Invincible Dad-Chapter 680 - 670: Enjoying Poetic Wine in One’s Prime, Even Murder is Timed Right

Chapter 680: Chapter 670: Enjoying Poetic Wine in One’s Prime, Even Murder is Timed Right

The nights in East Sea City were already growing hot and muggy by June.

A large number of people gathered at the beach. Some came to see the sea, while others were there for a walk or to enjoy the cool air.

Under the streetlamps, a group of children ran wildly on the sand, their laughter and chatter filling the air. Couples walked hand in hand, whispering softly to each other.

Moonlight sprinkled down, illuminating the sea with a silvery-white sheen, as if it were paved with silver.

Xu Lai, barefoot, stepped onto the soft sand and said with a grin, "Honey, you too."

Ruan Tang took off her shoes, lifted her snow-white feet, and playfully stepped on Xu Lai’s foot before sprinting forward.

After running a dozen meters, she turned back and made a face at him.

Xu Lai was startled for a moment, then burst into laughter.

He hadn’t expected Ruan Tang to have such a playful side.

He caught up to her in two steps and playfully smacked her bottom, causing her cheeks to flush with embarrassment. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

We’re in public!

Her beautiful eyes glared. "Xu Lai, you’re asking for a beating."

The two frolicked on the beach, playing even more wildly than the children.

...

The Yunxiao Sect was destroyed.

This news spread instantly throughout the Three Sects, Eight Pavilions, and Eleven Sacred Lands.

The thunder tribulation during the day could not be concealed; all high-ranking Martial Artists in Hua Country could sense it.

By the time they arrived, they only found a group of Cultivators with an air of otherworldly grace.

When they learned that these people were actually disciples of the Yunxiao Sect, all the Martial Artists were shocked.

Fortunately, an elder from the Dao Sect was among them. She invited the Yunxiao Sect disciples and elders to the Dao Sect, as the two Holy Lands were no more than three hundred kilometers apart.

Meanwhile, the higher-ups of the Martial Dao Association of Hua Country and the leaders of the other Holy Lands had already rushed to the Dao Sect, all of them laden with questions.

"What? The Penglai Sword Pavilion is gone?"

"Elder Lin Xuzhi is a traitor?!"

"Sect Master Li Qingzhou died three hundred years ago, and the one killed by the heavenly tribulation was an incarnation of the Moon King?"

"The Moon Clan almost breached Chang’an City, and a single sword strike, powered by three hundred years of Hua Country’s Martial Dao, slew tens of thousands of them?"

"Wait, Senior Xu Lai’s power is immeasurable? He isn’t an enemy but a great hero of the Human Race?"

"..."

In the great hall of the Dao Sect.

The explosive news left all the seated Yunxiao Sect elders in a daze.

Having been immersed in secluded cultivation for years, they had no idea the world outside had undergone such colossal changes.

They could scarcely believe it.

They had been in the company of the Moon King’s incarnation for more than three hundred years!

Fortunately, the seated Yunxiao Sect elders were all at the peak of the Golden Core Realm. As they were generally several hundred years old, their capacity to process such news was strong.

One of the elders hesitated before asking, "Sect Master Mo, is what you say true?"

Aside from the already-ruined Penglai Sword Pavilion, all the leaders of the other Three Sects, Eight Pavilions, and Eleven Holy Lands had arrived, including the Pavilion Master of the Tian Ce Pavilion, who had lost his Cultivation Level.

They looked at each other and all nodded gravely. "We are willing to swear a Dao oath. If there is a single lie in our words, may we never enter the cycle of reincarnation and die without a proper burial!"

The Yunxiao Sect had seven Supreme Elders in total, led by Shan Qianchong.

Elder Shan slammed his hand on the table and rose, enraged. "Lin Xuzhi, that scoundrel!"

Shan Qianchong was furious.

He could not accept that Sect Master Li Qingzhou had died three hundred years ago, nor could he accept that they had been deceived by the Moon King’s incarnation for three hundred years.

Even less could he accept that Elder Lin Xuzhi had betrayed the Human Race!

This stain nearly obliterated all of the Yunxiao Sect’s past efforts.

If the ancestors who died resisting the Moon Clan were aware of this in the afterlife, how heartbroken would they be?

"The Yunxiao Sect is a respected Upper Sect. By rights, as the leader of a Lower Sect, I am not qualified to inquire. But today, on behalf of the Dao Sect and the Human Race, I would like to ask you, Seniors," Mo Lian of the Dao Sect bowed respectfully, "does the Yunxiao Sect still hold true to its original aspirations?"

"..."

In the grand hall, nearly thirty elders of the Yunxiao Sect were seated. Most were at the peak of the Golden Core Realm, with a few in the mid and late stages.

These old men were generally over two hundred years old, their faces aged and marked by the passage of time.

After a moment of silence, the twenty-eight elders of the Upper Sect stood up simultaneously, their expressions extremely grave. "We have never forgotten our initial resolve!"

The Yunxiao Sect had been destroyed.

But at the sect gate stood a giant rock, upon which the Founding Ancestor’s dying words were inscribed—just a few lines:

To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth.

To secure a destiny for the people.

To carry on the lost teachings of past sages.

To bring peace to all generations!

These were words the Founding Ancestor had heard from a scholar, but they had become the sole creed of the Yunxiao Sect.

Thus, the initial resolve of the Yunxiao Sect had never changed. Though they cultivated in seclusion, their hearts were always with the peace of the world.

Otherwise, they would not have established the Three Sects and Nine Pavilions in Hua Country to find and train talented youths to resist invasions from the Foreign Clans.

"Whew."

Mo Lian and the other leaders of the Holy Lands breathed a collective sigh of relief.

They had been worried that the entire Yunxiao Sect had been brainwashed by the Moon King’s incarnation. It seemed the situation was not so dire after all.

"The Barrier of the Yunxiao Sect is destroyed, so we can no longer return." Shan Qianchong, a Supreme Elder of the Yunxiao Sect, sighed softly and cupped his fists in a formal gesture. "Therefore, I must trouble you, Sect Masters, to help settle our disciples."

"Of course."

Mo Lian and the others hurriedly returned the gesture, their expressions filled with apprehension.

"Gong Ruhai, the master of Li Qingzhou and Lin Xuzhi, and I were martial brothers."

"I reached Foundation Establishment at fifty and Golden Core at one hundred. After another hundred years of cultivation, I reached the peak of the Golden Core Realm. I have been in secluded cultivation seeking a breakthrough ever since, yet I have never managed to pierce that final veil."

"I didn’t understand what my heart’s knot was before, but now I finally do."

"It’s because I have unfinished business. That is why my heart is not at peace."

The white-haired Shan Qianchong laughed heartily. "The disciples of the Yunxiao Sect are entrusted to you all. This old man has been toyed with for centuries; it’s time to collect some interest."

"Senior, surely you don’t intend to go after the Moon Clan..."

The pupils of Blade Sect’s Master, Qi Jiuyang, shrank. "The Moon Clan is cunning! You must not act rashly."

"I am going to the Moon Clan for the sake of Martial Brother Gong, Martial Nephew Li Qingzhou, and Martial Grandniece Gong Qiu."

Shan Qianchong, a sword strapped to his back, burst out laughing. "If I don’t act now, I’ll be too old."

His laughter was carefree, yet it carried a tinge of melancholy.

A Golden Core’s lifespan is five hundred years. Shan Qianchong’s time was almost up, with less than fifty years remaining.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

He couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

If he waited further, his vitality would wither, and his combat strength would plummet.

One must seize the day for poetry and wine, and for killing as well.

While he was not yet old, while his sword could still be unsheathed.

He would seek justice for his martial brother and for the more than three hundred elders from the Three Sects and Nine Pavilions who were unjustly slain.

"Senior, we will accompany you!" Mo Lian, Qi Jiuyang, and the other leaders of the Holy Lands declared.

"Senior, the Watchmen will go with you!" the Watchmen and members of the Hua Country Martial Dao Association in the hall also proclaimed, but Shan Qianchong refused them all.

"The courage in my heart, the three-foot sword in my hand, and a flask of wine are all I need," Shan Qianchong said with a wave of his hand.

"Elder Shan, we will go with you!"

Eight other Yunxiao Sect elders, whose lifespans were also nearing their end, stepped forward together, their expressions as cold as ice.

They were born of the Yunxiao Sect, and they would die for the Yunxiao Sect.

They had to atone for the disaster Lin Xuzhi had caused, even if it meant paying with their lives