## AST 1024 – Buddha Sword Sect’s Decision, Huoyun Peng’s Resolution

After Qing Shui had laid a formation around the Qing Residence, he became more relieved. The old men from the Buddha Sword Sect had gone back, but they would never give up that easily. The Buddha Sect has never encountered such behavior towards them after all. As for Demon Gate, Qing Shui wasn’t worried. They could go against the Buddha Sect with equal force, as they were also powerful in that context. He didn’t have to concern himself with their ability to fight, and he had a feeling that he might need their help one day as well.

Buddha Sword Sect!

The Buddha Sword Sect was located at the Buddha Mountain, which was an impressive mountain region that had several statues carved naturally into the image of a Buddha. Throughout the mountain, the Buddha statues stood upright like a sword jabbed onto the ground. The scenery of these statues was quite life-like, and it was very enthralling.

The Buddha Sword Sect was one of the nine divisions of the Buddha Sect that sat right on this Buddha Mountain they were viewing. The distances between each of the sects from the Nine Divisions of Buddha Sect, or the Nine Sects, were quite close. The general headquarters of the Buddha Sect was located in the middle, with the other nine divisions surrounding it. The Buddha Sword Sect was located somewhere among these nine surroundings.

The headquarters of the Buddha Sect was actually formed by the Elders of the respective nine divisions. The commander of the headquarters was the Grand Elder, who had absolute power over the headquarters itself. The other nine divisions were controlled by their respective division lords and the sect lords. This was the information Qing Shui had received from the old man of Demon Gate. The Buddha Sect was just an abbreviation for the Nine Divisions of Buddha Sect.

The headquarters of the Buddha Sect were superior when compared to the Nine Divisions of Buddha Sect in title. All the nine divisions were comprised of powerful martial cultivators, and those from headquarters were constantly reaping benefits for their own divisions. Usually, they would not interact with each other except during the moment of crisis. The Elder Association from the headquarters would join forces to eradicate the crisis, and it was only in the Elder Association that the respective Elders from the nine divisions would interact with each other for various matters.

The selection of the Grand Elder was based on the martial prowess and the wisdom of the candidates that could be selected from one of the lords from the nine divisions. The Grand Elder has the absolute power, so everyone from the nine divisions would dream of being the Grand Elder of the Buddha Sect, as they could reap greater benefits for their own divisions.

At that moment, two people appeared inside a grand hall in the Buddha Sword Sect. One of them was pale as a white sheet of paper, and these two were the Elders assigned to intercept Qing Shui, but they were forced to escape back to the Buddha Sword Sect.

There weren’t a lot of people in the grand hall. Besides the two of them, there was the leader wearing a yellow silk robe sitting on a high perch with a calm composure. And beside this leader stood another old man who was peering his eyes. He could be easily neglected, as he didn’t stand out as much as the leader in an extravagant robe.

“What’s the meaning of this?” The leader looked at those old men, where one of them was wounded, while the other was fine. His aura was obscure, seemingly unstable.

“Sect lord, that kid was domineering. Most importantly, his demonic beast was very powerful, we couldn’t even win against it….” The unharmed one explained in a low voice.

“Both of you are already considered among the best in the five continents, and yet you can’t defeat his beast mount. It seems that his demonic beast has surpassed the power of 10,000 stars. Even so, it can only unleash about 5,500 stars. But that doesn’t mean both of you don’t have that kind of power as well.” The sect Lord said calmly and slowly.

“Sect lord, that demonic beast was able to debuff 10% of our powers. We could only unleash the power less than 4,400 stars.” One of the old men explained in a trembling voice.

“Debuff 10% of your power? So he’s using this trick against you. Did he really think that he could go against us using only a demonic beast with debuffing skill?” The sect lord wrinkled a frown, his face was plastered with a disdain expression.

“That’s enough. You may leave. Go tend to your wounds!”

“Thank you sect lord!”

Two of the Elders descended and left the hall.

“Third Uncle, what do you think?” The sect lord stood up and turned to ask an elderly man who stood beside him with a respectful gesture.

“This young man doesn’t seem to fear our Buddha Sword Sect. Do you think a young man such as he who possesses a powerful demonic beast will be dumb enough to use one demonic beast against us?” The elderly man said calmly, almost as if he was muttering to himself.

“I know that, of course. Does Demon Gate want to make things ugly for our Buddha Sword Sect that badly?” said the sect lord bewildered.

“Why did Demon Gate want a war against us as soon as this kid arrived? The key lies within this young man.” The elderly man known as Third Uncle slowly opened his eyes that were as clear as unpolluted water.

“Third Uncle, the child of both Peng ‘er and Mo Hongluo cannot be left alive in this world. If this goes out, the other divisions of the Buddha Sect will never allow it.” The sect lord shook his head, seemingly in disbelief of the current situation.

It has been 30 years since then. He thought everything was settled after forcing his son to sever his relationship with Demon Gate, but he didn’t expect that they had a child together and that child would come back, possibly to take vengeance on the Buddha Sword Sect. He couldn’t allow them to find them openly like this, and he couldn’t let this matter get blown out of proportion.

“If the other sect divisions can’t allow such atrocity to continue, why don’t we let them handle the situation?”

“Do you think they will?” The sect lord asked as he glanced towards his Third Uncle.

“Regardless, she is still Peng ‘er’s daughter. I can understand why it will be inconvenient for you to do this task. Let the other sect divisions or Elders do it. This matter concerns the reputation of the Buddha Sect, which is why they will most likely accept this task.” After he was done, his slowly closed his eyes and walked out of the grand hall.

…….

In a similar secluded courtyard within the Buddha Sword Sect, one man wearing a brown robe was training focusing on his sword moves. He looked like a handsome middle-aged man with straight brows and clear eyes, but there was an unchanging bitterness and an indescribable emotion in his expression.

30 years ago, he came here on his own will to cultivate and cleanse his heart and desires. He continued to do so as an ascetic monk, much like the others in the Buddha Sect.

He had been trying his best to forget his past within these 30 years. Back then, he felt confined in his own life, but as he grew up, he was finally able to understand a lot of things. He didn’t want to push the Huoyun Clan into the pits of abyss because of him, so he could only endure a lot of things thrown at him.

This man spent most of his time on penance, indulged in spiritual training, and practicing his flow of Qi, all for the sake of paralyzing himself. He had given all his love to a woman, despite the short passion both of them shared together. Even so, he would never be able to love another woman – a decision he had made 30 years ago. He couldn’t care less about the world outside and continued to cultivate with diligence every single day.

Huoyun Peng has strong talents, this was evident by his accomplishment in breaking through Martial Emperor in just 15 years time. When he became a Martial Emperor, he wasn’t 40 years old yet. His father – Huoyun Lie – gave him the best medicinal pills and treasures immediately after that, which came as a complete surprise to him.

After another 20 years, he became one of the top martial cultivators amongst the five continents with the power of 5000 stars. However, he was aware that this level of power would not yield any changes to his life, so he decided he would go to the other four continents during the next activation of the waypoint.

Perhaps he could extend his powers there, and perhaps after ten years, he would be more than capable of meeting her again. If that could be done, he would go and look for his daughter.

The more he thought about it, the more infatuated he had become. He had been restraining himself from thinking about those things, but he couldn’t help it once he was calm and the world around him was silent. The days he spent with his love were happy and wonderful, including the time when his daughter was born….

Just then, a beautiful yet mature-looking woman came into the courtyard. She had a slender figure with well-developed features. This woman approached Huoyun Peng who was daydreaming with a sword in her hand.

“Brother Peng!”

“Lian Jing, didn’t I say this before? Don’t look for me anymore. It’s been 30 years, why won’t you give up?” Huoyun Peng swiveled his head towards the woman with a full figure. His expression was that of an unhappy man.

“I know you like her, and I never once think that I can replace her position in your heart. But she’s not with you anymore, so let me take care of you, alright? I don’t need anything, I just want to stay by your side. Once you find someone you like, I will leave right away.” Lian Jing said calmly while looking at Huoyun Peng.

“Lian Jing, my heart belongs to her and no one else. Don’t waste your time on me anymore. I’m an ascetic monk now. If you truly want me to be happy, then please find someone you like. That way, everyone will be happy.”

“Brother Peng, your heart only contains Hongluo so you cannot accept anyone else. But you have taken over my heart, can you understand….” Lian Jing’s voice faded as she spoke her words, but Huoyun Peng could still hear her every word clearly.

Lian Jing had waited for Huoyun Peng for 30 years. He gave her a bitter smile, realizing that she could essentially understand the feeling of waiting for their loved one for a long period of time. He lifted up his head to look at the mature woman who grew up from a young lady to a grown woman with a well-developed figure. There was no complaint she would utter, nor feelings of dissatisfaction she would show to him as she waited for him patiently for these past 30 years.

For Huoyun Peng, she was willing to wait no matter how long it was!

Both of them were the type of people who could not tolerate unreasonable things in life, otherwise, they wouldn’t become what they were today. However, both of them would do anything for the one they loved without regrets, with the difference being Huoyun Peng for Mo Hongluo and Lian Jing for Huoyun Peng.

…….

In a blink of an eye, two days had passed. Qing Shui had been staying at the manor ever since he came back, getting a visit once from Ming Xian. His wounds had completely healed, but Qing Shui urged him not to come visit for the next few days and told him a gist of the situation with the Buddha Sect.

Qing Shui was the one who fully cured Ming Xian, and the Ming Clan owed him a huge debt of gratitude because of that. This was what Qing Shui wanted, and he finally got it. This kind of influence required a bit of involvement on his part.

On the third day, Qing Shui guided his family members on their training at the courtyard while playing with Qing Yu and Qing Long in between his guidance. Qing Long couldn’t walk yet, so he could only hold him in his arms.

Huoyun Liu-Li had already started her cultivation, but was required to wear the Holy Bracelet whenever she was cultivating her skills. If she wasn’t cultivating, she would lend her bracelet to those who were practicing their cultivation, which was why some members of the Qing Clan would cultivate throughout the whole night, particularly Qing Bei.

Roar roar….

A distinct beast roar could be heard from afar. Qing Shui looked up to the far horizon and saw dozens of black dots coming to the residence’s direction. His vision was superb, so he was able to see a group of Swiftshadow Dragons despite the black dots being far away.

Even though he couldn’t get a clear sense of the power of these Swiftshadow Dragons, he had a feeling that these people are far more powerful than the two from before. Qing Shui turned to Zhu Qing and handed her Qing Long from his arms.

“Qing ‘er, hold tightly on our son. Take care of the other children for me too.”

“Qing Shui, be careful!” Zhu Qing said in a worried tone.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” Qing Shui smiled and then knelt down to face Qing Yu.

“My girl, stay here and play with aunty. You have to be good and listen to her!”

Zhu Qing bent down and picked up Qing Yu with her other arm. At the same time, the other members of the Qing Clan came out rushing towards Qing Shui. Even those who were in the middle of their training came to observe the situation.

Qing Shui once again gave orders to not leave the residence and stay within the formation layout. As long as they remained inside, nothing will happen to them.

Qing Shui went out, called his Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant and flew to the air. By the time he stood in the sky, he could see those people coming from afar very clearly. Qing Shui couldn’t help but felt surprised when he saw the faces of the incoming visitors.

Ten men, each riding on a Swiftshadow Dragon were swiftly coming towards his direction. The ten Swiftshadow Dragons had wings extended that measured to about 80 meters or more, blocking the sun’s ray from shining the ground below. The heads of these dragons were ferocious, emitting a fierce aura slightly lesser than that of his Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant. However, there were two Swiftshadow Dragons that were somewhat on par with the fierce aura of his demonic beast.