Waking up the next morning, Yang Ze didn't feel anything unusual. He looked around, touched his face and after making sure that everything was fine, he just sat there in doubt.
"Was I dreaming?" This was the only plausible explanation that he could come up with. At that moment, it felt so real, but now that he was awake, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary. There was no medicinal fragrance around him. Even the bite marks that the woman gave him during the night were gone, too. He knew what his body was capable of, but healing from such a bite in the span of a few hours wasn't it.
From what he knew about Lin Wan, it was impossible for her to tell others about his physique. And perhaps no one in the entire sect was free and bored enough to come and have fun with such an ordinary man like him. In the end, he could only assume it was a dream.
"Forget it." Shaking his head, he got out of his bed, put on some clothes and stretched his body for a while before walking out of the room to sign in for another bottle of Pulse opening pill. He already had one in his system space. Once he gets another bottle, he could use it with his talent to get maximum benefit.
It didn't take him long to come across a guard on duty. After giving her a polite nod, he immediately signed in to a seemingly useless talent to get another bottle of Pulse opening pill and headed straight back to his room.
"Let's start." Without wasting another second, he immediately sat down and began his daily practice.
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On the opposite side of the Duality sect, just outside their territory, the figure of Cang Yue was standing there with a grim expression while looking at the bunch of torn bodies in front of her.
Counting the heads, or what was left of them, she calculated the number of casualties to be thirty.
And every single one of them was a member of the Duality Sect. The entire team consisted of seven Vein Expansion powerhouses and twenty-three Foundation Forging experts. And yet... they were all killed in such a brutal way.
Judging by the innumerable smooth cuts and the long, harrowing scars on the ground below, she didn't need to think too much about the people behind this attack.
"Heavenly Sword Sect." Gritting her teeth in anger, Cang Yue let out a forced laugh. Those bastards were getting more and more courageous. They now even dared to kill in the sect's territory.
"Saintess." While she was quietly looking at the bloodied scene in front of her, the figure of a woman in her late thirties arrived in front of her before giving her a respectful bow.
"Elder Yun is out of seclusion and currently in the Grand Hall. Your presence is requested there."
"Mother is out?" Cang Yue raised a brow in surprise. Last time she asked, her mother said it was going to take at least a year. For her to come out so soon... things must be dire.
With a heavy nod, she turned around before heading back to the sect. This was the third attack on their territory. She had a feeling that things were about to turn even more serious.
With her strength, it didn't take her too long to reach her destination.
In front of her was a simple hall constructed out of bamboo. Unlike any other houses in the Duality Sect, this one seemed extremely simple and lacklustre. If this building were placed outside the sect, no one would give it a second glance. But who would have thought that this seemingly ordinary bamboo house would be one of the most important places in the entire Duality Sect... The Grand Hall.
Taking a deep breath, she quietly entered the room, and once she did, she was greeted by the sight of seven women sitting there quietly.
At the end of the room, just beneath the bamboo wall, was a small, exquisite bamboo chair upon which a woman was sitting quietly. The woman seemed to be in her late seventies with a headful of white hair. Her face was covered in wrinkles, and her eyes were filled with wisdom. She was wearing a white robe, and her eyes were in a daze as she sometimes looked at the women sitting beside her as well as the wall around her.
Even though she seemed like a weak old grandma, no one dared to underestimate her. After all, she is the current Leader of the Duality Sect... Lin Zhanyuan.
"Sect Leader..." Stepping inside the room, Cang Yue first greeted the sect leader, then greeted the six women sitting around a large bamboo table.
In the Duality sect, the hierarchy was relatively simple. There was the Sect Leader, followed by Grand Elders, then Sect Elders and then normal members of the Sect.
Every single member of the sect, besides the elders and grand elders, would be graded according to their strength, with golden marks on their sleeves.
Those with Body Forging have a single golden mark, those with Pulse opening have two, Foundation Forging have three and Vein Expansion have four golden marks.
The strongest member would become the saintess of the sect. And if one can break through to the Core Condensation stage, they would be promoted from members to Elders.
The six women sitting beside the Sect Leader were existences who had surpassed the Core condensation realm. They were the true backbone of the Duality Sect... The six Grand Elders.
"Grand Elders." Cang Yue didn't dare to show any disrespect. She gave each one of them a polite bow, though one of them wasn't too fond of her.
"Saintess, what do you think about the recent incidents?" It was at this moment that one of the Grand Elders spoke.
Cang Yue looked quietly at the ordinary middle-aged woman who was in her late fifties. She was the first Grand Elder, Wu Jinghai.
"It seemed excessive." Cang Yue thought for a long time before giving an answer. "It's almost as if they are provoking us on purpose."
"Hmm..." The first elder nodded in response before asking again. "And what do you think we should do?"
"....." Cang Yue narrowed her eyes in response. The position of Saintess wasn't just a symbolic title. A Saintess was often trained as one of the next Grand Elders of the sect. An unimaginable amount of resources needed to be poured in, as well as countless efforts. Thus, it was natural for them to ask for her opinions. On one hand, it was a test of her wisdom, whereas on the other hand, it was to let her participate in the core matters of the Sect.
"I think we should wait and see. If possible, we should find out more information from our scouts. I believe we have some spies of ours in the Heavenly Sword sect. It is about time for us to contact them."
"If we can understand their motives and plans, we can act accordingly."
"And..." With a short pause, she looked around, "I think we should be patient in taking action."
"Hmph!" The moment Cang Yue finished speaking, one of the Grand Elders sitting there let out a cold snort.
Cang Yue looked at the charming woman who seemed to be in her early thirties with an exquisite face and scantily clothed body before narrowing in response.
This was the woman she had always hated. The one who would meddle in her every single affair and force her to do things she had no interest in. One of the Grand Elders of the Sect and the bitter rival of her mother... Shen Yue.
"They are killing our members, and you want us to wait?" With a cold snort, Shen Yue shook her head. "Are you really a saintess of our Duality Sect? Or have you been brought up by the Heavenly Sword Sect?"
No one there refuted her, but just looked at Cang Yue with an amused face. They all knew the relationship between Grand Elder Shen Yue and Cang Yue.
"Such words can not be spoken lightly, Grand Elder." Shen Yue's eyes turned cold as she spoke in a grim tone. With people like her, she can not back down. Once she showed any weakness, she would lose everything.
"Why? Did I strike a nerve?" Shen Yue let out a sneer. "This is the fifth attack on us, and more than one hundred and fifty members of our sect have died. And yet you want us to wait?"
"Wait for what?" Her voice grew increasingly cold and louder as she spoke further. "Wait for them to kill us all? To take us out one by one?"
"...." Cang Yue just shook her head. "I am not saying that we shouldn't make any move. I am just saying that we should have a clear understanding of the situation first."
"Words befitting of a coward." Grand Elder Shen Yue just let out a mocking laugh. "Like mother, like daughter. Both of them are cowards."
As she spoke those words, her eyes darted towards another person sitting in the room.
It was a woman in her thirties with the charm of a mature married woman. She had long, light purple hair that stretched all the way to her waist, and it had a special kind of icy colour. It wasn't pure purple but a lustrous purple gleaming with a bit of white. Her face was exquisitely beautiful with slightly slanted crescent brows, misty eyes, and gently, light pink colored lips which could bewitch the soul of a person. Just looking at her was enough to put anyone in a trance.
As for her figure... It was alluring to the extreme. A light blue colored ribbon was tied around her willow-thin waist, and the purplish white robe, which was similar to her hair, draped over her body. Her breasts were large enough to cause the envy of women present in the room, and were barely covered by the similar blue clothing, barely hiding the scenery underneath them. But if one were to look carefully, one could see two buds erect, which seemed to be like seeds about to germinate. Every time she breathed, her large, round breasts threatened to fall out of that piece of clothing.
Her buttocks, beneath her slim waist, were also rounder and firmer, arousing evil thoughts in anyone who sees them.
At the moment, she was resting with her smooth legs placed on the table. Her robes were slid off, revealing the scenery to her thigh. Creamy skin with a delicate pink gloss... each and every single one of her toes was small and lustrous, like some kind of beautiful gem. The front and back of her feet were silky smooth; it was as if they were smeared with a layer of cream.
Her entire body was dripping with a kind of allure and charm that could suck away one's body and soul.
She was one of the Grand Elders of the Duality sect and the mother of Cang Yue... Yun Ning.
"....." Hearing Grand Elder Shen Yue taunt, she opened one of her eyes, took a look at her and then closed it again, seemingly wanting to go back to sleep.
"YOU..." This act of complete disregard enraged Shen Yue. If not for the fact that they were inside the Grand Hall and the sect leader was sitting there, she would have attacked the bitch.
"Now is not the time." The first Grand Elder finally stepped in. "Tell me, Saintess. What should we do for now?"
Cang Yue wasn't surprised by her mother's lack of interest. She was the kind of woman who never liked any sense of responsibility. She had a feeling that even if she was attacked, her mother wouldn't step in to save her because it would be bothersome.
She thought for a long time about the first elder's question. She wanted to say that they should just bide their time and wait for the opportunity, but feeling the discontent amongst the elders, she swallowed her words.
Gritting her teeth, she finally spoke the words she wanted to say the least.
"We should also launch an ambush." It took all her strength to utter those words.
"Good." Grand Elder Shen Yue seemed to be waiting for those words. Standing up with a smile, she patted her hands. "Then you shall be the one to lead this ambush."
Without waiting for Cang Yue to speak, she continued, "Tomorrow, you will head to the Heavenly Sword Sect's territory to launch a surprise attack. Your purpose is to kill as many as you can and head back safely."
"As for whether you will do it alone or in a team... I leave that to you."
Cang Yue wanted to say a few words, but at this moment, the Sect Leader, who was sitting there, waved her hand, dismissing her.
In the end, she could only dejectedly walk out of the hall. Things have completely spiralled out of control. She was absolutely sure that the two behemoths were going to war. And her ambush will be the fuse that will light up the powder keg.
"Sigh..." Regardless of what she thinks, there wasn't anything she could do at the moment. She just headed to her house to make last-minute preparations...