bookbashuk Chapter 413 Eight People Bow Down
Chapter 413 Eight People Bow Down
Above Qingyang Valley, a black torrent blotted out the sun.
Xuanzhenzi stood atop the main peak, his Daoist robes fluttering in the wind. He looked up at the demon soldiers suspended in mid-air, and at the demon general at the head of them, whose eyes were burning with dark red flames. At this moment, his 973 years of life suddenly felt very light.
It was as light as a wisp of dust about to be blown away by the wind.
Those who surrender will be spared death.
Those four words rolled across the sky like muffled thunder, causing the entire Qingyang Valley to tremble slightly. Birds in the mountains were startled and scattered in a flurry of flight. The demonic beasts in the spirit beast pens became restless, emitting low growls. The disciples who were meditating in the hall, working in the herb garden, or chopping wood in the back mountain all looked up at the black tide that blotted out the sun, their faces draining of color.
No one moved.
It's not that I don't want to move, it's that I'm afraid to move.
The demonic soldiers hovered overhead, a dark, imposing mass, like an inverted black mountain range. The long, black swords in their hands gleamed eerily in the sunlight, their dark red patterns slowly shifting, like countless eyes watching everything below.
Xuanzhenzi withdrew his gaze and turned around.
Qingluo was still standing beside him, her face as pale as paper, her lips tightly pressed together, unable to utter a single word. Behind her, the five Golden Core stage elders descended one after another on their escape lights, each one with a more grim expression than the last, especially Lei Xiaozi, who had caused trouble at the Cloud Hidden Sect, whose back was now soaked with cold sweat.
The hot-tempered elder had completely lost his temper. He simply stood there, staring at the dark mass of demonic soldiers above him, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.
"Valley Master..." he finally spoke, his voice terribly hoarse, "We..."
Xuanzhenzi raised his hand, interrupting him.
He didn't look at the elders, but gazed at the continuous palaces below the main peak, and at the disciples who were looking around anxiously in the courtyards. Outer sect, inner sect, servants' quarters, spirit beast pens, medicine garden, scripture pavilion... 1,863 disciples were all standing in that dark shadow, like a flock of lambs being stared at by a ferocious beast.
"Summon all disciples," Xuanzhenzi said. "To the main peak training ground."
Qingluo paused for a moment, then said, "Valley Master, you want to...?"
"Summon," Xuanzhenzi said.
This single word was like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a tidal wave in the hearts of everyone present.
"Valley Master!" the hot-tempered elder blurted out, "We haven't even fought yet! How can we..."
"Fight?" Xuanzhenzi interrupted him, his gaze falling on the elder's face. "Look up."
The elder subconsciously raised his head.
The dark mass of demonic soldiers above his head remained suspended, motionless. But now, it was clear that they were not "motionless" at all; the dark red flames burning in their eye sockets were now staring intently at him.
Not just him.
Everyone who looked up could feel countless gazes falling upon them.
That wasn't the gaze of a human. It was the gaze of a hunter staring at its prey, the gaze of a cat staring at a mouse, the gaze of... some indescribable being watching an ant.
The elder's knees suddenly buckled.
He recalled his late-stage Golden Core cultivation, his eighty-odd years of dominance over this vast area, and how he used to look down on mortals and low-level cultivators. But now, standing before these demonic soldiers, he suddenly felt that he was no different from those mortals.
They are all ants.
It's just a slightly larger ant.
"Pass on the order," Xuanzhenzi said.
No one spoke anymore.
………………
Main Peak Martial Arts Arena.
This is a square covering more than ten acres, usually used for inner disciples to practice their skills and spar. But now it is densely packed with people.
Outer disciples, inner disciples, servants, stewards, and elders—a total of 1,863 people, not one missing.
No one speaks.
Even the servants who usually loved to whisper amongst themselves stood with their heads down, not daring to breathe. The dark mass of demonic soldiers above them was still there, and the burning crimson flames were still watching them like a thousand knives hanging over their necks.
Xuanzhenzi stood with his hands behind his back in front of the training ground.
Behind him stood five Golden Core elders, followed by thirty-seven Foundation Establishment stage deacons. Each of them remained silent, awaiting the approaching moment.
Wei was still standing at the very back of the crowd.
She was assigned to the "inner disciples" group. Standing among a group of unfamiliar senior brothers and sisters, listening to their suppressed breathing, and looking at the overwhelming black tide above her, her face remained expressionless.
But the hand hanging in her sleeve tightened its grip on the jade ring on her wrist.
"What is that...?"
"A demon...it's a demon..."
"Are we going to die...?"
Low whispers circulated among the crowd. Some began to sob, some trembled and leaned on their companions for support, and some closed their eyes and muttered incantations, seemingly praying to some deity for protection.
Wei Yiran didn't say anything.
She simply gazed at the black tide above her head, at the figures suspended in mid-air, and suddenly a person came to mind.
Wei Yiran didn't say anything.
She simply gazed at the black tide above her head, at the figures suspended in mid-air, and suddenly a person came to mind.
grandfather.
When her grandfather sent her to Qingyang Valley, he said it was to "give her a way out." But now, that "way out" has been blocked. What blocked it was that mountain called Yunyin Sect, that immortal master named Chen Anran, and his 500,000 overwhelming demon soldiers.
A while ago, she received a message by carrier pigeon from her grandfather. He was very prescient, saying that he would send someone with twenty cartloads of gifts to befriend the Cloud Hidden Sect and prepare an escape route for her.
Wei Yiran lowered her eyelashes.
She didn't know what all of this meant. She didn't know if the twenty cartloads of gifts would make the Yunyin Sect look at her differently, or if her fate would be different because of it. All she knew was that, standing in this dark shadow, she felt no fear.
There was only a strange calm.
Like a drowning person, finally sinking to the bottom.
A commotion suddenly arose ahead.
Wei Yiran raised her head.
Suddenly, the five Golden Core elders at the front of the training ground parted to make way. Xuan Zhenzi stepped forward, walked to the very front of the training ground, and looked up at the dark mass of demonic soldiers overhead.
"Master Xuanzhenzi of Qingyang Valley, along with all his disciples, surrenders."
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three people knelt down in unison.
The sound of knees striking the bluestone was like a muffled thunderclap rolling across the training ground.
Wei Yiran also knelt down.
She knelt at the back of the crowd, her knees pressed against the cold bluestone, head bowed, gazing at the tiny cracks in the ground. Those cracks crisscrossed, like an invisible net, trapping everyone within them.