Since the opponent is so powerful and has not shown any hostility, why not sit down and talk?
For them, what they most need now is intelligence; they must first understand the current situation before formulating corresponding strategies.
If they wander around without knowing anything, it’s no different from headless flies, and it’s utterly useless for solving their current predicant.
Taking the three cups of green tea handed over by Sword One, He Zhiqing and the other two simply held them without any intention to drink.
He Zhiqing briefly explained how they had been ambushed and brought here, and speculated that the person who ambushed them might still have tricks up their sleeve waiting for them.
"Oh, you are quite fortunate then," Sword One said with a smile, tapping He Zhiqing with his finger.
"How should I interpret Senior’s words?" He Zhiqing was utterly confused, not understanding how they were fortunate.
"After entering this seal, one would either be sent to or be transmitted to that other ferocious creature. That creature kills without batting an eye and wouldn’t even let you utter a word before possibly killing you with a flick of its hand," Sword One spoke casually, not feeling the slightest bit that these three juniors could survive even a single breath.
"The mastermind behind must be thinking of using soone else to do the dirty work, aiming to have that creature eliminate you. Unfortunately, I noticed when the array was activated and managed to pull you over the mont you entered."
He Zhiqing and the others exchanged glances. So that was it?
"We thank Senior for lending a hand to rescue us," the three of them said in unison with respectful gratitude.
"Looking at your attire, you don’t seem to be from around the Taoist Sect," Sword One curiously asked He Zhiqing, noting that the trio’s clothing differed from his own recollections.
Upon hearing the words "Taoist Sect," neither He Zhiqing nor Yu Gejing showed any reaction, whereas Su Youyi felt a shiver down her spine and her hand holding the tea cup involuntarily trembled.
Although Su Youyi quickly readjusted her ntality, Sword One still noticed the reactions of the three.
"Taoist Sect? I apologize, I have never heard of this sect. Both my junior sisters and I co from Purple Cloud Sect," He Zhiqing searched through his mory but couldn’t recall any current sect by the na of Taoist Sect.
Yet what puzzled him was the na Taoist Sect felt strangely familiar, as if he had heard it sowhere before, and even Yu Gejing felt the sa way.
"Never heard of the Taoist Sect?" Sword One was stunned upon hearing the answer, showing a look of surprise. How could it be possible that a cultivator hasn’t heard of the Taoist Sect?
"Apologies, Senior, I truly haven’t heard of this sect," He Zhiqing also showed helplessness, knowing all the renowned sects across the continent, yet indeed had never heard of the Taoist Sect.
Sword One adjusted his sitting position, leaning his back into the wicker chair and absentmindedly tapping his slender fingers on the wooden tabletop.
"Has the Abyss’s erosion passed already?" Sword One suddenly blurted out the question, asking He Zhiqing directly.
Surprised by the question, He Zhiqing was clearly taken aback.
Although he didn’t know why this senior was unaware of sothing so well-known in the Cultivation World, he didn’t think much of it and answered honestly:
"It has been several million years since the First Epoch successfully resisted the Abyss."
"Has it... already been so long?" Sword One’s finger tapping on the table suddenly stopped, murmuring in a tone filled with complexity. He truly hadn’t expected this answer and felt a mix of emotions for a mont.
"So it seems, we are not of the sa epoch..." The smile on Sword One’s face returned to warmth.
"Senior is from the First Epoch?"
He Zhiqing and Yu Gejing exchanged glances, filled with shock and disbelief in their voices.
Through millions of years of this epoch, they had only received inheritance from the secrets of the previous epoch but had never seen a living person who survived from that ti.
As far as they estimated, the previous epoch should have truly been extinct, not leaving even a single living being behind.
"That should be the case, if nothing unexpected," Sword One appeared sowhat lancholic, seeming to be greatly impacted by the news, continuously drinking tea one cup after another.
Just when the atmosphere beca slightly somber, the clear sunny sky with proud white clouds overhead suddenly changed. In an instant, the scorching sun disappeared, and dark clouds spread across the entire sky, with lightning flashing rapidly and thunder rolling.
He Zhiqing and the others were also stunned by this sudden change, not understanding what was happening.
The peach trees surrounding the courtyard were planted in a peculiar pattern, and Yu Gejing thought it was just for aesthetics, but only now did she see so clues.
This was an array composed of countless peach trees!
The function of the Array was not yet fully clear to her, but judging from the current situation, it seed it was set up to combat the anomalies in the sky.
"It’s that Abyss Remnant." Jian Yi looked up at the phenona in the sky, his eyes deep and unfazed, as if this was a common sight for him. "Don’t worry, it can’t affect us here."
As he spoke, Jian Yi rose to his feet and picked up a large piece of thatch to cover the vegetable patch in his yard, to protect the budding seedlings from being blown away.
"Abyss Remnant?" He Zhiqing and the other two saw the confusion in each other’s eyes; this was the first ti they had heard of it.
They, too, were aware of the Abyss, so it was not difficult to guess the aning of the term "Abyss Remnant."
"Is there no way to completely annihilate it?" He Zhiqing’s expression carried a hint of anxiety.
After all, this was the stronghold of the Purple Cloud Sect, yet they suppressed an Abyss Remnant here that even the Sword Cultivators of the Ninth Realm could not kill. If one day the seal weakened and the remnant escaped, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Jian Yi abruptly stopped his actions of protecting the vegetable patch, resting his left hand on his head as if contemplating the feasibility of He Zhiqing’s suggestion.
"I indeed had no way to kill it completely before, which is why I suppressed it here. So much ti has passed now, that even I have forgotten it, too, can weaken. It’s probably just a shadow of its forr self. Now, it might be possible."
After deliberating for a mont, Jian Yi slowly nodded as he spoke.
"However, the strength I’ve left here is divided into three parts to suppress that Abyss Remnant. One part is , whom you see before you, and the other two parts are in the east and west directions respectively."
He Zhiqing blinked. Was this one-third of the strength already so formidable?
"I can’t leave this place because I am also here to suppress that remnant," said Jian Yi, stamping on the ground beneath his feet, spreading his hands to show his helplessness.
He Zhiqing glanced at Yu Gejing and Su Youyi, then turned around and began to discuss with them through secret voice transmission.
Although Jian Yi noticed, he didn’t care and continued to fertilize his vegetable patch.
"What should we do? It seems this senior has no intention of letting us go," He Zhiqing glanced at Jian Yi, who appeared easy-going, but from beginning to end, had not ntioned how they could leave.
"It seems that the senior intends to have us kill that fierce creature first, and then lead us out together," said Yu Gejing, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between He Zhiqing and Jian Yi and now shared her judgnt.
Su Youyi had always felt sothing was wrong but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Now, she could only listen to the discussions between her senior brother He and senior sister Yu.
After a brief discussion, the three decided to first help the ancient senior exterminate his enemy and then have him take them out of there.
Furthermore, in a conflict where two tigers fight, one is bound to fall. The commotion that would result could certainly not be small, and their sect should also take notice of the situation here. By then, they could seize the opportunity to escape.
"Then let us help senior with this task," He Zhiqing volunteered to take on the responsibility after discussing, unable to ignore the dangerous existence within his own sect’s domain.
"It’s not impossible, but first, take these jade tokens," Jian Yi pulled out three smooth black-green jade tokens from seemingly nowhere and handed them to He Zhiqing and the others.
"These jade tokens are engraved with a small Transmission Array. After you deal with the force I separated, just squeeze them, and they will transport you directly back here."
"Moreover, that fierce creature will definitely try to stop you, but its power is greatly suppressed, so it can hardly exert much. I will also attract its attention here. As long as you are careful, there is no danger to your lives."
Holding the cool jade tokens in their hands, He Zhiqing and the others all nodded, indicating they understood.
Eventually, it was decided for He Zhiqing to go alone to the powerful force on the left, while Yu Gejing and Su Youyi would go together to the weaker force on the right, and Jian Yi would lend more assistance to the right side.
After Jian Yi gave them a brief on what they needed to be cautious of, the three split up and headed in different directions towards the forces Jian Yi had severed.
However, as senior sister Yu left, Su Youyi turned back and gave Jian Yi a glance as he stood at the fence, seeing them off. Even though he was encapsulated in light, she felt engulfed by a vast darkness, and a sense of discomfort rose in her heart again.
Su Youyi had previously experienced a brief tremor of her sword heart, along with a strong sense of vigilance. She sensed sothing off about that senior!
Such charm, Su Youyi had only ever felt with one other person, her own senior brother.
But unlike the natural, heartwarming charm her senior brother exuded, which made people genuinely feel he was good and comforting, the senior’s charm seed forced, making people subconsciously trust him.
If Su Youyi hadn’t spent so much ti with her senior brother, she might not have detected the peculiarity. His false charm was incomparable to her senior brother’s.
The reason she did not expose it was firstly, due to the lack of conclusive evidence. Secondly, because that man’s strength was truly formidable, even stronger than their master’s sensation, and even if the three of them fought desperately, it would be in vain. Thirdly, she realized that both her senior brother He and senior sister Yu seed to have been influenced by him, and she must find a way to remove this influence first; otherwise, no one knew what could happen.
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