Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Ling Xuzi grasped Li Hong's hand, which was warm and slick with fresh blood, yet Li Hong seemed oblivious. Suddenly, a surge of heat coursed through his palm, accompanied by an intense, bone-deep pain that was not his own. Li Hong was taken aback and finally came to his senses.
The Vermilion Bird Nine Li Blade! What had just pierced his body was the token of the Nine Li Sect's leader, the supreme Vermilion Bird Nine Li Blade! It was crying out, screaming, while simultaneously acknowledging its new master.
Because its previous owner, Ling Xuzi, was on the brink of death.
A look of relief spread across Ling Xuzi's face as he gasped for breath, using his last ounce of strength to say, "I, Ling Xuzi, the sixteenth leader of the Nine Li Sect, pass the Vermilion Bird Nine Li Blade and the position of leader to the seventeenth disciple, Chu Hongzi. From now on, he is your..."
Before he could finish, Ling Jizi shouted loudly, "Have you lost your mind? Your Divine Consciousness is clouded! He is a traitor! It’s him..."
"Listen to me!" Ling Xuzi suddenly found strength from somewhere and shouted, "Yandao Demon Lord is talking nonsense. Don't fall for his schemes; he..."
At this point, Ling Xuzi suddenly gasped for breath and slumped over, his eyes wide open as he fell into Xuan Xuzi's arms.
The mountain wind was silent among the rustling trees; a generation of leaders had departed.
The surroundings fell into a deathly silence. Ling Daozi and others finally reacted and burst into tears. All surviving disciples of the Nine Li Sect could not help but wail in grief.
Only Li Hong stared wide-eyed, his heart aching so much that he could not shed tears.
Indeed, Ling Xuzi believed in him; indeed, he knew him! He numbly stepped out from the crowd and walked towards the Spirit Stone amidst the complex gazes of all the Immortal Sect members. He bent down and lifted his master's light body before slowly returning to Ling Xuzi's side and laying him down next to him.
Li Hong knelt beside them with a thud, his head hanging low in despair.
This grudge was one that could not be shared with the heavens, yet the villain who had killed them both had escaped!
Not a single tear fell because he was already in such deep sorrow that he could not cry.
Li Hong remained dazedly kneeling beside their corpses. Before long, all surviving disciples from Nine Vermilion Peaks—Chuming, Chu Gang, Chuxiong to Chuxuan and Chu Liang—came over and knelt beside Li Hong, each silently weeping despite their own injuries.
Ling Xuzi originally had three disciples; however, the youngest and most promising third disciple, Chu Huai, had been punished by Ling Xuzi to be a named disciple due to ill intentions in the Ancient Celestial Field. He went missing during a great battle while returning to the Mountain Gate and was most likely dead. Thus, Ling Xuzi effectively had only two direct disciples left. Those two disciples initially showed promise but progressed slowly in their cultivation later on and had long since lost their chance to inherit leadership. They also perished in battle at Elder Peak during this conflict.
Thus, at this point, Ling Xuzi has no descendants. In the Nine Li Sect, a master is like a father to the disciple; when the father dies, the disciple must conduct the funeral rites. Now, Ling Xuzi's funeral should be presided over by Li Hong, as he was personally designated as the successor before Ling Xuzi's death.
Li Hong knelt beside his master Shibo in grief, his mind blank and completely unaware of everything happening around him.
Meanwhile, in the main hall behind them, Xuan Xuzi, Yiyang, Bai Juzi, and other leaders from the eight sects had begun discussing this matter. Present were Yue Mangzi, Ling Jizi, Ling Daozi, Ling Xiaozi, and Ling Yi Zi.
The Sixth Pulse Master had confirmed that aside from Li Hong, Ling Xiangzi had been declared deceased. Among her disciples, the most talented and highest-ranked Chu Xi had inexplicably "ascended" during this battle. Therefore, Ling Xiangzi's eldest disciple Chulin was urgently summoned and would be promoted to the next Nine Purple Peak Elder Brother.
Chulin sat in her master Ling Xiangzi's former position with red-rimmed eyes, fidgeting and quietly listening to the elders speak. Although she did not say a word, she felt increasingly uncomfortable inside.
In the hall, the discussion was not about whether Chu Hongzi should conduct the funeral rites for Ling Xuzi as his heir but rather whether he was a traitor!
Ling Yi Zi was severely injured but stubbornly refused to go heal himself. He kept taking Elixirs while angrily shouting, "Did you not hear Elder Brother Zhangmen's words before he left? Old Demon is trying to sow discord! If you can't see that even after living so long and cultivating to such a level, it's simply pathetic!"
As soon as he spoke, Chulin felt relieved but also cast a worried glance at her handsome Master Uncle.
Sure enough, Ling Jizi and Ling Xiaozi stood up in anger and were about to retort when Xuan Xuzi coldly stopped them with a glance. He slowly said, "This is originally your Nine Li Sect's own matter; I won't interfere in who becomes the leader. However, regarding Old Demon's words before leaving—whether it is indeed an attempt to sow discord must be clarified before allowing Li Hong to take on the role of leader. Otherwise, if Chu Hongzi is truly unclean yet stands on equal footing with us, are we Immortal Sect going to hand over all our foundations to Yandao Demon Lord? I suggest that you conduct an internal investigation within Nine Li Sect. Until it is clarified, Chu Hongzi absolutely cannot assume leadership." He paused and raised a hand to signal the agitated Ling Yi Zi to hold off on speaking. Then he continued, "First of all, I want to know what Chu Hongzi was doing last year until the Demon Sect army invaded Nine Li Sect."
Upon hearing this, Ling Jizi immediately shouted, "Yes! Yes! Sect Master, this Chu Hongzi is elusive; there was indeed a time last year when his whereabouts were unknown. I suspect that during that time he was colluding with Demon Sect. Moreover, that Demoness has been flirting with him; it is said that she appeared in Lin'an—surely that was when they conspired together..."
Ling Yi Zi could no longer contain himself and slammed his hand on the table angrily: "Shameless! You as an elder are randomly slandering your own disciple! Can such words be carelessly spoken? That demoness is cunning and shameless. I fought against her at Elder Peak; if we follow your reasoning, anyone who has fought her must be colluding with her—does that mean I am also colluding with her? Ridiculous!"
Ling Xiaozi calmly interjected: "Ling Yi Zi's words are misguided! What Ling Jizi means is that we should all listen to the Sect Master. The Sect Master is wise and will find a way to help us decide." After saying this, he turned to Ling Daozi and asked, "Ling Daozi?"
Ling Daozi frowned in silence; if he said otherwise it would imply that the Sect Master was not wise. At a loss for words due to his injury from a broken arm, he finally managed to squeeze out: "We might as well ask the previous leader from Array Hall..."
Originally, Ling Daozi intended to suggest letting Yueyangzi from Array Hall make the decision but suddenly realized he had let slip something inappropriate. Array Hall was a closely guarded secret; outsiders were absolutely not allowed to know about it—even the Sect Master could not be discussed here! He quickly shut his mouth and chose not to speak further.
"Then what you mean is for the Sect Master to help us decide," Ling Xiaozi immediately turned back to Xuan Xuzi and cupped his hands respectfully. "Please give us your guidance."
Among the silent leaders of the Eight Major Sects, Yajiangzi, the leader of Zhao Zhen Sect, slightly furrowed his brow.
The Emei Sect Leader, Yiyang, immediately noticed and raised his voice, saying, "Does Brother Yajiangzi have any brilliant ideas?"
Yajiangzi slowly stood up and cupped his hands towards everyone, saying, "This matter is an internal affair of the Nine Li Sect, so we at Zhao Zhen Sect will not interfere. I will lead my disciples back to prevent any further schemes from the Demon. Sect Master and fellow brothers, I take my leave!" With that, he held his head high and walked out of the hall. From a distance, he could be heard calling for the disciples of Zhao Zhen Sect, indicating that he was indeed leaving.
Yajiangzi's actions were ostensibly to avoid meddling in the internal affairs of the Nine Li Sect, but it was clear that he did not believe Chu Hongzi was a traitor. That was why he referred to it as an internal matter of the Nine Li Sect. It was obvious to outsiders what he meant! Yuan Zhenzi lowered his head in thought and soon stood up to take his leave as well. Following him were Xuanwei, Azure Sky Palace, and Penglai; the leaders of these three sects genuinely did not want to get involved in this matter.
These five were all aware that within the Nine Li Sect, it was either Ling Jizi or Ling Xiaozi who were Xuan Xuzi's people. These two would do everything they could to obstruct Chu Hongzi from becoming the sect leader, while Xuan Xuzi always hoped to have his own people take over as the next leader of the Nine Li Sect to control it.
Given this situation, why should their sects get entangled? If they angered Xuan Xuzi, they might find themselves at a disadvantage. Moreover, with Ling Xuzi no longer around to manage things skillfully, the Nine Li Sect had become a disorganized mess. While one side was still mourning their losses, the other had already begun colluding with outsiders to vie for leadership!
Yajiangzi and the others felt a chill in their hearts and were unwilling to wade into these murky waters; they all chose to take their leave. Ling Daozi sat there feeling troubled and decided to escort them out under the pretense of courtesy.
In the hall, only Xuan Xuzi, Yiyang, and Bai Juzi from Immortal Sect remained.
Yiyang and Bai Juzi certainly would not leave; they were steadfast supporters of Xuan Xuzi. Whether right or wrong, their thoughts were exactly opposite those of Yajiangzi and others. They were eager to see someone from Xuan Xuzi's faction become the leader of the Nine Li Sect. Although they did not know who it would be—Ling Xiaozi or Ling Jizi—they believed they would find out soon enough. The facts were clear: only someone from Xuan Xuzi's faction would receive his support for the position of leader.
With this thought in mind, Yiyang felt quite intrigued. As for Bai Juzi, he felt a mix of respect and fear towards Xuan Xuzi.
Ling Yi Zi sat there angrily, disregarding his blood-stained clothes; he seemed determined to fight against Ling Jizi and Ling Xiaozi until the end.
Ling Xiaozi and Ling Jizi refused to back down, accusing Chu Hongzi of colluding with Old Demon.
After a while, Yue Mangzi suddenly spoke up: "Stop arguing; let me say a few words."
Yue Mangzi looked around at everyone and slowly said: "I am an elder of the Disciplinary Hall. Whether Chu Hongzi is indeed a traitor should be investigated by me. I announce that until everything is clarified, all actions taken by Chu Hongzi will be monitored by disciples of the Disciplinary Hall; he is not allowed to leave Nine Li Sect or preside over Ling Xuzi's funeral. That duty will fall to Ling Yi Zi's disciple instead. Once everything is clarified, we will make further decisions. How does that sound?"
Ling Yi Zi waved his sleeve: "Let’s investigate! A clear conscience fears no accusation; everything Chu Hongzi has said is transparent. He has Chuxiong's Disciple accompanying him on official business! Surely there won't be two traitors appearing under Spirit Stone's banner? Additionally, I ask Chulin Junior to assist with Brother Ling Xuzi's funeral; I have something else to attend to first!"
He strode out after speaking.
Ling Jizi hurriedly stood up and asked, "Where are you going?"
"I need to find Chu Hongzi. Only he can enter down there now, and I must know how the Demon got in! What? Do you mean to say that only unrelated Disciplinary Hall disciples can accompany me inside, while I cannot?" Ling Yi Zi coldly snorted and left the hall.
This reminded Ling Jizi and Ling Xiaozi, and they exchanged glances.
Only those who possess the Vermilion Bird Nine Li Blade can enter The Abode of the Sect Leader on the Twenty-Eighth Floor, disable the external Restrictions, and access the Array Hall below. It is undeniable that Li Hong has effectively become the acting sect leader. Now, only Li Hong can enter the Array Hall below to see what has actually happened.
Ling Yi Zi flew to the outer square, pulled up the grief-stricken Li Hong, and transmitted his voice, "We have important matters to attend to. If you don't want to disappoint Spirit Stone and Ling Xuzi, you need to pull yourself together. Let's go! We need to find Yun Jiuzi; he is still in the Array Hall! Yun Jiuzi can also testify and shut down that despicable coward's mouth!"
Ling Yi Zi's gaze was profound; he had already thought of a backup plan.
Li Hong followed Ling Yi Zi numbly as they flew up to The Abode of the Sect Leader on the Twenty-Eighth Floor.
The Dragon and Phoenix Stone Beast was gone from the entrance.
Suddenly, Ling Yi Zi sharply pulled Li Hong back and shouted, "Be careful!"
Comment 0 Comment Count