Chapter 423 : Beyond Control
Sect Leader Zhu was right—once they decided to leave, they needed to go far enough away.
Ever since Crimson Blood Sect and Nine Abyss Sect began their conflict at Mount Xuanyin, the area had become a trouble spot. Beyond the occasional clashes between disciples of the two sects, many practitioners of the demonic path were secretly observing. Now Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue even knew that the righteous Xuanqing Sect had formed a clandestine alliance with Zhu Baiyi and sent people over. These murky waters were becoming increasingly turbid; unless directly involved, it was best to stay away.
As soon as Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue left the Crimson Blood Sect's demonic vessel, they were immediately targeted. Fortunately, the little tiger's cultivation was high and she moved quickly, allowing them to shake off their pursuers in time. Even so, they didn't dare lower their guard, flying far beyond Mount Xuanyin before finally relaxing.
Jiang Mo slowed her flight speed and glanced at Yun Qingyue, asking: "Ah Yue, where should we go next?"
Originally, the two had planned to continue exploring secret realms to find resources, helping Yun Qingyue restore her strength as quickly as possible. However, with this internal conflict among the demonic sects now entangling the two people closest to Yun Qingyue, even if they entered a secret realm, she would likely be distracted.
The cultivation world was a place that absolutely did not tolerate distraction.
Distraction during cultivation could lead to deviation, distraction during battle could result in defeat and death, and distraction while exploring a secret realm could even lead to eternal doom—the wonder of secret realms lay in their unpredictability. Even widely acknowledged low-level secret realms might yield treasures beyond imagination when encountered by a chosen one. Correspondingly, where there were treasures, there were dangers, and truly cautious individuals would never underestimate any potential risk.
Yun Qingyue was precisely such a cautious person, so after just a moment's contemplation, she completely abandoned their original plan. Then, after a slight hesitation, she took out the storage ring that Sect Leader Zhu had forcefully given her: "I've looked through it—there are many treasures inside, probably enough for me to restore my cultivation."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo's eyes lit up, though she hadn't missed her Senior Sister's momentary hesitation, and said: "With the current situation becoming increasingly urgent, Ah Yue, you should restore your cultivation as quickly as possible. As for the items in this storage ring, let's keep track of what we use, and if necessary, we can find similar items to return to the Sect Leader in the future." Although Zhu Baiyi, as the leader of Crimson Blood Sect, certainly wouldn't lack such things.
Yun Qingyue had no objection to Zhu Baiyi as her birth mother; she simply couldn't overcome her misgivings about Crimson Blood Sect. Hearing this, the burden in her heart lessened somewhat, and the storage ring no longer felt as uncomfortable to hold as before. She nodded and said: "Let's do as you suggest."
Jiang Mo was pleased to hear this, because both her Senior Sister and birth mother were straightforward with her, treating her without distinction between yours and mine—she wasn't truly that obtuse. Her Senior Sister chose neither to go with the Sect Leader nor with her master, but specifically to stay with her, eating what she provided and using what she offered without mentioning repayment, clearly showing closeness to her. Otherwise, given her Senior Sister's personality, she probably wouldn't even borrow a single spirit stone from her!
The little tiger believed that her Senior Sister's attitude had already softened, and if she continued to slowly simmer things like in warm water, perhaps they would soon be fully cooked?
Jiang Mo completely underestimated her position in Yun Qingyue's heart. She happily continued with her plan, saying: "In that case, let's find a place with beautiful mountains and waters to begin our seclusion. Ah Yue, you can recover sooner that way."
Yun Qingyue didn't refuse this suggestion, and furthermore, both of them had divine beast bloodlines, making them sensitive to spiritual energy.
After a moment of perception, they both looked eastward in unison.
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Wars in the cultivation world could be very short or dragged out very long.
If it was merely a probe, knowing when to withdraw was the best choice. If determined to fight to the death, making a clean cut through the chaos was also a good option. But things were rarely so straightforward, especially when dealing with indecisive people.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue, having left Mount Xuanyin, had already found a mountain range rich in spiritual energy. They casually dug out a cave to serve as their dwelling, arranged several formations for defense and gathering spiritual energy, and began their secluded cultivation—divine beasts were naturally beloved by heaven and earth. With the White Tiger and Swan Goose together, their speed of absorbing spiritual energy for cultivation was remarkably fast, and in a short time, both had made gains.
Meanwhile, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader at Mount Xuanyin continued to procrastinate, still undecided on his next move.
First, he worried that Crimson Blood Sect might have additional hidden forces, so he didn't dare launch another rash attack. Second, he was reluctant to give up, make peace, and withdraw. Finally, he was concerned that if both he and Crimson Blood Sect weakened each other, others might benefit from their conflict.
The last point was clearly not an overreaction by the Nine Abyss Sect Leader. He had clearly seen Celestial Demon Sect's meddling during the conflict between the two sects. Even during these days of ceasefire, he distinctly felt some force in the shadows pushing him to continue... Vaguely, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader sensed a loss of control, which was utterly intolerable for someone as ambitious as him.
After detecting something amiss, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader became increasingly paranoid. On one hand, he worried that Crimson Blood Sect had similarly planted spies within Nine Abyss Sect; on the other hand, he suspected Celestial Demon Sect of sowing discord behind the scenes. He even suspected Harmony Sect, which had remained "completely uninvolved" throughout.
As a result, he naturally harbored many concerns about the upcoming battles, leading to his prolonged avoidance of conflict.
In the end, even when Crimson Blood Sect came knocking at their door, he still didn't appear to engage.
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Deep within the Mount Xuanyin range, in a portable courtyard concealed under a formation.
Qingyu stood in the corridor with her sword, gazing toward the direction of Nine Abyss Sect's demonic vessel—in the distance, the sky was crimson, with occasional flashes of spiritual light and thunderous sounds. Even from far away, one could sense the fierce battle raging there.
She didn't know how long she had been standing there, how long she had been watching, and seemed unaware of when Qingyuan had arrived beside her.
Qingyuan stood next to Qingyu, similarly gazing at the distant horizon, then suddenly said: "They're fighting again, but it still doesn't concern us." After a pause, he continued: "That Nine Abyss Sect Leader is truly interesting—full of ambition, even daring to set his sights on the sealing formation. And now look, after just one defeat on the battlefield, he's retracted like a turtle hiding in its shell. How boring."
Indeed, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader was a contradictory man—ambitious yet extremely cautious about his life. Thus, Qingyu and the others couldn't help but wonder what confidence he had to dare interfere with the sealing formation?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question was probably known only to the Nine Abyss Sect Leader himself, and he wasn't likely to enlighten everyone anytime soon.
At first, Qingyu didn't respond to Qingyuan's remarks. After a while, she suddenly said: "Senior Brother, do you think we killed too many people that day? Or should I not have revealed myself on the battlefield?"
By now, almost two months had passed since Xuanqing Sect's members' sole intervention, and they had been living in this portable courtyard for nearly two months. Initially, everyone had been eager, waiting for the two sects to engage in battle again so they could make another visit to Nine Abyss Sect's demonic vessel—with extra time, Qingyuan, the formation master, had even studied the vessel's formations thoroughly, ready to verify his findings when the time came.
However, they waited and waited, a full two months, without getting another opportunity to act.
Should they attribute this to the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's excessive caution? Or to his cowardice?
Regardless, the blame definitely fell on the Nine Abyss Sect Leader. Qingyuan unhesitatingly said: "How could we be at fault? It's clearly that Nine Abyss Sect Leader who's inadequate. He started the war, yet he's the one who shrinks away when facing trouble!"
Qingyu also sighed inwardly but didn't dwell on this issue, continuing to gaze at the distant fighting.
This observation continued for an entire day, from sunrise to sunset. After nightfall, the spiritual lights illuminating the distant horizon not only didn't cease but seemed to intensify, lighting up that part of the sky as bright as day.
Qingyuan didn't have such patience. At noon, he exchanged a few words with Qingyu before returning to his room to study formations. He came out again after dark and was surprised to find that the two sects in the distance still showed no signs of ceasing hostilities—cultivator battles often lasted ten days to half a month, but this time Nine Abyss Sect had been intentionally conserving its strength, resulting in battles that never exceeded a day.
Today was unusual and interesting—had Nine Abyss Sect finally changed its attitude?
After observing for a moment, Qingyuan turned to ask Qingyu, who had been watching all day: "What's going on? They're still fighting, without stopping at all?"
Hearing the question, Qingyu nodded, the darkness of night concealing the flash of concern in her eyes—concern naturally directed toward Zhu Baiyi. Although she had previously examined Zhu Baiyi's meridians without detecting anything unusual, injuries to the divine soul weren't easily discerned. At that time, Zhu Baiyi's condition had been clearly abnormal, and now, just two months later, she wondered how well she had recovered.
Qingyuan was unaware that the person beside him had let her thoughts wander, and was even worrying about a demonic Sect Leader. Standing in the night, he enthusiastically watched the distance, thinking that the battle becoming more intense wouldn't be a bad thing.
They were all demonic sects; what good could come from them? Even though they were now allied with Crimson Blood Sect, they couldn't condone its bloodthirsty nature. So, under the premise of suppressing Nine Abyss Sect, it would be better if the two sides fought more fiercely and more demonic cultivators died—it would be like eliminating a menace for the people!
What Qingyuan and Qingyu didn't know was that from this day on, the conflict between the two sects indeed entered a white-hot stage. The sounds of battle in the distance rarely ceased, regardless of day or night, with flashing spiritual lights becoming a constant adornment in the sky.