The Sect Leader’s Daughter Awakened - Chapter 3

When Yun Sheng and the others returned to the mayor’s house, everything there was as usual.

This made all of them let out a breath of relief. Because of the massacre earlier, they could no longer be certain whether the defenses they had hastily set up during the day could still withstand those “walking corpses.” Now that they saw the mayor’s house was unharmed, they naturally felt greatly relieved.

However, once they entered, Yun Sheng and Liu Jing discovered that the mayor’s family, who had already been unable to hold out and had dozed off before, had long since woken up. At this moment, they were all gathered in the courtyard. And the people in the courtyard were not limited to the mayor’s family. There were also more than ten cultivators holding swords in their hands, their robes fluttering gracefully.

Judging from their uniform clothing, they should be disciples of the neighboring Tianxing Sect.

Clearly, Yun Sheng was not the only one who recognized the other party’s identity. One young disciple could not help muttering in a low voice, “What’s going on? Why are people from the Tianxing Sect here too? Don’t they know first come, first served?!” His tone was thick with dissatisfaction.

The Zhengyang Sect and the Tianxing Sect could be considered neighbors, but the relationship between the two was not exactly good. In the end, the reason could be summed up in two words: interests and benefits. As for why the Tianxing Sect’s disciples had appeared here, even without Liu Jing’s explanation, Yun Sheng could guess it.

She had probably guessed wrong earlier. Qili Town was most likely not within the Zhengyang Sect’s territory, but between the two sects. That was why the request for help had brought disciples from both sects.

Yun Sheng did not mind this. Or rather, after experiencing that “nightmare,” she no longer cared about such minor matters. Precisely because she did not care, Yun Sheng was not dissatisfied like the fellow disciples behind her. Instead, she looked at the group before her with a calm, appraising attitude.

And with that one look, her gaze was drawn to one person…

That person wore blue-and-white robes, with a string of Bodhi prayer beads tied at her waist. Her belt fluttered in the wind, and her long sleeves carried an elegant grace. Though she wore the same disciple uniform as the fellow disciples beside her, her figure was tall and upright, crisp and graceful like green bamboo. Just by standing there, she gave off a sense of being outstanding and unlike the rest. Not to mention, her black hair was like ink and her side profile was exquisite. Before one even saw her full face, one already felt stunned by her beauty.

Seeming to notice Yun Sheng’s gaze lingering on her, the person tilted her head slightly and looked over. The already stunning side profile was completed at once, breathtaking enough to make one’s breath catch.

But immediately afterward, Yun Sheng quickly withdrew her stunned gaze, while her heart pounded wildly.

Although she had indeed felt amazed, it was of course not because she had fallen in love at first sight. It was because she had met the other person’s eyes. Those pitch-black eyes were not as clear and bright as she had expected. Instead, they were steeped in a deep, heavy darkness. One look made it feel as though she had fallen into an abyss, inexplicably giving rise to a faint sense of dread.

Yun Sheng was startled. But after withdrawing her gaze, she felt something was not right. How could a righteous-path disciple have such terrifying eyes? Besides, they had no grudges or enmity between them. Could she have seen wrong?

Thinking this, Yun Sheng secretly looked over again, but by then the other person had already withdrawn her gaze.

Yun Sheng looked at that person’s exquisite side profile, and two parts of regret unconsciously rose in her heart. Without thinking much, she tugged at Liu Jing’s sleeve beside her and asked quietly, “Senior Sister, do you know the person leading them?”

Liu Jing pulled her sleeve back and ignored her, but she answered Yun Sheng’s question in another way. She stepped forward, performed a greeting between peers, then said, “I am Liu Jing of the Zhengyang Sect. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Xi Wei. We accepted the commission regarding Qili Town during the day and have already made arrangements in town. May I ask why you have interfered?”

The cultivation world had many rules. For matters like mortals seeking help, people generally paid attention to the order of arrival. After all, mortals could not pay much reward, and there was no profit to fight over, so ordinary people would not compete for it. Since the Tianxing Sect had arrived late, they should reasonably step back.

Before Xi Wei could speak, a disciple behind her sneered and said, “We accepted a mission and came here. Though we were late, we had originally planned to leave. But who told you people from the Zhengyang Sect to be so useless? Not only did you fail to resolve the gray mist, you even allowed evil beings to run rampant through the town and kill people. Now the mayor has asked for help again and commissioned us to eliminate the demons. Since you don’t have the ability, you should go home earlier.”

Those words were truly offensive. The mayor could not afford to offend anyone, so he immediately shrank his head and did not dare make a sound.

Of course, the people of the Zhengyang Sect had no need to argue with a mere mortal like him. They immediately began arguing with the people of the Tianxing Sect instead. The two sects had never had a good relationship to begin with, and as they argued, their anger flared. They nearly started fighting at the slightest disagreement.

However, these were only the reactions of the lower-ranking disciples. The few leaders, on the other hand, did not make any moves.

Liu Jing was already past fifty now and had long since lost much of the impulsiveness of youth. Instead, she was steady and reliable. Xi Wei coldly watched from the sidelines as though none of it had anything to do with her, and she had no intention of intervening either.

As for Yun Sheng…

Yun Sheng’s entire attention had already been drawn away by Xi Wei’s identity. At this moment, how could she still care about the disciples’ little dispute? Instead, the gaze with which she looked at Xi Wei carried quite a bit of pity.

Xi Wei, the eldest disciple of the Tianxing Sect, and the person everyone tacitly accepted as the next sect leader. Of course, she was worthy of everyone’s expectations. Born with a natural Dao body and extraordinary talent, she had reached Foundation Establishment three years after beginning cultivation and formed her Golden Core in ten. By now, she already had the cultivation of a half-step Nascent Soul, on par with Liu Jing. But Liu Jing, who was likewise the sect leader’s disciple, was at least twenty years older than Xi Wei. The difference in their talent was plain to see.

Xi Wei was undoubtedly a proud daughter of heaven. No one doubted her future achievements. But Yun Sheng, who had just woken from the “nightmare,” had seen a completely different, unexpected ending for her.

Her Golden Core shattered, her sect expelling her, and a heaven’s chosen prodigy dying halfway through her path.

The dispute between the young disciples had no real meaning. Xi Wei did not intend to manage it, but Liu Jing could not allow matters to escalate. What was more, Qili Town’s trouble had yet to be resolved. No one knew when the evil beings hidden in the gray mist would come out to harm people again. Wasting time arguing with others was undoubtedly unwise. In the end, the two sides reconciled and decided to deal with the evil beings in town together.

Seeing this, the mayor was naturally delighted. After thanking them profusely, he took in the two injured and unconscious Zhengyang Sect disciples.

This was not entirely without benefit to him. At the very least, adding another layer of defensive barrier would better ensure the safety of his entire family.

After temporarily resolving the internal conflict, Liu Jing did not hide anything. After recounting what they had encountered earlier, she also explained her plan for what came next.

The Tianxing Sect people were not pleasant, but they were not incapable of listening to reason either. At once, they did not refute Liu Jing’s plan. Several disciples all cast their gazes toward Xi Wei. Only then did Xi Wei speak. Her voice was like pearls falling onto a jade plate, cool and pleasant to the ear. “There is no need to look at me. Decide for yourselves.”

Clearly, Xi Wei had also come to lead the team. It was just that compared to Liu Jing’s thoughtfulness and protection, Xi Wei had no intention of interfering with the young disciples’ training.

If someone could clearly see the emotions hidden beneath her lowered lashes at this moment, perhaps they would discover that not only was there no protectiveness in those dark, heavy eyes, there were even three parts killing intent hidden within them. However, even if someone saw it, they would not know that all of that killing intent was aimed at her own fellow disciples.

The Tianxing Sect people neither saw it nor would they have imagined it. So after discussing among themselves, they said to the Zhengyang Sect disciples, “Since we are here to subdue demons and eliminate evil, we also need to contribute our share. How about this? We’ll use the center as the boundary. We’ll go drive them in from the north, and you go from the south. We’ll do our best to gather the evil beings in town together, then exterminate them all at once.”

The other side had the confidence to say this because even if Xi Wei did not act, there was still another Golden Core cultivator among the Tianxing Sect group. Aside from that, the rest of their disciples were at least at Foundation Establishment. Their overall strength was a notch higher than the Zhengyang Sect’s.

Hearing this, Liu Jing did not object. The Zhengyang Sect disciples naturally tacitly agreed as well, and the two sides parted ways there.

After they separated, Yun Sheng subconsciously turned back for a look and saw the group of Tianxing Sect disciples hurriedly blend into the gray mist. She did not know whether they had left too quickly, or whether Xi Wei, who was not participating in the training, had already left the group, but when she looked over, she did not see that striking figure.

When Yun Sheng withdrew her gaze, she still felt three parts regret and two parts hesitation.

For a proud daughter of heaven like Xi Wei to fall just like that was truly a pity. Yun Sheng felt somewhat impulsive and wanted to remind her to avoid disaster. But they had no friendship, and Yun Sheng had no proof of the future. If she simply ran over and said all kinds of things to her, who would believe her?

…

Yun Sheng left with her heart full of thoughts.

Xi Wei hid within the gray mist and also withdrew the gaze she had placed on the other woman.

The string of Bodhi prayer beads at her waist had been burning hot all along. Others might think it was being provoked by the sinister evil within the gray mist, but in truth, only she herself knew that it was the Buddhist nature of the Bodhi prayer beads suppressing her demonic nature.

Yes. Who could have imagined it? The dignified chief disciple of the righteous-path Tianxing Sect already had demonic nature so strong it was spilling outward, and she had to rely on a Buddhist magical treasure to suppress it!

This string of Bodhi prayer beads had been given to her by the Buddhist Son many years ago. In her previous life, she had never used it. But in this life, it was all thanks to it that she had not exposed her demonic nature inside the Tianxing Sect and been slapped with the crime of colluding with the demonic path the moment she returned.

Although, if this crime were placed on her now, it could not really be considered unjust. After all, she was someone who had already “fallen” into the demonic path once!

Xi Wei slowly raised her eyes. Her pitch-black, ink-dark gaze was extremely cold, filled with undisguised killing intent. This time, she did not look again at that strange female cultivator from the Zhengyang Sect. Instead, she turned her gaze in the direction where the Tianxing Sect disciples had left…

People who were already known to betray her might as well be eliminated in advance!