The No.1 Undercover in the Immortal World-Chapter 415 - 405 Abdication to the Wise
In the seventy-sixth year of Anqing, on the ninth day of the ninth month, this was a day destined to be remembered by the Cultivation World.
Anqing was the era of Emperor Zhao Hao, and this year was also the last year of the Anqing era, because...
Your Emperor has passed away.
The person died in the morning, and the news spread throughout the land at noon.
The most embarrassed was the Sword Sect, the Baili Family.
Today, they had arranged to meet with The Royal Family. When the Shenxiao Sect and The Royal Family faced off, the people of the Sword Sect had come to the Capital City to meet with the Imperial Clan. Everyone understood what this meant.
Moreover, when they left in the morning, they were full of vigor, especially Baili Shouxin.
He had also heard of the Ninth Princess Zhao Lingyu, and had even glimpsed her from afar at the Shenxiao Sect.
He thought there would be no interaction between them, but unexpectedly, The Royal Family wanted to establish a marital alliance with the Sword Sect, and arranged for him to marry the Ninth Princess.
Happiness came too suddenly, and he was excited for a long time.
However, before he had time to properly savor the feeling, mid-way, he received news of the Emperor’s death.
Darling, don’t stand me up like this!
With this, the Sword Sect was in quite an awkward position.
No one expected that in the confrontation between the Imperial Court and the Shenxiao Sect, it would be the Imperial Court that lost.
When the news reached the Sword Sect, everyone in the Sect felt somewhat shaken.
They had sided with the wrong team!
Other sects were even more afraid; they had heard of Lin Yu, the emerging top cultivator, but hadn’t taken her too seriously, only thinking she was a bit more powerful.
But now, her might had become genuinely frightening.
She broke the common understanding that those in the Enlightened Realm wouldn’t easily die. If she could kill the Enlightened, wouldn’t the Celestial Knowing be even easier?
In the midst of panic, there was resistance.
After the news spread, led by the Sword Sect, Guanghan Palace, Li Fire God Palace, Yu Ling Sect, and Eight Tones Temple collectively began to denounce the Shenxiao Sect.
Suddenly, the Shenxiao Sect found itself in a position where the whole world was against it.
With public sentiment running high, Yuxuan did not call another Peach Blossom Conference, but instead announced she would summon various major sects to a grand gathering at Yuqing Mountain on the fifteenth day of the ninth month to discuss the vacant imperial throne and the Shenxiao Sect’s beheading action against the Imperial Court.
The Five Righteous Sects quickly formed an alliance. The reason was simple: they were all worried that the Shenxiao Sect intended to rule the world with its sole power.
Moreover, none of them possessed a Divine Artifact, while the Shenxiao Sect had suddenly revealed two.
Many pieces of information could not be kept secret, such as the Gale Sword, and the Thunderclap Sword. Fortunately, the Thunderclap Sword was taken away by the traitor Lin Yun, but Fang Yu had taken a new disciple, Zhao Lingyu, who had acquired the Nine States Cauldron from The Royal Family.
Not only that, but the Shenxiao Sect had also gained an Enlightened powerhouse who had defected from The Royal Family, meaning that the Shenxiao Sect now had a total of three Enlightened powerhouses and two Divine Artifacts. Without Yuxuan, perhaps no one could stand against the Shenxiao Sect.
If they did not join forces, they might be swept away by the Shenxiao Sect, as the world has changed from what it once was.
Following the demise of Zhao Hao, members of the Imperial Family emerged in quick succession.
King Jibei Zhao Guang was the leader of the largest faction, and rallied the remaining three Acolytes of the Imperial Court behind him. Proclaiming to avenge his father, he gathered his forces in Wangjing City.
The Capital City of the former Great Zhou had been covertly occupied by the Three Great Demon Sects, and currently, no one dared challenge this alliance.
The Five Righteous Sects welcomed the remaining princes, not yet declaring a cause, but with the Five Righteous Sects, they were already a major force.
In other words, from the original trifecta of Righteous and Demonic opposition with the Imperial Clan’s neutrality, the Central Plains had now become a fractured four-part division.
The lingering power of the Imperial Clan could barely be counted as a major force, along with the Five Righteous Sects, the Three Great Demon Sects, and the Shenxiao Sect, the entirety of Great Zhou was thus disunited.
The Taiqing Daoist Temple stood aloof from worldly affairs and was not counted as a major force, because everyone knew that if the Taiqing Daoist Temple had aspirations for world dominance, the world would have been theirs long ago.
Thus, not counting the Taiqing Daoist Temple was considered reasonable.
And the grand assembly convened by the Taiqing Daoist Temple to call the Shenxiao Sect to account for its beheading actions had become the most closely watched matter at this stage.
Time flew by, and soon the twelfth day of the ninth month arrived, with only three days left until the gathering at Yuqing Mountain.
At Purple Cloud Mountain, Shenxiao Sect’s main hall, numerous Elders were assembled, and the atmosphere was particularly grave.
Everyone was waiting for Fang Yu at the head of the table to speak, but Fang Yu had been silent for a long time. If she didn’t talk, others wouldn’t either, which made the atmosphere grow even more somber.
Zhao Feng sighed leisurely, finding the world quite ironic; the Shenxiao Sect, acting for the public good, faced suspicion from people because it showed too much power.
No one knew, if not for the Shenxiao Sect, an additional Nether Kingdom preaching about eternal life would have emerged—a place everyone could tell was not a location of goodness. If eternal life were so easily achievable, there would have been talk of someone achieving immortality over the thousands of years.
Immortality is something both cultivators and mortals pursue, but all signs indicate there is no eternal life in this world, only longevity, and even that has its limits.
Seeking immortality through the Netherland was indeed a path of self-destruction.
Having gone through this event, Zhao Feng had come to a profound realization.
His premonition was correct: the Zhao Family, for its own long-term rule, had committed heinous sins. What goes around comes around; the day of reckoning had indeed arrived.
Evil is met with evil retribution, and goodness too should receive its reward.
The Shenxiao Sect had made great contributions this time, and its increased reputation was only natural.
As for the world’s suspicions, this wasn’t too significant. If they survived this challenge, the Shenxiao Sect would only grow stronger.
Zhao Feng had great confidence in the Shenxiao Sect. He thought that surely the Sect Master was considering strategies for the upcoming summit at Yuqing Mountain several days from now.
Not only Zhao Feng but everyone else was thinking the same. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Even though Fang Yu had lost to Dongfang Hongyue that day and once again experienced a disciple’s betrayal, her prestige within the Shenxiao Sect hadn’t decreased. On the contrary, it had even increased.
After all, how could anyone not admire and love such a brave, benevolent, and selfless Sect Master?
However, nobody imagined that at this moment, this admirable Sect Master was actually getting distracted.
She wasn’t pondering what to do about the summit at Yuqing Mountain; she was thinking about Lin Yun.
The image of Lin Yun forcefully kissing her that day and continuously acting rebelliously filled her mind.
Several days had passed since then, but that scene still replayed in Fang Yu’s mind, and she was still savoring the feelings from that time.
Her body felt a bit odd, but she was still very happy.
Beyond that, she was worried about Lin Yun.
Ever since Lin Yun had left, she had no clue where he had gone or what dangers he might encounter.
"Sect Master, do you have a good strategy?"
Lin Yu finally couldn’t hold back as she vaguely sensed that Fang Yu seemed to be lost in thought, and she broke the silence in the great hall.
They couldn’t continue like this; there were many matters that needed discussion and agreement.
Fang Yu was taken aback, then hurriedly said, "A good strategy might be an overstatement. At this time, all cunning plans are of no use. What we need to consider isn’t how to face the accusations of the five sects, but rather, where we go from here."
After all, Fang Yu was a Sect Master, and although she felt that she wasn’t particularly good at it, when it came to crucial moments, the words she spoke were still quite profound.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"In my view, why not ride the momentum, rise in rebellion? They’re afraid of us sweeping through them, are they not? Then let’s do just that!"
Elder Ma Feng had a temperamental disposition, and fittingly, no one in the Shenxiao Sect was of a mild temper.
Provoked by Ma Feng’s leading remark, everyone became righteously indignant, saying, "You’re right, let them witness our prowess!"
Zhao Lingyu looked on at the crowd’s excitement with satisfaction in her heart, thinking, Shenxiao Sect’s morale was indeed useful!
She wasn’t originally qualified to attend this Elder’s meeting, but she had brought two acolytes, and officially, Zhao Feng was still loyal to Zhao Lingyu. That meant he hadn’t betrayed the Royal Family, just shifted his loyalty to someone else.
In any case, it was all acceptable from a face-saving perspective.
Since Zhao Lingyu entered the Shenxiao Sect, he also joined, and everything followed naturally.
However, Zhao Lingyu’s attendance at the meeting wasn’t solely due to the two acolytes but also because she possessed the Nine States Cauldron and had become Fang Yu’s closed-door disciple.
Originally a nominal disciple of Elder Fufeng, circumstances were unusual for her, and Fang Yu made an exception to take her on.
But with that, Zhao Lingyu went from being Lin Yun’s senior sister to becoming his junior sister.
"Everyone, please calm yourselves."
As Fang Yu gestured with her hand, all the Elders quieted down. She looked around, then sighed and said, "There is something I wish to discuss with all of you."
The crowd looked at Fang Yu, her face serious, unsure of what she was going to say, but feeling it was unlikely to be good news.
"I am considering giving up the position of Sect Master to focus on cultivation."
"Sect Master?!"
"Sect Master, you must not!"
As soon as Fang Yu spoke of resignation, the whole great hall erupted.
It was a critical time for the Shenxiao Sect to face challenges, and to change leaders at this juncture was a monumental taboo.
"You need not persuade me further. Moreover, I am only resigning, not leaving the sect. I just feel that in these changing times, you need a more daring and wise Sect Master to lead you forward."
Seeing how resolute Fang Yu was, the Elders were earnest but could also see her determination.
She truly wished to step down.
Fang Yu was not greedy for power and prestige. At a time when the Shenxiao Sect was prospering, Fang Yu chose to resign – the mark of a truly selfless leader.
"Then, may I ask, whom does the Sect Master have in mind to be the next leader?"
Elder Fufeng, seeing that persuasion was futile, simply accepted the outcome.
The topic rejuvenated the present Elders.
The time for transition from the old to the new had arrived.
Nevertheless, everyone believed that Lin Yu should be the next Sect Master.
After all, apart from Lin Yu, no one else was qualified. Though Lin Yu had not been in the sect for long, she had quickly built a formidable reputation, exceeded even the Sect Master in cultivation level, and not only that, she was also quite wise – a true embodiment of strength and intelligence as an Elder.
In the crowd, Zhao Lingyu’s heart sank.
Good heavens, I had just taken the Sect Master as my teacher, and now the Sect Master is abdicating?
Is this a joke?
