There were no surprises. Once the conservatives gained the upper hand, the wily Ning Qingyu decisively went with the flow and chose to wait and see how things developed.
As for the two unlucky allies, all he could say was that he was sorry. To the Huashan Sect as it stood, the two sects were important allies, but they were not indispensable.
Getting himself dragged down for the sake of his allies was clearly no wise move. The Mount Tai Sect was especially far away, and the Huashan Sect truly couldn't reach it in time.
Waiting and watching didn't mean doing nothing. On the contrary, the Huashan Sect was setting up a Demon-Slaying Alliance in Guanzhong and inviting heroes from across the land to join.
For example, the Diancang Sect of Yungui, the Yuntai Sect... the Kunlun Sect, Kongtong Sect, and Mount Tianshan Sect of the Western Regions... and the Snow Mountain Sect of Qinghai... had all received invitations.
No one would pass up a chance to build their reputation. The various sects all declared their support. As for when their reinforcements would arrive, that depended on their integrity.
Since it was an alliance, the Huashan Sect naturally couldn't act alone before its allies had arrived.
With the formation of the Demon-Slaying Alliance, rumors about the Demonic Cult's sudden, large-scale attack were spreading throughout the martial world.
Rumor had it that the Three Absolutes Divine Monk was nearing the end of his allotted years, and Shaolin Temple was short on successors. The Demonic Cult had set its sights on the Muscle Tendon Changing Classic.
Rumor had it that Ning Qingyu, leader of the Five Mountains Alliance, was gravely ill and already bedridden, unable to take charge of the situation. The Demonic Cult intended to go to Mount Hua and avenge the Ten Elders of the Demonic Cult.
Rumor had it that Wudang's Second Patriarch had ascended to immortality, leaving the sect without any masters. The Demonic Cult's southward advance was because it had set its sights on Sanfeng Zhenren's legacy.
Rumor had it that Dugu Qingyun of the Demonic Cult had broken through to the Xiantian realm and intended to dominate the martial world.
Mount Heng
Ever since Abbess Lingqing had received Ning Qingyu's letter, she had been beside herself. "Avoid the enemy's full force" was easy to say, but carrying it out was another matter entirely.
As the largest sect in Shanxi's martial world, the Mount Heng Sect had a vast estate to look after. The properties at the foot of the mountain were another matter; if the Demonic Cult came, they would certainly suffer heavy losses.
The sect's home and holdings were external possessions. They could abandon them and take the loss of some wealth, but what about the disciples?
There were hundreds of inner disciples and over a thousand outer disciples, including quite a few children. It wouldn't be easy to flee with such a huge group.
Yet they had no choice but to run. As Ning Qingyu had written, the Demonic Cult was bearing down on them, and the righteous sects weren't prepared. It was unwise to confront the enemy head-on.
Seeing Abbess Lingqing lose her composure, the middle-aged nun beside her hurriedly asked, "Senior Sister, has something happened? Could it be reinforcements from the Huashan Sect...?"
Before she could finish, Abbess Lingqing waved a hand. "Junior Sister Lingyuan, we have no reinforcements now! Alliance Leader Ning sent word that the Demonic Cult is too powerful and told us to avoid its full force."
Abbess Lingyuan was aghast. "How can that be? Is the Huashan Sect going to...?"
Abbess Lingqing shook her head. "The Huashan Sect has its own difficulties. That old devil Dugu Qingyun and his direct followers have yet to show themselves, and Junior Brother Feng just killed the Ten Elders of the Demonic Cult. It's only natural that they're worried about retaliation.
"Besides, the Demonic Cult isn't the only enemy of the Five Mountains Sword Sects. Alliance Leader Ning admitted in his letter that he was gravely wounded in the earlier turmoil in Luoyang and can't fight at all right now.
"On top of that, he raised a frightening suspicion that has shaken the entire martial world—the Shaolin Temple may be secretly colluding with the Demonic Cult."
The leader of the righteous path colluding with the Demonic Cult? The very thought was chilling. And the Huashan Sect wasn't making baseless accusations; it had cited real cases.
Over the past several decades, most martial-world powers that had fallen out with Shaolin had suffered attacks from the Demonic Cult.
This included the Demonic Cult's assault on Mount Hua when the Luoyang conflict broke out. Shaolin had also been connected to the forces that helped the Demonic Cult enter Guanzhong.
Once or twice could have been coincidence. When it happened over and over, even if it truly was coincidence, it was still a "conspiracy."
Whether Shaolin was directly colluding with the Demonic Cult or secretly pulling strings behind the scenes, every sign pointed to some connection between them. The only question was how close it was.
Abbess Lingqing had been able to accept the claim so quickly mainly because she had once suspected something similar herself. She had simply never dared speak of it, given the gravity of the matter.
In truth, it wasn't anything new. The righteous and the wicked were indeed opposed, but the world wasn't simply black and white.
Even beneath the sun, shadows existed, let alone in the martial world, where the strong preyed on the weak. The territories and resources held by the great sects hadn't fallen from the sky; their ancestors had won them with blade and sword.
The only difference lay in the methods they used. Those of higher standing who knew how to keep up appearances and exercise restraint eventually became righteous sects. Those who acted without restraint became demonic villains.
"How could this be? How could Shaolin...?"
The words reached Abbess Lingyuan's lips, then she swallowed them. Though it was hard to accept, Ning Qingyu wouldn't dare make such a claim—and her own sect leader wouldn't have accepted it—without good reason.
Now that they knew, whether the Huashan Sect's reinforcements arrived was no longer the key issue. What mattered more was how to preserve the Mount Heng Sect's legacy amid the coming turmoil.
"All right, Junior Sister. Keep this matter buried in your heart. Under no circumstances can a word of it get out.
"Send word now. Have the disciples pack their things at once. We must evacuate before the Demonic Cult launches its full-scale attack.
"Alliance Leader Ning has already sent people to escort us. As long as we avoid the Demonic Cult's main force, we'll have weathered this calamity."
It was clear that Abbess Lingqing's heart was bleeding as she made this decision.
She was evidently very dissatisfied with Ning Qingyu's decision too. The Mount Heng Sect would be fortunate if even half its disciples could evacuate. But when the sect's survival was at stake, it had no choice.
How majestic Mount Tai! Across Qilu, its green peaks stretch on.
The Creator has lavished all beauty here; the mountain's sunlit and shaded slopes divide dusk and dawn.
Layered clouds surge in the chest; eyes strain as homing birds fly past.
One day I'll climb to the very top, and gaze down on all the other mountains below.
Atop majestic Mount Tai, the furious Yuxuzi channeled his inner strength, shattering the letter in his hand.
Unlike the Mount Heng Sect, which had few resources and little strength, the Mount Tai Sect, the second-largest of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, had a much stronger foundation.
Though it had no top-tier masters to rely on, it was not short of first-rate experts. There were nine among the Yu generation alone, and fifteen when the sect's elders were included.
Besides, the Mount Tai Sect wasn't the only great sect in Qilu. The Thousand Buddha Temple, Mengshan Sect, Heavenly River Gang, and Mount Lao Sect were all its allies in the fight against the Demonic Cult.
With five first-rate sects united, along with a host of second- and third-rate martial factions and aristocratic clans, they weren't completely without the strength to fight one of the Demonic Cult's detachments.
As long as they weathered the first wave, martial forces from Jiangnan would surely come to their aid. They wouldn't want their own territories turned into a battlefield.
Even if they couldn't stop the Demonic Cult's advance, the martial forces of Qilu could rely on their famous mountains and rivers to hold out. They had no need to worry about their own safety.
Unless they were facing a crisis of life and death, Yuxuzi naturally wouldn't abandon the sect's legacy and flee with its disciples.
"Pass down my order. Pull back our forces on the outskirts and open the route south."