Lu Qian was not a Defender; as long as his disciples didnât cross any major lines or violate sect rules, he wouldnât interfere in their personal lives. As for the cultivators of the Shuangye Alliance, as long as they didnât screw up important matters, he couldnât care less if they were extravagant in private.
But now, if these people were not controlled, they would probably cause real trouble.
Lu Qian stepped into the hall, and the cultivators of the Shuangye Alliance quickly ceased their laughter, sitting upright and still. Lu Qian walked straight to the main seat, sat down, looked at the somewhat flustered Bai Ling, and said in a deep voice, "Sect Leader Bai, please lead your sect disciples to rest outside the hall for a moment, I have important matters to discuss with my sect."
On someone elseâs turf, having seized their Spirit Vein, and now even driving the host out of the main hall, essentially reversing roles and taking over the house.
However, no matter how much grievance Bai Ling had, she could only swallow it down, responding softly before leading a few disciples out, thoughtfully closing the hall door.
Lu Qian waved his hand, and a Silence Array enveloped the scene.
Everyone assumed Lu Qian was about to discuss Foundation Establishment matters, so they listened intently. However, Lu Qian dispersed the clouds, wearing a stern face as he coldly stared at everyone, making them feel uneasy.
After a while, Lu Qian slowly opened his mouth: "Have you come here for a picnic or to indulge in pleasure?"
As soon as these words came out, everyoneâs heart skipped a beat, especially those who had been misbehaving, feeling guilty, showing ashen faces.
"Thereâs nothing wrong with being fond of pleasures, but you should at least see where you are before letting those desires loose!" Lu Qian said in a stern voice, "This isnât Chongming County! Youâve barely arrived and already let your guard down, acting like lords, forgetting who you are. Before youâve even warmed your seat, youâre already courting women, not afraid of having your throat slit on a womanâs stomach?"
Lu Qianâs words were blunt and extremely rude, completely different from his usual eloquent demeanor, shocking and frightening the cultivators.
"Use your brains and think, with 30 or 40 female cultivators in the Yuehua Sect whose cultivation is mediocre, how could they manage to exist independently here for so long without some cunning and means? Just because someone sweet-talks you, do you really start floating, thinking youâre a big shot?"
The cultivators of the Shuangye Alliance wore ashamed expressions, hit back to square one by Lu Qianâs harsh words.
"Everyone, be cautious! My auspicious time for Foundation Establishment is the day after tomorrow. During these two days, show your most cautious side. At this critical moment, if anyone drops the ball..."
Suddenly, Lu Qian flipped his palm, spreading out a Golden Silk Jade Scroll Array Map, five tokens flashed into beams of light, and with a heavy and sharp buzzing sound, a blackish lightning rose!
Everyone turned pale, the terrifying tearing force inherent in the bit of Gui Water Divine Thunder, none present could withstand it; just a slight touch might result in a lost arm or leg, causing extreme fear among everyone.
Looking at Lu Qian with a stern face, they realized for the first time that normally, this Sect Leader, Alliance Leader, always seemed to treat others with generosity and elegance, and they had forgotten he was a formidable person who suppressed Foundation Establishment Feather Scholars in the arena, and at least half of Yunshan Sect Leaderâs prestige was earned through battles!
In the Cultivation Realm, strength is the hard standard. Therefore, everyone was trembling, hastily bowing and agreeing.
Lu Qianâs face softened a bit, he collected the Array Map Array Base, dispelled the Divine Thunder, and said in a loud voice, "It has indeed been very laborious for all of you to accompany me from afar. Once I successfully establish my Foundation, there will naturally be generous rewards for everyone. I have always been fair in reward and punishment, generous-handed, and believe everyone trusts me in this. After receiving abundant rewards, wonât it be even more satisfying and pleasant wherever you want to go for fun?"
Thus, the expressions of the cultivators became more lively, readily agreeing and praising Lu Qianâs generosity.
After some idle chatter, the atmosphere became light once more, and Lu Qian removed the Silence Array, inviting Bai Ling to discuss matters.
This time, Bai Ling came in with a few disciples, immediately sensing a different atmosphere; the frequent secret glances at her and her disciples had vanished, and these cultivators were all stern-faced, solemn in demeanor.
Bai Ling felt uncertain, while Lu Qian sighed secretly. These Shuangye Alliance cultivators lacked organization and discipline, needing constant caution to be usable. Unfortunately, cultivating his own disciples does not come in a day, and Yunshan Sect currently has too few usable people; if there were a batch of elites, there would be no need to rely on them.
Meanwhile, a hundred miles away from Bailu Mountain, in a ravine, several dirty-clothed cultivators were fetching water.
Suddenly, the youngest looking among them threw down the water container, angrily saying, "We canât go on like this, itâs been three years of hiding going backwards, and the spirit and morale of the brothers have been worn down. I say, if worse comes to worst, letâs just disband."
The other cultivators were shocked, hushing him quickly, yet the young man remained indignant, "We originally had twenty fellow brothers, now what? Only us eleven are left! Since Sect Leader Yangâs Foundation Establishment, we thought the hard days were finally over, but what happened?"
"I canât figure out either, why did we have to ambush the Wang Familyâs cultivators last time, what good does killing a bunch of them do? We lost three brothers." A cultivator also darkened his face, joining in.
The eldest among them softly scolded, "Donât speak recklessly! The Sect Leaderâs orders, we must follow."
Seeing everyone still gripping resentment, he began to mediate, "Youâre all anxiously confused, donât talk heedlessly. Regarding ambushing the Wang Familyâs cultivators, revenge was secondary, wasnât it primarily to secure a batch of much-needed supplies for us?"
"The Sect Leader might be a bit radical, but havenât these decisions been agreed upon by everyone? How come itâs the Sect Leaderâs fault if it doesnât succeed?"
"Senior Brother Wang, youâre always smoothing things over." The young cultivator still stubbornly said, "He is the Sect Leader; he naturally should be responsible for everyone. Any achievement, all credit goes to him, but now that things have ended up like this, itâs of course due to his poor leadership."
Senior Brother Wang sighed, "Junior Brother Hao, donât get agitated. Regardless, we must not blame each other. Now, weâve lost everything, if we donât unite, we might be immediately wiped out. Moreover, since the Sect Leader is already a Foundation Establishment Feather Scholar, he still affords us some safety here. If you wish to leave, where can you go?"
These words immediately silenced the few of them.
A cultivator sighed, picked up the water container, "Sigh, Senior Brother Wang is right, letâs take one step at a time. In this vast world, where can exiles like us find a place to go?"
Thus, they dejectedly collected the water, dawdling through the forest until they came before a cave. Here, was where their residence lay.
They looked at the dark cave entrance, recalling the once-gorgeous Spirit Vein, shaking their heads in regret, but what could they do?
Once inside the cave, a fellow disciple came over, upon meeting them, started complaining, "What took you so long fetching water, the Sect Leader has important news to announce and sent me to find you guys."
Junior Brother Hao without raising his head, "Important news, important news, this time where are we going to rob again?"
The man froze, quickly replied, "Not robbing, the word is we are going to seize a Spirit Vein; our Yunshan Sect is finally going to re-establish the Mountain Gate!"