Chapter 90 — The Mantis

Later, when the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation was unleashed, the surviving masters of the Longevity Hall were cut down in heaps once more. Barely one or two escaped with their lives; the force was all but wiped out.

In this world, anything is easy enough to come by. The hardest thing to obtain is talent—and above all, talent you have cultivated yourself and can trust completely.

For ten years, Yuyang Zi had poured out his heart's blood, and the Longevity Hall had slowly begun to recover. Yet in Yuyang Zi's heart, that shadow only loomed larger.

The battle at Qingyun had all but destroyed the Longevity Hall's main fighting strength. Over the years, had it not been for Yuyang Zi's own lofty cultivation overawing the covetous enemies on every side—and above all, seven years ago, when he acted decisively, over the objections of his own sect, and forcibly relocated the main hall to this remote corner of the Dead Marsh, far from the spheres of the other three great factions—the consequences would have been impossible to foresee.

But just one month ago, the increasingly bitter infighting within the Demonic Sect came to an abrupt halt. The last of the mid-sized sects with any real strength, the Blood-Refining Hall, was finally brought to heel by the Hades King Sect.

Everyone had chosen a side. After a brief and suffocating calm, Yuyang Zi's instincts told him that what would come next was the fierce, direct explosion of internal strife among the Demonic Sect's four great factions.

After all, in the hearts of countless Demonic Sect disciples, the figure of the Black-Hearted Elder eight hundred years ago, uniting the Demonic Sect and sweeping across the world, had become an eternal legend.

But legend was legend. At this moment, things were extremely unfavorable for the Longevity Hall—and for Yuyang Zi above all. Limited by its strength, the Longevity Hall could do little in the contest for the mid-sized factions. As one waxed and the other waned, the gap in strength between it and the other three great factions only widened. Yuyang Zi was sick with worry, and hardly slept at night.

And it was just then, as if Heaven had opened its eyes, that right beside the Longevity Hall, within the Dead Marsh, strange omens appeared of a wondrous treasure about to emerge.

Yuyang Zi was both startled and overjoyed. If he could truly obtain a treasure like the Canglan Sect's Immortal-Slaying Ancient Sword, first the Longevity Hall's self-preservation would be assured; then it could plot its development at leisure, and in time it might well turn its fortunes around.

Under these circumstances, the Longevity Hall regarded the treasure in the Dead Marsh as already in its grasp, and would not suffer anyone else to lay a finger on it. But someone, no one knew who, had leaked word, and within a few days the news had spread across the world. All eyes turned toward the Dead Marsh, and masters of both the righteous and demonic paths gathered there in droves.

Yuyang Zi was alarmed and furious at once, but at this point he could not retreat. He therefore mustered the Longevity Hall's full strength and deployed it throughout the Dead Marsh, one part searching with all its might for the treasure, another charged with hunting down and killing invaders. Over those tens of days, no fewer than several dozen people had been secretly slain in the Dead Marsh by the Longevity Hall—among them wandering immortals of the righteous path, and masters of other factions of the Demonic Sect as well.

For the survival of his sect, Yuyang Zi had already cast all caution aside!

That night, Yuyang Zi received a secret report from his disciples: outside the Dead Marsh, near the "Bottomless Pit," a group of righteous cultivators had made camp and meant to spend the night there. Then, as scout after scout returned, Yuyang Zi's face grew colder and colder, and in his heart he already understood who these people were.

They were the finest young disciples of the Canglan Sect—a dozen or so at first, but by the scouts' reports their number had now swelled to several dozen, and among them were even monks and men in the garb of the Burning Cloud Valley. Yuyang Zi knitted his brows, drew a deep breath, and gazed into the distance as though waiting for something.

After a long while, light footsteps suddenly sounded from the darkness behind him. A lean, sharp-eyed middle-aged man stepped out and came to Yuyang Zi's side. Yuyang Zi turned at once to face him—clearly this man was no ordinary figure.

This middle-aged man was named Meng Ji. He was one of the two or three foremost masters of the Longevity Hall beneath Yuyang Zi himself, and one of the few Longevity Hall masters to survive the battle at Canglan Mountain those years ago, and so he enjoyed Yuyang Zi's deepest trust. Yuyang Zi's long hesitation now was in part because he was waiting for this man to return.

Meng Ji bowed to Yuyang Zi. Yuyang Zi shook his head slightly and said, "Enough, no need for ceremony. How did it go?"

The question was abrupt, but Meng Ji plainly knew what he meant. He said in a low voice, "I have already taken men to search along the Blackwater Ditch and White Horse River on the far side of the Dead Marsh. We found no large incursion by the Hades King Sect, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, or the Soul-Charming Faction—only a few stragglers from minor factions, whom I dealt with on the spot."

Yuyang Zi's spirits rose, and for the first time a smile appeared on his face. He nodded and said, "Good! Then we have nothing to fear from behind. Tonight we strike with all our strength at those callow youths of the Canglan Sect, the Brahma Sound Temple, and the Burning Cloud Valley. Once we've removed them, the righteous path will have no strength left to contest the treasure with us!"

Yet Meng Ji showed little joy; instead he looked troubled. After a moment's hesitation, he said at last, "Sect Master, three days ago a hidden watch near King's Village sent word back that Ming Li and Qin Wujiu seem to have already reached the vicinity of the Dead Marsh. And the Soul-Charming Faction's Jin Pingyue is ever elusive—we must guard against them."

The muscles in Yuyang Zi's face twitched, and hatred showed plainly. He said through gritted teeth, "You think I don't know that? Those righteous folk only want the treasure—but the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect and the Hades King Sect and their kind want my life!"

Meng Ji started. What passed through his mind was impossible to tell; his face shifted uncertainly. He said in a low voice, "Sect Master, then what are we to do?"

Yuyang Zi gave a cold snort, drew a deep breath, and relaxed his bearing. "As things stand, there is no turning back for us. While the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, the Hades King Sect, and the Soul-Charming Faction have not yet arrived, we will first finish off those righteous whelps, then search with all our strength for the treasure. Once it is in hand—judging by the omens of these past days, it must be a treasure the likes of which the world has never seen—we need not fear the other three factions!"

Meng Ji bowed his head and said, "The Sect Master sees far."

Yuyang Zi nodded slightly, then turned, steadied himself, and raised his one remaining right hand, sweeping it heavily forward through the night. At once shadows stirred in the darkness, and moments later a great host of Longevity Hall disciples appeared, setting off at a run along the paths they knew by heart, in the direction Yuyang Zi's hand had pointed.

The night was vast and dim, desolate and steeped in murderous intent.

The Dead Marsh. The Bottomless Pit.