The ink sword cleared its sheath, the cold nearly freezing over half the great hall.
Yet just as when the two had first met, her ink sword halted an inch before Tianyan's brow, unable to advance any further.
This time, however, Tianyan did not even intervene herself. She merely sat quietly where she was, scrutinizing Ran Qingmo with azure-gold eyes utterly devoid of emotional ripple.
For Luo Wei and Liu Wenzhou had appeared beside the ink-robed girl almost simultaneously.
Luo Wei gripped her downward-pressing wrist.
Liu Wenzhou seized the tip of the ink sword with his bare hand. Crimson blood instantly surged down the sword's fuller, dripping onto the pale-blue frost.
Glancing at her abruptly violent disciple, Luo Wei's stern voice resounded through the hall,
"Sheathe your sword and apologize."
"......"
Ran Qingmo's dark pupils contracted and trembled violently. She stared fixedly at the golden-eyed girl before her, a suffocating wave of emotion choking the breath from her lungs.
"Sheathe your sword and apologize!"
The stern voice rang out again, jolting Ran Qingmo awake.
She looked at her master's wife and the Second Elder beside her, finding this outcome hard to bear. Her pale lips parted slightly, wanting to say something, but her master's wife's voice came again—this time via voice transmission, laced with deep exhaustion:
*"Qingmo... please don't make me repeat it a third time. I beg of you."*
A sudden pang of bitterness seized Ran Qingmo's heart. Pursing her lips, she quietly sheathed the ink sword, lowered her head, and murmured,
"Saintess... I am sorry."
Tianyan's reaction was as tranquil as a placid lake, entirely unruffled.
"No matter. Given your temperament, suddenly learning of this and wishing to kill me comes as no surprise."
"......"
Ran Qingmo quietly returned to her seat.
The farce had erupted swiftly and dissipated just as quickly.
Ran Qingmo's strike had carried a wide swath of devastation, but because the cultivators present all possessed profound cultivation and were not the primary target, no one had been injured.
Regarding the Sword Sect's eldest disciple's sudden violent outburst, some marveled at her formidable strength, while others mocked her childish naivety.
When everything settled into silence, Luo Wei stood behind the circular table and spoke once more, looking down at the serenely seated Saintess:
"After this assembly, our Sword Sect will discipline our eldest disciple. But before that, I hope the Saintess can produce proof. Otherwise, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion and your cohort of hidden sects will need to have some fresh blood drawn."
As her words fell, a chilling killing intent began to spread across the peak of the Sword Sect.
Everyone present could hear that the Sword Master of Formation Peak was not making an idle threat.
The Sect Master had been ambushed and slain—killed by their own people, and then insulted to their faces. If the Sword Sect still endured this in silence, its thousand years of accumulated prestige would go down the drain.
Tianyan pondered briefly, then replied in a calm, measured voice,
"Sword Master Luo, the whole world knows Ran Jianli fought Xu Yinhe during the Northern Hunt and went missing as a result, correct?"
"Yes," Luo Wei replied.
Tianyan said, "Then do I need to declare before all the sects of the realm what was contained within the congratulatory gifts sent to your Sword Sect by the imperial court today?"
Luo Wei said coldly, "Those severed legs prove nothing. At most, they indicate our Sect Master was severely wounded at Xu Yinhe's hands and escaped."
A direct confrontation in the hall, the atmosphere plunging below freezing.
Tianyan's figure slowly rose into the air. Looking at the Sword Sect's widow, whose killing intent was now completely exposed, she asked in a low voice, "Then how do you explain this Boundary Void Stone ring retrieved from Sect Master Ran's person?"
With that, she withdrew an ink-black ring from her robes and suspended it in midair.
"......"
Many present were taken aback by Tianyan's words, failing to grasp the connection at first. Soon, however, they understood through the voice transmissions of well-informed nobles.
In the Great Yan of today, Boundary Void Stones were virtually extinct.
The only two known to exist in the world were in the hands of the Prime Minister's Manor.
During the Zhenxi crisis, the Chancellor's Manor had used a Boundary Void Stone ring to teleport Sword Saint Feng Jiuxuan from Di'an directly to the Zhenxi Prefectural City.
To cement this point, the Qi around Tianyan began to surge toward the ring.
As the fluctuations of a space technique rippled through the hall, a pitch-black opening bordered by white light materialized in the void behind Tianyan.
Silhouetted against the bewitching glow of the teleportation gate, Tianyan looked down at the disciples of the Sword Sect and spoke softly:
"To this, does your Sword Sect have anything left to say?"
"......"
Luo Wei fell silent.
Looking at the teleportation gate, the tangled thoughts in Ran Qingmo's mind suddenly cleared.
"Master's Wife, that ring doesn't belong to the Prime Minister's Manor."
Tianyan lowered her gaze to the ink-robed girl below and asked, "Are you implying that we just happened to find a Boundary Void Stone elsewhere to frame Sect Master Ran? But the odds of that seem a bit too small, wouldn't you say?"
Ran Qingmo rose and looked at the woman suspended in midair, saying word by word,
"Tianyan, it's that Imperial Daughter of Xien, isn't it?"
"......"
Tianyan fell quiet for a moment, her tone turning subtly persuasive and seductive.
"The envoy who came from across the sea and mysteriously vanished? There are indeed rumors that the Prime Minister's Manor's Boundary Void Stones came from the foreign Saint of that night—the ruler of Xien. But if that were truly the case, that Imperial Daughter should also be in the Prime Minister's Manor's hands. After all, even a Saint like him died at their hands.
"Still, if you insist on that view, I would like to ask where you received this information, Ran Qingmo."
Ran Qingmo instinctively opened her mouth to speak, but abruptly realized she could not utter a word.
Because her source was Xu Yuan, who belonged to the Chancellor's Manor. At this Sect Alliance assembly, that was a name that could never be mentioned.
A brief silence stretched out.
Tianyan exhaled a light breath of white mist and said quietly,
"Furthermore, we hidden sects possess another piece of ironclad proof that Ran Jianli betrayed the Sect Alliance."
With that, Tianyan turned slightly, her golden eyes glancing toward the teleportation array deployed behind her.
The next instant, a water-like woman resembling a banished immortal, clad in an ornate palace gown, stepped out from within.
The moment she appeared, the color of the entire palace seemed to peel away like shattered fragments.
Just as everyone wondered who this person was, the woman spoke with a smile:
"Greetings on our first meeting. You may address me as Wen Xinyun."
Before anyone could reply, an indescribably terrifying aura of Qi suddenly erupted from Wen Xinyun!
In almost a single instant, it suppressed everyone in the hall so intensely they could barely breathe, forcing quite a few sect masters and elders to drop directly to one knee!
The woman surnamed Wen swept her gaze over the caught-off-guard, disheveled Sect Alliance elites below and gave a soft laugh:
"Everyone, Xu Yinhe and I are both beyond Saint. Do you believe that against his full might, Sect Master Ran would have had any chance of survival?"
"......"
The hall fell dead silent.
A mysterious woman looking down upon all living beings.
The dazzling golden-eyed Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion.
The Sect Alliance assembly suffocated beneath the pressure.
Malice enveloped Ran Qingmo like a tidal wave.
Instinctively, she wanted to look for help, but the Sword Sect disciples beside her only remained silent.
They all knew that a man willing to march toward Di'an with a death wish could never betray the Sect Alliance. Yet under the scheming of these hidden sects, the Sect Master's death had already been cemented.
In the next instant, however—
*Crack—*
A subtle shattering sound rang out. The immense pressure from Wen Xinyun vanished instantly, replaced by the formidable might of a military array emanating from Luo Wei, the Sword Master of Formation Peak.
Looking at the woman, she spoke with chilling gravity:
"This is the Sect Alliance General Assembly. Your actions are somewhat out of line."
Wen Xinyun smiled and dispersed her pressure.
"My apologies. I merely wished to substantiate the Saintess's words. If I caused offense, I am willing to make amends."
"Words are useless,"
Luo Wei said, not dispersing the military array's might. "Our Sword Sect will remember this enmity. But if you wish to touch our Sword Sect, then try taking it yourself—one beyond Saint."
The teleportation array dissipated.
Wen Xinyun descended to the floor and strolled forward, her robes fluttering, her tone calm and gentle.
"Sword Master Luo misunderstands. Neither the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion nor I have any intention of seizing power. We merely wish to assist the Sword Sect in better unifying the Sect Alliance to resist that traitorous Prime Minister of the court.
"As for your Sect Master, I also express deep regret. But I urge Sword Master Luo not to act willfully, letting personal feelings bias you toward a traitor."
"......"
Luo Wei's body trembled slightly, surging Qi churning constantly around her.
Seeing this, Wen Xinyun showed no fear whatsoever, continuing serenely,
"This is the Sword Sect's home mountain. Sword Master Luo can naturally rely on the two grand arrays to execute me. But are you certain you can represent the Sword Sect?"
"......" Luo Wei remained silent.
The Prime Minister's Manor and the imperial family could alter the course of their colossal ships with a single thought from their leaders, but the Sword Sect could not, for the Sword Sect was not named Ran.
"Luo Wei."
Liu Wenzhou placed a hand on his old friend's shoulder, cutting off her words.
The hidden sects' plot was already accomplished; continuing to argue was utterly pointless. His voice was low and solemn:
"Mister Wen, since you have come with such great fanfare, you might as well state your purpose directly."
Wen Xinyun smiled faintly, glancing around at the Alliance representatives wearing varied expressions, and said,
"I have come for two matters.
"The first was already explained: to assist the Sword Sect in better unifying the Alliance to resist the court's tyrannical decrees. After all, the Sword Sect is the pillar of the Sect Alliance. Everything you have done is plain for all present to see; naturally, the entire sect cannot be implicated simply because of your Sect Master alone."
At this, Wen Xinyun glanced at Luo Wei and Ran Qingmo, adding,
"However, your sect's Acting Sect Master's mind is already disordered by personal sentiment."
"This is internal business of our Sword Sect."
"It is now also internal business of the Sect Alliance."
"......" Liu Wenzhou was silent.
Wen Xinyun clasped her slender fingers before her abdomen, pacing through the hall with lowered eyelids and trembling lashes.
"My second purpose is to convey a message to the Sect Alliance on behalf of the hidden sects and the Jiangnan aristocratic families: the Chancellor's Manor has already begun transporting and preparing war materiel. Within two months at the latest, they will brazenly launch a total war. We no longer have the luxury of time for internal infighting and power struggles.
"Our Jiangnan families and the hidden sects will supply the sects in the Hongnong region with an uncapped quantity of war supplies. Thus, we hope your sect can rally the sects of the surrounding regions to halt the court's southward advance, granting the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion and me time to purge the court's forces across the southern domain."
With that, Wen Xinyun turned her hands over, produced a half-chi-long black chest, and placed it upon the long table at the head of the room.
Opening it, rows of neatly arranged Sumeru rings were revealed inside.
"If you wish, you may probe them with your intent souls.
"What the imperial court seeks to do requires no further words from me. This is a fight to the death over our very roots, with no room for compromise.
"If you are satisfied, I hope we can accelerate the integration of the Sect Alliance."
After a brief silence, murmurs of astonished discussion instinctively rose from below.
The Jiangnan families were offering far too much.
The materiel in this black chest was sufficient to equip an elite army of a hundred thousand, and this was merely a token of sincerity to whet the appetite.
Driven by profit, some began to waver.
What Wen Xinyun spoke of was already the Sect Alliance's established grand strategy. Now that the other side was willing to foot the bill to skip the friction of factional infighting, it was undoubtedly an outcome everyone wished to see.
Once the atmosphere in the hall was brought under the hidden sects' control, it gradually eased. The Sword Sect members remained uniformly silent, but right at that moment, a discordant voice came from a corner of the long table:
"Everyone, our Celestial Master Manor has no interest in this, and we are rather fatigued, so we shall return to our sect first."
With that, Tang Weijun, clad in a Taoist robe of white with red trim, rose from the circular table.
She offered a solemn salute to the Sect Alliance elites below, then led the disciples of the Celestial Master Manor toward the hall's exit.
A momentary hush fell.
Someone called out,
"As one of the pillars of the Sect Alliance, does the Celestial Master Manor wish to back down from this?"
Tang Weijun paused her footsteps without looking back.
"The matters discussed by the Sect Alliance run contrary to the founding principle of our Celestial Master Manor. Those whose paths diverge cannot make plans together."
"And what of your vision to establish a sect and protect a land?"
"Since you already know it, why bother asking?"
At this, Tang Weijun turned her gaze back over the assembled dignitaries, her voice crisp and resolute:
"Everyone, we have worked together, and though our paths diverge, our fellowship remains. If you do not wish to meet us on the battlefield, then remember our sect's Taoist sword only strikes down those who bring chaos to Daying Province."
Silence fell as her words ended, footsteps echoing away.
Unable to bear seeing this, someone tried to offer a word of caution:
"Little Celestial Master... though the Celestial Master Manor is strong, attempting to stand against the grand trend of the world is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."
This time, Tang Weijun and the Celestial Master Manor disciples did not pause. Her voice echoed back into the main hall:
"Then our Celestial Master Manor shall fight to the last person, using our deaths to prove our resolve—to prove that we once walked this earth."
"......"
Silently enduring the bitter ache in her heart, the Big Ice Block instinctively looked up at the departing figure, then turned her gaze toward her master's wife beside her.
She seemed to be asking,
*Master's Wife, can our Sword Sect not be like them...?*
Yet Luo Wei only shook her head helplessly.
*Silly girl...*
*The Sword Sect long ago lost the luxury of choice.*
After the Celestial Master Manor departed, the Tianyuan Assembly continued.
Sometimes, while a person still lives, the world takes them for granted; only when they vanish from sight forever does one realize their true importance.
Having lost Ran Jianli, the Sword Sect faced the endless malice like a great ship caught in a tempest, struggling forward with immense difficulty. Yet in this hour of peril, a group of people still stepped forward, risking their lives without hesitation.
Because of them, the Sword Sect still retained its position as the leader of the Sect Alliance, and still held a group of loyal adherents. Yet beneath the relentless offensive of the hidden sects, the proceedings of the conference inevitably began to be dominated by them, and the Sword Sect's influence within the Alliance gradually eroded and fractured.
The Sword Sect's fate seemed already sealed.
Chapter 755