The succuba sneered; "Just look at your comrades! How long will it be till they are vanquished?"
The victorious succuba shot her a condescending look; "Hand it over, and I will stand by my word."
Long Yi's voice spoke in Wang Yan's mind through sonic wave transmission;
"Power the purple sapphire now! That is the only way!"
Wang Yan did not disappoint. She swung into action and in one brief movement grabbed the succuba's slender wrist with one hand and unveiled the Purple Sapphire. Her enemy was not pleased at all.
'Chiiii' was the unnerving sound that rang out and the whole power of the jade burst into the succuba's being. The impact severed Wang Yan's grip and sent the succuba crashing into the mountain. Exhausted, Wang Yan collapsed as she had been drained by the jade. Every single disciple hoped it had worked.
Long Yi spoke again through sonic wave transmission; "Do not relent! Keep at it!"
But Alas, Wang Yan had no strength left and then the unthinkable happened- more annoyed than ever, the enraged succuba restored her Qi and emerged unscarred and unfazed. Her impressive speedy recovery dazed everyone. She screamed at the rest of them;
"You will all die!"
The succuba was even more dangerous now and Wang Yan knew it. Just as she prepared to go into full combat mode, Wang Yan remembered her trump card; the mysterious landscape painting! But the succuba did not even give her time to plot anything. After a little scrimmage, the painting unrolled and the other woman collapsed to the ground as its oppressive Qi dominated her completely. She cried out both from pain and in awe;
"What in hell's name is this?!"
The succuba's sick eyes shone at the wonderful light as she stared on at the painting. There was an indescribable charm about it. The residual Qi in it burst out suddenly and subjected the succuba firmly to the ground. She realized instantly that she was no match for this terrifying Qi.
"Impossible!" she thought; "Not even the Devil Picture of the Celestial World can match this!"
The succuba's face darkened as she thought on the chances of this being an accident. It was unheard of even for one of her status. No, there had to be a mysterious backstory to the sudden appearance of such a prized artifact. Even though she was presently overpowered, she asked in her best commanding voice;
"Girl! Where did you get this? Tell me this instant!"
The succuba was in no position to be making demands, but Wang Yan had anticipated that a question of this nature would come up eventually. If not from her, then from one of her own. But she remembered Zhang Jian and how much he loved his privacy; "Apologies senior but it looks like I may have to get you mixed up in all this."
She then assumed the aura of someone with something important and said to the baffled succuba; "I met a broody senior many miles from here. He was a mysterious stranger who dwelled by himself."
Knowing just how much Lin Xi was hanging on to her every word, she continued as if she had all the time in the world;
"This gloomy senior was the one who gifted me this painting."
The succuba rolled her eyes in disbelief and replied her mockingly;
"Do I look like a child to you? An ordinary senior?"
Emboldened by the fact that it wasn't actually a master's painting, she tried break free thinking she could use her strength to overcome the painting's effects. Suddenly her ears picked up a cold whisper from the painting;
"Greener and steeper hills stand beyond the mountains. Taller and grander buildings sat outside the palaces..."
It was a man's voice and though his words were simple and didn't have any atom of an attack incantation in them, a powerful wave of Qi surged from the strange words and hit her hard in the chest. The look of surprise on Lin Xi's face was priceless. She couldn't fathom where it had come from or whose voice it was. The strangely simple words echoed and re-echoed in her mind as she frantically searched for a deeper meaning in them;
"Mountains? Buildings? Could they be Purple Mountain and the Purple Sect Palace?"
One other thing bothered the succuba even more now; the moment the powerful wav of Qi had hit her, she had seen (for a very brief moment), the image of a faceless man in a vision of who was waving a paint brush with a cold smile and by his side was Wang Yan! The succuba was stunned.
"He completed this great work under the gaze of another? This is astounding!"
She gathered what little strength she had left and made to flee with her vassals on her heels. While fleeing she declared shamelessly;
"I declare this one a stalemate! Your mysterious 'senior' has saved you this time!"
Long Yi was dazed. He wasn't completely sure what had happened, but what was clear as day before his eyes was that the succuba was fleeing with her vassals following closely. He looked on unbelievably as he thought to himself;
"It can't be! What just happened?"
Long Yi's mind drifted back to the mysterious painting that Wang Yan had used to defeat the succuba. If he hadn't witnessed it himself, he would never have believed any story about it. Heck, he had been there and he still didn't believe what he had seen!
Though Long Yi didn't voice it out, deep down, he doubted that even his master could elicit such a domineering presence and yet, all it took was a painting? Everything he thought he knew came under question. There and then, he sought to look for the master behind this.
As for the atmosphere at Purple Mountain, it had completely changed. A new ray of hope shined through and enlightened every heart. Cries of victory came from just about every person's mouth;
"Hooray!"
"We are saved!"
The more adventurous disciples chased after the sluggish demons who couldn't get out fast enough;
"Don't let them escape!"
"Get them!"
Indeed, the taste of triumph in their guts was sweeter than the choicest delicacies they had ever had. Basking in the moment of victory, Wang Yan took the initiative and encouraged the petrified disciples;
"At ease everyone. It's all over."
Wang Yan tried her best to contain her excitement but her joy was more than evident. Not even she hadn't expected such a favorable outcome. The resounding cheers of victory all around her was parallel to her own state of mind.
A sudden movement in the sky caught her eye, it was beam of light that was crashing down. Wang Yan instinctively soared and rushed towards Long Yi to save him from being crushed to death. She managed to make it in the nick of time.
Long Yi was usually a very serious person and Wang Yan could count how many times she had seen him smile for he rarely displayed any form of emotion. He forced a smile and coughed abruptly as he congratulated Wang Yan;
"Little sister, I'm glad to see you made it."
Long Yi's entire Qi as well as his biochemistry was in complete disarray. It was almost impossible to recognize him as he was always impeccably clothed in clean white robes that reflected the type of person he was. Wang Yan sobbed as she cradled him in her arms.
"Older brother! Please tell me you didn't use the forbidden spell? Please!"
Wang Yan merely asked because she hoped for a different answer. She already knew. She hurriedly fished out a small medicine bottle from her chest and extracted two pills to supplement their severely depleted Qi. One for each of them. Glad it was all over, they both sat and contemplated the recent chain of events. All around her, she sensed the pain and the terrible injuries of her elders. She looked at them and mouthed sympathetically;
"That bad huh?"
The top brass simply lowered their heads and avoided eye contact with her.
As Xiao Luo was still missing and Long Yi was still in recovery, Wang Yan took over as the next highest ranking disciple in the chain of command. After deliberating for a short while, she finally made an executive decision and declared loudly;
"Let's wrap this up and retire for today. Everyone return and look after your own. The fate of the Purple Sect is at hand; I will not spare anyone who tries to stir trouble at a time like this."
Without even trying to be subtle about it, she flashed the painting roll and allowed all of them to catch a glimpse of the intimidating Qi that emanated from the painting. Though they all assumed the outward appearance of honorable men, Wang Yan knew that some of them were more dangerous than the demons they claimed to detest. Wang Yan's threat hit home on both the good and the bad and they all bowed in submission to her authority- as well as the power strange painting.
...
A few moments later, after doing her rounds to ensure all were complying with her directives, Wang Yan unsealed the door to the house behind the Purple Palace and waltzed right in. At the end of the hallway, she sighted Long Yi on the threshold and made her way to him. She watched him for a while before she made her request to Long Yi who was recovering in silent meditation;
"Older brother, the sect looks to you for guidance at this time. Please, allow me to take on the task of the search for our master."
Without so much as looking at her, Long Yi grunted in approval and Wang Yan immediately dashed out on her Purple Sword. The worried Long Yi thought to himself;
"I hope the master is safe."