Chapter 143

Thus, no one stepped forward to interrupt Yu Yi.

“Which female cultivator doesn’t love beauty? Senior Sister’s appearance is stunning. Now that she’s injured by a demonic cultivator, even I would lose sleep over it. No wonder Jiao Xiao is worried about you.”

“Unable to rest even at night, unable to meditate or cultivate, let alone attend the Tianfeng Conference. Although I haven’t participated before, I know that there will inevitably be bloody conflicts among the sects at the conference. If… if…”

When Yu Yi mentioned this, she couldn’t continue, and the unfinished meaning was not hard to guess.

She lifted her head and turned to Jiao Yong with a firm tone: “Elder Jiao, I don’t know what arrangements you have in mind, but given Senior Sister Qu’s current condition, I absolutely refuse to let her participate. You must choose someone else.”

Jiao Yong: “This…”

As Yu Yi spoke in a string of words, Yu Wei beside her listened attentively, almost believing that Yu Yi was genuinely concerned about Qu Xirong—whether she deduced this from Qu Xirong’s stiff face or not, Yu Wei almost resented Yu Yi.

And for Yu Yi to climb up step by step from the bottom and stand firm, she must not be taken lightly.

Interesting.

Watching Qu Xirong, who had to maintain a smile, Yu Wei felt more and more amused, completely forgetting her previous worry that Yu Yi would be manipulated by the white lotus. She watched the scene with gleaming eyes, gently swaying her fan.

On the other hand, Qu Xirong was not as comfortable. Her lips were stiff on her face, trying hard to maintain a smile. Seizing an opportunity, she quickly signaled to Jiao Xiao.

Receiving the hint, Jiao Xiao stepped forward and said:

“Junior Sister, Elder Jiao is leading the team for this Tianfeng Conference. It’s inappropriate for you to direct Elder Jiao like this.”

As she spoke, she glanced around, trying to incite the disciples to respond in the same manner.

But Yu Yi only looked at her, her brows furrowed as if hiding countless worries. However, her tone remained firm and resolute:

“I understand Elder Jiao’s difficulties, but the safety of the two Senior Sisters is paramount. Elder, do not fear taking responsibility. After the Tianfeng Conference, I will personally go to the Sect Master and accept punishment.”

After saying these words, Yu Yi’s gaze lingered on Qu Xirong and Jiao Xiao, saying:

“All the core disciples are the most trusted Senior Brothers and Sisters in ordinary times. Entrusting them with the honor of the sect, what is there for Senior Sister to worry about?”

“If it’s for the sake of the top spot at the Tianfeng Conference and those treasures as rewards, I have many magical instruments here. Senior Sister, if you want them, I’ll give them all to you. I only ask Senior Sister to take good care of herself, so that everyone can be at ease.”

After saying this, Yu Yi blinked lightly, and a tear fell from her eye, quickly wiped away as if afraid of being seen, leaving only a faint shimmer on her eyelashes.

Little Junior Sister, who is usually gentle and sweet, rarely becomes firm when worrying about her fellow disciples. The hall fell silent for a moment, then voices began to speak one after another.

“Junior Sister is right. If there is any mistake at the Tianfeng Conference that causes Senior Sister to be injured again, how can it be good?”

“It’s because of us that Senior Sisters are worried. You two rest assured and recover. We will definitely bring back the top spot!”

“We also need to thank Junior Sister Yu Yi for reminding us.”

…

Victory.

Yu Wei slapped her thigh and looked at Qu Xirong’s gloomy expression that even the veil couldn’t hide, almost laughing out loud.

Yu Yi is trying to “protect” Qu Xirong. Can Qu Hang really punish her for this?

Is Qu Xirong worried about the other disciples? Of course not. She is after the rewards of the Tianfeng Conference, especially the Fountain of Enlightenment. But can she say such things?

Moreover, when Yu Yi offered her magical treasures, can she really reach out and ask her Junior Sister, who only wants the best for her, for treasures to make up for her inability to participate in the Tianfeng Conference?

None of this is possible.

Therefore, Qu Xirong can only bear it forcibly.

Interesting! Yu Wei looked at Yu Yi with new respect, unilaterally declaring Yu Yi as another one of her study objects.

Yu… Yi.

Qu Xirong grew more resentful of her.

From the beginning, allowing her to watch helplessly as the treasures of the Daiyuan Peak, which she regarded as her own, slipped out of her control, to later, when her puppet, Hang Yunhe, was disabled by her, and now, whenever she appears, she obstructs her goals at every turn.

New grudges and old hatred surged into Qu Xirong’s heart. She was so angry that her head spun, and even the demonic energy lurking in her wound began to squirm into her flesh, stirring up a tearing pain.

The veil on her face was damp, emitting a faint smell of blood, somewhat fishy. These odors were locked in by the veil and wouldn’t spill out, thus becoming even more intense in Qu Xirong’s nose, reminding her that her injury was not as light as she claimed. In fact, as Yu Wei and Zhang Shuhuai said, she was completely powerless to participate in the struggle at this moment.

But what’s wrong with letting disciples bring her rewards after she and Qu Hang did so much for Lingyun Sect?

Originally, Yu Wei was completely powerless to oppose her plan, but then Song Pianxian and Yu Yi showed up. Yu Yi was so obstructive, why didn’t she just die——

Qu Xirong, immersed in her vicious thoughts, suddenly stiffened, her breath stopped, and her blood and spiritual energy froze completely.

She could feel Song Pianxian’s consciousness passing over her, like a thin layer of cold ice, freezing all of her, reminding her that there was still a god of death here.

A god… Yu Yi’s guardian deity.

With things having reached this point, it was a foregone conclusion.

Jiao Yong obediently agreed to Yu Yi’s request and appointed two alternate disciples to fill the vacancy.

The disciples praised Yu Yi for her thoughtfulness, and Yu Yi cleverly responded, and the lofty Daiyuan Peak finally came together with the disciples.

“I only heard Junior Sister’s name before, but upon meeting her, I realize she truly deserves to be from Daiyuan Peak.”

“Junior Sister, are you still searching for medicine? Perhaps I can help.”

…

“Senior Sister cares for the sect, and Junior Sister, you’re the same. Truly of one heart.”

The last sentence was said by Yu Wei, as the self-proclaimed Senior Sister’s number one supporter, she didn’t forget to slip in some personal remarks while praising Yu Yi, adding a mention of Senior Sister.

So Yu Yi glanced at her, pursed her lips, revealing a rare sincere smile, and with a lingering tone, she said, “Pianxian and I have always been like this.”

As she spoke, she looked towards Song Pianxian, only to find Song Pianxian withdrawing her gaze, her expression somewhat cold.

Following her line of sight, she saw Qu Xirong looking disheveled, her eyes scattered, silently leaving with a forced smile, as if fleeing in haste.

Qu Xirong left, and shortly after, a steward came in, bowing before saying, “Immortals, word is spreading outside that this time’s Tianfeng Conference may change its venue and rules.”

“Why change? And how?” It was not Song Pianxian who asked this, but the Elder Qin from Shijue Academy.

After hearing the rumors from the steward the next day, Song Pianxian was once again invited to the City Lord’s Mansion.

This time, Yu Yi did not accompany her. With her ability to protect herself now, Song Pianxian respected Yu Yi’s thoughts and decision. She did not insist on bringing her along and instead left her alone with two demonic beasts in another courtyard, while she went to the City Lord’s Mansion alone.

Song Pianxian looked around the room and saw that most of the powerful figures from the banquet were present, along with the elders from various sects. Her gaze paused on Chu Feng, who was a few seats away, then she lowered her brows, took a sip of tea, and waited for Qian Du’s response.

Qian Du stood up, bowed, and said solemnly, “I’m sure you’ve all heard that there are demon cultivators harming people in Tianfeng City. Through interrogation, I found out that they are disguising themselves as cultivators using secret techniques and intend to act ruthlessly during the Tianfeng Conference, harming the top cultivators of this generation and disrupting the inheritance of our righteous path.”

“How many demon cultivators are there?” Amidst a chorus of uncertain voices, someone immediately asked.

Qian Du shook his head slowly. “I used soul-searching techniques on them, but they know nothing about the exact number. It seems they were already on guard against our soul-searching.”

Someone gasped, “Although we cannot intervene in the Tianfeng Conference, our disciples are not to be underestimated. They dare to have such grand schemes. The number of demon cultivators must not be few. How many years have they been planning this scheme?”

“So many demon cultivators… Have they already breached the maze in places we haven’t noticed?”

No one could answer this question.

Qian Du sighed, “The maze spans the border of the five provinces, separating four provinces. It covers a vast area and severely restricts divine consciousness, making it extremely difficult to explore. With only the power of Tianfeng Province, it’s impossible.”

“If it’s this dangerous, why not cancel this session and wait until we find the source?”

“Everyone, don’t worry.” Qian Du said solemnly, “Although we can’t find the source, there are some scattered memories of the maze in the souls of the demon cultivators. According to ancient jade records, these landscapes were originally at the border between Noye Province and Tianfeng Province, but are now covered by the maze—they came from Noye Province.”

“Now that the matter of the demon cultivators has clashed with the Tianfeng Conference, we cannot risk our disciples. Therefore, I have come up with a plan. Please listen.”

As Qian Du finished speaking, it stirred up various voices again. Song Pianxian set down her teacup and said calmly, “Go ahead.”

The others fell silent.

Especially the leaders of Xuanyu Sect and Shijue Academy, who were frightened by Song Pianxian’s attitude, remained silent like quails.

Qian Du nodded to Song Pianxian, then continued, “There are already many demon cultivators in Tianfeng Province, but we cannot discern them one by one. Remember, when entering the maze, their true forms are revealed—besides isolating the nine provinces, the maze can also expose demon cultivators disguised as cultivators on the spot. At that time, we can eliminate the demon cultivators in the Tianfeng Conference.”

“The original rules of the Tianfeng Conference remain unchanged, supplemented by killing demon cultivators and searching for the geographical locations from the fragments of the demon cultivators’ souls.”

“Furthermore, to protect the righteous disciples, I ask everyone to join the battle together. If we kill all the demon cultivators, we can then enter the maze and inspect it for errors.”

Qian Du explained in detail, and Song Pianxian listened carefully.

In plain terms, it’s because there are quite a few demon cultivators hidden among the participants of the Tianfeng Conference. Now, letting them compete again is extremely unsafe and not worth it. So Qian Du wants to transfer the disciples to a place where they can directly expose the demon cultivators and kill them, while also giving orders to these disciples—

Mainly, it’s because these disciples are skilled protectors, so they will go and explore what’s inside the maze.

This matter is beneficial for both Qian Du and the participating disciples. It doesn’t offer much direct benefit for these experts, seeming like they’re doing it for nothing, but cultivators live for hundreds or even thousands of years, so they naturally don’t have short-sightedness.

Maintaining the existence of the maze is beneficial for the entire cultivation world. The ambitions of demons and evil cultivators are great, and their methods are cruel. If they flood in large numbers, cultivators can forget about their peaceful days of daily internal strife and stable cultivation.

“Therefore, the Tianfeng Conference will be held in the maze.”

After the matter was settled, Song Pianxian returned to the other courtyard and said to Tang Miao, “This matter will be announced soon. Prepare yourself well.”

Tang Miao asked, “Will you be with us, Master?”

“Yes.”

They could choose the disciples they wanted to protect. Without hesitation, Song Pianxian selected Tang Miao’s team, the Lu Family team, and Lingyun Sect’s team from among the thousands of teams, gathering her own people around her. She didn’t care about the others and just followed Qian Du’s arrangements.

Tang Miao was very worried and anxious all day long. “What about Senior Sister Yu Yi? If Senior Sister is left alone—”

“I will also go,” Yu Yi interrupted with a smile.

“Huh?”

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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