The next morning, the whole sect was in sleep until now. Huai woke up soon, as he always woke up. Standing on the peak of the mountain, looking at the rising sun, he felt melancholy... it was his first time seeing this beautiful scenery in this world.
After the sun fully rose, Huai came to an old pine tree. The tree was ancient, looking like a huge pilgrim on the mountain. Below the mountain, a tombstone was erected with the words: 'Here lies the 34th Sect Leader of The Eternal Sect, Ling Xiao.'
Yes, Ling Xiao was the one who brought him up the mountain, but after a few months, he died; no one knows how he died. Huai looked at the tomb and genuinely bowed towards it, saying, "Old man, you took me to this mountain out of pity, but this sect and each and every elder accepted me as their own. Don't worry, I take an oath today to make The Eternal Sect known to the world from now on."
After saying that, Huai poured some wine in front of the tomb and left.
At the main hall of the Eternal Sect, the atmosphere was tense. The Eternal Sect was not a new sect at all. They are an ancient sect, but in ancient times, the human race fought a huge war with other extraterrestrial races. In that war, their sect fought for humanity and fell from grace; although the war was a tie back then, all the high-ranking members of the sect were gone.
That's how the Eternal Sect became what it is now. They have only a few cultivation resources; the Goddess gave resources every month, but that is a very small amount. The resources are scarce, so they are distributed by Nexus according to the contribution and strength of the sect.
The main hall of the sect is in Sword Peak now; they changed the hall's position so that it would be convenient. In the main hall, a huge throne is seated in the center, while there is a small throne beside it, which is the throne for the Vice Sect Leader. On both sides of the hall, there are four chairs on each side, which are the seats for the Peak Masters.
Sword Peak Master, Han Mujie (Golden Core level 8), was seated in the seat of the Vice Sect Leader, and on his right side, the first seat was empty, which is the seat for Sword Peak. After that sat Blade Peak Master, Ba Tian (Golden Core level 7). After that sat Spear Peak Master, Su Yun (Golden Core level 5). And in the last seat sat the beautiful-looking Fire Peak Master, Yan Ruyu (Golden Core level 6).
On the left side of the Vice Sect Leader, in the first seat, sat Earth Peak Master, Shi Yan (Golden Core level 6). Next to him sat the gentle and kind-hearted Water Peak Master, Shui Miao (Golden Core level 4). After that sat Wind Peak Master, Feng Wuji (Golden Core level 5). And at the last seat sat the healer and medicine expert of the sect, Peak Master of Wood Peak, Mu Qing (Golden Core level 4).
Before Ling Xiao's death, he was the most revered person in the sect; he was just one step away from the Nascent Soul realm. But unfortunately, during his breakthrough, something happened; when they found out, the Sect Master was already dead in the cultivation chamber.
The whole meeting is in gloom right now because they are getting low on cultivation resources. And the main problem is that somehow, the young master of the Li family, Li Tian, suddenly challenged their Sword Peak senior disciple, Lin Feng. But to their surprise, Lin Feng used only one sword to sever a hand of Li Tian. Now, the whole Li family is ready to go to war with their Eternal Sect.
Ba Tian said, "Senior brother, why are you still sitting in the Vice Sect Leader's seat? Why not..."
Before he finished, Han Mujie said coldly, "Don't ever say that again in the future. Remember, although Huai can't cultivate now, still he is the only one who is the legitimate owner of that position according to ancestral rules."
Ba Tian shut up for a moment; he also knew this rule, but Huai continuously rejected the position because of his lack of cultivation. Before he could think more, Yan Ruyu said, "Stop thinking about that now. What about the Li family?"
This question made a stir around the hall. Everyone knows what kind of family the Li family is. Their ancestor, Li Kuang, is also a Golden Core peak powerhouse. And Sect Leader Li Zhan is also a Golden Core peak cultivator. They have three elders: Li He, Li Wei, and Li Rong—all of them level 8, level 7, and level 9 Golden Core cultivators.
And for the Eternal Sect, they only have level 8 and level 7 cultivators. How would they fight those two peak Golden Core and one level 9 Golden Core cultivator? You should know that a single step is a huge gap between Golden Core cultivators.
Everyone's face was solemn. At this moment, Mu Qing said, "We don't have many medicines either. If a war broke out at this moment... I don't know what to do at all."
Shui Miao added, "Our Water Peak disciples and I know some water healing techniques; we can help to heal minor wounds, but for the major ones, we need to think about Wood Peak only."
This is the truth—the genuine truth. Everyone knows that.
Shi Yan said, "How about Huai? He can't stay here; if a war broke out, he'd die before anyone. We need to do something before the war breaks out and take him somewhere else."
Su Yun said, "Yes, send him and all the other peaks' main disciples with him so that if we all die, still our Eternal Sect's flame would not stop burning."
Feng Wuji said, "Yes, I also agree with this outcome. At least those disciples can protect Huai by his side."
At this moment, when everyone was discussing what to do with these disciples, a huge boom sounded. Everyone's face turned grim; they all knew the meaning of the sound. Someone was trying to break through the formation of The Eternal Sect.
Han Mujie and the other Peak Masters came out of the hall to see an old man with a long white beard already standing above the main building, looking at the people who were trying to break their sect's formation. He is Gu Xuan, the only Golden Core peak cultivator of the sect; he's nearly 120 years old. Golden Core cultivators can only live up to age 100. The Eternal Sect used many resources to make this ancestor live past 120. But if he fought with the enemy this time, he'd definitely die.
Gu Xuan looked into the distance, made his voice louder, and asked, "Who are you? How dare you try to break our formation?"
There were five men who came to invade their sect this time. The man in front said coldly, "Old man, are your eyes just for decoration? Or have you gone senile after living so long that you already forgot my face?"
Gu Xuan looked at the guy a few more times, then his face turned into a surprise, and he asked coldly, "Li Kuang? Are you Li Kuang? What are you doing in my sect?"
Before Li Kuang answered, Li Zhan, standing behind Li Kuang, said coldly, "Your sect's Sword Peak disciple Lin Feng made my son a cripple. Today, I, the Li family, came here for justice—to kill each and every chicken and dog of your sect."
Hearing this, everyone's face changed. The thing they were most afraid of was happening in front of them. Ba Tian said coldly, "Presumptuous! Who do you think you are to talk to our ancestor like that?"
Ba Tian's temper was always fiery, but at this moment, each and every one of the sect gave a thumbs up towards Ba Tian.
Gu Xuan said coldly after hearing all this nonsense, "Li Kuang, do you think that you can kill everyone in my sect in front of me? Don't you think the Goddess will intervene?"
Li Kuang just laughed out loud after hearing all this, then said, "I already gave the Goddess some legitimate reasons that we are taking actions... hehehehe."
Gu Xuan, thinking about something, asked, "Are you the one who instigated the challenge just to make a reason to invade our sect? You! You!..."
Li Zhan laughed and said, "Hehehe, who do you think you are, ha! It was us who instigated everything. Just a few months ago, we got a regenerative medicine that can regenerate severed limbs, so we thought of a brilliant idea: why not instigate a war between the Eternal Sect and the Li family?"
Everyone fell silent. The Li family and Eternal Sect always had a feud, but due to the Sect Master Ling Xiao, the Li family had never been able to do anything about The Eternal Sect. So, when now the Sect Master is already gone and they have a legitimate reason that they themselves made, the Li family came to invade The Eternal Sect.
At this moment, a question suddenly popped up in Shui Miao's head. Is it possible? She asked herself, then looked at the people of the Li family and asked, "Li Zhan, you said you instigated this to create an opportunity to invade our sect. Are you not afraid of our Sect Master Ling Xiao?"
Everyone looked at her, thinking about something and knowing what she was doing, then looked at the Li family members again.
Li Zhan laughed out loud. "Hahahahahahahahaha... Hahahaha... Ling Xiao? Which Ling Xiao you are talking about? That one who didn't even know that the breakthrough pill he took was already laced with traceless poison... hehehe."
Everyone's face turned pale just by hearing those words. They had never announced the death of the Sect Master to outsiders so that they could develop in peace and guard against their enemies. But now they already knew how their Sect Master died and who did it.
Li Zhan didn't stop talking and said even with huge arrogance, "Let me be clear, he should've been dead long ago. Haven't you checked the cultivation room yet, or are you trying to make me afraid with just the name of that dog?"
These words made a stir in their hearts; even Gu Xuan knew that the Li family came prepared this time. But the anger they felt in their hearts was so huge that he couldn't suppress it and vomited a small amount of blood from his mouth.
The Peak Masters shouted, "Ancestor!"
Feng Wuji came to Gu Xuan's side to help him, then looked at the people of the Li family coldly. They thought it was just a mistake on their part that they accidentally crippled the young master Li Tian of the Li family, but now they knew the truth. It is not just a brawl anymore; it's a life-and-death conflict now. Every Eternal Sect member wants to kill these Li family bastards.
Yan Ruyu couldn't control herself; she is a fire cultivator, so she attacked Li Wei, who was standing beside Li Zhan. Li Wei just grinned; he is a genuine Golden Core level 7 cultivator, while Yan Ruyu is a Golden Core level 6 cultivator. He slapped at Ruyu, and Ruyu was sent back to the peak of the Sword Peak with a devastating force. Her arm was already injured, looking at Li Wei coldly.
Li Wei chuckled and said, "Ruyu, Oh Ruyu, I always admired you before. Still now, I admire you. Come to me, accept me as your master, and become my plaything—maybe I'd let you live." By just saying this, he licked his lips, looking like a monster.
Yan Ruyu was gritting her teeth below. Han Mujie unsheathed his sword and attacked Li Zhan, but to his surprise, Li Zhan never dodged his sword. He looked at Mujie as if he were looking at an idiot. Mujie used his sword technique and said, "3rd form: Sword Cut Through the Cold Iron!"
A huge sword form materialized in front of Mujie, and Mujie used that sword to cut at Li Zhan. But to his horrified eyes, Li Zhan didn't take this sword seriously at all; he caught the sword with his bare hand and broke it. The sword turned into dust in a fleet of a second, then he mockingly slapped at Mujie. Mujie was slapped to the ground, and he also lost like that.
Li Zhan said, "With that trash sword and that trash technique, do you want to fight me? Me? Did you take my permission? Heh, do you know the gap between a Golden Core peak cultivator and a level 8 Golden Core cultivator? If it were a normal Golden Core cultivator, you still would've lost, especially when I'm only one step away from reaching the Nascent Soul realm."
Everyone's faces turned grim; they knew the meaning of those words. That meant if he were given time, the Li family would have a Nascent Soul being in the family. But they couldn't do anything at all.
Although they were already in despair, at this moment, Li Kuang said coldly, "Enough! You guys played enough. Let me do things from now on."
Just by saying this he condensed a palm and slap it towards the sect...