Going Too Far

At the mountain gate of Nine Saints Hall.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the thousand bluestone steps were already packed with people.

Luminous white robes and silver-embroidered sleeves overlapped. Killing intent drifted up to the mountain peak with the morning breeze, weighing down so heavily that the mountain birds fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

Two Beiyao Sect cultivators stepped forward quickly, carrying a pearwood chair draped in white fox fur.

Feng Qing brushed her skirts and slowly sat down.

She wore a pomegranate-red cloud brocade robe woven with gold, and her dark hair was adorned with gold hairpins and jade ornaments. Though it was clearly an extremely gorgeous outfit, at this moment, she exuded a noble aura of someone who held the power of life and death.

Opposite her, several elders of Nine Saints Hall stood side by side, their expressions solemn.

The Great Elder stroked his graying beard, his cloudy eyes narrowing slightly. He was the first to break the silence, his voice steady and resonant like a bell: “Sect Master Feng, what is the meaning of bringing so many people to block the mountain gate of our Nine Saints Hall today?”

Feng Qing let out a soft chuckle and finally raised her eyes.

The corners of her beautiful phoenix eyes curved upward, carrying a hint of casual mockery: “Is Elder Qiu playing dumb? Pavilion Master Ye was ambushed by Wen Tang and afflicted with dark poison, and Young Master Ye and the Saintess disappeared on their wedding day at Black Cloud Mountain, their fates unknown. And as it happens, Wen Tang is now the master of Black Cloud Mountain.”

“She is a personal disciple of your Nine Saints Hall. Now that she has turned to the demonic path and colluded with Black Cloud Mountain to slaughter righteous cultivators, Nine Saints Hall has not taken the initiative to give me an explanation, yet you ask me what my meaning is?”

The Third Elder took a sharp step forward, his face ashen: “An explanation? Back at the Wen family home, the matter was already investigated clearly. It was Taiqing Pavilion that abducted Wen Tang, and it was they who gouged out her love threads and turned her into this state! Now that something has gone wrong, you expect our Nine Saints Hall to take the blame?”

He gritted his teeth: “Taiqing Pavilion harmed our personal disciple like this, and we haven't even settled the score with them yet!”

Feng Qing curled her lips, the mockery in her eyes deepening: “Back at the Wen family, when all is said and done, it was nothing more than the one-sided story of that young family head. Who knows if she was coerced by your Nine Saints Hall to throw dirty water onto Taiqing Pavilion? After all, the Wen family has been under your thumb for many years.”

The selfish motives hidden behind these words were practically laid bare on the table, distorting the facts in just a few sentences.

The Second Elder was furious, his beard trembling with rage: “Slander! Utter slander!”

The Great Elder stopped him, not letting him speak further.

Feng Qing's smile slowly faded: “Slander? If Wen Tang was truly controlled by Taiqing Pavilion as you claim, then how could both Pavilion Master Ye and Young Master Ye have met with misfortune at her hands?”

She brushed her sleeves and stood up. The last trace of warmth vanished from her phoenix eyes, leaving only cold calculation: “You previously raised an ungrateful Sword Demon, and now you have repeated your mistake, raising a life-reaping puppet. I am not here to bicker with you today. I will give you one last chance.”

“I give you ten days to clear out Black Cloud Mountain and deliver Wen Tang to Taiqing Pavilion to atone for her crimes. If you cannot do it—”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the tall stone monument of Nine Saints Hall. Her tone was casual as she continued: “Since Hall Master Fu is not here, Pavilion Master Ye and I do not mind doing it for him. We will take over Nine Saints Hall and thoroughly clean up this den of filth.”

Just as she finished speaking, a dark figure stepped through the morning light and walked quickly onto Fuguang Platform.

Zhu Zhao was shrouded in a lingering chill. With her sword hanging at her waist, her dark eyes were deep as they suddenly locked with Feng Qing's.

Invisible sparks instantly erupted in the air.

Feng Qing curled her lips into a meaningful smile: “I have heard that Immortal Zhu is the most righteous of all, and it is not the first time you have turned against a fellow sister. You shouldn't disappoint me, right?”

Without waiting for Zhu Zhao's reply, she turned around: “Let's go.”

The cultivators of Beiyao Sect and Taiqing Pavilion sheathed their swords and followed her down the mountain in a grand procession.

Only when their figures had completely vanished did the Second Elder say through gritted teeth: “They are going too far! This is simply going too far!”

“What vicious ambition!”

He was trembling with rage. “I originally thought they only wanted to use Wen Tang's matter to ruin our Nine Saints Hall's reputation. I never expected them to have this wishful calculation! Swallow our Nine Saints Hall? They had better have the stomach for it!”

The Great Elder patted his shoulder, gesturing for him to calm down: “Now that Taiqing Pavilion and Beiyao Sect have joined forces, they will insist that Wen Tang did this deliberately, no matter what evidence we produce. They are targeting us because they know the Hall Master has yet to emerge from his closed-door cultivation, and our personal disciples are scattered. They want to strike while we are weak. We absolutely cannot act on impulse, or we will fall right into their trap.”

When Jiang Jin and Xie Zhou hurriedly arrived at the scene, they heard the Sixth Elder frowning as she spoke: “Then what should we do now? Surely we can't actually do as she said—annihilate Black Cloud Mountain and capture Tangtang to send her to Taiqing Pavilion?”

Jiang Jin couldn't help but blurt out: “Fifth Senior Sister has already become like this, and she has so many lives from Taiqing Pavilion on her hands. What's wrong with handing her over in exchange for a temporary peace for Nine Saints Hall?”

As he spoke, he even seemed a bit anxious: “Besides, Lin Mu is still in her hands. Weren't we planning to rescue Junior Sister Lin anyway?”

As soon as his words fell, everyone present looked slightly displeased.

Zhu Zhao glared at him fiercely, a cold chill surging in her eyes as she spoke with absolute certainty: “Wen Tang must be captured, but she absolutely cannot be sent to Taiqing Pavilion.”

The Sixth Elder also showed her disapproval, gently shaking her head at Jiang Jin: “That is wrong. Tangtang used to have the softest heart. She was only driven to this point because her love threads were gouged out and she was pushed to a dead end. If we truly send her to Taiqing Pavilion, we would be throwing her to the wolves, leaving her with no way out.”

“And...”

She pursed her lips and said: “Having us clear out Black Cloud Mountain is just an excuse for them to target Nine Saints Hall. Even if we do hand Tangtang over this time, they will still find other ways to deal with Nine Saints Hall in the future.”

Having been thoroughly refuted, Jiang Jin's face flushed with slight embarrassment: “Then what do we do now? Wait ten days for them to attack Nine Saints Hall and just throw down our weapons and surrender?”

Nine Saints Hall was indeed the number one sword sect in the world, but they were currently leaderless. If the other two sects joined forces, they would have nothing but a dead end.

The elders had complicated expressions. Looking at one another, they all saw the difficulty in each other's eyes. The entire platform fell into silence.

In the end, the Great Elder let out a long sigh. He slowly walked over to Zhu Zhao, his gaze steady: “Ah Zhao, you are currently acting on behalf of the Hall Master. Tell us what to do, and we will follow your lead.”

Zhu Zhao pursed her lips, completely suppressing the emotions surging in her dark eyes, leaving only cold clarity: “Both Ye Chang'an and Chen Qingqiu have disappeared on Black Cloud Mountain. Ye Chongguang is doing nothing about it, but instead turned around to threaten us first. This shows he is also extremely wary of Black Cloud Mountain. This means Wen Tang and Lin Mu are temporarily safe there. We only need to send a few people to keep watch on the perimeter; there is no need to rashly break in and alert them.”

“For the remaining days, have the disciples below the Foundation Establishment stage go to the back mountain to lie low. The rest of the disciples must step up their training. Eighth Elder, please activate the mountain-protecting formation as quickly as possible. We will block them for as long as we can. The rest will await my orders.”