsing, a second messenger immediately took over. The relay labored nonstop day and night, until the message finally reached Ning Hejing by the next day.
"Killed all eighteen monks? Are you kidding me!?"
Ning Hejing’s entire attention was on Li Xuanfeng, his mind filled with that terrifying feat. He began to sense things had gone awry at Mount Bianyan. Initially, he thought nothing of it. Chi Zhiyan had a Purple Mansion Realm talisman, and could even traverse the great void. What could mere devil cultivators do to him? At worst, he would suffer a few casualties.
But Chi Zhiyun had left orders to seize control of the Heavenly Glow Cloudship, seal off all peaks, and summon all members of the Chi Family back to Azure Pond Peak. It felt like overkill, but Ning Hejing, afraid of punishment should Chi Zhiyun emerge from seclusion, went along with it.
Then came the second message. No word from Mount Bianyan, and Li Xuanfeng was dead. Ning Hejing felt some relief, but sensed something off. On the third morning, the soul lamps on Azure Pond Peak, once a sea of purple, snuffed out like candles in the wind. Only a few remained. Even Chi Zhiyan’s soul lamp had extinguished. Ning Hejing was stunned for a full half-minute.
"How is this possible!?"
He turned to check the green soul lamps on the other side; they were completely gone. Only a handful of cultivators who had stayed behind in the sect had survived.
Now seated in the grand hall, Ning Hejing felt cold to the bone. He sat silently at the head of the room, before a crowd of cultivators. Most of them were aged and speaking in wavering tones, their voices rising and falling in discord.
His heart burned with frustration, but he didn’t dare scold this group from the Chi Family. Instead, he restrained himself and asked quietly, "My lords, Si Yuanli must already be on his way back. Do any of you have thoughts on what we should do?"
Yet most of those below merely looked on coldly, keeping their distance. Ning Hejing took them all in, and though fury surged to his head, his expression did not change.
The core figures of the Chi Family’s first lineage had perished at Mount Bianyan. Those from that line who remained here had no voice in decision-making. The rest were from the second lineage, and harbored long-held resentment. Now they looked on with barely concealed schadenfreude.
Ning Hejing knew these pampered, idle old wastrels were no good. If they had any real ability, they wouldn’t have aged into obscurity without gaining a single post. But even he hadn’t expected them to be this foolish. His heart went cold, Si Yuanli’s actions have already doomed Chi Zhiyan. Why would he rush back now with any goodwill in mind? You all still bear the surname Chi; honor and disgrace are shared! How can you just stand by and watch!?
He was both furious and afraid, but fortunately, not all of the second lineage elders were useless. A few remained silent in deep thought, though these old foxes still held their tongues and merely waited in silence.
Scanning the hall, Ning Hejing noticed only two remained standing in front, both silent but visibly anxious. He recognized the one in front as Chi Fubo, the eldest direct descendant of the Chi Family's second lineage, a formidable figure.
Ning Hejing quickly spoke up, "Fubo! What’s your view on this?"
Chi Fubo’s expression was dark as he replied, "Uncle Hejing! Bianyan was a trap laid by the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators! Anhuai Heaven was designed specifically to strike at our Chi Family!"
His words brought a hush over the hall. Chi Fubo was well-regarded among the second lineage, and most gave him due respect.
Ning Hejing could only sigh. "Of course I know! But Si Yuanli is nearly here, so how could I possibly refuse him at the gates? Once he enters the sect, with Daoist Master Buzi missing and Daoist Master Yuan Xiu absent, the Azure Pond Sect will be his to command!"
Ning Hejing, stationed on Yuanxing Peak, had once overseen Si Yuanbai. When Si Yuanli had visited multiple times, he had dismissed him as a nobody. With the Purple Mansion Realm cultivator’s ban in place, he had left him out in the cold. Now, if Si Yuanli took over sect affairs, he would surely place his own family in charge of Yuanxing Peak. Between personal enmity and political rivalry, Ning Hejing’s fate would be bleak.
Though Chi Buzi was merely missing, not confirmed dead, though Yuan Xiu had always been friendly toward the Chi Family, though Si Yuanli usually kept a low profile, Ning Hejing still didn’t trust him. Even if Si Yuanli didn’t dare act recklessly, Ning Hejing still had to push the issue for his own safety.
He quickly whispered to Chi Fubo, "Si Yuanli is a wolf with wild ambition. With the sect master in seclusion and the main seat vacant, he won’t let the chance slip by. If the Si Family takes over and the main family is weakened, both the Chi and Ning Families are sure to be pushed aside..."
By sheer luck, his warning struck a chord. But Chi Fubo was no fool; he was ambitious too. He responded quietly, "You’re right, Uncle Hejing... But what can we do now? He’s returning in triumph, and our forces are nearly gone. What can we even say?"
Their conversation left both men frowning, anxiety thick in their hearts. Ning Hejing said, "Daoist Buzi’s soul lamp is still lit! There are countless strange places in the world... Who’s to say it’s not some fate-distorting realm?"
After exchanging thoughts, both became increasingly unsettled by Si Yuanli’s rapid return. Chi Fubo immediately turned to gather a few senior members, clearing the great hall of the rest and leaving only trusted insiders.
After reviewing everything again, Chi Fubo exclaimed in alarm, "If Daoist Master Buzi is truly gone, the first lineage is finished, and the other families are full of resentment. If Daoist Master Yuan Xiu harbors any intention, how could the Azure Pond Sect possibly remain under the Chi Family!?"
"But Daoist Master Yuan Xiu is closest to our Chi family!" A white-haired elder nearby spoke softly. It was Chi Buhua, the eldest of the Chi Family’s second lineage, his face full of hesitation and disbelief.
His voice echoed through the hall, but as he spoke, even he began to doubt himself. To the others, it sounded almost mocking. Chi Fubo’s face darkened, his fists clenched pale.
A horrified Ning Hejing slowly lifted his head, his face cast in shadow as he rasped, "The heart of a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator... who can truly fathom it?"