Staking everything on one throw

Dongyuan Sect, Dragon Head Peak.

Purple Heaven Hall.

The atmosphere within the hall was unusually grave.

"..."

"At present, Elder Xu and the elders of the other two sects are still overseeing matters in Silent Valley. They dispatched disciples back to their sects first to report what happened there."

"To think such a thing happened..."

The elders exchanged looks.

One elder sighed softly and said, "At this point, worrying is useless. If it is an unclaimed secret realm, there should be another chance for it to open."

Lu Ziye hesitated to speak.

"What of the other two sects' disciples?"

"Besides Song Yan, Shao Sichao from our sect is also missing. Two Spirit Talisman Sect disciples disappeared. As for the Xuanyuan Sect... it seems only Wang Xi was swept inside."

"Hmm?"

Several elders glanced sideways, exchanging looks.

"Wang Xi..."

External Affairs Elder Zhang Guangyuan frowned. After a moment's consideration, he said:

"The sect master and the grand elders are still in seclusion. I will make the decisions on these matters."

"Lu Ziye, when you returned to the sect, did you ascertain whether there was anything unusual about these two outer sect disciples' life lamps?"

"Reporting to Elder Zhang, I checked them just now. Neither disciple's life lamp has gone out yet, but..."

"But what?"

"But... Song Yan's life lamp is extremely faint..."

"..."

Zhang Guangyuan drew a deep breath.

"I cannot rest easy with Xu Ziqing over there alone. That brat fears nothing more than a world without chaos."

"..."

"Lu Ziye, take my orders and go to Silent Valley with your senior sister Qin Ying to assist Elder Xu Ziqing in handling the relevant matters."

"This disciple obeys!"

"Old Li."

"Just say the word!"

"Assign a disciple specifically to watch those two outer sect disciples' life lamps. Report immediately if anything changes."

"Very well!"

Among the elders, a thin-faced old man said, "Old Zhang, they are merely two outer sect disciples. Surely there is no need to mobilize so many people..."

Zhang Guangyuan gave Yang Wenxuan a long look, shook his head, and said,

"Elder Yang, as the sect master has said, our Dongyuan Sect cannot compare with great immortal sects like the Xuanyuan Sect and the Spirit Talisman Sect. Every disciple's safety must be carefully safeguarded."

"If they went out looking for fights and died battling others, that would mean their skills were inferior. Naturally, we need not concern ourselves with that."

"But this time, they were carrying out a mission for the sect. It involves both a new, unclaimed secret realm and disciples of the other two sects. We must handle it carefully."

Yang Wenxuan nodded. "Very well."

The elders were no fools either. If it were merely these two outer sect disciples, a few ceremonial words would have sufficed. There truly was little worth caring about.

But with a secret realm and disciples of the other two sects involved, the interests at stake were truly complicated. Elder Zhang's call for caution was not without reason.

"Junior Sister Huang, if circumstances permit, keep an eye on the casualties among the other two sects' disciples. Just let me know if you hear anything."

"Very well."

Silent Valley, Liaoran Hall.

"Elder Xu, Elder Zou... why worry so much? It is not as though unclaimed secret realms have never appeared in the Chu Kingdom before..."

"That is not the reason."

Xu Ziqing and Zou Yong exchanged a look.

"It is too much of a coincidence..."

The fluctuations in spiritual power around Silent Valley had already been occurring for roughly four or five months.

Yet a connecting passage had appeared precisely when the three sects' disciples were investigating together.

And it happened to be near Hidden Moon Pool Ravine.

It was almost as though demonic cultivators had laid an ambush there.

Yet the casualties among the sects' disciples were clearly few. Only a handful had been swept into the secret realm.

"It is of no concern. Our sect's inner sect disciple Wang Xi is among them as well. He should be able to keep the other disciples safe."

There was not a trace of worry on Shen Yu's face, only an inexplicable calm, as though he were restraining something.

"Why was Wang Xi drawn inside?"

"Alas, the other disciples said that he activated his spiritual power that day to protect them, but had no time to look after himself. That was how..."

In Shen Yu's telling, Wang Xi was truly a talented young man who deeply valued his bonds with his fellow disciples.

"Though his righteousness was admirable, he was far too eager to claim merit and rashly pushed ahead..."

Zou Yong offered Shen Yu a few words of comfort, but Xu Ziqing merely watched him calmly, feeling that the man was thoroughly false.

Just then, Shen Huai suddenly entered Liaoran Hall.

"Elder Shen, I have an important matter to report!"

"What is it? Speak."

Shen Yu glanced at this favored daughter of the Shen Lineage.

Shen Huai's expression was solemn, her small face pale.

"A disciple from the sect has reported that Senior Brother Wang Xi's life lamp... has gone out."

"What?!"

Shen Yu slammed the table and stared at Shen Huai in disbelief.

Xu Ziqing paid no attention to the news of Wang Xi's death. Instead, he was very interested in Shen Yu's reaction.

Hmm...

Now that did not look like an act.

Nameless Mountain Valley.

As Song Yan made his way through the mountains, even his footing had grown unsteady. At steep stretches, he had to support himself with the withered branch in his hand.

Half a day had already passed since he escaped the secret realm.

Song Yan had no mind to determine where he was. The urgent task was to find a secluded, deserted place to recuperate.

He found a mountain stream, with a natural cave in the northern cliff face, though it was not particularly deep.

Song Yan casually selected a flying sword from the pile of those two people's belongings. Drawing on his already depleted spiritual power, he extended the cave several zhang inward.

Now his oil had truly run dry and his lamp had guttered out; the mountains and rivers had left him no way forward.

He had no ability left to set up any formation. After merely concealing the place a little with the surrounding vegetation, Song Yan summoned Xiao He.

"Xiao He, I will be going into seclusion for several days. During that time, I will need you to guard this entrance and make sure no one disturbs me."

Song Yan estimated that Xiao He had the strength of the third or fourth level of Qi Refining. She should have no trouble stopping nearby villagers or children who wandered into the mountains, or passing cultivators at the Early Qi Refining Stage.

"Okay!"

Xiao He patted her chest and nodded.

Snake Treasure secretly made up her mind. She usually could not help much, but this time, she would make sure Yanyan could recuperate in peace!

Song Yan walked deep into the cave and sat down to meditate and regulate his breathing.

Spiritual Qi entered his body, slowly mending his injuries.

His thoughts, however, were in utter turmoil.

According to Wan Songran, that secret realm belonged to the Xuanyuan Sect all along. They simply could not control it reliably and could only use a certain spiritual object to barely manipulate when it opened and closed...

Originally, the Xuanyuan Sect had two main objectives. First, to slander the two sects' disciples, giving them a pretext to seize spirit vein resources in the future. Second, to cut down some of the promising young sprouts from the other two sects...

But now Wang Xi and Wan Songran are both dead, while I, the primary target of their framing, am still alive...

After going to all that trouble only to lose an inner sect disciple, those in the Xuanyuan Sect who know about this will surely be all the more determined to force charges upon me and open their lion's maw to demand an exorbitant price...

Song Yan's gaze flickered, as though he were struggling with something.

If I were completely unscathed, that would truly invite suspicion...

Even the sect's elders might struggle to keep me safe...

In truth, he was not even certain whether the sect would care if an outer sect disciple like him lived or died.

In this cultivation world, the strong reigned supreme, and the weak were meat for the strong.

Even if he returned to the sect someday, it would be no surprise if its elders abandoned him under pressure from the Xuanyuan Sect.

Without strength, everything was empty talk.

What did it matter if he could cling to life and attain longevity by swallowing grievances to preserve himself and hiding his head while showing his tail?

If he could display his full edge like the Sword Cultivators of High Antiquity, even dying and having his Dao extinguished after a single strike would still count as a splendid life.

A moment later, his eyes slowly closed, as though he had made some momentous decision.

Staking everything on one throw.

The scripture of the Sword-Planting Technique slowly surfaced in his mind...

Perhaps right now is the best possible moment!

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