In front of Lin Tai Hunting Valley, cultivators appeared one after another. In just a short while, the vast open space was filled with people.
These were all cultivators who had entered Lin Tai Hunting Valley for training.
One month was not long, so the elders of the various clans stationed here had not left. After Lin Tai Hunting Valley closed, they all came forward to receive their disciples returning from training.
Some were joyful, while others were worried. Those who were joyful had naturally seen their disciples return safe and sound. Those who were worried were clans that could not find their disciples. Some clan elders even discovered that far fewer people had returned safely this time compared with previous years, and the casualty rate was extremely high.
Could it be that the environment of Lin Tai Hunting Valley had been especially dangerous this time?
A quarter of an hour later, the passage to Lin Tai Hunting Valley slowly closed, not to open again until three years later.
Emperor Chenghao and the elders of the various clans, who had presided over the opening of Lin Tai Hunting Valley, stood on high ground. Their gazes swept across the crowd, and they too noticed that the number of people who had returned from training was much lower than in previous years. Their hearts sank slightly.
When Emperor Chenghao saw Ning Yuzhou appear, holding a white jade pot and carrying a small fluffy rabbit in one hand, the tension in his heart eased, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Before that smile had faded, a loud shout suddenly rang out. “You are not cultivators of Dongling. Who are you?”
A figure shot into the sky, sweeping past as he charged straight toward the outside cultivators who had appeared before Lin Tai Hunting Valley.
Ning Yuzhou lifted his eyes and saw that the person attacking was an elder of the Ning clan, Ning Huayuan.
During this opening of Lin Tai Hunting Valley, Ning Huayuan had also come to oversee this place. He simply had not shown himself, remaining hidden in the shadows to guard it, so few people knew he had come.
Ning Huayuan was also the first to discover those outside cultivators.
Emperor Chenghao and the elders of the other clans reacted extremely quickly. They all leapt forward to help Ning Huayuan capture the outside cultivators.
These outside cultivators were easy to identify. Perhaps because Lin Tai Hunting Valley had suddenly closed, they had not had time to disguise themselves and had revealed their true faces. They looked especially unfamiliar, and their behaviour was unusual. Naturally, Ning Huayuan, whose divine sense had been covering the exit of Lin Tai Hunting Valley the entire time, discovered something wrong immediately and attacked without hesitation.
Sure enough, the moment Ning Huayuan acted, several guilty outside cultivators were flushed out. They immediately turned and fled toward Lin Tai Mountain.
Because of this sudden change, some commotion broke out. Everyone quickly moved aside, afraid of accidentally being dragged into the battle and losing their lives.
The Shadow Scaled Guards quickly protected Ning Yuzhou to one side.
Wen Mei happened to be near Ning Yuzhou. She was pushed aside with the crowd. Because her injuries had not fully healed, she could not dodge in time and looked somewhat dishevelled. Then she heard a mocking laugh from nearby.
She turned and saw Wen Xian not far away.
Wen Xian looked at her gloatingly, then her gaze swept over Ning Yuzhou, who was protected by the Shadow Scaled Guards. Suddenly, she realised Wen Qiao was not beside him and could not help being surprised. She looked around again, but still did not see Wen Qiao’s figure. Very quickly, she understood.
She must have unfortunately died in Lin Tai Hunting Valley.
Wen Qiao, who was assumed to have died in Lin Tai Hunting Valley, was rooted in the white jade pot. She shook her leaves and, while no one was paying attention to her, carefully released her divine sense to watch the battle over there. She discovered that the cultivators fighting Ning Huayuan and the others were all extremely unfamiliar. They were not Xu Jiuxiu and his two companions from before.
She then looked through the crowd but did not see Xu Jiuxiu and the other two. She did not know whether they had died in Lin Tai Hunting Valley or had taken the chance to slip away.
The cultivator fighting Ning Huayuan was quite strong. He was actually fighting him evenly.
That cultivator was a young man with a smiling baby face, making him look very likeable and younger than his actual age. But his attacks were not careless in the slightest. Not only could he receive Ning Huayuan’s moves, he could also hold him back.
The more everyone watched, the more shocked they became. One had to know that Ning Huayuan had been sent here to oversee the valley because his strength was not low. He had the cultivation of the Yuankong Realm, which already made him a top expert in Dongling. But the cultivator fighting him was truly too young. No one knew which outside force had raised such a genius disciple, or what his purpose was in coming to Dongling.
Thinking of this, the elders of the various clans became somewhat worried. They could only hope that these people’s arrival would not bring disaster to Dongling.
Emperor Chenghao and the others had already restrained the suspicious outside cultivators. They watched anxiously as Ning Huayuan fought the unfamiliar cultivator, wanting to help but unable to intervene.
Then a slightly dignified voice rang out. “Xingliu, stop!”
The baby-faced cultivator swept Ning Huayuan aside with one palm and swiftly retreated, falling back beside a young man in pale-blue brocade robes with extraordinary bearing. His smiling baby face looked unruly as he gazed down at everyone present. That disdainful look clearly did not place Dongling’s cultivators in his eyes at all.
In their eyes, these Dongling cultivators were indeed nothing impressive. Even if Ning Huayuan’s cultivation was not low, his age was there for all to see, already deciding the limits of his achievements on the path of cultivation.
Ning Huayuan withdrew his hand and sharply fixed his gaze on the two of them.
Only then did the others notice the man in blue brocade robes, and their hearts jolted. He stood there with an aura as deep as an abyss. If he had not spoken, they would not have noticed his presence at all.
Suddenly, they discovered that there was another person beside the extraordinary blue-robed man: the Third Prince, Ning Zhezou.
Everyone was startled, then confused. They did not know why Ning Zhezou was mixed in with these two outside cultivators.
Emperor Chenghao frowned slightly and called, “Zhezhou?”
Ning Zhezou stepped forward and respectfully said, “Father Emperor, Elder Yuan, please rest assured. These two bear no ill will toward Dongling.”
The blue-robed man nodded slightly toward Ning Huayuan and said calmly, “I am Yin Xingheng. This is my junior brother, Yin Xingliu.”
Yin Xingheng? Wasn’t that the disciple of Sacred Martial Hall that Feng Sanniang had mentioned?
In an instant, Ning Yuzhou, Wen Qiao, and the others all thought of Yin Xingheng’s purpose in coming to Dongling. It was precisely for that so-called Chosen One. Looking again at Ning Zhezou standing beside Yin Xingheng, they suddenly understood.
It seemed Ning Zhezou was the Chosen One Sacred Martial Hall had been searching for.
Wen Mei looked at Ning Zhezou with complicated emotions.
She had always known this fiancé of hers was outstanding, but she had not expected him to actually be the Chosen One. Although she did not know what this Chosen One truly meant, just hearing the words “chosen by heaven” suggested his origins were extraordinary. Otherwise, Sacred Martial Hall would not value him so highly.
Ning Huayuan’s sharp eyes looked at them, then shifted to the outside cultivators already subdued by Dongling cultivators. He slowly said, “Are these people also your companions?”
“No,” Yin Xingheng said. “We are not of the same path as them.”
Hearing this, Ning Huayuan’s expression eased slightly, and he said, “Since that is the case, Dongling will deal with them. Fellow Daoist Yin has no objections, I presume?”
Yin Xingheng smiled faintly and told them to do as they pleased, indicating that he would not interfere in Dongling’s affairs. One could even say the attitude he showed at this moment was extremely friendly; he did not rely on his high cultivation to act arrogantly.
However, this attitude made Ning Huayuan and the others’ hearts sink slightly. They knew something must have happened; otherwise, so many outside cultivators would not have been drawn here. Yin Xingheng’s attitude made them even more tense.
As if Yin Xingheng had not noticed their wariness, he smiled again and looked at Ning Huayuan and Emperor Chenghao. “May we speak somewhere private?”
Ning Huayuan said, “Naturally.”
Yin Xingheng turned to Ning Zhezou. “Young Master Ning, come along as well.”
Ning Zhezou’s expression was indifferent, and he nodded slightly.
After that, Ning Huayuan took Yin Xingheng, his junior brother, and Ning Zhezou away from the scene. Emperor Chenghao glanced at Ning Yuzhou in the crowd, then had people escort the captured outside cultivators and followed after them.
——
After they left, everyone present looked at one another.
From the bearing of the Yin senior and junior brothers, it was obvious their origins were extraordinary. But no one knew why they were looking for the Ning clan, what their purpose was, whether they had come specifically for the Ning clan, or for Dongling.
Although everyone was deeply puzzled, with Ning Huayuan present, and with the Yin brothers’ cultivation so high, no one dared openly investigate anything. They could only suppress their curiosity for now and first settle the disciples who had returned from training.
Wen Mei watched Ning Zhezou’s departing back until he disappeared from sight. Only then did she lower her eyes, concealing the thoughts within them.
Compared with Wen Mei, who had some guesses, Wen Xian was more impatient. She did not know what had happened to Ning Zhezou, but seeing how politely Yin Xingheng treated the Ning clan, she knew it had to be a good thing. Jealousy rose in her heart again.
The more outstanding Wen Mei’s fiancé was, the more jealous she became. So many outside cultivators had come to Lin Tai Hunting Valley this time; how had they failed to kill Wen Mei?
The four great clans of Dongling absent-mindedly counted their disciples while listening to their reports. When they learned from the surviving disciples that most of those who had fallen in Lin Tai Hunting Valley had died at the hands of outside cultivators, they were instantly furious.
For a time, all the clans that had lost many disciples were enraged at those outside cultivators. They hurried to find the Ning clan members who had taken the outsiders away, wanting to learn more and avenge their murdered disciples.
Wen Mei and Wen Xian saw the Wen clan members and quickly walked toward them.
Ning Yaozhu, standing in the crowd, was also somewhat panicked.
She did not know how Ning Zhezou had become involved with those two powerful Yin brothers, but she vaguely felt that Ning Zhezou was going to benefit again.
She hurriedly searched for her elder brother, Ning Pingzhou. But before she found him, she saw Ning Yuzhou not far away.
Ning Yuzhou held a white jade flowerpot in his hands. His appearance was still as warm and gentle as ever, but the eyes that looked over made her shiver for no reason. A chill rose from the bottom of her heart, making her hands and feet turn cold.
“Ah Jiu.”
Ning Yaozhu was flustered by Ning Yuzhou’s gaze. When she heard her brother’s voice, her heart immediately eased.
“Fifth Brother, what happened to you?” Ning Yaozhu rushed over.
Ning Pingzhou’s face was pale, his expression weary, and his aura unstable. Clearly, he had suffered serious injuries. He barely managed to support his reckless younger sister as she threw herself at him and said tiredly, “I’m fine. I was just injured a little.”
Tears gathered in Ning Yaozhu’s eyes. She tightly gripped her brother’s hand and only then felt somewhat safer.
Seeing that his sister’s expression was wrong, Ning Pingzhou asked in confusion, “Ah Jiu, what happened?”
Ning Yaozhu hesitated. She wanted to tell her brother about meeting Ning Yuzhou and his wife in the maze, as well as what one of her followers had done at the time. But before she could speak, from the corner of her eye, she saw Shadow Scaled Guards escorting a cultivator toward Ning Yuzhou. As that person passed by, he cried out to her, “Ninth Princess, save me!”
Ning Yaozhu trembled and stared at him in horror.
Ning Pingzhou looked at that cultivator and recognised him as a branch disciple of the Sun clan named Sun Hongmao. He was one of his sister’s followers and often trailed behind Ning Yaozhu, serving her attentively. His intentions were obvious.
That cry also drew the attention of the cultivators present. Everyone saw the scene and was somewhat stunned. But they recognised the Shadow Scaled Guards, the guards trained by the Ning clan.
Because they did not know what had happened, no one rashly did anything, lest they offend the Ning clan.
However, Sun Hongmao’s elder was somewhat anxious. He could not help stepping forward, stopping the Shadow Scaled Guards, and asking, “May I ask where you are taking Hongmao?”
The Shadow Scaled Guard said coldly, “While in Lin Tai Hunting Valley, Sun Hongmao colluded with the Ninth Princess to harm our Seventh Highness…”
“I didn’t!” Ning Yaozhu screamed. She pointed at Sun Hongmao. “I didn’t do anything! He acted on his own!”
The Shadow Scaled Guard did not refute her. He said, “Then Ninth Princess, please come with us as well.”
Ning Yaozhu’s throat tightened, and all her arguments stuck there. Panic rose again in her heart. Although she was jealous of Ning Yuzhou and at most wanted to see him suffer misfortune, she had never thought of killing him herself. Besides, Ning clan disciples were forbidden from killing each other. Violators would receive extremely harsh punishment. How would she dare?
At that time, Sun Hongmao had acted on his own. It had nothing to do with her.
The Shadow Scaled Guard remained unmoved and repeated, “Ninth Princess, please come with us.”
Ning Yaozhu was unwilling to go. She was afraid Ning Yuzhou would act against her. Her intuition told her that if she went, she would suffer great misfortune.
“Ah Jiu, I’ll go with you,” Ning Pingzhou said, holding his sister’s hand. He then looked toward Ning Yuzhou not far away. “Seventh Brother, I am Ah Jiu’s elder brother. You don’t mind if I come too, do you?”
Ning Yuzhou said mildly, “As you wish.”
With that, surrounded by the Shadow Scaled Guards, he turned and left, heading toward the campsite at the foot of Lin Tai Mountain.
The others watched Ning Yuzhou and his group leave. Combining what they had just heard, they more or less understood the cause and effect, and felt that Sun Hongmao and Ning Yaozhu were truly foolish beyond belief.
They clearly knew Ning Yuzhou’s position in Emperor Chenghao’s heart. The emperor had even specially assigned a unit of Shadow Scaled Guards to protect him. How could there still be someone stupid enough to harm him? If they had the ability to kill him inside the mystic realm, that would be one thing. As long as no one saw it, once he was dead, he was dead, and Emperor Chenghao would have no way to investigate.
But they clearly did not have that ability and allowed him to come out alive. Wasn’t that simply inviting disaster upon themselves?
The Sun clan elder looked at Sun Hongmao being taken away, his expression darkening slightly.
Sun Hongmao was only a branch disciple and was not valued. The only reason he had been able to enter Lin Tai Hunting Valley for training this time was because Ninth Princess Ning Yaozhu had given him a quota. That was also why Sun Hongmao clung to the Ninth Princess and willingly became her attendant.
The Sun clan had many branch disciples like Sun Hongmao and naturally would not care much about losing one. If he was gone, he was gone. The problem was whether the Ning clan would use this matter to make an issue of it. Especially Emperor Chenghao, who was famously doting toward that useless Seventh Prince. If he wanted justice for the Seventh Prince, who knew whether he would use the chance to act against the Sun clan?
Thinking of this, the Sun clan elder had the disciples who had returned from training properly settled, then hurried off to make arrangements, doing his best to minimise the losses.
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