Xin Lan reached the gates of the Yun Zou Sect after only a few minutes. His gaze swept over the valley and the peaks with their houses and the mortals busying themselves and he frowned.
Where exactly was his master? He couldn't feel him from where he was right now. Had Qiu Ling lied to him after all? But no, that wasn't likely. The life of his beloved still depended on him and in contrast to his father Qiu Ling was serious about the person he loved. He wouldn't risk anything as long as his beloved was involved.
His master had to be here.
Xin Lan closed his eyes and extended his senses again. His presence swept over the Yun Zou Sect startling the disciples and elders into looking up. They couldn't see anyone though.
In just a few minutes, all the disciples had gathered on the plane in the middle of the outer sect. Most of their faces were already pale and quite a few had sweat running down their faces. Even the elders next to them looked slightly strained. Withstanding the power of a dragon as old and powerful as Xin Lan certainly wasn't easy. And that even now that he hadn't showcased all of his strength.
Sect Master Yuchi and Grandmaster Zhangsun were the only ones that still looked normal. They convened in between their peaks and soared up into the air to confront whoever had come to attack their Yun Zou Sect.
Yes, indeed, they both thought that somebody had come to attack them. After all, what other reason could there be for someone to release his presence like this in front of their gates? Well, they could probably count themselves lucky that this person hadn't attacked first and instead announced his arrival.
Yuchi Bing Xia looked around but couldn't spot anyone. He frowned. Shouldn't that person reveal himself if he came here like this? Well, he couldn't fathom the mind of someone who was even stronger than Grandmaster Zhangsun and he certainly couldn't be insolent in front of him or his Yun Zou Sect would cease to exist this very same day.
Ah, he could probably be happy that Yu Jin wasn't here right now. This way, whatever happened next, at least this disciple of his would survive.
Yuchi Bing Xia took a deep breath and addressed the empty air in front of them. "Senior, this one is the Yun Zou Sect's Sect Master Yuchi Bing Xia. May I ask what Senior intends to do here?"
Xin Lan didn't even take a look. He just continued to search for his master. The more time passed, the worse his expression got. He couldn't sense him! It was as if his master really wasn't there! How could that be?! Had Qiu Ling indeed lied to him?
That bastard! Did he really think he could get away with this?!
Clouds gathered in the sky over the Yun Zou Sect and the winds picked up, making the robes of all those humans gathered there flutter. Thunder crackled over their heads and soon enough the first lightning strike enveloped the sect grounds in eerie, pale light.
Yuchi Bing Xia gulped and turned to the man next to him. "Grandmaster … This is …"
Zhangsun Xun Yi frowned. "This has most likely to do with that person."
Yes, he had seen something like that once. Shortly after he took that person in, back when the Yun Zou Sect had still been the strongest sect of the righteous faction, quite a few of the evil sects had banded together and attacked them with all their might. In the face of such a large scale attack and without any prior warning or any help of their peers from the other righteous sects the Yun Zou Sect had been in dire straits that day.
In the end, that person had stepped forward. He rose into the air, his dark robe billowing in the wind he called forth, his golden eyes sparkling despite the storm clouds that gathered at his cue, his golden hair shimmering in the lightning that struck wherever he pointed. The screams of their enemies had been drowned out by the thunder.
It was a scene of utter destruction and evidence for the great power he held. Even with the heavy injuries he had suffered before, even when he himself said to be at the end of his tether he could single-handedly wipe out the joint forces of the evil sects.
Comparing what he had seen back then with what was happening right now he, unfortunately, had to say that the person who had come today wasn't any less strong than that person. There was no way they could resist him.
Yuchi Bing Xia inched closer and lowered his voice. "Could we … call him out to deal with this?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi shook his head. "No."
Maybe they could but he wouldn't let that happen. That man had saved their sect back then when they had been at the peak even though he was heavily injured. He had never said anything but it was obvious that his injuries had worsened because of that. Since then not much time had gone by. A couple hundred thousand years weren't enough to heal the type of injury that could hold a man like that down. He definitely wasn't in the condition to help them again.
And even if he would have been willing to risk it … Why should he? The Yun Zou Sect wasn't the same sect anymore. They declined year after year. Maybe this was the day that was supposed to mark the end of the Yun Zou Sect's time. Maybe it had been destined like that. There was no resisting it any longer.
Their time had come.
He wanted to rise higher into the air to meet this person who had dared to attack them and to at least give their disciples some time to flee but just then something changed above them.
The clouds churned and something twisted inside them. Zhangsun Xun Yi only saw a row of glittering scales when a deafening roar sounded, shocking all of them to the core. They stared at the dark clouds in horror. This wasn't anything a human could do. This was the roar of a dragon from the legends. Why would something like this have come to their sect?
Just when they prepared to face this legendary creature's wrath the chaos above them suddenly stopped and silence returned to the sky above the Yun Zou Sect.
The disciples could only gape in astonishment, unable to understand what had just happened. Only Yuchi Bing Xia and Zhangsun Xun Yi knew that what had saved them was a calm voice sounding from somewhere inside the sect grounds. Just a few words had been enough to end the madness in front of them. That person really was too formidable.