Chapter 219 : Ambiguous Attitude
Throughout the entire cultivation world, the Crimson Blood Sect Leader and Nine Abyss Sect Leader's cultivation levels were considered the pinnacle, so they were naturally aware of the Little White Tiger that suddenly appeared. Especially the Nine Abyss Sect Leader—his avatar had appeared specifically to save Chu Yang, and even while battling the Crimson Blood Sect Leader, he still kept a fraction of his attention on his son.
When he detected that the white tiger that had suddenly appeared was going for Chu Yang's life, the now-transparent avatar's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he roared furiously: "Damned beast, you dare?!"
The Little White Tiger was momentarily stunned, not from being intimidated by the Nine Abyss Sect Leader, but because in her two years since transmigrating, this was the first time someone had called her a "damned beast"... Truthfully, this made the tiger quite unhappy, so not only did she not stop her attack on the dantian, she moved even faster and more viciously. Chu Yang, completely unprepared, had his dantian crushed by her claw. He immediately let out a miserable scream as his aura plummeted.
It was evident that the Nine Abyss Sect Leader cared deeply for his son, and hearing Chu Yang's scream caused him a moment of distraction.
In high-level combat, distraction is the greatest taboo. Combined with the fact that the Crimson Blood Sect Leader's strength far exceeded that of the avatar, she immediately seized the opportunity and struck a palm against his vital point—the already transparent avatar became even more illusory after this strike, reduced to a thin shadow that could be dispersed by the wind.
Before dissipating completely, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader issued a threat: "Very well, very well. Crimson Blood Sect, Xuanqing Sect, you've conspired to kill my son. I will make you pay for this!"
The Crimson Blood Sect Leader frowned, shook her sleeve, and the shadow completely dissipated.
Meanwhile, the Little White Tiger showed no mercy. Originally, crushing Chu Yang's nascent soul had destroyed his foundation and taken half his life. After the Nine Abyss Sect Leader issued his threat, she simply added another strike to his heart meridian.
And just as Chu Yang's aura completely vanished, the system's application for a raise was approved by the main system—overall, the main system was quite fair and generous. After viewing the video sent by the system, it recognized the mismatch between the task difficulty and the reward, and thus approved the application.
However, the Little White Tiger had no time to rejoice over the doubled reward, because with the destruction of the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's avatar, she clearly felt a dangerous gaze fall upon her, causing her fur to stand on end involuntarily.
This was bad—she'd moved too slowly and was caught in the act by the Crimson Blood Sect Leader. It was probably too late to run...
The Little White Tiger's fur bristled all over, making her small furry form suddenly expand, while her tail drooped low—clearly a battle-ready posture. It wasn't that she didn't want to flee; the system mall had escape-aiding items, but she had released her Senior Sister from the Innate Space, who was now not far away.
No matter how skilled an Nascent Soul cultivator was at concealment, they couldn't completely hide from the intentional scrutiny of a Grand Achievement realm cultivator. She could run, but her Senior Sister couldn't. If she fled now, Senior Sister would likely be the first to suffer.
That wouldn't do! She had followed for the sake of completing the mission—how could she implicate her Senior Sister?!
The Little White Tiger gritted her teeth inwardly, prepared to go all out, when her Senior Sister, whom she had been so concerned about, not only failed to hide but instead made a dignified appearance... She must have revealed herself out of concern. The Little White Tiger, watching her Senior Sister suddenly appear, was deeply moved and instinctively rushed over to shield her from behind.
The Crimson Blood Sect Leader didn't move. Even when the Little White Tiger bared her teeth at her, she merely watched the scene with interest. After a while, she glanced at Chu Yang's cooling corpse and asked: "Were you after him?"
The Little White Tiger didn't dare answer, remembering how Chu Yang's few words had brought deadly retribution.
However, while the Little White Tiger remained silent, Yun Qingyue, whom she was shielding, spoke up. Her gaze fixed steadily on the Crimson Blood Sect Leader, lingering especially on her eyes for a moment: "No, we were following you. As a dignified Sect Leader, why do you stoop to such petty actions, secretly infiltrating my Xuanqing Sect's territory? What are your intentions?"
As the words fell, before the Crimson Blood Sect Leader could react, the Little White Tiger's legs nearly gave way from fright. She hadn't expected her Senior Sister to be so bold, especially after witnessing the other's formidable combat prowess, to directly question her like this.
But what could she do about her own Senior Sister except protect her?
The Little White Tiger stood in front of Yun Qingyue, puffing out her small chest in a show of shared defiance. On the surface, she feigned fierceness with her little milk teeth, but privately she urgently nudged the system: "System, quick, see if there's any item that can let me and Senior Sister escape together? The Crimson Blood Sect Leader is so powerful, striking without hesitation—I'm afraid I won't have time to bring her into my Innate Space."
The system was also bewildered by the scene, but upon hearing the host's request, hurriedly opened the system mall to search. Having received authorization to use the host's points, it stood ready to help them escape at any moment.
Tiger and system alike were on high alert, but the Crimson Blood Sect Leader, hearing Yun Qingyue's questioning, did not grow angry. She remained standing at a distance, and though she didn't respond, her expression remained calm, unlike her earlier volatile demeanor when facing Chu Yang.
Strangely, the scene seemed to have reached an impasse.
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Mount Mingzong was vast, and this valley was far from both the righteous and demonic paths' temporary bases. But no matter how large the mountain range, the disturbance caused by two top-tier powerhouses fighting was enough to alert everyone.
Several powerful auras rapidly converged on the valley, from both the righteous and demonic paths.
The Crimson Blood Sect Leader suddenly acted, but not against the Little White Tiger and Yun Qingyue. With a wave of her hand, a crimson flame shot out toward Chu Yang's corpse. The moment the flames touched him, it was like a spark falling into oil—the small flame instantly leaped high, burning with extreme intensity.
Before the Little White Tiger could react, the raging flames extinguished just as quickly after only a few breaths. When she looked again, Chu Yang's corpse was completely gone—not even ashes remained!
Destroying the body to eliminate evidence!
This phrase instantly popped into the Little White Tiger's mind.
But on second thought, she had killed Chu Yang herself—if anyone should be destroying evidence, it should be her, not the other party. While she was utterly confused, she heard the Crimson Blood Sect Leader say to them: "Leave now, people are coming."
The Little White Tiger inexplicably sensed goodwill from the other party. Yun Qingyue behind her also seemed affected, though it wasn't clear whether this reaction was due to the approaching cultivators from both paths or the warning from the person before them. She seemed to suddenly find courage and stepped forward to ask: "I heard your conversation with Chu Yang earlier. Don't you have anything to say?"
Hearing this, the Crimson Blood Sect Leader suddenly gave a light laugh. Even without smiling she had an alluring charm, but this smile was transcendently beautiful. Although the Little White Tiger's heart and eyes were full of her Senior Sister, she couldn't help but be momentarily captivated.
Then she belatedly came to her senses and began to recall what Chu Yang had said to the Crimson Blood Sect Leader.
Before she could piece it together, the Crimson Blood Sect Leader swept her sleeve and her figure suddenly vanished, departing with remarkable grace and speed. Seeing this, Yun Qingyue's eyes narrowed, and she instinctively circled around the Little White Tiger, taking a few steps in pursuit. However, her cultivation was far inferior to the other party's—let alone catching up, she couldn't even glimpse the other's shadow.
The Little White Tiger naturally sensed something unusual, but now in a place of danger, she also remembered the Crimson Blood Sect Leader's warning. Unable to investigate further, she hurriedly caught up with Yun Qingyue and pulled her into her Innate Space once more.
Just moments later, several figures appeared in the valley.
The Vice Sect Leader of the Celestial Demon Sect, exuding demonic energy, arrived first. His cultivation was at the late Fusion stage. Scanning the scene traces, he immediately judged the level of the previous battle—attacks of Grand Achievement realm power. Among those currently at Mount Mingzong, he couldn't think of anyone but the Crimson Blood Sect Leader. Then who had fought with her? Had the righteous side dispatched additional forces?
Various conjectures arose in his mind, but before the Celestial Demon Sect Vice Sect Leader could investigate, the righteous path cultivators arrived a step behind. The elder-level figures sent by the three sects weren't famous for nothing—what he could deduce at a glance, they naturally could as well.
However, Qingxu and the others were even more confused—they hadn't heard of any Supreme Elder arriving, so how could there have been a Grand Achievement level battle?
Despite their confusion, Qingxu and the others weren't greenhorns who would display all their emotions on their faces. On the contrary, at their level of status and position, maintaining appearances was a basic skill. Their façade successfully instilled a measure of wariness in the demonic cultivators.
In the end, quite a few people gathered in the small valley. When the righteous and demonic sides met, friction arose once again. After a minor skirmish, neither side escalated the conflict, fearing that a major confrontation might provoke a Grand Achievement realm battle—regardless of which side, these were top-tier combat forces. If a Grand Achievement level confrontation were truly provoked, this chaotic battle would be difficult to contain.
Outside the Innate Space, a chaotic battle was taking place. Jiang Mo observed the situation while trying to find an opportunity to join in. But after some thought, she abandoned the idea—after all, the Xuanqing Sect disciples didn't know that she and her Senior Sister had been ambushed, and probably assumed they had returned to the sect.
If she appeared now, it would require a lot of explaining.
Moreover, Jiang Mo now recalled Chu Yang's words about a baby girl abandoned at Xuanqing Sect's entrance thirty-three years ago—this scenario was so familiar. She didn't know exactly how old her Senior Sister was, as cultivators rarely celebrated birthdays. But she knew Yun Qingyue's background—hadn't she been picked up from the sect entrance while still in swaddling clothes?
Could this mean that Senior Sister's origins were connected to the demonic path?
Yes, the Crimson Blood Sect Leader's attitude had been quite ambiguous. Not responding to Senior Sister's words was one thing, but more importantly, she hadn't shown the same volatile temper toward Senior Sister as she had toward Chu Yang, and had even warned them to retreat...
The speculation had just begun, but subsequent thoughts multiplied, and Jiang Mo no longer paid attention to the situation outside.
She withdrew her gaze and secretly glanced at Yun Qingyue, then looked again after a while, and again after another moment—her gaze was impossible to ignore. Finally, Yun Qingyue could no longer bear Jiang Mo's scrutiny and said to her directly: "Whatever you want to know, there's no need to ask me, because I don't know either."