Fu Qiongzhu walked out of the main hall to greet Xue Baizhi.
"Fairy Xue, your coming shows me great kindness."
"Jade Sun Mountain and Azure King Valley are both righteous sects of the Central Land. We should look out for one another."
Xue Baizhi offered a slight bow and entered the main hall with Fu Qiongzhu.
Yang Sui had stormed in and caused a scene the night before. Beneath the surface, unease stirred throughout Benevolence Ward.
Even Master Fu, who had always thought highly of herself, had been forced to invite the righteous Void Step cultivators staying in the ward to discuss how to face the enemy.
If the last incident had merely announced the danger posed by the Longevity Sect, this time the Longevity Sect had come knocking.
When they entered the hall, the Void Step cultivators were already seated in grand chairs. The atmosphere was heavy.
Among them sat Red-Eyed Zhu He, who had taken a blow from Su Che head-on the night before. His face was flushed and his eyes were slightly unfocused, but otherwise he showed no sign of injury.
"You look remarkably well, Fellow Daoist Zhu."
Xue Baizhi might have been praising him or mocking him.
Zhu He paid it no mind. He merely nodded.
Fu Qiongzhu led Xue Baizhi to her seat, then swept her gaze over those present.
There was Hu Deyi of the Myriad Spirits Sect, a burly, imposing man in a ragged monk's robe, half monk and half layman.
Ye Yin of White Deer Grotto, Deng Hui of the South Sea Sect... They were all old acquaintances.
But there was also an ugly old man with narrow eyes who was, astonishingly, a Void Step demon from the Hundred-Thousand Mountains.
Xue Baizhi ran through every well-known Void Step demon in the Hundred-Thousand