104: Chapter 104 The Holy Land Admits Defeat, Desire

Tianyan Holy Land, Yunxiao Hall.

Seven people sat in the hall, no one speaking.

When the incense burner burned to the third stick, Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao finally opened his eyes.

He sat at the head of the hall, his hair and beard snow-white, his eyelids drooping as if he were asleep.

Yet, none of the seven Elders below dared to move.

"Guan Canghai, is he still kneeling?"

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao asked.

An Elder on the left rose; his name was Gu Qingyuan, the one in charge of punishment in the Holy Land.

"Reporting to Headmaster, he is still kneeling. It has been Nine Heavens."

"Has he taken any food or water?"

"We cannot feed him."

Gu Qingyuan paused, "Every time he opens his mouth, he kowtows and recites that one sentence."

"Which sentence?"

"Having disturbed the Saint's quiet cultivation, this Disciple deserves death ten thousand times over."

The hall fell silent.

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao raised his hand, and a water mirror floated above his palm.

Inside the mirror was that stone tablet outside Kushi Town. Before the tablet, a white-haired old man was kowtowing repeatedly; his forehead was bloodied and mangled, yet he continued to kowtow.

That was Guan Canghai.

Nine days ago, he was still the Purple Mansion Elder with the most explosive temper in the Tianyan Holy Land, and his Dharma sword, "Red Heart," was incomparably formidable.

Nine days ago, he offered his sword, slashing toward the entrance of Kushi Town.

The sword did not break.

The next morning, he knelt before the tablet himself, using his fingers to carve his own name onto the stone tablet, stroke by stroke.

Once finished, his Purple Mansion cultivation collapsed on the spot, falling back to the seventh level of the Golden Core.

No one saw who had slashed him.

"Red Heart" was one of the sect-protecting Dharma swords of the Tianyan Holy Land.

Now, that sword was stuck in the dirt before the tablet, its blade covered in dust, as if abandoned by its master.

"One sect-protecting sword, one Purple Mansion Elder."

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao's voice was very slow, "Is this the result?"

No one responded.

Gu Qingyuan lowered his head: "Headmaster, how about… we send someone else?"

"Send who?"

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao opened his eyes, "Send you? Can you enter the town entrance?"

Gu Qingyuan stopped speaking.

Whoever stepped past that stone tablet in Kushi Town, whether flying or escaping underground, would eventually return to the front of the tablet.

A Purple Mansion Elder had tried to force his way in, and overnight his black hair turned white; after coming out, he remembered nothing, only the phrase "The Sir does not allow it."

The Sir.

The entire Eastern Wasteland was guessing who this "Sir" actually referred to.

"That unknown Legacy on Wen Yan,"

An Elder on the right could not help but speak up; he was a hot-tempered man named Lei Chong, "Is it worth sacrificing a Purple Mansion Elder and a sect-protecting sword? Headmaster, in my opinion, we should just withdraw."

"Withdraw?"

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao glanced at him, "Guan Canghai is still kowtowing before the tablet. If you withdraw, what will happen to him?"

Lei Chong choked on his words.

"Furthermore, our Holy Land has lost so much Face this time,"

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao said word by word, "Does the signboard of the Tianyan Holy Land still matter?"

Sweat beaded on Lei Chong's forehead.

The hall fell silent again.

After a long while, Gu Qingyuan raised his head, as if he had made a difficult decision.

"Headmaster, this Disciple has a method. It's just… I'm afraid to say it…"

"Speak."

"The Ten-Day Agreement."

Gu Qingyuan said.

As soon as these four words were spoken, the expressions of the seven people in the hall were all startled.

The Ten-Day Agreement!

Tower Master Su Changqing of the Tianji Tower, who had ranked Wen Yan seventh on the Southern Frontier scroll of the hidden dragon ranking, suddenly stopped, left behind the words "Sixth place on the hidden dragon ranking, to be announced after ten days," and then closed his doors.

Now, only one day remained until that day.

"You mean,"

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao stared at him, "To beg the Tianji Tower?"

"Beg."

Gu Qingyuan gritted his teeth, "Headmaster, think about it. That Tower Master Su, at the time he prophesied that Crown Prince Jiang Wei had the potential of a Great Emperor but was parasitized by an evil soul. Now, the four dynasties have joined forces to issue a warrant for Crown Prince Jiang Wei, with the charge stating 'suspected of having entered the Heaven-Reaching Realm,' which is perfectly accurate. He could calculate Crown Prince Jiang Wei's downfall, and he could make the Dao Heart of Xie Guanqi, the Southern Frontier Ranking Envoy of the Wanxiang Tower, shatter with a single remark. This trap at Kushi Town, this Legacy of Wen Yan, it was he who put them on the ranking!"

"It was he who brought about this disaster."

Lei Chong sneered.

"Yes."

Gu Qingyuan nodded, "Since it was he who brought it about, he must be able to calculate it. If he can calculate it, he has a way. Ten days later, when he opens the ranking, all the powers in the world will go to Luoyun Mountain. We will go, ask him for a divination, and ask how to get Guan Canghai out."

No one in the hall spoke, but Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao's fingers moved.

"No one can be certain how much the Tianji Tower charges for a divination,"

Gu Qingyuan continued, "But Guan Canghai's life and the Holy Land's Face are worth more than those few Spirit Stones. Headmaster, we will bring heavy treasures. We can afford it."

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao closed his eyes.

This old monster in the Heaven-Reaching Realm, who had lived for who knows how many years, was actually unable to make up his mind today.

To go and beg the Tianji Tower.

The Tianyan Holy Land had been established for thousands of years; when had it ever bowed its head to anyone?

But Guan Canghai's battered Face kept flickering in the water mirror.

"Headmaster."

Lei Chong still wanted to argue, "We are a dignified Holy Land, going to beg someone who just makes rankings…"

"Someone who makes rankings?"

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze like a knife, "Lei Chong, go to the entrance of Luoyun Mountain and take a look, see how many people are lined up there now. As far as I know, Ye Hanshan of the Nine Luminaries Sword Sect has gone, Gongsun Ce of the Qianji Family has gone, and the envoys of over a dozen Imperial Dynasties are on their way. Are those people fools?"

Lei Chong opened his mouth.

"They are afraid."

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao said slowly, "The entire Eastern Wasteland is afraid. You say he is just someone who makes rankings, but a single remark from him can stir up the winds and clouds of the entire Eastern Wasteland. You call this someone who makes rankings?"

"This is called… Heavenly Secrets!"

Gu Qingyuan added from the side, his voice dry.

Everyone in the hall fell silent.

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao stood up.

As he stood, the Spiritual Qi of the entire Yunxiao Hall trembled.

"Prepare the gifts."

He said.

"Headmaster!"

"Tomorrow, I will go to Luoyun Mountain personally."

Sect Leader Mu Yunxiao looked at Guan Canghai kowtowing in the water mirror, "Guan Canghai has followed me for two hundred years. I will go and beg for a way out for him."

He paused, then added: "After all, we are all brothers of our sect!"

Outside the hall doors, the sea of clouds churned.

On the same night, Black Lotus Demon Sect.

Beneath the Black Lotus Throne, the Devilish Qi surged to the heavens, but Sect Master Xiao Wuxie's Face was darker than the Devilish Qi.

Kneeling before him was a messenger Demon cultivator, trembling all over.

"Say it again."

Sect Master Xiao Wuxie's voice was very soft.

"S-Sect Master… The Demon Child took three hundred Disciples into Kushi Town, and three hours later, they all came out. Not a single one died."

"Not a single one died?"

Sect Master Xiao Wuxie narrowed his eyes, "Good."

"But… each of them is holding a blank scroll in their hands. Their expressions are wooden, only saying things like 'The Sir told us, read it before leaving.'"

Sect Master Xiao Wuxie's smile froze on his Face.

"And the Demon Child?"

"The Demon Child… is sitting cross-legged outside the town, staring at that blank scroll day and night. He says that every time he blinks, a new character appears on the scroll. But he… cannot read a single character."

The Black Lotus Throne was deathly silent.

After a long while, Sect Master Xiao Wuxie spoke in a low voice, as if asking himself: "What kind of person could make three hundred Demon cultivators of my Black Lotus Demon Sect obediently hold a heavenly book and read it? And still not be able to understand it?"

No one could answer.

He stared in the direction of Kushi Town in the south, staring for a long time.

"Prepare the Blood Lotus Carriage."

He finally spoke, "Where is the Sect Master going?"

"Luoyun Mountain."

Sect Master Xiao Wuxie turned, his Demon robes sweeping across the steps, "That person who makes rankings owes my Black Lotus Demon Sect an explanation."

A glint flashed in the depths of his eyes, colder than Devilish Qi.

"Whether it is begging or questioning,"

He sneered, "We will see when we get to Luoyun Mountain."

In the south, outside Kushi Town.

The Demon Child was still staring at that blank scroll.

He blinked.

On the scroll, another character had appeared.

He still did not recognize it.

But this time, his hands began to tremble.