When Zi Lan and others heard Yun Yun's somewhat smug tone, they immediately snorted coldly.
"Hmph! Your Yunxia Sect has won today's assessment, but tomorrow's willpower test won't be that easy. Let's wait and see." Zi Lan snorted coldly, then led the monks of Zixia Sect away.
The cultivators from the other two families also looked at each other, and finally, only the people from the Yunxia Sect were left in the hall.
"Hey! Yun Ling, please arrange their accommodation. I will take my junior brother to visit the master." Yun Yun took a deep breath and said to Yun Ling.
Yun Ling nodded. These people had left the Yunxia Sect for many years, and their original residences had long been given to other disciples and elders, so naturally they needed to be rearranged.
As for why Yun Yun wanted to take Yun Che to see Yun Tian, it was very simple. When a closed disciple returns to the sect, he must go to see his master.
The two flew directly out of the hall and headed to an independent mountain in the north of Yunxia Sect. That was where Yuntian was practicing in seclusion.
“Senior Sister, has Master been doing well these years? He should be about to break through the Four Extremes Secret Realm, right?” Yun Che asked on the way.
When Yun Yun heard this, she glanced at Yun Che.
To be honest, she is still unable to judge the real purpose of her junior brother's return, or she doesn't know whether his return is a good thing or will lead the sect to a dead end.
“Master has been stuck at the bottleneck of the fourth peak of the Dao Palace for many years. His life span is running out. If he still cannot break through the Four Extremes Secret Realm, he will probably die.” Yun Yun said with some sadness.
This matter is not a secret for the Yun Sect. The dividing line between mid-level sects and low-level sects is the fourth level of the Dao Palace and the Four Extreme Secret Realms. Once Yun Tian breaks through to the Four Extreme Secret Realms, the Yunxia Sect will no longer be considered a small sect, but a medium-sized sect.
What are small and medium-sized? In fact, at this time, Yunxia Sect and the other three subordinate sects are all considered small sects. The subordinate sects of Yunxia Sect are also small sects, but small sects are not necessarily subordinate sects.
There are quite a few small sects within the Yun Sect's sphere of influence. As for medium-sized sects, a sect can be considered a medium-sized sect if it has a cultivator from the Four Extremes Secret Realm in charge.
There are also many medium-sized sects in Nanling, but these four intermediate sects that have been conferred titles are the strongest.
“Hey! Senior Sister, if the sect and the upper sect are of one mind, the upper sect may be able to help Master break through to the Four Extremes Secret Realm.” Yun Che sighed.
Yun Yun naturally knew this. Yun Sect had invited Yun Tian several times. They wanted Yun Tian to serve as an elder in Yun Sect, but the prerequisite was that Yun Tian had to leave Yunxia Sect.
But if Yuntian leaves the Yunxia Sect, then it will always be a long way to go for the Yunxia Sect to make further progress. There is no sect that does not want to move forward, and a sect that cannot move forward is destined to become the dust of history.
"What do you mean by being of one mind? Do we have to let the Yunxia Sect perish together with the Yun Sect to be of one mind? Don't you know the situation of the Yun Sect?" Yun Yun became unhappy when she heard this.
Yun Che saw that Yun Yun sounded very unhappy, so he just shook his head and said nothing more. Soon they landed on the mountain where Yun Tian was in seclusion.
After arriving here, Yun Che immediately stepped forward and saluted.
“Master, I am your unfilial disciple. Yun Che is back.” Yun Che looked at the cave in front of him and immediately knelt down, kowtowed several times towards the tightly closed cave.
Soon, the cave door opened.
“Hey! Come in.” Yun Tian sighed softly and motioned Yun Che to go in. As for Yun Yun, she turned and left.
Looking at Ye Liuyun again, after they had rested for a while, they were ready to return to their residence. However, when they arrived at the fork in the road, they found many monks dressed as outer sect disciples.
These people just happened to come out from the sect's main hall.
"These people? They don't seem to be disciples of our Yunxia Sect. Master, what is their realm?" Ye Liuyun looked at Qi Chaoying and others walking towards him from afar and asked.
"They should be disciples of your upper sect. The weakest of them are at the Lingwen realm, and half of them are at the Daogong realm. Moreover, they are generally more talented than the disciples of the same level in your Yunxia sect." Lin Qingyou replied.
Ye Liuyun was stunned. She didn’t quite understand why the Yun Sect sent so many cultivators here. She always felt that something was not right.
With a worried expression on her face, she strolled towards the outer sect disciples' living area. However, along the way, many disciples were talking about the Yun Sect's affairs. Through the conversations of these old disciples, Ye Liuyun basically understood why so many people came from the Yun Sect.
"Have you heard that the upper sect has sent back all the disciples who wanted to leave our four sects in the past two hundred years, and they are all very powerful. What do you think the upper sect means by this?" a disciple asked
"As I remember, according to the rules, they should all go to the sect to practice and study. It's not considered as leaving the sect. It's normal for them to come back after learning something." Someone else answered.
People had different opinions on this matter, some found it strange, some found it normal, but after Ye Liuyun heard these words, he smelled a scent of conspiracy.
In other words, anyone with a little experience would know that there is something obviously wrong with this matter.
"Interesting, a reverse operation, right? I originally thought that the Yun Sect was here to rob people, but I didn't expect that they were here to give people away, and they sent back so many outstanding disciples. This is trouble." Ye Liuyun murmured.
"The upper sect of the Yunxia Sect is quite interesting. Other large sects are eager to snatch away all the outstanding disciples of small sects, but the Yun Sect does the opposite. It sends back all the disciples who have been trained for hundreds and dozens of years. This is a trick of occupying the magpie's nest. There is no need for conspiracy, but an open conspiracy. Then you don't have to worry about your girlfriend being taken away, but the Yunxia Sect may not be peaceful in the future." Lin Qingyou reminded.
Ye Liuyun also saw this. The upper sect was in decline, and in order to cope with future changes, it wanted to tie the four lower sects completely to one chariot with itself.
However, you cannot achieve your goal just by seizing their outstanding disciples, so they will do the opposite and send all the disciples back to you, gradually eroding the power of your sect in the future, and eventually taking full control of the four major sects without bloodshed and in a reasonable and legitimate way.
This is the Yun Sect's strategy. The four major sects must understand Yun Sect's methods, but they can do nothing about it. When their disciples were snatched away, they could have opinions and complaints, but now that all your disciples have been sent back to you, what are you complaining about? Aren't you grateful to Yun Sect?
This method is neither very uncomfortable nor very good, but it is indeed a very advanced conspiracy.
At the same time, on Lin Aoxue's side, after Yun Yun sent Yun Che to Yun Tian, she returned to her residence as soon as possible.
"Aoxue." Yun Yun came to the door of Lin Aoxue's room and called out.
Lin Aoxue, who was practicing inside, stopped practicing immediately after hearing the voice and welcomed Yun Yun in.
As soon as Lin Aoxue saw Yun Yun's expression, she knew that a lot must have happened today.
"Master, what's wrong? Why do you look so unhappy? Did Yun Sect ask you for me?" Lin Aoxue asked.
Yun Yun shook her head and then explained the matter to Lin Aoxue in detail.
After hearing this, Lin Aoxue exclaimed in surprise.
"You don't want people, but you're giving them away? Aren't you just sending back a group of bandits?" Lin Aoxue said with a frown.
Yun Yun didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she heard Lin Aoxue say this. Although the words were harsh, it was indeed the truth. They all knew that the group of people who returned were not on the same page with their Yunxia Sect, but what could they do?
Because no one else thought about covering it up.
Chapter 69 Provocateur
Yun Yun knew that this matter could not be stopped, and there was no way to stop it. She just came to remind Lin Aoxue and tell her that her identity and status might be greatly shaken.
She must remain calm and try to avoid conflicts with Qi Chaoying and other returning disciples, because after this group of people come back, they will definitely find ways to suppress the current disciples of the sect.
The outer disciples are definitely not within the sight of this group of people at the moment. What they want to deal with are fellow disciples who have the same status as themselves.
For example, the elders’ direct disciples.
At this time, two people, a man and a woman, came outside the residence of the inner sect disciple Li Jianxin. Both of them were Yun Ling's direct disciples. The tall young man was called He Zhiqiu, and the somewhat charming female disciple was called Chu Zhaodi.
He Zhiqiu is Li Jianxin's senior brother. Li Jianxin was originally only the second disciple, and became the eldest disciple after He Zhiqiu left.
Chu Zhaodi and Li Jianxin were disciples from the same batch. She was Li Jianxin's junior sister. After staying in the sect for a few years, she also went to Yun Sect.
He Zhiqiu is in the middle first level of Dao Palace, and Chu Zhaodi is at the peak of Lingwen Realm.
The two looked at each other, then revealed a strange and playful smile. Chu Zhaodi took a step forward and shouted into the courtyard.
"Second brother, eldest brother and I are back. Why don't you come out to see us?" Chu Zhaodi shouted with a smile.
As soon as these words came out, Li Jianxin, who was meditating with his eyes closed in the room, opened his eyes immediately. He had received news from his master in advance and knew that Yun Zong had sent all of their fellow disciples and elders back.
Li Jianxin frowned. He didn't know why his senior brother and junior sister came to see him so late at night, but he got up and walked out out of politeness.
Li Jianxin didn't have any special feelings for these two people, or rather, he wasn't particularly familiar with them. He Zhiqiu went to Yun Sect in the third year after he became his direct disciple, and he didn't have a good relationship with He Zhiqiu. They had conflicts not long after they joined the sect.
As for Chu Zhaodi, she had not stayed in Yunxia Sect for too long, so we could only say that she was an acquaintance of him, not even familiar with him.
"Brother He, Sister Chu, congratulations on your return to the sect." Li Jianxin congratulated calmly as he came out.
However, the two of them changed their previous humble attitude in front of Yun Yun and others and became arrogant.
"Hmph! What is there to congratulate? If it weren't for the order from the upper sect, who would want to return to this shabby place, the Yunxia Sect?" He Zhiqiu said disdainfully.
"Yes, asking us to come back is just a waste of time. I don't know what's so good about these four subordinate sects that they have to ask us to come back." Chu Zhaodi also had an unhappy attitude on her face.
When Li Jianxin heard this, he immediately frowned and clenched his right fist. He was different from these two people. He had feelings for the Yunxia Sect, while these two people had almost no feelings for the Yunxia Sect.
"Brother He, Sister Chu, please don't forget who brought you onto the path of cultivating immortals? Please be polite. If you two are just here to tell me these, don't blame me for not keeping you company." After Li Jianxin said this, he ordered them to leave.
But as soon as he turned around, Chu Zhaodi started to speak in a sarcastic tone.
"Oh! Senior Brother He, do you think Second Senior Brother is envious, jealous and hateful? You were selected by Yun Sect, and I was also selected by Yun Sect, but he, the senior brother who was stuck in the middle, was not selected. Alas! People who have never been to the upper sect will never improve their horizons. They are just frogs in the well." Chu Zhaodi laughed strangely.
As soon as these words were spoken, Li Jianxin, who originally didn't want to pay attention to the two people, was forced to stop.
"Who said it wasn't? Junior Sister Chu, don't you know? This kid was very arrogant back then. After being accepted as a disciple by Yun Ling, he was very dissatisfied with me. He challenged my position many times, and I beat him up every time. I thought he could change his character, but I didn't expect that after so many years, he still looks so arrogant." He Zhiqiu also said sarcastically.
This sentence completely ignited Li Jianxin's anger.
"How can you just call Master by His name casually? After studying in Yun Sect for a few years, have you only learned to be arrogant? You don't even want to be Master anymore?" Li Jianxin turned around with a sense of hostility, walked out of the formation directly, and stood in front of the two men.
Chu Zhaodi quickly took a step back upon seeing this, while Li Jianxin looked at He Zhiqiu with cold eyes from a distance of one foot.
"What? Is there something wrong with what I said? Junior Brother Li, are you very unconvinced? You want to test the progress I have made over the years, but your realm is not high enough. You are only at the peak of the Spiritual Pattern Realm, and I am afraid you can't even defeat one of my fingers." He Zhiqiu raised a finger and shook it in front of Li Jianxin's eyes.
Li Jianxin knew that the other party was deliberately provoking him, but he was not the kind of person who would allow himself to be bullied.
"Haha, we'll know whether it works or not after we give it a try. Let's go to the back mountain to practice with each other. I'd like to see if you two have any other skills besides learning to disrespect your elders." After saying this, Li Jianxin flew into the sky and went to the back mountain of Yunxia Sect.
After he flew away, Chu Zhaodi and He Zhiqiu immediately sneered, as if their conspiracy had succeeded.
"This guy still has this hot temper. I knew he couldn't help it. Let's go. I also want to see how much the kid who was beaten black and blue by me back then has improved after decades." He Zhiqiu also flew up, and Chu Zhaodi followed him immediately.
A moment later, in an open area in the back mountain, Li Jianxin and He Zhiqiu were confronting each other at a distance of several feet, and Chu Zhaodi was standing in the distance watching the fight.
"Boy, let me tell you, it was because I was not here before. Now that I'm back, your position as the so-called inner sect disciple may have to be replaced. I advise you to be honest, so that your life in the sect will be easier in the future." He Zhiqiu said calmly.
But Li Jianxin responded to him with only one sword. The magic sword in Li Jianxin's hand was unsheathed in an instant. A beam of white light flashed past He Zhiqiu's cheek at an extremely fast speed, and then blasted a piece of rock behind He Zhiqiu into powder.
He Zhiqiu raised his eyebrows, then glanced at the broken hair falling from his head, and his eyes gradually became gloomy.
"I don't like talking nonsense with people. I hope that Brother He's strength is as powerful as your mouth." Li Jianxin reminded.
"Haha, you arrogant boy." He Zhiqiu's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and the shadow of an ancient palace gradually emerged behind him.
The moment the Taoist Palace emerged, He Zhiqiu's momentum began to increase rapidly.
Li Jianxin knew that He Zhiqiu must have reached the Dao Palace realm, but he was actually already half a step into the Dao Palace. A very illusory and somewhat unstable Dao Palace also appeared behind Li Jianxin.
This is the reason why Li Jianxin dared to challenge He Zhiqiu.
"Half-step to the Dao Palace? No wonder you are so arrogant. But half-step is only half-step after all. How can you compete with me, who is in the middle stage of the first level of the Dao Palace?" He Zhiqiu glared, and a terrifying magical power pressure suddenly rushed towards Li Jianxin.
The attack was so fast that Li Jianxin had no time to dodge and could only take it head-on. He used all his strength to slash out with his sword, and a bright sword light hit He Zhiqiu's magic attack.
The forces of the two collided with each other, and spiritual energy overflowed for a moment, but soon, Li Jianxin's body was forced back, leaving a deep skid mark on the ground.
He finally stabilized his body after sliding nearly twenty meters, completely neutralizing the opponent's attack. It was obvious that the gap between the two was quite large.
"Damn it? The gap is so big?" After steadying himself, Li Jianxin looked at He Zhiqiu with an unpleasant expression.
"Hmph! Not bad, no wonder you are known as the number one disciple of the contemporary era. You can actually withstand the magical attack of the Dao Palace realm. But, that's all, because this is just a very ordinary magical attack from me?" He Zhiqiu laughed.
Chapter 70 The battle between the old and the new
Li Jianxin stared at He Zhiqiu in front of him and took a deep breath. The next moment, his body disappeared from the spot. When he appeared again, a cold light slid across He Zhiqiu's neck.
But He Zhiqiu seemed to have predicted Li Jianxin's sword. The moment Li Jianxin disappeared, he raised a finger to block his neck.
Li Jianxin's attack was easily blocked by He Zhiqiu's finger.
"It's quite fast, but the force is too weak." He Zhiqiu said lightly, and then lightly flicked Li Jianxin's sword. Immediately, an irresistible force was transmitted from the sword to Li Jianxin's palm.
This force easily sent Li Jianxin flying, and the sword in his hand almost slipped out of his hand, but Li Jianxin held it tightly.
Li Jianxin flew backwards at a very high speed into the forest, crashing into trees with his body, and rolled more than ten meters before stopping.
A simple attack from the Dao Palace realm made it impossible for him, who was only half a Dao Palace, to resist.
This attack made Li Jianxin very embarrassed, but Li Jianxin did not lose his fighting ability. He looked at his right hand which was trembling and bleeding, and stood up again. He had not lost yet.
"If I were you, I would just lie down and not get up. Why continue to embarrass myself? If I hurt you, it would be difficult for me to explain to the sect." He Zhiqiu also followed and looked down at Li Jianxin.
The sense of oppression this guy gave to Li Jianxin was the strongest ever. After all, the Taoist monks in the sect would definitely not fight with a disciple like him.
“Hmph! The first level of Dao Palace is nothing more than that. If I enter the Dao Palace realm, you are no match for me.” Li Jianxin straightened up and said with an unyielding look on his face.
After saying that, Li Jianxin took a deep breath, his aura began to rise, and the spiritual energy of the surrounding heaven and earth began to gather towards his body.
"Secret Technique: Cloud Teng."
The spiritual energy in Li Jianxin's body began to burn, and the shadow of the Taoist palace behind him gradually stabilized and solidified, and the intensity of his aura directly increased to a higher level.
He Zhiqiu's pupils shrank.
This time He Zhiqiu could not look down on Li Jianxin, because Li Jianxin had entered the Taoist Palace.
"You, you actually learned the sect's secret technique, which allowed you to enter the Taoist Palace level in a short period of time at the cost of burning spiritual energy?" He Zhiqiu naturally saw the trick.
"So what? Let's fight again." Li Jianxin didn't want to waste time. He could only be in this state for a minute at most. After a minute, his spiritual energy would dry up and he would surely be defeated.
Li Jianxin attacked again, but this time his attack was no longer as fast and powerful as before.
