The next morning, Qinghe and Wei Xiang woke up snuggled up to each other. After freshening up, Qinghe was summoned once again to the sect hall, and of course Wei Xiang tagged along.
In the sect hall, Qinghe made his greetings as usual and waited for the Elders and Sect Master to speak.
"Qing-er, we have something to inform you about. We want you to go in place of your senior brother to Lightning Sky Sect and represent our Heavenly Peak Sect. There, you'll meet up with the head disciples of the other major sects and set off on an assignment to kill a mad beast," the sect master Zhen YiLan got right to the point.
Qinghe blinked. That was a lot of information given at once, but it hardly fazed him. He was used to often going on demonic beast slaying expeditions. Demonic beasts were spiritual beasts that, for various reasons, had fallen to the dark path, their only goal to slaughter and absorb life energy in order to gain more power. The Behemoth from the hidden realm had been one such beast.
"Master, may I ask why I must go in Senior Brother's stead? He still needs all the experience he can get," Qinghe asked, finding it strange.
"This might be too risky for him. Unlike you and the other head disciples, Xian-er is still in the third realm. We will lose face if the other sects discover that our sect's head disciple cannot keep up with them, so we chose you instead. Do not worry, I've given him another task that is easier to complete. He won't be wasting any time," Zhen YiLan reassured.
Qinghe still felt uneasy at the open disparagement, but he couldn't refute that his senior brother was indeed lacking in cultivation, so he let it go for now. He'd just have to make sure that he quickly raised up Chen Xiande to be above reproach. But he still expressed his displeasure.
"Master, since Senior Brother is in my care now, I'd prefer you to let me handle his education from now on. Though I know whatever tasks you and the Elders came up with for him will be appropriate, I'd still prefer to take care of him myself."
Though Zhen YiLan was surprised, he still agreed readily, "If that's what Qing-er wishes, then your master will comply." Ah, he'd raised such a good child! For him to be so concerned over someone who had once bullied him so showed the true depth of his magnanimity!
Putting the matter aside for now, Qinghe began inquiring about the assignment. "Master, you said it was a mad beast, does that mean the beast is not demonic? And does it happen to be located in the Spirit Bewildering Forest by any chance?"
There was no other reason they would meet there if not for the beast being in the Lightning Sky Sect's territory, and the Spirit Bewildering Forest that was in their sect's premises was the most likely place since it was said to have many mysterious areas and unexplored places that were sealed off. Monsters, beasts, and treasures thus appeared randomly in the forest every now and then.
"Yes, it is as you say. Many cultivators have entered to deal with it and all failed, unable to even find the beast. But the beast itself has been heading out of the forest and killing the common folk. It does not seem to have turned demonic yet, but it very well may if left unchecked."
"What is its level, Master?" Qinghe asked.
Frowning, Zhen YiLan answered, "It was at early stage tenth realm at first, but seemed to have dropped to the middle of ninth realm due to prior injuries. It's still powerful though, which is why the sects have decided to send all the top disciples this time. The Sentinel Grandmaster also agreed to let Sentinel Wei help out in case of emergencies. This will be a good learning experience, and if there's any trouble, the Sentinel can take care of you. Does Sentinel Wei assent?"
It went unsaid what a disaster the sects would face if all their head disciples died at once. They must have great faith in Wei Xiang to entrust the responsibility for all their lives to him. Well, the faith was not unfounded. Not only was he at the peak of tenth realm and on the verge of becoming a demigod, he could also use the secret shadow technique of the higher order Sentinels and instantly transport them to safety in case of danger.
Everyone looked at Wei Xiang.
"I have no objections," he said easily.
And so it was decided.
Qinghe felt some excitement at undertaking an assignment together with Wei Xiang. It would've been even better had the others not been included, but oh well. It would be fun in its own way.
"Alright then, you can both depart as soon as possible to the Lightning Sky Sect and meet up with the others. Prioritize your safety before all else," the sect master instructed.
Qinghe nodded.
Within the hour, the two of them had prepared and headed to the transportation array. Wei Xiang just directly used his shadows to transport himself over, refusing Qinghe's offer to travel together by saying he did not want to 'spoil his lover too much'. Handing over his sect token for appraisal, a sullen Qinghe got permission to use the array and was quickly transported to the Lightning Sky Sect and met up with Wei Xiang.
The air on the other side of the array was dark and heavy with ominous portent. The sky was completely covered in thick grey clouds. Flashes of wide purple lightning lit up the sky and crackling thunder constantly rent the air.
Lightning Sky Sect specialized in alchemy and medicine. All these clouds and lightning were the result of tribulations that came about due to the constant creation of high-level pills, so the powerful lightning almost always struck within the sect grounds.
Thus, the reason for the sect's name.
Since none of this tribulation lightning was aimed at them, the newly arrived couple didn't have to worry about being randomly struck. They calmly made their way to the sect hall where the rest of the head disciples must be gathered.
The inside of the main building of the Lightning Sky Sect was like a whole another world compared to Heavenly Peak Sect.
The walls were a dark grey, the floor laid with glossy black wood. Large palm-sized night pearls, different from the ones the common folks used, were set into the walls, charged with spiritual energy and giving off a bright white light to alleviate the gloom. Smaller pearls that emitted saturated light in plum and purple colors were affixed to the walls and ceiling as decorations.
Legendary cauldrons in black, violet, and scarlet were displayed proudly at the entrance and in prominent positions throughout the inside on shielded podiums. The windows were constructed to be tall and narrow since there wasn't much light that could enter through them anyway. It looked like a tastefully furnished haunted mansion or the lair of a wealthy demonic cultivator who was too focused on style.
The two walked through the wide hallways and paths to finally reach the sect hall.
The hall was huge and its ceiling high. White, light yellow, and purple night pearls were placed in a large and neat decorative pattern on the ceiling, both providing ample light and being pleasing to the eyes. Rumors stated that the pattern was in actuality an incredibly complex and powerful array that was constructed specifically to defend the sect, made shortly after the sect's creation.
On the end opposite the entrance was a raised platform with an imposing desk piled high with pill recipes and scattered with herbs. Behind the desk sat the sect leader of the Lightning Sky Sect. He had a long and sleek silver beard, prominent eyebrows, and neatly combed hair. His face was set in strict lines, a severe light making his eyes glint like cold steel.
Qinghe bowed and offered his greetings and the sect master, being a man of few words, simply nodded to him and Wei Xiang.
Standing in front of the desk were three other people. One of them was Jing Shui, who looked pleased at seeing Qinghe, but didn't dare make a sound due to the sect master's imposing presence. They nodded to each other silently in greeting.
The other two people were disciples from Lightning Sky Sect – a tall woman and a shorter, younger teenager. The woman was the head disciple of Lightning Sky Sect and the sect master's future successor, Lei Zihua, who was just as silent and reticent as her master. As for the young man, Qinghe could only tell from his robes that he was a direct disciple of the sect head.
The respective disciples from Golden Sun Sect, Heavenly Peak Sect, and Lightning Sky Sect had arrived. The only one left was the Drifting Clouds Sect.
As for the Silver Moon Sect, their sect leaders had never had the practice of having direct disciples. The head disciple for the sect would be chosen at a later time and from among the Golden Sun Sect's direct disciples. The process itself was quite mysterious.
None of them spoke and waited in silence for the last member from the Drifting Clouds Sect to arrive. They could all more or less guess what was keeping him.
Just like how Heavenly Peak Sect's specialty was martial arts, Golden Sun Sect's was commerce, Silver Moon Sect's was formations, and Lightning Sky Sect's was alchemy, similarly, Drifting Clouds Sect's specialty was art. They imbued spiritual energy into their various art forms, specializing in using songs, music, dance, talismans, sculpted clay dolls etc. in their cultivation.
For example, the Drifting Clouds Sect's sect master's second disciple was in particular famous for the haunting melodies he could play on his flute—with special emphasis on the word 'haunting'. If he so intended, his music could attract the dead and undead nearby, making them easier to vanquish.
Regarding this sect's wide range of peculiar abilities, Qinghe had heard the twins say something advertisement-like akin to this:
"A haunted painting? Call the Drifting Clouds Sect, they will handle it.
"Cursed by strange riddles scrawled in even stranger places? Call the Drifting Clouds Sect, they will handle it.
"Strange music sounding hauntingly from cemeteries? Call the Drifting Clouds Sect's eldest disciple. It's probably the second disciple again, so his senior martial brother will drag him off like usual and handle it."
To this, Qinghe had no idea what to think.
This second disciple liked to pick the gloomiest spots in cemeteries and sat there playing his haunting music, scaring the nearby common folk into thinking there were ghostly apparitions haunting the cemetery. Then the Drifting Clouds Sect that specialized in music was called, and nine times out of ten, it turned out to be their own disciple.
By now this story had become quite famous. So whenever the Drifting Clouds Sect's head disciple was late or missing from an important assignment, it was normal to assume he was busy 'retrieving' his junior martial brother from yet another cemetery.
The poor guy sure had it hard, Qinghe sympathized.
Just as he was thinking this, someone entered the hall. It was a handsome young man with a warm smile on his face much like Qinghe, except his was genuine. His eyes radiated kindness and benevolence as well. His every move was prim and measured. The emblem above the hem of his white robes was indigo, just like all the other disciples in the main hall.
This was An YaLing, the head disciple of Drifting Clouds Sect.
In a gentle and cultured voice, he apologized, "Pardon me for my tardiness, it was unavoidable. One of my junior brothers needed my assistance."
'No need to say anymore' was written on the faces of all those present. They all knew exactly which junior brother had needed what kind of assistance. Such a patient and helpful person, he was truly pitiable—they all thought as they tsked in their hearts.
The sect leader spoke, "Now that you're all here, Zihua will lead you to the farthest we've been able to get near the beast. From the limited information we currently have, it seems to be some sort of a serpent. It used to be in the tenth realm, but has now dropped to ninth realm. It is also reported to have been severely wounded even before its existence came to our attention, so its strength must have thankfully decreased due to that. But don't get complacent. Treat it with the utmost caution."
All the disciples nodded.
"Then you can go. Sentinel, I'll trouble you to keep watch over them," the sect leader said.
"Yes," Wei Xiang replied simply.
With that, they left the main hall. The second they stepped outside, the boom and crash of thunder sounded again, having been muted inside the building before by sound dampening spells. Arcs of lightning crackled and raced across the clouds, covering the whole sky for mere instants at a time with its outbursts.
The group of six used a transportation array to directly reach the edge of the forest.
Before them laid the forest border. The meager light being filtered through thick foliage made the place look even darker than the cloud covered land outside. Flashes of light darted between the shadows and strange calls of unknown animals echoed out.
And thus, leaving behind the roar of thunder and a sky of lightning, they entered the Spirit Bewildering Forest.