Xu Gang and several elders
After leaving Jingyun Sect, they went straight ahead until they reached a vast camp that had recently been established.
It was only a few dozen miles from Jingyun Sect's mountain gate.
With a martial artist's speed,
they could get there in just a few hours.
Anyone with a keen eye could sense the faint smell of gunpowder in the air.
By the time Xu Gang and the others arrived, all sorts of forces had already gathered there. The place was packed with people, and a murderous aura hung over the crowd.
There were even quite a few familiar faces.
They were all former Jingyun Sect disciples. After leaving the sect, many of them had come here.
The Three Mountains Alliance's camp.
"Hahaha, Elder Xu Gang, you've come too?"
Someone spotted Xu Gang and the others and greeted them with a laugh.
"Mm."
Xu Gang and the others nodded slightly without saying much.
"Please!"
The man gestured toward them, wearing a knowing smile.
Since they had come, they were clearly on the same side. As long as they were willing to contribute, they would naturally get a share of the spoils from Jingyun Sect's destruction.
Wave after wave of people arrived.
Gradually, several thousand cultivators gathered here.
Among them were quite a few skilled fighters.
From the auras they gave off, some seemed to be seventh- or even eighth-grade cultivators.
Many had come from all over the Southern Region after hearing the news, hoping to get a share when the time came to attack Jingyun Sect.
Inside the military tent.
The representatives of the Lin Family, Ghost Head Mountain, and Universe Gate sat in the highest seats.
Below them, hundreds of people sat in scattered groups. Powerful inner forces radiated from them, making the air ripple faintly.
"Hahaha, who would have thought that the lofty Jingyun Sect would come to this? What a relief..."
A scar-faced man threw back his head and laughed.
"Hmph! Jingyun Sect. My second brother merely took a liking to a mortal woman and casually killed a few ants who tried to resist. What was wrong with that? We're cultivators, for crying out loud. What did he do wrong? And yet some old fossil from Jingyun Sect, jealous of my second brother's looks, slapped him to death!"
A thin man with a sharp chin and a ratlike face bared his teeth and raged.
"And me!"
"I was just drunk one day and had an itch to kill a mortal or two for fun. Who knew an inner sect disciple from Jingyun Sect would chase me for hundreds of miles and chop off one of my arms, all to avenge a few mortals? What utter nonsense!"
Another man, his face twisted with fury, stood up. One of his arms was gone.
"Well said, brother!"
The sharp-chinned man nodded in agreement.
Exactly!
We cultivators were born to stand above others.
They were just a bunch of mortal ants. So what if we killed them? That blasted Jingyun Sect just loved sticking its nose into other people's business!
Picking on the weak!
"Hmph, I say those people from Jingyun Sect are bloodthirsty fiends. They just made up excuses to bully you!"
Someone sneered, baring a chest covered in scars. Clearly, he too had a grudge against Jingyun Sect.
As they listened to the crowd, the faces of some former Jingyun Sect elders and disciples twitched.
But they couldn't be bothered to argue with these lunatics.
After all, they had only come for the benefits.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have betrayed their sect.
As for the things these people were talking about, they didn't think they were all that serious either.
But there were always some people in the sect with too much time on their hands.
They had suffered from those people's meddling themselves.
More than a hundred former Jingyun Sect elders and disciples had gathered here, and they all had roughly the same goal.
Most had been unhappy with their lot in Jingyun Sect.
They lacked talent and were consumed by jealousy.
They resented the sect and wanted to use this opportunity to make a killing.
For one thing, it seemed the sect had a vast store of high-quality pills.
As an elder, Xu Gang had once been lucky enough to witness a scene with his own eyes.
That little yellow-haired girl who had somehow lucked her way into becoming the Young Sect Master had casually pulled out a Pill Pattern-grade pill and given it away as a gift!
A pill!
A Pill Pattern-grade one!
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And she'd just given it away!
Outrageous!
The sect had let a little yellow-haired girl waste such a precious treasure!
And they hadn't even given one to him, an elder!
What had he done wrong?
He'd only skimmed a little off the top, bullied some disciples, and collected a few tokens of gratitude now and then.
Wasn't that perfectly normal?
Why did everyone ostracize him, distance themselves from him, and target him?
He refused to accept it!
People didn't mind being poor; they minded unfairness!
Since Jingyun Sect had shown him no mercy, he'd show them none either!
"Ahem."
"Everyone, since we're all here, I'll get straight to the point!"
On the raised platform, the Lin Family's head pressed down a hand, and the crowd fell silent.
Then he spoke in a ringing voice.
"Jingyun Sect, one of the Southern Region's ten great sects, has acted without mercy or honor, slaughtered countless people, and bullied the weak while fearing the strong, leaving the people in misery. Now that retribution has finally caught up with them, I, for one, am deeply saddened."
"In the past, Jingyun Sect was powerful and had a Xiantian expert guarding it. We, the good people they oppressed, could only swallow our anger!"
"We didn't dare protest in the slightest!"
"Otherwise, we would have been killed!"
"But now, Xu Granny, Jingyun Sect's chief villain, has fallen, and the people are scattered. Our chance to uphold justice on Heaven's behalf has arrived!"
The Lin Family head's speech struck a chord with everyone present.
"Well said!"
"Jingyun Sect has committed every evil under the sun. It must be destroyed!"
"A bunch of hypocrites! They only ever picked on people weaker than themselves. They're despicable! I've wanted revenge for ages!"
For a while, the crowd seethed with emotion. Quite a few people even had tears of grievance in their eyes, deeply moved by the speech!
At last, someone understood them!
At last, someone sympathized with them!
They would never have to spend their days hiding and running again!
All the resentment they had bottled up poured out at once. They were ready to die for someone who understood them.
"Destroy Jingyun Sect!"
"Destroy Jingyun Sect!"
"Destroy Jingyun Sect!"
The cries for Jingyun Sect's destruction grew louder, each wave rising above the last!
"Everyone, rest assured. Destroying Jingyun Sect is the very purpose of our Three Mountains Alliance. We won't let you down!"
The Lin Family head seized the moment to shout. As expected, he was met with a chorus of cheers.
He nodded in satisfaction.
The three men on the platform exchanged glances, each wearing a faint smile.
When the time came to attack Jingyun Sect, they would let these simple-minded fools serve as the first wave of cannon fodder.
Jingyun Sect was, after all, one of the Southern Region's ten great sects.
Even with its Xiantian expert dead and many of its disciples gone,
it was still a lean camel bigger than a horse.
The sect's core strength remained.
So did the foundation it had built up over all these years.
It wasn't something they could take easily just by talking big.
So they needed to gather enough strength to ensure the coming attack went off without a hitch.
"Jingyun Sect's elite forces are far away on the front lines."
"The Xiantian expert at home has fallen, and many elders and disciples have been lost. They haven't had time to replace them."
"This is when their defenses are at their weakest. We must seize the opportunity and crush them in one blow!"
"Once we take Jingyun Sect and absorb its strength, the Three Mountains Alliance will be the Southern Region's next great sect!"
"By the time those fellows on the front lines realize what's happened, we'll already have taken Jingyun Sect and dug in. I'm sure we can swallow them up too!"
"It's been so many years. It's about time we enjoyed the privileges of a one-star sect!"
At the thought, all three men burst out laughing.
Their laughter seemed to light the fuse. Thunderous laughter erupted throughout the tent. Jingyun Sect was already within their grasp, and some were even starting to wonder:
Once they took Jingyun Sect, how should they divide up the ill-gotten wealth it had accumulated?
And how should they spend all the money they would get?
That was a serious question!
At the thought, many fell into deep contemplation, smiles unconsciously tugging at their lips.
Dreaming of the bright future ahead, their hearts burned with excitement. They could hardly wait.
Before you continue