Once the inspiring speech came to an end, the elders of the various peaks distributed a full fifty spirit stones to every disciple! The wounded were immediately brought to Tianshui Peak for healing.
After the crowd dispersed, Ye Feng and his companions headed straight for Yuhu Peak without even returning to their own peaks.
At the summit of Yuhu Peak, they sat along the edge of the cliff, drinking wine.
Ye Feng looked up at the night sky, where the bright moon outshone the sparse stars, and murmured softly, "A sect like this... how could anyone not love it?"
Zhong Lin and Lin Dong remained silent, merely nodding in agreement.
Turning to look at Li Guanqi, whose eyes still held a look of guilt, Ye Feng could not help but punch him in the shoulder.
With a laugh and a curse, he said, "What the hell are you still brooding over? I told you, you did nothing wrong. When two sects clash, casualties are unavoidable. What's more, our losses were far lighter than theirs."
Li Guanqi nodded silently, looked up, and let out a sigh. "Even so, I still can't help feeling awful... All right, sit here for a while. I have a feeling something might happen tonight."
With that, Li Guanqi rose and gazed pensively at the rising defensive barrier.
He then turned, transforming into a streak of purple light as he flew through the air to the back of Tianjian Peak.
Tianjian Peak was the main peak of the Great Xia Sword Sect, and the mountain behind this very peak was actually a cemetery!
When Li Guanqi arrived, he stood outside the Sect Cemetery in silence for a long time. Changing into a black robe, he descended and walked on foot toward the rear mountain.
The disciples who had fallen in battle were now laid to rest within the Sect Cemetery.
Looking up at the sea of tombstones blanketing the mountain slope, Li Guanqi was slightly taken aback. He had never expected there would be so many gravestones in the cemetery! Dense and sprawling as far as the eye could see, nearly ten thousand tombstones stood in quiet solemnity upon the earth.
Lu Kangnian's figure suddenly appeared beside him.
Also clad in a black robe, the man gazed silently at the sea of graves and said softly, "Does it shake you?"
Li Guanqi gave a silent nod.
Lu Kangnian looked out across their surroundings and murmured, "Years ago, I was just like you. The first time I came here, I was awed by these graves covering the mountain. My master told me back then: whenever you come here, you must hold reverence in your heart! Because those who have a stone raised here are people who gave their hot blood and their very lives for the sect! Every one of them deserves our respect!"
Li Guanqi's heart was already shaken beyond measure, for he saw that the dates carved onto the earliest row of tombstones reached back nearly ten thousand years! That meant... all the people resting in this cemetery had dedicated their lives to the sect since ten thousand years ago.
At that thought, Li Guanqi straightened his back.
Led by Lu Kangnian, Li Guanqi found the senior brothers and sisters who had just been buried today.
Watching the emotionally stirred youth, Lu Kangnian turned silently to leave. Before departing, however, he spoke in a low voice: "Do not stay here too long. Tonight will not pass easily."
After Lu Kangnian left, the entire Great Xia Sword Sect began operating like a piece of precision machinery. Once the disciples from each peak restored their origin energy, they were assigned various duties. Sword light surged across the borders of the Great Xia Sword Sect, and figures flying on swords could be seen almost everywhere. Every face was marked with solemn resolve, but not a single person showed any sign of retreat!
Ling Daoyan went straight to the sect's secret warehouse, retrieving several dust-covered relics. The elders of the various peaks were rushed off their feet, each moving in great haste.
Yet these scenes were visible only from within. To the outside world, the Great Xia Sword Sect appeared completely tranquil, save for the cyan light screen that had risen—a barrier the sect would deploy on any normal day.
Although night had already fallen, the sects across the Northern Region of the Great Xia Domain were ablaze with lights!
After the clash between the Great Xia Sword Sect and Ziyang Palace erupted earlier that day, news of Ziyang Palace declaring war on the sword sect had long since spread throughout the entire Northern Region! Knowing Ziyang Palace's temperament, if the Great Xia Sword Sect were allowed to make it through tonight unscathed, Ziyang Palace would become the laughingstock of the Northern Region the moment the sun rose tomorrow! Its prestige would crumble to dust in an instant, and in its place would mark the rise of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
This night, the Northern Region did not sleep!
Elders and even sect masters from numerous sects hurried to within a hundred li of the Great Xia Sword Sect! They would not intervene in the duel between the two powers, terrified of being dragged into the fray, but they needed to know the outcome. If Ziyang Palace suppressed the Great Xia Sword Sect with overwhelming force, all would proceed as expected. But if things ended the other way, they would have to reconsider how they dealt with the Great Xia Sword Sect in the days ahead.
Everyone looked on with bated breath toward the majestic sect in the distance! Yet as they observed the extraordinarily calm mountain, they could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.
Just then, a man in a purple robe twirled a strand of hair beside his ear with an orchid-finger gesture, speaking in a whisper-thin, sneering voice: "Surely Lu Kangnian isn't peacefully cultivating at a time like this, is he?"
The moment he spoke, looks of disdain appeared on the faces of many surrounding powerhouses. After all, male cultivators with a penchant for men were rare these days, and Ye Shaozhen, the Sect Master of the Qixian Sect, was an absolute deviant. Even so, Ye Shaozhen's strength was not to be underestimated; his elusive, ghostly hidden weapons gave many an immense headache.
A merciless voice of contempt rang out beside him. "Can you get the hell away from me, you damn fairy? Just looking at you is bad fucking luck!"
The speaker was a powerfully built man cursing in a deep growl. Standing eight chi tall, he had a hulking physique, chiseled features, and scruffy stubble on his face. Clad in a yellow robe, sharp gleams flashed within his tiger-like eyes!
When the leaders of the various sects saw this man, faint smiles surfaced on their faces. Who in the Northern Region didn't know that Shen Ye, the Mountain Master of Zhenyue Mountain, despised Ye Shaozhen most of all?
A sneer curled at the corner of Shen Ye's mouth, and he scoffed, "If you're here to watch the show, piss off. Aren't you afraid your old ass will catch fire?"
Yet Ye Shaozhen, whose face was caked with layers of rouge and powder, merely raised an eyebrow. A coquettish smile spread across his face as he playfully tapped his orchid fingers toward Shen Ye, giggling, "My, my... why is Brother Ye's temper flaring so hot today?"
As he spoke, his slender body began leaning toward Shen Ye.
Suddenly!
Boom!
A thunderous blast rang out as Shen Ye's palm, broad as a cattail fan, slammed fiercely into Ye Shaozhen's face! Dense, earthen-yellow origin energy surged, and that single slap sent him hurtling several hundred zhang away!
With blood spraying across his face, Ye Shaozhen's body flew through the distance like a kite with a severed string in a gale. The flow of origin energy within him was completely shattered by that single strike.
Bleeding profusely, Ye Shaozhen staggered to his feet with limp limbs, staring at Shen Ye in utter disbelief and crying out in horror, "You!! When did you break through to late Nascent Soul?! No... are you planning to interfere in the affairs of those two sects?! Have you lost your mind?! Are you trying to drag all of Zhenyue Mountain to its death?!"
Suddenly!!
Across the dimming expanse of heaven and earth, ripples of deep blue light surged like ocean waves!
The onlookers had no leisure left to care about Ye Shaozhen or Shen Ye's breakthrough. The dozen or so Nascent Soul realm experts gathered here all stiffened, their gazes turning grim as they watched the spectacle.
They murmured inwardly, *They're here!*
A dozen spatial fissures tore open across the sky!
One cloud boat after another slowly emerged from the void, baring their ferocious, menacing forms!
Chapter 168