Journey to the head

In June of the 393rd year of Jiashen, Xiao Tianci and Li Da led more than 80 inner disciples back to Mianlong Mountain.

The group of people were covered in dust, their expressions were sad and a little angry. The disciples on duty were shocked and thought that something big must have happened.

Affected by their heavy emotions, the disciples on duty did not dare to ask more questions. Only after everyone entered did they ask each other in confusion.

"Um, have you seen Uncle Yang?"

"No. Hey, why isn't Senior Brother Tan here? Did he succeed in building his foundation?"

".Hiss, something big happened"

When they reached the disciples' quarters halfway up the mountain, Li Da asked everyone to disperse and rest.

"You can rest first, but before the sect announces the nature of the matter, everything that happened during this mission must be kept secret. Do not tell anyone who asks! Anyone who talks nonsense will be severely punished!" Li Da said seriously, "Junior Brother Xiao, let's go to see the head of the sect together."

Xiao Tianci nodded. The disciples all knew that the matter was of great importance, so they obeyed the order and left.

Li Da and Xiao Tianci continued to move forward. They learned from the disciples on duty that the master was taking a rest in his own courtyard, so they rushed straight over.

When Lu Qian received the message and learned that Li Da and Xiao Tianci were here to see him, he was shocked and his expression became serious.

"Quick pass!"

Li Da originally thought that after the past ten days or so, he had been able to successfully control his emotions and had barely digested the bad news.

But the moment he saw Lu Qian, grief, sorrow, and self-blame suddenly surged into his heart. Li Da fell to his knees with a plop, tears streaming down his face. Xiao Tianci also hugged his sword tightly, his expression sad.

"Master! Uncle Yang was killed in action, and Junior Brother Tan is missing!"

With a bang, Lu Qian stood up suddenly, swung his sleeves, and dropped the teacup on the table to the ground, breaking it into pieces.

"What did you say?!"

Li Da kowtowed heavily and repeated his words. At this moment, Lu Qian felt his eyes go dark, and he held on to the coffee table with one hand to stabilize his body.

He took a deep breath and felt that his own voice was so far away.

"Tell me the cause and effect quickly!"

A moment later, a bell rang seven times on the top of Mianlong Mountain, and the disciples hurriedly ran to various places. The disciples in the mountain looked up, full of surprise and doubt, because it was the bell of Yunshan Sect holding an emergency elders meeting.

When the bell rang seven times, the situation became urgent and even the elders who were in seclusion had to gather in the meeting room immediately.

Within a short time, all the elders and acting elders of Yunshan Sect had gathered. Even Jiang Qingfeng temporarily put away his blood-melting secret technique and came out to attend the meeting.

What surprised them was that Li Da and Xiao Tianci, who were not qualified to participate, were standing quietly in the meeting room, both of them looked sad. When they looked up, everyone's heart skipped a beat.

Lu Qian was sitting in a large shadow, his eyes closed, brows furrowed, his hands tightly gripping the armrests, veins exposed on the back of his hands.

Junior fellow apprentice Jiang Qingfeng was worried and was about to step forward when he heard Lu Qian speak very softly, as if he had used up all his strength to utter two words.

".Say it."

So Li Da choked up and told the story again, focusing on the key points.

".Master Yang activated the secret method of burning blood, rushed forward, and dragged the golden elixir in the carriage with his own strength. We were able to escape, but Master Yang..."

"Uncle Yang, he died!"

Jiang Qingfeng felt cold all over and tears welled up in her eyes. In a trance, she saw Zheng Duan kneeling on the ground and letting out a cry of grief.

Wang Yu's body trembled violently, and his sea of ​​consciousness, which had been calm and peaceful, suddenly turned upside down and shook violently!

The things that had long been suppressed and erased, those strange things called "warmth", were about to erupt like a volcano.

However, ninety-nine fine and strange talismans in his soul quietly appeared, and purple light flashed, and layer after layer of light fell on the sea of ​​consciousness, suppressing his soul. The surging emotions were forcibly suppressed bit by bit.

But the emotions this time were completely different from before. When he heard the word "sacrifice", the memories of decades of knowing and supporting Yang Jiye suddenly rushed into his heart, turning into a more surging torrent, rushing upward again!

The purple light of the ninety-nine mysterious soul talismans was even brighter. They were given by the Corpse Ancestor Ying Kou and passed down from the Immortal Emperor Corpse Tianjun. They had infinite power and unparalleled magic. How could we disobey them?
Wang Yu opened his eyes wide, and tears flashed in his dark pupils. He let out a silent, painful roar.

Yang Jiye. Senior Brother Yang!
The two forces collided with each other, and the surging emotions were once again suppressed by the Soul-Divine Talisman.

Wang Yu felt a tightness in his chest and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood!

But at the same time, the spiritual consciousness that was originally wrapped in the rhyme of Tao was penetrated, and its power was greatly reduced. The soul talisman covered with tiny cracks glowed a little dimmer, and the cracks on it also expanded a little.

Wang Yu vomited blood and staggered. Everyone exclaimed and wanted to come over to support him. Li Da also interrupted his story.

Wang Yu stood up straight, his expressionless face returning to normal. He gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, and said in a cold voice, "Then what? Where's Tan Yunxing?"

"We retreated in a hurry, not daring to delay. Junior Brother Tan remained silent and was very frightened." Li Da lowered his head and said, "On the night we passed Qingzhou, everyone was tired and exhausted, and the vigilance was not focused on the inside, and with the mountain gate in sight, we relaxed a little. Junior Brother Tan secretly left the team and never came back. We searched for two days but couldn't find any trace of him, so we had to come back to report."

Having said this, the hall was completely silent, and you could hear a pin drop.

Suddenly a roar was heard, and Lu Qian slapped the armrest of the seat hard, smashing it to pieces!
"Shameless coward! Despicable villain!" At this moment, all the grief for Yang Jiye's sacrifice turned into raging anger. Lu Qian roared, and his voice kept echoing in the hall.

"He encouraged his fellow disciples to take risks for him, and instigated his master to do unjust things, causing Senior Brother Yang to sacrifice his own life in exchange for everyone's chance of survival."

"But this boy! A scoundrel! A traitor! He is unwilling to take on even this responsibility. He is so shameless! So cowardly! So despicable!"

"I am so sad for Senior Brother Yang and the dozen or so disciples who were killed! It's not worth it!" Lu Qian's face twisted like a roaring lion, "Why didn't this evildoer die? Risking my life to protect him from building his foundation, what's the point? What's the use!"

A terrifying spiritual pressure filled the hall, and the sea-like divine consciousness rolled around like a tsunami. Everyone's breathing held still, and they were filled with fear.

No one had ever seen Lu Qian like this. The head of the sect, who had always been calm and composed, now threw away all his manners and self-restraint, wantonly venting his grief and anger.

No one dared to speak. Even Jiang Qingfeng just looked at Lu Qian with great concern, thinking that maybe it would be better for his junior brother to vent. He looked at him as if he had run out of energy and sat down in his seat, swaying.

For a moment, the only sound in the hall was Lu Qian's heavy breathing.

Wang Yu suddenly asked, "Tan Yunxing just left like that, leaving nothing behind?"

Unexpectedly, Li Da shook his head: "He left a letter on the back of the wind beast."

"Oh? What's written in it?" "Ha!" Lu Qian laughed sarcastically, "It's just one sentence. You can read it for yourself."

He threw out a piece of letter paper, Wang Yu took it, glanced at it, and handed it back.

Jiang Qingfeng unfolded the wrinkled piece of letter paper, which seemed to have been torn into pieces and pieced together again. There was indeed only a simple sentence on it.

"I don't want to be Yunshan's sinner. I want to be Yunshan's hero! Wait for me, I will definitely make meritorious deeds to atone for my sins! Tan Yunxing wept and bowed his head."

Wang Yu asked again: "No one else has read this letter, right?"

Li Da said hurriedly: "This is a serious matter, only Junior Brother Xiao and I have seen it."

Wang Yu nodded.

"Being a hero is such an insult to the word!" Lu Qian said angrily, "What does he think this is? Is it a child's play? If he comes back honestly and takes responsibility for his crime, I can still forgive him. Now, he is betraying his master!"

Wu Yan put down the letter with a complicated expression. She didn't know how to react to the outrageous behavior of her direct junior brother.

In the past, I felt that there was something wrong with my junior fellow student's mental state. He was eager for quick success, was eager for quick results, and longed for recognition. As a result, he occasionally behaved selfishly, but it was still within the scope of understanding.

How come this foundation-building journey has turned out like this?
"Hero, Senior Brother Tan is indeed a hero, but how can he, Tan Yunxing, call himself the descendant of a hero?" Lu Qian was still cursing, "He killed his teacher and fellow disciples, but he doesn't dare to take responsibility. He can just use a nice word as an excuse to escape with a clear conscience? Why don't I remember teaching him this!"

Wang Yu suddenly said, "Master, what's the point of you being so angry now? It's the fault of the father if the son is not well educated. Tan Yunxing has no father and has been taught by you since he was a child. Now he has become like this. You are responsible for a lot!"

"You are the one who has no way to teach and educate people. This is your fault!"

"Instead of getting angry for no reason, you should reflect on it."

Lu Qian's body shook, as these words hit him hard in the heart, leaving him speechless for a moment.

Jiang Qingfeng said anxiously in a low voice: "Senior Brother Wang!"

Lin Le's knowledge was working quickly, trying to change the subject: "Master, maybe it's not that bad. Junior Brother Tan disappeared in Qingzhou and left a letter asking for meritorious service to atone for his sins. Don't you know his plan?"

Zheng Duan let out a cry and couldn't help but shout, "Yunshan Ancestral Vein?!"

According to this inference, Tan Yunxing wanted to hide in Qingzhou in order to regain the Yunshan ancestral lineage, atone his sins with this glorious achievement, and then return to the Yunshan Sect?

After being scolded by Wang Yu, Lu Qian took a deep breath and finally sorted out his emotions, but he still couldn't help but snorted coldly: "I don't even dare to talk about recovering the ancestral vein now, but he will have wild ideas. This is just an excuse he made for himself, don't have any expectations!"

Lin Le shook his head: "The reason why our sect cannot recover the main vein is not because of lack of strength. In terms of strength, I believe we can already defeat Qingling Sect. But now our sect is a sect in Cangzhou. If we go north, it will trigger a conflict between the two states. By then, we will not only face Qingling Sect."

"Unless we are willing to give up our roots in Cangzhou and return to Qingzhou, of course this involves issues such as trust, which is also impossible, so I won't change the subject. However, if Junior Brother Tan is really willing, he can really lurk in Qingzhou as a casual cultivator, and maybe he can play a role in our great cause of restoration."

Lu Qian was extremely disappointed. He said in a cold voice, "You think too highly of him. What can a person who escaped overnight because of fear of punishment do? I've already said that this is just an excuse he made for himself. After a while, he will find another excuse to overturn this matter."

"He always finds reasons to reassure himself!"

Lin Le didn't say anything else. Wang Yu raised his eyebrows and asked, "So what will the master do next?"

"Of course we will label him a traitor and issue an order for his arrest," Lu Qian said coldly.

Wang Yu shook his head: "Master, I think this is inappropriate. If we put aside the fact that Tan Yunxing escaped, his crime is not that serious."

Everyone looked at Wang Yu with disbelief, but Wang Yu remained expressionless and continued speaking.

"He wants to build a foundation. Who doesn't want to build a foundation? Who won't work hard on their own path? He certainly has the right to ask Senior Brother Yang for help. There is no deception in this. Senior Brother Yang is the person in charge of this trip. He made unclear judgment and rashly agreed to his request. Of course, he must be responsible for his actions. Senior Brother Yang should bear most of the blame for the loss of his disciples."

"As for invading others without permission, what does that matter? Outside of our sect, there is nothing that cannot be taken, and no one that cannot be killed. I would rather let the world down with my own hands! I want to build my foundation, and anyone who stands in my way is naturally an enemy!"

"Both Senior Brother Yang and Xiao Tianci must bear leadership responsibility. Li Da's advice was not accepted, so he can be exempted from punishment. If Tan Yunxing had not done the stupid thing of absconding and had honestly come back to face trial, based on his own guilt, he would have been confined for a maximum of three to five years."

"After all, he has already established his foundation, so there is still time to use him."

Lu Qian was filled with anger, and he said angrily, "So if Senior Brother Wang was here, he would also support Tan Yunxing in building his foundation?"

Unexpectedly, Wang Yu simply shook his head and said, "I am only making this judgment from the perspective of my sect's laws. If I were at the scene, I would certainly not support him in building his foundation. It is not worth putting hundreds of Yunshan disciples in danger for his own path."

"So I say that Senior Brother Yang himself should bear most of the responsibility!"

Lu Qian was speechless for a moment, and suddenly remembered that over the years, when Wang Yu was the elder in charge of punishment, the disciples seemed to have many complaints and were very afraid of him. They often complained that Elder Wang was harsh and inhumane.

Now it seems that there are indeed some problems.

If we only look at it from the perspective of law, this is true. However, beyond the law, there are also human feelings and human hearts.

If this is not a consideration, why would Tan Yunxing run away? Isn't it because he is worried that people will gossip about him and he will be nailed to the pillar of shame from now on?

It seems that I will have to spend extra time in the future to have a good discussion with Brother Wang about this issue.

Alas, I don’t know if Senior Brother Wang can understand and accept it.

"Of course, if Tan Yunxing escapes now, the nature of the crime has changed. According to the sect rules, he can indeed be convicted of desertion." Wang Yu continued, "But even so, I don't recommend doing this."

"He is the second disciple of the headmaster, the direct descendant of the headmaster, and the lineage of the ancestor. If such a person betrays the master, how much negative impact will it bring to our sect if it is spread out?"

"Our faction is now in its golden period of development. We must not make a big fuss and launch a widespread wanted notice."

Lu Qian was awakened by Wang Yu and sighed. He was too angry and lost his mind.

Tan Yunxing has now escaped secretly. This matter can be a big deal or a small one. If he is really found to have betrayed his master, not only will the Yunshan Sect become a laughing stock, but he, as the sect leader, will also lose face.

"Send a message to Bai Ling of Quyang County to keep a close eye on Tan Yunxing's news from now on. Keep an eye on the Yunshan Ancestral Vein and pass on any news immediately." Lu Qian said, "As for Tan Yunxing, announce that he suddenly disappeared on his way back after successfully building his foundation. Tell the disciples who returned this time not to speculate or say too much."

Jiang Qingfeng suddenly interrupted: "What should I say about Senior Sister Zhang?"

Everyone fell silent, and the image of Zhang Lemei emerged in their minds.

"Tell her the truth of the whole thing." Lu Qian said in a deep voice, "Then tell her that I have given Tan Yunxing face and left him the possibility of returning to Yunshan Sect. If she makes a big fuss about this matter and makes it known to everyone, then Tan Yunxing will be convicted of the crime of fleeing and betraying his master, and will be wanted by our sect with all our strength from now on!"

"Let her decide for herself what's more important!" (End of this chapter)