After finishing certain scattered tales, Jue Yunzi and Bai Qiuran set off with their disciples. However, Jue Yunzi forgot an important detail. As he summoned his flying sword, Bai Qiuran, who had been standing on it, found herself without any footing. While he had true energy and, as a Core Formation master, could freely hover in the air, Bai Qiuran could not.
“Don’t do that, Brother Jie!”
From the headquarters of the Demon Sect to the Imperial Capital of Shangling Kingdom, the distance was slightly farther from the nearby Qingming Sword Sect. However, the Grand Elder of the Demon Sect, Huangfu Feng, had already survived the Heavenly Tribulation and was a powerful demon cultivator.
More importantly, he could use divine powers to control many disciples of the Demon Sect to land in his severed divine knife, flying with it. Meanwhile, Bai Qiuran could only awkwardly sit on her disciple's flying sword, watching the disciples of Qingming Sword Sect fly off on their own.
To ensure the speed of his disciples, Bai Qiuran did not choose to fly herself but instead sat on Jue Yunzi’s sword, allowing her disciple to carry her along. Second disciple, Ta Yin, stood awkwardly and grinned in place, while Ji Lingyun seemed puzzled by her behavior. The eighth disciple, not knowing where he had brought a pile of miscellaneous novels from, read together with several fellow disciples without speaking a word.
This back and forth led to an unexpected intersection with the distant Demon Sect party. In the afternoon, a figure clad in white, Su Xiangxue, led the disciples of the Hehuan Sect to this spot.
“This stench is truly becoming unbearable,” Su Xiangxue remarked, glancing at her disciple, You Meiqiao, who had a mixed bloodline of human and demon due to the remnants of the demon race in the Nine Provinces and Ten Lands.
She cultivated the same alluring technique as Su Xiangxue, the Charm Shadow Technique. The disciples of Qingming Sword Sect had varied strengths and could never hope to traverse a province in an instant like Bai Qiuran could.
Many amongst them were at the Golden Core stage, and even some, like Tang Ruowei and Jue Yunzi’s clumsy disciple, were at the Foundation Establishment stage. Consequently, their journey involved stops and starts, taking nearly a month to reach their destination.
“Remember how the Qingming Sword Sect earned the title of the best in single combat amongst peers,” several remarked.
Upon arrival, they unexpectedly encountered Huangfu Feng and Ji Lingyun, along with their disciples from the Demon Sect.
“Brother Jie, don’t!” Jue Yunzi exclaimed, though he remained calm as he used his sword fingertips to guide the azure flying sword beneath him. It traced countless intricate paths in the air, sending out streaks of sword light that effortlessly dispelled Ji Lingyun’s furious attack.
Suddenly, a surge of true energy erupted from Ji Lingyun, forming a towering demonic illusion. She swung her blade, and countless spectral demons burst forth from it, howling as they charged in Jue Yunzi’s direction.
"In my travels years ago, I once encountered Miss Ji bathing by a lake in Yongzhou. She chased me for three days and nights, brandishing a knife and exposing her upper body. What a man!” Jue Yunzi chuckled, causing a shift in mood. Ji Lingyun's beautiful smile faded, revealing veins bulging on her forehead as her long blade gently unsheathed. “It seems we need to seal this pit of filth... don’t you agree, everyone?”
As the two factions met head-on, the atmosphere shifted. Ji Lingyun's expression darkened upon seeing Jue Yunzi amongst them.
“Calm down...”
“Wh-what?”
As the meeting began, Ji Lingyun's countenance soured considerably. The Hehuan Sect disciples, although newer to the demonic arts, still clung to a remnant of their conscience and believed that righteous and demonic paths wouldn’t turn against their own.
“What are you doing here?” Ji Lingyun interjected sharply, frowning at Jue Yunzi. He had the reputation of being the strongest single combatant within the Righteous Dao Alliance, making it all the more curious to see him in such a plight.
“Ah, but I forgot to mention,” Jue Yunzi smirked, “this is how the Qingming Sect builds its reputation!”
A group of his carefully instructed disciples inherited the tradition of the Demon Sect unmistakably. At that crucial moment, not a single disciple stepped forward to support her.
“Don’t worry, it’s not the first time this has happened to Sect Master Jue.” Su Xiangxue reassured.
Just then, Ji Lingyun felt a wave of melancholy wash over her, extinguishing the anger Jue Yunzi had stirred within. She sighed and sheathed her sword, her thoughts wandering.
The sound of commotion echoed as disciples scurried, their discussions growing frantic. “What if it’s a concealed master from our Demon Sect?”
As they stood at the site of the confrontation, the tension thickened.
The interplay between the two sects painted a vivid picture of their intertwining fates amidst the essence of chaos, binding them for better or worse where paths would unfurl, revealing stories yet to be etched in legend.