Only now did the era of Ling Ziling's rule truly begin.
[Age 400: You took advantage of your position to squander the Dao Sect's reserves on a massive scale and bring in Demon Sect disciples. You plotted the former Seventh Elder's death and nominated Qi Yue as the Dao Sect's Seventh Elder. You secretly tried to win over the Ninth Elder, but failed.] [Age 428: You finally broke through to Spirit Transformation.] [Age 431: Ling Ziling began purging the Demon Sect disciples within the sect. The Immortal Alliance granted the Southern Region an opportunity to enter the Spirit Medicine Realm, which only Qi Refinement disciples could enter. You considered this an opportunity and secretly summoned the Demon Sect elders lurking within the Dao Sect's territory. Unfortunately, Luo Li was in seclusion and could not come.] [Age 432: You never expected Ling Ziling to follow them. All the elders perished, leaving you filled with regret.] [Age 435: Qi Yue suddenly died of poisoning. You noticed that another force seemed to exist within the sect, but could not discover which force it was. Even Ling Ziling failed to find out who had killed Qi Yue. You began exercising caution and stopped contacting the Demon Sect.]
"Another force?"
Ling Ziling was rather speechless. Ever since becoming Sect Master, she had felt that the sect was flourishing by the day. She had never expected multiple forces to be lurking within it, and judging by the situation, none of their strengths could be underestimated.
[Age 437: You spent several years watching Pill Cloud Peak, but gained nothing. None of the Peak Masters researching poison pills had ever come into contact with Qi Yue, nor did they have any motive to kill him. Left with no alternative, you could only continue investigating.] [Age 438: You discovered that the Demon Sect disciples within the Dao Sect were beginning to disappear without a trace. This worried you greatly, and you secretly began reminding everyone not to leave the sect for training, but the situation did not improve.] [450: Friction between the righteous and demonic factions intensified by the day, and the disciples' training journeys were filled with bloodshed. Luo Li emerged from seclusion and began instigating a war between the righteous and demonic factions.]
"That's not right. In the previous simulations, Luo Li never appeared. It was Ye Tian who caused the war between the righteous and demonic factions to escalate. Why has it happened so much earlier? What changed on Luo Li's side?"
Ling Ziling looked astonished. Over the years, the righteous and demonic factions had disliked one another, and casualties during their disciples' training journeys were as common as everyday meals. But if a sect master from either side instigated a war, that meant true war had arrived.
[Age 460: While transmitting the Dao Sect's defense plans to outsiders, you held up the Dao Sect's experts. The Blood Demon Sect and Shadow Demon Sect gathered their experts and launched a surprise attack on Flame Moon Valley, one of the Southern Region's Five Upper Sects. Flame Moon Valley was destroyed, and the Demon Sects grew powerful.] [Age 470: Luo Li broke through to Spirit Transformation Late Stage and led the Blood Demon Sect in an attack on the Puppet Sect, wiping it out. The Azure Feather Dao Sect was the only righteous sect left in the Southern Region.] [Age 475: The Azure Feather Dao Sect led the remnants of Flame Moon Valley and the Puppet Sect in resisting at every turn. You and the Ninth Elder were ordered to take charge of one front. You secretly contacted the Blood Demon Sect to arrange an ambush, only to be beheaded by a streak of sword light. You died.] "Dao Sect fortune: 45"
"The Fortune Points keep dwindling."
This gave Ling Ziling a sense of urgency.
Ling Ziling sank into thought. If Luo Yun's suspicions were correct, another force was indeed lurking within the Dao Sect, but she did not know where this force belonged.
The Southern Region's Five Upper Sects were the Azure Feather Dao Sect, Flame Moon Valley, the Puppet Sect, the Blood Demon Sect, and the Shadow Demon Sect.
Flame Moon Valley and the Puppet Sect were the first to be destroyed. The unknown force could not possibly have sat by and done nothing, so those two could be ruled out first.
Qi Yue was already a Blood Demon Sect spy, and he had not been exposed. There was no reason for him to be executed. Moreover, Luo Yun knew nothing about the situation either, so it could not be the Blood Demon Sect.
That left only the Shadow Demon Sect.
The Shadow Demon Sect had always kept a low profile and rarely clashed with the righteous faction. If this force belonged to the Shadow Demon Sect, why had it failed to act for so long at the end? In the previous simulations, no one from the Shadow Demon Sect had stirred up trouble.
"Then who else could it be? Could it be the Immortal Alliance?"
The thought that suddenly sprang into her mind startled Ling Ziling, but she then shook her head with a laugh.
The Immortal Alliance was so powerful that any deacon it sent could destroy the Dao Sect a thousand times over. Why would it plant spies within the Dao Sect?
Unable to figure it out, Ling Ziling set the matter aside for now.
Ling Ziling's priority now was figuring out how to kill the Grand Elder, either with proper justification or without a sound, and uproot all the Blood Demon Sect disciples.
The Blood Demon Sect.
Having just returned from an outing, Luo Li stared blankly at the blood vial in his hand.
Several months earlier, on a sudden whim, he had left the sect to travel. He had never expected to find this blood vial, but no matter what method he used, he could not open it.
This blood vial was at least a supreme-grade Law Treasure, and might even be a Spirit Treasure.
Luo Li could sense that if he could open the blood vial, he would obtain an immense fortuitous opportunity.
Suddenly, Luo Li discovered that the blood vial had loosened and no longer seemed quite so secure. Given another dozen or so years, he would probably be able to open it.
Wood Spirit Peak.
Ye Xuan looked up at the sky. He noticed that the sky above the Dao Sect seemed somewhat dim.
Several days quickly passed, and at last it was time to head to the Spirit Medicine Realm.
On Wood Spirit Peak, Zheng Huaiyuan was making preparations for his two disciples.
As a grandmaster alchemist, Zheng Huaiyuan was undoubtedly very wealthy.
"You each get a Qiankun Bag. Inside are plenty of protective jade pendants that can block attacks below Golden Core, along with several supreme-grade Spirit Artifacts and a large quantity of pills and Spirit Stones. They should be enough for you to keep yourselves safe."
If entering the Spirit Medicine Realm did not render all Law Treasures and anything with power at the Golden Core Realm or above unusable, Zheng Huaiyuan would probably have spent his entire fortune buying Law Treasures to protect the two of them.
"Remember, after entering the Spirit Medicine Realm, find somewhere safe to establish your foundations before doing anything else. Each Qiankun Bag contains a Spirit Link Jade Pendant that can sense the other's location within ten thousand li, making it easier for you to travel together."
Zheng Huaiyuan could not help taking this seriously. Although his two disciples could be considered geniuses, disciples from the other Five Upper Sects would also be entering the Spirit Medicine Realm, including quite a few monstrous geniuses. There were many variables. If establishing one's foundation within the Spirit Medicine Realm did not offer so many benefits, he would never have let them go.
Moreover, the Dao Sect knew almost nothing about the Spirit Medicine Realm. If there were large numbers of Demon Beasts inside, all the disciples entering it would be in danger.
"If you encounter danger, remember to stay calm. Safety comes first."
"Yes, Master!"
Ye Xuan was still a little nervous. According to Zheng Huaiyuan, only those in the Qi Refining Realm could enter the Spirit Medicine Realm. If he was rejected and his cultivation was exposed, things would become rather troublesome. He could only see whether his Chaos Spiritual Qi would prove effective enough to fool the Spirit Medicine Realm's formation.
If he could fool the formation and enter another world, Ye Xuan reckoned his first check-in within the Spirit Medicine Realm would earn him an enormous reward.
Ji Fenghe, on the other hand, was rather excited. He regarded this outing entirely as a sightseeing trip to another realm. With the things his master had given him, he did not think his life would be in danger.
Clang, clang, clang!
Bells rang out within the Dao Sect. Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe bid their master farewell and quickly flew toward the assembly point.