119. Ling Qingzhu’s Delight

In the depths of Yuan Gate, in a dilapidated courtyard…

The white-robed Tian Yuanzi frowned and asked, "How is he doing?"

"Over the past few days, the life force within our third brother has been rapidly draining. Even with my current strength, I still can’t resolve it," Di Yuanzi shook his head helplessly. Having lived so long, he had never encountered anything so bizarre.

Ren Yuanzi sighed, "Perhaps this is just fate."

They thought they could accomplish their mission, but…

Suddenly, the space in front of them distorted, and a dark figure stepped out of the twisted space.

"Three useless fools—you can’t even handle such a small task!" an angry voice echoed. "What a perfect opportunity, and you let it slip away!"

It was a chance to kill both Ying Huanhuan and Chen Xuan in one move, an opportunity given by heaven itself. And these three had squandered it. If he didn’t still have use for them, he would’ve killed them all on the spot.

“Lord, as you can see, Ren Yuanzi was injured; otherwise, we would have completed the mission without a doubt,” Tian Yuanzi said, pointing at Ren Yuanzi to explain.

The shadow replied coldly, "The black lotus I gave you last time contains dark energy that not only strengthens you but also neutralizes that strange power. Could you not figure that out?"

Tian Yuanzi was taken aback. “Huh?”

“If you don’t want him to die, then hurry up.”

“Thank you for the guidance, my lord.”

Following the shadow’s instructions, Tian Yuanzi quickly took out the black lotus and carefully directed the dark energy within it into Ren Yuanzi’s body.

Once he adapted, they increased the speed of the infusion.

"Hiss!" The intense pain made Ren Yuanzi gasp. But to his joy, the dark energy was indeed counteracting the strange power!

Seeing this, Tian Yuanzi and Di Yuanzi were also overjoyed. Good—now with this, they wouldn’t have to fear Chen Xuan’s sword again!

The shadow warned, "At present, we can’t act openly, so you must find a way to eliminate Ying Huanhuan and Chen Xuan as soon as possible!"

“Yes, my lord.”

"Remember—only success is acceptable. Failure is not!"

"Rest assured, we’ll complete the mission."

“Good. Also, I expected to see some chaos in the Eastern Xuan Region by now. Why hasn’t there been any action?”

Tian Yuanzi explained, “Rest assured, my lord, the Sect Tournament will mark the beginning of the Eastern Xuan Region’s unrest.”

“Fine, but if there’s no activity soon, you’ll be dead!”

After the shadow departed, Di Yuanzi said to Tian Yuanzi while Ren Yuanzi continued his healing, “Big Brother, didn’t they say Chen Xuan has the Darkness Ancestral Symbol?”

Tian Yuanzi looked at him questioningly, “?”

“We could leak this information to the Palace Of Darkness of the Northern Xuan Region!”

“Oh, so you mean… to have them do our work for us?”

“Exactly. And since we’ve moved up the date for the Sect Tournament, if the Palace Of Darkness doesn’t send people, we could also use this chance to take them out!”

Hearing Di Yuanzi’s plan, Tian Yuanzi became interested. “Go on, let’s hear more.”

“All we need to do is…”


---

Meanwhile, Ying Xuanzhi was dispatching people to warn the other top sects of the Eastern Xuan Region that Yuan Gate was about to act against them.

However, none of them took it seriously.

The Thousand Puppet Sect responded, “Your Dao Sect doesn’t have ulterior motives, does it?”

From the Symbol Valley: “Ha, you’ve taken Chen Xuan and now want to sow discord between us and Yuan Gate? Dream on!”

Divine Sect replied, “Yes, Yuan Gate is strong, but that’s no reason to slander them, is it?”


Ghost Blade Sect: “Fine, fine, if that’s the case, we’ll report this to Yuan Sect!”

Fire Cloud Sect: “If Yuan Sect has ulterior motives, then what about you, Dao Sect?”

One after another, each sect suspected Dao Sect’s intentions. Only Sword Sect took the news seriously.


The Sword Sect Master, Mo Jian, spoke in a deep voice, "Very well, our Sword Sect is willing to trust the Dao Sect, but this is a serious matter, so please keep it discreet."

He was making a gamble.

If he won,

All would be well.

If he lost,

Everything would be ruined.

Wu Dao from the Dao Sect said, "Rest assured, Master Mo. Our Dao Sect would never harm an ally."

Likewise, after hearing about it, Great Precipice Cave also agreed to form an alliance with the Dao Sect.

And so it went.

The deputy hall masters of the Dao Sect traveled across the Eastern Xuan Region.

In the end, only two sects agreed to ally.

The others were still observing.

Some even…

Considered betraying them to the Yuan Gate.

The Dao Sect didn’t mind either.

After all, they had already broken ties with them.

What was there to fear?

Finally, only the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace remained to be informed.

Wu Dao was uncertain whether to approach them.

Wei Sen believed that, given Chen Xuan and Ling Qingzhu's past as husband and wife, they should at least try.

…

Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace.

Supreme Hall.

For some time, Ling Qingzhu had been in seclusion training.

However, she hadn’t stopped keeping tabs on Chen Xuan.

Recently, she had reached a bottleneck.

As for her current strength,

She couldn’t quite tell where she stood.

One thing was certain: she was stronger than before.

At that moment, there was a sudden, urgent knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Pal... Palace Master, something big has happened!"

Ling Qingzhu slowly opened her beautiful eyes.

Her gaze was calm as ever.

"What big event?"

To her now, nothing except matters concerning Chen Xuan

Could be called important.

The female disciple hesitated. "We... we received news that a great battle broke out between the Yuan Gate and the Dao Sect in the Blood Rock Lands!"

Ling Qingzhu frowned slightly. "Is that all?"

"Senior Brother Chen… Chen Xuan was involved too."

The female disciple almost called him by his name directly but remembered Ling Qingzhu’s rule.

No one was to call Chen Xuan by name!

So she quickly corrected herself.

"What? Was Junior Brother Chen Xuan injured?"

Ling Qingzhu’s face darkened.

"No, not at all. Here’s what happened..."

After listening to the disciple’s account,

Ling Qingzhu’s initial tension immediately eased.

As long as Junior Brother Chen was safe.

Still, how had he managed to reach such a level?

She had only reached this point with Shen Qing's help.

But Chen Xuan?

In an incredibly short time, he had managed to reach the Profound Life Realm on his own!

Moreover, he had injured Ren Yuanzi single-handedly.

One must understand,

Ren Yuanzi’s strength was three times greater than Shen Qing's!

It became clear that her own strength still wasn’t enough.

No wonder that during the Hundred Dynasty Battle, when she showed her current power,

Chen hadn’t shown much surprise.

And even when she offered an olive branch, he declined without a second thought.

Still, she wouldn’t give up so easily!

In that moment, a faint dark green glint flashed through her beautiful eyes.

Then, a voice sounded in her ear.

"Palace Master, Vice Hall Master Wei Sen from the Dao Sect’s Sky Hall is here to see you."

Ling Qingzhu’s eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?"