Chapter 335
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Several figures leapt out from behind the mountain. Since they had managed to evade Ou Peng’s senses, they were undoubtedly masters of the martial world. Ou Peng had initially assumed they were hidden experts from the Heaven’s Way Alliance, but when he saw the three elderly monks standing in the wind, exuding an overwhelming aura, as well as a veiled woman in palace attire, and three short, sturdy old men in coarse hemp robes with similar appearances, his expression changed dramatically. Instinctively, he raised his arm and pointed at them, exclaiming: “You… How could you be colluding with the Heaven’s Way Alliance!”
His words began in shock, but ended with gritted teeth.
Indeed, those three old monks were none other than Elder Changsheng, the abbot of Dalin Temple; Elder Changxing of the Arhat Hall; and Elder Changgeng of the Hall of Law Enforcement! The other four were the famed yet utterly mysterious members of the Incense Spreading Cult. Although the palace-robed woman was veiled, since she could appear alongside Elder Changsheng, who else could she be but Abbess Jingyi, the sect leader of the Incense Spreading Cult? As for the three similarly built old men in coarse robes, they were paragons of the previous generation’s martial world-secretly cultivated enforcers of the Incense Spreading Cult, adept at a joint formation technique. In their early years, whether facing one or ten opponents, the three always fought together and had never known defeat, earning them the reputation of being unmatched under heaven.
Such a formidable lineup, how could Ou Peng not be shaken?
He had never imagined that the two great sects, both inheritors of the immortal way and devoted to martial cultivation, would join forces with the Heaven’s Way Alliance to deal with the Piaomiao Sect! Only moments ago, he had sent disciples to seek help, and even though he had just learned that monks were among the attackers, he had tried to dismiss the thought. Even if he vaguely sensed that taking the Luo River Gang had offended Dalin Temple’s Hall of Law Enforcement and that Dalin Temple might intervene, he never expected the reclusive Incense Spreading Cult to get involved as well.
In that instant, Ou Peng understood why the Heaven’s Way Alliance’s forces attacking Piaomiao Manor were all masked. They truly feared being recognized by the Piaomiao Sect, for many of them were not disciples of the Heaven’s Way Alliance at all-perhaps most were lay disciples of Dalin Temple.
With this realization, Ou Peng felt utterly disheartened. He cupped his fists and said: “Elder Changsheng, why have you come to Piaomiao Peak instead of meditating and worshipping Buddha at Dalin Temple? Had I known you were coming, I would have opened the gates of the Piaomiao Sect to welcome you. Why go to such trouble as to come over from behind the mountain?”
Elder Changsheng pressed his palms together and replied in a low voice: “Patron Ou, it has been some time. Your martial skills have reached new heights-truly admirable.”
He, however, made no mention whatsoever of the reason for his visit.
Ou Peng turned and saluted the woman in palace attire. “Ou Peng of the Piaomiao Sect pays his respects to Abbess Jingyi of the Incense Spreading Sect.”
The woman’s aged voice sounded. “No need for formalities, Ou Peng. Your martial skills are indeed impressive.”
Ou Peng sneered inwardly. Both of them kept bringing up his martial prowess. If he still couldn’t tell why they were here, he would be unworthy of being the Piaomiao Sect’s leader.
Yet, since neither of them laid their cards on the table, Ou Peng also pretended not to know. He turned to Zhang San and said: “Alliance Leader Zhang, our contest isn’t over yet. With two seniors present, why don’t we have a proper match?”
Zhang San, who had brought two deputy leaders of the Heaven’s Way Alliance to test the Piaomiao Sect’s strength, hadn’t expected things to backfire so badly. The two great sect leaders hadn’t shown up in time, one of his deputies was crippled, the other’s fate unknown, and he himself had nearly fallen to Ou Peng. Now, faced with another challenge from Ou Peng, how could he possibly accept?
He merely laughed. “Sect Master Ou, let’s not beat around the bush. Things have come to this point, so let’s speak plainly. Don’t you think the Piaomiao Sect’s strength has grown a bit too quickly these past few years? Even just you and the Six Tigers of Piaomiao Sect, your martial skills are off the charts. Don’t you think you owe us an explanation?”
Ou Peng replied: “It’s simply the result of everyone in the Piaomiao Sect working together and training diligently. If Alliance Leader Zhang is interested, you’re welcome to join us and experience it for yourself.”
Zhang San sneered. “Heh, Ou Peng, you’re still being stubborn. News about the secret ground has already spread from Ten Thousand Swords Peak. Do you know where the other deputy leaders of the Heaven’s Way Alliance, the elders of Dalin Temple, and the hall masters of the Incense Spreading Sect have gone?”
Ou Peng retorted with a cold laugh: “Don’t tell me-they’re all off to destroy Ten Thousand Swords Peak? Such a small sect can hardly warrant such a grand display.”
“That’s right. Ten Thousand Swords Peak alone wouldn’t require such a show of force. But what if the Tan family and Yanming Manor are involved as well?”
Ou Peng’s expression shifted slightly but quickly returned to normal. He smiled: “You people always have your reasons. If you wish to accuse someone, you’ll never lack an excuse.”
“Heh, Sect Master Ou, do you really think the alliance between your four sects is so solid, and that the secret of the hidden ground would never leak? Yet you never imagined that it was precisely your caution that gave you away.”
Ou Peng replied: “Alliance Leader Zhang, you really are bored. It’s true the other three sects are close with my Piaomiao Sect, but as for what you’re saying, I know nothing about it.”
Zhang San shook his head and said: “Sect Master Ou, there’s no need to deny it any further. You probably don’t know, but among those who went into the hidden ground for treasure for the first time, one of them has already escaped to our Heaven’s Way Alliance. Otherwise, how could I have convinced Elder Changsheng and Abbess Jingyi to come?”
Ou Peng frowned. “If Alliance Leader Zhang is in the mood to tell stories, I’m all ears. But if you’re trying to probe for information from me, I can only apologize.”
Zhang San ignored him and continued: “Sect Master Ou, perhaps you’ve forgotten, but during your four sects’ first expedition for treasure, there was an outsider among you, none other than Situ Ping, the leader of the Evil Tiger Gang.”
Ou Peng’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Situ Ping was brought back to his sect by Ma Xiangyang of Ten Thousand Swords Peak. Originally, Situ Ping had rendered you a service by leading you into the dense forest. She never coveted what was in your jade bottles, just asked for a share of the medicinal herbs, as you had all agreed beforehand. But Wan Chengjiu just had to be stingy, went back on the agreement, treated her as a mere entry-level disciple, restricted her freedom, and even sent his disciples to seize the Evil Tiger Gang’s territory. How could Situ Ping possibly accept that?”
“Such a secret matter, if Situ Ping hadn’t managed to escape from the Ten Thousand Swords Peak and had happened to seek refuge with our Heaven’s Way Alliance, how could we know all this in detail? Sect Master Ou, there’s no point denying it. We’ve already been to that dense forest ourselves. We don’t wish to disturb the peace of your four sects, but the forest is truly perilous. Without the sheepskin scroll to enter, our Heaven’s Way Alliance has already lost quite a few disciples. That’s why we had no choice but to resort to this. We ask for your understanding, Sect Master Ou.”
Ou Peng, upon hearing this, threw his head back and laughed loudly. “Setting aside whether your story is true or not-even if it is-after you killed two of my junior brothers, slaughtered many of my disciples, and destroyed several of our branch halls, do you really think a few words are enough to make my Piaomiao Sect hand over the sheepskin scroll? Aren’t you being a bit too naive?”
He then turned to the two great sect leaders and asked: “Seniors, what do you say?”
At this moment, the veiled Abbess Jingyi’s aged voice sounded again: “Ou Peng, you’ve wrongly accused Elder Changsheng and me. The Heaven’s Way Alliance’s attack on your Piaomiao Sect was their own action; our two sects did not participate. As for your two junior brothers, that was an accident. We only intended to capture them, not harm them, but Zhang San acted on his own and struck ruthlessly. Elder Changxing just told us about this. The reason we arrived so late was to let your Piaomiao Sect settle the score with the Heaven’s Way Alliance first, so we could talk more easily. Now that the Heaven’s Way Alliance has lost one deputy leader dead and one crippled, isn’t that even with your Piaomiao Sect?”
After hearing Abbess Jingyi’s words, Ou Peng was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing again. “Even? How so? My two junior brothers are dead, just like that, you want to call it even with a little maneuvering? Abbess, search your heart: can this truly be considered even? The Piaomiao Sect’s Six Tigers will never be whole again. How can we just let this go? Besides, the blood feud between the Piaomiao Sect and the Heaven’s Way Alliance has already been forged. Only one side’s destruction can resolve it, surely you know this, Abbess?”
Abbess Jingyi did not respond.
Ou Peng pressed on: “Then may I ask, Abbess, was my eldest senior brother also killed by the Heaven’s Way Alliance?”
Abbess Jingyi glanced at Elder Changsheng, then said: “Hu Yunyi is only seriously wounded. Most of your Piaomiao Sect’s elite disciples have fallen, but the lower-ranking disciples are unharmed and have already broken out of the encirclement.”
“That’s good. Abbess, thank you for showing mercy. I suppose, for now, no one in the Heaven’s Way Alliance has the strength to gravely injure my eldest senior brother.”
Seeing Dalin Temple and the Incense Spreading Sect remain silent, Ou Peng turned to Zhang San and said: “Alliance Leader Zhang, there’s another matter I must ask you about.”
Zhang San’s expression was blank as he replied: “Please speak, Sect Master Ou.”
Ou Peng pointed to Ou Yan in the distance. “This is my own younger sister. All of Jianghu knows she is unskilled in martial arts and couldn’t even truss a chicken. Yet two years ago, when she traveled south, she was ambushed by people from the martial world. I want to ask: does your Heaven’s Way Alliance still uphold the code of Jianghu, to lay hands on a defenseless woman?”
Upon hearing this, Zhang San smiled. “Sect Master Ou, you misunderstand. While the Heaven’s Way Alliance may not be a millennia-old orthodox sect, we do uphold the code of Jianghu. We would never bully a defenseless woman. As for your sister, I only learned of this recently myself. Would you care to hear the details?”
Ou Peng cupped his fists. “Alliance Leader Zhang, no matter how hostile we are now, I respect your adherence to the code of not bullying the weak. Elder Changsheng and Abbess Jingyi are present and have heard this as well. I hope you will always keep to this standard.”
Zhang San, still smiling, replied: “Of course. That’s always been my principle, as both sect leaders here can attest.”
Ou Peng pressed further: “Then may I ask, Alliance Leader Zhang, who was so heartless as to attack an unarmed woman?”
Zhang San replied: “This is someone you would never suspect.”
