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"No... it's bad, Brother Qianyuan and the others are surrounded by people from Star Gate!"
A hurried shout suddenly rang out, and a figure dressed in Qingchen Sect robes swiftly flew in from the distance.
"Brother Qianyuan... Star Gate..." Upon hearing this call, Fang Chen, who was originally planning to let Lu Chong go, suddenly turned cold.
Fang Chen felt quite grateful towards Qian Yuan, his brother who appeared cold but had a warm heart. Back when they were at Xuantian Hall exchanging points, despite being in a weak position against Wang Lin and his three arrogant disciples, Qian Yuan still dared to help Fang Chen stand up for himself. At that time, Fang Chen secretly decided that once he broke through to the Alchemy Realm, he would help Brother Qianyuan resolve the hidden ailment within him. But now...
"What happened to Brother Qianyuan?" The handsome face that had been smiling was now darkened. Fang Chen looked at the Qingchen Sect disciple who had rushed over with urgency and asked in a deep voice.
An invisible, overwhelming aura emanated from him, causing those around him to shudder. Those who had been questioning who this disciple was suddenly felt a tremor of fear and hurriedly replied, "Not long ago, while Brother Qianyuan and the others were on a sect mission at Desolate Peak, they discovered a Bonefruit."
"Bonefruit!" Upon hearing these three words, low gasps of surprise spread throughout the crowd. Even Lian Yiyue's beautiful face showed a slight change in expression.
Bonefruit is an extremely rare high-grade spiritual herb. In terms of spiritual herb grades, high-grade ones are already quite precious, but this preciousness is relative; at least within Ziyang Sect, it is not considered particularly rare for Inner Sect Disciples at the Primordial Embryo Realm.
However, this is only compared to ordinary high-grade spiritual herbs. Bonefruit is different. It is a high-grade spiritual herb specifically used for treating bone injuries in martial artists. Although its effects are quite singular, they are excellent. More importantly, while Bonefruit is classified as a high-grade spiritual herb, its rarity is not inferior to that of some holy-grade spiritual herbs.
Of course, if it were just this much, the disciples of Qingchen Sect wouldn't react so strongly upon hearing about Bonefruit. The reason for their hushed exclamations and even Lian Yiyue's change in expression is that recently there have been rumors within the sect that Star Gate has been actively searching for this Bonefruit and is even willing to pay handsomely for it; however, they have yet to find one.
But now...
This is bad! Just thinking about Star Gate's recent frenzied search for Bonefruit and recalling their usual domineering style made the faces of the Qingchen Sect martial artists change drastically. They understood very well that given Star Gate's approach, since they had already surrounded Qian Yuan and the others, it would definitely not be anything good or easy to negotiate. It seemed unlikely that Qian Yuan and his group could keep the Bonefruit safe; in fact, their own safety might be at risk...
Although the sect does not allow disciples to kill each other, there are many loopholes in this rule. For instance, they could injure or incapacitate someone without actually killing them. Moreover, with Star Gate's influence among disciples and their current presence at Desolate Peak, even if someone were killed, as long as it was handled well without leaving traces, they could easily shift the blame onto the beasts within Desolate Peak. Besides, this isn't the first time they've done such things.
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through the minds of the Qingchen Sect martial artists, but no one spoke up. After all, while Qingchen Sect could be considered a strong force among Outer Sect Disciples, it was nothing compared to Inner Sect Disciples. In fact, within all of Qingchen Sect, only Sister Qinglian had truly reached the Primordial Embryo Realm status.
Compared to the Star Gate, the strength of the two is almost like heaven and earth. The latter is an extremely powerful presence even among all the forces within the Sect. Moreover, the current leader of Star Gate, Bai Xingchen, who is exceptionally strong among the Inner Sect Disciples, is said to have taken a step towards the Primordial Force Sea and is now in a peculiar state of being half a step into the Primordial Embryo Realm and half a step into the Heavenly Realm. Soon, he will challenge the True Inheritance Assessment, and once he passes, he will be a genuine True Disciple, unlike Fang Chen, who is merely a lucky newcomer.
Thinking of this, many disciples of Qingchen Sect turned their gazes toward Fang Chen, seemingly waiting for his decision. After all, Sister Qinglian was in seclusion at this time, and Qingchen Sect had almost no central figure. The return of Fang Chen undoubtedly became everyone's only hope.
The decision to advance or retreat now rested entirely on Fang Chen's thoughts.
If they chose to advance, Fang Chen would lead them to Desolate Peak to rescue Qian Yuan and others who were surrounded. However, in this process, they would not only have to face numerous members of Star Gate but also risk potential conflict. After all, Star Gate had a notorious reputation within the Sect for being overbearing and aggressive, though they indeed possessed that strength.
Yet if conflict arose, given the vast disparity in strength between the two sides, it would be difficult for Fang Chen and his group to gain any advantage. There was even a high possibility that Fang Chen, this so-called True Disciple, would be humiliated.
After all, without sufficient strength at present, relying solely on the title of True Disciple might intimidate some people but would have little effect on those from Star Gate who were used to being arrogant. Furthermore, with Bai Xingchen about to challenge the True Inheritance Assessment soon and likely becoming another True Disciple within the Sect, the arrogance of Star Gate members had only increased. Many derogatory or mocking remarks about Fang Chen had already circulated among them.
In this situation, it seemed to those in Qingchen Sect that Fang Chen leading them to Desolate Peak to confront members of Star Gate would undoubtedly involve significant risks.
Of course, there was also the option to retreat; they could simply wait here for Qian Yuan and his group to return. However, while this approach posed no risk for them personally, it would tarnish the reputation of Qingchen Sect as a whole—including that of Fang Chen upon his return. No one would want to join Qingchen Sect in the future. After all, witnessing someone "die" without offering help was a major taboo for any force.
Neither advancing nor retreating seemed viable. Many people's expressions changed continuously as they struggled with their thoughts; they perceived the current situation as a dilemma. No matter how they chose, it seemed like there were no good outcomes.
However, all these thoughts flashed through their minds in an instant. When they turned their attention back to Fang Chen, they found that his expression showed no signs of change; there was no hesitation or conflict visible on his face.
"Lead the way," he said calmly to the Qingchen Sect disciple who had come to report. His words carried an undeniable authority that made the still-breathless disciple shudder slightly and quickly respond, "Yes!"
With that, he stood up and returned along the path he came from.
"All disciples of Qingchen Sect, follow me to Desolate Peak," Fang Chen said lightly. Pausing briefly, he glanced at Lu Chong—who was discarded like trash—and continued, "Take him with us; we are leaving."
In the tone of his words, there was no trace of anger or joy; it was disturbingly calm, as if their journey to Desolate Peak was merely a leisurely outing rather than a confrontation with the people of Star Gate. Others were confused, but Lian Yiyue understood very well that Fang Chen must be seething with anger inside.
The angrier he became, the calmer he appeared; the more he wanted to kill, the more indifferent he seemed. Lian Yiyue, who had followed Fang Chen from Fengyan City to Ziyang Sect, was well aware of these subtle nuances. However, what they were about to face was Star Gate, a force far beyond their own.
With a worried sigh, she watched as Fang Chen moved swiftly into the air towards the distance. Without any hesitation, Lian Yiyue quickly followed him. Although she was concerned, she had known from the beginning that this was Fang Chen's choice; after all, his personality dictated that he could never be a timid person.
"It's a pity Sister Qinglian is in seclusion," Lian Yiyue lamented.
Sister Qinglian's retreat had temporarily diminished Qingchen Sect's greatest deterrent against outsiders. Now, Qingchen Sect's power had been severely weakened. If it weren't for this situation, they would not have been so passive this time.
Fang Chen and Lian Yiyue soared towards Desolate Peak one after the other. Behind them, the remaining twenty or so members of Qingchen Sect exchanged glances; some grabbed Lu Chong and quickly took to the air to follow. Of course, there were one or two who hesitated before quietly leaving. After all, the deterrent power of Star Gate was too great for many people. Even those who chose to follow Fang Chen and Lian Yiyue were not optimistic about Qingchen Sect's chances. Nevertheless, this group still headed towards Desolate Peak in a grand manner.
Desolate Peak was not too far from Beishan; it was merely separated by another mountain. However, unlike Beishan's peaks, Desolate Peak, as its name suggested, was a relatively desolate area within Ziyang Sect where no one resided long-term. Moreover, it was the only place near Ziyang Sect with a high population of magical beasts.
The abundance of magical beasts posed significant risks for Outer Sect Disciples, but these risks were manageable. Additionally, Desolate Peak housed many precious spiritual herbs of various grades. Therefore, many Outer Sect Disciples frequently visited Desolate Peak—either to gather herbs or to train against magical beasts or to undertake sect missions like Qian Yuan and others.
In summary, despite its desolation and lack of permanent residents, Desolate Peak remained quite popular within Ziyang Sect and was often frequented by many Outer Sect Disciples.
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