#273 - The “Standpoint” Dispute (Part 2)
Six or seven fierce-looking men rushed through the door, their eyes lighting up the moment they saw Qiuyun.
The Liu family's martial artists knew they couldn't wipe out the Wei family in one fell swoop, so the purpose of their raid on the Wei residence tonight was clear: to capture as many important "hostages" as possible to use as bargaining chips for Liu Zhongchun to negotiate with Wei Xianzhi.
Qin Caizhen was a master of the third rank's late stage, making her undoubtedly difficult to capture alive.
Therefore, their main targets were Wei Qiaoling and Lu Jingyao.
As long as they could capture these two, even if Wei Zhaohai appeared, or reinforcements from the Suspended Mirror Division arrived, they wouldn't dare to do anything to them easily.
Unless the Wei family didn't care about the lives of these two people.
"That's the maid!"
"Hurry! Capture her alive!"
The leading martial artist roared, and immediately someone rushed over and sealed Qiuyun's acupoints with a few quick moves.
This wasn't done because they feared her resistance, but to prevent her from committing suicide.
After all, a hostage is only useful alive.
"..."
"Thump!"
Her body trembled violently, then limply collapsed to the ground.
Qiuyun bit her lip tightly, never once looking at Lu Jingyao's hiding place, thinking this would fool the bandits.
However, she wasn't a cultivator after all, and didn't know that it was as difficult as ascending to heaven for an ordinary person to hide from a martial artist.
Moreover, the leader of the group was a third-rank expert.
"Hmph!"
Accompanied by a cold snort, a man with a knife scar across his face narrowed his eyes slightly and swung his blade down without hesitation.
"Crack!"
The large embroidered bed instantly shattered into countless pieces of wood, and Lu Jingyao, hidden beneath it, was exposed to everyone as expected.
Before Scarface could speak, a subordinate immediately stepped forward and sealed Lu Jingyao's acupoints as well, not even giving her a chance to say a single word.
"Boss! Let's retreat quickly!"
Someone had already hoisted Qiuyun and Lu Jingyao onto their shoulders, anxiously shouting, "Once the Wei family's old ancestor comes out of seclusion, it'll be too late!"
The Liu family knew that Wei Zhaohai had been in seclusion on the third floor of the Wei family's Martial Pavilion for a long time.
Since it was "seclusion", it meant he was basically isolated from the outside world, and even if a major event required him to come out, there would definitely be a time lag in between.
It was precisely because of this that the Liu family's martial artists dared to suddenly launch an attack and break into the Wei residence, wanting to quickly end the battle before Wei Zhaohai came out of seclusion.
Now that Lu Jingyao had been captured, although they didn't know how things were going with Wei Qiaoling, this group of people should quickly evacuate according to the original plan.
However...
"Wait!"
The Scarface man suddenly took half a step to the side imperceptibly, and ordered in a low voice:
"Put the people down first."
Nine Pinnacle Mountain.
When Wei Changtian braved the unprecedented rain to run to the Heavenly Luo Sect's mountain gate, the scene before him was extremely shocking.
The vast Nine Pinnacle Mountain was full of black shadows running around, the torrential rain washing away a ground of ruins, purple lightning piercing through the night and clouds to illuminate the chaotic rocks and broken wood, and thick smoke constantly billowing from the charred beams and tiles.
Including the Black Tower, the Heavenly Luo Sect's buildings had been reduced to less than ten percent of their original number, almost all destroyed by this endless thunder.
Perhaps the famous and upright sects of Da Ning would never have imagined that the Heavenly Luo Sect, which they had besieged dozens of times without success, would be annihilated by a heavenly thunder in this way.
If this news were to spread, it was estimated that the entire Green Forest would applaud and celebrate.
As for the "victim" Heavenly Luo Sect, encountering such a natural disaster was undoubtedly extremely unlucky, but fortunately, these lightning bolts were indiscriminate, so the casualties were not too great.
"Grandpa!"
Finding Qin Zhengqiu on a boulder, Wei Changtian leaped to the latter's side and shouted, "What's going on?!"
"Changtian?"
"..."
Seeing this scene, Qin Zhengqiu's figure swayed violently, and Wei Changtian was also silent for a long while.
"Grandpa, you..."
"I'm fine."
Shaking his head with a complex expression, Qin Zhengqiu tried his best to make his voice calmer.
"Changtian, why are you here?"
"This rain is too unusual, and I saw lightning and thunder over Nine Pinnacle Mountain, so I came to see what was happening because I was worried!"
Wei Changtian replied loudly, "Grandpa, take everyone to Shu Prefecture City to take shelter for a while first!"
"Shelter..."
The waterfall falls from the sky, competing with the Milky Way.
Qin Zhengqiu looked up at the sky where lightning intertwined, as if a heavenly god was hidden within, and murmured with a sigh:
"Changtian."
"Since the establishment of the Heavenly Luo Sect, those so-called famous and upright sects have besieged Nine Pinnacle Mountain twenty-two times, large and small, and the Heavenly Luo Sect has never avoided it..."
"But I didn't expect that now we would be forced to this point by a heavenly thunder..."
"Tell me, doesn't this count as the trickery of fate?"
The trickery of fate?
Wei Changtian was stunned for a moment.
He had never been a sect leader, and he hadn't even gotten a "class monitor" or "manager" position before he transmigrated, so he couldn't fully understand Qin Zhengqiu's mood at the moment.
However, he had watched a documentary about the "Burning of the Old Summer Palace" in his previous life, and he thought that this kind of powerlessness and sadness should be similar.
"Grandpa, I don't know if it's the trickery of fate."
After a pause, Wei Changtian's expression became serious.
"I only know that where there's life, there's hope, and as long as people are still alive, there's still a chance to make a comeback!"
"The Heavenly Luo Sect is not these few houses and stones!"
"But these living people!"
Suddenly turning his head, Wei Changtian stood tall in the rain, pointing to the Heavenly Luo Sect people behind him who were running to put out the fire and save people, and shouted loudly at Qin Zhengqiu:
"Grandpa!"
"They are the Heavenly Luo Sect!!"
"..."
"Boom!"
As if another thunderclap exploded in his ears, Qin Zhengqiu suddenly widened his eyes, and his heart suddenly opened up.
Yes.
People are the foundation of a sect.
How could I not have understood such a simple truth before...
"All disciples, listen to my orders!!"
Suddenly, a voice mixed with the aura of the second rank entered the ears of every Heavenly Luo Sect person.
This sentence was very short, but it was extremely powerful, even covering the roaring thunder.
"Follow me down the mountain!!"
Wei Residence.
"B-Big Brother..."
"Y-You're actually a Wei family spy..."
"How is this possible... how can it be..."
"Puchi!"
A flash of a blade, and in the splashing blood, the last human head fell to the ground, rolling "glug glug" to Lu Jingyao's feet.
The latter widened her eyes in disbelief, so shocked by this sudden change that she almost forgot to breathe.
A few breaths ago, she thought she was doomed this time.
However, in the next moment, she watched helplessly as the leading bandit suddenly turned violent and turned all his companions' heads off in an instant.
"Madam Lu! Are you alright?"
Quickly unsealing Lu Jingyao and Qiuyun's acupoints, Scarface turned his head to observe the situation outside the house, and then said urgently in a low voice, "I am Young Master's man!"
"Young Master..."
Lu Jingyao stared blankly at the man, then cried out in surprise, tears of joy streaming down her face.
"Changtian! Is it Changtian?!"
"It is Wei Gongzi."
Scarface nodded, bowing his head and cupping his hands:
"Madam Lu, Miss Qiuyun."
“Please forgive me for not acting immediately, as I wanted to ensure absolute certainty!”
“Please, you two ladies, move to the inner room. I need to deal with the bodies here, and I'm afraid you might find it disturbing to watch.”
“...”
From despair to astonishment, and then to sudden realization.
Lu Jingyao and Qiuyun exchanged a glance and obediently went to hide in the inner room.
The scarred-face man also began busily dealing with the “scene” to prevent any more members of the Liu family from coming and discovering the anomaly.
The scarred-face man wasn't lying; he was indeed a man of Wei Changtian.
More accurately, he was a Liu family "high-level" member who had been turned by the Tongzhou Society.
As a third-rank martial artist, one of the top combat forces under the Liu family, he naturally received the order to attack the Wei residence at the first moment.
It was just a pity that this operation involved hundreds of people, all gathered in one place, making it undoubtedly difficult to run ahead and report the news.
And even if he had reported the news in advance, the Wei family might not have had enough time to react.
So, he could only endure and remain silent until just now, when he took advantage of the "comrades'" relaxation of vigilance after their success to suddenly launch an attack, rescuing Lu Jingyao and Qiuyun in one fell swoop.
“...”
He swiftly dealt with the bodies and hid in a corner of the house.
The scarred-face man was afraid that Lu Jingyao and Qiuyun might encounter another accident if he left, so he decided to stay here until the matter tonight had a result.
In his opinion, although the people sent by the Liu family were not weak, if the Wei family's reinforcements arrived, they would only face complete annihilation.
Unless they could capture Wei Qiaoling and Lu Jingyao alive before that happened.
However, now that Lu Jingyao was safe, and judging from the sounds of fighting coming from not far away, the Liu family probably hadn't succeeded on Wei Qiaoling's side either.
Which made sense.
After all, Wei Qiaoling was the daughter of the Wei family, while Lu Jingyao was just Wei Changtian's concubine. The security around the former was definitely stronger.
“Huff.”
He breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes remained fixed on the small courtyard littered with corpses, guarding against any possible accidents.
One of the three hens in the yard had died, and the remaining two were nowhere to be seen, probably frightened away. Only a ground of chicken feathers was left soaked in blood, making the scene somewhat comical.
“Why are they raising chickens?”
The scarred-face man muttered softly, obviously unable to understand why a wealthy family like the Wei family would raise chickens in their residence.
However, before he could think about it, an overwhelmingly powerful aura suddenly swept over him, instantly causing him to turn his gaze towards a three-story stone tower in the distance.
As a fellow upper third-rank, the scarred-face man knew exactly where this aura came from.
Second-rank realm!
It was Wei Zhaohai!
With the Wei family's ancestor emerging from seclusion again, he understood in his heart—
The Liu family's last desperate gamble had failed.
“Grandpa, this way!”
Jiuding Mountain, Road to Heaven.
Although Qin Zhengqiu's last words were “Follow me down the mountain,” he didn't lead the Tianluo Sect members down the mountain at this moment. Instead, he and Wei Changtian plunged into the dense forest beside the mountain road.
Raindrops fell like a downpour, breaking through the dense leaves overhead and landing on the compass in his hand.
As the white light emitted by the compass grew stronger, Wei Changtian's pace became more hurried.
The Demon Mirror Compass suddenly lit up an hour ago when he and Qin Zhengqiu went down the mountain together.
When the compass lit up, it meant there was a demon nearby.
Although there was no evidence to show that this demon was Yun Lian, Wei Changtian felt that it was highly likely.
Even if it wasn't in the end, he had to find out for sure now.
And because he didn't know Yun Lian's specific cultivation level, he called on Qin Zhengqiu again for safety.
Now, the two had been searching for an hour along the direction indicated by the Demon Mirror Compass. Judging from the intensity of the light, they should be very close to the target.
“Changtian!”
Suddenly, Qin Zhengqiu stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowed, staring fixedly at a boulder not far away.
Huh?
Wei Changtian, who was running in front, also stopped and looked in the direction of the former's gaze, only then did he notice the strangeness of the boulder.
“This is...”
The bizarre, blood-red patterns were rampant, repeatedly washed by the rain but still showing no signs of fading, even becoming more and more crimson.
“Grandpa, what is this thing?”
Wei Changtian turned his head and asked, “Have you seen it before?”
“No.”
Qin Zhengqiu shook his head with a frown, then pointed to the deeper part of the dense forest.
“...”
“Boom!”
A flash of lightning illuminated the forest and Wei Changtian's astonished expression.
“What the hell...”
He blurted out a curse subconsciously. The shock of the scene before him was no less than that of the ruined walls of the Tianluo Sect just now.
A clearing of hundreds of feet in radius was filled with grotesque rocks, densely covered with countless blood-red patterns identical to those on the boulder!
This scene was like the site of some evil cult's sacrificial ritual.
No, it should be several times more terrifying than that.
“...”
They exchanged a glance, slowed down, and Wei Changtian and Qin Zhengqiu cautiously walked towards the clearing step by step.
And as they got closer and closer, they felt an increasingly chilling sensation, as if they had fallen into an ice cave.
“Changtian, you walk behind me.”
Qin Zhengqiu suddenly took two quick steps, and the robes on his body moved without wind, indicating that he was ready to strike at any time.
Wei Changtian didn't stand on ceremony at this time. He followed diagonally behind Qin Zhengqiu, constantly looking at the compass in his hand as he walked.
He had tested it with Yang Liushi before. When the light reached this level, he should be less than ten feet away from the demon.
So, what exactly would he see next?
A fish?
A beautiful young woman?
Or was it a false alarm, just an ordinary monster?
“Da!”
“Da!”
The mud and water exploded under their feet, splattering like ink.
Wei Changtian and Qin Zhengqiu suddenly stopped at the same time, holding their breath and staring fixedly at a woman who slowly walked out from behind a boulder in front of them.
Or perhaps a female ghost would be more appropriate.
The shabby linen dress was full of holes, and the exposed arms and legs were covered with sunken, bloody wounds, each several inches long, as if they had been bitten by something.
“You, who are you?”
In the sound of the rain, a murmur of confusion entered their ears.
“...”
Wei Changtian didn't answer, but instead called up the system interface in his mind, while squinting his eyes and asking.
“This lady, are you called... Yun Lian?”
“Huh?”
The woman looked up blankly, her small face covered in blood and mud, looking very puzzled.
“You, how do you know my name...”
“Bang!!!”
“Bang!!!”
Before she could finish speaking, Wei Changtian and Qin Zhengqiu suddenly raised their hands at the same time, each unleashing a shocking palm strike towards the still dazed Yun Lian.
Like thunder falling in the dense forest, two beams of strong light, one gold and one white, instantly exploded.
A full blow from a late second-rank master.
A divine strike worth five hundred system points.
Neither of them held back. They had nothing to say to this fish demon they had never met before, and they unleashed their strongest attacks from the start.
All this happened so fast that even with the effort used to strike, Yun Lian had only a brief moment of less than a breath.
Wei Changtian didn't think Yun Lian could do anything in this one breath.
And it seemed that was indeed the case...
(ps: A combined big chapter)
