Chapter 498 : Seeking Battle Again
498: Seeking Battle Again
Yun Qingyue was only level 74, exactly one level lower than Jiang Mo, so challenging her wouldn't yield any rewards.
Jiang Mo didn't know whether to feel relieved or regretful. When she reached Yun Qingyue's side, she heard her senior sister quietly ask: "How did it go? Did you finish what you needed to do?"
Setting aside her complicated feelings, Jiang Mo answered just as quietly: "Yes, it's all done."
After speaking, her gaze swept over the high-ranking figures present, her golden eyes full of eagerness. However, since everyone was still discussing important matters, it wasn't the right time to interrupt rashly, so she temporarily suppressed her sheep-fleecing thoughts. Following normal protocol, she continued whispering to her senior sister: "They've been discussing things all afternoon—what have they been talking about?"
An entire afternoon was indeed not a short time, but with many people present, each with different viewpoints, discussions could turn into debates. Fortunately, everyone shared the same stance, so even with disagreements, it wasn't time wasted.
Yun Qingyue didn't feel there was anything she shouldn't tell Jiang Mo, so she concisely summarized what had been discussed throughout the afternoon and the results...
First was the identity of the demon race. After seeing the Celestial Demon Sect's Deputy Sect Leader, Peak Master Qingyu, Sect Leader Zhu, and the others had confirmed that he was very likely a member of the demon race. The reason they hadn't discovered this before was possibly not because he had hidden it well, but because he had been possessed or his body taken over.
This wasn't unusual for cultivators, and even less so for the demon race—the demon race was a species with extremely tenacious life force, extremely difficult to eradicate. Legend had it that even if their physical bodies were destroyed and their divine souls annihilated, as long as a single drop of demon blood remained, the demon race could use it to resurrect. Although the resurrected demon might not be the same as before, for the cultivators present, what difference did it make?
This was only a conjecture without evidence, but the well-informed Fei Yuan provided two pieces of corroboration for this theory. It turned out that the Celestial Demon Sect Leader had been immersed in cultivation and rarely left the sect, with the Deputy Sect Leader consistently appearing in public. Then, thirty years ago, the usually active Deputy Sect Leader suddenly vanished. The last piece of information Fei Yuan had received before this was that he had entered the Canglán Secret Realm.
The secrets of the Canglán Secret Realm remained unclear to this day, but one thing was certain—the Canglán Secret Realm definitely had countless intricate connections with the ancient sealing formation. It wasn't surprising that the Celestial Demon Sect Deputy Sect Leader had been possessed by the demon race after entering it.
This matter was temporarily concluded, and then everyone speculated on the number of demon race members in the current cultivation world. The conclusion reached was that there probably weren't many, possibly just the Celestial Demon Sect Deputy Sect Leader alone.
The reason was simple: the demon race mostly acted in a simple and brutal manner, not fond of playing with intricate schemes and plots. With the terrifying power of the Celestial Demon Sect Deputy Sect Leader, if there was more than one demon race member in the cultivation world—even if not too many, just eight or ten—they could certainly turn the cultivation world upside down with their strength alone.
Unlike now, where after possessing the Celestial Demon Sect Deputy Sect Leader, they had remained dormant for decades, still relying on the Nine Abyss Sect to draw attention... Perhaps the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's actions had also been influenced by the demon race, after all, the Nine Abyss Sect had been the first to discover the Canglán Secret Realm.
The group of powerhouses analyzed the situation thoroughly, which Yun Qingyue summarized in a few sentences, and Jiang Mo listened with great interest.
Besides these fundamental issues, many other miscellaneous matters were discussed. From major concerns like how to resist the powerful demon race, to smaller ones like Peak Master Qingxu leading people out to test new medicines—talking about these things had taken up the entire afternoon.
Jiang Mo's arrival was quite timely; the discussion was just about to end, and by the time she had finished listening to her senior sister's summary, everyone was preparing to leave. After all, with the demon race now revealed, the final battle could come at any time, and necessary preparations had to be made.
An afternoon of discussions hadn't relieved anyone's anxiety; instead, each person seemed increasingly worried.
At this moment, Jiang Mo suddenly stepped forward and called out to those preparing to leave: "Everyone, please wait."
Everyone present had higher cultivation than her, but out of respect for Jianbing, they temporarily halted their steps. Sect Leader Qingxiao took the initiative to ask: "What matter does Jianbing have that requires us all to stay?"
A few people knew about Jiang Mo's earlier request to the Sect Leader to gather elders for challenges. With the hall's atmosphere being so heavy, before Jiang Mo could answer, Peak Master Qingxu jokingly said: "Could it be that those elders weren't strong enough, and Jianbing wants to challenge us?"
His tone was joking, but Jiang Mo solemnly bowed: "I would be grateful for everyone's assistance."
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After the various Xuanqing Sect elders, Jiang Mo had now set her sights on another group of sheep with even richer wool.
However, unlike the "accommodating" elders, those present were truly high-ranking figures—in normal times, any one of them taken out would be enough to make the cultivation world tremble. Especially with the current tense situation, even the Xuanqing Sect Peak Masters frowned upon hearing Jiang Mo's request, with only one thought in mind—ridiculous!
Others refrained from reproach out of respect for Jianbing, but Peak Master Qingyu was the first to step forward, expressing dissatisfaction: "The current situation is critical. The Sect Leader has already indulged Jianbing once; I hope Jianbing won't make unreasonable demands."
Jiang Mo had never imagined that the first to oppose her would be her mother-in-law. She glanced at her senior sister beside her, instinctively shrinking back a bit. However, the timed mission was meant to help her become stronger quickly—if for nothing else, for the sake of protecting her senior sister in the future, she couldn't easily back down. So after her momentary hesitation, she immediately straightened her posture and denied: "I'm not being unreasonable."
Peak Master Qingyu hadn't intended to target Jiang Mo specifically; she merely felt her actions were rash and had stepped forward partly to protect her. Now, seeing Jiang Mo's stubborn yet determined expression, she felt she might have misjudged her: "Then what is your reason?"
With Peak Master Qingyu giving her an opening, Jiang Mo quickly presented her prepared excuse: "I'm not being unreasonable; I'm simply asking everyone to help me improve my cultivation quickly." The first half was true, the second half was deception: "As you all probably know, the White Tiger clan is combative by nature, often increasing cultivation and breaking through bottlenecks during battles. With a great battle approaching, I ask for everyone's assistance."
Indeed, this explanation momentarily convinced them, but someone quickly spotted the inconsistency: "Jianbing's intentions are commendable, but I heard that Sect Leader Qingxiao had already notified many elders to fight with you. Have you finished all those matches this afternoon?"
It's well known that cultivator battles can vary greatly in duration, especially at high realms like the Fusion stage. A battle could be as brief as an instant or last as long as ten days or half a month—perfectly normal. Many had heard Jiang Mo's earlier request to Sect Leader Qingxiao, and she was supposed to face opponents both at her level and above. How could she have finished all those fights in just one afternoon?
Unless these exchanges weren't serious—for instance, if opponents conceded immediately upon taking the arena—but then what would be the point of such battles?
Faced with the confused or questioning gazes of everyone, Jiang Mo rubbed her ear, sheepishly saying: "They're all finished. Thanks to the elders showing mercy, they were just brief exchanges."
Well, it seemed they had truly held back, but what was the point of such perfunctory matches?
Everyone was confused, especially seeing that Jiang Mo didn't seem dissatisfied, which made it even more puzzling. Sect Leader Zhu was the quickest to react, giving the little tiger a meaningful look, and asked: "From what you're saying, are you now challenging us and also expecting us to show mercy?"
The question was extremely direct, making Jiang Mo's previously fabricated excuse seem pale and weak. While others were still half-believing, half-doubting, they saw Jiang Mo's eyes darting around, not denying... Given her shameless expression, she had most likely tacitly agreed!
Everyone fell silent, completely unable to understand what Jianbing was trying to do.
Those like Peak Master Qinglan, entirely focused on researching the demonic miasma, had no intention of staying to waste time, and shook their heads, preparing to leave. Seeing this, others also had no interest in indulging the little tiger's antics—they all had important matters to attend to.
Just as everyone was about to leave, Sect Leader Zhu said: "Jianbing is in good spirits. Since that's the case, I can have a match with you."
She said "have a match," but it was essentially no different from "play a game." As for why she was extending this courtesy? Jiang Mo was now practically part of her family, and as an elder, playing along with a child for a while wasn't a big deal.
While Sect Leader Zhu was magnanimous, others were surprised by her words—after all, the Crimson Blood Sect Leader didn't have a reputation for being easy to talk to, let alone someone who would play along with children. Thus, those who had been about to leave now paused, and Jiang Mo's eyes lit up. She quickly accepted, while emphasizing once more: "Sect Leader's cultivation is profound; please show mercy."
A thought that even an unfamiliar elder could see through—how could Sect Leader Zhu not understand? She shook her head with an amused smile, glanced at those who had stayed because of her words, and said: "I know, I know. Let's go, right in front of the hall."
Jiang Mo immediately became excited—after all, among those present, Sect Leader Zhu had the highest cultivation.
She stepped out of Lingyun Hall with light footsteps, taking her position in the open space in front, so overjoyed she was nearly bouncing.
Sect Leader Zhu followed closely behind. Peak Master Qingyu lagged a few steps, walking beside her disciple and asking softly: "What exactly is Jianbing trying to do?"
Hearing the question, Yun Qingyue first shook her head, but then said: "She said she wanted to ask everyone to help her improve her cultivation..." This matched what Jiang Mo had told her earlier, so it was likely true.
Hearing this, Peak Master Qingyu remained puzzled, but seeing her disciple's certainty, she didn't press further.
Meanwhile, the two who had agreed to the challenge didn't delay. After casually setting up a barrier, they immediately began.
Sect Leader Zhu had agreed to hold back and naturally wouldn't deliberately make things difficult. However, her cultivation level was indeed much higher than Jiang Mo's—a full major realm apart. If Jiang Mo's original form hadn't been the White Tiger, naturally skilled in battle, even if Sect Leader Zhu stood still and let her attack, it would be difficult for her to affect her opponent, let alone win.
Therefore, despite holding back, the two fought for quite some time, until Jiang Mo couldn't help but hint with facial expressions, at which point Sect Leader Zhu finally relented. She didn't create an obvious weakness to deliberately lose, but simply said she conceded.
Jiang Mo was exhausted but quickly opened the system to check. Sure enough, she saw the reward: 5,333 experience points plus 533 combat power, equivalent to fighting ten matches against others.