79 - A Sect Leader’s Ascension

余 Denno was at a loss for how to respond. The battle was so intense that if Guji hadn't been in trouble, he would have returned to assist by now. Left with no better option, he busied himself by lighting a bonfire and dragging the unconscious Qi Xiu over to rest. In the dim light, he hurried to the pile of bodies at the Mountain Capital Gate, picking out five or six storage bags under the puzzled gaze of Zhang Shishi. "You've never experienced it; such disputes in the White Mountain have always been like this—life and death are inevitable, and the winner takes all." Yu Denno tossed the storage bags beside Qi Xiu without checking their contents and began recounting in a weary, world-weary tone. "When I was part of the sect back in the day, we were much stronger than the Chu Qin Sect. Yet, overnight, we were wiped out. I still remember that night vividly. Every resisting cultivator in our sect, regardless of age or gender, was slaughtered—dozens of them. But do I hate those who did it? Rationally, I should, but I don't. I've lived half my life seeing such things too often in the White Mountain. Here, there are no acts of benevolence—only strength and victors. The weak cannot survive, just like the Mountain Capital Gate now. Every sect in the White Mountain has committed similar acts. Their only mistake was attracting Old Ancestor Wei's greed. Why did Wei specifically target them? Simply because they were easy pickings. In the White Mountain, if you don't want to be devoured, or end up like the Mountain Capital Gate, you have to be ruthless—to others, and even more so to yourself. I couldn't do it, which is why I don't hate others. I only hate myself for not being ruthless enough. Like him..." He pointed to the corpse of the cultivator who fought Qi Xiu. The mummified body remained seated cross-legged, hands frozen in a spellcasting gesture, eyes glaring forward with immense spite, its sinister expression particularly eerie in the firelight. "He was ruthless enough—ruthless to enemies and even more ruthless to himself. Only by being this way did he stand a chance of succeeding, a chance to survive in the White Mountain. If he had held on a bit longer, it would have been us dead, not the Senior Brother who leads the sect. He was only at Qi Refining Level Two, like Huang He. Had he not been ruthless, how could he have cornered a Qi Refining Level Five Senior Brother to this extent?" Zhang Shishi fell silent. In the quiet night, apart from Yu Denno's voice, the only sound was the crackling of the bonfire. He didn't use the luminous stones that cultivators commonly used, not just for the warmth, but because the fire provided a deep-seated sense of security rooted in human nature. "Death is indeed terrifying, but fighting to the death could also be a form of cultivation—a struggle for life against heaven and fellow man. Many cultivators in the White Mountain have grown and broken through in such battles. Under the Chu family's protection, you've lived too comfortably; you'll understand over time..." Yu Denno ceased speaking, lay down, and soon fell asleep. His injuries were also severe, and after waking, he had been busy until he could no longer hold on. Only Zhang Shishi, kept awake by the pain of his continuously regenerating arms, sat staring at the fire. As the fire burned out and the sky began to brighten, the wind from the night had somewhat dispelled the bloody scent in the nameless valley. From the distant woods emerged two figures—a man and a woman—whom Zhang Shishi recognized as He Yu and Bai Muhan. He hurriedly swung the empty sleeves of his arms and rushed to meet them. "What happened?" As they approached, he noticed both were silently weeping. Glancing into He Yu's arms, he saw a headless corpse clad in Chu Qin's red robe. "Guji, he..." Zhang Shishi's eyes reddened instantly, "Is it him?" He Yu nodded silently, and Bai Muhan extended a head wrapped in a brocade cloth. "This..." Zhang Shishi's lips trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face. As he reached out, he realized he no longer had arms to hold it. "If the Senior Brother who leads the sect knew, he'd be devastated; Guji was his favorite..." "Lay him with Huang He's remains..." Zhang Shishi suggested after a long sigh. The three of them wordlessly settled Guji's body before sitting in silence, only their tears marking the moment. "Guji perished with an old hunter," He Yu explained, handing a transparent wire to Qi Xiu. Each end was connected to a brass ring. "He probably underestimated the mortal, not expecting him to have such means, leaving not even a complete body." Qi Xiu lay still, staring blankly at the sky, seemingly unheard, the wire's toughness and sharpness tactile in his hand. Suddenly summoning inexplicable strength, he furiously hurled the weapon that claimed Guji's life aside, then rushed forward to embrace the head swathed in the brocade cloth, crying out in anguish. "Ah, ah, my child... my Guji..." he wailed. With trembling hands, he slowly uncovered the brocade, revealing Guji's face once more. His lips seemed to hold a faint smile, still displaying that mischievous and spirited demeanor. In Qi Xiu's mind, the image of the young man bouncing amid fiery shadows during a tournament, behind a mask, surfaced repeatedly. "I failed you... As a sect leader, I failed you..." he muttered, bringing Guji's head to rest beside his body, obsessively repeating the words over and over, as if his mind were in disarray. Seeing Qi Xiu so distraught, Zhang Shishi and the others hurriedly came to console him. "Senior Brother, he's gone. Please restrain your grief! If something happens to you too, what will become of us?" Yu Denno and others pleaded, kneeling before Qi Xiu as they awoke one by one. Bai Muhan knelt as well, "Senior Brother, it might not be my place to say, but you must pull yourself together quickly. We are here facing uncertain circumstances and need to connect with Zhao Liangde soon. If another disaster strikes, with everyone here injured, there's no hope for survival!" Her words had an effect. Qi Xiu stopped his cries, a trace of colorful light flickering in his dark eyes. The "Know Your Heart" talent circulated again, bringing his rationality back. Once the defenses were in place again, Qi Xiu instructed, "Denno, release another warning flare, the one Zhang Shishi has." "Yes!" Yu Denno retrieved a firework from the storage bag on Zhang Shishi's waist and set it off from the hilltop. "Mountain Capital Gate is surrounded by thousands of cultivators, including Golden Core elders. How could so many still escape? It's not like Zhao Liangde's plan to put us here was entirely altruistic. When I see him next, even if it costs me, I'll demand an explanation!" Watching Zhang Shishi's arms regrow would take another ten days or so. He gritted his teeth as he spoke, unsure whether due to pain or anger. Fireworks after fireworks were launched, yet the surroundings remained silent and still. "Leader... what now?" Yu Denno looked at Qi Xiu, crestfallen. "Keep firing. If the warning ones are exhausted, use the ones for contacting the Beast Taming Sect. Focus on healing; the more strength we recover, the greater our odds of surviving." After any great battle, everything seemed to retreat far away. The sky was clear without a single bird in sight. The effectiveness of the fireworks diminished in such bright skies. As they neared depleting their stock, using those meant for communication with the Beast Taming Sect, the broad silhouette of the Silverback Ray finally appeared on the horizon. Zhang Shishi leaped onto the creature almost immediately upon its arrival, too impatient to be stopped by Qi Xiu. But as the Chu Qin disciples worked to carry Guji and Huang He's bodies onto the ray, he stood dazed without confronting Zhao Liangde. Seeing his reaction, Qi Xiu was initially confused, but upon witnessing the scene on the ray's back, he understood. The back of the giant ray was a somber sight, littered with countless corpses shrouded in various sects' garments. The living were fewer than fifty, either blankly sitting beside a heap of bodies or loudly grieving over one, making for a sorrowful scene. "This..." Faced with such a dire state, Zhang Shishi had no reason left to confront Zhao Liangde. Instead, he steadied himself, quietly found a spot to lay his fallen comrades, and Qi Xiu hurried into the hall to seek Zhao Liangde. Inside the hall, it was devoid of the lively guests and cheerful chatter from before; a chill wind swept through, mingling with the presence of dozens of corpses, mostly of the Zhao family cultivators. The body of the fleshy-faced Foundation Establishment cultivator, now lay cast carelessly in a corner without even a covering, lonely and devoid of the arrogance and might it once had in life. Zhao Liangde remained in his usual seat, hunched over with a vacant gaze as if he had aged twenty years in just a few days. Now entirely gray-haired, he acknowledged Qi Xiu's arrival with a mere lift of his lids. "You're here... Surviving is enough; staying alive is more important than anything else..." In a weary murmur, he gently pulled the cover off the corpse at his feet, revealing it to be Zhao Teng, the youth who long ago aided Chu Qin's Pig-Fish and defeated Zhang Shishi on the tournament stage. His body was stitched all over, the death exceedingly tragic. "They've all left me! I can’t look after you now. You’ll be sent back to your sect soon; as for compensation... it will be arranged in due course. *Cough, cough*..." Zhao Liangde was evidently also gravely injured, as every word sent him into fits of severe coughing. Witnessing his condition, Qi Xiu was at a loss for words, forced instead to offer a few words of comfort before taking his leave. Yu Denno and the others had already inquired and discovered that the Mountain Capital Gate had secretly harbored a sixth Foundation Establishment cultivator. This individual was considered the sect's greatest prodigy and future hope, rarely showing himself and not residing in the Mountain Capital Mountain. Coincidentally, this time, he chose to break through Zhao Liangde's defensive perimeter. Though ultimately killed, he dragged a significant number of lives from this side with him. Even a sect that had greedily sought great rewards promised by Zhao Liangde suffered immensely, with over thirty members wiped out—a fate far worse than the Chu Qin Sect. "Sigh! In that case, it seems we were the luckiest after all..." Qi Xiu remarked softly, his heart aching as he glanced at the bodies of Guji and Huang He. "Given the circumstances, we should first return to the sect and give them a proper burial before making any further plans."