Secretly Cross the Chencang Pass

At dawn, the sun cast a ray of light from the east, which, paired with the lingering purple mist, made Mount Hua appear exceptionally beautiful.

Gazing at the scenery before him, Li Mu could not help but think of the Purple Mist Divine Skill. He wondered if the foremost of the nine great skills of Mount Hua had any connection to the magnificent purple mist currently before his eyes.

Regrettably, he had scoured the Scripture Library, yet all records related to the Purple Mist Divine Skill merely described how formidable it was without providing any concrete content.

As expected, novels were all deceptive; the predecessors had not been joking around by hiding secret manuals in cracks for the fated to find.

Of course, it was not entirely without gains. There were indeed many peerless divine skills in the Scripture Library, but they all possessed various flaws; if one were truly stubborn enough to cultivate them, they would likely achieve a "peerless" state in the most literal sense.

Compared to those problematic skills that made one "peerless" upon cultivation, the common, ubiquitous techniques were Li Mu's true harvest.

The fact that they were ubiquitous proved that these techniques had high universality and had been verified by countless people, ensuring there were no traps within.

Cultivation was not strictly necessary, but the martial arts philosophies, ingenious ideas, and related cultivation knowledge contained within were precious treasures.

Aside from supervising his junior brothers and sisters in their training, he spent his time immersed in the Scripture Library; after several months, Li Mu's entire temperament had undergone a change.

While his temperament shifted, his cultivation progressed even faster. Benefiting from the resources rewarded by the sect, Li Mu experienced the sensation of flying, smoothly breaking through to the First-Rate realm.

Then... then he stopped. It was not that the medicinal herbs had been exhausted, but rather that a voice deep within his heart told him that taking shortcuts required a price.

Li Mu trusted his intuition, and the sect's classics also emphasized that a martial artist should not overly rely on external objects.

In any case, with his current cultivation, he was capable of self-preservation as long as he was careful; a slightly slower cultivation speed was fine, as it was better than damaging his foundation and affecting his future potential.

Inside Huayin City.

Within a luxurious silk shop, a youth dressed as a servant said excitedly: "Branch Leader, the mole has confirmed that the main force of the Mount Hua Sect has departed. Now, there are only a group of newly initiated disciples left on the mountain.

The sect's reinforcements are on their way; if this news is passed on, the Holy Cult will surely..."

Before the young man could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a group of uninvited guests.

"No need, we have already arrived."

Upon seeing the newcomers, the elderly man who appeared to be the shopkeeper underwent a sudden change in demeanor, kneeling respectfully:

"Liu Changqing of the Guanzhong Branch pays respects to Elder Jia and Elder Zhou."

The middle-aged man in purple robes at the lead nodded slightly, then pressed: "Is the news you just mentioned true? Has the Mount Hua Sect truly emptied its nest?"

The young servant hurriedly replied: "Reporting to the Elders, this disciple dares not deceive you. We have verified this news repeatedly; many people in Huayin saw the large contingent of the Mount Hua Sect depart.

Even if there were some omissions, it could not be far from the truth. Once the Holy Cult's main force arrives, we will certainly be able to take Mount Hua!"

The man in purple shook his head: "It is too late. The Mount Hua Sect's reinforcements have already set out, led personally by Feng Qingyang, intending to intercept our Holy Cult's forces in Weinan.

With the righteous path currently embroiled in internal strife, there is no need for us to pull chestnuts from the fire for Shaolin and go head-to-head with the Mount Hua Sect.

The Great Elder sent us ahead specifically to ascertain the situation and see if there were any opportunities to exploit. Hall Master Liu, how many men can the Guanzhong Branch assemble?"

Hearing the question, Liu Changqing's expression shifted; he knelt on the ground, saying in panic: "Reporting to the Elders, this disciple has failed the Holy Cult's great trust.

The martial arts world of Guanzhong is extremely hostile toward the Holy Cult. Once a disciple's identity is exposed, it immediately invites pursuit from the Mount Hua Sect, so we can only hide our identities and act in the shadows.

Over these years, aside from secretly controlling a few small gangs, we have achieved almost nothing.

Excluding the thugs with no combat capability, we can currently assemble at most two hundred men, among whom only seventeen are third-rate experts and three are second-rate."

As a provincial leader of the Sun Moon Divine Cult, one would be a major figure in the outside world; a formidable branch could even rival a first-rate sect.

Unfortunately, Liu Changqing was an unlucky soul sent to the very lair of the Mount Hua Sect, forced to hide in the shadows and scheme with constant trepidation, not even daring to show his face.

The man in purple nodded: "Rise! The situation in Guanzhong is unique; it is understandable that you have not been able to open up the situation.

Now, I give you a chance to redeem your sins through service: secretly assemble the men of the Guanzhong Branch and stand by, while simultaneously sending people to verify the truth of the news once more.

That is all for today. We are tired from the journey; arrange a secluded residence for us first."

"This disciple obeys."

Immediately, Liu Changqing led the group, who were disguised as guards escorting cargo, to a quiet courtyard typically used by merchant caravans.

"I have wronged the two Elders, but for the sake of safety..."

Before Liu Changqing could finish, the man in purple interrupted impatiently: "Enough, you may leave."

At the foot of Mount Hua, no one dared to be careless. If word were to leak out, their lives would be forfeit here, so naturally, there was no room for formalities.

After dismissing the others, the elderly man in gray suddenly spoke: "Brother Jia, do you intend to launch a surprise attack on Mount Hua? This is too risky!"

The man in purple smiled slightly: "Brother Zhou, do not worry. I am not a fool; I would naturally not do something without certainty.

The Mount Hua Sect is currently locked in a standoff with Shaolin in Luoyang and has diverted troops to intercept our main force. Even if there are experts left on the mountain, how many could there be?

I am not trying to annihilate the Mount Hua Sect. With the elite squad we brought, plus the rabble from the Guanzhong Branch, surely we can cause a major disturbance on Mount Hua?

At the very least, you and I can both retreat unscathed. As long as we can severely damage the new generation of the Mount Hua Sect, it is worth it even if we lose them all.

You know the situation within the Cult well enough; Cult Leader Dugu has long looked upon us with displeasure, constantly promoting newcomers and sidelining us over the years.

We were squeezed out for this mission; if we return empty-handed, our status in the Cult will likely become even more awkward.

It is even possible that our route was leaked to the Mount Hua Sect. The Great Elder let us break away from the main force to go ahead precisely to catch them off guard."

Compared to the various sects of the righteous path, the internal power struggles of the Sun Moon Divine Cult were undoubtedly more brutal. Failure often meant death, and the probability of retreating unscathed was near zero.

As the saying goes, new emperors bring new courtiers. The powerful Ten Elders of the Demonic Cult had naturally become eyesores to the new Cult Leader, especially since, before Dugu Qingyun ascended, these Elders had supported another candidate; the two sides had been at odds from the very beginning.

After hesitating for a moment, the man in gray said fiercely: "Very well, since Brother Jia is already confident, then I shall say no more."