Chapter 54: Chapter 50: Turbulence

The thought that Ye Chen might be in trouble rendered Jiang Yao unable to remain calm, and she immediately dashed out of the cave abode.

Her delicate face was filled with panic, and her heart was in turmoil.

She wished she could fly to Ye Chen's side at once!

"Sister Jiang Yao!"

Jiang Yao's actions startled the seven or eight 12- or 13-year-old sword-bearing girls sitting behind her, all of whom widened their eyes at Jiang Yao.

They had never seen their graceful, beautiful, and genius sister, Jiang Yao, in such a flustered state.

One of those sword-bearing girls ran straight up to Jiang Yao, looking at her worriedly.

"Sister Jiang Yao, what's wrong?"

This sword-bearing girl was none other than "Chan'er," the girl whom Jiang Yao had asked to oversee the training of the Taixuan Sect's outer disciples on the mountain gate plaza when she left for Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain's Thousand Lotus Cave Abode.

She also had the closest relationship with Jiang Yao among all the girls.

Chan'er and the other girls' voices snapped Jiang Yao out of her panic, and she then remembered she was in the middle of cultivating "Snow-Filled Universe," a minor mystical power, under the tutelage of her master, "Fairy Jia Luo," in the cave abode.

"Master instructed me to stay in the cave abode during this time to cultivate the 'Snow-Filled Universe,' and not to leave until I've achieved significant mastery!"

Jiang Yao turned her head to look at Fairy Jia Luo, who was seated at the most prominent position in the cave.

At the moment, this powerful figure, clad in a snow-white gown and at the intermediate stage of the Rotating Pill Realm, who was also Jiang Yao's master, Fairy Jia Luo, was still cultivating with her eyes closed, as if she hadn't noticed the unusual situation in the cave, oblivious to Jiang Yao's distress.

"Master doesn't allow me to leave the cave during this time..."

Jiang Yao's master, Fairy Jia Luo, usually treated her with immense affection, but she was extremely strict when it came to cultivation. Without her master's permission, Jiang Yao didn't dare to step out of the cave.

She had no choice but to stop her rush towards the cave's entrance.

"But, Ye Chen, he..."

Torn between disobeying her master's orders and her concern for Ye Chen, Jiang Yao's eyebrows furrowed deeply, her delicate face filled with struggle.

"Sister Jiang Yao..."

At that moment, Chan'er called out Jiang Yao's name with concern again. Hearing Chan'er's voice, an idea suddenly flashed through Jiang Yao's mind.

"Chan'er, come here!"

She hurriedly called the sword-bearing girl "Chan'er" over and took out an ancient looking token.

"Chan'er, you must hurry to Qingyun Sect and see if anything has happened to Ye Chen. If Ye Chen is in any trouble, you must help him! And if you can't solve the issue, take out the 'Taixuan Command'!"

Having been separated from Ye Chen for over ten days, Jiang Yao suddenly sensed that something had happened to him. She thought Ye Chen must have returned to his sect, the Qingyun Sect, and encountered some difficult issue that caused the "Crimson Fire" flying sword to create such disturbance.

If the Crimson Fire flying sword was causing such a commotion, it likely meant that Ye Chen was about to use it. Knowing Ye Chen's capabilities made Jiang Yao even more worried.

She remembered that the Heavenly Saint Qian Ji's avatar had said that the flying sword should not be used lightly, as doing so could mean that a significant event had occurred.

"Ye Chen... Which Ye Chen?"

"Sister Jiang Yao, you even took out the 'Taixuan Command'?"

The sword-bearing girl Chan'er, seeing Jiang Yao's actions, was greatly surprised. Although she had never met Ye Chen, the way Jiang Yao spoke of him clearly indicated he had a significant relationship with her. Otherwise, her always composed sister Jiang Yao wouldn't be so worried, so flustered, and even take out the Taixuan Command.

The Taixuan Command could only be held by Spirit Sea Realm experts of the Taixuan Sect. Possessing it was akin to having a Spirit Sea Realm expert from the Taixuan Sect present in person.

As the strongest and top-ranked sect among the thirty-six in the eastern region of Heavenly Wind Kingdom, the Taixuan Sect's Spirit Sea Realm experts also possessed great renown across all the sects in the eastern region.

...

Within the main hall "Qingyun Hall" of Qingyun Sect's inner peak.

At this moment, all the great elders of Qingyun Sect were seated on both sides of the hall, and their sect master, Luo Kun, was talking to a gaunt old man in a crimson robe.

This old man in crimson was none other than Zhou Hai's father, Zhou Yuntian, an elder of Heavenly Net Sect, a deluxe sect, and a powerful figure in the middle stage of the Spirit Sea Realm.

Just as Xue Lei had said, he was visiting Qingyun Sect and was treated as an honored guest!

Qingyun Sect, being an eighth-grade sect, didn't have even one-tenth the might of the seventh-grade Heavenly Net Sect and, therefore, had to treat Elder Zhou Yuntian with the utmost respect.

It must be known that the hierarchical division of sects meant that an eighth-grade sect was represented by its strongest being in the Spirit Sea Realm. At the same time, a seventh-grade sect implied that its most powerful members had already broken through to the Rotating Pill Realm. Only a sect with an early-stage Rotating Pill Realm powerhouse could qualify as a seventh-grade sect.

The Rotating Pill Realm was a more powerful realm beyond the Spirit Sea Realm, and an early-stage Rotating Pill Realm expert could annihilate countless Spirit Sea Realm powerhouses.

Thus, the seventh-grade Heavenly Net Sect looked down upon the eighth-grade Qingyun Sect.

Even an elder from the Heavenly Net Sect could sit on an equal footing with the master of Qingyun Sect!

And the only sixth-grade sect among the top thirty-six sects in the eastern domain of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, the Taixuan Sect, was even stronger than the Heavenly Net Sect, with three mid-stage Rotating Pill Realm experts sitting at its helm.

If an elder from Taixuan Sect were to visit Qingyun Sect, then Sect Master Luo Kun wouldn't dare speak of sitting as an equal. Instead, he would have to greet the elder respectfully from a lower seat.

This was the difference in strength between the sects!

"Elder Zhou, have you received any news about that nominal disciple of our sect, Ye Chen, whom you want to capture?" Luo Kun asked with a smile.

Upon hearing the name "Ye Chen," Zhou Yuntian's expression darkened: "Hmph, that Ye Chen can't escape the palm of my hand. I refuse to believe that he can keep hiding forever!"

"I've already spread the news that I'm going to execute his parents, and I've had my disciples widely disseminate it throughout Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. I cannot believe that he won't show himself after hearing this, that he will still hide!"

Thinking of using this strategy to force Ye Chen to show himself, Zhou Yuntian gnashed his teeth in hatred.

"Hmph, even if he neglects his parents' lives and continues to hide, the secret treasure that another elder of my sect is refining is almost complete. With that secret treasure to search through Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, even if he's hiding in an underground cavern, I will capture him!"

By the end, Zhou Yuntian's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

The master and the elders of Qingyun Sect blanched a bit upon hearing Zhou Yuntian's words about executing Ye Chen's parents to force him to appear, and they offered several awkward laughs.

To capture Ye Chen's parents, who were untrained in martial arts, and force Ye Chen to appear was a breach of the unwritten rules of the martial world, and to have such an act occur within their sect, the elders and master of Qingyun Sect felt quite embarrassed.

However, in the face of Zhou Yuntian's actions, they dared not voice any complaints. With the backing of a Rotating Pill Realm sect master from Heavenly Net Sect, they could only cooperate with Zhou Yuntian's plan.

In fact, many elders, along with the master of Qingyun Sect, had even come to resent Ye Chen for causing them trouble.

They could only hope that Ye Chen was captured soon by Zhou Yuntian to put an end to this affair.

Yet one or two elders could only sigh in resignation, knowing that their sect's nominal disciple, Ye Chen, was likely to die at Zhou Yuntian's hands for nothing.

...

While Jiang Yao had sent the sword-carrying maiden "Chan'er" to rush to Qingyun Sect and had flown out of Taixuan Sect herself heading toward Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain in search of Ye Chen,

And while the most powerful figure among the thirty-six sects of Heavenly Wind Kingdom, Fairy Jia Luo, had mysteriously left due to Jiang Yao's actions,

And while Zhou Yuntian was a guest in the main hall of Qingyun Sect, waiting for news of Ye Chen, vowing not to rest until Ye Chen was dead,

Ye Chen had finally returned to Qingyun Sect from Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.

The winds were changing.

A great battle was imminent!