Mandarin Duck Tower?
Upon hearing this, Ding Huan immediately thought of Lou Fenyan, who was the owner of the Mandarin Duck Dual Cultivation Tower:
"Is Owner Lou doing well?"
He asked casually.
When Tang You heard that Ding Huan still remembered the owner, her eyes reddened, and she quickly bent down again to say:
"I know it is very presumptuous of me to come here, but Owner Lou’s life is in grave danger now, and I had no choice but to brazenly ask for Sect Master Ding’s help to save her."
Ding Huan was startled and was about to speak when Tang You continued:
"The reason I came here is that Owner Lou once mentioned to me during a casual conversation that she didn’t approve of Shi Qi Qiu. She thought it was amazing that a mortal like you could achieve so much and spoke a few words on your behalf.
Normally, I shouldn’t have come, but I am unable to seek help on my own. When they see me coming, they all avoid me, hide from me, and not a single person is willing to come out and speak a word."
Thinking of her experiences these past few days, Tang You felt a wave of sadness.
As the person in charge of the Mandarin Duck Dual Cultivation Tower, all those men usually greeted her as Sister You.
But once trouble arose, not one of those men who had been so warm and promised to help with anything could be seen.
She truly couldn’t find anyone and that’s why she had the audacity to come beg Ding Huan.
Even she felt embarrassed about the reason for her plea; it was merely because she had spoken two sentences on behalf of Ding Huan. If it wasn’t for the fact that she had nowhere else to turn, she wouldn’t have had the face to come begging here for help over just two sentences.
"Tell me, what happened to Owner Lou?" asked Ding Huan.
Hearing Ding Huan’s question, Tang You was reminded of the Mandarin Duck Tower’s plight, and she couldn’t help but feel her eyes well up:
"Ten days ago, a disciple from Changyan Academy visited the Mandarin Duck Dual Cultivation Tower seeking Yan Shuang. The two of them stayed together for one night.
Unexpectedly, the next day, the disciple was found dead in bed. This incident enraged Changyan Academy.
Elder Shi Zhongmi from Changyan Academy came to the Mandarin Duck Tower, and after investigating, he claimed that the Mandarin Duck Tower coveted a postnatal Spiritual Treasure on the disciple’s body, which led to an incident of murder for treasure.
Upon learning about this incident, the headmaster of Changyan Academy, Shi Qi Qiu, immediately ordered the siege of the Mandarin Duck Dual Cultivation Tower. They slaughtered nearly all of the sisters in my Mandarin Duck Tower, and Shi Qi Qiu personally pursued Owner Lou.
Because I wasn’t at the Mandarin Duck Tower, I escaped death.
After learning about this outside, I immediately sought help everywhere, but I couldn’t find anyone willing to assist me..."
"Do you know where Owner Lou might have fled to?" Ding Huan asked, though in his heart he had already marked Shi Qi Qiu as a dead man.
This guy had not been killed by Qi Qijian last time and still dared to engage in mischief.
Today they found an excuse to destroy the Mandarin Duck Tower, next time they would definitely find an excuse to target his Blue Star Sect.
He absolutely couldn’t give this guy an excuse, not even half a word.
Of course, this excuse that had been handed to him on a platter, he would certainly not miss.
"It’s my fault," Fu Qijian suddenly said.
"Ah..." Tang You was somewhat puzzled, not understanding what Fu Qijian meant.
Ding Huan knew, though. Fu Qijian was saying that it was his mistake for not having killed Shi Qi Qiu last time.
"I remember a lot of Great Sects are located in the first Tao City of Ascension Realm, Jiuyuan City, right?" Ding Huan continued to inquire.
Jiuyuan City is not just a city in its simple sense.
The position of Jiuyuan City within the Ascension Realm far exceeds that of the real Tao City in the Taoist Realm.
Real Tao City is at best an unaffiliated Sect’s residence, with a bit more commercial prosper.
Whereas in Jiuyuan City, it is not just bustling and busy.
There are at least thirty or so Sects and powers within Jiuyuan City.
Places like Inquiry Weapon Sect, Changyan Academy, Mandarin Duck Tower, and Bitter Pill Sect — these larger Sect residences are also located there.
In other words, Jiuyuan City’s position in the Ascension Realm is absolutely not ordinary compared to other Sects and Tao Cities; it surmounts these Sects and Tao Cities.
Changyan Academy’s destruction of the Mandarin Duck Tower, if Jiuyuan City commanded a halt, even without sending anyone over, Changyan Academy would not dare to act.
"Yes, both our Mandarin Duck Tower and Changyan Academy are located in Jiuyuan City," Tang You quickly replied.
"Let’s go, we’re heading for Jiuyuan City," Ding Huan said immediately.
"Thank you, thank you, Sect Master Ding..." Hearing Ding Huan’s words, Tang You thanked him repeatedly, hoping only that Ding Huan would hurry and that they could save Sister Yan.
"Elder Liu, I might be away for a while this time. In my absence, you have full authority over all matters concerning Blue Star Sect.
Remember, don’t be afraid of anything. Even if the sky were to fall, it would merely mean the end of Blue Star Sect, so go ahead and do what needs to be done."
Before leaving, Ding Huan still reminded Liu Yinzhu.
In fact, since Liu Yinzhu joined the Blue Star Sect, she had been influenced by him and no longer hesitated as she did before.
But Ding Huan felt Liu Yinzhu could be more decisive.
Blue Star Sect was a Level Seven Killing Trap Array, and with both Liu Yinzhu and Sang Yuhe being of the Star Realm, what was there to fear?
Liu Yinzhu understood Ding Huan’s meaning right away and quickly said:
"Sect Master, rest assured, I know what to do."
She had heard from Disciple Mo Huaping about how the Sect Master conducted himself in the Ascension Realm.
Facing a roomful of Earth Immortal and Immortal powerhouses, Ding Huan dared to kill a family member of Changyan Academy’s headmaster Shi Qi Qiu named Shi Chuncang.
What did Liu Yinzhu have to fear? Besides, the Sect Master was their safety net.
"Good, let’s go, to Jiuyuan City." Ding Huan immediately took out the Flying Treasure.
As the Flying Treasure left Purple Mist Valley, Ding Huan asked:
"Do you have any plans to seek help from Lord Lin and Yi Qianxing?"
Ding Huan had a good impression of these two people, especially Yi Qianxing, who spoke and acted sincerely, which suggested that this man was truly busy for the sake of the Ascension Realm, or rather, for the entire Triple Heaven Star Land.
Tang You sighed and said,
"If Senior Yi or Senior Lin were here, I guess Shi Qi Qiu wouldn’t dare to be so arrogant.
Senior Yi and Senior Lin... they went to the Heaven-Splitting Battlefield half a year ago..."
Ding Huan was stunned. Hadn’t they said they would wait for him to join them? Why had they left early?
But he immediately realized what had happened. He had gone into closed-door cultivation without specifying when he would emerge, and Yi Qianxing and Lin Yuqi had waited for two to three years without any sign of him.
For them, it probably didn’t seem worth waiting any longer.
Ding Huan’s Aurora Shuttle quickly reached Two Realms City.
Neither Hu Wuxin nor Mo Zheng was in Two Realms City; they likely had gone to make a push toward the True God Realm, with time being tight and no opportunity to linger in Two Realms City.
This was understandable; after gaining so many resources in the Heaven-Splitting Battlefield last time, they naturally wanted to find a way to close up and make a breakthrough to a higher realm.
Entering the Ascension Realm, the Aurora Shuttle, under the control of Fu Qijian, took only three days to stop outside Jiuyuan City.
This was Ding Huan’s first visit to Jiuyuan City, and only upon his arrival did he realize the stark differences that could exist from one city to another.
Outside of Jiuyuan City was a commercial city, which was just a regular business city.
Through the commercial city was the main city, which included the City Lord Mansion and some of the more important Sects.
The main city was flanked by the powers of various Great Sects and families.
Changyan Academy, being one of the five major Sects, was naturally located in the main city.
"Sect Master Ding?" An abrupt voice rang out, and Ding Huan turned to see a young woman.
The woman was veiled, but from her figure, she was definitely a top-tier beauty.
"Who might you be?" Ding Huan realized he did not recognize the woman.
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"Is it really Sect Master Ding..."
The woman walked over briskly, excited, and after a respectful bow, she said,
"My name is Han Xiaonu. My master is Liu Yinyu."
Ding Huan thought to himself that Liu Yinyu really didn’t teach her disciples well. She herself was at the second layer of the Immortal Realm, while this Liu Yinyu seemed to have just reached the True Pill Realm, which was quite a gap.
"How is Lord Liu?" Ding Huan asked.
Han Xiaonu’s demeanor seemed to be no different from Tang You’s:
"My master is injured; I don’t know if she’s still okay."
"Who did it?" Ding Huan frowned. Liu Yinyu was the Palace Master of Luoshen Palace; who would have the audacity to lay hands on someone from Luoshen Palace?
Han Xiaonu spoke quickly: "My master saw Lord Lou being pursued and attacked by people from Changyan Academy and went to help block them, but Changyan Academy’s men turned on her as well.
My master and Lord Lou escaped Jiuyuan City; their whereabouts are unknown.
But Changyan Academy didn’t stop there; they destroyed our Luoshen Palace’s presence in Jiuyuan City and killed seven Luoshen Palace disciples."
"That bold?" Ding Huan was somewhat speechless; the management of the Ascension Realm was no better than that of the Taoist Realm.
"Why are you safe and sound here?" Fu Qijian asked.
Han Xiaonu said with a hint of anger:
"It’s because of Bu Qigu Fei from Changyan Academy; he has taken a fancy to me. He said he won’t force me and claimed that in a few days, I would willingly go to Changyan Academy myself."
Ding Huan didn’t need to ask; his Divine Will had already detected two people watching them.
"Did they tell you not to leave Jiuyuan City?" Ding Huan chuckled.
Han Xiaonu nodded.
Although she was free, what difference did it make from being not free?
She even felt a sense of shame that she was still alive, not because of her strength, but because she was beautiful.
"Bu Qigu Fei is Shi Qi Qiu’s direct disciple, at the early stages of the Void God Realm, and known to be a cruel person," Tang You added from the side.
Ding Huan suddenly asked,
"When are the people from Changyan Academy most concentrated?"
Tang You subconsciously answered,
"These coming days. Elder Gu Yuqing of Changyan Academy has just advanced to the Immortal Realm, and the next few days are dedicated to celebrating the Immortal Grand Ceremony.
Moreover, Changyan Academy’s Righteous Day is approaching in a few days, and almost all disciples, elders, and family members from Changyan Academy will be in attendance.
They want to boost morale for Righteous Day, which is why they found an excuse to destroy our Mandarin Duck Tower."
"What is Righteous Day?" Ding Huan was puzzled.
Fu Qijian smiled faintly:
"Righteous Day is a concept introduced by Changyan Academy themselves, claiming that as one of the important Sects of the Ascension Realm, they must set an example.
Any matter should be addressed from a position of justice, advocating for the common cultivator, and standing against injustice. Hence, they established a Righteous Day, which is said to be quite special.
On Righteous Day, all Changyan Academy disciples must return to participate, serving both as a warning and a reminder to the people of Changyan Academy to always awake with the name of justice."
"People from Changyan Academy lack even a shred of decency and yet label themselves as righteous; it’s utterly shameless," Tang You said indignantly.
Ding Huan fell silent for a moment before exclaiming,
"Even though they lack decency, they’ve managed to create a farce; Changyan Academy does have some talent."
"Ah..." The others were surprised, looking at Ding Huan with bewilderment, completely not understanding.