Volume 1, Chapter 215 – Hope Doomed to Disappointment

The Nether Moon Palace.

Unlike the gloomy, silent chamber where Mingquan resided, Mingyue’s palace was also decorated primarily in profound black.

Its elegant layout, however, softened some of the deathly stillness inherent to the Xuanming Sect.

At that moment, a beautiful woman in a red dress reclined on a soft couch beside the window.

She appeared to be around thirty. Her dark hair was swept into a high coiffure, adorned with a phoenix hairpin carved from white bone, and her features were alluring.

As her phoenix eyes shifted, they held a calm, keen insight into the ways of the world.

She was Mingyue, the Xuanming Sect’s other Deputy Sect Master.

At the middle stage of Mahayana, she oversaw the sect’s punishments. Meticulous and ruthless, she commanded tremendous prestige within the sect.

She idly turned a smooth jade pendant in her hand, seemingly lost in thought, a faint sorrow lingering between her brows.

Suddenly, her fingertips paused. She lifted her gaze toward the palace doors, a trace of surprise flashing through her phoenix eyes.

Mingquan?

What had brought him here?

“Come in.”

Mingyue’s cool voice rang out, and the palace doors slowly opened.

Mingquan stepped inside without the slightest hesitation.

He did his best to maintain a calm expression, but how could the trace of urgency and unease in his eyes escape Mingyue’s notice?

“Senior Brother Mingquan, has something happened?”

Mingyue set down the jade pendant and sat up straight. She looked at him calmly, her tone carrying its usual detachment and scrutiny.

Mingquan drew a deep breath, suppressing the panic in his heart.

He knew he could no longer keep this hidden. It would be better to reveal part of the truth himself.

“Junior Sister Mingyue, something has happened.”

Mingquan’s voice was hoarse, carrying just the right amount of gravity.

“Bloodfiend, whom I sent to Qingyang City on a mission, has had his soul lamp extinguished.”

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“Qingyang City? Bloodfiend?”

Mingyue’s brows drew together slightly as she swiftly searched her memory for the relevant information.

She had some impression of Bloodfiend, a disciple who had joined the sect many years ago and had been reasonably capable at handling affairs.

“What was he doing in Qingyang City? As far as I remember, the sect has had no missions there recently.”

Mingquan’s heart tightened. He knew the crucial part had arrived.

He allowed a trace of “regret” to appear on his face, then gritted his teeth and said:

“I sent him there privately. His target was… the Liu family.”

“The Liu family?”

Mingyue froze for a moment. Then, as though she had remembered something, her phoenix eyes narrowed sharply, and a cold glint flashed within them.

“The Liu family of Qingyang City? The family of that personal disciple of the Yaochi Empress?”

“Mingquan! Have you gone mad?!”

She sprang to her feet and glared at Mingquan across from her.

Although the aura around her did not erupt, the invisible pressure instantly caused the temperature in the palace to plummet.

“Junior Sister, calm down!”

Mingquan hurriedly spoke, forcing a bitter smile onto his face.

“How could I not know how serious this was? It’s just that…”

“My son died at the hands of Liu Ruyan in the Tianqiong Secret Realm all those years ago! This grudge is irreconcilable!”

“Some time ago, I heard that the Yaochi Empress seemed to have left the Southern Region, so I thought perhaps…”

“What utter foolishness!”

Mingyue cut him off sharply, her alluring face covered in frost.

“You can always have another son after losing one, but what you’ve done is utterly idiotic!”

She paced back and forth twice, her voice cold.

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“The Yaochi Empress is a genuine Immortal Ascension expert. She has also gained the recognition of the two Empresses of the Eastern and Northern Regions, and she has now become the faith of cultivators throughout the Southern Region.”

“Your actions will undoubtedly make our Xuanming Sect the enemy of the entire Southern Region!”

“I originally thought Bloodfiend could deal with it easily without leaving any traces…”

Mingquan attempted to defend himself, but his voice grew quieter and quieter.

“Without leaving any traces?”

Mingyue laughed in fury.

“Liu Ruyan is that person’s personal disciple. How could her family possibly lack a foundation of its own? Did you really think it would be that easy?”

“Do you take everyone else for fools?!”

Mingquan was rendered speechless by her scolding, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He had indeed underestimated the Liu family’s ability to respond, or perhaps he had underestimated how much the Yaochi Immortal Palace valued its disciples’ families.

“There’s no use talking about this now.”

Mingyue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her roiling anger and making herself calm down.

“Our most urgent task is to determine how to respond to the Yaochi Immortal Palace’s demands for an explanation and… preserve as much of the sect as possible!”

She looked at Mingquan, her eyes as sharp as blades.

“If this matter truly escalates, then prepare yourself to sacrifice yourself for the sect!”

The words struck Mingquan like a bucket of ice water, turning his face deathly pale in an instant.

“Junior Sister!”

Mingquan abruptly raised his head, his eyes filled with unwillingness and pleading.

“I…”

Mingyue stared at him, her words carrying unquestionable authority.

“This matter began because of you. Someone must take responsibility.”

“If the Sect Master or any of the ancestors learn of this, you should know what the consequences will be.”

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Looking at the undisguised coldness in Mingyue’s eyes, Mingquan was reminded of the Sect Master’s methods.

He opened and closed his mouth several times, but in the end, he lowered his head dejectedly, his voice dry and hoarse.

“…I… I understand.”

He turned unsteadily and walked toward the palace doors. His back seemed to hunch in an instant, as though he had aged several centuries all at once.

Watching Mingquan leave, Mingyue slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were calm and composed.

She raised her hand and swiftly sketched several profound runes in the air with her fingertip.

The runes flashed, then flew away in two different directions.

A moment later, the space inside the palace rippled.

Immediately afterward, two aged figures, one male and one female, appeared in the great hall almost simultaneously.

“Little Yue, has something happened?”

The old woman was the first to speak.

The two of them were the highest-ranking and most mysterious figures in the Xuanming Sect, the “Two Netherworld Elders.”

Both were at the Tribulation Transcendence realm. They spent most of the year in seclusion within the sect’s forbidden grounds and would not emerge unless the sect faced an existential crisis.

Mingyue bowed slightly to the two elders and recounted Mingquan’s affair once more.

“Mingquan truly dared to be so reckless?”

The old man’s brows furrowed tightly after hearing her account, his face filled with anger.

“For the sake of a private grudge, he actually dared to provoke the family of an Immortal Ascension expert’s disciple?”

The old woman also slowly shook her head, her voice hoarse.

“Utterly foolish. This matter is no longer his alone. It concerns the survival of the sect.”

Mingyue said in a low voice:

“I suspect that people from the Yaochi Immortal Palace are already on their way here.”

The old man pondered for a moment before slowly speaking:

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“There may still be room to salvage this.”

He looked at Mingyue, his gaze deep.

“First, insist that Mingquan and Bloodfiend acted privately and that the sect knew nothing about it.”

“Second, cripple Mingquan’s cultivation immediately. When the Yaochi Immortal Palace arrives, hand him over and let them deal with him as they see fit, to demonstrate our sincerity.”

“Third, prepare generous gifts, adopt a humble attitude, and take the initiative to apologize.”

The old woman added:

“The Yaochi Immortal Palace’s Empress is not present at the moment. The people in charge should be the Deputy Palace Master and that Grand Elder, Li Hanyi.”

“If the visitor is the Deputy Palace Master, there may still be room for negotiation.”

“But if it is that Grand Elder… I’m afraid…”

Mingyue’s heart tightened, and she nodded.

“I understand. But… what if they insist on implicating the entire sect?”

The two elders exchanged a glance, a fierce light flashing through their eyes.

“Then we’ll see where they draw the line.”

“If they truly intend to exterminate us to the last… hmph, our Heavenly Corpses are not mere decorations.”

The words were deliberately oblique, but Mingyue understood their meaning.

Taking the initiative to apologize and handing over the culprit would give the other side an explanation.

But if they truly intended to exterminate the entire sect over one person, then all that would remain would be a fight to the death.

“Go. Proceed according to the plan.”

The old man waved his hand, and his figure slowly vanished along with the old woman’s.

Mingyue drew a deep breath, and the last trace of hesitation disappeared from her eyes.

All she could do was pray that the visitor would be the Deputy Palace Master of the Yaochi Immortal Palace. Perhaps then, there would still be room for negotiation.