He was an old man with a burly build, triangular eyes and a ferocious face. He was wielding the Soul Wood Sword to fight against the ghost cultivators of the Wanfa Sect. He was not at a disadvantage in the face of siege and several ghost cultivators were injured.
"Sword Demon Yan Sen?" Bu Shuihan recognized him.
Yan Sen was unlucky. He was bewitched by Duan Qingming to help Master Lu. Now that Duan Qingming has successfully escaped, he has been remembered by the entire cultivation world and has become the target of both the righteous and the evil. This person is violent by nature. When he found out that he was deceived, he would not be polite to the people of Wanfamen, which led to the siege. As a great cultivator of Dan Yijing, he was very powerful in the Soul Sword Flow and was not afraid of anyone. However, ghost cultivators do not focus on the physical body, but mainly refine the soul. With strong soul power, they are the nemesis of the Soul Sword Flow. Moreover, he has been fighting in Duyin for a long time, and his true energy is difficult to replenish, which is why he has not been able to win.
Everyone was surprised to see him, but Gu Pinglin whispered, "Tiancan Sect?"
There were actually two ugly and disabled sword cultivators in the team of ghost cultivators that surrounded Yan Sen. They were clearly disciples of the Tiancan Sect. The Tiancan Sect's moves were simple and direct, with few tricks, and were concealed by the ghost cultivators' magic, so no one noticed them at first glance.
"Sure enough, there are people from Tiancan Sect," Jiang Wu was surprised, "Are they going to kill Yan Sen?"
The cultivation world all said that the Tiancan Sect was brutal, and even the Sword Demon Yan Sen did not dare to provoke them. Gu Pinglin had another guess—Yan Sen and the old sick master Lian Yu probably had a grudge, but the cultivation world was too big, the Tiancan Sect had few people, and Yan Sen was too strong. He often went alone and his whereabouts were uncertain, and he deliberately avoided the Tiancan Sect, so Lian Yu did not issue a hunting order. Now that most of the cultivation world had fallen, Yan Sen was being hunted down. It was a rare opportunity, so Lian Yu would definitely take action. Yan Sen was forced to hide in the lonely Yin land, which might also be the reason. As for what the grudge between the two was, no one knew.
Wanfa Sect is the enemy, Yan Sen is not a good person either, and Tiancan Sect is caught in the middle. Everyone in Nanzhu is hesitant and doesn't know who to help.
Yan Sen and his men were also surprised to see someone coming. When they saw Duan Qingming, Yan Sen immediately cursed: "Fuck you, you little bastard, how dare you deceive your father!"
Several ghost cultivators were afraid and stopped their attacks. Only two Tiancan Sect disciples continued to attack. One of them warned in a hoarse voice: "Anyone who interferes will be against Tiancan Sect."
Yan Sen seemed unwilling to hurt them, so he only forced two of them to retreat, pointing at Duan Qingming and saying, "To be honest, I don't know what Duyindi is. I was tricked by this kid. Why are you looking for me instead of settling accounts with him?"
Duan Qingming was quite surprised, and then laughed: "Senior, you are too kind. How can I plan such a big thing? Your cultivation and knowledge are far superior to mine. How could you be easily deceived by me? Besides, I don't practice ghost way, what good can Duyin Land do to me?"
"This..." Being in Duyin Land, Yan Sen's strength was restricted, and he was feeling depressed. He was speechless when asked this question, and he became even more irritable. "Anyway, you have a share! Sect Leader Gu, you were there at the time, did you believe his lies?"
Gu Pinglin said: "Of course."
Yan Sen choked, rolled his eyes, and suddenly laughed twice: "I didn't know you two were so harmonious. It was not like this when you planned to kill him."
Everyone had different expressions when they heard the words, and they couldn't help but look at the two of them. Even the disciples of Tiancan Sect over there stopped what they were doing.
Duan Qingming looked at Gu Pinglin with a half-smile, and Gu Pinglin did not refute and looked calm.
Bu Shuihan immediately shouted, "Lingxin Sect is not your demon sect. There is no such thing as killing each other among fellow disciples. Moreover, Junior Brother Duan remembered everything. If this really happened, how could he still stand here without holding a grudge? You old demon, don't try to stir up trouble. We brothers won't fall for it!"
"Yes," Duan Qingming walked to Gu Pinglin's side, "We brothers have always been of the same mind."
Bu Shuihan felt more relieved after hearing this, and patted his shoulder and smiled: "Well said! We in Lingxin Sect are united, so how can we allow outsiders to sow discord among us?"
"What the hell is brotherhood? Don't I understand?" Yan Sen sneered.
Duan Qingming walked a few steps away, frowned and looked over his shoulder, and said in a gentle voice: "I almost made a big mistake because I couldn't disobey my father's order. Fortunately, I woke up in time and reported the news secretly. Fortunately, you Taoist friends were tolerant. As the ancient saying goes, he who knows the current situation is a hero. I advise you to stop at the brink of the cliff and repent in time, maybe there is still a way out."
Yan Sen is known as the Sword Demon, so how could he listen to advice: "Change your mother! Do you still want to trick me?"
"It is really sad that you, senior, are still stubborn and refuse to change your ways." Duan Qingming sighed.
Yan Sen snorted, and the Soul Wood Sword emitted a black aura, transforming into countless black swords, containing the power of Dan Yijing. No one expected that he would suddenly attack, and they only felt their souls turbulent, and they quickly dodged, calming their minds and strengthening their souls.
The loud laughter faded away, and when I looked again, there was no trace of Yan Sen!
It turned out that Yan Sen knew he was outnumbered and had no intention of continuing the fight. He was not a brainless reckless man. While talking, he secretly took two spirit ingots to replenish his inner energy and escaped unexpectedly.
The two Tiancan Sect disciples chased after them without saying a word, and those ghost cultivators quickly retreated.
"Chase?" Bu Shuihan wanted to kill.
"We can't stop him," Ren Ren tried to stop him, "In this lonely place, even Yan Sen could be exhausted to death by ghost cultivators. We are alone and weak, so it's better for us to avoid the Wanfa Gate for the time being and preserve our strength."
Bu Shuihan gave up the idea after hearing this: "Well, let them fight each other, it's none of our business."
"This is not a good thing," Jiang Wu shook his head. "Our whereabouts have been leaked, and Wanfamen will definitely take action. Master, you see..."
He was right. They had intended to take the enemy by surprise, but who knew they would run into this incident. Instead of saving any allies, they exposed their whereabouts.
Seeing that Gu Pinglin did not answer, Nanzhu said decisively: "It is not advisable to stay here for long. We must leave as soon as possible and meet up with Master Yu and the others as soon as possible. What do you think, Brother Gu?"
Duan Qingming walked back to Gu Pinglin's side and said with a smile, "I think Junior Brother Gu is worried that the old sick master will join forces with the Wanfa Sect."
Gu Pinglin finally nodded.
Today, the Wanfa Sect is the target of public criticism, and all sects and families hate it to the core. However, the Tiancan Sect is different. They have their own unique set of principles in their actions. They do not abide by the rules of the cultivation world and do not care about the consequences. Those disciples were a group of disabled people who suffered from exclusion and humiliation before they entered the sect. It is too harsh to ask them to save people and the cultivation world, but it will also be a headache if they cooperate with the Wanfa Sect.
Nanzhu's face changed color: "Not good! Mu Zhi is in Wanfamen..."
Gu Pinglin was not expecting Jun Muzhi and Zhou Yi to go to Wanfamen. It was not easy to get Tiancanmen to cooperate. Master Lu had to show his sincerity. In addition to helping to hunt down Yan Sen, he might even trade with Jun Muzhi and Zhou Yi. Gu Pinglin did not shirk his responsibility: "I told Laobing Zhenren their whereabouts."
Nanzhu had no intention of blaming him, she smiled bitterly and waved her hands: "You had no choice. If Wanfamen succeeds, no one will survive. I'm just worried about Muzhi."
"Jun Muzhi is controlled by the Wanfa Sect." Ji Qinnan beside him suddenly said.
She had been standing by and remained silent. Only then did everyone react. Bu Shuihan hurriedly asked, "What do you mean, Madam?"
Ji Qiniang said calmly, "Lord Pingcang passed away. When he came back to attend the farewell ceremony, he had already noticed something was wrong with Penglai and asked to see me."
As for what he was asking for, it was self-evident. Nanzhu's expression became more and more stern.
The Ji family caused chaos in Penglai, and Lord Pingcang died. The loving couple in the past have become separated. Duan Qingming considerately changed the subject: "Jun Lingshi is a smart man. As Madam said, he is suspicious of the Wanfa Sect, but he is still willing to stay there. He may indeed be controlled and it is difficult to escape. There is no point in worrying now. It is better to leave first. I will ask Jianwang Pavilion to inquire about the news."
Jiang Wu and others echoed: "That's right, let's leave this place first and think of a solution later."
Nanzhu was very grateful and bowed: "Thank you very much, Master."
Duan Qingming stopped him: "We are all friends, it's just a small favor, but we have to leave now..."
"Go to Guangling Sect." Gu Pinglin interrupted him.
"Good idea," Duan Qingming continued, "Lu Zhiren must have intercepted us on the way. I didn't expect us to go to Guangling Sect. After all, Guangling Sect has long been deserted."
Jiang Wu smiled: "It's really good."
Now that the decision has been made, Nanzhu will go back to arrange the action. Gu Pinglin said, "Master Duan and I will go ahead and check the situation. Senior Brother Ren, you and Master Nan will follow."
The hundreds of miles of bamboo sea in Guangling have become a dead sea. Large tracts of green bamboo have turned yellow and died, and some bamboos have turned charred black. The bamboo leaves are as sharp as blades. Only the flowing stone bridge and the palace lanterns in the corridor remain. The corridor is gloomy and empty, and occasionally black ghost spiders as big as fists will crawl under the eaves and on the railings.
The two walked side by side on the corridor, paying no attention to the unusual changes around them.
Duan Qingming said: "There are no signs of fighting, and no news of Guangling Sect disciples fleeing. Where do you think they went?"
Gu Pinglin said: "How would I know where they are?"
Duan Qingming said, "Look, there is no chaos in the Guangling Sect, and there are no dead souls. Even the windows are tightly closed. They must have been prepared and evacuated in an orderly manner. Their reaction was unexpectedly fast, leaving the Wanfa Sect no time to act. By analogy, perhaps the Feijian Palace and those sects that have disappeared are the same."
"That's just your guess."
"That's right. I got the news that day. No one took the rumors about Duyin Land seriously beforehand. They shouldn't have been so calm in dealing with the sudden change and the loss of spiritual energy."
"so?"
"So I used the Sword King Pavilion's information channels to inquire and learned another piece of news. About a month ago, after Zhou Qiu led his men to the Lingxin Sect, the Hanying Twin Swords actually returned to the Guangling Sect."
"What a coincidence."
"Yes, it's so coincidental that it makes people suspicious," Duan Qingming said, "And that Xiao Yujian, your little apprentice, he followed you to Wuyin Mountain, and you planned to return secretly, but he disappeared. Where did he go? And Wan Lai who stayed in the Wan family, you are not worried about him?"
"What do you want to say?"
"I can secretly leave a way out. Could it be that someone has already planned for the failure of the Heart Sword Sect? These big sects and families have not withdrawn from Duyin Land. Maybe they have other plans. What do you think?"
Gu Pinglin did not answer.
Duan Qingming said slowly: "Where are they? Maybe Master Lu will be interested in this news."
Gu Pinglin stopped and looked at him sideways.
"Sword King Pavilion has no worries about business," Duan Qingming also stopped, "Why, is Sect Leader Gu dissatisfied?"
Gu Pinglin turned around and continued walking forward: "You don't have to be like this. I didn't intend to hide it from you."
"I didn't intend to hide it from me," Duan Qingming said, "You don't even blush when you say something like that."
"Your thoughts are different from those of ordinary people. They are too dangerous. I have to be on guard."
"Being different from ordinary people means that I am a monster."
"People have feelings and concerns to a certain extent. If you don't even care about yourself, do you think you are a human being?"
"Let's talk about reason. Why are you scolding me on purpose?" Duan Qingming paused and said casually, "I have concerns. Isn't it you? Are you using me for justice? Are you trying to make me turn over a new leaf? Sect Leader Gu is upright and honest, and really seems like a good person."
"Let's talk about reason. Why scold me?" Gu Pinglin said, "You, Duan Qingming, are no longer the same as before."
"What happened then?"
Back then? The famous great sword cultivator was like a figure in a painting, admired by all cultivators in the world. Even if he just sat there, he could attract people to approach him, but he was not as vivid as he is now. Gu Pinglin paused for a moment and said, "He doesn't care about trivial matters. He laughs it off when he is scolded. He has the demeanor of a noble family."
"so what?"
"You may keep your virtue."
Duan Qingming laughed when he heard this: "You are good at bullying others."
"I will kindly remind you," Gu Pinglin said, "Just now when we passed through the bamboo forest, your newly changed cloak was scratched twice by the ghost bamboo, but it's not serious, I think you can still bear it."
Duan Qingming frowned slightly, then narrowed his eyes, held the jade slip across his chest to stop him, and said with a half-smile: "Gu Pinglin, Sect Leader Gu, Gu Xiaojiu."
"Duan Qingming, Pavilion Master Duan, Sixth Young Master Duan," Gu Pinglin looked at the jade slip and stretched out his hand to push it away, "Exploiting weaknesses is also something you are good at. I lied, so what? What can all these titles prove?"
The hand holding the jade slip did not move at all. Duan Qingming asked back, "You didn't refute it, so what did you prove?"
Their eyes met briefly, and they turned to look ahead at the same time, then slipped out of the corridor, stood behind the rockery, and disappeared.
Not long after, three people came out along the corridor.
It’s not really three, it should be two people supporting one person.