Even though what had happened to Elder Geng's disciple was long past, Yuchi Bing Xia felt that this issue was much more pressing than taking care of their guests. They had to find out just what was going on. Had Ma Zhi Wu run into demonic cultivators? A demonic beast? Or maybe disciples from another sect had ganged up on him and killed him?
Everything was possible, making this even more infuriating. If they knew just who was responsible for this, they might find clues as to where they could look for him. But if they didn't … And even if he was dead, they wouldn't be able to bring his body back or seek revenge. It was maddening! It was a disgrace and one he wouldn't allow continuing.
He really wanted to get a team of disciples and maybe even involve the Elders and let everyone investigate this case until they found out exactly what had happened back then. Unfortunately, there were still the sects that needed to be taken care of and even though he didn't feel that they were important, they were on the Yun Zou Sect's territory and couldn't just be left alone. That would only invite more trouble.
Yuchi Bing Xia visited the other Elders in a sour mood and commanded everybody to send their head disciples to deal with the visitors. He only hesitated when it came to Grandmaster Zhangsun.
By now, the Grandmaster also had a disciple that could be of help in this situation. But asking the Grandmaster for his assistance with such a minor task … That did seem to be a bit of an overkill.
Furthermore, this person had the highest cultivation base in their sect. His disciple was also a rare genius with a divine constitution. Should that type of person really be used to humor a few people that had come uninvited? They weren't any special guest!
Actually, whether it was the first-tier sects the ranked below them or the first-tier sects ranking above them, none of them could pride themselves to have a similar disciple. In that regard, all of them could only look up to their Yun Zou Sect. They simply weren't worthy to take up the time of such a disciple.
Unfortunately, the Yun Zou Sect didn't have too many disciples that would be able to keep all these people busy. With somebody like Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple around, those Elders wouldn't dare to send one of their disciples to sniff around.
Yuchi Bing Xia paced up and down inside his study and finally cursed. Well, this wasn't an optimal situation but what could he do? He should just go and talk to the Grandmaster and see what he thought.
He left his palace and flew over to the Grandmaster's peak, walking to his study and greeting him with a wry smile. "Grandmaster Zhangsun."
Zhangsun Xun Yi looked up and raised his brows. "Did something happen?"
Yuchi Bing Xia nodded and stepped closer with a sigh. "Well, maybe saying something happened isn't too accurate either. I'm still in the same dilemma. All those sects have come over and we'll have to make sure that they don't sniff around too much. I was thinking of having some of our higher-ranking disciples pay attention to them but you also know how the situation is. What do you think? Would it be too much to have your disciple help out as well?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi furrowed his brows in response. "Well, his status is indeed a little high. But considering what you want to achieve … I think it would be a good idea."
Yuchi Bing Xia heaved a sigh of relief. Well, at the very least, the Grandmaster was of the same opinion as him.
Zhangsun Xun Yi watched his expression and couldn't help but smile. "Actually, making use of Qiu Ling might have some unforeseen benefits."
Yuchi Bing Xia raised his brows and sat down on the other side of the desk. "Additional benefits? How so?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi gave a rare smile in response. "Do you remember the Gathering of Practitioners back when my disciple appeared in front of the sect for the first time? Back then, didn't that Elder Gongxi from the Yang Huo Sect accuse him of being a demon?"
"Of course. Could I ever forget that? Elder Gongxi's disciple had to take his place and battle your Qiu Ling. He lost miserably and as far as I know the fight left a shadow in his heart, making him unable to further his cultivation since then. He is still at the same level as he was back then."
"Indeed, and Qiu Ling was less than happy about the whole incident as well. I could imagine that he is still bearing a grudge. Don't you think it might be interesting to have him be responsible for the Yang Huo Sect?"
Yuchi Bing Xia raised his brows but his eyes glinted. "Well, that does sound quite tempting."
Zhangsun Xun Yi nodded. "I think it might also prove helpful for driving them off. Elder Gongxi doesn't have a thick enough face to stay in the sect if he always has to see Qiu Ling. He might be able to take it for a day or two but he definitely won't be able to do so any longer.
"Actually, if you want to make even more sure that he's driven off, then you should probably tell Qiu Ling to take that Jing Yi boy with him. I think back then, Qiu Ling was already planning to propose to him from the beginning of the Gathering. He wasn't interested in the fights very much. So having that boy there with them and reminding him how Elder Gongxi almost ruined his proposal might prove even more successful."
Yuchi Bing Xia nodded only to suddenly come to a halt. "Wait. Weren't those two supposed to get the materials to repair our array? We took the materials from our own storage in the end, didn't we? Have they supplied the replacements yet?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi could only smile wryly. To be honest, he wasn't so sure what had happened either. But his disciple had gone out with Grandmaster Leng so he should have been helping that person. Compared to that, the matter of destroying their array wasn't too important and they had already repaired it anyway. "Well, I guess they haven't but let's not dwell on that. He was taking care of some tasks for me that concern the new realm. So he didn't really have time for anything else. Let's just concentrate on the issue at hand. I'll go and tell him and Jing Yi right now. The sooner they get to work, the better. The Yang Huo Sect is one of those we should get out as soon as possible. The others are somewhat easier to deal with."
Yuchi Bing Xia nodded and got up. "That is right. Then I'll go and instruct the other disciples."
Zhangsun Xun Yi nodded and the two of them left his palace together and then parted ways, one of them heading back to his own palace while the other went to the small bamboo hut where Qiu Ling and Jing Yi were currently cultivating together.