"Alright, I understand. Thank you for your kind words, Qinglian Dao Chief. I will keep them firmly in mind."
Chen Xiao said with sincerity.
Of course, remembering them was one thing, but acting on them was another.
"You had better. This is all I can teach you. If you encounter other situations, be sharp..."
As Qinglian Dao Chief was speaking, a Taoist nun in a robe suddenly ran over from a distance.
In an instant, the nun arrived before the two.
Her Taoist robe was clearly different from Qinglian Dao Chief's. She was panting heavily, her face etched with anxiety.
"Zhonglian, what has happened to make you so flustered? Where is your composure?"
Qinglian Dao Chief frowned, her voice laced with a scolding tone.
She felt that this nun named Zhonglian was showing weakness in front of Chen Xiao, bringing shame to the Tianlian Sect.
Chen Xiao's eyes, however, lit up. He thought to himself, so the disciples of the Tianlian Sect were also named after lotuses, just like the Lianhua Temple.
"Qinglian Dao Chief, something has happened! Something terrible has happened!"
Zhonglian ignored the Dao Chief's reprimand and spoke in a hurry.
"What exactly happened? Speak slowly!"
Seeing her disciple so agitated, Qinglian Dao Chief realized something was indeed wrong.
"It's the Tianxue Sect! The people from the Tianxue Sect are attacking! The disciples and several elders are confronting them at the entrance!"
Zhonglian said between gasps.
Before she could even finish speaking, Qinglian Dao Chief had already transformed into a streak of light, flying rapidly towards the sect's main gate.
Concurrently, on the plaza in front of the Tianlian Sect's mountain gate, two groups of people stood in a tense standoff, their swords drawn, the atmosphere extremely volatile and on the verge of eruption.
One side consisted entirely of Taoist nuns with delicate features, led by the six elders, the disciples of the Tianlian Sect.
The other side wore black and red robes, their faces grim. These were the characteristics of the Tianxue Sect disciples.
Because they used blood as a cultivation material, their appearances were thus affected.
In the center of the Tianxue Sect disciples, a fair-faced, beardless middle-aged man sat grandly on a palanquin.
This demonstrated his noble status: the Sect Master of the Tianxue Sect, Ximen Ao Xue.
"You wretched nuns, hurry and have your Dao Chief come out! Today, my Tianxue Sect will bloodbath your Tianlian Sect!"
At the forefront of the Tianxue Sect's formation, a one-eyed old man pointed at the opposite side and shouted.
This man was the Great Elder of the Tianxue Sect, Dong Cangtian.
"Hmph, old dog Dong, you think your Tianxue Sect is qualified to bloodbath our Tianlian Sect? You are not! I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Get out of our sect's mountain gate immediately, or the sword in my hand will be unsheathed today!"
From the Tianlian Sect's formation, a stout Taoist nun stepped forward, shouting back in defiance.
This nun was so robust that she didn't seem like a woman. Apart from lacking a beard, she resembled Zhang Fei.
"Hmph, Huolian, I see you're ungrateful. Half an incense stick from now, I will use your vital energy to refine my divine skill!"
Dong Cangtian roared.
Just then, a beautiful nun with a slightly delicate build stepped forward and asked softly, "Elder Dong, Sect Master Ximen, although the Tianxue Sect and the Tianlian Sect have had enmity for a long time, why are you so furious upon arriving today? This does not align with the cultivation tenet of 'Tai Shang Wang Qing' for our reclusive sects!"
Tai Shang Wang Qing was not a cultivation method of any particular sect, but the cultivation tenet of the entire Immortal Reclusive Realm.
They believed that only by severing the roots of emotion and expelling the seven emotions and six desires from the body could one achieve eternal life and ascend to immortality.
Of course, the idea was good, but reality was not so easy.
How many people could truly achieve Tai Shang Wang Qing completely?
If Ximen Ao Xue could achieve it, he would not be here today.
"Jiaolian, you little vixen, what have you Tianlian Sect disciples done? Don't you know yourselves?"
Dong Cangtian roared, as if they were a righteous army.
"What have we done? Please clarify, Elder Dong."
The beautiful Jiaolian asked in a gentle voice.
"Still playing dumb with me? This morning, the young sect master of my Tianxue Sect, Ximen Qiufeng, perished in Xuzhou. If your Tianlian Sect didn't do this, who else could it be!"
Dong Cangtian berated.
Ximen Ao Xue's face was filled with grief. After all, Ximen Qiufeng was his own son. The pain of losing his son had dealt him a significant blow, prompting him to mobilize the entire sect to crusade against the Tianlian Sect!
Upon hearing Dong Cangtian's words, the Tianlian Sect's formation erupted in whispers.
Clearly, the demise of the Tianxue Sect's young sect master had caused them considerable shock.
After all, their Tianlian Sect and the Tianxue Sect had been in conflict for hundreds of years, with mutual losses. However, the death of someone at the level of Young Sect Master Ximen Qiufeng was unprecedented.
"Hahahaha, Ximen Qiufeng is dead? That is truly gratifying!"
Huolian laughed heartily. For her, the death of her rival's young sect master was a cause for great satisfaction.
Jiaolian was much calmer. She explained, "Elder Dong, Sect Master Ximen, I can understand your grief at this moment, and I can also understand why you immediately suspected us. However, if it was us, we would admit it. But the truth is not so. This matter was not done by our Tianlian Sect, so you cannot cast this blame upon us."
Although Jiaolian appeared delicate, she was sharp and hidden, making her more troublesome for the opponents than Huolian.
"You say it wasn't you, so prove it!"
Dong Cangtian snorted angrily.
"You claim we did it, so you should be the one to provide evidence, not us!"
Jiaolian retorted.
"Heh, you sharp-tongued little girl. If I say you did it, then you did it. What need is there for evidence?"
Dong Cangtian's grim face was currently filled with arrogance.
"This is truly a case of 'wanting to impose guilt, yet finding no excuse.' Old dog Dong, stop barking nonsense here. Do you really think our Tianlian Sect fears you?"
Huolian roared, puffing out her chest, it was unclear whether it was muscle or something else!
"You group of wretched nuns, today I will let you witness the true strength of our Tianxue Sect. We haven't destroyed you all these years, do you really think we can't? We were merely playing with you!"
Saying this, Dong Cangtian drew his treasured saber. Blood-red light emanated from the blade, exuding a ferocious aura.
*Swish—*
At the same time, all the disciples of the Tianxue Sect drew their weapons!
"All of you, stand down!"
Just then, Ximen Ao Xue, who had been lazily sitting on the palanquin, suddenly said in a low voice, "My son is dead. The matter of revenge naturally falls to me to complete personally!"