Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Three Major Sects

The Mausoleum Mountain Range was the largest mountain range near Taiyu City. It spanned two cities, including the passage between Taiyu City and Metaphor City.

Atop the part of the Mausoleum Mountain Range near Taiyu City, the Three Major Sects were established: Lingyu Palace, Taiyu Valley, and the Nanhua Sword Sect. These sects were all founded by experts at the Inner Refining Grandmaster Level.

It was rumored that the Three Major Sects had some connection, which was why they were established so close to one another, but this claim had never been confirmed.

On the Mausoleum Mountain Range, the Three Major Sects formed a tripartite balance. There was friction between the three parties, but it had not yet escalated to a life-or-death struggle.

However, Qing State was hit by a great drought this year. Not only did food production decrease, but all sorts of Cultivation Resources also dwindled. On the Mausoleum Mountain Range, there were many signs of desiccation, and the once self-sufficient supply of Cultivation Resources had become scarce.

The many internal conflicts within the Three Major Sects all flared up. At the same time, the Cyan Yuan Sect’s levies on Cultivation Resources and grain did not decrease.

This was tantamount to digging up the very foundations of the Three Major Sects.

The Three Major Sects were naturally unwilling to accept this, so they joined forces to deal with the Cyan Yuan Sect. If they could take down the Cyan Yuan Sect, they could replace it and become the Overlord Level power of Qing State.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. They had started laying their plans long before, planting agents inside the Cyan Yuan Sect. The chosen agents were all people whose sects had been annihilated by the Cyan Yuan Sect, as such people were the easiest to use. The hatred they carried was a tool ripe for exploitation.

“A message has come from Qinghan Mansion in Taiyu City. Elder Lü Zhenghai of the Cyan Yuan Sect is planning to bring his Direct Disciples to ambush anyone traveling on the Mausoleum Mountain Range, cutting off any possibility of our disciples from the Three Major Sects descending the mountain.”

Qiu Gongyi, the Palace Master of Lingyu Palace, said as he produced the secret message he had received.

Only the most important secret messages were delivered to his hands; the others were left for the Sect Elders to handle themselves.

An elder at the Inner Refining Grandmaster Level from the Cyan Yuan Sect coming to the Mausoleum Mountain Range was naturally a matter to be taken seriously.

“Who sent this message back? Don’t tell me it’s more inaccurate intel.”

Gu Xiao, the Valley Master of Taiyu Valley, inquired. With something this important, they had to confirm the source and the accuracy of the information. Otherwise, a rash attack would surely result in heavy losses.

Previously, each of the Three Major Sects had lost two Inner Refining Elder experts because of incomplete intelligence, which led to them being surrounded and killed by Cyan Yuan Sect experts. This resulted in the Three Major Sects losing a total of six Inner Refining Experts in a single day.

For the Three Major Sects, experts of this level were pillars of strength. The loss was a devastating blow.

Within the Three Major Sects, there were not even ten elders who were Inner Masters. This was because cultivating an expert of this level required not only massive amounts of Cultivation Resources but also extremely high Talent and a bit of serendipity to achieve.

“That’s right. What happened last time was the absolute limit. If it happens again, we won’t even need the Cyan Yuan Sect to come up the mountain; you and I won’t be able to hold on.”

Mo Chengkong, Sect Leader of the Nanhua Sword Sect, added, clearly still fuming when the last incident was mentioned.

If Lingyu Palace’s Palace Master Qiu Gongyi hadn’t urged them to act quickly, he would have definitely investigated further before deciding to make a move.

“This secret message was delivered by Steward Qian himself. It includes the general route for Lü Zhenghai and his people. Let’s all prepare first. Once we confirm the intelligence is sound, we’ll strike together, eliminate Lü Zhenghai’s group, and get our revenge.”

Having suffered a great loss once before, Qiu Gongyi was naturally not rushing to act, but preparing first.

“Mobilize your people as well. First, confirm if there are any issues with the intelligence, and at the same time, arrange for someone to scout Lü Zhenghai’s group.”

“Floods are rampant over in Yu State, which has delayed the arrival of the people from the Celestial Sword Sect. If we can just hold on for about another half a month, the reinforcements from the Celestial Sword Sect in Yu State will surely arrive. Then we won’t have to stay holed up on this Mausoleum Mountain Range.”

Qiu Gongyi took a deep breath, his gaze turning profound.

“The Cyan Yuan Sect surely wants to avoid complications from delays, which is why they’ve sent Lü Zhenghai and his group from within the sect. On the surface, it’s Lü Zhenghai coming, but we can’t be sure who’s hiding in the shadows.”

“It’s a shame our spies inside the Cyan Yuan Sect were all cleaned out. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in such a passive position.”

Taiyu Valley’s Valley Master, Gu Xiao, frowned slightly.

Previously, because of the Zhao Ziqing incident, the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall rounded up a group of people. Afterward, they had the Law Enforcement Hall investigate everyone in the sect again. Every single person was investigated, and anyone under suspicion was taken away.

This left the Three Major Sects largely in the dark about the current situation within the Cyan Yuan Sect.

“This happened because there was a problem with the spy your Lingyu Palace chose. The spies discovered before only compromised themselves, but this Zhao Ziqing implicated a whole slew of people. He even used many of your techniques when he acted. He truly deserves to have his bones ground to ash.”

Sect Leader Mo Chengkong of the Nanhua Sword Sect was also furious at the mention of this matter, as cultivating these spies was no easy task.

The process—from selecting a spy and cultivating their loyalty to arranging an identity and sending them into the Cyan Yuan Sect—involved rigorous selection. The time and effort involved were immense. It could be said that to plant one spy in the Cyan Yuan Sect, the training process took at least three years, and even then, there was no guarantee the person would successfully get in; they might be weeded out during the selection.

That was why Mo Chengkong, Gu Xiao, and the others were so enraged when the topic came up.

“The main culprit in this affair is the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Pharmacist, Yang Chan. He also came to Taiyu City with Lü Zhenghai’s group. He even used the spy we planted to become a Pharmacist for the Cyan Yuan Sect. This time, we must capture him alive and show him what a fate worse than death truly means.”

Palace Master Qiu Gongyi of Lingyu Palace knew that the source of the problem was the spy he had sent, but he had no intention of letting Lingyu Palace take the blame. Instead, he would only push the blame onto Yang Chan.

The fury of the Three Major Sects naturally had to be vented on Yang Chan.

Gu Xiao and Mo Chengkong both snorted coldly but didn’t refute him. The Three Major Sects still had to work together to deal with the Cyan Yuan Sect, so they certainly wouldn’t fall out over this.

Compared to those spies, dealing with the Cyan Yuan Sect was far more important.

“Regarding the matter of dealing with Lü Zhenghai, I will wait for more news from within Taiyu City.”

Gu Xiao brought up Lü Zhenghai again, because if they could eliminate him now, it would at least alleviate some of the pressure.

“As will I.”

Mo Chengkong also spoke, making his stance clear.

“Good. We’ll leave it at that for now. But it would be best to get confirmation before noon tomorrow. Otherwise, once Lü Zhenghai is on the Mausoleum Mountain Range, it will be too late.”

Qiu Gongyi nodded. This was the result he had expected.

Although the Three Major Sects were cooperating, they didn’t fully trust one another. Even if the three had originated from the same source, they were long past the point of their former closeness.

Amidst all the friction and conflict, they each harbored their own ulterior motives. It wasn’t certain that they didn’t harbor thoughts of swallowing the other two sects and becoming the sole dominant power in Qing State.

No power didn’t want to become the overlord of a state, let alone personally control an Overlord Level force.

Having the resources of an entire state to support them meant having the chance to break through to the Great Grandmaster Realm.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep