Chapter 157.1: You Carry On. I've Taken the Wrong Path

At the Heaven Earth Cave.

Someone with a childish voice said quietly, "That sun has changed again. I wonder if this is a blessing or a calamity?"

Another let out a soft, alluring laugh. "Matters involving a Great Venerable are beyond people like us. Don’t worry about such useless things. More importantly, have you been diligent these past few years? Have you opened another divine aperture?"

"

Haa...

You're as delightful as ever, Venerable Youqing," someone with an aged voice replied, sighing. "Let's not bring that up again."

They were three Yin Spirits of the Eastern Lands, who were supposed to be the nominal hosts of the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle. In truth, the event was handled entirely by Venerable Ye Qiong, without the involvement of the other two. Even now, they were simply conversing using their avatars. Their true bodies had long since entered deep slumber, secluded as they refined their divine apertures.

"In half a month, the prodigy battle will end, and the Moonwatch Continent’s gates will open," said the alluring Venerable, with a hint of unspoken sorrow. "I wonder if we’ll even have a place there?"

"The Moluo Clan is far too powerful," lamented the aged Venerable. "Without the help of other Yin Spirits, we don’t stand a chance against them."

The childish Venerable cut in sharply. "Seek help from other Yin Spirits? We’d be handing the Moonwatch Continent to them outright! Absolutely not!"

"But the Moluo clan has experts at Step Two of Heaven-Treading," argued the aged Venerable.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Silence fell. They were merely at First Step, with only a handful of divine apertures opened. It went without saying they were no match for a Step Two Yin Spirit.

Then, the alluring Venerable said again, "I heard that recently, the Blood-Clothed Sword God annihilated the Bright Palace. The remnants that spilled from the void were extraordinary. It suggests a Step Two clash took place there. Could this Blood-Clothed Sword God himself be at Step Two?"

"No," the childish Venerable replied flatly. "He can’t be a Yin Spirit because he doesn’t exude any divinity."

The alluring Venerable's voice turned greedy. "What if he possesses a powerful Yin Spirit artifact?"

The aged Venerable grumbled bitterly. "Why is it that I don't have one?"

Without reaching Step Two, even sustaining divine spiritual energy to open an aperture was difficult. Who would waste it to forge a Yin Spirit artifact?

"It would be ideal if the Blood-Clothed Sword God were to die on the Moonwatch Continent." The alluring Venerable laughed softly. "Then I could just pick up that artifact."

"You daydream too much." The aged Venerable scoffed. "Do you think the Moluo clan would let a Yin Spirit artifact slip away?"

"Ye Qiong, sending the Blood-Clothed Sword God into Moonwatch Continent was a calculative move."

"I did not scheme against him," the childish Venerable, Ye Qiong, declared righteously. "He wished to go there himself. I merely fulfilled a small wish. If he dies on Moonwatch Continent, that's no fault of mine."

***

The Eastern Lands churned with hidden undercurrents. Far away, in the small kingdom of Great Shang, peace was equally elusive.

Sect Master Lord Withered Tree had been restless for days. Mu Kong had died at the Divine Radiance Sect, giving the Red Sword Sect more justification to strike. They couldn’t even begin to imagine how to bridge the vast power gap with the Red Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder. In the end, they could only activate the grand protective sect array and await the enemy’s arrival.

Just then, a terrifying aura swept across the heavens.

Lord Withered Tree's expression changed. "Violet Palace?"

The elders and stewards of Divine Radiance Sect all turned grim.

"They really came..."

"It's over. Divine Radiance Sect is finished."

Just then, Lord Withered sensed a pair of auras, and was overwhelmed with despair. "No, not just one—there are two Violet Palaces!"

Even a single Violet Palace could wipe out the sect with ease. Two rendered resistance meaningless. Had that shameless old monster from Red Sword Sect even brought reinforcements?

"Sect Master, let's fight them to the death!" a Core Formation elder shouted angrily.

Their resolve to protect the sect hardened into unity.

"We swear to defend the sect!"

Outside the gates, Meishan and Xu Yeli stared at each other, baffled.

"...Are we at the wrong place?"

"Shouldn't be."

"Then why does it feel like they're treating us as mortal enemies?"

At last, they introduced themselves in spite of their confusion.

"Meishan of the Blood-Clothed Alliance, here to pay respects to the Sect Master of Divine Radiance Sect!"

"Xu Yeli of the Blood-Clothed Alliance, here to pay respects to the Sect Master of Divine Radiance Sect!"

Their voices rolled like thunder, passing straight through the sect array protecting the mountain and echoing in the ears of every elder and disciple within. Confusion spread instantly.

"Blood-Clothed Alliance? What's that?"

"What's going on? Aren't we facing the Red Sword Sect?"

Lord Withered Tree was utterly perplexed. Elder Xuanchong seemed equally lost. The elders flew to the sect gates and looked outside.

Upon seeing the two old men, who radiated power as deep and unfathomable as the sea, Lord Withered Tree's eyes widened. Especially the man in front—Lord Withered Tree could tell at a glance that he was no ordinary Violet Palace cultivator. Why would such figures come to the Divine Radiance Sect?

"You are the Sect Master of Divine Radiance Sect?" Meishan asked, his tone unusually gentle for someone addressing a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"I am Lord Withered Tree," he replied cautiously. "May I ask who you are?"

"Our alliance leader has a gift for you," Meishan said, producing a Violet-Gold gourd.

The gourd passed straight through the sect’s array as if it never existed, landing gently in Lord Withered Tree’s hands.

He stared at it in shock. "The Violet-Gold Gourd?"

It was the Wood Clan’s lost supreme treasure, which had been missing for a thousand years. Elder Xuanchong was transfixed on the gourd as well.

The rest of the sect watched in confusion, unable to understand why the sect master and Elder Xuanchong were reacting so strongly.

Lord Withered Tree held the treasure close, memories of the past rising unbidden and filling his heart. Yet a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.

The Violet-Gold Gourd had been listed as a reward on the Eastern Lands Prodigy Rankings. So why is it here?

Suddenly, two names surfaced in his thoughts: Qi Yuan and Kang Fulu. He had told them only about his identity and the treasure, so it had to be connected to them. Still, which one?

Kang Fulu was the first to be ruled out. Lord Withered Tree knew him through and through. That left only Qi Yuan, disciple of Ruan Yixi, the one he could never quite see through. His thoughts raced.

Could it be that Qi Yuan's pretty face has caught the eye of the Blood-Clothed Alliance's leader?

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Qi Yuan could be unreliable at times, but his looks were not. Lord Withered Tree ranked him tenth in Great Shang’s top ten. If not for Qi Yuan’s overly distinctive personality, he could have been first.

Hence, it seemed entirely possible that Qi Yuan had been taken in by a senior expert as a Dao Companion. Lord Withered Tree felt genuinely moved that Qi Yuan would go this far for him. Were these two the "subordinates" Jiang Lingsu had mentioned? If that was the case, everything made sense.

Lord Withered Tree asked carefully, “Senior, may I ask whether the alliance leader of the Blood-Clothed Alliance is male or female?"

"Male, of course."

Lord Withered Tree stiffened. The gratitude in his heart surged even higher. Qi Yuan's sacrifice was truly immense!

Then, Meishan said with a smile, "Our alliance leader also said that you are his elder, someone who once looked after him. There is yet another gift he wished to present to you."

Lord Withered Tree froze.

An elder? Looked after him? So everything I had just imagined is completely wrong? Do I actually know the Blood-Clothed alliance leader?

Lord Withered Tree gave the gift little thought.

Just then, Meishan's smile deepened. "Please take a look, do you recognize this person?"

Xu Yeli gave a push, and a figure was thrown into Divine Radiance Sect.