Chapter 147 — The Covenant

Silence fell over the great hall, and after a long while Yun Yifeng let out a long breath and smiled. "If these monsters were not so terrible, how could this be a calamity of the ages? Since matters have come to this, there is no use in brooding. Better that we discuss properly how we are to withstand these fiends."

Daoist Zhenren nodded. "What Valley Master Yun says is quite right. Let it be so: I still have some poor tea I have kept for many years. I ask you both to come to the inner hall and taste it, and we may talk as we drink."

Master Pucheng and Yun Yifeng rose in understanding, exchanged a few words with their disciples, and followed Daoist Zhenren into the inner hall. With the departure of these three personages of great virtue and renown, the atmosphere in the Yuheng Hall gradually relaxed. Xiao Yichen, Qi Hao, Li Xun, and the Brahmaghosha Temple's Facheng and Fajing were all old acquaintances, and they at once fell to talking together. Taking advantage of this rare occasion, Xiao Yichen proposed showing Facheng and Fajing the scenery of Jietian Peak. Facheng and the others gladly agreed, and Li Xun and the rest, having nothing else to do, followed them out.

It was now summer, and the climate of the mortal world had grown warm, yet here atop the cloud-piercing Jietian Peak it remained immeasurably cool. They came to a railed cliff at a distant point on the summit and leaned on the railing to gaze afar. The sea of clouds stretched vast and boundless, the blue sky arched above, and one could not help but feel the desire to leave the world behind.

Facheng sighed in admiration. "I had long heard that Canglan Mountain is a paradise on earth. I came once ten years ago and it opened my eyes wide; today I see it again, and still it is so magnificent, so soul-stirring—truly a marvel of the mortal world!"

Xiao Yichen smiled. "Brother Facheng is too polite again. If we speak of scenery, are not the 'Wordless Jade Wall' and 'Mount Sumeru and the Mustard-Seed Mountain' of your Brahmaghosha Temple on Mount Xumi famed throughout the world?"

Facheng smiled. "Those are but small scenes. How could they compare with such magnificence as Qingyun's?" The corner of his eye shifted, and he suddenly noticed Li Xun and Yan Fei standing behind him. Yan Fei was nothing much, but Li Xun's face seemed to hold a trace of displeasure—only this was not the old days, and he had gained some restraint by now, so he did not give voice to it.

Facheng was a careful thinker, and no change showed on his face. Naturally he continued, "Still, if we truly speak of such scenery, I think that in all the world only the Blazing Fire of the Mystic Flame at Brother Li's Fenxia Valley could be named its equal. Is that not so, Brother Li?"

Li Xun started, then a trace of a smile appeared on his face, though he still demurred modestly. "Brother Facheng flatters me. Fenxia Valley is a small place, tucked away in a remote corner; it would not presume to compare with the sights of the Central Plains."

Xiao Yichen's eyes held a deep meaning as he glanced at Facheng, the corner of his mouth curving in a smile that was not quite a smile. Then he laughed and said, "Enough, enough. There is no need for us to praise one another. Every place has its own scenery, and this mortal realm is so vast—who knows whether we shall be able to see it all in our lifetimes?"

All present felt a touch of emotion and said in unison, "Indeed." Then they all burst out laughing together.

After they had talked and laughed a while, Li Xun seemed to recall something. He slowly made his way to Xiao Yichen's side and, when no one was watching, said in a low voice, "Brother Xiao, may I ask you something?"

Xiao Yichen started. "Brother Li, speak freely."

Li Xun hesitated a moment, then at last could not hold back. "This... these past days, and especially on so important a day as today, why is it that I have not seen Junior Sister Lu Xueling of Xiaozhu Peak appear?"

Xiao Yichen's expression changed slightly. He glanced at Li Xun and said in a low voice, "Brother Li, because Junior Sister Lu openly defied my master, Sect Master Daoist Zhenren, in the Yuheng Hall that day, she has been ordered to reflect upon her faults at the Moon-Gazing Terrace on Xiaozhu Peak. It has been several days now."

Li Xun let out an "ah," his expression complicated, seeming both grieved and somewhat ashamed and vexed. After a long while he sighed again and gave Xiao Yichen a bitter smile. "Thank you for telling me, Brother Xiao. I am deeply grateful. In a little while I shall beg my master to see whether he might be persuaded to speak a few words to Uncle-Master Daoist Zhenren on her behalf—alas, it is the least I can do."

Xiao Yichen nodded and said nothing, only reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

Among the company standing at a distance and gazing at the beauty of heaven and earth, Facheng slowly withdrew his gaze from the two men speaking in low voices behind him. Suddenly he heard someone beside him say softly, "Master, have you heard that Brother Li has proposed marriage to Junior Sister Lu Xueling?"

Facheng smiled faintly and glanced at Qi Hao, who stood beside him. "I have heard a little."

Qi Hao nodded and said no more, but Facheng suddenly sighed, and in the sound was no small measure of feeling. Qi Hao was slightly puzzled. "Brother Facheng, why such a sigh?"

Facheng smiled faintly and recovered his former expression. "Nothing. I was suddenly reminded of an old friend, that is all."

Qi Hao said in surprise, "An old friend? What old friend?"

Facheng said leisurely, "An old friend who once went through life and death with us, who has much to do with us, and with that Miss Lu..."

Qi Hao fell silent. A long while later he too sighed heavily, and in the sound there was a sense of the world's vicissitudes, of things changed and people no longer the same.

The headquarters of the Wan Du Sect of the demon cult was situated in the southwest of the Central Plains, in a place called Viper Valley. By its geography, Viper Valley, the Mingwang Sect's Mount Huqi, and the Mihun Sect's Carefree Ravine formed a great triangle, each checking the others, each facing off against the others, constituting what had once been a fairly stable balance of power within the demon cult.

But at this very moment that balance had come to a precarious pass. Especially in the Wan Du Sect, formerly the greatest power among the demon cult, with the death of the old sect master, the Venom God Elder, the sect had fallen into chaos over the question of succession, and Viper Valley, seat of the headquarters, was already at daggers drawn, the situation ready to explode at a touch.

By name, the one who had received the Venom God's dying command and held the status of legitimate heir was the Venom God's last disciple, Qin Wujiu. Unfortunately, within the demon cult—and especially within a sect like the Wan Du Sect, where martial prowess was the fashion and strength counted above all—a dying command alone was of no avail.