Chapter 889: If You Ask Me, the Answer Is No
Only that elder of the Eternal Life Sect understood the meaning behind Tang Thirty-Six’s words.
The poison afflicting the head of the Tang family came from Chu Su, and Chu Su was a monster raised by the Eternal Life Sect’s own hands. If this elder answered that his words could carry weight, then the Tang family’s wrath would fall upon him. He dared not, so he could only say his words were useless.
Tang Thirty-Six turned to the Prince of Xiang and those great figures and said, “Words without any effect, no matter how pleasing to the ear, are nothing but nonsense. No matter how fallen the Eternal Life Sect may be, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to endorse a pile of drivel. I imagine this principle should apply to all of you as well.”
The head of the Wu family looked at Tang Thirty-Six and said, “Nephew, your words are a bit too harsh. After all, this is a matter of the Southern Creek Sect.”
Tang Thirty-Six replied, “You are an elder, and your reasoning is sound. Since it has nothing to do with our families, why rush to take a stand? Let the imperial court and the state religion fight it out. Once we see who’s about to win, we can pick a side then—there’s no need to sit down in advance.”
The old matriarch of the Mu Zhe family sighed and said, “That’s not what the old master said in his letter.”
Tang Thirty-Six smiled and said, “As you know, some things have happened recently in Wenshui City. The old gentleman’s intentions are bound to change.”
Huai Ren finally spoke at this moment.
She looked at Tang Thirty-Six calmly and said, “This is, after all, an internal affair of my Southern Creek Sect. The attitudes of others, while important, are ultimately not the key.”
Tang Thirty-Six smiled at her and said, “In that case, Senior, why did you call so many people here to bolster your own authority?”
Huai Bi was furious at this and shouted, “You’re an outsider! What right do you have to meddle in the affairs of the Southern Creek Sect?”
Huai Ren raised her hand to signal her to stop and looked at Tang Thirty-Six. “I know you’ve always believed that since the Saintess entrusted the sect’s affairs to her two disciples before entering seclusion, we old ones who have returned from wandering should not interfere, especially in a major matter like merging the sects. Am I right?”
She said this to Tang Thirty-Six, but it was also directed at Chen Changsheng, the Mount Li Sword Sect, and the Huaiyuan Academy.
Tang Thirty-Six sensed something was off and furrowed his brow slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
“Ping Xuan, Yi Chen. Before the Saintess entered seclusion, she issued a decree placing the sect’s affairs in your hands.”
Huai Ren spoke with a gentle expression. “Then, before the eyes of the world, I ask you both: Do you agree to the merger?”
With these words, many gazes fell upon the two female disciples of the Southern Creek Sect standing at the front of the crowd. Whether from the Mount Li Sword Sect, the Huaiyuan Academy, or the dozens of other sect cultivators, everyone knew these two were Ping Xuan and Yi Chen—the ones personally chosen by the Saintess to temporarily manage the sect’s affairs.
Hearing this, Ye Xiaolian and the other young Southern Creek Sect girls exchanged glances, some surprise and hope in their eyes. They thought that their senior sisters—or rather, their senior aunts—would naturally not agree.
Tang Thirty-Six suddenly felt uneasy.
Ping Xuan’s face was pale, and she remained silent for a long time.
She thought of the long conversation with her master Huai Ren the night before, of her master’s discourse on the thousand-year legacy and the survival of the sect’s path, of her master’s resolve and courage to sacrifice her life for the Dao. She had no idea what to do. According to her own wishes and her understanding of the Saintess, she would naturally oppose the merger. But was she supposed to force her master to die before the eyes of the world?
Yi Chen faced the exact same situation. Thinking of her master’s calm and resolute gaze the night before, her Dao heart began to waver. Unable to maintain her composure, tears fell from her eyes. Silently apologizing to the Saintess in her heart, she said in a trembling voice, “I agree.”
Ping Xuan glanced at her, her lips moving as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.
The cliff-top clearing fell into an eerie silence. Apart from the breeze rustling the white sect robes, there was no other sound.
The crowd was stunned. Even the Prince of Xiang and the two family heads hadn’t expected that these two second-generation senior sisters, who held authority over the sect’s affairs, would agree to the merger.
Huai Ren looked at them, her face full of relief, and said softly, “You are both good disciples of mine.”
The entire venue fell silent. Everything had been decided.
No one expected that at this moment, an unremarkable young disciple of the Southern Creek Sect would step forward.
Whether in the Southern Lands or the capital, few in the cultivation world knew her.
The one who stepped forward was Ye Xiaolian.
She knelt on the ground, gathering her courage, and said, “Three Grandmasters, I do not agree to the merger.”
Huai Bi snorted coldly and shouted, “How dare you! A mere third-generation disciple dares to discuss sect affairs? Withdraw at once!”
Just then, dozens more female disciples of the Southern Creek Sect stepped forward and knelt behind Ye Xiaolian.
These disciples had mostly accompanied Xu Yourong to Cold Mountain, visited the capital, and spent a long time in the National Academy.
“Please, Grandmasters, reconsider!”
“Please, Grandmasters, revoke your order!”
Huai Bi hadn’t expected so many junior disciples to stand in opposition. Her finger trembled as she pointed at them.
Huai Shu looked at two of the disciples among them whom she had held in high regard and felt deeply disappointed, even pained.
Watching this scene, Huai Ren recalled what Chen Changsheng had said to her the night before, and her mind wandered for a moment.
But then, thinking of the rivers of blood that would flow once war broke out, she quickly hardened herself again. She said to these disciples, “The Southern Creek Sect does not belong solely to its disciples; it has been passed down through generations of founding masters. If you do not wish to remain in the sect, you are free to leave. I imagine the National Academy or the Li Palace would take you in.”
The meaning of these words was very clear: if these disciples insisted on opposing the merger, they would be expelled from Saintess Peak and stripped of their status as Southern Creek Sect disciples!
Ye Xiaolian and the other girls looked grief-stricken and fell silent. They did not wish to be cut off from the world, but how could they bear the pain of being cast out from their sect?
Thus, under the iron hand of the three grandmasters, the internal voices of the Southern Creek Sect were finally unified. No more words of opposition were heard.
The Prince of Xiang stood up, smiling, and said, “Congratulations to all fellow cultivators for leaving behind the disputes of the mortal world to focus on cultivation. Truly enviable.”
With these words, countless cultivators rose to offer their congratulations to the Southern Creek Sect. Voices of praise filled the air.
Only the seats of the Mount Li Sword Sect and the Huaiyuan Academy remained silent. Bai Cai was furious and wanted to speak, but Gou Han Shi stopped her.
Tang Thirty-Six sat back in his chair, squinting at the ever-calm Huai Ren on the platform, lost in thought.
“Seclusion is a perilous path, a last resort for sages. If it’s truly so enviable, Your Highness, why did you emerge from seclusion this year?”
A voice rang out across the cliff-top clearing.
The noise gradually died down, making that voice even clearer.
The voice was calm, indifferent, yet utterly resolute.
“If you ask me whether the merger is feasible, my answer is naturally no.”
Huai Bi was enraged. She turned around and shouted, “Who said no?”
“It was me.”
Chen Changsheng stood up, looking at her, and said, “Since you never asked me, I had to speak up myself.”
A commotion erupted across the clearing. Countless eyes turned toward him.