In reality, not all Inner Disciples had the right to enter the Spiritual Qi Gorge. The Pro-disciples of the five Elders were the only ones free to enter as they wished. The rest of the Inner Disciples required a cultivation plate to enter and the plate was valid for a month. To obtain the plate, they must either use a large amount of Spirit Stones to buy it through connections or win on the battle platform each month.
The crowd began to discuss in low whispers. "Did Luo Shangyan get beaten up on the battle platform so badly the other day just for this person?"
"Toward the end of the battle, she looked like she had cast her life aside. She actually went and battled a Lv 6 disciple..."
Xiao Chen clenched the jade plate in his hand and the rims of his eyes gradually reddened. How could he not tell that she had sustained grievous injuries? How could he cultivate here with a clear conscience...
Mo Yu chuckled. "So what if he has a cultivation plate? Does that mean that everyone can just make a cultivation plate and bring someone from outside the sect up here?" He fixed a cold glance at Xiao Chen. "Hand over the cultivation plate and then scram out of here."
Xiao Chen's expression swiftly turned dark and his robe shook without the wind. If not for this man, Senior Sister Luo would not be forced to go to the battle platform and sustain such great injuries...
He raised his head and said solemnly, "Mo Yu, you better not take this too far. If I can kill Ye Fei, I can also kill you. If I put my life on the line in a fight, you have no hope of surviving..."
Mo Yu's eyes narrowed. "Oh? Is that so? Then I'm really interested in giving it a go and see how impressive your Lv 7 Qi Refining Realm is."
The crowd fell into shock. "What?! He's in Lv 7 Qi Refining Realm? How long has it been since he came to the sect? No wonder he could win against Senior Sister Wen!"
Xiao Wan'er and Cheng Ying were also astonished. They felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck them in their hearts. Xiao Han was the only one who was serene as if he had long known about this.
"Hehe, try me then..." Xiao Chen's expression was increasingly dark as a murderous aura soundlessly extended from within him. Everyone in the vicinity could feel a chill down their backs.
Just then, a cold female voice resounded from outside of the crowd. "Since he has a cultivation plate, I think Senior Brother Mo better not make things difficult for him."
Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice and saw a white-clothed girl slowly walking over. She wore no expression on her face. With her sleeves gently swaying in the wind, she looked like a fairy from heaven who had been banished to the Human World.
For a moment, many of the male disciples felt a deep sense of shame over their inferiority in looks and they all looked away from her. Mo Yu smiled. "So it's Junior Sister Li."
The girl was the one that Xiao Chen met at the end of the bridge. She cast Mo Yu an indifferent glance without saying a word. She was perhaps the only one out of all Three Pure Sect who dared to act this way with him.
With a cold laugh, Mo Yu promptly walked to the other side. When he passed by Xiao Chen, he said in a low voice, "Insects remain insects at the end of the day. If you climb to a place that you don't belong in, prepare to get trampled..."
Xiao Chen clenched his fists and his sleeves trembled without the wind. "Then you can try me..." he said coldly.
"Hehe. I'm the one who placed the Lv 6 Qi Refining Realm disciple..." Mo Yu gradually walked away from him, leaving behind only these words.
Xiao Chen clenched his fist so tightly that his knuckles creaked. It was Mo Yu who deliberately arranged for a person to injure Senior Sister Luo.
Moments later, the crowd scattered as well. Xiao Chen walked to the girl and said softly, "Thank you for your help earlier, Senior Sister. How should I address you?"
The girl glanced at him and shook her head. "I'm Li Muxue. There's no need for you to call me Senior Sister since I can't be considered an official disciple of Three Pure Sect."
Xiao Chen was taken aback by how generous with words this girl was with him. He immediately smiled. "Thank you very much for preparing a cultivation ground for me the last time, Miss Li." By now, it was impossible for him not to guess that the courtyard was this girl's former dwelling place.
When Li Muxue did not reply, Xiao Chen continued, "Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Li?"
He felt that this girl had a motive of her own to help him again and again. Similarly, he did not wish to owe favors to this girl as well. It was just right to settle the karma between them.
However, the moment the words left his mouth, he saw the girl's beautiful eyebrows forming a frown. He could not help feeling regretful. Perhaps she did not have any motive in helping him and his words might be a little premature. He chuckled and said, "I'm sorry. I'm being impolite."
Li Muxue was still not speaking. A moment later, she sighed and turned around to leave. From afar, he could hear her saying, "You can't help me..."
"You can't help me..." Watching her gradually retreating figure, Xiao Chen suddenly felt agitated. Her words seemed to carry a sense of helplessness borne out of too many worries.
When evening arrived, Luo Shangyan showed up to bring him back. No one mentioned what had happened earlier and Xiao Chen naturally would not bring it up either. When they reached the mouth of the gorge, they saw figures moving on top of a spacious bluestone platform at a distance. "Senior Sister Luo, is that the battle platform?" he asked.
Luo Shangyan turned to look at him with a slight frown. "What's wrong?"
Xiao Chen shook his head. "One day, I'll definitely step onto that platform."
Today was like any other day before it, with everyone going to the Spiritual Qi Gorge. This time, Luo Shangyan's complexion had improved a little. However, just after nine am, two white-clothed disciples entered the gorge.
The two of them looked like they were in a great hurry. One of them yelled, "The five Elders summon everyone to the public square at once!"
In a flash, many people who were meditating and cultivating opened their eyes one after another. They asked the people around them, "What happened? Why are the Elders summoning us in such a hurry?"
"I have no idea. I just came here too."
Naturally, Xiao Chen and his friends also got the message. Luo Shangyan wore a deep frown. "What happened?"
Shangguan Yan looked like she wanted no more than to see the sky collapse on them. "Hehe! Looks like there'll be a good show to watch!"
Xiao Chen glared at her. "Why are you so happy? If the sky collapses, you can run either."
"Tch! Since you're so tall, you'll be the first to get crushed if the sky collapses!"
"That's enough arguing from you two. Let's hurry and see what's going on." Under Luo Shangyan's leadership, the group swiftly walked toward the mouth of the gorge.
After leaving the gorge, they came across other disciples coming from different places on their way back. They were all rushing to the public square of Three Pure Sect and discussions between them went on endlessly.
"What happened?"
"I heard that three people from Cultivator's sects of the Violet Manor have arrived."
"People from the Violet Manor? Which sect are they from? What are they doing here?"
"I heard it's Skygale Sect. Yes, it's Skygale Sect of the Violet Manor. It seems like their Sect Leader's disciple wants to marry Junior Sister Li."
Xiao Chen's expression stiffened. Skygale Sect! In the past several months, he had more or less understood the condition of the large sects. Skygale Sect was the strongest of all large sects, owing to their internal sect within the Violet Manor. To be frank, Skygale Sect of the Human World was actually the Outer Gate of Skygale Sect of the Violet Manor. Every year, they would send several disciples with good aptitudes to the Violet Manor.
Xiao Chen clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles creaked. The memories of Qin Xiu coming to the Xiao Family and forcing him to terminate the engagement were still fresh in his mind. He had always kept the snapped sword on his bedside, all so he could constantly remind himself of the humiliation he suffered that day!
Before long, nearly all the Inner Disciples of Three Pure Sect had assembled in the public square. They formed neat lines under the guidance of their respective Senior Brother and Sisters. The disciples numbered almost a thousand. Behind everyone's backs were two or three hovering flying swords that emitted dense cold light. The momentum of these disciples could not be described as weak. If ordinary little devils were to come across this scene, they would immediately flee.
Five platforms made of jade and Taoist lotus flowers hovered on the host section of the public square. They were different from platforms of Buddhist lotus flowers. These were shrouded in a layer of faint white light. The people occupying these platforms were none other than the five Elders of the sect.
There was another tall platform next to them, where three youngsters were seated. One was dressed in white, another in green, and the last one in red. Seeing as they were given the privilege of sitting alongside the five Elders, they were presumably the three people from Skygale Sect of the Violet Manor.
Xiao Chen saw Li Muxue standing by her lonesome in the crowd, her head lowered. She looked as if her worries could not be solved. Suddenly, Xiao Chen recalled her words yesterday, "You can't help me..."
"Senior Sister Li." He walked over and greeted her.
Li Muxue immediately turned her head away. "Don't talk to me..."
Initially stunned, Xiao Chen promptly sensed a cold gaze directed at him. He turned around to look and saw that it was the white-clothed young man glaring coldly at him, seemingly because he was speaking to Li Muxue.
He suddenly remembered that on his way here, he had heard many people saying that the Sect Leader's disciple of Skygale Sect of the Violet Manor wished to marry Li Muxue. It seemed that the disciple was this white-clothed young man.
Back then, it was Qin Xiu. Now, it was this Sect Leader's disciple who had come out of nowhere. His hatred for Skygale Sect had climbed to a peak. He met the young man's cold gaze with a faint smile. He then joined Li Muxue's side and pulled her hand with a smile. "Let's go, Senior Sister Li. It's windy here."
His words prompted terrified cries from quite a few people in the vicinity. Even Li Muxue herself got a terrible shock and she immediately withdrew her hand.
Above the tall platform, the white-clothed man's gaze turned colder and colder. It was cold enough to freeze someone even though it was only July. Next to him, the green-clothed man who looked a little older put pressure on the white-clothed man's hand and shook his head.
Meanwhile, the red-clothed man appeared to have TRANSLATION ERROR. He looked at Second Elder and pointed at the crowd below. "These are all the disciples you have in Three Pure Sect? I thought you were being modest earlier. Now that I witness them myself, I see that all of their aptitudes are indeed mediocre. They're so much inferior to the disciples of our Skygale Sect."
Second Elder gave a hollow laugh and did not reply. First Elder's face had turned green. If not for the fact that these three came from the Violet Manor, he would have long kicked them off the platform.
"Well, that's not important. I'm here today just to meet a disciple of your Three Pure Sect." The red-clothed man trod upon the air, walking toward a battle platform in the distance in a casual manner. The crowd below him was startled. He could walk in the air without even drawing support from magic treasures or Immortal's Swords. Could he have attained the Foundation Building Realm?
The red-clothed young man arrived on the battle platform and laughed. "Come on. I'm Xu Hao, here to fight on behalf of my Senior Brother. If I win three battles against you all today, we'll be bringing Li Muxue back with us today." When he finished speaking, his two companions also arrived in the vicinity of the battle platform.
Based on the rules of Cultivators' sect over hundreds of thousands of years, a sect disciple could only marry a disciple of another sect after winning three successive battles. It would not be possible otherwise, even with the permission from their respective parents.
Similarly, if Xiao Chen wanted to marry Huangfu Xin'er right now, he must challenge and win three battles against Skygale Sect of the Human World before he could take her away.
Xu Hao took off the sword tied to his waist with a smile and pointed at the crowd with the sheath. "Don't say that I'm bullying your Human World sect. If you can last ten movements against me, I'll consider it your victory," he said, smiling.
The crowd immediately burned with rage. Even if they were from the Violet Manor, did they have to be this condescending? In a flash, everyone's gazes fell on Mo Yu.
First Elder's expression had long turned unsightly. "Mo Yu, why don't you seek guidance from this friend from the Violet Manor?" he said in a solemn voice.
Mo Yu wanted nothing more for these three men to take Li Muxue away but since his master had made this request of him, he had no good excuse to decline it. With a shift of his body, he reappeared on the platform.
Second Elder frowned. "Senior Brother, will this work?"
First Elder's expression remained ashen as he raised a hand. "There's no harm trying. Even though these three are in the Foundation Building Realm in the Violet Manor, the transworld seal on the Violet Manor and the Human World hasn't completely collapsed. There are many restrictions in our world still and these three won't be able to exercise all of their power."
Over on the platform, Mo Yu's robe swayed despite the fact that there was no wind. He said coldly, "I'm Mo Yu. Please guide me, Senior Brother!"
Xu Hao cast him a sidelong glance before laughing. "You're the Sect Leader's disciple?"
Mo Yu burned with fury. Being unable to become the Sect Leader's disciple was his greatest regret. He replied solemnly, "I'm not!"
"You're not? If you're not, then scram! You don't have the right to fight me. Get the Sect Leader's disciple to come up!"