Chapter 39 The Scheming Disciple and the Charming Master 39

Chapter 39: The Scheming Disciple and His Charming Master 39

"Junior brother makes a good point. I just never figured that Qin Du kid—I'd run into him a few times before—would have it in him. Even Yuan Tianba lost to him."

Although Yuan Tianba was impulsive and arrogant, his cultivation was legitimately at the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

With the other sects backing him too, by all rights, he shouldn't have lost that badly.

Unless the enemy was way stronger than they ever imagined.

Over the next few months, the war played out exactly like Lin Huaiqing figured it would. The demon-suppressing army kept losing battle after battle and had no choice but to keep falling back.

Until they'd retreated all the way to the base of Xuantian Sect.

Xuantian Sect had natural terrain that made it easy to hold and hard to take. Plus the mountain-protecting formation as extra backup, the demon clan couldn't break through for now.

Sure, there'd been some bad blood, but they were still fellow immortal sects—Xuantian Sect couldn't just look the other way.

"Sect Master, you're really gonna open the barrier and let them up the mountain? Have you forgotten how Yuan Tianba framed us back then?"

"Elder Wang. When the nest falls, no egg survives. If all the other immortal sects get wiped out, we won't make it on our own either."

Chu Xiuyuan immediately ordered the mountain-protecting formation opened and let the demon-suppressing army up the mountain.

Within half an incense stick's time, the battered and broken army had set up camp in an open area on the main peak.

When they saw Chu Xiuyuan coming, the others pushed past their injuries and got up to greet him.

"Sect Master Chu!"

"Thank you, Sect Master Chu, for opening the formation and allowing us up the mountain to rest."

"Thanks, Sect Master Chu."

These old-timers didn't look like immortal masters anymore—they looked like a bunch of street beggars.

Looked like they hadn't gotten a full night's sleep in months.

The disciples trailing behind them were either dead or hurt, leaning on each other, sometimes two at a time, barely dragging themselves up the mountain.

Chu Xiuyuan figured they'd lose, but not that they'd fall apart this fast and this badly.

"Sect Master Song, Sect Master Zhang, Sect Leader Guo... How'd the demon clan manage to wound you all this badly?"

Sect Master Zhang sighed:

"Sect Master Chu! At a time like this, don't rub it in! You haven't run into the demon clan—if you had, you'd be in worse shape than us!"

"Pingyu! Hurry to Anxiang Shui Xie and get your junior master, plus her medical cultivator disciples, to treat the sect masters' wounds."

"Thanks, Sect Master Chu."

Lin Huaiqing was still in closed-door cultivation at Lingxiao Peak when he heard Chu Xiuyuan had flung open the mountain gates to let the demon-suppressing army in.

But he wasn't surprised one bit—his senior brother had always been a softie underneath all that tough talk.

Forcing him to stand by and do nothing would've been worse than killing him.

Still, there was one thing he didn't get.

Guess he'd have to poke the system.

"System, in the original plot, during the immortal-demon war, what was my senior brother doing?"

By all logic, Chu Xiuyuan's cultivation was way above Mu Yunting's, so why was it only Mu Yunting who saved the day?

Knowing his senior brother, he'd definitely have charged in before Mu Yunting.

But the original plot never mentioned him at all.

"Okay! Got it! In the original plot, on the eve of the immortal-demon war, Chu Xiuyuan fought the Demon Lord Qin Du to protect everyone and ended up dying by the Demon Lord's sword. After Chu Xiuyuan died, Mu Yunting picked up the banner of the demon-suppressing army."

"What?!"

His senior brother died that easily at Qin Du's hands? Back then, Qin Du's cultivation was way below Chu Xiuyuan's!

Was this the tragedy of being a side character?

Always getting killed off by the protagonist or the villain in some upset.

But someone as upstanding and honorable as his senior brother didn't deserve to go out like this!

"No way! I can't let my senior brother fight Qin Du!"

That said, when push came to shove, with his senior brother's personality, could he really stop him?

At the foot of the mountain, inside the war tent, Qin Du stared at the distant Lingxiao Peak, not saying a word for a long time.

Xiao Sha had just finished giving the demon army their rest orders and came back to the tent to see this.

Qin Du stood rooted to the spot, like a lovesick statue.

"Master still hasn't ordered the attack on the mountain—are you waiting for someone?"

"..."

The army rested at Xuantian Sect for three days, and the demon army waited at the foot of the mountain for three days.

For some reason, neither side made a move, and they both silently settled into a temporary truce.

In the great hall.

"Sect Master Chu, we were thoughtless before and offended your sect. But now the demon clan's practically at our doorstep—please put aside old grudges and lead us in wiping out the demon army!"

"Yes, Sect Master Chu, the whole immortal cultivation world is in the same boat. The demon clan is ruthless—without your full support, I'm afraid the immortal world is done for."

Chu Xiuyuan had never planned to stand by from the start. Now, at a life-or-death moment, how could he say no?

"Don't worry, sect masters. As long as you trust me, I'll do everything I can."

"We trust you, of course."

"Trust you? Absolutely!"

Just as everyone was celebrating and seeing hope for victory, a cold, clear voice drifted in from afar, dousing them like a bucket of ice water.

"Senior brother, you can't!"

Lin Huaiqing rushed into view with hurried steps.

"Junior brother, it's so late. Why aren't you resting at Lingxiao Peak? What are you doing here?"

Facing his junior brother, Chu Xiuyuan felt a pang of guilt.

After all, he had just promised Lin Huaiqing he wouldn't get involved, only to be caught red-handed.

"Junior brother, that was then, this is now. There were indeed some misunderstandings before, but if I don't take the field now, the cultivation world is in grave danger."

"Senior brother! Everyone here can go down the mountain to fight Qin—the Demon Lord, except you!" Lin Huaiqing was burning with anxiety, accidentally blurting out his true feelings.

Chu Xiuyuan was puzzled: "Why is that?"

But his words had already sparked discontent among the other sects.

"Immortal Venerable Huaiqing, what do you mean by that? Not to mention the Demon Lord was originally your own fine disciple—you're blind and clueless, and even if you can't help, that's one thing. But does Sect Master Chu's decision really warrant your say?"

Before Lin Huaiqing could retort, Chu Xiuyuan flew into a rage first.

"Headmaster Zhang! If you have a problem with my junior brother, take it up with me! This is Xuantian Sect, and he certainly has a right to speak here!"

Such going all out to defend his junior brother in front of everyone showed the deep respect Chu Xiuyuan held for Lin Huaiqing.

In the eye of the storm, Lin Huaiqing wasn't angered by Headmaster Zhang's accusations. Instead, he let out a soft chuckle.

"I think you all misunderstand. My refusal to let my senior brother go down the mountain isn't because Xuantian Sect is turning a blind eye..."

"Then what do you mean?"

"It's because I intend to go down myself and take care of that wayward disciple of mine."

At these words, silence fell over the gathering.

Everyone knew that before Lin Huaiqing lost his sight, he had been the ceiling of combat power in the cultivation world, surpassing even Chu Xiuyuan in cultivation.

But since going blind, his combat prowess had dropped out of the top twenty.

Though cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage could already sense objects within a few hundred meters, spiritual sense was still inferior to sight in both accuracy and sensitivity.

It was enough to not be completely in the dark, but in duels between masters, one wrong move could cost him the whole game—let alone for a blind man.