528: Worth a Try
Jiang Mo hadn't just failed to win over her mother-in-law; she had acted on impulse, without telling anyone before standing up.
This "anyone" included Yun Qingyue, whose hand she was currently holding, and even now Jiang Mo hadn't realized how unreliable her actions were. It was the observing system that weakly reminded her in her mind: "Ho-host, are you, planning to get married? But you, haven't, proposed to Senior Sister yet..."
These words struck like a bolt from the blue. Jiang Mo, who had just been beaming with joy from all the congratulations, suddenly froze, the entire tiger stunned—not winning over her mother-in-law was manageable; at worst she'd receive another beating later. But not securing her wife's agreement was a major problem.
Jiang Mo tightened her grip on Yun Qingyue's hand, as if fearing she might let go and run away the next moment, yet she didn't dare turn around to see her Senior Sister's expression. Only after a good while, when she realized her hand hadn't been released, did she stiffly and cautiously look back. To her surprise, she found her Senior Sister's expression relatively calm.
Indeed, Yun Qingyue hadn't become angry at Jiang Mo's presumption. Due to their different worlds and different perspectives, from the moment Yun Qingyue accepted Jiang Mo, becoming Dao partners seemed natural to her.
Perhaps Jiang Mo should have mentioned it to her before making the announcement, but even without doing so, they still shared this level of mutual understanding.
Therefore, upon sensing Jiang Mo's unease, Yun Qingyue didn't take it personally. She gently squeezed Jiang Mo's hand and quietly asked: "What's wrong?" After asking, her gaze briefly flickered toward Sect Leader Zhu, seemingly comprehending: "We can go speak to her together later."
Jiang Mo was moved to tears by her Senior Sister's consideration, desperately wanting to immediately present all her worldly possessions as a proposal. However, this was Lingyun Hall, under everyone's scrutiny, and she had just boldly announced their intention to become Dao partners. To turn around and propose to her Senior Sister now would feel like a slap in the face, coming too quickly and too harshly.
So after a slight hesitation, she silently decided that making up for the proposal would wait until they were alone later. At this moment, she could only look at her Senior Sister with gratitude and nod firmly: "All right."
The tender scene between the two naturally fell under everyone else's observation.
Sect Leader Zhu's face seemed to darken further, but she appeared to be simply angry without any intention of intervening... Perhaps, as Jiang Mo thought, her mother-in-law disliked her, and at worst she'd endure a beating afterward.
When even the mother hadn't spoken up, neither did the master, and so the bomb Jiang Mo had suddenly dropped didn't cause much more commotion.
Seeing that this matter had temporarily passed, Sect Leader Qingxiao pondered, then took out a brocade box from his storage space and handed it over: "Jianbing and Disciple Qingyue becoming Dao partners is a joyous occasion for our Xuanqing Sect. This small gift represents my modest sincerity." After speaking, his gaze swept across everyone, and he considerately added: "Jianbing's marriage cannot be taken lightly. When matters are resolved in the future, Xuanqing Sect will definitely hold a grand ceremony and invite everyone to celebrate together."
In other words, the wedding would still be held in the future, so there was no need for everyone to rush with gifts now. And if they didn't survive the current calamity, then it would be dust returning to dust, earth to earth, with nothing more to say.
Everyone responded with a few words of agreement. Jiang Mo accepted Sect Leader Qingxiao's gift, and the matter was completely put to rest.
……
The original purpose of tonight's gathering was to discuss the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's alliance proposal. Although they had "digressed" for quite some time in between, even allowing Jiang Mo to announce her marriage news, they eventually had to return to the main topic.
However, the delay hadn't been without benefits; at least in their waiting, they received Peak Master Qingyuan's results.
Indeed, Peak Master Qingyuan had attempted weapon refinement according to the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's method and had now produced a simple finished product. So before the discussion even began, it was interrupted again, with everyone gathering around in interest, intending to first see Peak Master Qingyuan's results—after all, this was the sincerity sent by the Nine Abyss Sect Leader, and they needed to assess how genuine this sincerity was before discussing other matters.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue also followed, though the two were simply curious spectators, as the outcome wasn't particularly important to them. After all, they were both divine beasts, and even without external assistance, their powerful bodies were already their best weapons.
For instance, Jiang Mo's tiger claws and Yun Qingyue's feathers were both weapons unique to them.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue approached with curious anticipation, only to discover upon closer inspection that the magical artifact Peak Master Qingyuan had crafted was actually a bowl. According to him, this bowl could change size—upright, it could collect rain; inverted, it could even cover an entire spirit peak... It sounded impressive, but regarding his first creation being a bowl, everyone's feelings were inevitably somewhat peculiar.
However, peculiar feelings aside, whether something was useful or effective could only be determined through testing.
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The Nine Abyss Sect Leader's sincerity didn't appear to be false. At the very least, the artifact Peak Master Qingyuan had crafted according to his method truly wasn't affected by the strange rain. The only thing people wanted to criticize was how bizarre Peak Master Qingyuan's new artifact was. When he enlarged the bowl-shaped artifact to cover a nearby small spirit peak, that peak nearly erupted in chaos, thinking the demon race had invaded.
Of course, after learning it was a false alarm, the chaotic small spirit peak quickly calmed down. However, the little tiger's keen ears still caught numerous disciples' criticisms from afar, roughly eight or nine out of ten criticizing the artifact's shape.
Peak Master Qingyuan probably heard some of it too, but having just successfully conducted his experiment, he was in a good mood and paid no attention.
After witnessing the test results, everyone returned to Lingyun Hall. Peak Master Qingyuan continued to leave the artifact in the strange rain to collect water, apparently wanting to test whether the effect was temporary or permanent. Regardless, the earlier effectiveness had been witnessed by everyone, so someone considered the practicality: "This method seems usable, but isn't it too late to re-forge all our magical treasures now?"
Cultivators each had their trump cards and magical treasures, things that couldn't be casually replaced. Setting aside whether Xuanqing Sect could supply so many replacements—even if they had abundant resources and the ability to forge superior magical treasures, there simply wasn't enough time.
Look at Peak Master Qingyuan, the finest weaponsmith in Xuanqing Sect, and it still took him half the night to forge a bowl.
This question was very practical. Upon hearing it, everyone's expressions became solemn. However, Peak Master Qingyuan had already relaxed by this point. Occasionally glancing at the bowl outside, he waved his hand and said: "Complete re-forging isn't necessary. With slight modifications, you can all do it yourselves."
Most cultivators knew some weapon refinement techniques, not for creating from nothing, but for making minor refinements to enhance their magical treasures' quality. Now hearing Peak Master Qingyuan's words, everyone immediately felt relieved—truthfully, magical treasures were extremely important to cultivators, and unless there was absolute trust, no cultivator would easily hand over their magical treasures to others. Not even to weaponsmiths. Being able to modify them personally was naturally best.
So next, Peak Master Qingyuan began carefully instructing everyone on the process, even taking two of his less frequently used magical treasures as examples. After testing, they were thrown outside the hall together with the new bowl to be tested in the rain.
After all this effort, everyone had gained confidence and began to seriously consider the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's alliance.
Sect Leader Qingxiao, seated at the head, finally addressed everyone again: "The sincerity of Sect Leader Chu, I believe everyone has witnessed. Now, regarding his request for an alliance, what are your thoughts?"
Sect Leader Qingxiao could determine eighty percent of Xuanqing Sect's stance himself, but as the sect leader, he naturally needed to hear his fellow sect members' opinions. After speaking, he turned his gaze toward his junior brothers and sisters, indicating they could speak first.
Having been fellow disciples for many years, the various peak masters shared some understanding with Sect Leader Qingxiao. Immediately, Peak Master Qingxu stroked his beard and said: "I think it's worth a try. We're already at the end of our rope anyway. Even if the people outside do nothing, in a month's time we'll still have to go out and fight for our lives. The demon race won't spare human lives; they won't care how many subordinates die, so there's really no need for this extra step."
Peak Master Qingxu's attitude was straightforward—they had nothing to lose anyway, so any attempt wouldn't be disadvantageous. Besides, what if the Nine Abyss Sect Leader was sincere? With the Nine Abyss Sect as an inside agent, the demon race's power could be reduced by at least half, which would be a tremendous gain.
Hearing this, everyone pondered and felt his reasoning was sound. The only thing worth being cautious about was that they would be staking their own lives.
Sect Leader Qingxiao listened without comment, then directed his gaze toward Zhu Baiyi as the second person, saying: "The Crimson Blood Sect and Nine Abyss Sect have old grievances, and recently even engaged in a major battle. What is Sect Leader Zhu's assessment of Sect Leader Chu?"
Zhu Baiyi lifted her eyelids and coldly evaluated: "Ambitious, with a cunning mind."
Everyone had some idea, but hearing these words still didn't sound like a positive assessment—it was just short of explicitly stating that the Nine Abyss Sect Leader wasn't trustworthy.
However, Zhu Baiyi immediately continued: "The person may not be trustworthy, but he indeed doesn't have the temperament to be subordinate to others. If he himself hasn't been controlled by the demon race, then this request for an alliance is somewhat credible."
This assessment gained Fei Yuan's agreement. She had previously managed the Harmony Sect and had the most current intelligence. Information about the various high-ranking figures in the cultivation world was naturally a priority for the Harmony Sect to collect, and she even knew many secrets. However, this wasn't a conflict between two factions, not even a battle between righteous and demonic paths, but a matter involving the demon race—those secrets and leverage were all irrelevant now.
After hearing from both of them, Sect Leader Qingxiao's eyebrows raised slightly, asking: "Worth a try?"
Both nodded: "Worth a try. But be wary of him burning bridges after crossing the river, or worse, causing conflict between snipe and clam while he, the fisherman, benefits."
Sect Leader Qingxiao understood and asked the others, none of whom had different opinions. So everyone happily decided to accept the Nine Abyss Sect Leader's alliance, though while accepting, they remained inwardly cautious of him.
The meeting that had lasted half the night finally reached a conclusion. Although Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had no opportunity to interject in the latter half, when the meeting adjourned, the little tiger couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
She jumped up, once again forgetting about her mother-in-law, and pulled her Senior Sister, ready to go back and make up for the proposal.
Just before leaving, the two ran into Fei Yuan. Her gaze lingered on the pair, and she suddenly took out a brocade box and handed it to them: "This is a gift. If the two of you don't mind, please accept it."