"You were the Supreme Elder’s disciple and once the Saint Heir of our Lingyun Sect. You should know the origin of Dingfeng Slope. If you truly want us to give up the marriage alliance with the Celestial Derivation Sect, you must retrieve something from Dingfeng Slope. As long as you bring that item back, the crisis facing our Lingyun Sect can be resolved."
Upon hearing Yu Zongding’s words, Chu Fan stared at him in disbelief.
’Send me to Dingfeng Slope to get something? How is that any different from sending me to my death?’
’Forget about his current state; even back when he was in the Golden Core Realm—no, even if Yu Zongding himself went to Dingfeng Slope, he might not come back in one piece.’
’Otherwise, it wouldn’t be the Desolate Land that makes everyone pale at its mere mention.’
The origin of Dingfeng Slope?
Legend has it that over three thousand years ago, a Fierce Beast ravaged the world. The Lingyun Seven Sons of that era participated in the hunt. They united with countless masters to lay an Annihilation Array on Yunmeng Mountain, luring the Fierce Beast into its center.
Of the several thousand masters who participated in that battle, even with the empowerment of the Array, only thirty-odd people made it out alive.
Only one of the Lingyun Seven Sons survived—the founding ancestor of the Lingyun Sect.
The ancestor, who had been only half a step away from Tribulation Crossing and Ascending, suffered grievous injuries that severed his chance to ascend. To commemorate the other six members of the Lingyun Seven Sons, he founded the Lingyun Sect on Cuiyun Peak of Yunmeng Mountain.
Dingfeng Slope was the eye of that great Array. Though three thousand years had passed, the residual power of the Array still raged there.
After all, thousands of masters had fallen there over three thousand years ago. To say nothing of anything else, any one of their Lifebound Weapons or Magical Artifacts would be priceless.
Over these thousands of years, some had risked their lives and gone to Dingfeng Slope for fortune, but not a single one ever walked out alive.
But did Chu Fan have a choice now?
’If I don’t go, I’ll be powerless to stop the Sect’s decision. Yun Xi will really have to marry that beast, Shui Yuntian.’
But Chu Fan couldn’t trust a word from any of the people present.
’In the short time since I woke up, haven’t they already done enough treacherous things?’
’I don’t care if I die in Dingfeng Slope, but what will happen to Yun Xi?’
"I can go to Dingfeng Slope, but I have a condition."
"What right do you have to negotiate?" Li Mosheng chided.
Yu Zongding, however, waved his hand. He looked at Chu Fan and said, "You can state your condition. Of course, if you ask for the moon, we won’t agree."
"Whether I make it out of Dingfeng Slope or not, the Sect must cancel the marriage between Yun Xi and Shui Yuntian. If I can retrieve the item you want, then when I return, Yun Xi and I will leave the Lingyun Sect together, and we will have no further ties to it in the future."
Li Mosheng sneered, "If you die there, what grounds do you have to make other demands?"
Yu Zongding also smiled and said, "Chu Fan, you must understand, marrying Yun Xi to Shui Yuntian is a measure of expediency. It is to form an alliance with the Celestial Derivation Sect so we can jointly deal with the Red Blood Mansion, which could attack our Lingyun Sect at any moment. It’s not about targeting you. Now that your cultivation is destroyed, why would we target you?"
Pausing here, Yu Zongding sighed and continued, "Forget it. How about this: I’ll give you three months. If you can bring the item back, we’ll agree to your conditions. The moment three months are up, we will resume the marriage negotiations. You should know, we are gambling the lives of several thousand people in our Sect on these three months. If it weren’t for that Jade Pendant, no one could change our decision."
Chu Fan gritted his teeth, suppressing some of the rage in his heart. ’This is what it means to be weak—to be at the mercy of others.’
But did he have any other choice at this moment?
’If I take this gamble, there’s still a slight chance.’
’If I don’t, I can only watch as Yun Xi is pushed into the abyss.’
"Fine!" Chu Fan said.
"When will you go? I’ll see you off personally," said Yu Zongding.
"Right now."
Seeing that Chu Fan agreed to such terms, Li Mosheng shook his head and sneered disdainfully.
Great Elder Ji Chengding had remained silent from beginning to end.
Fifth Elder Yun Keji sighed helplessly. He probably hadn’t expected Chu Fan to disregard his own life for Yun Xi’s sake.
’If he weren’t crippled, only a madman would push away a son-in-law like this!’
’Whether or not Shui Yuntian is a beast doesn’t matter. What matters is that he is the son of the Celestial Derivation Sect’s Leader—the future Sect Leader of the Celestial Derivation Sect!’
Leaving the courtyard, Yu Zongding grabbed Chu Fan’s arm, and they soared into the air, flying over the mountain ranges before landing at the mouth of a valley.
"Find the Biyun Sword, the ancestor’s Lifebound Treasure Sword. If you do, I can agree to any of your conditions," Yu Zongding instructed Chu Fan.
"How will I recognize it?"
Yu Zongding slapped his forehead. "I forgot your Cultivation is completely gone. Otherwise, any disciple who cultivates the Lingyun Technique would feel a natural connection just by getting close to the Biyun Sword. It’s said that the sword’s guard and pommel are shaped like two white clouds, and the blade is inscribed with a character that means ’jade’."
Chu Fan nodded and stepped directly into the valley.
He had no desire to listen to Yu Zongding’s hypocritical platitudes about taking care and returning safely.
Yu Zongding watched Chu Fan’s back, and indeed, he said none of those things. In his eyes, Chu Fan was already a dead man.
’If not for the sake of appearances, why would he have bothered wasting his breath on him?’
After personally watching Chu Fan’s figure disappear deep into Dingfeng Slope, Yu Zongding let out a pair of cold chuckles and flew away.
Back on Cuiyun Peak, the three Elders were still in Yun Keji’s courtyard.
The Great Elder spoke first. "Did that kid really go into Dingfeng Slope?"
Yu Zongding nodded.
"Our Sect Leader is as shrewd as ever. That kid is already crippled, yet he still doesn’t know how to resign himself to fate," said Li Mosheng.
The Great Elder said, "Forget it. Regardless, he still has a sincere heart. It’s just a pity his Dantian and meridians are destroyed. To die for the one he loves... I suppose it’s a worthy death."
"The Great Elder is right. To die in the same place as those seniors of the Martial World is a blessing that kid must have earned over several lifetimes," Li Mosheng said with a laugh.
Yu Zongding’s gaze fell on Yun Keji as he said, "Fifth Elder, the marriage alliance must proceed. For this matter, let’s have the Sixth Elder personally make a trip to the Celestial Derivation Sect."
Yun Keji was stunned. "Sect Leader, but..."
Li Mosheng laughed heartily. "Surely the Fifth Elder doesn’t believe Chu Fan can actually make it out of there alive? The three months was just something we told him. Otherwise, how would he have backed down? We could kill him with a single finger, but he hasn’t committed any real crime, and it would be difficult to explain his death to the disciples. If he refused to give up, it would put us in a passive position. Isn’t this outcome for the best?"
The Great Elder made the final decision. "Mosheng is right. There’s no need to wait. Too many things can change in three months. The sooner this matter is settled, the sooner we can be at ease. If the Red Blood Mansion makes a move, we’ll be caught on the back foot."
"If that is the case, then I will leave it to the Sect Leader’s discretion," Yun Keji conceded.
"Sect Leader, Great Elder, if Chu Fan just dies like this, won’t it still be difficult to explain to the Sect’s disciples?" Yun Keji asked.
Li Mosheng shook his head and smiled. "Fifth Elder, are you still sentimental about old times? What’s so difficult to explain? After three months, the Sect will announce to the disciples that Chu Fan defied Sect rules. Instead of remaining confined on Cuimei Peak, he trespassed into Dingfeng Slope and threw his life away. The disciples of the Sect will be told to take this as a cautionary tale."