Chapter 339 ·Invasion of the Western Region
Chapter 339: Invasion of the Western Region
After Xiao Wuqing took the black-clad man away, Hu Yan looked at Li Qingqiu and said, “Master, I want to go to Xiyu Immortal City.”
In the end, Duan Xiaojuan’s death traced back to the Myriad Yin Sect. Hu Yan did not want things to end like this.
Li Qingqiu looked at him deeply and said, “The Myriad Yin Sect is scheming against us—this will inevitably end in life-and-death conflict. But when war begins depends on gathering intelligence. Do not let hatred cloud your judgment. You are my disciple—you must prioritize the sect’s greater good. What I can guarantee is that the Myriad Yin Sect will cease to exist.”
Hu Yan revealed a bitter smile. “Master, I cannot shake the Myriad Yin Sect as I am now. I only want to contribute to the sect. I won’t act recklessly, but I also won’t let this go.”
Duan Xiaojuan’s death caused him pain, but his Righteous Qi of Vast Integrity would not allow him to fall into despair. He would grow stronger for revenge and strive to prevent such tragedies from happening again within the sect.
“Very well. I agree. Tomorrow morning, go to the Profound Heart Hall and depart with the other disciples.”
“Yes!”
Hu Yan saluted and left.
Li Qingqiu, meanwhile, pondered the intelligence he had obtained.
Although the black-clad man had acted under the instructions of a Myriad Yin Sect cultivator, there was something strange about it. That cultivator had not wanted to act under the banner of the Myriad Yin Sect.
With the Myriad Yin Sect’s power, there was no need for such concealment. Moreover, they had already clashed with the Clear Sky Sect before—if they wanted war, why go through such trouble?
Perhaps that Myriad Yin Sect cultivator had his own ambitions, plotting something.
Li Qingqiu did not dwell on it further. In any case, the debt would be settled with the Myriad Yin Sect. Even without this incident, the Myriad Yin Sect had already been pressuring the Clear Sky Sect—there was no avoiding conflict.
Once Wei Tianxiong and Chu Jing gathered enough intelligence on the Myriad Yin Sect’s strength, Li Qingqiu would act.
If the Myriad Yin Sect was not strong enough, he would attack directly.
If they were strong, he would break them piece by piece.
Li Qingqiu’s gaze flickered—this time, he was truly enraged.
……
Winter snow fell.
The Taikun Mountain Range gradually sank into a vast expanse of white. After the black-clad man had been captured by Li Qingqiu, no more Clear Sky Sect disciples were harmed. However, because of this incident, disciples traveling the world became far more cautious.
Li Qingqiu continuously reinforced Xiyu Immortal City with additional manpower while establishing more outposts and teleportation arrays along the borders of Yu Province and Southern Chu Province.
The black-clad man’s storage pouch contained many magic implements and spirit stones, all of which had been added to the sect’s treasury. Combined with the continuous supply of spirit stones from the high-grade spirit vein, the Clear Sky Sect did not fear the consumption of teleportation formations.
Since the Myriad Yin Sect had already begun taking action, Li Qingqiu also stationed more personnel near the high-grade spirit vein. Zhao Zhen traveled from the Northern Region to the Western Region, and with Xu Ning overseeing the high-grade spirit vein, no issues had arisen for the time being.
To prepare for war, the Clear Sky Sect had made thorough arrangements. The Spirit Finance Hall, Cultivation Hall, Heavenly Works Hall, and Demon Subjugation Hall all prepared various combat resources. The Tempering Hall began concentrating missions toward the Western Region, ready to summon disciples for reinforcement when necessary.
The Sword Sect, Martial Sect, and Cultivation Hall increased patrols around Guzhou, while the Hall of Vast Fate worked to maintain connections with clans and nobles across the Nine Provinces, striving to turn the entire land into the sect’s network of informants.
The Free Spirit Hall, which managed the disciple register, had established a command structure and assigned more personnel to monitor Clear Sky Tokens, collecting intelligence at all times.
Each hall played its role—even the Dark Hall took action, monitoring smaller cultivation sects and clans that might betray them. Any signs of disloyalty would be eliminated immediately.
As all the halls began to operate in coordination, Li Qingqiu finally felt that he had control over the entire situation.
It was a wonderful feeling—different from fighting alone. This was the sense of strategizing from above. The reason he developed the sect was precisely so that it could function as a whole, rather than relying solely on him.
Time passed into December.
Wei Tianxiong finally sent word, saying that he had gained a certain understanding of the Myriad Yin Sect and suggested that the sect dispatch a large number of disciples to cover the Western Region Perilous Land, thereby pressuring the Myriad Yin Sect.
The Myriad Yin Sect did not have full control over the Western Region Perilous Land. If they wished to attack the Clear Sky Sect, they would have to cross it. Before that, the Clear Sky Sect could seize control of the area first.
After learning about the Myriad Yin Sect’s situation, Li Qingqiu agreed to the plan and entrusted Wei Tianxiong with full command.
The Myriad Yin Sect had three great cultivators in the Heaven-Connecting Radiance Realm, and more than two hundred thousand disciples. In every realm, their numbers exceeded those of the Clear Sky Sect. However, they were surrounded by other sects on all sides and could not focus all their strength on the Clear Sky Sect.
As for the three Heaven-Connecting Radiance Realm cultivators—Li Qingqiu was confident he could deal with them.
As long as he could offset the gap at that level, the Clear Sky Sect would have a chance to contend with the Myriad Yin Sect.
Clashes between immortal sects did not necessarily end in annihilation. As long as the Myriad Yin Sect could be made to fear them, the Clear Sky Sect could gain benefits and buy more time.
Li Qingqiu intended to destroy the Myriad Yin Sect—but not necessarily in one decisive blow.
Of course, if he had the opportunity, he would not let it slip.
After handing over command to Wei Tianxiong, Li Qingqiu ordered the Free Spirit Hall to dispatch three thousand true transmission disciples to Xiyu Immortal City.
In less than three days, the Clear Sky Sect had sent over five thousand disciples into the Western Region Perilous Land. These disciples formed teams of fifteen, spreading out in all directions. Each team included two members from the Heavenly Works Hall.
Yuan Li and Zhao Zhen also infiltrated the Western Region Perilous Land.
Though all of them were immortal cultivators, compared to the vast expanse of the Western Region Perilous Land, their numbers were still small. Their purpose was not to attack the Myriad Yin Sect directly, but to expand the front line. Eventually, teleportation formations would be established in the western part of the perilous land, moving the battlefield away from the Nine Provinces.
Many of the sect’s geniuses joined this operation—Sword Solitary, Xiao Wudi, Xiao Wuming, Xue Jin, Lu Qing, Yang Xuan, and others. Many among them possessed special Fate Traits and great fortune. Li Qingqiu deliberately distributed them across different teams, hoping they would bring unexpected gains.
With such a large-scale mobilization, the disciples naturally speculated.
News of a coming war with the Myriad Yin Sect had already spread—even affecting the secular world.
Yun Cai also sought out Li Qingqiu, wishing to participate in the battle. However, Li Qingqiu believed her All-Law Spiritual Eyes were more valuable at Clear Sky Mountain, since he himself would soon be heading into battle against the Myriad Yin Sect’s Heaven-Connecting Radiance Realm cultivators.
……
Snow continued to fall.
Three-year-old Yin Jingxing crouched on a hillside, wearing tattered clothes, his face covered in ash. He cupped his cheeks with both hands, gazing at the sun in the sky.
The sunlight was bright, yet it could not melt the snow.
Since he could remember, he had lived in this mine. His world was small—he had not even realized he was a captive.
A figure approached—it was Shen Yue.
Now, Shen Yue no longer had the bearing of a Sword God. He wore the same dirty, worn clothes as the other mining slaves. His body was much thinner, his white hair disheveled, making him indistinguishable from the other elderly slaves.
“What are you thinking about?”
Shen Yue asked as he came to Yin Jingxing’s side.
Looking at the child, his gaze was complicated.
To find Yin Jingxing, he had paid a heavy price. After finally reaching this mine, he suffered misfortune—his cultivation was crippled by Myriad Yin Sect disciples. Now, he was no different from a mortal.
Yet when he thought of the inheritance of that senior Sword Demon, he still held hope.
Destruction precedes rebirth. As long as he could master that divine technique, he would restore his cultivation and even gain stronger sword intent. At that time, he could bring Yin Jingxing back to the Nine Provinces.
But for now, he could not take proper care of the child. Watching the Sect Master’s youngest disciple go hungry filled him with guilt.
If he were stronger, he wouldn’t have to wait.
By his estimate, he would need at least another year.
Yin Jingxing looked up at him and grinned. “Grandpa Shen, I’m looking at the sun. It’s so warm.”
Shen Yue looked up as well and said, “Yes, it’s warm. Even with the falling snow, we don’t feel cold.”
Yin Jingxing tilted his head. He liked watching the sun—not just because it was warm. He didn’t know why, but once his gaze settled on it, he found it hard to look away.
Shen Yue sat beside him, chatting casually.
Though Yin Jingxing was young, his mother had already begun teaching him to read. Shen Yue also guided him in learning the characters of the Primordial Unity Scripture.
In the distance, Lin Lingzhou watched the two. Ever since seeing Yin Jingxing brought into the mine, he had been reminded of himself and paid special attention to the youngest child there. Not only him—many slaves in the mine cared for Yin Jingxing, ensuring he was not bullied.
“What is that old man plotting, getting close to a child?”
Lin Lingzhou frowned.
He knew Shen Yue was an immortal cultivator—others knew as well, since Shen Yue had once fought Myriad Yin Sect cultivators. At that time, Yin Jingxing had been too young to remember.
Lin Lingzhou held no goodwill toward immortal cultivators. Those from the Heavenly Clear Immortal Sect had been arrogant and dismissive toward him, while those from the Myriad Yin Sect were cruel and vicious. He believed Shen Yue must have ulterior motives in approaching the child.
Everyone could see that Shen Yue cared deeply about Yin Jingxing.
At that moment, Lin Lingzhou saw a mass of demonic clouds sweeping across the sky. He knew that experts from the Myriad Yin Sect had arrived. Whenever such figures came to the mine, they would take away a batch of slaves.
He took a deep breath, setting aside his concern for Yin Jingxing. He had to find a way to survive this ordeal.
The other slaves, seeing the demonic clouds, all became tense, fearing that misfortune would befall them.
Shen Yue turned to look as well, his brows furrowing.
Having dealt with the Myriad Yin Sect for so long, he knew their strength. He could only hope that before he regained his cultivation, Yin Jingxing would not be taken away.
……
In a forest, Hu Yan rode his sword forward, passing over tree after tree. Behind him followed a group of disciples, led by Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen looked at Hu Yan’s back, his brows tightly knit, his eyes full of concern.
The current Hu Yan reminded him of his past self. He did not want Hu Yan to walk the same path. Perhaps this was why their master had arranged for them to be in the same team.
With this thought, Zhao Zhen accelerated, preparing to speak with Hu Yan.
Whoosh—
A sharp sound suddenly came from ahead. Hu Yan did not dodge—instead, he used his Righteous Qi of Vast Integrity to deflect the incoming flying sword.
Hu Yan focused his gaze forward. Standing on a branch ahead was a man in blue robes, holding a jade bottle in his left hand—clearly an immortal cultivator.