Youth must be seized early; how can one remain forever young? Chapter Ninety-Six: The Massacre of an Entire Family

The crowd entered the mountain gate at a slow pace. The entire grounds were shrouded in gloom. A few servants, upon seeing Nie Fang and the others, rushed over at once, dropped to their knees, and broke into heart-wrenching sobs. In no time, the news that the men sent to the front had returned spread across the whole mountain.

Soon, people came one after another to an open clearing before the gate.

Crying never ceased. The servants and outer disciples knelt everywhere, bowing their heads again and again.

The cultivators who served as laborers on the mountain had been working there as usual. Because they had taken shelter inside the protective formation, they had survived this calamity.

But their families had no right to live within the formation. In Qin Feng’s vengeance, the people of an entire village were slaughtered to the last. Thus, in a single night, many servants became the sole surviving remnant of their clans, orphans all.

“Elder!” Xiao Feichen came flying in from afar. Reaching Nie Fang’s side, he fell to his knees at once, weeping as he cried, “I have failed the trust of the two elders!”

Seeing this, everyone felt a pang of grief.

Nie Fang hurried to help Xiao Feichen up and sighed. “There is no need for this, Feichen... Let us return to the Hall of Purity first.”

Then Nie Fang looked around, his gaze complicated as it fell upon the many servants and outer disciples still kneeling on the ground, his face full of shame.

As immortal masters, they bore the duty to protect their clans and shelter mortals. Mortals, in turn, placed unconditional trust in the immortal masters. Who would ever have imagined that the enmity of cultivators could lead to the innocent death of ordinary people?

Nie Fang paused, then raised his voice. “Such a deep hatred shall never be forgotten by the Azure Sun Sect! One day, we will bring those beasts back, flay their skin to make lamps, and draw out their marrow and bones! We will give everyone justice!”

His voice rang across the surroundings.

At once, the crowd bowed again in unison, and many wept bitterly.

Hearing these words, Bai Qingzhou suddenly shuddered all over, trembling from head to toe.

“Go! All disciples, come with me to the Hall of Purity!” Nie Fang ordered, then activated his magical artifact and rose into the sky.

The disciples hurried after him.

...

Hall of Purity.

The two elders sat in high seats. The many disciples stood in the great hall, with the five inner disciples at the very front.

Only the empty seat in the center above them looked especially desolate.

That was the seat of the sect master...

Nie Fang looked around and said slowly, “Feichen, tell us again exactly what happened that day.”

“Yes!” Xiao Feichen saluted with clasped fists, then recounted everything in full.

It turned out that only a month after Nie Fang and the others left the sect, just after the mortal world had celebrated the New Year, these three cultivators had appeared before the mountain gate. At first, they had tried to pose as visitors and enter the sect, but fortunately the gatekeeper Shi Zhichen was sharp-eyed and noticed something wrong. He quickly triggered the warning talisman, and the sect entered emergency alert.

When their scheme failed, the three immediately dropped all pretense and directly attacked the mountain-protecting formation with talismans and magical artifacts. But because of the warning, the remaining members of the Azure Sun Sect reacted swiftly as well. Under Xiao Feichen’s organization, everyone used their meager spiritual energy to repair the formation and sustain the great array.

Because there were only three attackers, and only one of them was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the assaults were not very frequent. Thus they held on for more than half a month. Just when the sect could no longer endure, a patrol squad from the Infinite Beginning Sect happened to pass by and discovered the anomaly at the Azure Sun Sect.

The patrol squad immediately came to help, but its captain’s cultivation was only at the middle Foundation Establishment stage, and he had no way of driving off the Foundation Establishment cultivator in the late stage on his own. In the end, he simply seized an opportunity and slipped secretly into the Azure Sun Sect’s mountain gate, joining the others in resisting the attack.

Seeing that two Foundation Establishment cultivators were defending the gate, the three concluded that they had no chance of breaking through. Yet to vent their fury, the Foundation Establishment cultivator surrounded the entire town, forbidding anyone to leave.

In the end, the three charged into the town and killed every last one of the more than eight thousand mortals there, men and women, old and young alike.

After finishing the massacre, they left without looking back.

“Several days later, after they were gone, we finally came out of the formation, went to the town, set up a rite of passage array, and cremated all the bodies together. We buried them all halfway up the mountain...” Xiao Feichen said slowly.

“Ah...” Nie Fang let out a heavy sigh, his expression miserable. In a weak voice, he said, “We...”

“Senior Brother!” Han Aoyu suddenly cut off Nie Fang and sent him a sharp private transmission. “The disciples are already dejected, and their hearts are in disarray! Since you are the sect master, you should not show yourself like this! You must lift your spirits if you are to lead us!”

Nie Fang was stunned by this. Meeting Han Aoyu’s resolute gaze, he could not help but look somewhat conflicted.

On the way back, Han Aoyu had already spoken to him about the position of sect master. He did not resist it. Li Yuyun had died unexpectedly, and that burden ought to have been carried by him in the first place, so he had not refused and agreed readily.

But at this moment, he still had not yet developed the mindset of a sect master; he had not truly grasped his own responsibility. Only after Han Aoyu’s stern rebuke awakened him did he finally think of this.

After a moment, he nodded firmly, then stood up straight and said loudly to the assembled disciples, “These three fiends are the lifelong enemies of my Azure Sun Sect! From now on, at any time and in any place, if we see them, we will kill them on sight! I will go to the Infinite Beginning Alliance to tell them of this matter, and from now on, the three of them will be wanted throughout every region under the alliance’s rule!”

Hearing Nie Fang’s thunderous voice, the disciples below slowly raised their heads as well.

“And there is more that I have not yet told you!” Nie Fang continued sharply. “The outcome of this war between the two alliances is our overwhelming victory! We not only avenged the sect master, we also uprooted the entire Mountain of Dragon and Tiger, even slaying their Golden Core ancestor on the spot! Moreover, we have gained new territory! We will take over all the lands of the Flying Serpent Cult next door, and the mortal population under our care will increase by more than four hundred thousand once again!”

The disciples looked up at Elder Nie, and their eyes gradually regained their light.

“This time, though our sect has suffered such a great calamity, we will surely get through it! I ask all of you not to lose heart! Cultivate diligently, and let us raise the Azure Sun Sect to new heights once more!”

With just a few concise words, Nie Fang swept away much of the gloom in everyone’s hearts.

“Yes!” the disciples answered with clasped fists.

“Oh, and one more thing!” Han Aoyu said, taking up the thread. “From now on, Elder Nie will be our new sect master! I believe that under Sect Master Nie’s leadership, we will surely rally ourselves and rise again!”

“Yes!” the crowd answered once more.

At this, everyone wore a look that said it was only right. After all, within the sect at present, no one was more suitable than Nie Fang to serve as sect master.

...

After discussing many matters in the Hall of Purity, everyone went together to the back mountain.

Working together, they buried the deceased Yu Ying in the graveyard on the back mountain. Then, led by Nie Fang, they all paid their respects before the grave.

“Daiba,” Nie Fang said softly after the ceremony.

“This disciple is here!” Daiba hurried forward from the rear.

“You will oversee ritual affairs and outer sect matters in general. Be sure to handle the funeral affairs for the new sect master and for Yu Ying this time beautifully! You must make sure Yuyun is sent off with all the dignity he deserves!”

“Yes! This disciple understands!” Daiba accepted the task.

“Oh, right,” Nie Fang said, pointing to Bai Qingzhou standing in the back. “And Qingzhou has already advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refinement. His inner disciple ceremony also needs to be prepared.”

Nie Fang’s words drew everyone’s attention to Bai Qingzhou.

At that moment, he was still pale, his lips bloodless, his whole person remaining in a dazed and foolish state.

“Junior Brother Bai...” Zhang Zhiyan beside him gently shook Bai Qingzhou and woke him.

Startled awake, Bai Qingzhou looked blankly around. Seeing that everyone was watching him, he could only force out a bitter smile.

“Very well. Everyone is tired. Go back and rest,” Nie Fang said softly.

With that, he and Han Aoyu leaped into the air and flew off.

Seeing this, everyone silently summoned their flying artifacts and headed back to their own courtyards.

Just as Bai Qingzhou was about to activate his own artifact and leave, Zhang Zhiyan caught hold of him. Her beautiful eyes fixed tightly on his face.

There was a fierce light in them.

Bai Qingzhou said miserably, “Senior Sister...”

At once, Ruan Xiuqi, Qin Yihan, and Chen Lin all gathered around, looking at Bai Qingzhou with concern.

“Junior Brother Bai, I know what you are thinking!” Zhang Zhiyan snapped at him.

Bai Qingzhou did not dare meet her gaze and looked away.

“I know it! You lied when you first entered the sect. Anyone could tell! It was only that the sect master did not wish to say more! During the investigations in those early years, I already learned that this Qin Feng was your childhood playmate!” Zhang Zhiyan said coldly.

Bai Qingzhou was stunned. Of course he remembered what she was referring to. When he had entered the sect, Li Yuyun had asked whether he knew Qin Feng’s appearance. At the time, he had evaded the question with vague answers, deliberately creating the impression that he was not very familiar with Qin Feng.

He had never imagined that his acting was so poor, and that the matter had already been seen through by everyone.

“This matter never concerned the sect master at all! Nor did it concern me! You are still a member of the Azure Sun Sect!” Zhang Zhiyan stared at Bai Qingzhou and said sharply, “But today is different! That Qin Feng has certainly fallen into the demonic path to be able to slaughter thousands of innocent mortals! You need not carry any more burden over such a person. If you see him again, you must kill him!”

Bai Qingzhou raised his head and looked at the several fellow disciples surrounding him, his heart a tangle of mixed emotions.

Their concern for him was so sincere.

After a while, he shook off Zhang Zhiyan’s hand and answered in a low voice, “I understand...”

Then he summoned his flying artifact and rose swiftly into the air.

He left behind a group of people exchanging looks.

Soon after, Bai Qingzhou, body and spirit both exhausted, returned to his courtyard.

Inside, Ji Nian was looking after Li Er.

Because of excessive grief, Li Er had already been lying in bed for several days.

All of his relatives had lived in that town, and in this calamity, they had all perished without exception.

Ji Nian’s family, however, was in Ning River Province, and had escaped disaster.

Bai Qingzhou let out a long sigh and walked slowly to the center of the courtyard. Looking up at the sky, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

At that moment, he suddenly wanted to drink very badly...