Chapter 702 - 635: Stepping onto the Peak 44 (4,000 Words)
The plea for help was very familiar, and Tan Shuangshuang recognized it at once. It was Qian Mu and Ling Zhan, who had been left behind by her earlier. Hearing their pitiful cries, Tan Shuangshuang urgently led Fei Hu to trace the sound.
However, Tan Shuangshuang and Fei Hu did not appear rashly but hid atop a large tree, concealing themselves to observe carefully. What they saw was Qian Mu and Ling Zhan covered in blood, running ahead, while behind them, two disciples wearing Li Tian Sect robes were pursuing them.
Tan Shuangshuang was puzzled in her heart. Li Tian Sect and Wuji Sect were brother sects, having been founded together by individuals who were actual brothers. Thus, these two sects have been supporting each other since their inception, bonding very closely.
Though the sects had existed for tens of thousands of years, long severed from their original blood ties, tens of thousands of years of mutual support made the relationship between these two sects akin to that of a single sect. Even in interactions with the outside world, Li Tian Sect and Wuji Sect are often mentioned together.
Similarly, the discovery of this Secret Realm was made by elders from these two closely affiliated sects during a joint expedition for cultivation practice.
Therefore, Tan Shuangshuang couldn’t comprehend why these two disciples from Li Tian Sect would pursue and kill disciples from Wuji Sect. If it were for the envy and intent to murder for some precious Spiritual Medicine, it still didn’t quite make sense.
While this Secret Realm contained many precious Spiritual Medicines, due to its long isolation, none were too rare in number. Hence, no Spiritual Medicine was worth the risk of tearing relationships and facing the sect’s Law Enforcement Hall’s reckoning by hunting others.
Within any sect, internecine killing among disciples was strictly forbidden, and once detected, the severest punishment would be enforced—abolishing one’s cultivation and expulsion from the sect.
Cultivators, due to their ability to cultivate, have countless life possibilities, extended lifespans, and formidable martial power. Such aspirational yet unachievable things for ordinary people are easily accessible to cultivators. Once the cultivation is abolished, and they can no longer cultivate, it is a punishment worse than death, with immense deterrence.
The relationships between Li Tian Sect and Wuji Sect are as close as family. Therefore, whether Wuji Sect kills a disciple of Li Tian Sect or vice versa, the punishment is enforced with the same intensity as intrasectional killing.
Nothing in the Secret Realm is enough to justify such a risky pursuit and murder for treasures, yet those two disciples of Li Tian Sect did just that, leaving Tan Shuangshuang utterly bewildered.
It wasn’t just Tan Shuangshuang who couldn’t figure it out; those being pursued, Qian Mu and Ling Zhan, were even more confused. They were so exhausted from being chased that they couldn’t run any longer. They could only stop, turn around with their longswords raised in defense, forced to face the two disciples in Li Tian Sect garments pursuing them.
Qian Mu had two big gashes across his chest; through the torn clothes, the wounds where flesh had turned outwards could be seen, with blood staining the front of his clothes. He breathed heavily and glared at the Li Tian Sect disciples pursuing him with eyes of burning rage.
Beside Qian Mu, Ling Zhan was also covered in numerous wounds, blood all over him. Ling Zhan seemed to be more severely injured than Qian Mu, having lost too much blood and weakly leaning against a tree trunk, his face frighteningly pale.
Qian Mu worriedly stood guard in front of Ling Zhan, angrily addressing the two Li Tian Sect disciples, "You two have really gone too far! It was just one Spiritual Medicine, we spotted it first, and without a word, you seized it. Considering the close ties between our sects, we let it go, so why are you still pursuing us? Do you not know that Wuji Sect and Li Tian Sect are as one and that inter-sect killings are prohibited? Once discovered, your cultivation will be abolished and you’ll be expelled from the sect!"
The two Li Tian Sect disciples gave no explanation, merely sneering, and directly swung their swords to strike, sword qi blasting forth, aimed straight at Qian Mu and Ling Zhan’s throats, evidently with an intention to kill in one blow.
On this side, although Qian Mu and Ling Zhan took up a defensive stance with their swords, the pursuit had exhausted their strength, and even though they looked alright, they were actually out of energy to fight.
Qian Mu and Ling Zhan were only of Warrior Level, and although they had just broken through their realms, they hadn’t yet stabilized. The Li Tian Sect disciples who were pursuing them were already at Half-step Martial Master level in cultivation, to have escaped with their lives for so long was already a testament to the extraordinary talent and strength of Qian Mu and Ling Zhan.