Walking all the way through the courtyard and into the inner hall, the surroundings were silent, with not a soul in sight. It was surprising how deserted the place where the Poison Deity resided was.
The room was bright and simply furnished. An elderly man with silver hair was lying with his eyes closed on a lounge chair, while a young man in his twenties with a fair complexion was fiddling with the tea set on the table, and the aroma of tea overflowed from the cup.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a peaceful and harmonious picture of a grandfather and grandson resting, without the slightest trace of demonic energy or evil intent.
The Ghost King was slightly surprised, and a smile appeared on his face as he walked over. The old man seemed to have just heard the sound of footsteps and opened his eyes.
"You've come."
"Senior, it's been over a hundred years since we parted ways at the Holy Temple. How have you been?"
The Poison Deity, whose notorious name resounded throughout the world, now appeared to be an ordinary old man. With a bitter smile, he shook his head and said: "I'm old and useless now."
He seemed reluctant to dwell on the topic and changed the subject, saying: "Brother Ghost King, you are already a sect leader of the Ghost King Sect, the same rank as me. If you don't mind, just call me 'elder brother.' Don't call me 'senior' anymore. I can't bear it."
The Ghost King smiled and sat down on the other side of the table, still respectful.
"Senior, that's not right. Everyone knows that in the Holy Sect, your seniority is the highest. This time, we are still counting on you to oversee the situation."
The Poison Deity's movement of sitting up from his lounge chair suddenly froze, and he immediately shook his head, saying: "No, this won't do."
"Brother Ghost King, I am now a half-disabled body, and I am truly useless. This time, we have discussed and agreed to besiege Qing Yun with the four major sects. Hundred Poison Sect naturally cannot fall behind. However, the position of overseeing the overall situation should rightfully be yours, since this matter was brought about by your call. I see no one in the sect with higher strategic thinking than you. You should be the one to take this position."
The Ghost King was surprised and taken aback, saying: "Senior, you're giving me too much credit. There are many talents in the sect, and I am the youngest of the four sect leaders. How can I be worthy of this position? How about we wait for Yu Yangzi from Chang Sheng Hall and San Miao Xianzi ( Master Miao ) from He Huan Sect to arrive, and we can discuss it together."
The Poison Deity pondered for a moment and smiled, saying: "That's a good idea. They will be arriving soon, and we can elect the one to oversee the situation at that time."
Continuing on, he said with a hint of lamentation: "The great shame and humiliation of the Holy Religion over the past hundred years must be taken back from the Qing Yun Sect this time!"
Ghost King smiled silently, and after sitting for a while longer, he bid farewell with the Qing Long and left. Poison Deity's face was full of smiles as he commanded someone to see them off.
Once the figures had gone far away, the smile and tranquility disappeared from the Poison Deity's face in an instant, replaced by a cold laugh. His back straightened, and he no longer had the appearance of an old man from moments ago.
"I thought people still saw me as the impulsive and hot-headed person from hundreds of years ago. During the war back then, I led the Hundred Poison Sect as the main force, resulting in heavy losses for our sect. It took hundreds of years for us to recover from it. Don't try to use me as a tool this time around."
The Poison Deity's face became gloomy, and he remained silent for a long time. The young man who was brewing the tea was also peculiar. If the Poison Deity didn't speak to him, he wouldn't say a word, patiently brewing the tea, as if he was enjoying something from it.
The silence in the room was suddenly broken by a sound that was like the chirping of cicadas in the summer, but much sharper and more piercing, sending chills down one's spine.
Qin Wuyan's face changed, and he took out a yellow box from under the lounge chair. The strange sound was coming from inside the box. Opening the box, he revealed a colorful centipede with seven tails, wriggling and writhing restlessly on the soft silk.
The Poison Deity glanced over and said indifferently: "The Seven-Tailed Centipede is a rare and venomous creature in the world, and there is only one pair left in existence. They will sense each other's presence within a hundred miles. It seems that the person is currently on the Qing Yun Mountain."
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked towards the towering Qing Yun Mountain in the distance, his gaze unfocused, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
Meanwhile, at the small courtyard halfway up the mountain at the Tongtian Peak of Qing Yun Sect.
Li Xiu sat on a small stool, in the midst of closed-eyed cultivation. In these past few days, he had already advanced his Taiji Xuanqing Dao to the second level of the Shangqing realm, and with the assistance of his powerful bloodline, his cultivation speed was beyond compare.
Since his return to Qing Yun Mountain, Li Xiu had hardly ever left the Tongtian Peak. Within the Qing Yun Sect, it was believed that he was guilt-ridden, having seen Lu Xueqi fall to her death before his very eyes, unable to save her. His mental state had been greatly impacted.
However, all the while Li Xiu had been memorizing the Qing Yun Daoist techniques and waiting for an opportunity.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
The low sound of the bell and cauldron was struck urgently, warning of chaos. The sound spread throughout the Seven Peaks, accompanied by a greeting that was louder than thunder, with a deep and resonant voice.
"Daoxuan, my old friend, it's been a hundred years since we last met. I hope you're still in good health!"
In an instant, the disciples and elders from the seven peaks of Qing Yun Sect began to move, and beams of Daoist light converged towards Tongtian Peak. Li Xiu stood in the courtyard and saw this scene, a smile appearing on his face. Perhaps the time he had been waiting for had arrived.
Outside of Tongtian Peak, there were cries of killing and chaos, and the Qing Yun disciples were falling one after another under the onslaught of the black tidal wave.
On the Yunhai Square, beams of sword light fell, and the heads of the seven peaks of Qing Yun and many elders appeared, standing in formation and ready for battle.
Li Xiu quietly put away his sword and saluted Daoxuan, then silently stood to the side, assuming a posture of joining forces against the enemy.
After a few moments, accompanied by several Qing Yun disciples' bodies being thrown up, four figures appeared on the Yunhai Square.
The four major demon sect leaders, Yu Yangzi and Poison Deity, stood in the middle, while Ghost King and San Miao Xianzi stood on either side. The four of them walked slowly, followed by a large number of demon sect disciples and rogue cultivators, who looked like a black tidal wave.
The oldest Poison Deity emitted a cold sneer from his mouth, saying: "Daoxuan, my old friend, I lost to your sword a hundred years ago at the foot of Qing Yun Mountain. Now that we meet again, you are still as elegant as ever. I am truly delighted."
As he spoke, Poison Deity swept his gaze around, causing all the Qing Yun disciples he saw to shudder and feel as though poisonous snakes were crawling over their bodies.
Daoxuan's body trembled, his pupils contracting, as he coldly said: "Poison Deity! What a grand occasion we have today. I'm afraid that all the evil demons of the demon sect in the world are gathered here."
Yu Yangzi took a step forward, having been elected as the leader of the siege by the four sects. Feeling confident and full of spirit, he looked straight at Daoxuan.
"Very well, today I, Yu Yangzi, will lead the members of the Holy Sect to crush your Qing Yun Mountain! Destroy the Qing Yun Sect! Leaving no one alive, not even dogs or chickens!"
With a murderous intent boiling in his words, the members of the demonic sect behind Yu Yangzi immediately cheered and laughed arrogantly.
"Kill all the Qing Yun disciples! Leave no one alive, not even dogs or chickens!"
The demonic sect's momentum reached its peak, and with a wave of Yu Yangzi's hand, all of the demonic sect's experts radiated various colors of light, indicating that they were eager to attack and did not want to waste any more time.
Seeing this situation, the people of Qing Yun also immediately activated their magical weapons, nervously swallowing their saliva as they prepared to face the enemy.
At this moment, a sudden change occurred...