Chapter 418 : Watching and Waiting
The matter of Zhu Baiyi being secretly plotted against and injured remained a secret within the Crimson Blood Sect. Apart from a few high-ranking Elders, the vast majority were unaware. However, while Crimson Blood Sect members might not know, how could those who engineered this plot possibly be ignorant? Thus, from the moment she was injured and went into seclusion, Nine Abyss Sect's attacks against Crimson Blood Sect grew increasingly aggressive, with an apparent intent to force her out.
Yet Zhu Baiyi was no fool—how could she possibly take to the battlefield while injured just because of this pressure? She remained hidden behind the scenes, never showing herself, but still managed to temporarily stabilize the situation between the two sides through her exceptional command and deployment abilities.
Of course, this couldn't last long, as the highest cultivation within a demonic sect invariably belonged to the Sect Leader. Once the Nine Abyss Sect Leader appeared, she could no longer continue hiding... Fortunately, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader still retained the habits of mortal imperial families in his bones—caution and self-preservation. Before confirming that Zhu Baiyi was truly injured with greatly diminished power, he wouldn't rashly reveal himself.
The battle situation thus dragged on until Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue were lured over, and Zhu Baiyi knew the time had come.
Last night's "worm tide" was a probe by the traitors within the sect. Afterward, the Elders and disciples in the small town easily exterminated those black line worms under Zhu Baiyi's guidance, undoubtedly intended to flush out the hidden.
As expected, this action alarmed the traitors hiding within the sect. They worried that Zhu Baiyi was unharmed and would seek revenge later, yet they were reluctant to leave empty-handed—having secretly defected to Nine Abyss Sect, they naturally sought benefits, and the advantages gained from defecting alone versus bringing valuable information were certainly different.
Driven by self-interest, those who could risk betrayal once could naturally risk it a second time.
Unfortunately, gamblers who get caught up in the excitement of the game rarely avoid losing, and the Crimson Blood Sect traitors undoubtedly lost completely and thoroughly.
They lost, but Zhu Baiyi still dared not relax in the slightest, because once Nine Abyss Sect detected something unusual, the situation could spiral out of control. Thus, when facing Nine Abyss Sect's attack once more, Zhu Baiyi, who had been hidden for so long, finally appeared.
She looked fine—rosy-cheeked with a powerful aura.
But precisely because of this, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader became suspicious—he was born full of mistrust and never believed anyone but himself. If Zhu Baiyi had appeared looking ill, he would have suspected she was feigning injury to lure him into a trap. But now that Zhu Baiyi appeared spirited and energetic, he instead suspected she was putting on a brave face and was actually at the end of her rope.
It's hard to say how convoluted the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's thoughts were, but Zhu Baiyi was something of an old adversary and thus had a good grasp of his character. In the end, she successfully drew out the Nine Abyss Sect Leader and captured his full attention.
After a bout of fighting, Zhu Baiyi appeared slightly disadvantaged, and seeing this, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader naturally wouldn't let the opportunity slip.
At the moment when the fire started in their backyard, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader momentarily considered retreating, but that slight inclination was quickly replaced by resolute determination. The Nine Abyss Sect Leader's attacks grew increasingly vicious, seemingly intent on capturing Zhu Baiyi alive to decide the battle's outcome.
As the saying goes, to catch thieves, first catch their leader. The Nine Abyss Sect Leader's plan wasn't wrong, but unfortunately, when he intensified his attacks, he suddenly found that his opponent's displayed strength was no longer comparable to before—previously, Sect Leader Zhu had deliberately concealed her strength, using only five tenths of her full power, naturally appearing weak and disheveled against the Nine Abyss Sect Leader. But now that she suddenly exerted herself, using her full power, she immediately fought the Nine Abyss Sect Leader to a standstill.
With his first strike unsuccessful, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader immediately realized something was amiss and dared not linger. He immediately unleashed a powerful technique to drive back his enemy, intending to seize the opportunity to escape and return to the demonic vessel for reinforcements.
But how could Sect Leader Zhu let him go so easily? She immediately turned defense into offense, entangling him and forcibly keeping him there.
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In the distance, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue remained inside the Crimson Blood Sect's demonic vessel. Having agreed not to get involved in demonic sect affairs, they still hadn't intervened. They observed the battlefield, paying particular attention to Sect Leader Zhu's situation, witnessing firsthand her transition from disadvantage to advantage.
After a long silence, Jiang Mo finally couldn't resist questioning: "Did the Sect Leader really seal her divine soul?"
Don't think she was inexperienced—she had even witnessed the ancient dragon-tiger battle, and she understood perfectly well the effects of sealing one's divine soul. Yet she had never seen a cultivator who could exert their full power after sealing their divine soul!
The two exchanged glances, harboring their suspicions but could only watch and wait to see how things unfolded.
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While Zhu Baiyi held the Nine Abyss Sect Leader at bay on the front lines, Qingyu and her companions showed no mercy at the demonic vessel in the rear.
The Elders who had rushed out without understanding the situation ran straight into Qingyu's line of fire, and trying to escape back to the vessel was pure fantasy. The fellow disciples spent some effort ensuring none of the Elders escaped, and their violent methods clearly intimidated the Nine Abyss Sect disciples guarding the vessel. They activated the vessel's inherent defensive formation, hiding like turtles in their shells, unwilling to show themselves again.
Qingyu's arm trembled slightly as she shook the blood from her sword, her gaze sweeping over the vessel enveloped in the formation: "Should we leave now, or wait a bit longer?"
Three of Xuanqing Sect's five Peak Masters had come in one go, along with several Fusion realm Elders—their strength was absolutely formidable.
Qingyuan, originally a formation master, immediately took interest and circled the vessel once, finally giving a serious conclusion: "If given time, this formation should be breakable..."
Both Qingyu and Qingxu found these words somewhat unconvincing, as they well understood that Qingyuan's so-called "time" might not be just a day or two. But while they understood this, the Nine Abyss Sect disciples inside the vessel didn't. Suddenly hearing that outsiders could break the formation, the already frightened disciples immediately became terrified, wishing they could flee at once... No, they wished they had never come at all!
Qingyuan's single sentence immediately caused panic among everyone in the vessel. They had indeed considered simply sailing the vessel away, but unfortunately, the Elders who had fled earlier had rushed to their deaths, and now no one on board had the authority to move the vessel.
With no alternative, they could only send a distress signal to the front lines, and the spiritual energy signal exploded right before Qingyu and her companions.
Seeing this, Qingyuan turned his head and winked at his fellow disciples, as if claiming credit for this development. Given how things were unfolding, Qingyu and her companions naturally had no reason to leave immediately.
They exchanged glances before swiftly concealing themselves, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.
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There's a saying about "surrounding a point to attack reinforcements," which largely applies to the current situation—after the distress signal was sent from the vessel, although the Nine Abyss Sect Leader was entangled with Zhu Baiyi and unable to break free, Nine Abyss Sect's strength did exceed Crimson Blood Sect's by a margin. They could temporarily dispatch people back for support, and even if Crimson Blood Sect wanted to block them, they couldn't stop everyone.
Thus, one after another, Nine Abyss Sect Elders led disciples back for support, prepared to face powerful enemies. Unfortunately, the true enemy far exceeded their imagination, and those returning were killed almost as soon as they arrived—one by one, pair by pair.
After some time, Qingyu's snow-white ceremonial robe was stained with a trace of blood. She waved it away, her peripheral vision sweeping over the fresh pile of corpses covering the ground in the valley. Her expression remained unchanged as she ran her fingers along her sword blade; the bloodstained sword immediately became pristine again, its gleaming surface faintly reflecting her cold eyes: "That's about enough. We should go now."
They had come to disrupt the enemy's rear, but as members of the righteous path, they couldn't directly intervene in demonic sect internal conflicts. So they had hidden their identities to come kill Nine Abyss Sect members, both to eliminate their reserve forces and to create chaos.
Now that they had killed enough people, the intimidation effect was evident from the field of corpses, so it was time to retreat.
Qingyuan and the others immediately decided to withdraw, but Qingyu, who had first suggested leaving, now hesitated. After some deliberation, she said to her fellow disciples: "Senior Brothers, please return first. I wish to explore the front battlefield."
Qingyuan and the others didn't think much of this proposal, since Qingyu had been the one who persuaded the Sect Leader in the first place, so she naturally bore responsibility for the current situation. Moreover, though this alliance was initiated by Crimson Blood Sect, people of the demonic path were never known for their credibility, so the information provided by Crimson Blood Sect couldn't be fully trusted. Taking this opportunity to investigate wasn't a bad idea, and among them, Qingyu now had the highest cultivation.
Qingxu immediately said casually: "That works well, but the battlefield is chaotic. Junior Sister, you must be careful."
Hearing this, Qingyu felt inexplicably relieved. Her face, usually expressionless, rarely showed a faint smile as she nodded and replied: "I'll be careful. Senior Brothers, please return first. I will follow shortly."
None of them were inexperienced youths, so the others naturally trusted Qingyu. After a brief exchange, they left first.
Qingyu waited until their silhouettes had disappeared from view before turning toward the battlefield—though the two locations weren't close, and combatants at either site couldn't affect each other, the commotion created by hundreds or thousands of cultivators fighting was unimaginably great, literally earth-shaking without exaggeration. The battlefield's location was thus no secret.
A Great Achievement cultivator's travel speed could be described as covering a thousand miles in an instant. Within just a few breaths, Qingyu appeared on the outskirts of the actual battlefield. Standing atop a large tree, she could see in the distance the Crimson Blood Sect flag flying from the demonic vessel, as well as the two Sect Leaders engaged in combat.
This battle was of high caliber, and Qingyu didn't rashly approach, observing from afar.
However, how keen is the perception of a Great Achievement cultivator? Zhu Baiyi immediately sensed someone watching her and, in the midst of battle, spared a moment to look back. Her eyes instantly lit up—she didn't know if others could recognize Qingyu at a glance, but she certainly could. Her heart immediately overflowed with boundless enthusiasm, almost wishing to dispatch her opponent instantly and rush over.
Unfortunately, this momentary distraction allowed her opponent to seize the opening, and Zhu Baiyi suddenly found herself in a precarious position. If she had time to look back now, she would probably see Qingyu's expressionless face giving her a blank stare.
But Zhu Baiyi had no such leisure now. The Nine Abyss Sect Leader, realizing that Nine Abyss Sect had suffered significant losses in this battle, finally decided to abandon the demonic vessel and suddenly intensified his attacks against Zhu Baiyi. His timing was impeccable—during Zhu Baiyi's moment of distraction, the favorable situation before her was instantly claimed by her opponent, and the circumstances were deteriorating.
From a distance, Qingyu frowned, gripping her spiritual sword tightly, her thin lips pressed together.