Chapter 252: Chapter 241: The Target Is Us?
The Wuji Holy Sect, Nan Dou Master’s Peach Grove Dao Field.
The peach grove, usually a vibrant picture of flourishing life with its dazzling blossoms, was now heavy with an atmosphere as oppressive as a sky leaden with storm clouds.
In a clearing within the grove, Nan Dou Master stood, his long beard fluttering. A vast and boundless aura of life emanated from his body.
A vibrant green Bamboo Staff hovered in the air, causing the tens of thousands of peach trees in the grove to sway. From each tree, a wisp of the purest life force and essence was drawn out, transforming into countless pink and white specks of light that surged toward the center of the Dao Field like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.
There, a head hovered in midair—it was the head of Qian Xin Master!
The head’s face was ashen, its eyes shut tight. Its aura was so faint it was nearly nonexistent; only a single point of Spiritual Light between its brows remained unextinguished, thanks to Nan Dou Master’s desperate efforts.
The essences of ten thousand peach trees converged, painstakingly reconstructing the outline of a neck, torso, and limbs, inch by inch, beneath the floating head.
The process was slow and agonizing, a heart-wrenching sight to behold.
Beside Nan Dou Master, Black Mountain Master stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His tall figure was like a silent mountain, his face betraying no emotion. Only in the depths of his sunken eyes did an indiscernible, ghostly light flicker now and then.
Black Slaughter Master stood a short distance behind him, a strange look in his eyes, but he remained silent.
Nearby, Qing Li Master, Yang Cuan Master, Ming Yu Master, Xuan Cheng Master, and nearly all the other core Masters of the Holy Sect had gathered. A shadow hung over every face as they watched Nan Dou Master perform the technique with heavy gazes.
The atmosphere was so stifling it was hard to breathe.
The news that the delegation from the Four Sects had been almost completely wiped out weighed on everyone’s heart like a colossal stone. The danger in the south had far exceeded anyone’s expectations.
Into this dead, heavy silence, a deep blue streak of light shot across the sky, ignoring the Restrictions around the perimeter of the peach grove and landing directly within the Dao Field.
The Flowing Light receded, revealing Qi Yun’s figure.
It had been three years, but he still wore the same Deep Blue Daoist Robe.
As the hem of his robe billowed, his aura, though not deliberately released, exuded a certain weight and inscrutability.
The moment he landed, his gaze fell upon the head of Qian Xin Master, whose body was being reconstructed. His pupils contracted slightly before he regained his composure.
But the aura around him seemed to grow a fraction colder.
His arrival immediately drew everyone’s attention.
Just then, a somewhat shrill voice cut in:
"Well, well, if it isn’t the ever-so-busy Grand Master Qi, supervisor of the Northern Defense Array’s construction?
What, you actually found the time today to come back and visit the Sect?"
The speaker was one of those standing with Black Mountain Master’s faction.
A Master with a gaunt face and sinister eyes, he was known as Fushan Master and had never been on good terms with Qi Yun’s allies.
Seeing Qi Yun’s return amidst the heavy atmosphere, he couldn’t resist a sarcastic jab.
He was insinuating that Qi Yun was only concerned with reaping benefits for himself outside and had only bothered to show up late after trouble struck the Sect.
However, before his words had even fully faded...
Qi Yun didn’t even turn his head, merely casting an indifferent glance in the direction of the voice.
It was just that one, simple glance!
Yet Fushan Master felt as if he had been struck hard in the chest by an invisible sledgehammer. His entire body convulsed, his face instantly paled, and a muffled groan escaped his throat.
STAGGER STAGGER STAGGER. He stumbled back three steps before barely regaining his footing, a trickle of blood already seeping from the corner of his mouth!
He snapped his head up, his gaze toward Qi Yun filled with utter horror and disbelief.
Just a single glance!
Without using any Magical Power or Divine Techniques—just from the formless pressure and Daoist Intent contained within a look—a Foundation Establishment Master was instantly injured!
At that moment, the entire Peach Grove Dao Field was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Every Master who witnessed this, regardless of their faction, felt a storm raging in their hearts.
Their gazes toward the figure in the Deep Blue Daoist Robe were now filled with shock and apprehension.
’The might of a Venerable... has already become this profound...’
Qi Yun acted as if he had done something utterly trivial. His gaze returned to Nan Dou Master and Qian Xin Master, and he bowed slightly to Nan Dou Master, his voice as calm as still water.
"Martial Uncle, Qi Yun has returned."
"Mm, wait for now."
Nan Dou Master, who was in the middle of reconstructing Qian Xin Master’s body, gave an almost imperceptible nod upon hearing Qi Yun’s voice.
Hearing this, Qi Yun said no more and stepped aside as instructed, standing quietly in wait.
His Deep Blue Daoist Robe hung naturally. Though he was silent and still, he possessed a presence that was impossible to ignore.
Chi Yang Master and Qing Li Master exchanged a look and silently shifted their positions. The others, like Yang Cuan Master and Xuan Cheng Master, also quietly moved to stand slightly behind Qi Yun.
This subtle gesture was an unspoken declaration of their stance and support.
However, not long after Qi Yun had taken his position...
A gaze as tangible as a physical object locked firmly onto him.
Qi Yun seemed to sense it. His previously lowered eyelids slowly lifted, and his clear, serene gaze met the stare that was as heavy and oppressive as a prison.
The two gazes met in midair.
There were no sparks, no clash of Magical Power.
But in that instant, the air around the two of them seemed to freeze solid.
The falling peach blossoms strangely hung suspended in mid-flight, and even the fine dust on the ground stopped drifting.
An invisible, suffocating pressure spread through the area.
It made several of the nearby Masters with weaker Cultivation gasp, and they subconsciously took another half-step back.
Black Mountain Master’s gaze contained the immense pressure of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Great Master and the domineering will of one long accustomed to a high position.
It sought to pierce Qi Yun’s defenses, to probe his depths, carrying a sense of scrutiny and investigation.
Qi Yun’s gaze, in contrast, was like the depths of an ancient well—clear and profound.
Faced with a pressure that would cause an ordinary Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Master’s Heart and Spirit to falter, he simply returned the look calmly.
Beneath that calm was the absolute confidence born from his Venerable Dao Foundation, the profound reserves accumulated from wielding authority over the Northern Defense Array.
It was the deep disposition honed by three years of commanding the winds and clouds.
One was like a rampaging iceberg, crashing down with crushing force.
The other was like the boundless deep sea, encompassing all things.
The silent clash of their gazes was more terrifying than any verbal confrontation.
Chi Yang Master’s brows furrowed, the Chi Yang True Qi around him faintly stirring. Qing Li Master’s fingers curled slightly inside her sleeve.
「A few breaths later.」
A faint ripple passed through Black Mountain Master’s sunken eyes. He slowly retracted his gaze and looked back toward the spellcasting Nan Dou Master, as if nothing had just happened.
Qi Yun also naturally lowered his eyelids, as if he had merely glanced around casually.
The frozen air began to flow again, and the suspended peach blossoms resumed their descent.
...
The surging life force and the origin power of ten thousand peach trees intertwined. The physical form coalescing from the countless pink and white specks of light grew clearer and clearer.
Sinews and bones were reformed; blood and vessels were born anew.
The skin gradually became full and lustrous.
When the final wisp of life force merged into it, a body identical to Qian Xin Master’s original form was complete. It floated silently in midair, perfectly connected to the pale head.
A sharp light flashed in Nan Dou Master’s eyes. He formed a sword-finger and pointed from a distance at the hovering green Bamboo Staff.
The Bamboo Staff let out a clear hum. A stream of cyan light, condensed to its absolute limit and imbued with the supreme Dao Rhyme capable of awakening a Divine Soul, shot into the faint point of Spiritual Light between Qian Xin Master’s brows!
"Awaken now! What are you waiting for!"
Nan Dou Master’s sharp cry boomed like spring thunder, echoing through the peach grove with an irresistible, awakening power.
The moment his voice fell, Qian Xin Master’s tightly shut eyelids twitched violently.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
At first, however, his eyes held a trace of the confusion and weakness that follows having one’s body reconstructed.
But in the next instant, it was replaced by an extreme sense of horrified rage.
He jerked his head up, and before his vision could even fully focus, he used every ounce of his strength to let out a hoarse, desperate cry:
"It’s a trap! The commotion in the south... it’s a diversion!
Their target... has always been... us...!!"
He didn’t even finish his sentence. The short, ragged shout exhausted all the mental energy Qian Xin Master had just recovered. His eyes rolled back, and he fell once more into a deep coma, his aura even weaker than before.
And at that very moment, the entire Peach Grove Dao Field fell into a dead silence.
Only Qian Xin Master’s words echoed repeatedly in the ears and hearts of every Master present.
’It’s a trap...’
’Their target... has always been us...’
Those fragmented, horror-filled words were like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night, instantly illuminating the terrifying truth hidden behind a thick fog of deception!
In that instant, every person’s expression turned incredibly grim.
’A trap?’
’Their target is us?’
If what Qian Xin Master said was true, then what kind of vast and dangerous vortex of conspiracy were the Northwest Four Sects, and even the entire Northwest Cultivation Realm, currently caught in?
...
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