Chapter 264: Eight-Sect Alliance

Yanyan’s grandmother’s voice echoed across the land, spreading throughout the entire sect.

Xu Qing fell silent.

Beside him, the Captain and his third senior brother instantly looked at him. Even his second senior sister stopped transmitting her voice and looked at Xu Qing.

Even Seventh Elder, who was in front, turned his head to gaze at Xu Qing, his eyes showing appreciation.

“Excellent, you have the demeanor I had back in the day.”

As he spoke, he looked at his other three disciples with a look of disappointment, as if saying they were failing to live up to expectations. However, when his gaze swept over his second disciple, he automatically overlooked him, focusing intently on his eldest and third disciples.

After a moment’s thought, he also overlooked his third disciple, so his gaze finally rested entirely on his eldest.

“You should learn from your junior brother!”

“If I looked like him, I could too! Little Ah Qing’s face is so unique, even magic would struggle to imitate it!” The Captain complained, feeling somewhat depressed.

Meanwhile, in the sky, more depressed and unable to unleash his anger, feeling utterly stifled, was Ancestor Lingyun. He stared at Venerable Dongyou, his expression extremely grim.

He hadn’t expected that a mere commoner, whom Ancestor Blood煉子 was willing to protect, would be so directly shielded by Venerable Dongyou, who had always remained aloof from worldly affairs and never formed alliances with anyone.

Thinking of his grandson, severely injured and his fate uncertain, of his sect’s soul lamp being seized, of the current setbacks, and of how the Seven Blood Eyes now possessed the qualifications of a superior sect—their overall strength in no way weaker than any of the Seven Sects—all of this caused his eyes to become bloodshot. Yet, he understood clearly that the Seven Blood Eyes’ promotion to a superior sect could no longer be stopped. The Seven Sect Alliance, after all, was an alliance, not a single domain.

Among the eight members of the Elder Council—one Alliance Leader and seven Ancestors—though they shared common interests, there were also frictions between them. The current might of the Seven Blood Eyes, especially their forbidden artifact, meant that they not only qualified to become a superior sect but also that their inclusion would significantly boost the Alliance’s own strength.

Ancestor Lingyun knew perfectly well that others would tacitly approve of this. Moreover, recalling the Seven Blood Eyes’ series of plans, he didn’t believe that the Seven Sect Alliance wouldn’t have supporters the Seven Blood Eyes had already contacted.

So, he gritted his teeth and sent out a message.

“If the Seven Blood Eyes return the soul lamp, my Lingyun Sword Sect will fully support their joining the Alliance! Otherwise, bear the consequences! Friend or foe, Blood炼子, your word decides!”

As he spoke, Ancestor Lingyun raised his right hand and pointed at the sky. Instantly, within the blood sea above, the blood tree, which had already condensed to a certain extent, suddenly sank, as if about to descend upon the Seven Blood Eyes.

Immediately, immense pressure arose within the Seven Blood Eyes. Ancestor Blood炼子, however, laughed in anger.

“Interesting. Lingyun, you harbor quite a malicious intent. If my Seven Blood Eyes must sacrifice the interests of our disciples to join the Alliance, what would other disciples think of my sect?”

“If greater benefits arise in the future, will they also be sacrificed? How would allies view my sect? Could I also sacrifice them in the future? How much would my sect’s reputation be damaged by this?”

“Old Ghost Lingyun, your words are truly devious.”

“It seems you don’t believe in my sect’s forbidden artifact.”

Upon hearing this, Ancestor Blood炼子’s gaze turned sharp. He raised his right hand and directly waved it. The heavens and earth rumbled. As the other Ancestors of the Seven Sect Alliance looked on with grave expressions, the enormous bronze ancient mirror on the Sea Corpse Race platform suddenly rotated, facing the Seven Blood Eyes. The moment it completely locked onto Ancestor Lingyun, one of the seven eyes on the seven Corpse Ancestor statues below abruptly opened.

This eye had no pupil, only a bloody hue. The instant it opened and closed, a chilling wind, as if capable of freezing the nine heavens, directly enveloped the area above the Seven Blood Eyes. Furthermore, Ancestor Lingyun’s figure was reflected within this mirror.

Ancestor Lingyun’s expression changed drastically. An intense life-or-death crisis instantly erupted within his mind. For many years, he hadn’t felt such a crisis.

It was a tremor of all his flesh and blood, a trembling of his spiritual essence, a sharp scream of his life, as if facing a natural predator, as if the opponent controlled his life and death, grasping his divine soul.

That feeling of being able to die in the next instant caused Ancestor Lingyun’s mind to shake violently. His cultivation erupted to its full extent, ready to resist.

At this moment, from the direction of the Sea Corpse Race, a cold voice emerged from within the bronze mirror.

“Life or death, judged!”

The Ancestor Lingyun reflected on the bronze mirror’s surface became distorted, turning around within it with immense fierceness and savagery, as if existing independently, no longer Lingyun himself. His body instantly collapsed and exploded!

Then, the eye closed.

Simultaneously, within the Seven Blood Eyes, Ancestor Lingyun spewed blood. His body boomed, and just as the mirror depicted, his entire body disintegrated into a mist of blood.

But in the distance, he reformed, though his face was paler than ever before, the light in his eyes extremely dim, and his expression filled with disbelief.

At this moment, the cold voice echoed again.

“Judgment failed. Awaiting second judgment.”

Ancestor Blood煉子’s expression was grim and he was about to make a move, but the other six Ancestors of the Seven Sect Alliance immediately intervened. However, in the next instant, Ancestor Blood煉子 sneered and let out a roar.

“Forbidden Arts, all open!”

Instantly, beneath the bronze ancient mirror on the Sea Corpse Race platform, the seven Corpse Ancestor statues’ qi and blood surged like never before, reaching into the sky, seemingly wanting to swallow mountains and rivers. The six unopened eyes and the seventh eye that had just closed, now, in an instant… all opened!

The seven eyes, divided into seven beams of light, pierced through the Forbidden Sea and directly landed on the Seven Ancestors of the Seven Sect Alliance within the Seven Blood Eyes!

All seven Ancestors trembled, their expressions changing rapidly.

They discovered that the Seven Blood Eyes’ forbidden artifact was even more bizarre than they had previously judged. It wasn’t just a simple judgment of life and death; if it failed, it could transform into a heavy blow.

This heavy blow could clearly be stacked. This meant that even if one resisted seven judgments through incredible luck and didn’t die, they would certainly be near death from these seven severe injuries.

More importantly, the power source of the Seven Blood Eyes’ forbidden artifact was so abundant that they didn’t know how many times it could be activated consecutively. This was the most terrifying aspect, because other sects’ forbidden artifacts could only be used once within a short period.

Although it was highly probable that the Seven Blood Eyes’ forbidden art also couldn’t be used multiple times, they dared not gamble, nor was there any need to.

Thus, caught between advancing and retreating, the Ancestors of Spirit Haze Valley and Heavenly Mirror Treasure Sect immediately spoke up.

“My sect agrees to the Seven Blood Eyes joining the Alliance!”

“My sect seconds the motion!”

The agreement of these two sects seemed to be a consequence of the situation, but in Ancestor Lingyun’s eyes, it was not so. He recalled the forbidden light he had activated earlier to intimidate the Seven Blood Eyes. At that time, the Alliance’s secret target was the Young Master Sect.

However, openly, it was meant to intimidate the Seven Blood Eyes. The original plan was for only his sect to activate it, but an unexpected turn occurred then: Spirit Haze Valley and Heavenly Mirror Treasure Sect also activated theirs.

Although they explained it to him afterwards, looking back now, it was clear that those two sects were being cautious, worried that he might not follow the plan and genuinely attack the Seven Blood Eyes.

“They had long been colluding!” Ancestor Lingyun’s face was pale. With the agreement of Spirit Haze Valley and Heavenly Mirror Treasure Sect, the other four sect ancestors were also swayed.

Seeing this, his heart cried out in sorrow, wanting to strike, but that feeling of life and death hanging in the balance prevented him from acting decisively. Yet, now, his reputation had surpassed the importance of the soul lamp, leaving him in a predicament. At this crucial moment, a沧桑 voice suddenly drifted down from the sky.

“We are all family; why resort to such a grand struggle? Everything is a misunderstanding.”

“Daoist Friend Lingyun, please return. And the other Daoist Friends, please also return. Daoist Friend Blood煉子, this Alliance welcomes you to join the Elder Council and also welcomes the Seven Blood Eyes to join the Alliance. You may come and discuss the details of the Seven Blood Eyes’ relocation with us.”

“This is a vow, witnessed by the Ancient World. After our discussion, the Seven Sect Alliance will be reformed into the Eight Sect Alliance.”

“Daoist Friend Blood炼子, what do you think?”

The voice carried a gentle quality. As it diffused, an enormous face appeared in the sky, radiating an astonishing aura. The moment it appeared, it formed a suppressive force, enveloping the nine Void Return First-stage Ancestors below.

However, not a single trace of this force spread to the Seven Blood Eyes disciples or the sect’s main gate.

This face belonged to a middle-aged cultivator, resembling a scholar. He appeared utterly devoid of malevolence, calmly gazing at Ancestor Blood煉子. Simultaneously, above this face, there was an even larger face, identical to his own.

Layered one upon another, there was a third, a fourth, a fifth… each progressively larger, extending an immeasurable distance, their number impossible to calculate. As they ascended higher and higher, mortals could not discern their ultimate extent, even experiencing the illusion that the entire sky above the Southern Phoenix Continent was this very person.

“Greetings, Alliance Leader!”

“Greetings, Alliance Leader!” In mid-air, the Ancestors of the Seven Sect Alliance, their expressions solemn, bowed respectfully towards the face in the sky.

This scene made Xu Qing breathe rapidly. The Captain beside him showed a strange glint in his eyes, and Seventh Elder in front also looked up, murmuring softly.

“Void Return Great Realm, Second Stage: Myriad Transformations of Reality and Illusion…”

Xu Qing looked up at the sky, a great wave rising in his heart, his eyes slowly revealing a longing. He also wanted to become so powerful.

At this moment, Ancestor Blood煉子 also took a deep breath, bowed to the enormous face, and agreed to the matter.

In the next instant, the face in the sky dissipated. In mid-air, Ancestor Lingyun’s expression was grim. He flicked his sleeve, sweeping up his sect’s disciples who had been initially aggressive and later trembling with fear, and transformed into a long rainbow, departing into the distance.

As for the other sects, they all cupped their fists towards Ancestor Blood煉子 and Venerable Dongyou, and each departed. Among them, the Ancestor of the Mysterious Ghost Sect was a woman, whose appearance was indistinct. Before she left, she glanced at the top of the Seventh Peak, seemed to smile, then turned and left.

Only the Ancestors of Spirit Haze Valley and Heavenly Mirror Treasure Sect remained, not departing immediately.

They were a man and a woman: the woman delicate, the man with a full beard. Both their appearances and auras exuded an otherworldly quality, their eyes gleaming. They smiled at Ancestor Blood炼子 and Venerable Dongyou, their expressions reflecting memories.

Clearly, the four of them had shared an extraordinary connection in their earlier years, marked by some fortuitous encounter. Now that the major affair was settled, there was no need to conceal anything.

“We’ll wait for you in the Alliance.”

“Brother Blood煉, welcome to the Alliance!”

Ancestor Blood煉子 laughed heartily, and Venerable Dongyou’s expression relaxed. After a period of reminiscing, the Ancestors of Spirit Haze Valley and Heavenly Mirror Treasure Sect bid farewell, stepping into the sky and returning to the Ancient Continent.

With everyone’s departure, and with Seventh Elder concluding his acceptance of a new disciple, Ancestor Blood煉子 announced all the arrangements for the Seven Blood Eyes and informed all directions.

The Seven Blood Eyes would merge into the Seven Sect Alliance, becoming the Eight Sect Alliance, and would relocate there in a few days.

After fully understanding this matter, all the disciples of the Seven Blood Eyes were extremely excited. This excitement lasted for seven or eight days without diminishing. The entire sect was filled with intense joy, and this was all they talked about daily.

Conversely, Xu Qing’s surroundings suddenly became quiet. Although he had become the Fourth Prince of the Seventh Peak, he had been fully adapting to the second soul lamp within his body during this period.

The sect had not questioned his two soul lamps at all; this was tacit approval.

Until several more days passed, the sect issued an announcement.

Three days later, the Seven Blood Eyes would form a negotiation team, led by the Ancestor and Seventh Elder, to travel to the Seven Sect Alliance on the Ancient Continent to discuss all the details of the merger and relocation.

The relocation and merger of a sect was by no means a small matter; many things needed to be negotiated beforehand. However, Xu Qing was not the one conducting the negotiations; he was assigned to be an attending member, participating in the matter.

Also participating were the Captain, the Third Prince, and several other Princes from other peaks.

This time, the Seven Sect Alliance would shed all arrogance and would receive their arrival with an equal stance and high-standard etiquette.

The night before their departure, Xu Qing had a dream.

He rarely dreamed these past years.

In his dream, he returned to his childhood, to his parents’ side, to the city where he was born.

At that time, he was not yet a wanderer.

At that time, he still had a happy home.

At that time, he still did not know the world’s man-eating evil.

In the dream, his parents’ appearance was somewhat blurry. He tried hard to remember, but they gradually faded away with the passage of time. This had nothing to do with cultivation; it was a human instinct.

But his older brother was very clear.

He had an older brother.

In the dream, his brother had a very good relationship with him. They grew up together, played with mud together, laughed together, went to school together, and whispered secrets at night.

And when Xu Qing was a child, he was very weak. Every time he was bullied, his older brother would run over, chase away the bullies, help him up when he fell, and then gently pat his head, his voice very soft and warm.

“Little brother, don’t cry. You have your big brother here.”

I’d like to report on the sales of “Beyond the Flow of Time”: the average subscription is now 85,000, almost surpassing “A Will Eternal” (90,000). It should reach 100,000 average subscriptions next month. Over the years, there seem to have been six or seven works on Qidian that reached 100,000 average subscriptions, but I’m not entirely sure of the exact number.

Thank you to all the handsome boys and pretty girls for your support. Although this little newbie writes slowly, I will work harder to write even better stories.

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