"Indeed, under normal circumstances they wouldn't have been completely wiped out."
Facing Su Qing's confusion, Lin Yi first nodded, but his tone quickly shifted.
"Yet what could they do? Who told them to be so poor at judging character as to get saddled with a petty villain like Jiang Yu?"
He scoffed, then began recounting the news he had gathered in the city.
Two days ago,
After parting ways with Daoist Hengshui,
Lin Yi had taken the time to dig into the insider details behind the Wuji Sect's annihilation.
As it happened to be one of the hottest topics in the city, he hardly had to exert any effort to learn the full story from beginning to end.
The Wuji Sect had been attacked roughly two days earlier than the Guihua Sect, and the demon beasts besieging their gate were comparable in strength to the Golden-Eyed Crimson-Scale Beasts.
Given the quality of the Wuji Sect's sect-protecting grand array, it would have been hard-pressed to hold out for even a few shichen.
And once the grand array fell, Jiang Yu, as a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, would without question have been besieged by the demon beasts working together.
And so, as if possessed across realms by Zhang Beihai, he pulled off a jaw-dropping maneuver.
First, he claimed to the disciples that he possessed a secret technique capable of pooling the entire sect's power to reinforce the grand array, ordering all disciples—including the sect leader—to gather at the sect gate entrance.
In reality, however,
He secretly placed a restriction around that area, turning all the sect's disciples into bait while sneaking away through the rear of the sect.
To cap it off, he deliberately opened the array gates and let the three demon beasts straight inside.
"Perhaps even the heavens couldn't stand the sight of it."
Lin Yi shook his head as he spoke, uttering with disdain, "The old scoundrel Jiang Yu's original plan was probably to wait until the demon beasts left before returning to the Wuji Sect, where he could set up some cover and rewrite history.
"For instance, framing it as if he were beloved by his followers, with disciples fighting desperately to carve out a bloody path for him to survive, and tidying up a few corpses to make it look like other survivors had fled.
"Yet little did he expect that merely a few shichen later, a senior at the Golden Core Mid-stage happened to pass by and caught sight of the lingering restrictions and the crime scene.
"Together with the aura Jiang Yu had left behind during his frantic flight, that senior saw right through the deception in an instant. After returning to the city, he even went straight to Jiang Yu's door to confront him, tearing off his mask in front of everyone."
By the time he finished speaking,
Lin Yi couldn't help letting out a cold scoff.
Unlike hearing of the Wuji Sect's annihilation, learning what Jiang Yu had done hadn't stirred much emotion in his heart.
Because Jiang Yu was precisely that sort of textbook egoist.
In ordinary times, he could maintain some facade, but the moment life and death were on the line, his ugliness was laid bare.
That he would abandon his disciples did not surprise Lin Yi in the slightest.
After all, this wasn't the first time.
Unfortunately,
Though Jiang Yu had lost all face, he had paid a great deal of resources to Jiuwu City over the past several decades.
Therefore, public condemnation aside, his life was safe for the time being.
"Zhao Ping," Lin Yi looked down from the platform and addressed Zhao Ping, "after this meeting adjourns, pass down the news of the demon beast attacks on the various sects along Huailing Circuit. Instruct the disciples to avoid going out as much as possible for now, and ensure our guard duties are not neglected in the least.
"Also, let Ji Xin know about the Wuji Sect's destruction so he can have a little something to smile about.
"If it unties the knot in his heart, it will benefit both him and the sect."
Zhao Ping understood immediately. "This disciple understands."
Though his aptitude and cultivation stage were ordinary, his emotional intelligence was practically maxed out.
With just the slightest hint from Lin Yi, he caught on to his master's train of thought.
Clearly,
Lin Yi intended to tie the attack of the two Golden-Eyed Crimson-Scale Beasts on their sect to the broader disturbances along Huailing Circuit, completely covering up the existence of the demon core.
As for Ji Xin, he was Zhao Ping's eldest disciple who had suffered under the underhanded schemes of the Wuji Sect, possessing five spiritual roots.
Before his path of cultivation had been severed,
Ji Xin had already reached mid Qi Refining, and his cultivation speed had even been slightly faster than Zhao Ping's during that same stage.
After being sabotaged, Ji Xin had fallen into despondency almost every day, rarely interacting with the outside world.
If the news of the Wuji Sect's destruction could help Ji Xin step out of the gloom, it would clearly be a good thing for him.
If he could go a step further and resume communication with others, the various experiences he had accumulated during the early and mid Qi Refining stages might even assist other disciples in their cultivation.
Then Lin Yi pondered briefly, turned his gaze to Wei Chongshan, and asked,
"Chongshan, how have the disciples' spirits been these past few days? Have there been private discussions about how I slew the two demon beasts?"
"Reporting to Grandmaster."
Wei Chongshan was also one of Zhao Ping's Personal Disciples. With a humble background, his speech and demeanor bore some of Zhao Ping's rigidity. He bowed respectfully to Lin Yi before speaking slowly:
"Since the day before yesterday, the junior brothers and sisters are no longer in a panic. Many were even inspired by Grandmaster to redouble their efforts in cultivation.
"However, when chatting during idle moments, everyone is indeed more or less curious about how Grandmaster slew the demons..."
Lin Yi nodded slightly, not surprised by Wei Chongshan's answer in the least.
"That is only human nature. Let us do this: if anyone discusses the matter again, tell them those two demon beasts perished beneath an Irreversible Sword Talisman that I had treasured for many years."
An Irreversible Sword Talisman?
Standing beside Wei Chongshan, Zhao Ping froze upon hearing this and blurted out instinctively,
"Master, an Irreversible Sword Talisman is a low-grade third-rank talisman! Where could you possibly have... Huh?!"
Before he could finish his sentence, however,
Lin Yi flattened his right palm. The Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman given to him by Shen Danruo surfaced silently in his palm, dancing gently along his fingertips.
A few breaths later,
Having finished showing off—er, demonstrating his hidden foundation—Lin Yi returned the Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman to his Storage Pouch. With a calm expression, he asked Zhao Ping:
"Zhao Ping, what did you say? What about the low-grade third rank?"
Seeing this, Zhao Ping opened his mouth, words failing him.
For the very first time,
This eldest disciple of Lin Yi—whose thinking had always been stubborn to the point of rigidity—felt that his junior sister's earlier suspicion might actually hold some truth...
Lin Yi cleared his throat softly, then looked back at Wei Chongshan and said,
"Chongshan, aside from the Irreversible Sword Talisman, you may also let the other disciples know about the existence of this Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman in my possession.
"However, remember this: when explaining to outsiders, tell them this talisman can only be used once."
Lin Yi placed a bit of emphasis on the words "only once."
According to the Think Tank's assessment,
The Dao Protection Department would in all likelihood come knocking for a routine inspection before long, making it necessary to align all official stories in advance.
And the Irreversible Sword Talisman was precisely the demon-slaying method Lin Yi had devised on the Think Tank's recommendation.
It was a common low-grade talisman among the third rank, capable of being unleashed three consecutive times. Its flaw was just as its name implied—once released, its trajectory could no longer be altered.
Although its value far exceeded the net worth of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, for a sect's founding ancestor, it wasn't completely out of reach.
After all, the Tianling Realm was vast, and everyone's fortunes differed; having a hidden trump card or two was completely normal.
As for claiming the Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman could only be used once, that was a habitual precaution for safety's sake.
What could you do? The rabbits were always cautious old schemers at heart...
***
One shichen later,
The brief meeting came to an end.
Leaving the Sect Meeting Hall, Zhao Ping quickened his steps and called out to Su Qing, who was skipping along, eager to return to her spiritual farming: "Junior Sister, hold on a moment."
Su Qing halted and turned back to look at him. "What is it, Senior Brother?"
Zhao Ping hesitated for a moment. "Junior Sister, when you have some free time later, bring a few of the miscellaneous notes Master wrote over to my place."
He paused, then added, "...Mmh, the wilder, the better."
Su Qing: "?"
Chapter 61