137: Return to the sect, discuss matters in the Elder Hall

A spatial fluctuation surged above the Imperial City of the Du Pang Dynasty, and subsequently, Real Person Zi Langya and the other two appeared out of thin air above the Imperial City.

Real Person Zi Langya's gaze swept across the entire city immediately. On the city walls, the Imperial Guards of the Du Pang Dynasty and the Disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect were clearing away the remaining corpses. Soldiers below the city towers were methodically carrying bricks and stones to repair the walls, while faint cheers could be heard from the direction of the imperial palace in the distance.

A gray figure flew over from the direction of the city towers; it was Elder Xuanqing. He had some bloodstains on him, evidently having just gone through a slaughter. Upon seeing Real Person Zi Langya, he quickly bowed and saluted: "Greetings, Peak Master!"

"How is the situation in the Imperial City?" Real Person Zi Langya asked directly, his gaze landing on Elder Xuanqing's face.

Elder Xuanqing quickly reported: "Reporting to the Peak Master, the main force of the Four Demonic Sects has retreated. Except for a few Nascent Soul monsters and Core Formation demonic Cultivators who escaped during the chaos, the rest of the demonic Cultivators have been executed. It is just that the few Nascent Soul Ancestors of the Dynasty have not yet appeared; I assume they have not yet received the news of the Imperial City's recovery."

"Well done." Real Person Zi Langya nodded: "Xuanqing, you take three Elders and fifty Disciples to stay behind and handle the aftermath. Set up a cordon along the way to ensure that if these Demonic Path scoundrels stage a comeback, you can notify the Sect immediately. The rest will return to the Flowing Cloud Sect with me to report this matter to the Sect Master and the Elders in the Hall of Elders."

"Yes, Peak Master!" Elder Xuanqing bowed to accept the order and turned to instruct the Disciples behind him.

"Yang Kai, Zi Ning, let's go." Real Person Zi Langya's voice came. At this moment, Zi Ning, overlooking the city, suddenly spotted two familiar figures. Her eyes lit up, and she steered her Flying Sword straight down into the city.

Yang Kai looked in the direction Zi Ning had left. It turned out to be Meng Yun and his maternal grandfather, King Tang, in the city. Yang Kai looked at Real Person Zi Langya for permission, and he nodded helplessly. He was still very doting on this daughter.

Seeing Real Person Zi Langya nod, Yang Kai quickly caught up. Just as he steadied himself, he saw Meng Yun and King Tang standing there. Although Meng Yun had a few minor injuries, he could not hide his excitement. Upon seeing Yang Kai and the other, he immediately stepped forward: "Yang Kai! Zi Ning! It's great that you are okay! When we arrived at the Imperial City with the Elders of the Flowing Cloud Sect, we heard that you two had been abducted by people from the Demonic Sect, and we thought..."

"Thanks to Yang Kai, we were able to escape safely," Zi Ning said with a smile, then looked at King Tang, "Senior King Tang, is your body alright? I heard earlier that the fortress you were guarding was attacked by Cultivators from the Soul Sect..."

King Tang sighed, a trace of guilt appearing on his face: "At the time of the incident, I was taking Yun'er to practice techniques on a barren mountain outside the fortress. When we returned to the outside of the fortress, the demonic Cultivator had already used the one hundred thousand soldiers and civilians in the fortress as the living soul array eyes to set up a great array. That demonic Cultivator was at the Nascent Soul stage; I was powerless to contend with him and could only take Meng Yun to the Flowing Cloud Sect to seek help. On the way, we happened to meet Elder Xuanqing and his party. It is fortunate that Peak Master Zi was able to take action, otherwise, the soldiers and civilians of this town would likely not have survived."

Yang Kai finally understood the cause and effect. If King Tang had not reported the news in time, Elder Xuanqing would not have returned to the Flowing Cloud Sect to seek help. If Real Person Zi Langya had not taken action, it would have been as difficult as ascending to heaven to perfectly solve this great array without harming anyone. And if they had ignored it and bypassed it, they could only have watched helplessly as these one hundred thousand people perished. The Demonic Path truly had no bottom line; they were willing to go to such lengths just to delay time.

"It's getting late, we should return to the Sect." Real Person Zi Langya's voice came. Upon hearing this, Yang Kai and Zi Ning nodded. Meng Yun also walked over with an excited expression, then turned his head to look at his maternal grandfather. Looking at his somewhat aged face, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.

King Tang also cupped his hands in a salute: "Thank you, Peak Master Zi, for your help. I have nothing to repay you with, but if there are any commands in the future, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

Real Person Zi Langya nodded, said nothing more, and waved his hand to bring Yang Kai and the others into a light shield: "Let's go."

As the light shield flickered, their figures disappeared from the city tower. King Tang stood in place, looking in the direction where the light shield had disappeared, his eyes full of relief and melancholy.

When they reappeared, they had already landed at the mountain gate of the Flowing Cloud Sect. The Disciples on both sides of the mountain gate saw Real Person Zi Langya and quickly bowed and saluted. One Disciple stepped forward quickly: "Peak Master Zi, the Sect Master is already waiting in the Hall of Elders, saying there is an important matter to discuss."

"Understood." Real Person Zi Langya nodded and led Yang Kai toward the Hall of Elders, while Zi Ning and Meng Yun could only wait outside. If it were not for Yang Kai completing the Heavenly Foundation Establishment through his own strength, and his deep connection to this Demonic Path attack, he would not have been qualified to enter this Hall of Elders.

He led Yang Kai and Zi Ning into the Hall of Elders. The scene inside the hall was even more magnificent than Yang Kai had imagined. In the center above, there was a white jade chair, and around it were nine white jade chairs, corresponding to the nine Peaks of the Flowing Cloud Sect. At this moment, six Peak Masters were already sitting on the chairs, and there were more than ten white-haired Elders sitting on the periphery, the lowest level of aura among them being at the Void Refining Early Stage.

On the main seat sat a middle-aged Cultivator wearing a cyan Daoist robe, his face gentle yet naturally majestic; it was the Sect Master of the Flowing Cloud Sect, Qing Xuanzi. Seeing Yang Kai and the others behind Real Person Zi Langya, a trace of approval flashed in his eyes: "Peak Master Zi, you have worked hard, take your seat."

Real Person Zi Langya bowed to Qing Xuanzi, then pointed to the side of the Hall of Elders, signaling for Yang Kai to wait on the side. Qing Xuanzi saw Yang Kai but did not show any reaction, as if he had not seen him at all.

After Real Person Zi Langya was seated, Qing Xuanzi nodded slightly and turned his gaze to everyone in the hall: "Since Peak Master Zi has arrived, let us begin the discussion. First, Peak Master Zi will report on the situation in the Du Pang Dynasty. Previously, Xuanqing had already informed the Sect of the general situation via the Jade Slip, but there are still some details that need to be explained in front of everyone."

Real Person Zi Langya coughed lightly, attracting everyone's attention: "Reporting to the Sect Master, Peak Masters, and Elders, this surprise attack on the Du Pang Dynasty by the Four Demonic Sects was led by the former Demonic Sect Demonic Lord Mo Xuan, with the aim of rescuing the former Demonic Sect Chief Demonic Lord Qiu Xiangming, who is imprisoned by our Sect. In the battle of the Du Pang Imperial City, although our Sect successfully repelled the demonic Cultivators, the main force of the Four Demonic Sects remains intact. Mo Xuan has achieved a Breakthrough to the Demonic Emperor realm, and his strength is unfathomable. I suspect that the Four Demonic Sects will not easily let this matter rest, and we need to send more manpower to patrol the surroundings and search for the traces of these people."

Not only that, but Real Person Zi Langya also revealed everything about Mo Xuan abducting Yang Kai and the other, Yang Kai's Breakthrough to Heavenly Foundation Establishment, and Mo Xuan leaving behind a demonic sword. As his voice fell, a buzz of discussion immediately erupted in the hall.

"Mo Xuan has achieved a Breakthrough to the Demonic Emperor realm? This is troublesome!" an Elder frowned and said, "This Mo Xuan has already made a great name for himself over the years. When he was at the Void Refining Peak, he already had the strength to escape from the hands of a Body Integration Stage Cultivator. Now that he has achieved a Breakthrough to the Body Integration Stage, I fear he will be even more troublesome than the Huantian Demon Emperor of the past."

"Regarding the matter of Qiu Xiangming... back then, it was the Sect Master who insisted on keeping him in the Sect despite opposition, but now it has attracted the covetousness of a Demonic Emperor. In my opinion, it would be better to hand over Qiu Xiangming to eliminate future troubles," another Elder said.

"Absurd!" Celestial Yang Reverent suddenly slapped his chair and shouted angrily, "To hand him over just because of the threat of one Mo Xuan? If word gets out, where will the face of our Flowing Cloud Sect be?"

The hall immediately split into two factions: one advocating for handing over Qiu Xiangming to avoid risk, and the other advocating for resisting the pressure of the Demonic Path. Both sides argued without reaching a conclusion.

Yang Kai stood in the corner of the hall, silently observing the situation inside. He discovered that most of those advocating for handing over Qiu Xiangming were Cultivators wearing white Daoist robes, clearly people from the Piaomiao Peak. As for those advocating for resistance, besides the Hongwu Peak of Celestial Yang Reverent, there were also Elders from the Ji Shi Pavilion and the Punishment Hall, as well as the Qingyun Peak where Qing Xuanzi and Real Person Zi Langya were located. The Peak Masters and Elders of the other Peaks were mostly silent, clearly holding a wait-and-see attitude.