CHAPTER 55: WAR BETWEEN TWO SECT

Ying Hao had no other choice. He had to choose his priorities in life, between his sect or his daughter. If Ying Hao decided to go to the Gu Yang sect to challenge them, Mu Ying’s sect would be threatened but the possibility of getting the materials was even greater.

However, it was different if Ying Hao was more concerned about his sect. He wouldn’t make a reckless move by attacking directly to Gu Yang sect. Yet, that risked making Ying Ying even more severely injured and fatally killed.

Even so, he was still worried about Li Shen and Li Xun. They had stayed in the sect for a long time and there was no sign that pill making would be done —materials were lacking.

Ying Hao was worried that Li Shen was unwilling to wait for long and chose to leave the sect. The man really felt dizzy and confused.

"Master Li Shen doesn’t need to worry. We will get the materials soon," Ying Hao replied.

Li Shen cleared his throat in reply, allowing Ying Hao and Ying Ying to leave their guest house. Just as they were leaving, Li Xun walked over and asked.

"I don’t know if they have ancestors or not. But what if they lose?" asked Li Xun.

"Then our task here is done," Li Shen replied, stepping into the house and turning on the lights with his spiritual energy power.

"Aren’t you going to help them, Father?" asked Li Xun.

"There isn’t a single one of their kindnesses that should make me help them. If you’re talking about this guest house, then you’re talking about the exchange between the pill and this house," Li Shen replied, sitting on the wooden desk chair.

"I helped Ying Ying with the Mystic-Vein Cleansing Pill. They returned the favor with this guest house," Li Shen said.

"Now, neither I nor they are indebted anymore."

Li Xun was silent in the doorway, she kept looking at her father who was relaxing while sipping hot tea. Occasionally, Li Xun turned her attention to the back, watching as there were hundreds of Mu Ying Sect disciples working hard to get the two materials.

They all went to Gu Yang Sect with Ying Hao, Ying Ying, and other elders. A big war between the two cultivation sects was about to happen in the Ming Zhao Kingdom.

"They really want to preserve the life of their sect leader," Li Xun explained, continuing to watch the cultivators flying in the sky.

"Maybe, but fear is their biggest reason," Li Shen replied, voicing quietly as he took a sip of the warm tea in his cup.

"Fear?"

"It’s possible that their soul essence blood was already handed over to the Sect Leader before when they enrolled into this sect," Li Shen replied.

"If Sect Leader Ying Ying dies, then all of them will also die unless they force Ying Ying to return their soul essence," Li Shen explained.

"Did that really happen?"

"Yes. In the past, many sects did that, especially small sects that still put the number of disciples first."

Li Shen explained that it was effective in preventing the enrolled disciples from leaving or escaping the sect. That way, the number of disciples was fixed and might increase every year, giving the sect a chance to rise in rank.

But there was a difference. For large sects that have a long history and thousands of disciples, that method was no longer effective for keeping disciples. Sect Leaders and Elders might ask for a disciple’s soul essence at a certain stage, such as Foundation Establishment or Core Formation.

"Does the Pillar Azure Sect do something similar?" asked Li Xun, much to Li Shen’s surprise.

"Of course not," Li Shen replied.

"That’s good, this method of locking the soul essence of the sect’s disciples to prevent them from escaping is a vicious thing. I hope the children of the Li Family don’t join such a sect."

Li Shen smiled, putting down his tea cup as he opened his eyes, focused on staring at Li Xun’s back body.

"The children of the Li Family must stay and learn in the Azure Pillar Sect. If anyone refuses, remove them from the family lineage!" said Li Shen firmly, Li Xun turned her head and nodded obediently.

"Alright, Father. I understand."

***

Five months later.

Mu Ying Guest House.

Li Shen narrowed his eyes, then continued to watch the sky above their guest house. It has been five months since a single cultivator in black and white robes passed above the guest house sky, the situation is too quiet to arouse suspicion.

"What’s going on in this place, Father?" asked Li Xun, Li Shen responded with a shaking of his head.

He brought forth spiritual energy and pounded it into the ground, activating a large spiritual energy detector capable of covering a mountain. Something surprising happened.

Not much spiritual energy was detected. In Li Shen’s detection imagery, the entire mountain area turned into a black plain with small red flames at several points and moving dynamically. Those red fire points represented a cultivator’s spiritual energy.

The total number of disciples of the Mu Ying sect was 354. Right now, the number of cultivators detected by Li Shen’s detection technique was 26. This meant that about 328 cultivators from the Mu Ying sect had left this place and there were no signs of returning.

"Only a few cultivators are in the Mu Ying sect. We’d better go check there," Li Shen asked, Li Xun cleared her throat and nodded.

The two flew out of the guest house towards the top of the mountain crater. On the way there, Li Shen saw that there were battle trails along the way, the battle also seemed to be over, leaving only traces of its destruction.

Right when he arrived at the mountain crater, Li Shen clearly saw how quiet and deserted the Mu Ying sect was. There wasn’t a single cultivator flying around using a magic sword. That was enough to make Li Shen curious.

He landed in the front yard of the sect, with Li Xun accompanying steadily beside her father. He stared ahead, clearly seeing that the 26 people detected by Li Shen were Qi Condensation stage cultivators, their cultivation stuck at Qi Condensation 3.

"What’s going on?" asked Li Shen.

Seeing Li Shen’s arrival made them wary. They immediately set up a stance to prepare for defense. He also called other cultivators to arrive and protect the sect.

"I won’t let Gu Yang sect like you seize our sect!" snapped one of them.

"Gu Yang? We don’t belong to them," Li Xun explained.

"Not?" the cultivator asked again, Li Shen nodded.

Li Shen had expected it, the disappearance of many cultivators in this place must have been caused by the battle between Mu Ying and Gu Yang Sects. Ying Hao seemed to be taking a decisive step to go full war against Gu Yang Sect, even though they had Soul Formation realm cultivators.

"Is the battle not over yet?" asked Li Shen.

"I don’t know. We can’t leave this place. Besides not having the ability to fly, we were also ordered to guard the sect when they left," explained the man.

"How long has their fight been going on?"

"About six to seven months I think," said the man.

’If they don’t return, there are two possibilities. They either die or they’re captured alive,’ Li Shen said.

’I’d better not interfere further with their disputes,’ Li Shen explained.

Just as Li Shen was talking to the Mu Ying cultivator in front of him, he was startled by a loud, echoing voice from behind, from the direction of the mountain crater entrance.

A cultivator in a red and black robe came striding on the sky floor. It was the Gu Yang Sect.

He didn’t come alone, but rather with many people behind him. Li Shen could count them, the number was around 200-300 people.

"All the people of Mu Ying Sect, listen to my orders!" commanded the man, standing at the forefront with his cultivation level reaching Peak Nascent Soul.

"Surrender your Soul Essence to me immediately and join the Gu Yang Sect. If you refuse, then you will die!"