In an instant, everyone's gaze fell upon this unremarkable Big Bamboo Peak disciple. Tian Buyi and Su Ru exchanged a look. Su Ru smiled faintly and nodded.
The Big Bamboo Peak crowd beamed with smiles as they gathered around. Lu Daxin heavily clapped Zhang Xiaofan's shoulder and laughed, "You brat, who would've thought you'd have such good luck!"
Zhang Xiaofan scratched his head and stuck out his tongue, his heart changing from initial surprise to delight. Du Bishu beside him suddenly smacked his head in regret, saying, "If I'd known earlier, I should have placed a bet on who would draw the number one stick! Heh, it definitely would've been the biggest underdog—a clean sweep!"
"Go away, go away," Tian Ling'er spat at him, then turned to Zhang Xiaofan. "Xiaofan, anyway, it's useless even if you reach the second round; why not give this stick to me?"
Zhang Xiaofan hadn't expected his senior sister to say such a thing. He blanked for a moment, uttered an "oh," and handed over that slip of paper with a "one" written on it.
Song Daren's expression changed slightly. He looked around and said in a low voice, "Little Junior Sister, don't make a fuss."
Tian Ling'er burst into a laugh, as beautiful as peach blossoms, a slight flush rising to her jade-like cheeks. She stretched out fingers as delicate as scallions and lightly flicked Zhang Xiaofan's forehead. "Little fool, I was joking with you."
Zhang Xiaofan blinked and laughed too.
At this moment, on the elders' side, Daoist Cangsong furrowed his brows, then said in a clear voice, "Good. Since the drawing of lots is complete, all disciples will come to me shortly to report your names according to your lot numbers. The red list will be posted later, and you will know who your opponents are. Now, I invite our Sect Leader Senior Brother to speak."
The disciples, originally somewhat noisy, quieted down upon hearing that Sect Leader True Person Daoxuan was about to speak. True Person Daoxuan rose from his seat and slowly walked before the crowd. His gaze swept across the disciples, and he said, "Everyone, you are all the elite of the younger generation of my Qingyun Sect. Your aptitudes and talents are outstanding. In the future, the peak lords and elders of Qingyun Sect's various branches, and even my position as sect leader, will very likely be assumed by the most excellent among you."
The Qingyun disciples stirred, many showing expressions of longing and excitement.
True Person Daoxuan revealed a kind smile. "Of course, to reach that step and sit in the positions of these peak lords and elders behind me, you must redouble your efforts."
The crowd said in unison, "Yes."
True Person Daoxuan stroked his long beard, nodded, and said solemnly, "My Qingyun School, since Patriarch Qingyunzi founded it, has always been a famous orthodox sect. Today, it is even more the leader of the righteous path in the cultivation world. The world today prospers under the righteous path, devils retreat, and the common people enjoy peace. However, the remnants of the demonic path are treacherous and vicious; their hearts never died, and in recent years they seem to be stirring again. At such a time, we righteous people must uphold the Dao and eradicate evil. Therefore, all of you must focus on cultivating the Dao and firm your resolve. As long as we are strong and self-reliant, then devils and heretical paths will have no opportunity to exploit!"
The disciples said loudly, "We respectfully obey the Sect Leader's teachings!"
True Person Daoxuan nodded with a smile. "Good, good. Additionally, there is one more matter I wish to announce to everyone: In order to encourage Qingyun Sect disciples to diligently pursue the Dao and inspire them in cultivation, I have discussed with the various peak lords and elders and decided that starting from this Seven Peaks Tournament, after every tournament, we will give a small reward to the final victor."
"Ah!!" A commotion rose among the Qingyun disciples.
True Person Daoxuan looked at these young disciples and smiled. "This time's prize is the 'Liuhe Mirror.'"
"What thing?" Zhang Xiaofan blanked for a moment. He had never heard of this item and couldn't help looking beside him. He saw that Tian Ling'er, Du Bishu, and the others also looked baffled. The young disciples from the other branches around them also didn't seem to know. But disciples who had entered the school earlier, like Qi Hao, Song Daren, and Wen Min, changed expressions, showing rare excitement and longing.
At this time, Tian Ling'er and the others also noticed that their senior brothers seemed to know something. They leaned over and quietly asked, "Senior Brother, what is the Liuhe Mirror?"
Song Daren said in a low voice, "The Liuhe Mirror is a magical treasure passed down by our sect's tenth generation patriarch, True Person Wufangzi. I've never seen its exact appearance, but I once heard Master say that this is one of our sect's rare treasures. Its power is tremendous, and it has an even more marvelous aspect: as long as its user has strong enough spiritual power, the Liuhe Mirror can reflect all attacks, rendering the user invincible."
Everyone's mouths hung open. Du Bishu even stammered, "Then... then wouldn't that be invincible under heaven?"
Song Daren shrugged. "Anyway, I don't really know what it looks like specifically, but whatever Master says can't be wrong. This time," he glanced at True Person Daoxuan and lowered his voice, "it seems the Sect Leader and Master have really put down some serious capital this time!"
Everyone's expressions became somewhat strange. Most seemed to swallow their saliva secretly. It seemed that with such a rare treasure before them, even cultivation practitioners couldn't help but be moved by worldly desire.
True Person Daoxuan paused for a while, smiling as he watched the young disciples discuss animatedly. After a moment he said, "Alright, that is the general idea. Go back and rest. Tomorrow morning, the Seven Peaks Tournament will begin."
The Qingyun disciples saluted together and said in unison, "Yes, True Person Sect Leader."
True Person Daoxuan nodded. "You may go."
The disciples gradually withdrew, leaving only the Qingyun Sect's seven peak lords and more than a dozen elders in the great hall. True Person Daoxuan turned back and said to those elders with a smile, "Senior Brothers, you should also return early to rest. Starting tomorrow, there will be many matches, and we will need you to take great care."
Among those elders, some had heads full of white hair and criss-crossing wrinkles, while others looked extremely young—the fruits of effective age-preservation techniques. Upon hearing True Person Daoxuan's words, none said much and left one by one. In the end, only the seven peak lords of Qingyun Sect remained in the Jade Qing Hall.
True Person Daoxuan slowly put away the kind smile that had been hanging on his face. His gaze swept across the other six people sitting in their chairs, and he said indifferently, "Good. Now there are only the seven of us."
Shang Zhengliang, the peak lord of Morning Sun Peak, sitting on the right, frowned. "Sect Leader Senior Brother, do you have something to say to us?"
True Person Daoxuan nodded, his face expressionless, and said slowly, "I just went to see the Spirit Venerable."
At these words, everyone changed expressions.
※※※
Walking down the steps, when the disciples passed by the Azure Water Pool, they were still trembling with fear. However, this time the Water Qilin was sleeping peacefully, without any further movement.
After crossing the Rainbow Bridge and returning to that giant square in the Sea of Clouds that was like an immortal realm, Lin Jingyu exchanged a few words with Zhang Xiaofan, then departed with the disciples of Dragon's Head Peak. Zhang Xiaofan watched him leave before walking back to the Big Bamboo Peak group. Listening to Song Daren tell everyone some matters needing attention and accommodation arrangements, Zhang Xiaofan suddenly remembered something and cried out involuntarily, "Oh no!"
Everyone was startled. Tian Ling'er, standing beside him, said in surprise, "Xiaofan, what is it?"
Zhang Xiaofan looked around anxiously. "I was only focused on talking with Jingyu just now and completely forgot about Gray. Now I don't know where it's run off to?"
Only now did everyone remember, and indeed no one had noticed that gray-furred monkey's whereabouts. They all began searching around. They only saw faint white clouds as the disciples of the various branches gradually dispersed, but there was no sign of the monkey Gray.
Zhang Xiaofan grew extremely anxious. Ever since he had brought Gray back from that secluded valley two years ago, the two of them (and later the big dog Yellow) had lived together in the same room, and their bond was very deep. Seeing that Tongtian Peak towered into the clouds, with an inconceivably vast area up and down, if Gray had run off somewhere to look for wild fruits, how could he possibly find it?
Just as he was worrying, Zhang Xiaofan suddenly heard Tian Ling'er exclaim "Eh?" from the other side. He turned to look and saw Tian Ling'er break into a smile, pointing ahead. "Look."
Everyone looked and couldn't help laughing. They saw Gray sitting steadily on the back of that big yellow dog Tian Buyi raised. It was chittering "zhizhi" while waving its monkey paw toward Zhang Xiaofan, while the yellow dog running vigorously toward them had its mouth tightly closed, actually biting a meat bone obtained from who knew where.
Before long, Yellow carried Gray over to them. Gray hopped onto Zhang Xiaofan's shoulder in a few quick jumps. Zhang Xiaofan hurriedly rubbed its monkey head and put on an angry expression. "Where did you run off to?"
Gray wasn't afraid either. Grinning, it pointed at Yellow, who was currently lying on the ground gnawing the meat bone. Amidst "zhizhi" sounds, it gestured continuously. Zhang Xiaofan watched for a long while, then suddenly said, "Where did this meat bone come from?"
Hearing this, Gray gestured again, pointing in a direction at the end of the square. Zhang Xiaofan looked at Song Daren, who quickly looked around, his expression rather awkward and amused. He lowered his voice and whispered, "That's the kitchen where the direct-line disciples eat."
Everyone was stunned, then all laughed and shook their heads. Song Daren led the way toward the other side. "Let's go to the lodging quarters too. Oh right, Little Junior Sister, you're a woman, so we've arranged for you to stay with the junior sisters from Small Bamboo Peak. You don't mind, right?"
Tian Ling'er shook her head with a smile. "I originally wanted to chat more with Sister Wen Min. At the same time, I can help put in more good words for you, Senior Brother."
The crowd roared with laughter. Song Daren's face reddened. He pretended not to hear and strode out. The people behind him laughed and talked endlessly. Zhang Xiaofan, walking at the back, didn't join in, but instead glared at the gray monkey on his shoulder. "You damn monkey, if you run off to thieve again in the future, see how I'll deal with you."
Gray chittered twice, grinning broadly. It was impossible to tell whether it didn't understand or simply didn't take Zhang Xiaofan's words to heart.
Zhang Xiaofan cursed it a few more times and walked forward. After a few steps, he remembered something and turned back, shouting, "Hurry up, you damn dog! All you know is eating!"
Yellow, still lying on the ground gnawing the meat bone, finally lifted its eyes with difficulty. Seeing that everyone had gone far, it then stood up, picked up the half-gnawed meat bone in its mouth, and lazily chased after them.
※※※
In the Jade Qing Hall, the seven peak lords of Qingyun Sect were gathered. At this moment, their attention was drawn by True Person Daoxuan.
Daoist Tianyun, the peak lord of Sunset Cloud Peak, was the first to stand. "Sect Leader Senior Brother, then were you able to see what was wrong with the Spirit Venerable just now?"
True Person Daoxuan sighed and said slowly, "I examined it carefully. The Spirit Venerable shows no abnormality."
"What?" Expressions of surprise rose on all the peak lords' faces.
True Person Daoxuan looked at these fellow sect brothers. "It is indeed so. I checked several times; the Spirit Venerable is completely normal. I truly cannot understand why it would suddenly have such great anger, and yet have it disappear so quickly!"
Tian Buyi pondered for a moment. "I saw that the Spirit Venerable's attack target seemed to be the young disciples. Could someone have provoked it?"
Master Shuiyue, the peak lord of Small Bamboo Peak, interjected, "Impossible. If a disciple truly provoked the Spirit Venerable, how could the Spirit Venerable give up after just a single strike?"
Shuiyue was quite beautiful in appearance, but once she spoke, her tone was ice-cold, as if carrying a chill. Tian Buyi glanced at her and stopped talking.
True Person Daoxuan shook his head. "The Spirit Venerable is an ancient spirit beast; its nature is already spiritually aware. In a thousand years, it has never had such a sudden abnormal incident. There must be a reason."
Zeng Shuchang, the peak lord of Wind Return Peak sitting on the left, whose temples were frosted white and who looked the oldest among the seven seated, spoke. "Could it be that Sect Leader Senior Brother already has a conclusion in mind?"
True Person Daoxuan sighed lightly. "I won't hide it from everyone—I am also baffled by this. But the Spirit Venerable is my Qingyun Sect's mountain-protecting spirit beast; it is no trivial matter. I wanted to use our sect's secret 'Spirit Communication Technique' to investigate, but unexpectedly—"
Speaking to this point, True Person Daoxuan suddenly stopped. The others had been listening halfway when he suddenly stopped speaking. Tian Buyi was the first to press, "Sect Leader Senior Brother, what happened?"
True Person Daoxuan showed an embarrassed expression. "This Spirit Communication Technique is a minor side skill, but with it one can communicate slightly with the Spirit Venerable. Unexpectedly, just as I was about to use it, the Spirit Venerable had actually fallen asleep. I had no way to proceed."
The crowd was speechless.
True Person Daoxuan coughed dryly twice and said solemnly, "There's no need to worry about this matter. After the Spirit Venerable wakes, we can discuss it at length. But there is another matter at present that I wish to discuss with Senior Brothers."
Seeing True Person Daoxuan's serious expression, they realized it was no small matter. They all put away their smiles and sat down solemnly.
True Person Daoxuan also sat back in his seat, pondered for a moment, then said, "Everyone, do you know that three thousand li to the east, there is a 'Mount Kongsang'?"
Everyone was startled. Daoist Cangsong was the first to react. "Sect Leader Senior Brother, could you be speaking of that Mount Kongsang with the 'Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats' atop it?"
True Person Daoxuan nodded. "Precisely."
Zeng Shuchang frowned. "I heard that 'Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats' is a naturally massive cavern going straight into the earth, unfathomably deep. Inside it is cold, dark, and damp, with only countless bats living within—reportedly several million of them. How could Senior Brother bring up such a barren place for no reason?"
True Person Daoxuan said slowly, "You may not know this. Although the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats appears uninhabitable, eight hundred years ago, it was an important stronghold of the Demonic Sect. The cold, dark, damp environment of that ancient cave happened to be suitable for those demons and heretics to cultivate their evil arts. Later, under the siege of our righteous path's people, the demonic sect villains retreated in defeat, and the place fell into ruin."
Master Shuiyue spoke coldly, "Then what is the meaning of Senior Brother bringing it up again now?"
Although Shuiyue's manner of speaking to Daoxuan could be said to be quite unfriendly, everyone present knew that Master Shuiyue had always spoken to people like this. True Person Daoxuan didn't take it to heart. He merely sighed and said, "Junior Sister Shuiyue may not know, but just half a year ago, I received a letter from Incense Valley saying that recently near the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats, there seem to be signs of demonic sect remnant activity, and they sought my opinion on this. After considering it, I ordered my second disciple Yicai to quickly go to Mount Kongsang to investigate."
Shang Zhengliang of Morning Sun Peak laughed upon hearing this. "Isn't that perfect? Martial Nephew Xiao Yicai possesses surpassing talent and profound cultivation. He is truly outstanding among Qingyun Sect's younger generation, and in the previous Seven Peaks Tournament he even took first place. With him going, what couldn't be accomplished?"
True Person Daoxuan smiled faintly. "Senior Brother Shang overpraises him. However, after Yicai went to Mount Kongsang, several months later he sent back a letter saying that they had indeed discovered demonic sect people active near the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats, and their purpose was even more shocking."
Everyone was shocked. Zeng Shuchang said, "What?"
True Person Daoxuan's expression was calm, showing no joy or anger. "According to what Yicai wrote in his letter, he captured a demonic sect follower and forced the truth out of him. It turns out that eight hundred years ago, the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats was the headquarters of a demonic sect branch called 'Blood Refining Hall.' At that time, Blood Refining Hall's power was formidable; it was one of the demonic sect's five great powers. But after being crushed by our righteous path's predecessors, it fell into decline, and the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats fell into ruin. But somehow, in recent years, the long-declining Blood Refining Hall seems to be showing signs of rising again. Moreover, it is rumored within Blood Refining Hall that in the battle at the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats back then, although Blood Refining Hall's main figures were all executed under the swords of our righteous path's people, within the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats there is a hidden treasure cave, containing many rare treasures and evil demon scriptures that were never discovered."
Speaking to this point, everyone understood. Daoist Cangsong gave a cold laugh. "Heretical demons, delusional wishful thinking!"
True Person Daoxuan shook his head. "Setting aside whether this rumor is true or false, according to what I know, after that battle eight hundred years ago, the righteous path's people indeed did not discover any hidden cave treasury in the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats. Other things are fine, but if there truly is such a hidden treasure cave, I'm afraid there would be a great evil object within that we cannot afford not to guard against."
Everyone looked toward Daoxuan. Daoist Tianyun said, "Senior Brother, what exactly is this great evil object you refer to, to be so urgent?"
True Person Daoxuan looked around at everyone and said in a low voice, "The Blooddevouring Bead!"
Everyone's expressions changed dramatically. Daoist Cangsong said in surprise, "Didn't this evil object disappear long ago when Old Man Blackheart died?"
True Person Daoxuan shook his head. "Not necessarily. Although Old Man Blackheart died, the Blooddevouring Bead may not have been lost from the world. Such a greatly evil and baleful object cannot be controlled by ordinary people. It's not impossible that the demonic sect's monsters have kept it hidden away if their cultivation was insufficient. Moreover, back then Old Man Blackheart originated from the Blood Refining Hall lineage of the demonic sect. Therefore, I speculate that the Blooddevouring Bead is very likely in that hidden cave."
Having heard True Person Daoxuan's words, everyone was momentarily silent. After a long while, it was the ice-cold Master Shuiyue who spoke. "Then what does Sect Leader Senior Brother intend to do?"
True Person Daoxuan said, "After receiving Yicai's letter, I immediately notified Incense Valley and Skysound Temple. Before long, these two great sects replied, saying they would also send their outstanding disciples to Mount Kongsang to stop the demonic sect villains and uphold the Dao by eradicating evil."
Tian Buyi frowned. "Then Sect Leader Senior Brother's meaning is—"
True Person Daoxuan showed a smile. "Speaking of which, this is also a rare and excellent opportunity for training. My Qingyun Sect has many young talents, but most have never gone out to train. Moreover, the world has been stable these years, and we have never confronted or resisted demonic sect monsters. Taking this opportunity of the Seven Peaks Tournament, I plan to send the top four young disciples together to Mount Kongsang. On one hand, we can stop the demonic sect monsters from their evil deeds; on the other hand, they can gain experience and broaden their horizons. Moreover," he put away his smile, his expression turning serious, "moreover, I have heard that in the last hundred years, Skysound Temple and Incense Valley have produced several outstanding disciples with astonishing talent. If we continue to sit back and ignore this, I'm afraid our position as leader of the righteous path will be difficult to maintain in the future. If it comes to that, I, Daoxuan, will have no face to meet the successive generations of patriarchs!"
Everyone nodded together. Daoist Cangsong was the first to say, "Sect Leader Senior Brother is far-sighted; extremely well said."
Daoxuan looked at the various peak lords. "Since this is so, none of you have objections."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
True Person Daoxuan said, "Good, then it is decided. In the Jade Qing Hall, lodgings have already been arranged for Senior Brothers. Please go rest." As he spoke, he clapped his hands three times in succession. Immediately, several young Daoist attendants came in from outside. "You lead the various peak lords to their rooms to rest."
The young attendants responded and came forward. The peak lords all stood up, saluted True Person Daoxuan, and followed them out.