With less than a week before the arrival of the forces of the Devil Isle, Fan Yuqing had called Ye Jing, Xiaofang, Xuan Danfeng, Feng Minyue and Gong Nanyan for a discussion.
Fan Yuqing was startled when she saw Xiaofang's golden eyes had turned gray. "What happens to you? Don't tell me that you are practicing the same cultivation art as Ye Jing?"
Xiaofang began to look awkward while Ye Jing was giggling.
Fan Yuqing frowned, "Show me your cultivation method? I am so curious what you are cultivating?"
Xiaofang was startled as he looked at Ye Jing who nodded lightly. Slowly, he took out a bamboo slip that he had copied…
Fan Yuqing snatched it immediately as soon as Xiaofang took it out. After she took a glance at it, the first thing that she said was, "Xiaofang, is this your handwriting? Why is it so horrible? It is such a strain to read…"
Ye Jing laughed softly as she clenched her belly, "I told you so Xiaofang…"
Fan Yuqing was suddenly cursed softly, "This Emotion Divinity is too crazy. No wonder, your Ye Jing isn't interested in you. This is an ancient cultivation method that isn't suitable in this new age." Then she threw it back to Xiaofang.
Ye Jing: …
Xiaofang smiled awkwardly as he took back his cultivation slip while Fan Yuqing had her attention on everyone now, "Good, you have all arrived. As you all know, we have a few days of respite before the arrival of the dark celestial clans. There are reports of heavy fighting in the mountains. That was mainly conducted by the righteous celestial clans that are within the domain of the Ancient Ascension Sect. As of now these celestial clans are actually retreating to the Unmoving Mountains. Therefore the final battle will be at the Unmoving Mountains. All the defensive arrays have already been set up except for the Hundred Celestials Killing Array…"
She stole a glance at the sheepish Ye Jing before continuing, "If the dark celestial clans dare to mount an attack, it won't be easy. Unless of course someone conveniently dismantles all the defensive arrays here."
Ye Jing immediately said weakly, "Even if I want to, I can't absorb any more array cores for a long time. Moreover, you can't combine two array cores into one…"
Fan Yuqing smiled coldly, "That is because the array core of the Hundred Celestials Killing Array is superior to the other array cores. That is why there won't be any effect. Eh, you are even thinking of combining two array cores into one?"
Ye Jing chuckled softy as her eyes looked sheepish at everyone, "I dare not."
Xuan Danfeng was shaking her legs and polishing her nails while saying, "Sister Jing, you better not do anything funny or else your dear sister here will get a terrible headache from everyone. The lives of tens of thousands of my protégés as well as my allied clans are at stake here."
Ye Jing lowered her eyes as she muttered softly, "With all my saintess sisters watching me, I dare not make any funny move."
Then she looked up and smiled, "So what is the plan?"
Fan Yuqing, Xuan Danfeng and Feng Minyue were all looking at Ye Jing…
Finally Fan Yuqing said, "So what does your heavenly decree says about this whole affair? Any new instructions?"
Ye Jing shook her head, "Nothing yet. I have been checking every day."
Fan Yuqing nodded quietly before she said, "I need to go out for a few days so you have better behave yourself."
Ye Jing frowned lightly, "Where are you going alone?"
Feng Minyue smiled, "Not alone. We are going together."
Ye Jing smiled wryly, "Take me along too. I am quite bored here."
It was Fan Yuqing turn to frown softly, "It isn't easy to smuggle you inside. It was easy when there were so many people that are coming into the Ancient Ascension Sect. Now you want to leave? Then who shall smuggle you inside again?"
Ye Jing giggled softly, "Do you think that these defensive arrays and celestial experts here are enough to keep me rein in? I have already gone out several times with Sister Nanyan."
Xuan Danfeng looked at Gong Nanyan and Ye Jing, "You what?!"
Gong Nanyan lowered her glances in guilt and she did not dare to look at her protégé mistress…
Even Xiaofang was startled. No wonder there were some nights that he could not find Gong Nanyan and Ye Jing…
Ye Jing smiled, "The Ancient Ascension Sect is so large, occupying thirty peaks of the Unmoving Mountains. Naturally I have to get myself familiar with the terrain just in case a fight were to break out later. Am I right?"
Fan Yuqing slowly said, "Now I rather you follow me. It seems that it is not a good idea to let you stay here after all. Nothing can cage you in."
Ye Jing nodded with an alluring smile, "With Sister Yuqing keeping watch over me, it is way much more safer. So where are we going and what for?"
Fan Yuqing was suddenly quiet.
This caught everyone by surprise…
Finally she said indifferently, "We are going to save someone."
Ye Jing was puzzled, "Who are we saving? I didn't know that you still have a friend outside?"
Fan Yuqing hummed coldly, "We are not exactly friends. You know her too. She is Beitang Ying."
Ye Jing gasped with a startled expression, "Isn't she dead already?"
Even Xiaofang was startled, "I thought that you have killed her?"
Xuan Danfeng was also startled as she stopped polishing her nails, "Isn't Beitang Ying the new successor to the Scarlet Heretic Sect? But I had thought that shortly after she had succeeded as sect leader, you had destroyed her entire sect? I thought that you had killed her? Why are you helping her then?"
Gong Nanyan gasped all of a sudden. This startled everyone and everyone began to look at her…
She looked panicky as she said, "I've thought that it is the Golden Mask Devil Goddess that has massacred the Scarlet Heretic Sect? Are you saying that Saintess Yuqing is the Devil Goddess herself?"
Fan Yuqing frowned lightly as she hid one side of her face with her palm, "Now we have one more person that knows my identity…"
Xiaofang quickly said, "You can trust Nanyan. She won't tell anyone."
Xuan Danfeng looked a little sheepish, "Hey, don't look at me like this. I just have a slip of tongue. It isn't intentionally."
Gong Nanyan was trembling lightly as she looked at Fan Yuqing, "You…are you really the Devil Goddess who terrorized the entire Nine Celestial Fraternity two centuries ago?"
Fan Yuqing nodded lightly, "This is a secret, alright?"
Gong Nanyan nodded feebly. Over the past few days, everyone had been discussing the duel that was between Saintess Yuqing and Saintess Huiyin. Even though she could not go out but she had also heard gossips of the duel when she was prowling the premises. The Saintess Yuqing was said to be only 240 years. When she was the Devil Goddess, how old was she? She simply could not believe that a person that was so young could actually have the ability to turn the entire fraternity upside down…
Ye Jing asked curiously as she looked at Fan Yuqing, "You still haven't told us why didn't Beitang Ying die and why are you rescuing her? She is in danger? Aren't the two of you supposed to be mortal enemies?"
Fan Yuqing said in a casual manner, "At first, I had really killed her with my own hands. But when I saw her chastity mark, I changed my mind and had revived her. I did kill the rest though."
Ye Jing was startled, "She still has her chastity mark? She didn't practice the evil dual cultivation arts?"
Fan Yuqing shook her head, "She is only pretending. She hates the degrading dual cultivation in secret but in front of her brother, she dares not voice her objection. As a matter of fact, she had no love for her sect. She even hates her brother for turning her into a dark celestial and ruining her cultivation potential as a golden celestial. She didn't want to be a dark supremacy at all…"
Then she said, "That's not important anymore. I've sent her on a mission to persuade Duan Yizong the protégé leader of the Thousands Fragments Sect to surrender to us. But there is no news from her till now. Therefore I think that Duan Yizong has thrown in his lot with the Devil Isle."
Ye Jing smiled weakly, "I saw Duan Yizong before. He seems to like Beitang Ying. Since it is only a persuasion, surely her life won't be in any danger?"
Fan Yuqing smiled coldly, "If she can't persuade him then she has to assassinate him. With his death then the dark celestial clans that are under the influences of the Thousands Fragments Sect will fall apart. But it is not the case. We have news that the Devil Isle is heading this way with two of the major powers of the dark celestial clans, the Thousands Fragments Sect and the Divine Moon Manor."
She closed her eyes with a soft sigh. She did not tell them that she had suspected that Qi Meixue had possibly betrayed her because she had not been responding to her missions. If that was the case then Yun Chen, Zhou Hai, Lin Wucheng, Beitang Ying and even herself would have their covers blown.
All this while, she had always thought that Qi Meixue was her most trustworthy lieutenant…