"If I were to do as you ask, the fall of my family might come within a day. I hope fellow cultivators can understand my predicament."
Xia Qingxue's expression turned cold. She wasn't a fool; she understood what Song Changsheng was worried about. But understanding didn't mean she agreed with him. Staring straight into his eyes, she said coldly, "Do you have any idea what kind of consequences a war between two sects will bring?"
Faced with her sharp question, Song Changsheng remained unflinching. He met her gaze and replied calmly, "I know. But what does that have to do with me? Even if the two sects go to war, the Song Clan will merely be conscripted; at most, our foundation will remain intact.
But if we're used as bait to lure the enemy, do you think our entire clan of nearly a million people will have any chance of survival? Just saving your life already puts the Song Clan at risk of annihilation. We don't need the rewards of a superior sect; we only ask not to be used as pawns."
Beneath his sleeve, Song Changsheng's hand slowly clenched into a fist. If Xia Qingxue didn't cooperate with his plan, he wouldn't mind eliminating her permanently. But that would be the last resort, one he hoped to avoid if possible.
Seeing the firm resolve in his eyes, Xia Qingxue fell silent. They stood on different sides, so naturally their views differed. Xia Qingxue prioritized the interests of her sect; Song Changsheng prioritized the survival of his clan. In essence, there was no real difference between them.
What mattered most now was that the events had already unfolded, and arguing about it served no purpose.
The most critical decision was whether or not she should reveal the truth when she returned.
The Blood Demons hiding within the Qi Dynasty's cultivation world weren't exactly a secret; there had been prior attacks, like the one on Luoxia City. People knew they existed. But how strong were the Blood Demons? Where was their lair? No one had concrete answers.
In such circumstances, even a powerful sect like the Golden Crow Sect was fumbling in the dark.
But knowing the Blood Demons' vengeful nature, if they discovered that the Song Clan was the reason their grand plan failed, they would not let them off easily. When that time came, the Golden Crow Sect could simply wait for the enemy to come knocking, an ideal opportunity to settle old scores.
After all, how many on the path of longevity are truly softhearted? No leader in power would give up such a perfect piece of bait.
As for the so-called life-saving grace the Song Clan had shown her, did it matter? In the eyes of the sect, they were but ants. If sacrificing them would achieve the goal, then so be it.
Who would criticize the Golden Crow Sect for discarding a lowly Foundation Establishment clan?
Only a fool would.
It was precisely this cold reality that Song Changsheng understood so well, which was why he'd rather give up the merit of saving Xia Qingxue.
Now, it all depended on whether she was willing to play along.
Though Xia Qingxue's special cultivation technique caused her to seal off emotions and adopt a cold temperament, it didn't mean she was devoid of feeling altogether.
No matter what, the Song Clan had indeed saved her life.
After a long silence, Xia Qingxue finally said in a chilly voice, "I've never been to the Song Clan. May I leave now?"
"Anytime." Seeing her agree, Song Changsheng quietly released the grip of his clenched fist. With her identity, a promise made was unlikely to be broken.
Xia Qingxue's injuries had mostly healed. After rising to her feet, she didn't spare Song Changsheng a single glance. She strode toward the door, and as she stepped across the threshold, she took a jade pendant from her waist and tossed it to him.
"Today, I owe the Song Clan a favor. If you ever need me, bring this pendant to Jinyang Peak and seek me out."
With that, Xia Qingxue turned into a streak of rainbow light, flying off on her sword. She had to return to the Golden Crow Sect immediately to stop this war from breaking out.
Watching her fading silhouette, Song Changsheng rubbed the jade pendant in his hand and fell into deep thought. Lingzhou was hundreds of thousands of miles from the Golden Crow Sect's main base. Even at her speed, it would take at least a month to make the journey.
And in that month, who knew what might happen? The war might even break out by then. But regardless, the Song Clan had narrowly escaped disaster.
"What a shame…" Song Changsheng sighed inwardly. If he had saved the personal disciple of the Golden Crow Sect's grand elder and exposed the enemy's scheme, the rewards for the Song Clan would have been tremendous.
But unfortunately, the enemy this time was the Blood Demons, monsters who could no longer be considered human. For the sake of his clan's survival, he had no choice but to give up this massive merit.
Still, Xia Qingxue wasn't without honor. She had clearly stated that she owed the Song Clan a favor, which meant that even if Song Changsheng were to die one day, the Song Clan could still use this jade pendant to call on her aid.
As long as Xia Qingxue lived, the Song Clan essentially possessed a life-saving talisman.
"It's not a total loss. If she ever reaches the Golden Core stage, this favor will be worth more than gold." A smile crept onto Song Changsheng's lips. This jade pendant might well become a clan heirloom…
Seven days later, after traveling at full speed, Xia Qingxue arrived in Yuanzhou. She had now entered the sphere of influence of the Golden Crow Sect.
Instead of heading directly back to Jinyang Peak, she chose to visit the Yuanzhou Provincial Command Post first.
The Golden Crow Sect controlled four provinces: aside from their main base in Qingzhou, they also held Yuanzhou, Longzhou, and Mingzhou, roughly a quarter of the entire Qi Dynasty's cultivation realm.
Such a vast territory was difficult to manage, even for a powerful sect like the Golden Crow Sect. To maintain control, they established command posts in each province, essentially branch outposts of the sect.
Each command post was equipped with long-range communication devices connected to headquarters. This was exactly what Xia Qingxue needed. She had to relay a message back as quickly as possible to stop this war.
The command post in Yuanzhou was overseen by Chen Wushang, an elder with a Great Perfection Purple Mansion cultivation base. He held a prestigious position within the sect.
When he saw Xia Qingxue standing before him, he was overwhelmed with emotion. After searching for so long without success, he had prepared himself for the worst: her death or capture. But to see her return unharmed was an enormous relief.
Others only knew that Xia Qingxue was the personal disciple of the Grand Elder, favored and cherished. But Chen Wushang knew much more. He knew it went far beyond mere favoritism. To use a crude example, if he and Xia Qingxue both fell into the water and only one could be saved, he would be abandoned without hesitation.
It was precisely because of this that the Golden Crow Sect had so decisively gone to war with the Heavenly Vein Sect. Not even the Sect Master and the Great Elder could stop it; this was the unified will of the three Grand Elders.
"It's truly a blessing you made it back safely. The Grand Elder will be overjoyed," Chen Wushang said enthusiastically.
But Xia Qingxue cut straight to the point. "The ones who ambushed me weren't from the Heavenly Vein Sect. It was the Blood Demons. You've all been deceived."
"What? Are you certain?" Chen Wushang's pupils contracted, his tone filled with disbelief. In his eyes, the Blood Demons were a bunch of insignificant pests. How could they dare strike at the Golden Crow Sect?
"Do you think I'd lie to you?"
Despite his status, Xia Qingxue gave him no face at all. Her seniority and standing were far beyond his.
Chen Wushang wasn't stupid. He quickly grasped the situation and wasted no time. He immediately sent a transmission back to headquarters and arranged for an escort to accompany Xia Qingxue home.
...
When Sect Master Cheng Muqiu of the Golden Crow Sect received the message from Chen Wushang, he was both shocked and elated. Shocked that there was indeed more to this than met the eye; elated that the message had arrived in time, the two sects hadn't officially begun fighting yet.
"I must report this to the Grand Elders immediately."
Without delay, Cheng Muqiu rushed to the cultivation hall of Su Ding, one of the Grand Elders known as Jinyang Zhenren, and recounted everything in full detail.
He then asked hopefully, "Grand Elder, should we cancel the mobilization order and instead hunt down the Blood Demons lurking in the shadows?"
But to his astonishment, Su Ding responded with something completely unexpected.
"Cease the war? Why would we do that?"
Cheng Muqiu froze for a moment. Then his face visibly paled. "Why?" he asked. "The real culprits are the Blood Demons. Shouldn't we direct our efforts toward eliminating them? Why insist on fighting a meaningless war?"
He had never supported the idea of going to war with the Heavenly Vein Sect. Their powers were evenly matched, and the consequences of battle would be catastrophic.
He had believed that Su Ding only wanted war because of the ambush on Xia Qingxue. If he could uncover the truth, perhaps he could prevent it. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
He stared wide-eyed at Su Ding, trying to read something, anything from the old man's deeply lined face. But he was doomed to be disappointed, for Su Ding's expression was nothing but cold.
"Why?" Cheng Muqiu asked, disheartened.
Su Ding cast him a sidelong glance and replied icily, "For the sake of the sect."
"You know how many people will die if we go to war with the Heavenly Vein Sect?" Cheng Muqiu's eyes turned red. He wasn't a soft-hearted man; in fact, countless disciples had died under his command. He wasn't above sacrificing others to achieve his goals.
But he couldn't accept meaningless bloodshed. He simply couldn't understand why the Grand Elder insisted on war even after learning that the Heavenly Vein Sect wasn't responsible.
"Are you trying to lecture me?" Su Ding's gaze turned frosty, and the oppressive force of his aura made it hard for Cheng Muqiu to breathe.
"I just want an explanation," Cheng Muqiu said stiffly.
"You only need to know this is for the sect," Su Ding said flatly. "We proceed as planned. Ten days from now, we will launch our crusade against the Heavenly Vein Sect. That decision has already been made by all three Grand Elders; it will not change."
Su Ding offered no further explanation. With a wave of his sleeve, he turned and left, leaving Cheng Muqiu standing there in stunned silence.
At that moment, even a fool would understand Xia Qingxue's ambush was merely a pretext. The three Grand Elders had an entirely different agenda.
Cheng Muqiu let out a deep sigh. He knew there was no turning back. If he didn't follow Su Ding's orders, he'd soon be replaced as Sect Master.
Later, in the main administrative hall, he summoned the elders and issued a bitter command:
"Send out the conscription orders to Huansha Sect, Lieyang Sect, and the Rong Clan of Xiangzhou. In ten days, we will go to full-scale war with the Heavenly Vein Sect!"
...
The news that the Golden Crow Sect was going to launch a full-scale war against the Heavenly Vein Sect quickly spread throughout the entire cultivation world of Great Qi. The various factions reacted in different ways.
Quanzhou, Lingyun Peak.
Heavenly Vein Sect's Sect Master Zhao Di looked extremely grim at the moment. Practically roaring, he shouted, "What the hell is Cheng Muqiu trying to do? Who ambushed them?!"
The elders in the hall looked at each other in silence. What Zhao Di said wasn't entirely wrong; they had considered making a move, and even planned to act, but someone beat them to it.
Although they weren't the culprits, the result was something they were quite happy to see. Back then, Zhao Di had even felt a bit smug, so when the Golden Crow Sect voiced its suspicions, he didn't bother to explain. He saw explaining as a sign of weakness.
But no one expected the Golden Crow Sect to react so aggressively as to declare all-out war. That was when Zhao Di started to panic. While he wasn't afraid of the Golden Crow Sect, that didn't mean he was willing to take the fall for someone else's actions.
Unfortunately, the other side wasn't interested in hearing any explanations. They were dead set on fighting. That was why Zhao Di was so furious.
"If they want war, then war it is! Issue summons to Baicaotang and the Heavenly Sword Sect. This time, we must beat them into submission!" Zhao Di growled through gritted teeth.
The elders exchanged glances but didn't object. After all, the enemy was already at their door at this point, the truth didn't matter anymore...
Border Province, Luoxia City, Tianyin Mountain.
Mu Guibai frowned deeply as he read the latest reports. No one had expected the two major sects to go to war at a time like this. Looking back on the sequence of events, it all felt like child's play.
The two sects had thousands of years of enmity and had clashed many times before. But never had a war begun this hastily or so absurdly.
Mu Guibai couldn't help but feel uneasy. In recent years, the vast hordes of the Ten Thousand Mountains had started stirring again, showing signs of migrating northward.
And the long-dormant Blood Demon had once again surfaced in public view.
Now, on top of everything else, these two powerful sects were at war again.
One incident after another… it all gave off a disturbing air.
He glanced at the clouds gathering on the horizon and muttered softly, "A storm is coming…"
...
Lingzhou, Cangmang Peak.
Song Changsheng also received word of the full-scale war between the two sects. The news surprised him. Had Xia Qingxue still not returned?
But to his relief, the Golden Crow Sect's summons only extended to Purple Mansion-level factions. Foundation Establishment-level sects were not included, which was undoubtedly good news for the Song Clan.
Even better, the Lieyang Sect had been summoned. That brought a hint of glee to Song Changsheng's eyes. There are no wars without casualties, especially among subordinate factions, who were essentially cannon fodder.
"Good. The more of them die, the better," Song Changsheng muttered.
...
Yangzhou, Tianyang Mountains, Lieyang Sect.
Zhang Hongguang stared at the Golden Crow Sect's summons, his face extremely grim.
Former sect master Wang Yuesong had recently been dismissed by the Council of Elders for various reasons, and Zhang Hongguang had been pushed into the role of Sect Master.
But he never expected that before he could even settle into his position, he'd be slapped with a conscription order. For the current Lieyang Sect, this was nothing short of a catastrophe.
Yet, did he have the power to refuse? Of course not. That was the sorrow of the weak.
Just then, an elderly figure with snow-white hair walked into the great hall. He scanned the room coldly and said in a frosty tone, "I was only in seclusion for a short while, and the sect has already fallen into this sorry state. Are you all pigs?"
The words were scathing, deeply humiliating.
But instead of being angered, everyone in the hall looked overjoyed. In unison, they bowed and said, "Greetings, Grand Elder!"
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