525: Full of Sincerity
After Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue handed over the jade slip to Sect Leader Qingxiao, they didn't linger. Having already missed yesterday's challenge rewards, which had left the tiger feeling quite pained, they certainly couldn't miss today's rewards. So after briefly explaining the situation, the two hurriedly departed.
The pair left quickly, but Sect Leader Qingxiao, who had received this "great gift," was genuinely confused, becoming serious after reading the jade slip's contents.
Half an hour later, the group of seniors who had been frequently gathering for meetings recently assembled once again in Lingyun Hall.
The gathered crowd still didn't know what had happened, but each wore a serious expression. Due to excessive pressure, their tempers were even more irritable than usual. Peak Master Qingyuan and Peak Master Qinglan were the most affected—because of factors like the demonic affliction and strange rain, the two had been bearing particularly heavy burdens lately. They had already developed pills to resist the strange rain and demonic affliction, but better solutions were possible, and weapons and magical treasures especially needed "rain protection."
Peak Master Qingyuan had been working frantically for two days, and just when he was making some progress, the Sect Leader interrupted him, making it somewhat difficult to control his temper. So after everyone was seated, he spoke first: "May I ask why Sect Leader Brother has summoned us here? If it's to discuss countermeasures against the demon race, there's really no need to call me. You can just notify me when you've reached a conclusion." A typical statement from a technical expert.
Sect Leader Qingxiao's expression remained serious as he shook his head: "No, your presence today is absolutely necessary." Without waiting for Peak Master Qingyuan to ask further, he took out the jade slip and said: "Yesterday, Disciple Qingyue and Jianbing went out and encountered the Nine Abyss Sect Leader, who sent a letter to me through them."
Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze unconsciously fell upon the jade slip, giving them much to consider. Cultivators had many methods of communication, with even more ways to leave no trace, and few would use jade slips for sending messages. But now the Nine Abyss Sect Leader had not only sent a message to Sect Leader Qingxiao, but had used a jade slip—something that could serve as tangible evidence—making the situation feel quite peculiar.
Sure enough, Sect Leader Qingxiao continued: "Sect Leader Chu stated in his letter that the Nine Abyss Sect was coerced by the demon race in this matter, with no intention of colluding with them. Therefore, he has sent this message to propose an alliance with us to eliminate the demon race together."
As soon as these words were spoken, a sneer echoed through the great hall. Looking toward the source, it was Zhu Baiyi who had made the sound.
Others might not know, but Sect Leader Zhu had experienced much alongside Jiang Mo and her companion. She had personally witnessed how the Nine Abyss Sect had meticulously plotted to open the sealed passageway to the demon realm. Now they claimed to have been coerced by the demon race and wanted to eliminate them? How ridiculous! Based on Sect Leader Zhu's understanding of the Nine Abyss Sect Leader, he was most unwilling to be subordinate to others. Perhaps he found the demon race difficult to serve, which was why he wanted to defect?
These thoughts didn't need to be voiced by Sect Leader Zhu; the others roughly understood as well. However, regardless of why the Nine Abyss Sect Leader was defecting, if he was truly willing to be an inside agent, it was ultimately a good thing. In the cultivation world, competition and conflict were normal, but when the demon race became involved, it became a racial calamity. Under such circumstances, all humans should stand united, and past grievances could be temporarily set aside.
In fact, the Nine Abyss Sect Leader knew that sending a message about defecting at this time would inevitably cause some turbulence. Therefore, he had offered the jade slip as a gesture of sincerity, and Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't hide anything: "Sect Leader Chu included a method for refining weapons in his message, claiming it can resist the strange rain."
Everyone had anticipated that the Nine Abyss Sect Leader would offer some gesture of sincerity, but this particular "sincerity" still delighted them all. Peak Master Qinglan's new pills were quite effective, but a cultivator's battle prowess wasn't solely dependent on themselves. Robes, weapons, formation disks, talismans, and so on—all enhanced a cultivator's combat ability. If all these were lost, it would be like having divine equipment reduced to basic items—how much of one's attributes would remain in such a game?
Not just the disciples under their command, but even these senior cultivators had been troubled by this lately. Now, hearing there was a method to completely resist the strange rain, their eyes all lit up. Especially Peak Master Qingyuan, who finally understood why the Sect Leader Brother had insisted on his presence.
The previously irritable Peak Master Qingyuan could no longer sit still. He hurriedly stood up and asked: "What exactly is the method? Sect Leader Brother, please tell me quickly. I'll try it immediately, and if it works, it would truly solve a major problem."
Seeing everyone's reaction, Sect Leader Qingxiao's stern expression finally relaxed slightly. He immediately shared the method with Peak Master Qingyuan, not concealing it from the others. As Peak Master Qingyuan listened, his eyes grew increasingly bright. Finally, he struck his palm with his fist in excitement: "I see, I see! I'll try it right away, it won't take long..." As he spoke, he had already moved to an open area nearby and begun experimenting.
Everyone's attention was inevitably drawn in that direction, all with a measure of anticipation, Sect Leader Zhu being no exception.
Seeing this, Sect Leader Qingxiao's heart also experienced a rare moment of relief, and his tone lightened somewhat. He tapped his knuckles on the table beside him to recapture everyone's attention: "Alright everyone, my junior brother has some expertise in weapon refinement, so we can leave the verification to him. Now, let's continue with our main discussion. Sect Leader Chu wishes to form an alliance with us—what are your thoughts on this matter?"
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The lights in Lingyun Hall remained bright; at least until Peak Master Qingyuan concluded his experiment, they would not disperse.
Meanwhile, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue were also busy rushing about. They first headed to Zhiming Peak, as the rewards for challenging Divine Lord Zhiming constituted the largest portion of all rewards. Although Jiang Mo had later discovered a new method for special rewards, these powerful figures all had their temperaments and couldn't possibly all gather together just to accompany her in going through the motions. Therefore, the bulk of her daily points still came from Divine Lord Zhiming.
Divine Lord Zhiming's temperament was unpredictable. Although he would never truly harm Jiang Mo, sometimes he would beat the tiger cub, calling it "guidance." When Jiang Mo went today, she was already prepared to be beaten and lose face in front of her senior sister again.
However, Divine Lord Zhiming didn't beat her today, but instead asked about her experiences during the past two days and night outside the sect.
After Jiang Mo had explained everything in detail, she looked up to see Divine Lord Zhiming with lowered eyes, deep in thought about something unknown.
Normally, Jiang Mo wouldn't dare disturb him, but today she needed to hurry to various places for challenges. So after waiting briefly, she steeled herself to interrupt Divine Lord Zhiming's contemplation, cautiously asking: "Divine Lord, can we begin now?"
Divine Lord Zhiming's thoughts were interrupted as he raised his eyes to look at her. His gaze seemed lazy yet concealed sharpness, causing Jiang Mo to instinctively shrink back.
However, if Divine Lord Zhiming wanted to strike, this retreat would be useless. Jiang Mo's feet had barely moved half a step backward when her head received a blow, bringing tears to her eyes as she heard Divine Lord Zhiming's disdainful comment: "Coward."
The little tiger felt both angry and wronged, wanting to pounce and bite him, but feared her teeth would break against the old Black Tortoise's shell.
Fortunately, Divine Lord Zhiming had only made that one remark and showed no intention of making things difficult for her. Even the earlier tap was just a token gesture. Then he casually conceded defeat and waved his hand, driving both Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue out.
Spiritual energy wrapped around them and tossed the pair outside Zhiming Peak. Jiang Mo was still somewhat dazed as she turned to her senior sister: "What's wrong with the Divine Lord? Why does he seem particularly displeased with me today?"
As an observer, Yun Qingyue had noticed something, but only said: "You disturbed the Divine Lord's thoughts, so naturally he's annoyed with you."
Jiang Mo pouted but accepted it: "Fine, it's my fault."
Yun Qingyue stroked the tiger's head and took her paw: "Let's go, it's getting late. We can't dawdle here—we still have many places to visit."
The little tiger was instantly soothed and followed her senior sister away from Zhiming Peak. As they flew, she said: "Where should we go next? Mount Mingxia? Sect Leader Zhu might be there too... No, wait, they probably aren't there. We just delivered that jade slip to the Sect Leader, so he might have summoned everyone to Lingyun Hall again. We could save a lot of traveling."
Not only could they save on travel, but they could also gather the seniors together to earn points—it couldn't be more perfect. As the little tiger spoke, she happily decided to save Lingyun Hall for last. Perhaps she could even complete two rounds of challenges before dawn.
Yun Qingyue's guess was similar to Jiang Mo's, and based on her understanding of the Sect Leader, this was almost not even a guess but an established fact. Sensing the little tiger's excitement beside her, she couldn't help but smile: "Let's go elsewhere first and visit Lingyun Hall last. With such a major event as the Nine Abyss Sect Leader sending a message, they definitely won't finish their discussion quickly."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo nodded, feeling that leveling up was just within reach, instantly filled with motivation.
The two traversed the Xuanqing Sect under the night sky, disturbing many people's evening cultivation. Fortunately, apart from the seniors in Lingyun Hall, most others had received favors from the Swan Goose, so when challenged at this hour, they could only comply, with few complaints.
Before midnight, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue finally finished collecting all the scattered rewards, and then hurried together to Lingyun Hall.
Yun Qingyue's prediction was completely accurate. When the two arrived at Lingyun Hall, it was still brightly lit. Noticing their arrival, Sect Leader Qingxiao beckoned: "Perfect timing! Now that you're here, please share your experiences meeting the Nine Abyss Sect Leader."
Jiang Mo, who had arrived precisely on time, said: "There's no rush. Let's have our match first."