Chapter 158: Master Battle Begins

Ye Jinglan said loudly, "Senior Yan, a decisive battle is certainly inevitable. However, before that, I have a few questions I'd like to clarify. Is that alright?"

Yan Xianmei, quite straightforward, replied, "Ask away!"

Ye Jinglan cupped his hands and said, "Thank you. My first question: Was it your arrangement for Fairy Lin Qixia to appear by my side?"

Immediately, everyone looked at Lin Qixia.

Rumors about Lin Qixia and Ye Jinglan had only recently spread throughout the martial arts world. Previously, it was only whispered that Lin Qixia's man had been taken by Nangong Yuexi, but the man's identity remained unknown, leading to various speculations. It wasn't until Ye Jinglan and Nangong Yuexi set their wedding date that the martial arts world discovered the mysterious and charismatic man was none other than Blade Emperor Ye Jinglan.

At that moment, Lin Qixia's face was devoid of expression, but her eyes revealed a complex array of emotions.

Yan Xianmei glanced back at Lin Qixia, shook her head slightly, and said, "Her meeting with you was purely accidental. The original plan always involved Nangong Yuexi."

Ye Jinglan breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked, "Then why didn't you just play along with the unexpected turn of events?"

Yan Xianmei said helplessly, "I did consider it, but that girl is too stubborn and single-minded. She's not suited for such schemes. If I had let her execute the plan, the outcome would only have been a complete loss for both of us."

"I see."

Ye Jinglan cupped his hands towards Lin Qixia and said, "Miss Lin, I sincerely apologize. I had always harbored suspicions about you."

Lin Qixia turned her head away, refusing to look at Ye Jinglan.

Ye Jinglan parted his lips slightly, but the words he wanted to say didn't come out. Then he cupped his hands again and said, "Next, for my second question, I'd like to address the Great Hero Gu Mo of Yunzhou."

Ye Jinglan cupped his hands to Gu Mo and asked, "Great Hero Gu, will you be getting involved in the matters between me and the Mystic Maiden Palace?"

Everyone's gaze shifted to Gu Mo.

Gu Mo rose and cupped his hands, saying, "I am not a member of the Mystic Maiden Palace. I am merely a friend of Fairy Lin Qixia of the Mystic Maiden Palace, which is why I accompanied her here. Naturally, I will not interfere in today's affairs."

Ye Jinglan cupped his hands towards Gu Mo.

"However," Gu Mo added, "there is one matter I need to ask Physician Qi about."

On the boat's bow, Qi Miaoxuan cupped his hands and said, "Great Hero Gu, I know what you wish to ask. Please rest assured, this old man will never go back on his word. After today's events conclude, I will treat your eyes."

"Thank you," Gu Mo said, cupping his hands. "I have no other matters."

With that, Gu Mo took Gu Chudong and departed from the vicinity of the Mystic Maiden Palace. All the disciples of the Mystic Maiden Palace also made way. No one thought Gu Mo was being disloyal; after all, Gu Mo had no prior connection with the Mystic Maiden Palace. Moreover, today's events were quite clear: the Mystic Maiden Palace was in the wrong.

"Ye Jinglan, are you finished asking your questions?" Chu Tianqing asked.

"Yes, I'm done," Ye Jinglan replied.

"Good," Chu Tianqing said. "Then it's my turn to ask." Chu Tianqing looked at Yan Xianmei and continued, "So, Fanghua was a member of your Mystic Maiden Palace, and our acquaintance and love from the very beginning were all part of your palace's scheme?"

"No," Yan Xianmei stated. "It was my personal plan; the disciples of the Mystic Maiden Palace were unaware."

"Why?" Chu Tianqing demanded. "You are a renowned figure in the martial arts world, a revered grandmaster. Why would you do such a despicable thing?"

Yan Xianmei replied, "Because those disciples are all so disappointing. I created such excellent conditions for them, yet you two young upstarts from nowhere managed to suppress them.

I single-handedly established the Mystic Maiden Palace, making it Qingzhou's foremost martial arts sect, and I, Yan Xianmei, became the top martial artist in Qingzhou. But now, in my old age, I have to watch as the Dao Inquiry Sect, founded by you two, surpasses and gradually encroaches upon my Mystic Maiden Palace, little by little swallowing it whole. I cannot tolerate that."

Chu Tianqing pressed, "So, you arranged for Zhuo Fanghua to sow discord between Ye Jinglan and me? Weren't you afraid she would be discovered and her life would be in danger?"

"Just a mere disciple," Yan Xianmei scoffed. "Even if all thousands of my Mystic Maiden Palace disciples were to die, I wouldn't bat an eyelid. What I desire is to forever be Patriarch Yuxu, to forever be the foremost martial artist wielding the greatest power in the martial arts world. What does it matter if a few disciples die? Disciples can be replaced. As long as I exist, the Mystic Maiden Palace exists. I want the Qingzhou martial arts world to remain beneath my feet until I die. I will not allow anyone to challenge my authority, which is why you two young men deserve to die!"

Chu Tianqing, enraged, exclaimed, "Yan Xianmei, how can you be so malicious? Whether it's Zhuo Fanghua or Nangong Yuexi, they both put themselves in harm's way for your plan, yet in your eyes, are they truly so dispensable?"

Yan Xianmei said gravely, "They're not exactly dispensable. They are both beautiful, very beautiful. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths to threaten them using their families!"

"You actually forced them to do this!" Chu Tianqing roared in fury. "You are too vicious! For your own selfish desires, you didn't hesitate to stir up conflict in the martial arts world, even discarding your own disciples so casually. You truly deserve to die!"

At this moment, on Jiangxin Island, numerous martial artists were in an uproar, discussing among themselves.

Many were shocked that Patriarch Yuxu, a figure of such standing, could be so contemptible, resorting to such unscrupulous means for mere vanity!

"Brother," Gu Chudong whispered, standing beside Gu Mo, "Why is Yan Xianmei like this? She's too detestable! Although I heard Master Dingchan say Yan Xianmei was ambitious, I never imagined she'd care so little for her own disciples, even coercing and enticing them to be her pawns."

Gu Mo shook his head slightly and said, "She has ambition, but not to such a malicious extent."

"Huh? But didn't she admit it herself?" Gu Chudong asked.

Gu Mo explained, "She's creating an escape route for the Mystic Maiden Palace. Ye Jinglan came prepared today. More accurately, Qi Miaoxuan's appearance sealed the fate of the Mystic Maiden Palace and Yan Xianmei's reputation. Yan Xianmei chose to bear as much of the blame as possible herself, to keep the Mystic Maiden Palace out of trouble and thus preserve it."

Gu Chudong suddenly realized, "Is that true? So, in that case, she doesn't seem so bad... Sigh, Brother, I don't know whether she's good or bad anymore!"

Gu Mo smiled faintly and said, "There's rarely so much black and white. From Yan Xianmei's perspective, she hasn't done anything wrong. She single-handedly built the Mystic Maiden Palace, which flourished with thousands of disciples and grand-disciples. She thought it could continue like this until her death.

But then, two individuals appeared in the martial arts world. They were powerful and very young, defiant of heaven and earth, and naturally, they wouldn't submit to her Mystic Maiden Palace. With her experienced eye, she could see that these two would surely achieve great things in the future. In them, she seemed to see the end of the Mystic Maiden Palace, just like the previous Qingzhou martial arts hegemon, Mount Rong Sect, which declined until it disappeared. What's crucial is that the Mystic Maiden Palace is a female sect, and their fate would be even worse.

So, for the sake of her disciples and grand-disciples, and for the thousands of members of her sect, she began to use methods to suppress and deal with those two young people. However, precisely because those two were exceptionally powerful, all her schemes failed, and eventually, she was exposed. Therefore, to preserve the sect as much as possible and allow her disciples and grand-disciples to withdraw honorably, she chose to bear the infamy and consequences alone.

From this perspective, she isn't bad.

But from Chu Tianqing and Ye Jinglan's perspective, after they descended the mountain and diligently worked together to build their careers, an old woman they might not have even met suddenly attacked them, sowing discord between the brothers, and secretly instigating them to kill each other. Even their closest confidantes were spies arranged by that old woman. That's utterly evil!

As for the martial artists affected in the process, perhaps not many would care. And of course, there's no need to care. Having stepped into the martial arts world, truly few are entirely innocent. Who among us doesn't have some blood on their hands? For example, you and I, haven't we killed people? Do they all necessarily deserve to die?

So, discussing good and bad holds little meaning; it depends solely on one's perspective. There are rarely absolute good and evil, black and white. Of course, this doesn't exclude the possibility that some people are truly born evil and deserve to be flayed alive!"

Gu Chudong nodded and said, "I understand, Brother. Ultimately, good and bad can indeed be defined. So, once you enter this murky martial arts world, you must strive to become someone who can define good and bad. That's what truly means making a name for yourself."

Gu Mo was somewhat surprised, giving a thumbs-up. "Your insight is truly profound!"

Just then, amidst the surging crowd, two figures approached Gu Mo and Gu Chudong: Zhuo Qingfeng and Chen Yunqiao, Commander of Qingzhou's Six Doors East City.

"Why are you Six Doors people here to join the fun too?" Gu Chudong asked, surprised.

Zhuo Qingfeng chuckled, "With such a huge commotion at Soul-Shattering Cliff, it would be strange if the Six Doors didn't send anyone, wouldn't it? So many martial arts masters gathered together is enough to brand them as rebels. Besides, if I hadn't come, I wouldn't have had the chance to witness such a spectacle. After today, the Mystic Maiden Palace, one of the Three Sects and Four Factions, will likely begin its decline."

Gu Chudong pouted and said, "Isn't that exactly what your Six Doors wanted?"

Chen Yunqiao chuckled softly, "Miss Chudong, you're being a bit unfair to our Six Doors. We don't deny that the Six Doors is dissatisfied with the Mystic Maiden Palace as the leader. After all, it couldn't suppress the Heavenly Blade Sect and the Nine Rivers Alliance, failing to meet the standards we expect from a leading sect. However, we still gave them a chance. If the Six Doors hadn't tacitly approved, could the Mystic Maiden Palace have incited the decisive battle at Soul-Shattering Cliff? Could the process have been so smooth?

It's just that the Mystic Maiden Palace themselves weren't up to par. If they hadn't been so greedy, always looking for an advantage, and had instead let Nangong Yuexi truly sacrifice herself for the plan, then whatever Ye Jinglan said now would be useless. The two tigers would surely fight, allowing the Mystic Maiden Palace to reap the benefits.

But the Mystic Maiden Palace was unwilling to pay any price. If I'm not mistaken, their plan was probably to wait for Chu Tianqing and Ye Jinglan to suffer mutual heavy losses, or even perish together, and then the Mystic Maiden Palace would seize the opportunity, use some tricks to kill both Ye and Chu, and then directly take over the Nine Rivers Alliance and the Heavenly Blade Sect by leveraging Zhuo Fanghua and Nangong Yuexi's status as their wives.

Truly, they wanted to snatch every benefit, did they really think everyone else was a fool?"

"This..."

Gu Chudong's eyes widened, and she suddenly felt that Chen Yunqiao's words made a lot of sense. If Zhuo Fanghua and Nangong Yuexi hadn't faked their deaths but had truly died, then even Qi Miaoxuan's appearance would have been useless. The Mystic Maiden Palace could have completely twisted the narrative, claiming Ye Jinglan conspired with Qi Miaoxuan to frame them. At that point, Chu Tianqing would undoubtedly have fought Ye Jinglan to the death.

Gu Mo, on the other hand, smiled and said, "This is the difference between most martial artists and the imperial government."

Gu Chudong asked, "What difference?"

Gu Mo replied, "Imperial officials, ordinary people might not discern if they are truly good, but they themselves live with clear intentions. As for martial artists, most want to be good people but don't quite understand how, and when they try to be bad, they're not thorough enough. Ordinary people can see through them, while they themselves are muddled."

Zhuo Qingfeng chuckled, "Brother Gu is right. In my years of handling cases, I've seen too many martial artists resorting to schemes. But I always get the feeling that, if you say they're not smart, some of their tactics are quite clever. Yet, if you say they are smart, they are never thorough enough.

Look at what Yan Xianmei did. If I were to do it, I would definitely have let Zhuo Fanghua truly die. Given Chu Tianqing's character, he would certainly lose his mind. As for Ye Jinglan, if Nangong Yuexi died, he could maintain his composure. But what if it were Lin Qixia? What if Lin Qixia died without ever knowing the secret dealings between Ye Jinglan and the Mystic Maiden Palace, and was innocently and naively trying to save Ye Jinglan only to be killed by Chu Tianqing? It would be best if she died in Ye Jinglan's arms.

Could Ye Jinglan still remain rational at that moment? He would probably declare, 'Lin Qixia is dead, and I have no desire to explain right or wrong.' In that way, the conflict between the two tigers would have already been set in motion.

As for Qi Miaoxuan? Whether he lived or died would have no impact whatsoever; it would be completely irrelevant to him. The Mystic Maiden Palace would also be entirely absolved."

Gu Mo gave Zhuo Qingfeng a thumbs-up, then told Gu Chudong, "Chudong, stay away from Commander Zhuo in the future. These officials are terribly dark-hearted."

"Okay."

Zhuo Qingfeng rolled his eyes.

At this moment, in the gorge,

Chu Tianqing once again gripped his long spear, his fingers tightly clenched around it. The spear shaft trembled slightly, seemingly synchronizing with his heartbeat, resonating with a chilling power.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze like a torch, staring directly at Ye Jinglan. Burning fighting spirit blazed in his eyes, and his voice was low but filled with infinite determination as he enunciated each word: "Yan Xianmei wants me dead!"

Ye Jinglan shrugged and said, "Then I'll just kill Su Yunjiao!" He looked towards the Mystic Maiden Palace side and added, "Senior Yan, the stage is set today, and a decisive battle is inevitable. However, the duelists must change from just my junior brother and me to our junior brother and I teaming up to duel you and your disciple."

Yan Xianmei said solemnly, "Sect Master Ye, I alone bear the responsibility for what I did. Why must you..."

Ye Jinglan directly interrupted, "Senior Yan, I've already shown utmost benevolence by not holding the Mystic Maiden Palace accountable. There are some things I won't spell out entirely, so don't assume I don't understand."

How could Yan Xianmei not understand Ye Jinglan's meaning?

The Mystic Maiden Palace could be spared, but they had to pay a price. At the very least, they could no longer pose any threat; their two grandmasters must die today.

The reason it had to be their deaths was naturally Ye Jinglan's absolute confidence in himself.

Immediately, Yan Xianmei turned her head to look at Su Yunjiao.

Su Yunjiao smiled faintly and said, "Master, actually, my Mystic Maiden Pure Heart Swordplay has long since reached mastery, no worse than yours. I can already hold my own."

Yan Xianmei smiled, "You and Baifeng have always been my pride." With that, she looked at the pale-faced Mu Baifeng and said, "Baifeng, after today, the Mystic Maiden Palace will be entrusted to you."

Instantly,

Yan Xianmei and Su Yunjiao soared towards Soul-Shattering Cliff.

The two of them arrived gracefully, like startled swans skimming over water. It was Yan Xianmei and Su Yunjiao. They gathered their internal energy to lighten their bodies, soaring four to five zhang, like geese spreading their wings. With their robes fluttering, they landed steadily on Soul-Shattering Cliff. Upon landing, their posture was light and nimble, as if a feather had drifted down, not stirring a speck of dust, fully demonstrating the ethereal lightness characteristic of the Mystic Maiden Palace's martial arts.

At the same moment, Chu Tianqing, on the boat, gripped his long spear. His body like a swift wind, he flew rapidly, seemingly without touching the ground. His agile figure was like that of a nimble ape leaping, moving over the steep cliffs as if on level ground. The cliff face was rugged and riddled with strange rocks, yet he continuously tapped his feet, and with numerous twists and turns, he had already ascended to the peak of Soul Cliff.

Ye Jinglan carried his blade, and Chu Tianqing gripped his long spear.

Yan Xianmei and her disciple, Su Yunjiao, each held a long sword.

The four grandmasters, renowned throughout the martial arts world, faced each other.

All at once, spectators on Jiangxin Island surged forward, blocking the view. The martial arts heroes could no longer restrain themselves, uncontrollably rushing forward, crowding together in a dense throng at the edge of Jiangxin Island, craning their necks and staring intently at Soul-Shattering Cliff.

Suddenly, Chu Tianqing moved. With a roar, his body followed his spear, like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, carrying immense power as he charged directly at Yan Xianmei. Yan Xianmei's long sword danced, forming blooming sword flowers to meet the furious spear. In an instant, spear and sword clashed, sparks flew, and clanging sounds echoed incessantly.

Simultaneously, Ye Jinglan attacked Su Yunjiao with his blade. His blade techniques were fierce and powerful; each strike seemed capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, grand and imposing. Su Yunjiao responded with agile sword moves, her figure shifting and swirling like willow catkins in the wind. Her sword strikes were continuous, and sword light intertwined with blade glints.

The four figures flashed rapidly on the cliff, advancing or retreating, attacking or defending. Sword energy crisscrossed, blade light glinted, and wherever they passed, cliff rocks splintered, leaving behind shocking deep marks.

Sword intent and spear intent violently collided, stirring up the winds and changing the colors of the sky. Dark clouds rolled in, as if also shaken by the fierce battle.

On Jiangxin Island, countless martial artists were left wide-eyed and full of awe.

What was initially thought to be a battle between the Blade Emperor and the Dragon King had now become a two-on-two duel between four grandmasters.

Amidst the crowd, Gu Chudong whispered, "Brother, is there any suspense?"

Chen Yunqiao and Zhuo Qingfeng, hearing Gu Chudong's question, immediately leaned closer and pricked up their ears to listen.

Although Gu Mo couldn't see, he could hear, and his perception was far beyond that of ordinary people. In some ways, he understood the battle situation more clearly than anyone else present who relied on their eyes.

Hearing Gu Chudong's question, Gu Mo replied, "There is both suspense and no suspense."

Zhuo Qingfeng quickly pressed, "What do you mean?"

Gu Mo explained, "On Soul-Shattering Cliff, although Yan Xianmei and Su Yunjiao appear to be evenly matched with Chu Tianqing and Ye Jinglan, in reality, perhaps due to their ruined reputation, they severely lack the will to fight. Their defeat is only a matter of time.

And the suspense lies in..."

Gu Mo frowned slightly and said, "Master Dingchan has arrived!"