Watching the Mountain

Chapter 58: Chapter 52: Overt Plot

War. An overt conspiracy.

After leaving Ye Qingyue, Xu Ran tilted his head back to gaze at the scorching sun above, his feelings in turmoil.

That was the answer he had received from Ye Qingyue. The matter wasn’t complicated, and it lacked the bizarre twists and turns he had imagined.

The reason the Wangyue Sect’s cultivators had suddenly ambushed that Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator during their breakthrough was remarkably simple: they had discovered the person was not from the Immortal Ancient World. Whether they hailed from the Evil Domain or the Demon Realm was impossible to know.

But they were absolutely not a member of the Wangyue Sect, let alone a native of the Immortal Ancient World.

There were many reasons why that Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator was discovered, but Ye Qingyue didn’t elaborate.

She only told him that one of the reasons was that when the Wangyue Sect had been gathering intelligence on Xu Ran, that particular cultivator had shown intense killing intent, especially after learning that Xu Ran had produced high-yield Spirit Rice.

Xu Ran was a bit confused. ’The Wangyue Sect and the Profound Pure Sect have always been rivals,’ he thought. ’So isn’t it normal for them to show killing intent after learning about me?’

However, Ye Qingyue shook her head and said in a forlorn tone,

"Absolutely not. That person might have thought it was normal to show killing intent in the heat of the moment, given that our two sects are rivals. But as I said before, the Wangyue Sect’s founder was a Weaver, and her husband was a respected Shennong. The tradition of respecting Spirit Farmers has always been passed down in our sect."

"Besides, although the Wangyue Sect and the Profound Pure Sect have some disputes, the relationships between sects in the Cultivation Realm are complex; there are conflicts, but also partnerships. Even now, our two sects still have all sorts of collaborations."

"The emergence of high-yield Spirit Rice... Forget the Wangyue Sect, any sect in the Immortal Ancient World would be thrilled. It’s something that benefits the entire Cultivation Realm. Under no circumstances would anyone reveal such blatant killing intent over it."

"Unless... that person was not from our Immortal Ancient Cultivation Realm."

Of course, this was only one piece of the puzzle. The Wangyue Sect couldn’t have identified that Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator as someone from the Evil and Demon Domains based on that alone.

Their conclusion that the person was not from the Immortal Ancient World was the result of investigating and piecing together a wide variety of clues.

Regardless, Xu Ran’s emergence was one of the key clues, which is why the Wangyue Sect felt they owed him a favor.

"So, were you the one who told Senior Su Yingxue that I was leaving the sect?" Xu Ran asked, looking at Ye Qingyue.

Ye Qingyue hesitated for a moment but finally nodded. She then rose and gave him a slight bow.

"Before I came to the Profound Pure Sect, Master... I mean, Senior Su Yingxue, told me that the fact someone within the Wangyue Sect had access to intelligence on you meant there was a problem."

"I took her words to heart. This time, when I saw you leaving the sect, I figured that if someone really was lurking here, they wouldn’t pass up this chance. So I specifically inquired about the list of disciples you were going to visit."

She looked apologetic as she said, "I’m truly sorry for taking matters into my own hands and revealing your itinerary without your permission."

Ye Qingyue spoke with great sincerity. Strictly speaking, her actions were tantamount to betraying the sect—a very serious offense.

Xu Ran waved his hand. He wasn’t an ungrateful person. Regardless of her methods, her actions had indeed saved his life. This was a favor he had to accept.

He smiled faintly and said, "What are you talking about? It was me who was worried about encountering danger on the road. I asked you to contact your former master, Senior Su Yingxue, to request her protection, didn’t I?"

Ye Qingyue was a smart woman and instantly grasped his meaning. She nodded and didn’t mention the matter again.

To summarize, Su Yingxue had received the message from Ye Qingyue, intentionally taken a detour, and killed the Spirit Stream Peak Master’s disciple, who had been preparing to make a move on Xu Ran. She did this to repay the favor.

Hearing Ye Qingyue’s explanation, Xu Ran finally understood the Wangyue Sect’s various strange behaviors during the inter-sect grand tournament.

Perhaps they had already sensed something was wrong with that Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator back then and had already planned their future course of action. If so, all their behavior became logical.

Intentionally conceding and returning the resources they had won from the Profound Pure Sect... with fewer resources, they could delay the breakthrough of that Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator to some extent.

As for their inconsistent words and actions when inviting Xu Ran, that was even easier to understand. To put it simply, they had to go through the motions, but they couldn’t actually let Xu Ran join the Wangyue Sect, lest he walk into the tiger’s den.

"And what about those fine, cyan robes?" Xu Ran asked curiously.

Ye Qingyue raised her head slightly and slowly replied, "That’s a tradition in the Wangyue Sect. Any Spirit Plant Master who earns their recognition is gifted a set of fine, cyan robes."

"It doesn’t have any special meaning; it’s purely a symbol of recognition and respect. Hmm, I suppose you could also call it a gesture of goodwill. Anyone wearing those robes who visits the Wangyue Sect will be treated as an honored guest, and we’d be willing to help with small matters."

Xu Ran nodded in sudden realization. So that was it. He felt relieved. As long as it didn’t signify some messy, entangling relationship, he was fine.

He then voiced the biggest question on his mind. "If that’s the case, why didn’t the Wangyue Sect inform the other sects and try to solve it themselves? Wouldn’t their losses have been smaller if they had sought help?"

Ye Qingyue fell silent for a moment at his words. Then, with a complicated expression, she shook her head. "We couldn’t tell anyone."

"Why not?"

"You’ve probably read some of the historical records. Don’t you think the period of peace between the Immortal Ancient World and the Evil and Demon Domains has lasted a bit too long? What do you suppose they’ve been doing all this time?"

Xu Ran was startled. "You mean... there are infiltrators from the Evil and Demon Domains hiding in other sects as well?"

But as soon as he asked, he shook his head, feeling he’d asked a foolish question. If the Wangyue Sect had an infiltrator, then it was a given that other sects did as well. The Spirit Stream Peak Master’s disciple was likely one of them.

Ye Qingyue shook her head. "I’m just an ordinary Qi Cultivation Stage disciple. How would I know about the affairs of other sects?"

Xu Ran fell silent for a moment. He was about to ask if doing this wouldn’t just alert the enemy.

But before he could speak, he understood. Perhaps the Wangyue Sect’s approach was actually the best way to handle it. A strategy of misdirection. They had suddenly ambushed that Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator without notifying any other sect in the Immortal Ancient World.

But any infiltrators from the Evil and Demon Domains hiding in the Immortal Ancient World wouldn’t know if the Wangyue Sect had actually informed anyone else. This would make them suspicious and force them to guess, potentially revealing flaws in their own operations.

As she finished, Ye Qingyue gave Xu Ran a solemn bow and said, "Senior Su Yingxue asked me to deliver a message to you."

Xu Ran looked at her curiously.

Ye Qingyue said gravely, "She said that the Immortal Ancient World is about to undergo a cataclysmic change, the likes of which has not been seen in a thousand ages. This turmoil will sweep across the entire Cultivation Realm. She hopes you will take good care of yourself, and that she can still hear news of you in the future from the Overseas Archipelago."

Xu Ran was taken aback. "A cataclysmic turmoil? What’s happening? Did Senior Su Yingxue tell you anything else?"

Ye Qingyue watched his reaction and gave him a meaningful prompt. "Combine the recent developments on the Evil Demon Battlefield with the incident at the Wangyue Sect. Think about it carefully. What answer do you arrive at?"

Xu Ran froze for a second, then calmed himself and frowned in thought.

’The incident at the Wangyue Sect proves that the Evil and Demon Domains have had people infiltrating the Immortal Ancient World for a long time. Meanwhile, the war on the Evil Demon Battlefield went exceptionally well. The Immortal Ancient World and the Demon Race’s battlefront gained an entire domain’s worth of land... so smoothly it was almost unbelievable.’

Xu Ran pondered for a long while. Suddenly, his expression turned grim with shock. He looked at Ye Qingyue and said, "They’re trying to make the Immortal Ancient World collapse from within?"

Ye Qingyue said nothing, only watched him in silence.

Xu Ran finally understood why the Wangyue Sect was moving its entire sect far away to the Overseas Archipelago. They had clearly seen the future direction of the Immortal Ancient World and wanted to avoid the coming turmoil, to keep from being dragged into it.

This was a blatant, overt conspiracy from the Evil and Demon Domains. An entire domain’s worth of land—such an enormous prize.

’Were the various Immortal Ancient sects truly unaware of the scheme it contained? Even Yue Qingyu had lamented long ago that this war was strange.’

They surely knew. But they still couldn’t refuse. The territory occupied by the Evil and Demon Domains was already larger than that of the Immortal Ancient Cultivation Realm and the Demon Race. The enemy was willing to sacrifice an entire domain to set the trap, but the Immortal Ancient Cultivation Realm and the Demon Race were unable to refuse it.

Therefore, even knowing full well that it was a scheme, they had to jump in.

The allure of an entire domain was simply too great. What’s more, it was said that at the war’s conclusion, the Evil and Demon Domains even swore a Great Dao Oath to not set a single foot in the territories of the Immortal Ancient Cultivation Realm and the Demon Race for ten thousand years.

It was a checkmate.

One didn’t need to think hard to know what would happen next in the Immortal Ancient World. To seize this newly available domain, the major powers would surely exhaust every effort and scheme, all for the sake of obtaining greater benefits.

’In any case, they wouldn’t have to worry about another war with the Evil and Demon Domains in the near future. Even if great turmoil followed, as long as they could absorb and digest the new benefits, they could recover quickly and even become stronger.’

Having understood all this, Xu Ran gazed at the blazing sun in the sky, an indescribable feeling welling up inside him.

The Profound Pure Sect had already lost one of its scorching suns, Ye Shan. In the coming turmoil, how many of the newly risen scorching suns would manage to hang high across the sky, and how many would plummet into the mortal dust?