Yun Jin felt a little touched. "Master, aren't you afraid I'll screw things up at the critical moment?"
Qing Yun glared at her. "Get lost."
That only made her more moved. "I know you trust me, Master, but promise me something, okay? Next time, let's not swear."
Qing Yun rolled his eyes so hard it hurt. "This is serious business, don't start fooling around! Come on, I'll take you to see the Sect Master. We still have to inform the other three Holy Lands right away…"
Yun Jin quickly stopped him. "Wait, Master! We should see the Sect Master, yes, but let's hold off on notifying the other three Holy Lands for now. Don't spread this around inside Xuandan Gate either, just tell the few people you trust absolutely."
Qing Yun frowned. "You're worried there are demon spies?"
"I'm not worried there might be, I'm certain there are. Right now, only the Qingxiao Region can be considered completely purged of demonic traces. I've given you the art to detect demonic energy too, but I doubt your people execute it with the same thoroughness I do," Yun Jin said tactfully.
Even Ji Wusi couldn't achieve what she had. He couldn't suppress an entire region on his own.
Yun Jin could, only because her power level was that overwhelming. She was confident that even if every cultivator in the Qingxiao Region opposed her, she and the Wushuang Sect could still crush them all.
But others didn't have that kind of strength.
Qing Yun thought for a moment, then nodded. "Got it. We've already done several rounds of checks, focusing on the sect's upper ranks like you taught us. We've repeated the process three or four times, so there shouldn't be any slip-ups. The ordinary disciples have all been screened at least once too, so the odds of problems there are small. Inside Xuandan Gate, things should be clean. If there's an issue, it'll be from the other sects in the Xuandan Region."
Yun Jin smiled faintly. "That's fine, this operation will let us see just how many demons are still hiding among us. There's no need to rush notifying the Kunlun Sword Sect and Beastmaster Domain either. The Demon Sovereign will act soon enough, and the fewer people who know our plan, the better. Once it's over, we can inform the others."
Qing Yun realized she was right and agreed without hesitation.
Man Sen looked at one, then the other. "Senior Brother, Martial Nephew, is there anything you need me to do?"
Qing Yun waved dismissively. "Your brain's about as sharp as a sword cultivator's. You don't need to join the discussion. Just show up when it's time to act."
Not having to join was exactly what Man Sen wanted. He happily agreed, then froze mid-grin.
Wait a damn minute.
What did he mean, his brain's about as sharp as a sword cultivator's?
His senior's favorite saying was that ten sword cultivators together still couldn't make one complete brain!
Man Sen was just about to argue when Qing Yun had already dragged Yun Jin away in a hurry. Left behind, he looked both gloomy and exasperated.
Fine. The matter was too important right now. He'd settle accounts later.
"Xiao Jin, do you know any transformation techniques? If not, I'll teach you one. You can turn into Man Sen and come with me to see the Sect Master," Qing Yun said as they walked.
Yun Jin grinned. "I know a bit."
When it came to secret arts in this world, she probably knew more than anyone else.
Qing Yun turned around, and in the blink of an eye, she'd already transformed into Man Sen.
"Master, how's this?" she asked.
Qing Yun took one look at the tall, bulky figure and shivered. Still, he pointed out, "You look too smart like that. Your eyes should look dumber… no, clearer, clearer."
Yun Jin nodded. Thinking of how Man Sen usually looked, her expression softened, and her eyes did turn clear and guileless.
That finally satisfied him.
As they walked, disciples along the way all saluted them, and Yun Jin responded naturally without showing a single flaw. Since she planned to strike the Demon Sovereign from the shadows, it was best if as few people as possible knew she was even there.
The Sect Master of Xuandan Gate, Xuan Feng, had already been waiting at the gate.
Unlike the Kunlun Sword Sect, where Ji Wusi ruled alone as both Sect Master and the strongest cultivator, Xuandan Gate's structure was more divided.
Even though Xuan Feng was Sect Master, his authority wasn't absolute.
Qing Yun, Li Yun, and Feng Yu, the three Grand Elders, held just as much say as he did.
"Sect Master, I have an urgent matter to discuss. I've already called Li Yun and Feng Yu, they're on their way. Please also summon Liu Yue and Cheng Li," Qing Yun said quickly.
Xuan Feng blinked in surprise. With all those names, plus Qing Yun and "Man Sen," that would be almost all of Xuandan Gate's top power gathered in one place.
"It's serious, Sect Master. Please hurry," Qing Yun urged, face grave.
Xuan Feng didn't dare delay and quickly sent the summons.
Before long, everyone Qing Yun had named had arrived, and Xuan Feng led them into the main hall.
"Qing Yun, what's this about? You called out half the sect's high council, what's going on?" Feng Yu asked, unable to hold back.
The others looked to Qing Yun too. Some of them had been in the middle of refining pills when Qing Yun barged in and ruined their batches.
Seeing their dark expressions, Qing Yun cleared his throat. "This is bigger than your pills."
He glanced at Yun Jin. "Xiao Jin, you tell them."
Everyone turned in confusion toward "Man Sen."
Xiao Jin?
Had Qing Yun lost his mind?
"Man Sen" chuckled, then his body shrank, his face shifting back into Yun Jin's.
"Sect Master Yun?" Xuan Feng blinked in surprise. "If you wanted to come, you could've just said so. Why go through all that?"
"Because it's that important," Yun Jin said seriously.
She briefly repeated what she'd told Qing Yun earlier. As her words sank in, everyone's faces grew tense.
The Demon Sovereign, Yang Yun. That monster was about to stir up trouble again!
"You might not understand how serious this really is, so I brought a Memory Stone," Yun Jin said, taking it out.
The image inside showed not only Yang Yun sneaking through the Xuandan Region, but also the moment he'd effortlessly crushed Bai Yiran.
Everyone present knew Bai Yiran's name. Even before joining the Wushuang Sect, she'd been a peerless powerhouse, yet under the Demon Sovereign's hand, she hadn't been able to resist at all.
"This isn't his own strength," Yun Jin explained. "It comes from the demonic marks on his body. Those marks are dangerous, the more power they absorb, the closer the Demon Sovereign gets to death. Yang Yun doesn't want to grow stronger, but he's already completely controlled by the demonic soul, he has no choice.
The demonic soul and him share a symbiotic bond now. We have to destroy them both together, or we'll fail."