Watching the Mountain

Chapter 57: Chapter 51: A Cup of Tea

Xu Ran was stunned by Little Xiyue’s words. He stared at her in disbelief and asked again, "What did you say?"

"The Wangyue Sect has been destroyed." Little Xiyue repeated woodenly, her own face etched with disbelief.

After hearing the confirmation, a forlorn expression appeared on Xu Ran’s face. He couldn’t believe it was true. Just yesterday, when he saw Su Yingxue, she and her sect members seemed fine. How could their entire Sect suddenly be destroyed?

Then, his expression froze. He suddenly remembered that Su Yingxue and the others hadn’t looked well yesterday. They seemed to have been through a great battle, looking somewhat disheveled. And she had also mentioned they were going to the Overseas Archipelago.

At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it, simply assuming they were heading there on some business. Now that he thought about it, they were likely in the middle of fleeing.

In the Immortal Ancient World, when an entire Sect relocated to the Overseas Archipelago, it usually meant some disaster had befallen them, leaving them unable to maintain their foothold and forcing them to flee there.

Thinking of this, Xu Ran calmed himself slightly and looked at Little Xiyue. "Did the report say why?"

Little Xiyue also snapped out of her shock. She hurriedly picked up her Communication Jade Talisman to message the person who had sent her the news.

A moment later, Little Xiyue spoke with a complicated expression, "They say the Wangyue Sect was destroyed by internal strife."

"Internal strife?" Xu Ran looked at her in surprise.

Little Xiyue then began to relay the intelligence she had received.

Apparently, just a few days ago, five Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators from the Wangyue Sect launched a surprise attack on another Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator who was in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Divinity Transformation Stage.

The Wangyue Sect had six Nascent Soul True Monarchs. One was a top-tier powerhouse at the Nascent Soul Late Stage, just a step away from becoming a Divinity Transformation Daoist Monarch. The other five had only broken through in the last few centuries; aside from one who had just reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, the other four were all at the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

At the Nascent Soul Stage Realm, the gap between each Small Realm is immense.

The side with more people might have seemed to have the advantage, but in reality, the Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator held the absolute upper hand.

However, they chose the perfect moment to ambush him—the critical juncture when he was in seclusion breaking through to the Divinity Transformation Stage. He probably never expected them to attack him. His breakthrough was interrupted, and he was severely injured.

But even so, the five ambushers were still no match for the Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator.

The final result was that the five ambushing Nascent Soul True Monarchs, with the help of the Sect’s remaining Golden Core and Core Formation Cultivators, managed to kill the Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator who was just a step away from Divinity Transformation.

It was a pyrrhic victory. Before dying, the Wangyue Sect’s Nascent Soul Late Stage expert managed to take two other Nascent Soul Cultivators, several Golden Core Cultivators, and over twenty Core Formation Stage Cultivators down with him. Among the dead Nascent Soul Cultivators was the one at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.

Everyone else was also severely injured. In the end, led by the three remaining Nascent Soul True Monarchs, the survivors of the Wangyue Sect relocated their entire Sect to the Overseas Archipelago.

"That’s not right. Why were all their Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators at the Sect? Weren’t they supposed to be at the Evil Demon Battlefield?" Xu Ran suddenly voiced a question.

Little Xiyue glanced at the report in her hand and replied, "It says that as soon as the war ended, they immediately requested to leave. They claimed a major incident had occurred in their Sect and they had to return, and the battlefield command approved it."

’So the so-called "major incident" was them banding together for a surprise attack?’

After hearing Little Xiyue’s answer, Xu Ran gazed into the distance with a complex expression, unsure how to react for a moment.

’Truly, the ways of the world are unpredictable.’

He recalled that after the Profound Pure Sect’s sudden disaster, where it lost three main branches, rumors began to circulate in the Changqing County Cultivation Realm. People said it wouldn’t be long before the Wangyue Sect would replace the Profound Pure Sect as the number one Sect in Changqing County.

When he had led the team to the sect tournament, the Wangyue Sect had shown the best overall performance as well.

All signs had indicated that the Wangyue Sect’s fortune was at its peak. It seemed poised to reach even greater heights in this era, a fact undoubtedly corroborated by their Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator who was in seclusion attempting his breakthrough.

If not for this incident, they might have soon shed their status as a Nascent Soul Sect and ascended to the level of a Divinity Transformation Sect.

Who would have thought that this Sect, at the very height of its power, would suddenly suffer such a calamity? A single bout of internal strife, and the entire Sect fled to the Overseas Archipelago. To say they were destroyed was not much of an exaggeration.

Xu Ran felt that every encounter with the Wangyue Sect left him with a huge shock. They were like a fog, impossible to see through.

Take the previous sect tournament, for example. To this day, he still couldn’t understand why they had deliberately conceded. And their contradictory words and actions when they had invited him were still deeply etched in his mind.

Yesterday, when Su Yingxue gave him that magnificent green robe, he had been wondering if it was part of some plot against him. They were famous for their intelligence network and might know some of his secrets. But the next thing he knew, he was hearing news of their destruction.

And to this day, no one in the Cultivation Realm knew the real reason for their downfall. Why would they suddenly attack their own Sect’s Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator? No matter how he thought about it, this incident didn’t seem like a rebellion driven by a lust for power. There had to be a deeper reason.

Unfortunately, no one knew what it was.

*

*

*

After returning to the Profound Pure Sect, Xu Ran had originally planned to find Ye Qingyue and ask her about the Wangyue Sect.

But as soon as he got back to the Sect, the Spirit Stream Peak Master found him first.

The Spirit Stream Peak Master looked utterly dejected. He completely lacked the imposing aura a Golden Core Master should have, resembling instead a lonely, bereaved old man.

The moment he saw Xu Ran, he raised his hands, bowed deeply, and said, "Elder Xu, this old man has failed you!"

The gesture startled Xu Ran. He quickly stepped aside before moving forward to catch the Peak Master’s hands, asking:

"Peak Master, please don’t do this, you honor me too much! Whatever has happened, let’s talk it out properly. Please don’t perform such a grand ceremony. My remaining three hundred years of life can’t bear it."

The Spirit Stream Peak Master let out a long sigh, his face filled with guilt. "This old man never imagined that the person who wanted to harm you was right by my side."

"That wicked disciple! Truly a wicked disciple! If not for the fellow Daoists from the Wangyue Sect happening to pass by during their flight and stumbling upon his scheme, this old man would have made a terrible mistake. I would have no words to face the Sect or you, Elder Xu."

Xu Ran was slightly taken aback. "Peak Master, what exactly happened? Could you explain in detail?"

The Spirit Stream Peak Master sighed sorrowfully again and began his tale.

It turned out that not long after Xu Ran had left the sect gates, the Spirit Stream Peak Master’s disciple—also a True Disciple of the Sect—had secretly followed him. His objective was simple: to target Xu Ran.

However, just as he was about to make his move, he was caught red-handed by Su Yingxue and her group from the Wangyue Sect.

The Spirit Stream Peak Master didn’t mention what happened to him afterward, but judging by his reaction, the disciple was likely killed.

After hearing the Spirit Stream Peak Master’s account, Xu Ran was quite surprised. He had met that disciple before. The man was the spitting image of the Spirit Stream Peak Master, very approachable and kind to everyone. He was also very enthusiastic about helping his fellow sect members. No one would have ever expected him to do such a thing.

The Spirit Stream Peak Master had no children of his own and had only ever taken one disciple in his entire life. He had poured all his affection into that disciple, treating him like his own son.

Seeing the Spirit Stream Peak Master’s current state, Xu Ran didn’t know how to react. With his most beloved disciple having done such a thing, the Peak Master had truly become a lonely, bereaved old man.

Xu Ran sighed softly and, in the end, said nothing at all.

What puzzled him, however, was that he hadn’t sensed any disturbance on his journey. This meant that the crisis had been neutralized silently by Su Yingxue and her group from the Wangyue Sect. This made him wonder, ’Were they really just passing by coincidentally?’

After parting ways with the Spirit Stream Peak Master, he found Ye Qingyue.

Ye Qingyue seemed to have expected Xu Ran to look for her. She appeared perfectly calm, but the lingering sadness in her eyes revealed her feelings about her Sect’s fate.

She gestured for Xu Ran to sit and served a pot of Spirit Tea.

As the Spirit Tea passed his lips, Xu Ran raised his eyebrows. Even someone like him, who didn’t know much about tea, could tell it was delicious.

Watching his reaction, Ye Qingyue said softly, "I brought these tea leaves from the Wangyue Sect. This Spirit Tea Tree grows on the back mountain of the Wangyue Sect’s main peak, Zhinu Peak. It’s said that it was cultivated by the husband of our founding ancestor, a Shennong from an ancient era."

"That era is too distant from our own. This Spirit Tea Tree has died and been revived, lived and died again, over and over, continuing on to this day. We can’t say for sure if it still tastes the same as it did back then, but all the senior and junior sisters in the Sect loved to drink it."

She lifted her cup, took an elegant sip of the tea, and continued:

"Our founding ancestor was a Weaver, and her husband was a Spirit Farmer. She didn’t establish any particular rules or missions for the Sect, but we have always held a deep respect for Spirit Farmers who have benefited the world."

"You could say that the Wangyue Sect is definitely one of the sects in the world that respects Spirit Farmers the most."