Chapter 216 - Breaching Myriad

Lou Ji gave him a meaningful look. “So that was why you made sure someone was nearby to protect you beforehand?”

“More or less.” Xu Yuan smiled and nodded.

Lou Ji lowered her voice, speaking in a gentle murmur. “I came out because I care about you. Had someone with your maternal uncle’s temperament been sent instead, he wouldn’t have appeared no matter how loudly you shouted. Had I stayed hidden, would you still have done it?”

Xu Yuan considered the question for a moment, then nodded. “I would.”

“You weren’t afraid?” Lou Ji asked with a frown.

Xu Yuan smiled and glanced at the two old men outside. “There’s no such thing as a perfectly rational creature. Emotional turmoil will always drive some people to make irrational choices. But with those two old fellows out there, the odds were fairly low.”

Lou Ji straightened slightly. Her shapely legs shifted as she crossed them the other way, then she propped her chin on one hand and narrowed her eyes into two slender crescents. “Then how long are you planning to wait, Changtian?”

Xu Yuan slowly rose and walked to the window. The formation isolated the room from the outside world, rather like one-way glass from his previous life. He looked down at the vast, magnificent waterfall below.

The Myriad Manifestations Sect had chosen an excellent location. One side of its mountain gate followed the great river, while the other had been built along the sheer cliffs beside the waterfall, a natural barrier all its own.

Anyone attempting to cross the river and launch a frontal assault could easily be swept away by the raging current and carried over the falls. Those unwilling to cross had only one alternative: fight their way inward through Myriad on the perimeter.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Yuan said quietly, “About an hour.”

“That long?”

“You think it’s long?” Xu Yuan asked.

Lou Ji rose unhurriedly. Her high-heeled lotus boots clicked against the floor as she walked up behind him. “They should already know that troops are hiding in the forests east of Myriad, you know~”

Xu Yuan frowned, then quickly chuckled. “You mean they might use this time to send orders and prepare the city?”

Lou Ji answered with a beaming smile. “Not might. They certainly will. Although settlements named after sects have technically received recognition from the Imperial Court, they are, for all practical purposes, the sects’ private domains. With sufficient preparation, the Blackscale Army would suffer no small number of casualties if it tried to storm Myriad. That might affect the Chancellor’s evaluation of you, Changtian...”

Lou Ji stopped there, having made her point.

Xu Yuan did not answer. Instead, he asked, “Big Sister, my father only sent you to protect me, didn’t he? Doesn’t this count as the examiner giving one candidate private tutoring?”

Lou Ji’s eyes curved into a smile. She hooked her arm around his and rested her head against his shoulder. “What can I say? Your big sister adores you.”

Xu Yuan felt the softness pressed against his arm and laughed.

“It doesn’t matter. I looked through Yuan Hao’s previous troop-mobilization records. Gathering supplies, assigning personnel, preparing transportation, compiling intelligence... After my father gave the order, even the Chancellor’s Manor was thrown into chaos for an entire day.

“The circumstances here may be different, but the Myriad Manifestations Sect is full of competing factions restraining one another. Any order they issue will have to pass through a great many procedures.”

At that, Xu Yuan glanced toward the east. “Preparing for war isn’t something that can be done with a single command. Besides, Yuan Hao still needs time to march his troops here.”

Lou Ji was delighted by his answer. She raised a hand and patted him on the head. “Not bad, not bad. So you already thought everything through, Changtian~”

As they spoke, footsteps approached from outside the room.

Xu Xinyao pushed open the door and said softly, “Third Brother, here’s the aged immortal wine you asked for... Huh? Sister Lou?”

Sunlight streamed through the window. One glimpse of that bare, flawless back and the faint curve beneath the flowing dress was enough for Xu Xinyao to recognize the woman standing beside Xu Yuan.

Lou Ji glanced sideways at her. Her gaze was distinctly cold, though her smile remained as sweet as ever. “Xinyao is here~”

Xu Yuan noticed the indifference in Lou Ji’s eyes and gently shook his head.

Xu Xinyao hesitated in the doorway before walking inside. “Sister Lou, why are you here?”

Lou Ji did not answer. She merely smiled and patted Xu Yuan on the back. “Your big sister is going to rest. Do your best. I’ll be watching.”

With that, her graceful figure vanished from sight.

Xu Xinyao stood frozen in place, clutching a jade wine flask and looking rather lost. After a long moment, she slowly walked over to Xu Yuan and asked in a low voice, “Third Brother, does Sister Lou not like me very much?”

Xu Yuan smiled. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and said softly, “That’s simply how she is. Besides, you don’t need to win everyone’s affection. Come on. Have a drink with your brother.”

It was no secret that Lou Ji disliked Xu Xinyao. As the head of the Blackscale Guard, Lou Ji had seen far too much filth in the world. Naturally, she had little patience for Xu Xinyao’s innocent, idealistic way of thinking.

While Xu Yuan and Xu Xinyao sat inside the lavish room, drinking and chatting about amusing little matters, the two old men outside were still standing before the black eagle like a pair of fools.

Of course, they had already realized that the people inside the pavilion atop the black eagle belonged to the Chancellor’s Manor.

Their refusal to show themselves or even offer a reply after so long could only mean one thing. The newcomers intended to put the two elders in their place.

That was why the Grand Elder’s expression appeared rather dark. Appeared being the key word. If the people inside wished to establish their authority, then the elders would simply endure it. What was a little lost face? They had lived for so many years. Who among them had never embarrassed themselves?

Before coming here, they had already placed Fifth Elder Xia Wenlin in overall command of the sect.

Xia Wenlin had also instructed them to delay as long as possible. The more time they bought, the more advantageous their position would become, and the less they would need to surrender at the negotiating table.

After all, had the Chancellor’s Manor truly intended to attack without regard for the consequences, why would it have bothered sending anyone to negotiate?

As silence hung in the empty sky, Xia Wenlin calmly directed batch after batch of disciples through hidden tunnels and into Myriad, where they began preparing its defenses.

However, to avoid alerting the enemy, the Myriad Manifestations Sect did not immediately activate the grand defensive formation.

High above in the open sky, the two elders wore expressions as dark and still as deep water. On the surface, neither spoke a word. In reality, they were idly chatting back and forth through voice transmission.

The Grand Elder asked casually through voice transmission, “If we survive this crisis, what do you intend to do afterward, Sect Master?”

The Sect Master’s expression did not change. “The sect’s internal problems have grown far too severe. It needs to be purged and reorganized. Had Wenlin not drawn up a plan before entering the council hall, we would probably still be running around like headless flies.”

The Grand Elder immediately understood what he meant. His voice grew deep and cold. “Sect Master, centralizing power will not be easy. Those great clans within the sect will never surrender their authority willingly.”

The Sect Master rebuked him in a low voice. “Chu Yansun, Xu Yinhe never acts unless he is confident of success. One wrong step now, and our entire sect may be destroyed.”

The Grand Elder replied calmly, “I have no objections to reorganizing the sect. The question is how you intend to carry it out.”

The Sect Master sighed. “We have received no word whatsoever from the Imperial Court. The forces sent here should be Xu Yinhe’s private army. If he dares to act so openly, then he must have obtained some crucial piece of information.”

At that, the Sect Master let out another weary sigh. “The sect will most likely have to pay a heavy price. I will take responsibility and resign as Sect Master. But Wenlin is a talent worth cultivating. He sees farther than either of us.”

“You intend to groom him as your successor?”

“Who else do you think we can groom?” The Sect Master glanced at the Grand Elder.

“He Jigu is not bad,” the Grand Elder calmly offered.

A trace of anger entered the Sect Master’s voice. “At a time like this, you’re still thinking about factional struggles? Don’t think I don’t know He Jigu is one of your people!”

The Grand Elder remained entirely unmoved. “Sect Master, you misunderstand me. I am merely recommending a capable individual.”

The Sect Master fell silent. It was difficult, far too difficult. The seeds of internal conflict had already taken root throughout the Myriad Manifestations Sect. Even with the possibility of total annihilation hanging over their heads, the people beneath them still refused to abandon their petty struggles.

Neither man spoke again.

Time passed, second by second.

After an unknown length of time, the two old men suddenly looked at each other.

Both saw the same astonishment and the same tremor of fear in the other’s eyes.

In perfect unison, they turned toward the eastern district of Myriad.

There, a colossal phantom hammer had abruptly condensed into existence.

And worse, it had appeared inside the town.

Under the two elders’ stunned gazes, the hammer struck the towering wall. Once. Twice. Three times.

BOOM! Amid the terrified screams of the residents, the defensive formation they had deliberately left inactive to avoid alerting the enemy failed to protect the wall.

A gigantic fissure more than twenty feet long split across its surface.

Then an excited voice thundered throughout the entirety of Myriad. “Anyone who dares resist will be killed without mercy!”