Chapter 49 Extermination of a Sect
Chen Chang'an (clone) slowly opened his eyes, his gaze gradually focusing on the rough wooden beams of the inn.
Hm? This is… an inn?
He turned his head slightly and saw Han Yu and Li Hanzhou sitting at the table, speaking in low voices. Their expressions were grave, brows filled with worry.
With a thought, Chen Chang'an's system panel unfolded—
[Han Yu]
Cultivation: Early Stage of Object Control Realm
Potential: 28 (Inferior Five Elements Spiritual Root)
Fate: 100 (Child of Destiny, averts calamities)
Loyalty: 70 (Saved his life)
Character: Resolute, cautious
Han Yu's favorability had already surpassed seventy? Hm, my efforts weren't in vain.
He gave a light cough, feigning that he had just awoken, and slowly propped himself up.
"Sir, you're awake!" Han Yu was the first to react, quickly coming forward to support him, a trace of joy flashing in his eyes.
Li Hanzhou also stepped over quickly. Though silent, the tension in his shoulders clearly eased.
Chen Chang'an rubbed his temples and asked weakly, "How long was I unconscious? Where is this?"
"It's already been a full day and night," Han Yu whispered, handing him a cup of warm water. "This is an inn in Qingyang City."
So it really is an inn!
Chen Chang'an accepted the cup, sweeping his gaze across the two of them deliberately. "Why do you both look so worried?"
Han Yu and Li Hanzhou exchanged glances, their expressions growing heavier.
"Mo Daoren… has gone missing," Han Yu bit his lip. "The Eight Elephants Sect will eventually suspect me and Senior Brother Li."
So that's the concern. Chen Chang'an understood instantly but kept his face confused. "You're merely newly initiated disciples. Even if Mo Daoren is gone, suspicion wouldn't fall on you."
"Sir doesn't know. Mo Daoren oversaw the medicine garden and held high authority in the Eight Elephants Sect. Senior Brother Li and I are insignificant. If the sect insists on placing blame, wouldn't we have no way to resist?"
"That's why we've decided not to return to the sect for now," Li Hanzhou said coldly, his voice firm. "Besides, if the Eight Elephants Sect could tolerate someone like Mo Daoren, then it must have many problems within."
They said no more, but the meaning was clear—they no longer wished to entrust their fates to others.
In truth, after Mo Daoren's death, the two had mustered courage, stomached their revulsion, and burned his body to ashes. Afterwards, Han Yu calmly returned to the medicine garden, retrieved the jade gourd, and reunited with Li Hanzhou. Together they had carried Chen Chang'an (clone) to this inn.
Such meticulous thought—worthy indeed of a mortal-path Child of Destiny.
Chen Chang'an silently praised them.
Han Yu's suspicions were correct. From what Chen Chang'an had observed hidden within the Eight Elephants Sect these past days, this sect was far from harmonious as outsiders believed. Beneath the surface, currents had long been stirring.
Especially between the sect master and guest elders like Mo Daoren—disputes ran deep.
Once Mo Daoren's death was confirmed, the native faction would certainly seize the chance to purge dissidents. As the last disciples seen with Mo Daoren, Han Yu and Li Hanzhou would almost certainly be scapegoated.
"You both acted wisely," Chen Chang'an nodded solemnly. "To return now would indeed mean certain death."
Hearing this, Han Yu finally relaxed somewhat, but soon frowned again. "But what should we do next…"
"I do have a suggestion," Chen Chang'an interrupted.
These two had already reached a dead end. Having tasted the vast sky of the cultivation world, how could they willingly return to being caged birds at the bottom?
The time, the place, and the people were all aligned. If not now, when was the best time to take disciples?
Under Han Yu's faintly expectant gaze, Chen Chang'an was about to speak when his brows suddenly furrowed.
The next instant—
"Boom!!"
The entire inn shook violently!
Cups on the table shattered with a crack, the window frames rattled furiously, and dust showered down from the beams.
Cries of alarm rang from the diners below, while dogs barked and horses neighed in chaos on the street.
"An earth dragon turning over!"
"Run! The building's going to collapse!"
But Chen Chang'an remained perfectly still. He calmed the panicked Han Yu and Li Hanzhou, then suddenly lifted his gaze toward the direction of Mount Jin Snake.
Han Yu did not yet realize that precisely because of his careful caution, he and Li Hanzhou had once again escaped disaster!
…
Half an hour earlier—
Atop Jin Snake Mountain, inside the great hall of the Eight Elephants Sect, the air was so heavy it seemed it could be wrung into blood.
A middle-aged man in a dark brocade robe sat arrogantly upon the jade throne that originally belonged to the sect master.
His fingertip tapped lightly against the armrest, each sound landing like a heavy hammer upon the hearts of those below.
"This seat will ask one final time—" His eyes narrowed, voice hissing like a venomous snake, "Where is the Immortal Artifact?"
Cold sweat trickled down the Eight Elephants Sect Master's forehead, his back long since drenched. Forcing himself to bow, he said hoarsely, "Senior Wang, please see clearly. My Eight Elephants Sect has stood for one thousand three hundred years, yet we have never seen any so-called Immortal Artifact!"
This man was none other than a great elder of Qingzhou's top aristocratic clan—
Wang Songzhou!
"Heh." Wang Songzhou suddenly chuckled.
From his sleeve, he slowly produced a jade slip engraved with the three characters: Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. With a surge of spiritual power, the slip projected a glowing map of the land surrounding Jin Snake Mountain for five hundred li, and in one spot, a golden light pulsed fiercely.
"This is the Heavenly Secrets divination result. Just days ago, an Immortal Artifact's aura manifested here." Wang Songzhou tapped at the glowing image. "And this location happens to be within the range of your sect's mountain-protecting formation."
An enforcement elder could no longer endure the oppressive might of a Longevity Realm cultivator. He dropped to his knees and kowtowed. "Senior! These past days, there has truly been no anomaly within the sect. And even if there were, our Eight Elephants Sect is weak—how could we dare hide an Immortal Artifact?"
"Noisy."
Wang Songzhou flicked his finger.
With a muffled crack, the elder's head burst like a melon, spraying blood and brains across the face of the nearby alchemy elder.
The entire hall sank into suffocating terror.
"My patience is limited." Wang Songzhou drew out a pure white silk cloth and slowly wiped his fingers. "I only believe the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's divinations. Either you hand over the Immortal Artifact, or… this seat guarantees that from today forth, there will be no more Eight Elephants Sect in this world!"
"Wang Songzhou!" The sect master's eyes reddened, roaring in fury, "Even if the Wang Clan is Qingzhou's foremost family, if you massacre my sect, you defy the Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty's laws! The Qingzhou Inspector will never sit idly by!"
"Laws?" Wang Songzhou laughed as if he had heard the greatest joke.
With a sweep of his sleeve, anguished screams rang ceaselessly outside the hall.
Through the doorway, all saw in horror—
Hundreds of Wang Clan cultivators had already surrounded the mountain gate, slaughtering the fleeing Eight Elephants disciples. Sword-light flashed, limbs and gore rained down.
"In Qingzhou—" Wang Songzhou rose slowly, his black robe billowing though there was no wind. "My Wang Clan is the law."
He pressed his palm downward.
"Boom!!"
The floor of the great hall collapsed by three zhang! Zhao Wuya and the elders were struck as if by thunder, blood spraying from all seven orifices. Worse still, they realized their cultivation was sealed by a strange power—they could not even self-detonate!
"Since you remain stubborn…" Wang Songzhou strode through the air. With each step, an elder's head exploded. "Then take your secrets with you into the Yellow Springs."
When the last transmission elder's skull was crushed, Wang Songzhou descended lightly back to the throne.
Hmph. The Qingzhou Inspector truly is a nuisance.
In that case—
Staring at the hall full of mangled corpses, he formed seals and chanted:
"Heaven and Earth Reverse, Move the Mountain!"
Jin Snake Mountain trembled violently. Clouds boiled, the earth veins groaned in agony. Amidst the cries of countless beasts, the mountain that had stood for millennia slowly sank into the earth!
When the dust cleared, only a bottomless pit remained.
Hands clasped behind his back, Wang Songzhou floated above the void, sneering coldly. Then he commanded, "Search! This place, and every nearby mortal town. An Immortal Artifact has manifested in Qingzhou—by Heaven's mandate, it belongs to my Wang Clan. Even if you must dig thirty thousand feet, bring it forth!"
"Yes!" Countless Wang cultivators dispersed at once.
In the distance, a surviving Eight Elephants spirit crane cried mournfully as it rose into the sky, blood still dripping from its wings. Without even glancing, Wang Songzhou casually flicked a sword-light, shredding it into bloody mist…
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