"Have you and Fang Yuan met before?"
Shi Yutong was suspicious and continued. "You are the disciple of the great alchemy master Lu Renjia, and since he loves to nurture the younger generation, he would be overjoyed to know about the talented Fang Yuan!"
Hearing this polite yet threatening words, Fang Yuan remained calm, squinted his eyes and revealed a cold look. "You only appeared at the end of the fight. I see that you have the intention to help this Sect Master secretly?"
He had already witnessed the two sisters fighting side by side against the Five Ghost Sect Sect Master; he knew that he would not be so lucky and that Shi Yutong would definitely bring assistance with her.
Shi Yutong could easily overpower any normal Wu Zong without any help.
Even if a spiritual knight had ambushed them, the two ladies could still defend themselves and escape.
After all, being the favourite disciple of an alchemy master, and in troubled times like this, how could she not bring a few treasures for self-defence?
Fang Yuan still did not forget how Ling Yin fought the Blood Killer with her emerald flashes.
'The likes of an alchemy master can harness spiritual fire for alchemy and is therefore sought after by many cultivators. Therefore, it is only normal that they are wealthy... If I strike now, I am only 30% confident to take down both of them, so it would only be wiser to take them down one by one!'
"How would little sister dare?"
Even if she was the disciple of an alchemy master, she still lowered her status while talking to another Wu Zong.
After all, although spiritual disciples harness a miniature version of elemental force, and were able to cast a few elementary spiritual techniques, they would still be no match when against true elemental force.
Ling Yin felt her hair standing on its ends as Fang Yuan stared at her. She felt insecure, and a little embarrassed.
"If that is so, let's discuss the important stuff!"
Fang Yuan turned his head and came straight to the point while looking at Shi Yutong. "What is the purpose of Sect Master coming here personally?"
"This..."
Shi Yutong froze.
She intended to defeat the doctor at the secluded valley first to let him know her prowess before extorting some spiritual rice.
However, the other party was now a Wu Zong!
Not just a Wu Zong, but a Wu Zong that was more powerful than herself!
How could she state her conditions now?
"Hehe... I have received news that Leiyue's fiance is here and therefore came here specially to visit. The criteria set previously were but a joke, right?"
Ling Yin took a few steps forward and tugged at Shi Yutong's sleeve, as she hinted her with her expression.
"That's right! That's why I have come here!"
A Wu Zong is worth establishing a good relationship with, and especially when the Wu Zong is so strong!
If she could convince him to join their alliance, losing a female disciple wouldn't matter!
After weighing things out, Shi Yutong came to a conclusion and looked at Lin Leiyue.
'Master...'
Once Lin Leiyue understood her master's intentions, she blushed and felt agonised.
Her proud personality did not resonate with the fact that she was treated like a gift or a compensation. What made things worse was that Fang Yuan once rejected her!
'Indeed an experienced person. A Sect Master's words are indeed heavy...'
Fang Yuan noticed Lin Leiyue's minute actions.
He recalled how Shi Yutong convinced Yu Qiuleng to force himself to reject the marriage previously, which was a 180-degrees change to how she was treating him now, after witnessing how highly-skilled he was.
"Forget about it. Why would I still mull over the marriage incident?"
Fang Yuan waved his hand. "Please take your leave, I won't send you!"
Hearing his heartless words, Shi Yutong looked at Ling Yin and forced a smile.
They knew that it did not matter to Fang Yuan whether they were on the same side or now. Furthermore, they could feel that he was irritated by his words.
Lin Leiyue shivered.
After she finally convinced herself to sacrifice her future for the Sect, Fang Yuan could reject her effortlessly.
This scene became a joke compared to the fight at the beginning!
Her face became flushed as she felt that everyone was mocking her. She could not control herself and her tears flowed out, as she turned around and ran away.
"Keke... My disciple is so mischievous, don't take it to heart!"
Shi Yutong took a step back. "Since Master Fang has no intention, then Sister Ling Yin and myself shall not disturb you any further, we shall take our leave!"
As a Sect Master, her words had weight.
As they took their leave, there was no chaos. With a Wu Zong and a spiritual disciple leading the way, the rest dispersed orderly.
In the forest, Shi Yutong instructed the Sect disciples to find Lin Leiyue, and hinted to Ling Yin to take another path.
Not long after, they arrived at a small cliff and looked far out. Everywhere was forest-green.
"Good, we are more than 10 miles away now, we can speak here!"
As the gentle breeze blew, Shi Yutong said, "Even though Fang Yuan is more skilled than me, I can still eavesdrop on him!"
"Since you say so, I am assured! However, just in case..."
Ling Yin smirked and took out a spiritual talisman, which burst into flames without any wind. From the crimson flame, a spiritual print emerged and glowed. It imprinted itself on her forehead and glittered.
"Mmm... There is no second Wu Zong nearby!"
She closed her eyes for a moment and concluded.
"Harnessing the ability of the spiritual talisman, you are able to increase your magical energy and increase your detection ability to be on par with that of spiritual knights. I am relieved!"
Shi Yutong nodded her head in satisfaction and admired how Ling Yin could sacrifice a spiritual talisman without hesitation just for her.
She did not have an alchemy master as her backer and therefore could not be as extravagant as her.
"Sister, you do not want to admit that you have lost, is that right?"
Ling Yin smiled cheekily. "You have painstakingly planned this, but who would've known that there would be such a change of events! If this news spreads, the families and organisations that we have convinced might reconsider their loyalty!"
"We cannot help it. After all, who would've known that he could suddenly become a Wu Zong?"
Shi Yutong was bitter. She shook her head and became resolute. "After seeing him, I am sure that Elder Han's disappearance is related to the secluded valley! Furthermore, it might even be related to other stronger powers..."
"Is this why you did not allow me to fight just now?"
Ling Yin toyed with the jade bangle on her wrist. "If we teamed up against him, we might be able to defeat him, like how we did against the Five Ghosts Sect Sect Master the previous time, hehe..."
She turned serious. "Before the war, such a change in Qinghe County would be against my master. Do you have the confidence to be able to convince him to be on our side?"
"As of now, I'm afraid not!"
Shi Yutong bit her lip. "You are also aware of the marriage rejection incident. Seeing how he responded just now, you could tell that it did not matter to him anymore. If we had to blame someone, it would be that disciple of mine who could not manage the situation properly..."
"Then this is troubling. If he chose to strike us at a critical moment, as a Wu Zong, he would bring us a lot of trouble!"
Ling Yin looked down in despair.
"Sister, what do you mean?"
Shi Yutong guessed. "Strike first? That's right! Making the first move is a good idea!"
"Let's not delay it any further. I'll find my master and get him to send some highly skilled martial artists to help us out!"
Ling Yin replied.
These two ladies were decisive. In a few words, they had concluded that there was no way to convince Fang Yuan to help them, and immediately thought of killing him as the solution!
Unless they had enough resources, otherwise they had to get rid of those getting in the way before the war begins.
"That's a good idea!"
Shi Yutong wanted to say something but was interrupted by a red firework in the sky.
"That is the Sect's signal. It seems that they have found Leiyue, oh..."
Shi Yutong nodded her head. "She is not mature enough yet. Maybe I shouldn't have used the spiritual rice and spiritual pill to aid her in breaking through the Pain Gate then..."
"If you did not aid her in becoming an inner force martial artist, how can she defend herself in times of war and conflict? This only showed your care and love for her..."
Ling Yin smiled. "I was joking just now. You will surely reconcile with your disciple after a good talk!"
"Thank you, sister, for understanding, I shall make a move first!"
Hearing how understanding Ling Yin was, Shi Yutong stood up and used her Lightness Skill. After a few jumps, she disappeared into the forest.
"Eh... I am so jealous of Leiyue for having such a good master!"
Ling Yin knew that the master and disciple needed their private space to talk and so did not follow her. She looked in the direction where Shi Yutong went, sighed and at the same time suddenly felt worried.
The cricket sounds around the forest made the forest feel even more eerily silent.
A breeze blew across her face, and she shivered.
She felt the feeling of danger, and her mind was empty, as though she had done something wrong.
"Danger? That's impossible, I've checked that the surroundings were clear just now! Even if I've separated from sister, as long as I am not being followed, what should I be worried about?"
Even such, Ling Yin's palm subconsciously rubbed her jade bangle as she scanned the surroundings on high alert.
"You are quite alert!"
A clear voice travelled from afar. It was a young voice and brought with it a sense of familiarity.
"It's you!"
As the fog thinned out, Ling Yin saw a figure walking out of the fog and clenched her teeth. "Fang Yuan!!! Impossible! Even if you are Wu Zong, you should not be able to hide from Shi Yutong's and I!"
"Then why is it that you still cannot detect me? Do you want to make a guess?"
Fang Yuan moved his feet and his entire body floated forward. It split into 10 bodies, which confused anyone who would see him.
And his speed was completely different from when he was fighting Shi Yutong previously.
At the same time, a huge spiritual pressure was exerted.
"Spiritual knight?"
Ling Yin's face changed.