715 The Great Cleanup

Zhang Ruochen asked, "Two hundred years ago, what happened anyway?"

Mu Lingxi answered. "At that time, the Sect Master made a decision to expand into the Eastern Region and scramble for its profits, competing against the Black Market, the Martial Market Bank, and the imperial court.

"However, every force there was deeply rooted in the Eastern Region. If the Demonic Sect wanted to do something, it needed its own foundation. They selected an aristocratic family, the Qis.

"Only by controlling the Qis could the demonic sect enter the Eastern Region with no difficulty. They could even penetrate the Yin and Yang Sect by taking advantage of the Qis.

"The plot was bloodless, but one person had to be sacrificed--Lin Suxian.

"The Sect Master gave the order, and Lin Suxian was secretly married to Qi Xiangtian, the eldest son of the Qis' leader.

"For the next century, the Demonic Sect was assisting Qi Xiangtian behind the scenes. Eventually, 50 years ago, Qi Xiangtian took over the Qis. In order to enhance their control over the Qis, Qi Feiyu was developed as a Saintess.

After he heard the whole story, Zhang Ruochen sighed and said, "Did predecessor Luo Xu just sit by and watch helplessly while Lin Suxian married Qi Xiangtian?"

"Of course not!"

She added, "Although I don't know what happened between Lin Suxian and predecessor Luo Xu, I know from the High Priest that the predecessor had once went on his own to Topless Mountain, the headquarter of the Demonic Sect. On the path, he crushed seven Half-Saints. He even risked his life to kill a Saint.

"You know, predecessor Luo Xu had only reached the Half-Saint realm at that time.

"Unfortunately, his power was so weak that he was defeated by the Saints in the Sect. They say that his body was badly mutilated. Even when he was at the gate of death, with his blood spilled along the path, he refused to submit.

"The Sect Master had intended to put Luo Xu to death, but Lin Suxian pleaded for him, and she finally compromised by agreeing to marry Qi Xiangtian. Luo Xu was saved.

"Since then, this matter has remained unknown, except for the leaders in the Demonic Sect. Besides, the Sect Master has imposed a sealing order, so nobody would dare to reveal it."

Zhang Ruochen was visibly moved, and he said, "Since it's a demonic sect secret, why did you tell me?"

Mu Lingxi had been weeping silently. She stared at Zhang Ruochen in tears. She said, "I just want you to know that if someday, the Master asks me to marry someone else, I hope deeply that this man would be willing to fight his way up Topless Mountain for me without hesitation. With that man, I would fear nothing, not even death.

"Zhang Ruochen, did you know that the Saintess of the Demonic Sect is only a tool for the Sect Master to win popular support? The so-called Saintess can be awarded to any Saint who has made great contributions to the Demonic Sect."

Zhang Ruochen could sympathize with Mu Lingxi's sorrow and fear, and he fully understood why she had thrown herself at him.

As a matter of fact, she was worried that she would follow in Lin Suxian's steps.

Why not give her first night to someone she loved?

With a serious look on his face, Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath and put his arm around Mu Lingxi's waist and the other on her head. Gently, he said, "Don't be afraid. If that day is destined to come, please believe that I will push my way to Topless Mountain to pick you up in person, even if there are hordes of demonic sect's armies in the way."

Mu Lingxi rested softly in his arms, her tears falling faster.

Meanwhile, in the Tai Qing Palace of the Yin and Yang Sect, the heads of 3 palaces and 72 institutions had gathered to interrogate Qi Qiankun and Qi Yun.

An hour later, the leaders commanded immediately that the Lords of all the sacred mountains needed to clean up the Qis' descendants.

Master Ning Xuandao, seated on his throne, was dignified but sullen.

Everyone could tell that he was in a great fury.

Qi Qiankun and Qi Yun did not utter a word from beginning to end. But with the expulsion of the Qis' descendants, it was not long before messages were sent back consecutively.

The relationship between the Qis and the demonic sect grew apparent.

Although the Yin and Yang Sect remained neutral, never fighting the demonic sect directly, it could not tolerate any collusion with the demonic sect, which would be against the Suzerain's interest.

Saint Lady just sat beside him without saying anything, but she believed that the saints of the Ning Xuandao and the Yin and Yang Sect would not ignore her.

Saint Lady stood for both the imperial court and the Empress.

It was in the Yin and Yang Sect that she had encountered the mishap. How could the Yin and Yang Sect not give an explanation?

Moreover, the imperial court had hostile relations with the demonic sect. If the Yin and Yang Sect dared to be partial to the Qis, how would the imperial court interpret it?

Therefore, the cleanup in the Yin and Yang Sect, no matter for the whole or for individual, was bound to be terribly bloody. Any member of the Qis who had a relationship to the demonic sect was doomed to die.

Saint Lady mopped up the Qis before the Sword Technique Conference mainly because of the Heaven and Earth Altar.

Since Qi Hong was able to discover the Heaven and Earth Altar, then other Monks from the Qis might know, too.

In any case, Saint Lady would not allow anyone to disclose the secret of the Heaven and Earth Altar. Therefore, she had no choice but to give Qi Qiankun and Qi Yun to the Yin and Yang Sect and let the Saints in the Sect clean up the house.

For the next three days, the cleanup proceeded.

Overnight, all the descendants of the Qis disappeared completely. It shocked the Yin and Yang Sect like a storm.

Although no word spread, everyone could guess that something terrible had happened to the Qis.

The Tai Qing Palace had an elegant courtyard.

Saint Lady was sitting directly on top of the main room. And in front of her sat a long bronze table, on which brush, ink, paper and inkstone had been neatly placed.

In the center of the table stood a purple bell and a small jade bottle.

"Tap, tap!"

An robed elder walked in, bowed to Saint Lady respectfully, and said, "Report, Saint. The list of this cleanup has been worked out. Only two Half-Saints, Qi Shang and Qi Xuyi, were caught. The rest of the top masters of the Qis had already escaped from the Yin and Yang Sect."

Saint Lady remained impassive because she expected such an outcome.

The elder added, "The relation between the Qis and the demonic sect has come to light. The Qis' leader is Qi Xiangtian, while his wife is the past Saintess of the demonic sect, Lin Suxian."

After she heard that, Saint Lady changed her countenance slightly, raised her head, and said, "Lin Suxian... No wonder the demonic sect could take control of the best part of the Qis. She is the key factor."

The elder asked, "Your Excellency, will we maneuver the armed forces of the imperial court and join hands with the Yin and Yang Sect to impose sanctions on the Qis?"

Saint Lady considered, then she shook her head and said, "No. Just leave it to the Yin and Yang Sect, and the imperial court should stay out of it. Elder Liu, I have a weird gadget here. Please send it to Mr. Mei to check what it is."

Saint Lady put the jade bottle from the table into a dark steel chest, locked it with a layer of inscription of Array, and then handed it to the elder.

In the jade bottle was Death Qi.

The elder took the dark steel chest and went straight out of the room.

Saint Lady was seated alone beside the table. Her eyes fixed on the purple bell again, and Lin Yue's figure came to her mind once more.

"How could it be?"

Saint Lady closed her eyes instantly, but the figure became clearer and lingered in her mind.

Some pictures appeared again and again before her, Li Yue helping her to defeat Qi Hong, or Li Yue putting a coat over her, or even Li Yue sitting cross-legged and practicing on the ship's bow.

For the last three days, Saint Lady had kept catching herself in such a state, which made her suspect that there was something wrong during her practice.

"Would a mere Monk of the Fish-Dragon Realm become my inner devil?"

Saint Lady opened her eyes with holy light glimmering in her pupils. Next, she took out a piece of Holy Blood sandalwood ink and ground it with two white fingers.

She picked up a brush, dipped it in the ink, and began transcribing The Calming Mantras on the paper.

She came to a halt after copying half of them, only to find that she had written the name "Lin Yue" three times.

"Why do I run away from him? Is he so scary?"

Saint Lady put down the brush, along with the resistance in her heart. She clenched the purple black bell in her hand and walked out of the gate.

"Swoosh!"

A beam of white holy light flew out of Tai Qing Palace and stopped on top of a cloud over Zixia Sacred Mountain. It condensed into Saint Lady's body.

She felt strangely nervous. Her heart was racing.

Saint Lady hesitated. She did not land immediately. But suddenly, her Spiritual Power sensed Lin Yue's aura, so she cast her eyes down.

At that moment, Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi were sitting beside the stone table in the practice yard, talking about the Qis' cleanup. They were totally unconscious that a pair of eyes were staring at them.

Mu Lingxi held her chin and said, "How elusive is Saint Lady. In your opinion, what's her attitude toward our Moon Worship Sect?"

"On one hand, she invited the top geniuses of the Moon Worship Sect to take part in the Sword Technique Conference. It's obviously due to the selection of nine Heirs of Kunlun's Field.

"On the other hand, she spared none of the Qis who were related to the Demonic Sect. I can't figure out why she did it."

Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "You're involved closely, so you can't see it clearly. You should calm down to think carefully. In fact, there is a huge difference between the two."