"What? The Empress was defeated?"
"I thought that Blood Escape technique seed familiar. So, it was cast by the Empress..."
Upon hearing this, the mbers of the Fragrant Fox Sect were shocked and pale with horror. They had lost a top-level battle power. Suffering the sa fate as the Qiming Sect was now the fate of their Fragrant Fox Sect. Since their sect was fighting on enemy territory, and without their Sect-protection Array to protect them, their situation was even worse than the Qiming Sect's had been... How could they resist?
But after hearing the second part of Xu Xing's words, they breathed a sigh of relief. It was clear that he would only honor the agreent to protect the Qiming Sect for 300 years and would do nothing more. As for whether Xu Xing was lying, such words obviously couldn't be false. If he were lying, Nangong Ancestor would have been the first to attack. However, Nangong Ancestor was now missing from the battlefield, which was enough to prove that these words were true.
"The Senior will protect the Qiming Sect for 300 years..."
"The Fragrant Fox Sect has always admired powerful people, and we are willing to give you face, Senior."
The Sect Leader of the Fragrant Fox Sect ordered her mbers to retreat first, while she stayed behind to talk to Xu Xing from afar. If Xu Xing had murderous intentions towards the Fragrant Fox Sect, she, as the Sect Leader, would definitely be the first one to die. Since Xu Xing hadn't attacked yet, her life should not be in danger if she stayed on the battlefield.
"However, the Qiming Sect is now on its last legs..."
"In 300 years, if the Senior is willing to co to our Fragrant Fox Sect, we will roll out the red carpet to welco you. We will honor you as the Supre Elder of our sect."
The Sect Leader of the Fragrant Fox Sect was a beautiful woman in a red skirt. She had been involved with various sects for many years and had a very seasoned thod of handling matters. She was able to see at a glance the discord between Xu Xing and the Qiming Sect, as well as Xu Xing's character.
Powerful people are difficult to constrain with promises. In her view, Hua Shu had paid a certain price to win Xu Xing's protection. Strong people who are willing to keep their promises are rare. Moreover, since Nangong Ancestor had been defeated by this old monster and had lost an arm, one could only imagine how terrifying this person's power was. The only thing she was grateful for was that this old monster didn't have much malice towards the Fragrant Fox Sect. Otherwise, the Fragrant Fox Sect, now without Nangong Ancestor, would be destroyed by this old monster in an instant.
"Lady Nangong would also be pleased with this," the Sect Leader of the Fragrant Fox Sect added.
It's better to resolve rather than escalate a conflict. One of the important reasons the Fragrant Fox Sect had been able to grow so large was their policy of not making enemies with powerful people, and always trying their best to cater to the strong. If they could turn this old monster from an enemy into a friend, Nangong Ancestor would have one less powerful enemy, and their Fragrant Fox Sect would gain one more top-level expert to stand guard.
"I appreciate the kindness of the Fragrant Fox Sect."
"Three hundred years later, I might go to the Fragrant Fox Sect... as long as the price you offer is good enough."
Seeing this scene, even Xu Xing, who was of imperial origin, couldn't help but admire the Sect Leader of the Fragrant Fox Sect for her handling of the situation. She was indeed a great Sect Leader.
He thought about it for a mont then nodded slightly, agreeing to the Fragrant Fox Sect's request. He had to admit that he had been prejudiced against the Fragrant Fox Sect before. He thought that the Fragrant Fox Sect's practice of harvesting was evil. But now, it seed that the dealings of this "evil" sect were much better than so so-called righteous sects.
"Junior thanks the Senior for the promise." The Sect Leader of the Fragrant Fox Sect showed a hint of a smile, and with a flip of her palm, a jade box appeared in her hand. She sent it flying to Xu Xing using her Divine Soul Power.
"This is an Undying dicine."
"It's just a token of our Fragrant Fox Sect's goodwill," she said. Xu Xing sparing their lives this ti was indeed an act of kindness. She was willing to give an Undying dicine to soone as powerful as Xu Xing.
"If the Senior joins our sect, the Fragrant Fox Sect will welco you wholeheartedly."
"But for now... we won't force the Senior to break their promise."
Seeing Xu Xing's moved expression, the Sect Leader of the Fragrant Fox Sect breathed a sigh of relief. After giving Xu Xing a slight bow, she turned into a rainbow light and disappeared from the battlefield, leaving no trace behind.
「After this battle.」
The buildings of the Qiming Sect were smashed to pieces, leaving only broken walls and ruins. As for the disciples within the Sect, they had lost nearly half of their numbers.
Among the high-level mbers, besides Sect Master Hua Shu, only four House Elders remained: three Eight Tribulations Ghost Immortals and one Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortal. All three Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortals who protected Hua Shu had perished. This included the one who was critically injured but not killed by Nangong Ancestor; after struggling for several days, he eventually succumbed to his injuries and fell.
"Our Sect's power has dwindled so much..."
The Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortal among the House Elders was Elder Qu. He had been summoned to the Sect's main hall to discuss important matters. Seeing that he was the only one at the Elixir Mark Realm left among the high-level mbers, he couldn't help but sigh, old tears streaming down his face.
Before the battle, the Qiming Sect had five Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortals, not including the three hidden cultivators at the Elixir Mark Realm. But now, only he remains.
"No, there are still a few cultivators at the Elixir Mark Realm in the Sect..." Hua Shu interrupted Elder Qu. She looked in the direction of Five Thunder Mountain and Dayue Mountain, saying, "Inside Dayue Mountain, there is still our Sect's hidden power. And on Five Thunder Mountain, there is that... Freelance Cultivator."
"Freelance Cultivator?" Elder Qu frowned. "Is it the disciple taken in by Great Elder Cai?" Thinking of Xu Xing, he couldn't help but sigh in sorrow. "How good it would have been if he were the one to die in this great battle against the Fragrant Fox Sect." His words at this ti were not ant to bear a grudge against Xu Xing. Instead, compared to the death of his own friends and family, he would rather the person who died had been Yao Dang, the recently joined Freelance Cultivator. Both possessed Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortal battle strength, yet Yao Dang had managed to escape unscathed.
"This matter is the Sect Master's lack of foresight." Hua Shu took the bla. "I didn't expect the Fragrant Fox Sect to be able to easily break our Sect's Sect-protection Array, causing the deaths of the House Elders..."
"We cannot stay in the Qiming Sect's main grounds anymore. I will issue a Sect Master's order for Yao Dang to guard the Qiming Sect's main grounds, while we withdraw to the Spirit Land in Dayue Mountain to cultivate in seclusion." She made up her mind.
After this battle, the Sect's headquarters had suffered severe damage. Rebuilding the structures was not difficult. The difficulty lay in restarting the Sect's array technique. The Sect-protection Array had been the foundation of the Qiming Sect for thousands of years. Without the Sect-protection Array, everyone in the Qiming Sect would inevitably be restless. So there was only one solution: moving to the Spirit Land of Dayue Mountain. Although Dayue Mountain's Spirit Land also had protective arrays that were no less effective than those at the Qiming Sect's headquarters, the spiritual veins of Dayue Mountain were far inferior. However, given the current decline in the Sect's high-level mbers, there was no need to worry about the spiritual veins—it was a blessing in disguise.
"Yao Dang?"
"Will that Freelance Cultivator obediently adhere to the order?" Elder Qu and the others asked.
While the Spirit Land of Dayue Mountain was better for seclusion, the Qiming Sect's headquarters should not be abandoned. At the very least, a Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortal should be stationed here.
Hearing this, Hua Shu nodded gently. "Yao Dang will comply. Before the battle, I ordered him to withdraw to Five Thunder Mountain... Now that our Sect has suffered heavy losses, he must be grateful that I didn't let him participate in the battle."
"With this favor, and it being such a small sacrifice, he should follow the orders," Hua Shu stated confidently.
"Moreover, if he doesn't comply, our Sect still has his Soul Life Tablet that he submitted when he joined the Sect. We can use it to cast the Evil Curse Descends to kill him."
"I don't believe he would defy the order," she said, her expression fierce and decisive.
This ti, she had intentionally entrusted Yao Dang with an important task, thinking of using political maneuvering to win his loyalty. But her plans went awry; the Fragrant Fox Sect breached the Qiming Sect, causing her sche to backfire. When the Qiming Sect's power was strong before, Xu Xing's existence posed no significant harm. But now that the Qiming Sect had declined, Xu Xing, with his Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortal battle strength, had beco sowhat uncontrollable. Although the Sect still held Yao Dang's Soul Life Tablet, Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortals have a certain resistance to the Evil Curse Descends. It's uncertain if the Evil Curse cast with the Soul Life Tablet would be enough to kill a Pill Seal Realm Ghost Immortal. If Yao Dang did not obey the order, the best option for the Qiming Sect... would be to eliminate this variable imdiately.
"Excellent!"
"Excellent!"
"Excellent!"
The House Elders in the main hall nodded in unison, agreeing with this view. After all, a Freelance Cultivator was not one of their own. They couldn't feel at ease using him.
"However, the appearance of that Approaching Yang Realm Ghost Immortal in the Li Dynasty and Yao Dang's arrival were extrely coincidental. I wonder..." one of the House Elders hesitated.
"No need to worry!" Hua Shu shook her head. "The Approaching Yang Realm Ghost Immortal in the Li Dynasty should be Elder Gongyang. I saw him use a secret technique in his battle with Nangong Ancestor, similar to what is recorded in the Li Dynasty's annals."
At these words, everyone's concerns dissipated.
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