Something Seems to Have Gone Wrong

The plaza of the Qinglan Holy Land was deathly silent, yet undercurrents surged beneath the surface.

The Tongxuan Mirror bestowed by Qin Wangchuan hung suspended in mid-air, the cloud patterns flowing across its surface reflecting onto everyone's faces.

Thousands of inner and outer sect disciples, deacons, and servants prostrated themselves on the ground, lifting their heads cautiously, their eyes filled with envy.

They couldn't help but wonder—if they could gain the favor of that immortal, could they also ascend to the heavens in a single step?

Some gazed at the Tongxuan Mirror in Yin Qiyue's hands, fantasizing about the glory of standing there holding it themselves.

Others stared at the Cyan Jade Pill Bottle, as if they could already smell the medicinal fragrance.

A few bold inner sect disciples were even calculating in their hearts how to curry favor with this Saintess in the future.

The kneeling elders stared at the treasures, greed and fear flashing in their eyes, eventually hardening into a sense of resolve—

"Please... please, Saintess Yin, ascend to the position of Sect Master!"

The First Elder suddenly shouted, his forehead striking the bluestone floor with a heavy thud.

This cry was like a thunderclap. The entire Holy Land fell silent for a moment, followed by a chorus of echoing voices:

"Only Saintess Yin is worthy of bearing this immortal destiny!"

"All of Qinglan follows the Saintess's lead!"

Seize the treasures?

Don't joke around. Had they not seen the corpses on the ground, still warm?

Yin Qiyue stood frozen in place, the precious mirror nearly slipping from her grasp.

She was not yet twenty years old, yet she was being pushed onto the throne of the Sect Master.

She did not rush to refuse, instead looking instinctively toward the direction of the Flying Ship.

At this moment, the Flying Ship had already soared into the sky, tearing through the void and vanishing from sight.

Yin Qiyue gazed at the precious mirror and the pill bottle in her hands, whispering to herself: "What exactly is Young Master Qin's intention?"

"What did he mean by saying the Qinglan Holy Land is not peaceful, and what does he want me to do?"

After much deliberation, she had only one answer in her heart.

"Young Master Qin wants me to take control of the Holy Land and act as his hunting dog."

No one would refuse such a good thing, but on the other hand.

He killed the Sect Master who showed me kindness...

For a moment, Yin Qiyue was lost in confusion.

"!!!"

Suddenly, the remaining warning runes of the Mountain Protection Array flickered violently.

"Report! A coalition force from the Fentian, Zhenyu, and Chixiao Holy Lands has been spotted seven hundred miles away!" the scout's voice trembled. "They... they..."

The First Elder's face turned deathly pale. These bitter rivals must have sensed that the Mountain Protection Array had shattered and were seizing the opportunity to attack.

With the Holy Land's array completely destroyed, how could they possibly defend themselves?

"Sect Master, please follow me. Everyone else, prepare for battle!"

Although the elders were devious, their competence was undeniable, and they immediately began issuing orders.

However, just as the two sides were about to clash—

"The Fentian Holy Land arrives to pay respects, bringing our sect's supreme treasure, the Niehuo!"

"The Xuanming Holy Land offers ten thousand catties of Spirit Stones!"

"The Chixiao Holy Land is willing to cede three Spirit Mines, asking only for an audience with the Immortal from the Upper Realm!"

Three transmissions echoed across the sky, but the sight in the distance was even more shocking than the voices—the Sect Masters of the three great Holy Lands were leading the teams themselves, yet they had all removed their crowns and let their hair hang loose, kneeling before the mountain gate ten miles away like condemned subjects.

Behind them, the massive army of cultivators was prostrate on the ground, as if surrendering.

"This..."

The elders were stunned, unable to comprehend the situation.

"They are here to pay respects to Young Master Qin," Yin Qiyue said, finally reacting.

She was the only one whose mind was clear at the moment.

Seeing such a massive Flying Ship, others would naturally assume an Immortal from the Upper Realm had descended.

And, in truth, they weren't wrong.

"Then how should we respond?"

"Yes, Sect Master, what should we do?"

In an instant, everyone's eyes turned toward her.

Only then did it truly sink in for Yin Qiyue; she hadn't expected that she would actually become the Sect Master because of a single word from Young Master Qin.

Since that was the case...

She took a deep breath, then shouted loudly, "Open the gates and welcome our guests!"

Although she had mentally prepared herself, when Yin Qiyue looked at the thousands of cultivators kneeling outside the mountain gate, she finally understood that what Young Master Qin had casually bestowed upon her was not merely a treasure—

It was a Demon-Revealing Mirror, exposing the ugly, sycophantic nature of the entire cultivation world;

And it was a Liangtian Ruler, measuring the insignificance of the so-called dignity of a Holy Land when faced with absolute power.

But there was one thing she still could not understand—

"Why on earth did Young Master Qin kill the Sect Master?"

Several days later, in a stone chamber within the forbidden grounds of the Qinglan Holy Land.

Yin Qiyue sat upright in the Sect Master's seat, with several core elders, led by the Elder of Instruction, kneeling before her.

The candlelight in the stone chamber flickered, illuminating the dense rows of jade tablets on the walls—those were the rosters of disciples who had "gone missing" over the years.

"Speak," she said, her fingertips tapping lightly against the armrest, her voice as cold as ice. "Tell me everything you know, without leaving out a single word!"

The elders exchanged glances before finally revealing the truth.

"The Sect Master... no, Xuanmingzi, he..."

As the elders confessed Xuanmingzi's crimes, Yin Qiyue's original faith completely collapsed—

"So... the Sect Master I have respected since I first entered this sect not only treated disciples as Cauldrons, but also refined pills using the lifeblood of his own sect members?" Her voice was as soft as a dream, yet her fingernails dug deep into her palms, blood dripping down through her fingers.

The Tongxuan Mirror reflected her distorted silhouette, and the young girl in the mirror suddenly laughed:

"Young Master Qin killed him well... he killed him truly well!"

"Crack!"

The armrest was crushed to pieces by her grip.

Amidst the flying splinters, Yin Qiyue whispered in a frenzy, "You filthy things, how dare you call yourselves a 'Holy Land'?!"

Only now did she realize how merciful Qin Wangchuan's words, "It is not very peaceful," truly were.

That wasn't disappointment at all; it was the final shred of decency he had granted these animals!

The First Elder slammed his head against the ground. "We deserve to die ten thousand times over! But we were truly forced into it at the time! Everything was for the sake of the Holy Land!"

"Shut up!"

"Does being for the sake of the Holy Land justify murdering the innocent?!"

"If it weren't for Young Master Qin stepping in, who knows how many more people would have died."

"You don't realize you were wrong; you only realize that you are about to die!"

The Tongxuan Mirror suddenly erupted with a blinding, clear light, forcing the group to shield their eyes.

Yin Qiyue trembled all over—not from fear, but from excitement!

She finally understood why Young Master Qin had to kill them. It wasn't senseless bloodlust, but a cleansing of rotting trash!

There had been no explanation, and she had nearly wronged him.

But thinking about it carefully, why would Young Master Qin ever need to explain his actions to her?

It was simply that she wasn't strong enough!

"Pass the order!" Yin Qiyue stood up abruptly, the Cyan Jade Pill Bottle in her sleeve resonating with a sound like a dragon's roar.

"Effective immediately, the Qinglan Holy Land is renamed 'Wen Dao Palace'."

"Anyone involved with the evil cultivators must cripple their own cultivation to be granted a burial."

"At the same time, erect a stone statue and offer incense to worship Young Master Qin!"