...
Outside the Divine Rain Pond, Sixth Elder couldn't maintain his smile for much longer, because the news of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Fourth Heaven has spread.
"The Fourth Heaven?! How did that brat do it?" Sixth Elder wanted to add that Fang Zhengzhi couldn't possibly catch up to Chi Guyan despite having made it to the Fourth Heaven, but he could not blurt it out.
There was an unexplainable sense of panic writhing in his heart, which was forcing him to reassure himself over and over again that this brat couldn't possibly win Chi Guyan. Never!
Of course, the Heaven Dao disciples crowding around the Divine Rain Pond bore the same sentiments as Sixth Elder. The news of Fang Zhengzhi entering the Fourth Heaven was equally astonishing to them.
"He really entered the Fourth Heaven?"
"He's just one Heaven away from her!"
"Senior Chi Guyan is now at the Fifth Heaven …"
The various disciples exchanged glances, all noticing the same trepidation and disbelief in each other's eyes.
They were astounded and nervous, yet time was not passing slowly at all.
As time passed, the announcements from within the Divine Rain Pond increased as the Heaven Dao disciples entered the Third Heaven one by one. After hearing these announcements, the disciples spectating outside the Divine Rain Pond naturally felt proud of their seniors who successfully ascended to the Third Heaven.
But amidst their pride … everyone was silently waiting.
…..
Just as countless Heaven Dao disciples were waiting for news of Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan in the Divine Rain Pond anxiously, the Holy Region has long lost its former peace and tranquility.
Although the Holy Region has never achieved total peace before, the five sects had always maintained an untouchable baseline. And this baseline was broken … because the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing had been devoured by the Blood Offering Illustration in the Divine Rain Pond and entered the Heaven-Receiving Door, with no one knowing whether he was still alive.
With their sect leader in trouble, and worse still, inside the Heaven Dao Pavilion, how could the Nine Pinnacles Mountain end this matter without a sound?
The Nine Pinnacles Mountain was a magnificent peak towering over the southwestern area of the Holy Region, and was also a giant active volcano. Due to the drastic temperature differences between the summit and the foot of the mountain, it is shrouded by a thick layer of fog all year round. Yet this active volcano also boasted a natural barrier - gigantic boulders aligned according to the nine planetary positions, resting on nine enormous three-legged black crucibles. Nobody knew how old these crucibles were, but to the people of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, these nine black crucibles were born from the earth. And below these crucibles lay a natural plateau with a few hundred irregularly sized stone cottages built from black volcanic rocks.
This was the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.
And now, outside the five-meter tall stone cottage in the centre of the plateau, there were over a thousand Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples dressed in black robes. And inside the stone cottage, nine elders wearing identical black robes sat around a huge stone table, each wearing a stern expression.
"We don't know whether our leader is dead or alive, but we must take the Heaven-Receiving Gate back to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain no matter what!" A voice exclaimed.
"How? Just snatch it?" Another replied.
"So what if we do? Are we afraid of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"
"Please calm down, fellow elders!" A white-haired old man sitting at the head of the stone table suddenly chimed in, "Snatching … is not the best option!"
"What do you think, Great Elder?" After hearing the white-haired elder speak, the other elders turned their attention to him respectfully.
In the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, the Sect Leader Tian Xing was naturally regarded with the highest respect, and the next person below him would be the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Great Elder sitting at the head of the table.
"With our leader Tian Xing's safety still a mystery, this battle at the Heaven Dao Pavilion can be considered the greatest crisis in a hundred years for us!" Great Elder said slowly.
"We understand everything you say, Great Elder, but we can't sit here and do nothing, can we?"
"Precisely, if we don't act, the other sects would definitely think that the Nine Pinnacles Mountain is helpless, and we might be faced with an even greater crisis later!"
"Third Elder makes sense. Although we are in an extremely vulnerable position now, swallowing this humiliation is definitely not the best way out either. Furthermore, how can we answer to the disciples standing outside this door? How can we answer to our comrades who have died at the hands of the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"
The other elders chimed in one after another.
After a month, the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples have returned from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and news of Tian Xing's disappearance has long spread through the mountain.
Great Elder frowned. He naturally knew what the other elders were driving at. Tian Xing's whereabouts were unknown; they have yet to retrieve their Thousand Years Fire Herb; over ten of their own disciples perished tragically - they owed the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples an explanation for everything. But … how?
The Heaven Dao Pavilion was not weaker than the Nine Pinnacles Mountain in any way, and with Tian Xing in trouble, realistically speaking, they wouldn't be able to guarantee a victory with their current state even if they activate their entire sect. Furthermore, with the other three sects watching them very closely, if the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion sustain great losses in battle, the coexistence of the five sects in the Holy Region would come to an end.
"Indeed, we have to answer for this, but we don't have to barge up to the Heaven Dao Pavilion!" Great Elder finally spoke after thinking long and hard.
"Not the Heaven Dao Pavilion?"
"Does Great Elder want to find Chi Guyan? Or Fang Zhengzhi?"
Upon hearing this, the other elders began to understand his perspective. They knew that they couldn't possibly challenge the Heaven Dao Pavilion in their current state.
"With our current situation, who do all of you think we should find?" Great Elder did not give a direct reply, and instead posed a question back.
"We ..." The other elders swallowed their words and frowned helplessly. In their hearts, they were naturally more keen to look for Chi Guyan; after all, everything that happened was due to Chi Guyan robbing them of the Thousand Years Fire Herb.
But they also knew that involving Chi Guyan in this matter would inevitably pit them against the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and since Chi Guyan was now in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, courting trouble with Chi Guyan would be even harder.
"Our leader wouldn't have been ambushed successfully by Nangong Hao if he didn't intend to purge the Nine Pinnacles Mountain of future disasters, hence I believe that the cursed root of all these problems is still Fang Zhengzhi. Of course, besides Fan Zhengzhi, there's also the Nangong Nobles and Nangong Hao's younger brother, Nangong Mu!" Great Elder said very explicitly after noticing the other elders hesitating to speak.
"Yes, Great Elder is right. Killing Fang Zhengzhi would fulfil our leader's wishes. As for the Nangong Nobles and Nangong Mu, they can't run away either!"
"That's right!"
"If we kill Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu, and exterminate the Nangong Nobles, then there wouldn't be any more doubts in the hearts of the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples. I agree with this decision!"
The other elders nodded in agreement.
As the elders of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, how could they not notice the current situation that they were in? For them now, accumulating strength and reinstating their leader should be their ultimate priority. But now, they couldn't leave this matter unsettled either.
Hence, tracking down Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Mu, the two people directly involved in this matter who have yet to attain the Sage State, was naturally the best option available.
"Great Elder, I agree with your decision, but … I'm worried about one thing!" Someone uttered in a hesitant voice.
"Is Fifth Elder worried about the Heaven Prophecy?" Great Elder asked.
"Yes, the Heaven Prophecy fell upon both Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi at the same time. It wouldn't be a problem if it was just a mere coincidence, but what if it isn't?" Fifth Elder nodded.
"Fifth Elder makes sense. The Double Dragon Roll Champion would shock the world … Is the prophecy referring to these two?" Another elder expressed his doubt.
Great Elder frowned again, and did not retort immediately.
The other elders fell silent. After all, anything that involved the Heaven Prophecy and the Chosen One should be dealt with utmost seriousness.
"Chi Guyan bears the cursed bloodline; I'm sure everyone is aware of this. Fang Zhengzhi's strength may be formidable, but he has not shown any signs of having a gifted bloodline, and I heard he has contracted an illness and has less than three months left to live. I personally believe that there's minimally a 70% chance that this is all a coincidence!"
"Even if it really is a coincidence, Chi Guyan and Fan Zhengzhi seem to have a pretty close relationship. If she learns that Fang Zhengzhi is killed by us, she would definitely cause us much trouble in the future. This concerns the future of our Nine Pinnacles Mountain. We have to consider this more thoroughly …" Fifth Elder added.
"Hm, I understand what you mean!" Great Elder finally spoke again. "I've pondered over this before as well. Hence, we can't act alone!"
"What do you mean, Great Elder?"
"Actually, after receiving this piece of news from the Heaven Dao Pavilion, I've already sent someone to pass the message to the Yin Yang Hall. I've discussed this matter with the Hallmaster of the Yin Yang Hall, Dao Hun."
"And what was Dao Hun's reply?"
"Wan Lei was Dao Hun's most prized disciple. He was merely sent as an ambassador to spectate the match in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, yet met his tragic demise at the hands of Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi. How could Dao Hun not exact his revenge?"
"Does Great Elder mean that the Yin Yang Hall is willing to combine forces with us?"
"No, they've already acted on their own. Dao Hun has already sent two disciples in the Sage State to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. If my predictions are correct, both their envoy and ours should have reached the foot of Sword Peak!" Great Elder nodded slowly.
"Our people went as well?" Upon hearing this, the other elders expressed their shock.
"Yes, I've sent the three sages of Black Moon Island. They'll be redeeming themselves this time! With the three of them combining forces with the two disciples from the Yin Yang Hall, having five powerhouses in the Sage State ambush a lone Fang Zhengzhi who has not reached the Sage State should be a surefire win!" Great Elder nodded again.
"Great Elder has arranged everything very well. Sending the three sages of Black Moon Island to settle this is most appropriate. If anything happens and Chi Guyan charges up to us for trouble, we can claim that it was their own idea and had nothing to do with us!" The other elders began to understand Great Elder's intentions.
...
At the foot of Sword Peak at the Heaven Dao Pavilion, there were five wooden cottages lined up in a straight line. The place looked like a snow-covered otherworldly region high up in the mountains.
Yan Xiu, donning gorgeously inked robes, walked out of one of the cottages slowly and lifted his head up, gazing at the unforgiving cliffs in the clouds. His eyes were filled with anticipation.
"Today's the day he's entering the Divine Rain Pond. I wonder which Heaven has he and Chi Guyan reached already?" Yan Xiu mumbled softly to himself and proceeded to walk into the forests by the cottage as usual.