Night Raid on Falling Cloud City, the Grand Elder Arrives

That evening, Qin Yi went with Zheng Yuan to rest at the inn where the Eight Gods Pavilion disciples were staying. An unknown amount of time passed before he suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of light passing through them. "Whew, I'm only a hair's breadth away from the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage."

His duel with Wu Pingjian had benefited him greatly, and the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage was within sight. Suddenly, Qin Yi sensed a brief, deeply sinister fluctuation of spiritual power in the inn, but his Divine Sense detected nothing. He poked a hole in the paper window and saw only a figure setting up a formation at the inn's entrance.

Qin Yi drew the Demon Blade, his hidden weapon, and waited until the man's spellcasting reached a critical moment before hurling it at him. In the blink of an eye, the Demon Blade buried itself in his chest. A scream rang through the inn, startling the disciples who were cultivating, and several figures rushed out of their rooms.

"Senior Brother Ye, how could it be you?"

Qin Yi followed them out and saw several disciples holding swords to the man's neck. Zheng Yuan stared at him in disbelief. He knew the man Qin Yi had wounded: it was Ye Zhen, who had joined the sect a year before him. Qin Yi reached out and beckoned, and the Demon Blade flew from Ye Zhen's chest, drawing another scream from him.

Qin Yi stepped forward and gripped Ye Zhen's chin, his gaze icy cold. "Speak. What else does the demonic path have planned?"

"The demonic path?" several people exclaimed. Clearly, Ye Zhen had already betrayed them.

Blood trickled from the corner of Ye Zhen's mouth. He coughed a few times, then suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. "You... you all have to die, hahaha!" Clearly, the demonic path had already made its move against them. Since they had been attacked, then the others...

Qin Yi plunged the blade into Ye Zhen's neck. Blood gushed out, splattering everyone present. They were all too frightened to speak. Qin Yi's face darkened, and just as he was about to speak, a tremendous explosion erupted outside, followed by a succession of explosions and screams.

Qin Yi's expression changed drastically, and he cursed furiously, "A bunch of trash, every fucking one of you is a pig."

Judging by the direction of the first explosion, the True Disciples had already come under attack. Everyone present had been cowed by Qin Yi, and just as they stood at a loss, their voice transmission jade talismans lit up.

An outer sect disciple mustered his courage and asked Qin Yi, "Senior Brother, the elder has ordered us to assemble. Are... are we going?" It wasn't as though he had never killed anyone, but weren't Qin Yi's methods too cruel? He had even been splattered with blood from head to toe.

Qin Yi nodded, his face grim, and told them not to wait for him. Only then did they dare fly outside. They didn't want to spend another moment with this calamity star. Qin Yi likewise didn't want to stay with this bunch of trash any longer, or he wouldn't even know when he might die.

After everyone left, Qin Yi changed his appearance once more and put on black night clothes before flying toward the assembly point. Outside, Falling Cloud City had become a sea of flames, and the bustle he had seen when he arrived that morning had quietly vanished.

All along the way, disciples from the various sects were fleeing in every direction. Qin Yi flew into the air and glanced at the courtyard where the True Disciples had been staying, only to see a sea of flames soaring skyward and thick smoke billowing upward. He couldn't help cursing inwardly. Those True Disciples were a bunch of trash, a bunch of fools.

What puzzled Qin Yi was that he didn't see a single person from the demonic path on his way to the assembly point, only terrified disciples of the immortal sects. If the demonic path launched a full-scale attack now, the righteous path wouldn't be able to resist at all, yet the demonic path had chosen not to strike.

As Qin Yi watched the panicked disciples, a terrible thought appeared in his mind. The sects were in utter chaos, with no time to verify anyone's identity. If people from the demonic path infiltrated the righteous path now, wouldn't that deal it a fatal blow?

At that thought, Qin Yi couldn't help picking up speed. He had no way to look after the other immortal sects right now; all he could do was try his best to keep anything from going wrong at the Eight Gods Pavilion.

Half a shichen later, Qin Yi finally reached the assembly point. The so-called assembly point held only a group of disheveled disciples, sighing and lamenting. Qin Yi changed into inner sect robes and walked in. Not long afterward, an old acquaintance descended from the sky.

Grand Elder Su Mingyue slowly descended from the sky. She had spent quite some time searching the city but had found no trace of the demonic path. When she saw that the assembly point was full of battered remnants of a defeated army, she spoke lightly: "If you still don't look like Eight Gods Pavilion disciples within a quarter of an hour, then you trash won't have to wait for the demonic path to come. I'll kill you with my own hands."

Her voice, full of killing intent, reached everyone's ears. Everyone present shuddered and immediately sprang into action. After some thought, Qin Yi sent the grand elder a voice transmission, warning her that people from the demonic path might infiltrate the sect. The grand elder nodded to him.

At the grand elder's command, the disciples at the assembly point got to work and quickly organized patrols. Everything began to fall into order. People continued to pour into the assembly point from all directions, including quite a few elders and deacons.

The grand elder stood in the air, extending her Divine Sense to continually probe the surrounding area. Figures appeared one after another within her Divine Sense. Suddenly, she sensed several presences that made her uncomfortable. She slowly opened her eyes, spiritual power surging throughout her body, and rushed into the distance.

Seeing the grand elder leave, Qin Yi finally set down the heart that had been hanging in suspense. He hadn't identified himself just now and had worried that she wouldn't take his words seriously. Now it seemed she must have discovered something.

Before long, the grand elder returned from the distance with a bloodstained longsword in her hand. Her gaze was icy. She couldn't shake the feeling that the demonic path wouldn't pass up this chance to deal the immortal sects a crushing blow.

But when she tried to send word to the other immortal sects, she discovered that the message jade talismans used between the sects had shattered at some unknown time.

The grand elder cursed inwardly and looked at the disciples below. For now, she could only protect the disciples before her. Everything else would have to wait until the immortal sects regrouped.

"All disciples, hear my order. From this moment on, prepare for battle. The demonic path may very well have already infiltrated our ranks."