The brilliance of that fierce light was so intense it left Zhao Chun's spirit in a daze. She even momentarily ignored the pain of the oncoming fist's wind, which scraped bloody marks across her cheeks.
"The moment has arrived..."
Tu Mian heard these words but did not know their origin. Bits of flesh and blood flew before him, yet Zhao Chun's head did not explode under his fist as he had imagined.
For before his fist could touch the tip of Zhao Chun’s nose, his body had already been enveloped by the fierce light, which broke through and pierced his internal organs before Tu Mian could even register the pain. This was the Heaven-Connecting and Lightning-Guiding Great Formation, the last protection the True Spirit Sect had left for the Tu Family.
The very night he had invited her to be a Guest Elder, Tu Cenzhen had told Zhao Chun of this matter. Back when the True Spirit Sect was still on Mount Song, the three paths of alchemy, talismans, and formations flourished in unison.
The Sect Master was also benevolent in his rule, and had set up great formations for the vassal families to defend against external enemies. After the True Spirit Sect relocated, the families that remained behind quickly fell into decline. Their formations were either stolen or sold off, matters that were now but memories of generations past.
The Tu Family's formation had once been seized by an evil cultivator, only to be secretly reclaimed later by Tu Cenzhen's father. However, he was grievously wounded in the process and his injuries proved fatal. He could only hastily pass the mantle of Patriarch to Tu Cenzhen, who was then merely at the second level of Qi Refinement.
It was this that gave rise to the Rebellion of the Left Tu. The eye of the formation was a token left by the True Spirit Sect, and with this token, the clan could move to the Secluded Valley to once again put down roots and establish themselves.
That was Tu Cenzhen's lifelong pursuit, to find a place of peace for the Tu Family. Unfortunately, the family clan had withered, and their strength was insufficient to protect the token. Thus, they never dared to rashly relocate.
Right up to his death, he remained trapped in the old lands of Mount Song. Zhao Chun swayed as she stood up. Before the Tu Family Ancestral Hall, the ground was now covered in corpses.
The members of the Left Tu faction had all dyed the Martial Combat Platform with their blood, and Tu Cunzhi’s head was pierced through by a longsword, pinning it to a pillar. She should have been afraid, should have felt sick to her stomach, but she merely watched in silence.
Picking up the Red-Edged Dagger once more, she walked toward Tu Mian, who was struggling in a pool of blood... Conflicts between cultivators were nothing more than trading life for life. Standing before Tu Mian's corpse, Zhao Chun was surprisingly at peace.
Only through slaughter did she feel she had truly merged with this world. Survival of the fittest, humans acting like beasts; all different paths led back to this simple principle. Tu Cenzhen collapsed at the Ancestral Hall Gate.
His body was withered and gaunt, but his gaze burned like a torch. Restarting the formation had cost him his entire cultivation base; now, he was barely holding on by a single breath.
"Guest Elder Zhao..." he said, raising a trembling hand.
He held a lustrous, crystal-clear white jade talisman, which was also the eye of the great formation.
"Please, take this token... back to the main sect... If you can arrange for the Tu Family to be brought over... that would be for the best... If you cannot... if you cannot..."
The talisman fell to the ground with a crisp sound. Zhao Chun felt only a heavy sorrow. In truth, Tu Cenzhen must have known that the True Spirit Sect did not hold the families from its old lands at Mount Song in high regard.
He had spoken those words merely to comfort himself... The Tu clansmen were also silent. Today, they had bid farewell to their old family head, and had also killed their own kin with their own hands.
From this day forward, there would be no more Left Tu. And at the Great River Bend beneath Mount Song, it would be hard for the Tu Family to secure a foothold. Tu Cenzhen was dead, Tu Congwen was heavily injured.
The only one who stood up to handle the aftermath was the red-eyed Tu Xin.
"For now, we can only hope Congwen recovers. We will decide what to do then."
His back was hunched, having aged overnight as if entering his twilight years.
"Regarding the main sect, we must rely on Guest Elder Zhao to put forth some effort. Perhaps we can get some small measure of aid..."
"I agreed to become the Tu Family's Guest Elder, and I will not go back on my word. Just wait here for news. If there are any developments, I will immediately send word."
Though her pact with the Tu Family had been one of mutual interest, now that it was made, Zhao Chun would not break it just because the benefits were gone. She would simply do her best and see how the True Spirit Sect chose to handle the matter.
The Rebellion of the Left Tu was resolved, but the Yang Water Sect behind it was the real major issue. On Tu Mian’s body was a small identity plate. Its material was unknown, but it had a very sinister appearance.
Engraved upon it were seven characters: "Yang Water Sect Outer Disciple". Zhao Chun pocketed it as proof. She also collected the demon moth beast head and the two types of Gu-worms, the black cicada and the centipede, intending to return to the sect to report to the elders.
The sect had been harmed by the Yang Water Sect even in its heyday. She wondered if, in its current state, it could still fend off the enemy sect's venomous machinations...
(End of this chapter)