Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1331: Chapter 858: The Greater the Secret, the Greater the Danger (Part 2)

”My master died over a hundred years ago; even if you still hold a grudge, you should let it go!”

”If that old man were still around, I would grind his bones to dust!”

These words from Yue E didn’t match her demeanor at all. For someone so high and mighty, beyond reproof, such vulgar words were unexpected.

Lin Daoyuan sneaked a glance at her, eyes filled with helplessness.

He held a special feeling for Yue E in his heart, not the affection between a man and a woman, but the bond between a master and a disciple.

Because Yue E almost became his master’s wife, she even was for a while.

Talking about it felt like a soap opera: an unreliable man flirted outside, accidentally getting entangled with a devoted woman.

The man patted his backside and went home, but the woman waited for him for decades.

Back then, this almost led to a war between the Illusion Moon Sect and Yu Xuanqing Sect. If it weren’t for his amorous master’s unexpected death, Yue E would have become the Xuanqing Sect’s number one enemy.

Of course, now Yue E harbored no goodwill toward the Xuanqing Sect, nor toward him, who was once called her disciple.

”I want to ask about the Yang family business!”

”The Yang family, did they offend you?” Yue E cast a cold glance at him.

”No, I’m just interested in the Yang family,” Lin Daoyuan said.

Yue E replied in a flat tone, ”The Yang family is an ally of the Illusion Moon Sect. You cannot touch the Yang family!”

”What sort of ally?” Lin Daoyuan asked.

”An ally more important than the Xuanqing Sect!” preached Yue E.

Lin Daoyuan gazed deeply into her eyes, as if trying to discern the truthfulness of Yue E’s words.

Of course, Yue E’s words were lies. The Three Sects of Lingxiu were originally one entity. Although there may be some conflict among them, they had common interests to safeguard and common enemies to face.

Therefore, the bonds within the Three Sects of Lingxiu were quite tight.

By comparison, the relationship between the Illusion Moon Sect and the Yang family was merely cooperation at best.

The Yang family supplied goods to the Illusion Moon Sect, who profited from selling them. Although there were interest connections, the Yang family was not indispensable to the Illusion Moon Sect.

As for Yang Zhenshan, the Guest Elder, it’s not to say that he’s unnecessary. Rather, a Guest Elder is just that—a guest.

Yue E’s eyes flashed slightly but she still said, ”The Yang family’s origins are very mysterious; to this day, we still don’t know where they came from!”

”Isn’t the Yang family just a small family?”

”Do you believe such deceitful words?”

”Indeed, not worth trusting!” contemplated Lin Daoyuan as he nodded slightly.

Over the years, the Illusion Moon Sect had investigated Yang Zhenshan but the more they investigated, the more they felt that what Yang Zhenshan initially said might be true.

Just ’In the Skies lie the White Jade City, with Twelve Floors and Five Towns’.

The reason was simple. The Yang family didn’t have many enterprises in the Sea of Spirit, yet the goods they produced were endless, countless.

Even to a point that the Illusion Moon Sect found hard to rival.

Hence, Yue E and Yue Qing had reason to believe that Yang Zhenshan’s mention of a White Jade City really existed.

”It seems the Yang family harbors many secrets; don’t you plan to delve into their secrets?” Lin Daoyuan asked.

”Why should we delve? There are many in this world with secrets—is it that the Xuanqing Sect holds none? Or that the Illusion Moon Sect holds none? Or even the Hidden Sword Mountain?” Yue E’s voice drifted through the cavern, laden with an elusive air.

”This is different!” Lin Daoyuan shook his head.

Yue E looked at him, her face, filled with aggression, held a trace of mockery.

”What’s different?”

”Their exhibited power is not yet enough to make me dread,” he replied.

Yue E smiled—a smile was stunningly beautiful. ”The larger the secret, the greater the danger it holds. I advise caution, lest you risk burying Xuanqing Sect’s three thousand years of heritage!”

Lin Daoyuan stared at her for a long while before speaking, ”I understand!”

He didn’t state what he understood; perhaps it wasn’t important. What mattered was he grasped Yue E’s stance.

...

The Xuanqing Sect was located in the northern part of Green Jade City, at the foot of Qingyun Peak, where three layers of jade steps hung like silver chains, reaching straight into the deep mists at the mountain top. At the very bottom was a two-zhang tall jade archway, supported by four dragon columns reaching into the sky; Luminous Pearls were embedded amidst the black patterns on the scales, their faint radiance making the entire mountain gate appear as if it floated amongst the clouds.

The plaque was suspended in the center of the archway, carved from a single block of Mystic Ice Jade; the three-foot square plaque was inscribed with the words ’Xuanqing Sect’, filled with gilded strokes, bold as if cut into an icy ledge, from afar it appeared as if fine snowflakes drifted from the strokes, the chill penetrating.

The couplet flanking the archway was made of Xuanji Patterned Cyan Jade Plates, the carved characters filled with red gold.

When the Genwu opens, it collects the cloud spirits of a thousand mountains into its Heavenly Abode.

When the Creation Light rises, it illuminates the Ninefold Gates revealing the true nature.

On either side of the archway squatted stone statues of blue birds grasping pearls, the mythical bird with a human body and wings spread as if prepared to fly.

The top of the archway was adorned with flowing cloud patterned eaves with twelve Jade Cranes standing proudly at the corners, each crane beak held a wind chime, tinkling clearly when the mountain wind passed, transmitting ten miles sounding like the celestial cranes crying in the sky.

On the nine-tier jade steps in front of the archway stood eighteen disciple guards, heads bowed, in moon-white robes with pale blue cloud patterns embroidered at their cuffs, and a Jade Pendant carved with the word ’Xuan’ hanging from their waists.

The two at the very top stood with their toes upon semi-transparent talisman arrays, whose patterns aligned with the dragon columns’ scales on the archway; this was the Xuanqing Sect’s Communication Array. Whenever anything abnormal appeared at the mountain gate, the guardian disciples could immediately pass the message to the summit’s Qingyun Hall.

In the Qingyun Hall, the Outer Sect Elder stands watch, and should any intruders arrive, the Guardian Elder could use the Communication Array to alert the twenty-four peaks and activate parts of the Mountain Protection Array to repel outsiders.

Today, the one watching over the gate was Qingyun Peak’s steward, Lu Yang. While Qingyun Peak belongs to the Outer Sect, it isn’t fully a part of it, being directly governed by the Inner Sect’s Heavenly Cloud Peak and a component of the Xuanqing Sect’s defense array.

Thus, Lu Yang wasn’t an Outer Sect steward, but an Inner Sect one, and the disciples under him were all Inner Sect Disciples.

In reality, gate-guarding was a monotonous task; they had to stand watch here for two hours every day, merely verifying the Tokens of those entering and exiting the gate.

As for external threats, the Xuanqing Sect hadn’t encountered any for a very long time.

”Aye, so boring!”

Lu Yang stood beneath the archway, eyes listlessly gazing at the drifting white clouds in the skies, observing how they resembled a person performing swordsmanship; except, of course, the sword looked a bit too thick. If it were thinner, it would resemble the Star Point Stab move from the Chasing the Stars and Moon sword style.

”What was the essence of Star Point Stab again? Ah, the sword tip hums, condensing a three-inch sword aura!”

Lu Yang silently recited the Star Point Stab sword move in his heart.

He was truly bored to the point of headache, so he resorted to rehearsing swordsmanship in his mind.

Just then, from the direction of Green Jade City, a wide path bore a crowd.

This crowd was unusual, each wielding a long spear and escorting six shackled men.

Behind them seemed to follow many people, flocking unendingly towards the mountain gate.

The noisy commotion interrupted Lu Yang’s boredom; he turned his head and caught a glimmer of inexplicable light in his eye.

”Has something interesting come?”

There was still quite a distance, yet he seemed to see a somewhat familiar figure.

”Be on guard!”

Lu Yang warned in a low voice.

The guarding disciples immediately perked up, staring vigilantly at the approaching crowd.

Having been bored for so long, they too desired some different excitement.

”Wang Shanhu, what’s happened to him to end up so pitiful, tsk tsk~”

Lu Yang, recognizing the person being escorted, marveled internally.

He wasn’t particularly familiar with Wang Shanhu, but they were not strangers either, having entered the Xuanqing Sect’s Outer Sect in the same group.

Wang Shanhu hailed from the Wang family, while Lu Yang was from the Lu family. Not the Lu family of Ancient County; rather, the Lu family within the Inner Sect of the Xuanqing Sect.

They held similar status, being branch descendants of Elder families, but Lu Yang remained consistently low-key, acting within bounds, never flaunting familial power to suppress fellow disciples, giving him a good reputation within the sect.

In contrast, Wang Shanhu was much more domineering, virtually a little tyrant during his time in the Outer Sect. Though his temper was more restrained in the Inner Sect, he still disregarded ordinary disciples.

If not protected by the Wang family, who knows how many times this fellow would have ended up in the Law Enforcement Hall.