“Not good!” Lin Xuanzhi’s pupils suddenly shrank. He grabbed Yan Tianhen and took him to Lin Zhan’s side. “Dad, this is Ethereal City’s help beacon. As soon as this beacon is fired, it means that Ethereal City is under a great threat. You should take Ah Hen to rest first. I need to see what happened.”
Lin Zhan grabbed Lin Xuanzhi’s arm. “You still have injuries!”
Lin Xuanzhi said with indifference, “It doesn’t matter, it’s just a slight superficial injury. Even if His Majesty the East Sovereign was angry, he still held back. If the city encounters trouble, I must go help.”
Lin Zhan looked up and stared at Xuan Wushe.
He didn’t have to say anything; Xuan Wushe had already placed the mask back on his face. He slightly restrained his aura and suddenly seemed like a different person.
“When I return, you’ll tell me about this matter from beginning to end,” Xuan Wushe finished calmly. Looking at Lin Zhan’s pale face, his heart couldn’t bear it. He went over and kissed him gently on the forehead. “Don’t entertain foolish ideas. Protect yourself.”
Lin Zhan nodded absentmindedly.
Just as Lin Xuanzhi prepared to fly outside the sect gates, he received a voice transmission talisman from Sword Saint Tianshu, so he hurried over to the sentry post to meet with Wan Miantang.
Lin Xuanzhi pondered a little and decided to follow his words.
Lin Xuanzhi was in front while Xuan Wushe was right behind him. Both of them arrived at the sect’s sentry post as quickly as possible. After that whistle sounded, there was the rapid beating of drums, which was also located near the lookout post. When Lin Xuanzhi first went to the drumbeats’ location, he saw that the drummer was actually East Courtyard’s Wan Miantang. Wan Miantang beat the drum with great force, and his hands waved in a fine rhythm.
Boom boom boom, boom boom, boom boom boom boom boom!
After the first round of the rhythmic drumbeat ended, the entire Ethereal City should’ve woken up from its deep sleep and received this warning.
Wan Miantang had already used spiritual Qi to play the drums. He threw down the drum sticks and turned to tell Lin Xuanzhi, “Huarong, the Fiends took advantage of the night and came ashore from the West, North, and South directions. They broke into Ethereal City. Right now, everyone in the sect who can fight has already gone to fight the enemy in the city, but the sect can’t be defenseless. You should stay here and guard the sect.”
Lin Xuanzhi nodded. He didn’t care where he was, but if so, then his current purpose was to protect the sect.
Xuan Wushe stood next to Lin Xuanzhi and asked lightly, “Only the Fiends invaded, but not the demons?”
Wan Miantang’s eyes show some consternation. “I don’t know the specific situation yet.”
While he said that, Wan Miantang immediately made an expression at the sentry post and had the sentries observe the Fiends more carefully.
After a while, a sentry ran over with a pale face and reported, “It’s the demons.”
Wan Miantang who sucked in a cold breath, and his eyes gradually sank.
This battle lasted until dawn.
Sword Saint Tianshu and the others who went to the rescue had returned to the sect again after they repelled the last demon. As for the corpses and blood on the street, the people in the city lord’s residence cleaned them up. That night, Lin Xuanzhi stayed at the sentry post until dawn, ensuring that no Fiend or demon could break through the sect’s defensive lines.
And those who fought bravely inside Ethereal City also protected the innocent residents in the city on the one hand and the sect’s disciples on the other. Their bottom line was to eliminate these attackers before they could reach the sect.
Sword Saint Tianshu’s body was still clean and didn’t have any bloodstains. It’s just that when someone killed too much, he would naturally have a bloody aura.
Lin Xuanzhi left the sentry post and immediately returned to the sect’s assembly hall. The elders who had provided assistance were all gathered here.
“Roughly speaking, around seven to eight hundred demons broke into Ethereal City tonight.” Sword Saint Tianshu spoke with a heavy expression, “Every demon had a Fiend possessing it. They rushed forward without regard for their own lives and killed countless people.”
This night really was unexpected.
The calm that Ethereal City had enjoyed for thousands of years was broken overnight and completely overturned. They could guess that in a short while, the news would grow wings and spread throughout the entire Nine Lands. Not to mention what the outside world would think of Ethereal City and Myriad Dao Academy, just the families and clans of students would probably have them return home.
Lin Xuanzhi asked, “What about the casualties?”
Sword Saint Yaoguang sighed. “I’ve seen more than ten city residents die at the Fiends’ hands. It was a sneak attack in the middle of the night. It’s likely that many people had already died by the time we discovered the invasion.”
“Why would these things target Ethereal City specifically?” The Hall Master of Tool Ocean Hall was so angry that his beard was about to curl up. He couldn’t wait to pull out those Fiends’ tendons and bones. “Exactly what kind of deep hatred do they have with us?”
“It’s not necessarily a deep hatred.” At this time, a man dressed in a blue robe appeared at the entrance of the hall. He came in with a letter in his hand and walked briskly. He lightly threw the paper toward the front, and the paper unfolded itself. The three words written in blood appeared in front of everyone’s eyes — “East Land’s Disaster”.
Everyone couldn’t help gasping, and they all had something to think about. The hall was silent for a while.
The young elder who brought the warning letter written in blood was an elder who lived in the mountains for a long time in closed-door cultivation. Because he didn’t leave secluded cultivation easily, his real name could no longer be recalled. However, he always had a close relationship with the prophet family. When the sect encountered any important matters in the past, he would come out to preside over the overall situation, so he was quite respected.
Sword Saint Tianshu stared at the three bloody words on the letter and asked, “Elder Feng Tan, where did you get this blood letter?”
Elder Feng Tan said mildly, “Someone sent it to the sect’s door, and it was collected by the disciples. I noticed that there was strong demonic Qi inside the sect, so I left secluded cultivation to collect this blood letter. Did you have frequent contact with the East Land these days?”
Elder Feng Tan’s tone was light and didn’t sound accusatory. However, after the elders of the three halls and four courtyards heard it, they all felt guilty and ashamed.
Not to mention frequent contact — the ruler of the East Land and his wife were even here right now.
Lin Xuanzhi spoke up, “Elder Feng Tan, the East Land indeed came to visit at our invitation, but the reason was because Fiends had reappeared in the world. Moreover, they first appeared in Jade Ocean City and Ethereal City. Jade Ocean City has always been on the East Land’s borders, and the East Empress came to discuss this matter due to an invite.”
Elder Feng Tan swept a glance over Lin Xuanzhi with cool eyes. “Huarong, don’t think that I don’t know anything about the happenings outside just because I’m in secluded cultivation everyday. Let me ask you, where did the Fiends first appear?”
Lin Xuanzhi’s reply was neither servile nor overbearing, “Jade Ocean City.”
“Ah.” Yaoguang suddenly exclaimed, “Speaking of which, the Fiends did initially appear in the East Lands. Since that blood letter wrote ‘East Land’s Disaster’, does it mean that the Fiends’ goal has always been the East Lands alone and nothing else? It is very possible that the Fiends appeared in Ethereal City only because they were forced across the sea by General Jiang.”
“So, from beginning to end, the Fiends attacked Ethereal City because we invited the East Land’s dignitaries over for a visit?”
All the people present were smart, and they soon found the pattern.
Lin Xuanzhi’s eyes sank slightly. “But when the Fiends invaded Ethereal City for the first time, the East Land wasn’t here.”
“But they were already on their way to Ethereal City.” Sword Saint Yuheng frowned. “It’s just that only overlord level Fiends have consciousness resembling a human’s. If this blood letter truly came from a Fiend, then I’m afraid that it won’t be easy to destroy the Fiends.”
Elder Feng Tan swept a glance over all the people present. “I came here to deliver the blood letter. It’s up to you all to decide whether you want to declare war on the Fiends and ally with the East Land, or whether you want to watch from the sidelines and seal the island again from today on.”
After he said that, Elder Feng Tan turned to leave.
“Elder Feng Tan, please wait!” An elder of Pill Limit Hall who looked a little chubby spoke, “There are not many people who can truly take full charge of the sect nowadays. The several other great elders are all in closed-door cultivation. Elder Feng Tan has enough qualifications. Why don’t you show us the way?”
Elder Feng Tan turned his eyes slightly, his eyelids drooping. “The sect has not yet come to the point where I must come out and take charge. You can do whatever you want, but I will only say one thing — Myriad Dao Academy has never intervened in the dispute over the secular throne before, and similarly, it also won’t intervene today. If anyone dares to break the rules, I will personally dispose of him!”
Having said that, Feng Tan left like the wind, just like how he came like the wind. Thus, the discussion hall was quickly divided into two groups.
One faction advocated for opposing the Fiends to the very end, so that these evil things could see how powerful the sect was. Myriad Dao Academy wasn’t a place that they could casually threaten.
The other faction advocated for immediately sealing the island, so that Ethereal City could return to the isolated state it had before. As for the dignitaries from the East Land, it was time to send them off.
After Sword Saint Tianshu heard both sides’ arguments, he thought for a moment before asking, “What was the meaning of that sentence Elder Feng Tan spoke right before he left?”
Lin Xuanzhi lowered his eyes slightly. “He meant, the fact that the East Land was attacked by Fiends this time was not an accident, but a result of someone’s deliberate actions. Furthermore, it should be due to the imperial dispute over the throne.”
Sword Saint Yuheng was originally part of the war faction, but after listening to this statement, he hesitated. “If it’s truly caused by an imperial dispute, then we should not intervene. After all, Ethereal City should not have stood on any Land’s side, to begin with.”
Sword Saint Yaoguang glanced at Yuheng. “Although there is some truth in your words, you can’t just think about the cause, but you also have to consider the effect ah. No matter whether the Fiends were deliberately controlled or not, they are still malevolent things. They are the enemies of everyone in the Nine Lands. What’s more, they also killed many people in Ethereal City. Don’t tell me that we’ll let our sect’s disciples and the people of Ethereal City die in vain just because of a single ‘East Land’s Disaster’ letter?”
“Sword Saint Yaoguang has a point.” Mr. Lan nodded. “Even if it is the East Land’s disaster, if anyone releases the Fiends, they will make an enemy of the entire Nine Lands. Myriad Dao Academy has legitimate reasons to intervene.”
