Sects, clans, and even the ruling courts of the Great Desolation World all had halls that registered and monitored the lifespans of their members. Naturally, higher-ranked elements deserved greater attention, and their falls often triggered unique phenomena that warned the whole faction so its leaders could react immediately. In the White Immortal sect, for example, whenever a great elder fell, thunderous noises and mourning cries resounded from the Life Plate hall, and a pre-programmed voice announced the elder's death.
"Lady Ziyun has fallen!"
As the loud cries spread out from the Life Plate hall, one voice boomed across the sect, making countless disciples' eyes widen in a complete stupor. It all happened so fast that none could believe it. Elders glanced at one another, disciples trembled, yet all still refused to accept that their sect's number two expert had fallen already. Morale suffered a crushing blow, a scant few key disciples lost their composure, enabling the Sacrificial Knives to sever their heads.
This was the cultivation world at its truest, a perpetual feast of blood where the tiniest moment of hesitation would result in swift destruction. There was no time to lose composure, no time to care for the deceased. Those who didn't understand that reality before did so now, others who'd long grasped these truths, carried on without a care for their number two elder's death.
Before one of the core zone's most abundant cultivation caves, 24 Sacrificial Knives gathered. Led by a Golden Core level formation master, they locked down the cave, and though they'd yet to see the shadow of their target, they directly united in a battle formation. "Did your mothers not teach you that disrupting a drunk in rest most often led to disasters?"
A pleasant, masculine voice came out. Like the sweeping breeze of a spring morning, that voice soothed the heart and refreshed the soul—kindling admiration before its owner even made his entrance.
Before that voice, the squad leader broke into a cold sweat, and without hesitation, launched a battle array at the cultivation cave. But barely had the tidal mass of darkness covered the cave's entrance, that a flurry of water drops gushed out—carrying alongside them shocking sword intent. The mass broke down, and the 24 Sacrificial Knives reappeared…before bursting into neatly carved pieces of bloody meat.
As the mutilated Sacrificial Knives' remains tumbled down, one figure left the cave, nimbly landing amidst this gory rain. With long trailing purple hair, and the textbook lavender eyes of the Zi clan, this man wore a white robe embroidered with the six black and white sword emblem of the White Immortal sect's elite disciples.
Exquisite features backed by a flawless musculature gave him the perfect balance of masculinity and handsomeness. Better, if not for his disheveled appearance and the thick alcoholic scent taped to his form, that man would effortlessly win the contest of number one pretty boy of Dongli.
Rarely did the White Immortal sect disciples get to see his face, but whenever they did, they bowed without fail. And how else could it be, when even elders faced him with respect? He was the core zone's prime disciple: Zi Zuixian.
"Ayah, what a pain. To this day the Dark Moon cult doesn't understand that its time as Yanzhou's number one sect has passed? Damn, and here I was looking forward to three months of wine abuse. I guess I'm supposed to fight, right? Yeah, wouldn't look good if the sect's number one disciple hid in a cave and let his juniors fight the enemy alone. Yeah…alright, alright, take a deep breath, straighten your back, and assume the demeanor of a top expert. Yeah, like this!" Zi Zuixian mumbled, cracked his neck, and spread out his voice to the disciples of the core zone.
"Fellow disciples, follow me to support our junior brothers and sisters. It's high time we teach this obsolete cult…why we reign," Zi Zuixian said, yanked a bottle gourd from his belt, and opened its lid, letting aromatic wine flow out and pave a mystical bridge for him to ride. From various corners of the core zone, elite disciples rode flying swords, following Zi Zuixian to face the invaders.
Unfazed by her elder's presumed fall, Zi Yao shifted her attention back to Huo Jin, who for the split of a second, seemed confused by the lack of reaction Zi Yao displayed before such news. "A'Yao, without that old bag of bones to assist Hanxing, your White Immortal sect has no defensive formation to rely on. As a formation master, you should understand what this implies. I don't mind telling you that my Flower Plucking gang has teamed up with the Soaring Crane mountain and Dark Moon cult to wipe out your White Immortal sect. As we speak, they're leading the true invasion force here. Initially, I was only supposed to come later, but how could I miss the chance to see your face twist in grief. My previous words stand, if you can give me a satisfying explanation for what happened back then, we can still wipe the slate clean. Otherwise…ah, let's just say that I will take my sweet time plundering all you have to offer," Huo Jin said and stretched out his hands. Dark-gray leaves sprouted from his arms, rising alongside withered branches and wobbling twigs as the corrupt cultivator's cultivation base erupted in full-force.
"Explanation? Huo Jin, as a former disciple of my generation, you should know that I most dislike explaining myself. But since you seem so adamant on having me trample what remains of your miserable existence, for old times sake, why not?" Without a care for Huo Jin's freakish display, Zi Yao sneered, and canted her head to the left.
"Back then, I was indeed impressed by the lengths to which you went to exceed your birth and background limitations. You are correct, had you been able to challenge Guang Fanghu in the Yin-Yang Controller contest, he wouldn't have been your match. None of us were. Aware that you were the most likely to win the competition, I gave you a simple test. I asked you to murder all of your relatives and refine them into a pill for me. That if you accomplished this, regardless of the contest's result and the Zi clan's expectations, I'd only be with you. Afterward, I had the Law Enforcement hall monitor your deeds. Imagine my surprise when they reported that you'd actually carried out the task." Pausing for a full appreciation of Huo Jin's distress, Zi Yao passed one hand through her hair and pressed on.
"In the pursuit of power and domination, love is a pointless emotion. I was never the romantic type and like to think of love as a new haircut. No matter how gripping you find it today, sooner or later, you will want and get a new one. A man who can slaughter his entire family for you, will one day slaughter you and your children for another woman. No matter how much he claims to love me, Guang Fanghu will never let down our family, clans, and his ancestors' White Immortal sect for these petty feelings. Strength, ambition and loyalty, he has all three. That is why he was and still is…the most suitable for me. As for you, you're just a dog. And a dog shouldn't be allowed to pester a phoenix." Zi Yao's casually spoken words stabbed through Huo Jin's heart, making his ghastly face twist further still. Veins pulsed across the Nascent Soul expert's face, and as he recalled Zi Yao leading the Law Enforcement hall's men to hunt him down, his eyes went bloodshot.
"Who said that my White Immortal sect needed a defensive formation to take care of your motley crew? The Soaring Crane mountain is but a shell of its former self, and even at its peak would be no better than raggedy dogs before us. As for your Flower Plucking gang, it is not even worth being treated as a flock of ants. The Dark Moon cult is the only name worth considering, and they surely aren't exposing their true cards for this level of warfare. More likely, they are using your two factions as meat-shields for a better assessment of our abilities. That after centuries of cultivation you still can't see through these facts only goes to show how clever I was to force you out before you could become a significant member of the White Immortal sect." As the Violet Dawn Fairy's verbal jabs knocked out Huo Jin's poise, her cultivation base erupted, and their battle began.
