Zhu Pingniang had anticipated that on such an important day as the Chaoyun Sect's welcoming event, the Demon Sect would certainly take some action.
Yet she had not expected the first seat below the Demon Sect Leader to personally make a move, attempting to obliterate Beisang City to tear open a corner of the entire Chaoyun Mountain Protection Array.
Is this... full-scale war?!
Zhu Pingniang stared at the elderly figure hovering above Beisang City, her pupils constricted, face full of disbelief.
Qiankun Realm!
The third Qiankun Realm in Qing Province isn't the Pill Master who diligently cultivates every day at Chaoyun, but rather the Grand Elder of the Demon Sect!?
This is bad!!!
Something big is about to happen.
In the past, the Demon Sect and Chaoyun Sect had power nearly equal, both wary, with the Sect Leaders of both being great powers of Qiankun Realm, capable of moving mountains and seas and unleashing thunderous wrath.
Due to mutual apprehension, although disciples fought fiercely, there had never been an all-out conflict.
But now, the situation has completely changed.
The Demon Sect's Grand Elder has also broken through to Qiankun Realm!
The Demon Sect has two Qiankun Realm cultivators while Chaoyun only has the Sect Leader. This time... I fear it would lead to dramatic changes, Qing Province changing hands and upheaval.
Zhu Pingniang immediately crushed the Jade Talisman in her hand, trying to send a message to the Sect Leader.
"..."
The elderly man hovered above Beisang City, demonic Qi surging around him. He looked at the bustling town below and revealed a cruel smile.
He raised his hand and effortlessly crushed the message Zhu Pingniang had sent.
"Zhu Tongjun, you and I were once of the Taixu Realm, you should understand... all under Qiankun are ants." The elderly man showed a lewd smile, "I have never forgotten the grudge between us for a day."
Once a nemesis, now in his eyes, she was merely a slightly larger ant, immobilized with a mere method, unable even to self-destruct her Dao Heart.
"An Xin, I won't let you die." The elder gazed at the flamboyant Zhu Pingniang, "My time with you is long, once I destroy Beisang City first, I wish to see... without a Array Hub, can Chaoyun still resist my Holy Sect's people."
"..." Zhu Pingniang's face turned pale.
Just the pressure from one realm higher let her experience the disparity.
The elder's talent, not to compare with the Pill Master, was even inferior to her, yet he was the third to step into Qiankun Realm.
When he broke through, why was there no celestial phenomenon?
Zhu Pingniang's eyelashes trembled, her scarlet ribbon blown by demonic Qi drifted ten yards afar, catching on bamboo branches.
Such is the cruelty of the cultivation realm.
At higher levels, the gap of one realm is earth-shaking.
The Chaoyun Sect Leader once achieved the largest sect in Qing Province leveraging absolute strength.
Her eyes were full of despair as she felt the breathtaking coercion akin to the heavens.
She no longer hoped to escape, only that the Sect Leader might swiftly abandon Chaoyun, if so... facing an old rival and the new Qiankun Realm Elder, there might still be a chance to leave Qing Province.
"...Hmph."
Demonic Qi rose from the elder's desiccated palm, a dark cloud unknowingly formed above, rumbling from afar.
At this instant, something broke.
The wind stirred.
In the heavens, a gale arose, surging from below to above, smoke and dust blurring the vision.
Centered at Beisang City, clouds gathered with the wind's thrust, brewing something.
Next door to Xu Chang'an, Gu Qiancheng opened his eyes and looked at his waist's bell, shaking uneasily.
In the city, cultivators and common folk alike were unaware of what happened, some with profound cultivation could vaguely see the black demonic Qi surging above like viscous liquid.
Qiankun is moving mountains and seas, unleashing thundering wrath.
"..."
At this moment, Xu Chang'an, making dumplings, suddenly heard a strange system prompt saying danger was approaching, and Celestial Dao Points granted him fifty thousand.
His hands dusted with flour, he looked out the window, and apart from the wind being a bit stronger, sensed no anomalies.
"Wind's rising?" Xu Chang'an said loudly, "Miss, close the door."
"Got it." Yun Qian, with a candied fruit in her mouth, went to the door feeling the wind on her face.
A sense of crisis should be moderated, if it greatly exceeds what her husband can manage... it's actually irrelevant, she won't overly interfere with matters beyond Xu Chang'an's handling capacity.
It's just, a city full of people, dying is dying, what does it concern her.
Yet.
There's one thing Yun Qian found displeasing.
Xu Chang'an was preparing dinner for her, how can anyone interrupt.
She stepped into the yard and glanced upward.
"..."
The once arrogant Demon Sect Elder suddenly died.
Casually died from heart fire, penetrating the top gate, fiercely attacking the viscera, scorching the limbs, pores, and hairline, reduced to ashes in an instant.
The wind continued to blow, bamboo leaves on the ground rolled with the wind, all around was serene, as if the Demon Sect Elder never existed in this world.
In the city, after suspicion, cultivators returned to their own affairs.
Zhu Pingniang was slightly stunned, discovering the wind had blown her ribbon away, casually tied her hair with a red string, returning to count expenses for the ladies, evidently... she had already forgotten the emergence of a third Qiankun Realm in Qing Province.
Cannot say forgotten.
How can one forget someone who never existed?
Yun Qian casually wiped away the other's existence, and it was indeed just casual.
Looking at the yard, she went over to put away the bamboo chair, struggling to carry the heavy object inside.
Face flushed, breathing laborious.
She's very weak, at least physically fragile, prone to illness, lacking strength, and it's genuinely not feigned.
"Ms. Yun!"
Hearing a voice beside the yard, Yun Qian looked over, seeing Gu Qiancheng perched on a tree waving at her, "Good evening."
"Good evening." Yun Qian nodded, then closed the door.
"..." Gu Qiancheng climbed down the tree, thinking about Yun Qian strenuously moving the chair earlier, grumbling discontentedly, "Even that small matter has to be done by sister, truly no good gentleman."
…
"The door's closed, I've also put away the chair." Yun Qian walked to the kitchen, looking at Xu Chang'an's back, as if inviting merit.
"How do you feel?" Xu Chang'an asked.
"A bit breathless."
"...Hmm."
Xu Chang'an turned to Yun Qian, gently sighed.
Despite good food and drink, why Yun Qian remains physically weak, he said, "I'll handle moving the chair."
"I do have things I can do too." Yun Qian blinked, "You make your dumplings, I'm hungry."
"Alright, alright, almost done."
Xu Chang'an glanced toward Gu Qiancheng, asking, "Miss, do you recognize the kid who moved here recently?"