Yaoguang Pavilion, which preferred focusing on mortal business over the righteous path of cultivation, was quite wealthy. They generously offered a section of their garden villa for representatives from various sects to gather and get acquainted.
Following her Sect Leader’s instructions, Fu Lingyi arrived at the villa before dawn with Yun Lingyue. She maintained a kind and friendly smile, conversing with those who approached to network.
Everyone chatted idly, praising her as truly deserving of being the face of Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect, a legendary figure in the cultivation world. Her every move and gesture were as proper as ever. Some even younger disciples were visibly excited to see her, hiding behind their senior sisters and secretly pointing in her direction.
She exchanged pleasantries with everyone until her face was nearly frozen from smiling, yet the chief official overseeing the alliance meeting still hadn’t arrived. As more people gathered around, Yun Lingyue leaned in and whispered with dissatisfaction, “Senior Sister, the Yaoguang Pavilion people are too slow. These people don’t seem tense at all. Are we here to attack the Demonic Sect or have a tea party?”
“…Lingyue, don’t say that. Where are the other disciples? Send someone to ask what’s going on,” Fu Lingyi instructed softly. She didn’t want Yun Lingyue’s chatter to be overheard, making others think their Sword Sect was arrogant.
Soon after, the disciple who had been sent out returned. She reported in a low voice, causing Yun Lingyue to frown deeply.
“Don’t tell Senior Sister yet. I’ll go and see exactly what happened. You all set up a protective formation here to prevent any trouble.”
Fu Lingyi saw their expressions were wrong and they hurried away. Just as she was about to ask what was happening, her path was blocked by a face full of smiles. “Fellow Daoist Fu! I’ve long admired your reputation!”
The owner of that face was tall, holding a starry plate glowing with purple light in her hand, swaying back and forth, quite excited. “I haven’t mistaken you, have I? Are you Fellow Daoist Fu Lingyi? I am Song Yin, the Sect Leader of Linghua Pavilion. Ah, I finally get to see you! As expected, you truly live up to your name – peerlessly unique!”
Peerlessly unique? This person talks too much. Fu Lingyi rolled her eyes inwardly but didn’t show it on her face. “Sect Leader Song, it’s a pleasure. I’ve long heard that Linghua Pavilion is divinely calculating, capable of predicting everything under the heavens. I didn’t realize the Sect Leader herself was such a straightforward woman.”
“Hahaha, what you heard is correct,” Song Yin laughed heartily, not humble in the slightest. She held up the starry plate in her hand. “Our sect’s ultimate treasure, the Heaven’s Mystery Disk, not only calculates everything but also calculates accurately, never making a single mistake.”
Fu Lingyi felt like sneering. She had seen too many people like this. Just an unknown small sect, yet daring to exaggerate so shamelessly.
The others present heard her words and also expressed dissatisfaction, openly mocking her.
“Song Yin! You’ve blown your own horn so loud, don’t expect anyone else to cover for you!”
“Don’t mind her, Fellow Daoist Fu, she’s just a charlatan.”
“Hey Song, if you’re really that amazing, why don’t you try calculating something right now!”
Song Yin paid no attention to their cold mockery. She simply stepped forward, presenting the Heaven’s Mystery Disk before Fu Lingyi. “Fellow Daoist Fu, do you believe it? Would you like me to perform a divination?”
The starry plate was dark purple and deep blue, as if holding a galaxy within.
The surroundings were noisy and chaotic. It was nearing noon, the sun high in the sky, yet the various sects were still completely scattered. No one had come out to take charge of the situation.
Perhaps it was due to annoyance, or perhaps it was the repeatedly delayed plan to attack the Demonic Sect.
Fu Lingyi raised her head, a trace of disdain appearing on her face. This was the first time she had outwardly shown her true emotions.
“Alright then, I’ll trouble Fellow Daoist Song. Please divine when Yaoguang Pavilion will send someone to arrange the pieces on this chessboard?”
Song Yin’s smile deepened.
The surroundings seemed to quiet down. As the representative of the largest sect, Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect, she had just spoken the very topic everyone was concerned about.
The topic everyone was trying hard not to mention.
The people sent here were mostly the top elites of their respective sects. They came to the alliance meeting primarily to broaden their horizons and build relationships with cultivators from other sects. They fundamentally had no desire to inexplicably expend great effort and risk losing strong fighters to attack the Demonic Sect on behalf of some Xuanzhuo Sect and do thankless work.
If the Yaoguang Pavilion people didn’t come, there would be even more reason for everyone to simply gather and then disperse.
They didn’t expect that this Chief Disciple of Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect was single-mindedly intent on destroying the Demonic Sect.
This made those who wished to take advantage of the chaos hesitate and begin to back away.
Song Yin lightly stroked the Heaven’s Mystery Disk with one hand. It immediately began to rotate. Only when the spheres in the very center collided and stopped did she exhale.
Everyone was curious, waiting to hear what she would say.
After a long, dramatic exhale, she glanced at Fu Lingyi, appearing mysterious and unfathomable.
Fu Lingyi: “?”
“Don’t keep us in suspense, Song Yin, hurry and tell us!” Someone began to urge.
“Mhm, cough cough,” Song Yin cleared her throat. “The result is…”
With this delay, everyone nervously swallowed.
“It’s…”
“I couldn’t calculate it.”
Everyone: “…”
“Charlatan!”
The air that had been frozen flowed freely again. The onlookers all dispersed with waves of their hands, feeling speechless at her earlier seriousness.
Fu Lingyi was helpless. She felt deeply that if she didn’t change this impatient habit, she would be severely disciplined in the future.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, to go find the disappeared Yun Lingyue, that Song Yin stuck to her like glue, following closely.
“Is there something else, Sect Leader Song?” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then turned her head and smiled faintly, displaying excellent manners.
“I’m fine,” Song Yin said. “But Fellow Daoist Fu, you seem to be in such a hurry, where are you off to?” Song Yin was as thick-skinned as a city wall, and whether she didn’t understand the hint that she was being dismissed, she insisted on asking further.
Fu Lingyi replied, “My junior sister is missing, and I’m a bit worried as I’m unfamiliar with this place. If Sect Leader Song happens to have nothing to do, could you perhaps help me go to the inquiry desk and ask someone to use a thousand-mile sound transmission?” She distinctly emphasized the words ‘nothing to do’.
Song Yin curved her lips and handed that treasure over again. “Why trouble others with finding someone? With my Heaven’s Mystery Disk, I can find even a grain of sand at the foot of Green Mountain for you.”
Aren’t you useless? You couldn’t even calculate the last thing.
Fu Lingyi felt her anger rising again. She wished she could draw her sword and chop this person in front of her in half.
Song Yin said nothing more. She grabbed Fu Lingyi and pulled her back, not letting her move forward anymore. The Heaven’s Mystery Disk flashed again, as if insisting on proving its usefulness.
The spheres collided and merged again, emitting a muffled sound.
Fu Lingyi didn’t look at the plate. She stared intently at Song Yin. If she dared to say something like ‘I couldn’t calculate it’ again… she would definitely draw her sword and chop her.
“Um… mhm mhm mhm, I’ve calculated it, Fellow Daoist Fu!”
This time, it seemed a bit more reliable. Song Yin held up the Heaven’s Mystery Disk, pointing here and there on it, then paused, raising a hand to point. “Your junior sister, she’s there!”
The place she pointed to was surrounded layer upon layer by the crowd.
“Are you sure?”
“Linghua Pavilion’s ultimate treasure only calculates accurately; it never makes mistakes.”
Fu Lingyi walked forward. Some people recognized her and specifically made space for her. She returned with a friendly smile, thanked them, and squeezed her way to the very front.
“As expected, the top-ranked woman in the Cultivation World Tabloid’s ‘Most Desired to Be’ poll for three consecutive years,” Song Yin clicked her tongue in wonder, following closely beside her and getting a good spot. “This charm, this reputation… it truly leaves this humble Daoist in the dust.”
Everyone was gathered around a stone platform floating on the water within the garden. It was a scenic spot with a small bridge, flowing water, carved railings, and painted pillars. Behind it, a long corridor extended into the distance.
The stone platform itself was empty. Everyone was whispering, seeming to discuss something among themselves.
Fu Lingyi turned her face, looking down at Song Yin disdainfully. “Where is my junior sister?”
Song Yin didn’t look at her, just kept muttering, “Hey, that’s what the plate said. Could it be that the weather is cold, and it’s frozen and malfunctioning…?”
She closed her eyes briefly. Her patience had reached its limit, and her hand was already on her sword hilt.
“There it is! There it is!”
Exclamations rose one after another. Several people nearby raised their fingers high, pointing towards the platform. The two of them followed the direction of their fingers and looked.
The long-sought Yun Lingyue was currently standing in a corner, looking around. When she spotted Fu Lingyi, she gently waved her hand, signaling for her to look over.
And in the very center of the stone platform, a person stood alone with their hands behind their back.
The Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect, which generally didn’t contend with the world, was able to maintain an important position in the cultivation world not only because two ancestors achieved the Dao and ascended a hundred years ago, but even more so because a peerless genius had emerged from within the sect, leaving everyone else far behind.
She became a disciple at three, and sought mastery at ten. Now, after merely forty years, she had already reached the threshold of seeking immortality.
And had become the Sect Leader of Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect.
More and more people gathered below the platform, all drawn by the reputation of that white-robed figure. Song Yin also joined the excitement, poking Fu Lingyi’s arm. “Fellow Daoist Fu, Fellow Daoist Fu, is that your Sect Leader Baili Xianrong? She’s so dignified! But how could she be here? Didn’t I hear she was in secluded cultivation?”
Fu Lingyi’s expression was cold. She didn’t know what the Sect Leader intended to do with this action.
Seeing that Fu Lingyi hadn’t figured out the situation, Yun Lingyue leaped down from the platform and dashed to her side. “Senior Sister! Where are the others?”
“I’m not sure, only I am left,” Fu Lingyi said. Seeing her arrive, she quickly composed herself and gently chided, “And a kind Fellow Daoist was helping me look for you. Why didn’t you say anything before you left?”
One had to admit, Song Yin’s Heaven’s Mystery Disk did have some use after all; at least it accurately located the position.
“…Senior Sister, I didn’t mean to,” Yun Lingyue quickly explained, fearing Fu Lingyi was angry. “I just heard something happened at Yaoguang Pavilion and went to investigate. There are many people from different sects here, a real mix of good and bad, and it’s hard to guarantee no Demonic Sect members have infiltrated.”
“Something happened?” “What happened?” Song Yin quickly asked, getting in first.
She hesitated slightly, glancing at her Senior Sister. Only after getting permission did she speak. “All the disciples from Yaoguang Pavilion who came to the alliance meeting today, plus one elder, have died tragically within the villa. It is said that when they were discovered, their bodies were covered in blade marks, surrounded by thick black mist.”
“Everyone, the incident occurred suddenly. I must announce this unfortunate news.”
After the crowd had gathered sufficiently, Baili Xianrong spoke in a deep, raised voice. Her tone was gentle, slow, and smooth, capturing everyone’s attention.
“Those from Yaoguang Pavilion who came this time were all vengefully and brutally murdered by members of the Demonic Sect. Their deaths were horrific.”
Those two tear moles made her entire face look refined and harmonious. Her eyes lowered, appearing heartbroken. “Now that the alliance is without a leader, I, as the Sect Leader of Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect, can only preside on their behalf.”
What is she plotting? One moment she leaves secluded cultivation early, the next she’s presiding over the alliance meeting. Could it be that next, she plans to lead the attack on the Demonic Sect?
Yun Lingyue finished listening with an expression of admiration and exclaimed, “Fortunately, Sect Leader is here! Otherwise, we wouldn’t know how this situation would be resolved. I just went to find the steward but unintentionally met Sect Leader. I didn’t expect she would immediately agree to preside over the situation.”
Before Fu Lingyi could voice a question, Baili Xianrong’s speech resumed. “All the sects in the cultivation world gathered here originally to discuss the Demonic Sect’s annihilation of Xuanzhuo Sect. Unexpectedly, this cruel Demon Lord received news and actually infiltrated the venue, killing all the Yaoguang Pavilion elders who worked diligently to facilitate this alliance! This is truly detestable!”
“Cultivating the path of heartlessness, enduring trials under the heavens… the initial purpose of all seeking immortality was simply to eradicate evil and uphold the ultimate clarity of the Great Dao.”
“And now, the Demonic Sect, having repeatedly broken the rules, has crossed the line.”
The Sect Leader was impassioned and stirring, whipping up the emotions of the onlookers. One by one, their eyes were slightly red, determined to offer the Demon Lord’s blood as a sacrifice to the heavens.
Song Yin shrunk back slightly. “All you Fellow Daoists are so agitated… this seems a bit worrying, doesn’t it?”
Fu Lingyi looked at the person on the platform.
Baili Xianrong lightly wiped away a non-existent tear, then waved her hand grandly. “We, Disciplinary Hall Sword Sect, are willing to send our chief disciple to lead the complete destruction of the Demonic Sect’s stronghold. If any wish to follow, we respectfully welcome you.”
As expected. This is directed at me.
I knew Sect Leader was best at just talking and never actually doing anything.
When it’s actually time to get things done, it’s always me.
Yun Lingyue exclaimed in surprise, very happy. “Senior Sister! Sect Leader is letting you go, that’s wonderful! This time you can really gain some glory!”
Fu Lingyi: “…” I really don’t want to, thanks.
But she still flew onto the platform and knelt on one knee towards Baili Xianrong.
“Respectfully obeying Sect Leader’s instructions.”
In a corner unseen by others, Song Yin curved her lips into a subtle, meaningful smile.
Without much hesitation, almost everyone followed in Fu Lingyi’s footsteps. Even if some had little interest in attacking the Demonic Sect, they wouldn’t miss this rare spectacle. Most cultivators either flew on their swords or rode on magic artifacts, filling the sky and creating a lively scene.
Yun Lingyue was very emotional. She felt this day would surely be recorded in the history of the cultivation world.
Fu Lingyi didn’t have many thoughts. Although she was flying steadily, the sword beneath her feet felt restless, eager to move.
“Yue Jin…”
She gnashed her teeth bitterly.
Finally, I’ll see her.
Thanks for the chapter