Cheng Qiantai had an ugly look on his face when he spoke of this story only known to insiders that happened thousands of years ago. "That's right. In order to set the Seven Grand Holy Lands' minds at rest, our past Sect Master killed all his relatives and direct disciples, everyone who was related to him in some way. There were 500 of them in total."
"He killed them all?" Ling Xiao, Cheng Yu, and Li Yuanhuan went deathly pale. It wasn't cold, yet they felt chills running down their spines. Such was the effect of this story.
"Yes. That past Sect Master only left a soul stone behind for the next Sect Master of the Northern Jade Sect. The Seven Grand Holy Lands had already publicly acknowledged this soul stone. The Northern Jade Sect was only allowed to pass it down to future generations after they confirmed there wasn't a single message regarding the treasure left behind in it." Cheng Qiantai let out a sigh. He appeared to be rather helpless.
Ling Xiao coldly smiled. "Who knows? Did the Seven Grand Holy Lands play any dirty tricks to that soul stone? If not, with the strength the Northern Jade Sect had at that time, how could they leave behind so few techniques? The so-called righteous Seven Grand Holy Lands. They're nothing but a few treacherous, vile characters who are always looking over their shoulders with worry in their eyes."
Cheng Qiantai tacitly agreed with Ling Xiao. Even though he never spoke of these matters out loud, it didn't mean he didn't have his own opinion on these matters.
Ling Xiao continued, "Master, forgive me for being direct. In order to uphold his reputation as an upright person, he selfishly decided on the lives and deaths of his relatives. It's really too unfair on them! It wouldn't be a problem if they died by the hands of their enemies, but they actually died by the hands of their closest relative. And it's all for that imaginary item that practically can't see the light of day! It's really too fucked up!"
Li Yuanhuan suddenly interjected, "Perhaps, taking a step back and considering the bigger picture, the past Sect Master made the right call. If those powerhouses continued harbouring suspicions at the Northern Jade Sect as they did, a crack would appear between the Celestial Soul sects. There would be no meaning to the Celestial Soul Ward anymore."
"Do you think I care about that motherfucker?! I only want my people to live well! Who cares what the others are and how they live?! They only speak words that are pleasant to the ears, but behind those disgusting masks, they are the most selfish people in all of existence! Whoever dares to touch my sect, my people, I shall play with them, toy with their minds until they can no longer resist!" Ling Xiao was really furious this time. He spoke his mind without reservation.
This was the first time he heard the Northern Jade Sect had such a miserable past. From the sect's standpoint, he couldn't help but add on a few more points of hatred toward the Seven Grand Holy Lands. Not that he looked favourably upon them in the first place. Besides, they were targets he had to face off against in the future. He naturally didn't worry about throwing vile words at them here.
Cheng Qiantai looked at the two disciples he favoured the most, the expression on his face fluctuating. In all honesty, he was already starting to decide on which of the two he would succeed the position of Sect Master to. He didn't have to worry that these two would start fighting each other for the position. What he was worried about was who could truly bring the Northern Jade Sect to its greatest heights.
Ling Xiao's weakness was that his sight was too narrow. He couldn't make decisions based on the bigger picture. The past Sect Masters of the Northern Jade Sect said that they had to prioritise present situations. The secret at hand involved the lives of countless people. Having too narrow of a sight could easily create an irreversible situation. But that wasn't to say Ling Xiao's weakness was only a weakness. It had its strong point too. When under pressure, he'd always first consider the best interest of the sect. This was undoubtedly a huge plus point for the sect.
On the other side, Li Yuanhuan's strong point was what the past Sect Masters of the Northern Jade Sect needed. He could make decisions based on the present conditions. However, this was what Cheng Qiantai was worried about too. In the event he was faced with a difficult situation, Li Yuanhuan would probably act like that Sect Master of old and do something extreme for the benefit of the bigger picture.
Cheng Qiantai was faintly biased toward Ling Xiao. As for his daughter, she simply wasn't fit to be his successor. All he wanted for her was that she could live a good life filled with happiness. I won't bother about it now. I'll leave it for some other time. It was really too difficult for him to choose, so he chose to drag it out. "Alright, let's not talk about matters of the past. Let's think about how we're going to deal with the current situation," he said as a worried expression surfaced on his face.
"Why don't we deploy a few disciples to lure the enemy into attacking?" Cheng Yu suggested.
Li Yuanhuan and Ling Xiao instantly rejected Cheng Yu's suggestion at the same time. "No. First, there's the danger to consider. Then there's to consider why they destroyed all evidence. Most likely, they're planning to make a big move soon, so they won't act in a way that will ring any suspicious bells to us."
Cheng Yu disdainfully snorted, "Elder Ling, since you're so capable, tell us what we're going to do."
Ling Xiao smiled. "It's simple. After we set everything up, we'll wait for them to strike."
Cheng Yu was stunned. Her face swelled up and turned red. Even her voice increased. "Wait? You call this a plan?" She felt that Ling Xiao was playing her for a fool.
Who knew Li Yuanhuan would actually approve of Ling Xiao's plan. "That's right. Junior Sister, I think so too. This is the only probable way at present."
"Father, look at them…" Cheng Yu turned her gaze to Cheng Qiantai. Once she saw the reproachful expression he showed her, she immediately knew what her father's stance on the matter was.
"Alright, alright. Since you guys think this'll work, we'll do as such," Cheng Yu huffed before she stormed out of the conference hall.
Cheng Qiantai helplessly sighed. "Daughter of mine. When can you be a little more sensible?"
Ling Xiao and Li Yuanhuan secretly exchanged a glance. Ling Xiao stuck out his tongue while Li Yuanhuan forced a smile. Both of them placed their own thoughts in their hearts, neither willing to share them.
Ling Xiao and Li Yuanhuan started moving into action. Li Yuanhuan was responsible for training the disciples in how to respond to the enemy's attacks, whereas Ling Xiao taught the newly admitted disciples how to run for their lives. Cheng Qiantai could only bitterly smile as he looked at this duo who had entirely different responses when faced with a terrifying enemy.
Cheng Yu was displeased with Ling Xiao's attitude. She pursed her lips at her father in a display of her discontentment. "Father, look at that boy. He's really too much! All he thinks of is running away. When the enemy comes knocking on our door, can we still count on him?"
Cheng Qiantai knew Ling Xiao's behaviour would seem preposterous at times, but it was actually filled with deep intention. Based on his personality, he wouldn't waste a single breath on anything useless. However, he had to admit he really didn't understand what Ling Xiao intended to achieve by training these disciples like this.
If Ling Xiao taught these disciples how to flee when faced with an unbeatable enemy, Cheng Qiantai naturally couldn't say anything. But if Ling Xiao was really only teaching them to run away without conveying how to confront their enemies, he'd feel greatly depressed. "Let him be. In any case, your Junior Brother Ling won't harm us. I hope you understand this." This was all he could say to comfort his daughter, and himself.
After training the disciples, Ling Xiao walked to Razor Cache Cliff. He realised that besides the many weapons kept here, there was also the remnants of an odd aura. It was odd because it could actually correlate with his Primal Chaotic soulforce.
Ling Xiao had five types of Primal Chaotic soulforces. They were the Celestial and Demonic souls he had fused: The Heavenly, Spiritual Wisdom, Elemental, Strength, and Core Souls. The power of these five souls weren't stored in his soul chain, but rather in his crown, glabella, throat, heart, and dantian.
The odd wisp of aura prompted a reaction from the five souls in Ling Xiao's body. It was as though it wanted to strip them from his body. It shocked him so much, he fled away as though he had seen a ghost. "What was that?! It was so damned strange! I don't think I felt that the last time I came here!" he thought aloud.
After a while, Ling Xiao remembered his purpose of coming to Razor Cache Cliff. He could only walk back toward it. This time, he was mentally prepared. He was ready to contend against that wisp of aura. But who knew, it seemed to have felt Ling Xiao's intention, and hid from his senses.
"How strange, it's like I'm following a living person," Ling Xiao hummed to himself as he poured a large stack of gems on the ground. Last time, he had ripped Zheng Hao's old man, Elder Zhang off a large sum of gems. As such, what he had in abundance was gems.
This time, Ling Xiao was going to set up an array on Razor Cache Cliff. It was going to be the most expensive array he had ever set up in his whole life. He was going to pawn 10,000 yellow gems right up the bat.
The most basic concealment array only required 88 yellow gems. It could avoid the mental search of a green ranked Chain Soul Master. 888 yellow gems was enough to stop a blue ranked Chain Soul Master from looking for the person they were looking for.
In most normal situations, Ling Xiao would never use more than 888 yellow gems, but this time he used ten times that amount. It seemed as though he wanted to use this array to hide the whole sect. But only he knew what he was doing.
Ling Xiao arranged this large array on Razor Cache Cliff. He was drenched in sweat after setting up the arrays. Wiping his forehead clean with his sleeve, he gleefully said, "Alright! Success! Mission accomplished! As long as they can escape all the way back here, I can guarantee their absolute safety!"