Chapter 401 : A Type of Food
Fei Yuan didn't linger long. After saying what she needed to say, she turned to leave.
Neither Jiang Mo nor Yun Qingyue tried to stop her, though before she left, Jiang Mo asked: "We were careful to travel discreetly and didn't leave many traces. How did Elder track us down so quickly?"
Hearing this, Fei Yuan merely glanced at the butterfly on her shoulder, and both of them immediately understood. They didn't press the matter further.
After Fei Yuan departed, only the girl and the bird remained. Jiang Mo looked around, and despite seeing no one nearby, she still pulled Yun Qingyue into her innate space before speaking: "Ah Yue, what are your plans? Do you really want to follow their arrangement?"
Fei Yuan had provided them with considerable information and certainly cleared up their confusion, but though she appeared forthright, she showed little sincerity and seemed intent on using them as pawns. Jiang Mo disliked being manipulated most of all—she even quibbled with the system that had accompanied her for years—so her impression of Fei Yuan wasn't particularly good, and she wasn't inclined to follow the other's wishes.
Yun Qingyue wasn't so particular and asked in return: "Why not? We both know the Nine Abyss Sect harbors ill intentions, and dealing with them isn't something the two of us could manage alone. Now with the Harmony Sect's backing, we can make this information public."
Sect Leader Zhu had personally witnessed the Nine Abyss Sect's conspiracy, but now that the Crimson Blood Sect was at war with the Nine Abyss Sect, information coming from the Crimson Blood Sect would lose some credibility. With the Harmony Sect's testimony, things would be different—the news would spread like it had grown wings. And if Jiang Mo brought this information back to the Xuanqing Sect, they would trust her more.
Of course, Jianbing returning with information from the Harmony Sect might somewhat affect Jiang Mo's reputation.
But Jiang Mo didn't care. She and her Senior Sister had experienced these events together, and as long as her Senior Sister believed she had no entanglement with the Harmony Sect, that was enough. What did it matter what others thought?
Jiang Mo was quickly persuaded by Yun Qingyue. Thinking about it, this also completed the system's main quest—to be honest, throughout the main quest thus far, she had mostly been losing points. This time seemed different; she just needed to pass the information back to the Xuanqing Sect, and there would be plenty of righteous individuals within the righteous path who would help her complete this task of uniting the sects.
Considering this, earning points without much effort didn't seem like a bad idea.
Jiang Mo still had some lingering complaints and grumbled to her Senior Sister: "The Harmony Sect really knows how to calculate. They let others take all the risks while doing nothing themselves. They're supposed to be a major sect, but they're acting like salted fish."
Yun Qingyue blinked, showing rare confusion and hesitation: "Salted fish... what is that?"
Before Jiang Mo could answer, the system, which had become active again today due to issuing a quest, suddenly interjected: "It's you, host."
The little stutterer didn't miss a chance to mock her. Jiang Mo's temple twitched as she heard this, grateful that her Senior Sister couldn't hear the system's response. With some embarrassed anger, she completely closed off her divine sense, putting the system in a time-out, and then earnestly answered Yun Qingyue: "It's a type of food in the mortal realm."
The Swan Goose tilted her head, even more confused—what could the Harmony Sect possibly have to do with food? As she pondered this, her thoughts somehow wandered in an inappropriate direction, making the entire bird feel uncomfortable. She spread her wings and flew away from Jiang Mo, not pursuing the question further. Of course, in the end, she still didn't understand what relationship salted fish had with the Harmony Sect.
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The two quickly made their decision. After leaving the innate space, they sent messages to Sect Leader Zhu and the Xuanqing Sect respectively. To the former, they detailed the Harmony Sect's intentions and methods, trusting that Zhu Baiyi would respond appropriately. As for the latter, Jiang Mo merely sent a brief message.
After sending the message, Jiang Mo didn't intend to dwell on it further, since the more she explained, the more she would need to clarify. She had no evidence and didn't care to convince others that she hadn't been deceived by the Harmony Sect. Surely a major sect like the Xuanqing Sect wouldn't lack the means to verify information. Let them investigate themselves; they would be more inclined to believe results they discovered on their own.
Having decisively handled this matter, the two didn't plan to significantly alter their upcoming itinerary.
Jiang Mo relaxed, saying leisurely: "If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. I'm still just a baby, and shouldn't worry about the future of the cultivation world." She paused, then looked at the Little Swan Goose beside her: "Ah Yue is also a baby now."
Though not incorrect, this statement was somewhat embarrassing to hear. At least, Yun Qingyue hadn't considered herself a "baby" since she was five years old.
But truthfully, the cultivation world had countless powerful experts. While their cultivation wasn't low, they were certainly not irreplaceable figures. Therefore, they had no real obligation to participate in the campaign against the Nine Abyss Sect... With that free time, wouldn't it be better to earn more money to feed the Swan Goose and help her Senior Sister recover her strength and return to human form sooner?
Yun Qingyue didn't insist either, only saying: "Let's stick to our original plan, but for now, let's not enter any secret realms. It's better to stay outside and keep an ear to the ground for news."
Jiang Mo agreed, not in a rush to plunder secret realms, especially since her Senior Sister had enough provisions for the near future.
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Neither Jiang Mo nor Yun Qingyue knew that by the time they sent out their messages, both the Crimson Blood Sect and the Xuanqing Sect had already taken action.
That day, after Zhu Baiyi escorted Qingyu back to the Xuanqing Sect, she had planned to linger in Xuanqing City, reluctant to part. However, she soon received news that her sect was engaged in battle with the Nine Abyss Sect. Despite her love for Qingyu and her usual indifference toward sect affairs, as a Sect Leader, she couldn't remain uninvolved in such circumstances. So after hastily leaving a message, she returned to the Crimson Blood Sect with her subordinates.
When Qingyu received the news, she felt somewhat concerned for Zhu Baiyi. However, constrained by the division between the righteous and demonic paths, she neither said nor did anything, only paying more attention than usual to this internal conflict within the demonic path.
The Peak Masters of the Xuanqing Sect were also surprised. They had expected Qingyu to go into seclusion upon her return—she had always been cultivation-obsessed, and having just entered the Grand Achievement realm with an unstable boundary, she needed to seclude herself to stabilize her realm. It wouldn't have been unusual for her to seclude herself for a hundred or more years. But soon they had no time to concern themselves with this, as they unexpectedly received a letter from the Crimson Blood Sect.
Traditionally, the righteous and demonic paths had been irreconcilable, and during internal conflicts, outside interference was particularly taboo, lest it unite divided opponents. Yet this time, Sect Leader Zhu Baiyi of the Crimson Blood Sect had actually sent them a letter, inviting them to jointly deal with the Nine Abyss Sect!
In their confusion, the people of the Xuanqing Sect almost believed they had received a fake letter. However, communications in the cultivation world contained the sender's spiritual energy, and since each person's spiritual energy fluctuated differently, the letters couldn't be forged. So they began to suspect whether the demonic path was plotting something, speculating that the Crimson Blood Sect and Nine Abyss Sect had united to set a trap for them.
But why? Why would Zhu Baiyi send a letter and assume the Xuanqing Sect would certainly step into the trap?
The people of the Xuanqing Sect couldn't make sense of it and became increasingly vigilant. Only Qingyu, facing that letter, never doubted Zhu Baiyi's intentions. After all, even if the demonic path truly wanted to target the Xuanqing Sect, Zhu Baiyi would never choose to cooperate with the Nine Abyss Sect.
Yet although Qingyu knew this in her heart, she found it difficult to provide evidence to convince her fellow Peak Masters. In the end, after her indirect suggestions, the others remained half-believing and half-doubting, frequently sending disciples out to gather information. As for the reply to the Crimson Blood Sect, they didn't send one, fearing that any response might be used as leverage against them.
After all, as one of the Three Great Righteous Sects, the Xuanqing Sect couldn't risk being associated with the demonic path—not even a hint of suspicion was acceptable!
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It was at this time that Jiang Mo's message arrived at the Xuanqing Sect.
After reading the message, Sect Leader Qingxiao immediately summoned all the Peak Masters and informed them of the message Jianbing had sent back. Finally, he asked: "What do my fellow Peak Masters think?"
The others exchanged glances, finding it difficult to determine the truth of the matter, and asked: "Can we verify this information?"
Sect Leader Qingxiao sighed, saying: "Such a significant matter would be difficult to verify quickly. I have sent a reply to Jianbing, seeking clarification, but Jianbing has no evidence either and asks us to make our own judgment."
This made things difficult, especially since Jianbing was still young. If she had been deceived or was speaking carelessly, they didn't know whether to believe her or not.
Naturally, it was Qingyu who stepped forward, saying: "During this time away, I spent considerable time with Jianbing, and I believe her message. In fact, even without Jianbing's message, I had suspicions about the Nine Abyss Sect." She proceeded to recount their experiences over the past two years, from Elder Qi of the Nine Abyss Sect on Merperson Island in the Southern Sea to the Third Elder at the nameless temple in the North Abyss, all connections leading back to the Nine Abyss Sect and the sealing formation.
In truth, she had mentioned these events when she first returned to the sect, but they weren't inexperienced youngsters—even out of concern for their junior sister, they wouldn't ask for every detail, content to know where she had been.
Additionally, upon Qingyu's return, her cultivation had advanced significantly, even surpassing her Senior Brothers to directly enter the Grand Achievement realm. Anyone could see she must have encountered some extraordinary opportunity during her absence. Such opportunities were sensitive matters, and even between father and son, some secrets would remain. The Peak Masters had tactfully refrained from inquiring further. Now, listening to Qingyu's account, they finally learned of the dangers she had faced these past two years.
With Qingyu's testimony, the credibility of the information increased considerably. The only remaining issue was whether to interfere in this internal conflict. And with Zhu Baiyi having already sent a letter seeking alliance, didn't the Xuanqing Sect now have justification to act?