The Beiyue Hengshan Sect, located between the northern highlands of Mount Qi and the Central Plains of Jizhong, was a strategically important location in ancient times due to its rugged natural terrain and geographical position.
It is said that the Hengshan Sect has a long history, and its current sect leader is Bai Yihe, the twenty-seventh generation leader.
Centuries ago, the Hengshan Sect was considered a major sect among the various martial arts schools. However, with the passage of time, it has now become a second-rate sect. Most of its disciples are children from the villages below who come up to train in martial arts, with a majority being female disciples, as the founder of the Hengshan Sect was herself a woman.
Consequently, most of the Hengshan Sect's martial arts are suitable for women to practice, although the current sect leader is a man.
Nowadays, the area around the foot of the Hengshan Sect's mountain has been developed into a tourist attraction, which has brought considerable benefits to the sect. The number of disciples in the sect has reached two hundred, placing it among the upper echelon of second-rate sects, naturally far surpassing third-rate sects like the Wuliang Daoist Temple.
However, Wan Yunting knew very little about the Hengshan Sect, only having learned some details from Lu Xiaodie. Knowing why Lu Xiaodie left the Hengshan Sect back then, he held no good impressions of the sect.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, a private jet slowly landed at Ji’bao City Airport.
Wan Yunting, dressed in a windbreaker, and Duan Yingying, wearing a white down jacket, walked out of the airport. They only carried one bag, containing Duan Yingying's change of clothes and personal items. Wan Yunting, on the other hand, carried nothing. Upon exiting the airport, he directly hailed a ride-hailing car, instructing the driver to take them towards Mount Yue of the Hengshan Sect.
An hour later, Wan Yunting and Duan Yingying alighted from the car in a small town at the foot of Mount Yue. The two found a small restaurant for a meal. At the same time, Wan Yunting took out his phone and called Lu Xiaodie's senior sister, saying, "Hello, I'm at the Yue Shan Restaurant in Yue Shan Town. What should we do next?"
Wan Yunting had initially intended to go directly to the Hengshan Sect to discuss Lu Xiaodie's matter with their sect leader. However, he decided it was better to meet her senior sister first to understand the situation before making a decision.
"So quickly."
The senior sister on the other end sounded surprised and quickly said, "Then you eat first, I'll come down the mountain to find you now."
"Alright, I'll wait for you."
Wan Yunting hung up the phone and began to serve food to Duan Yingying, who sat beside him. She turned her head and glanced at him sideways, questioning, "What's your relationship with this Lu Xiaodie? You don't have any relation to her?"
Wan Yunting glanced at her, ate his food, and replied, "She's considered my disciple!"
Duan Yingying was startled and asked, "Did she join our Wuliang Daoist Temple?"
"Of course not," Wan Yunting shook his head and said, "It's fine to tell you now. Last year, when we went into the Kunlun Mountains, with Senior Sister Zhou of the Emei Sect!"
Mentioning Zhou Ruoxi, Wan Yunting felt a pang of longing and nostalgia for their experience of being trapped in the valley below. He paused before continuing, "We were trapped in the valley and discovered the martial arts manuals left by the sect leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, so Senior Sister Zhou and I both learned the Xiaoyao Sect's techniques!"
"Xiaoyao Sect's techniques?"
Duan Yingying was surprised. When they returned from the Kunlun Mountains, everyone knew that Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi's martial arts realms had improved, and they had also obtained the Junzi Sword and the Nüdi Sword. However, they had explained that they had only obtained these techniques in the valley and did not mention the Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts.
"No wonder you know those rogue techniques!"
Duan Yingying playfully rolled her charming eyes at him and asked, "Did you learn all the Xiaoyao Sect's techniques? Can you teach me?"
Wan Yunting served her food and said with a cold laugh, "If you want to learn the Xiaoyao Sect's techniques, wait until you break through to the Hua Jing realm. Your current little skills are useless."
"Hmph, who are you looking down on?"
Duan Yingying gave him a displeased glance, then winked at Wan Yunting again, smiling flirtatiously, "As long as you work harder, you can improve my internal energy."
These words almost choked Wan Yunting, who laughed and cursed helplessly, "Do you want to drain me dry?"
"Hehe, if you eat more, you won't be."
Duan Yingying served him food, her cute and cheerful smile making Wan Yunting unable to resist this spoiled and willful little demon...
The two ate at the restaurant and waited for about an hour before a woman in a grey robe appeared at the entrance. She looked to be around thirty years old, with long black hair tied up and secured with a hairpin, revealing her face. She wasn't beautiful, but not ugly either, just an ordinary woman. She entered the restaurant, looking around, and then took out a photo from her phone, which was of Wan Yunting.
Wan Yunting and Duan Yingying noticed her as soon as she entered the restaurant and waved, asking, "Are you Lu Xiaodie's senior sister?"
Upon seeing Wan Yunting and comparing him with the photo on her phone, the woman confirmed his identity and excitedly nodded, "Yes, it's me. I apologize for making you wait, Master Wan. My surname is Zheng, and my given name is Rong!"
"Senior Sister Zheng, please sit."
Wan Yunting gestured, and Zheng Rong nodded and sat down. She said politely, "I'm sorry to have made you make this trip, but the matter is urgent. Junior Sister Lu also instructed me that if anything happened to her, I should contact you."
Wan Yunting waved his hand and said, "Sister Lu's matters are my matters. Senior Sister Zheng, please don't be so polite. Tell me in detail, how is Sister Lu now?"
Zheng Rong glanced around to ensure there were no Hengshan Sect disciples present before saying to Wan Yunting, "Our sect leader has detained Junior Sister Lu and said she will be sent to the police station in town to be held accountable!"
"If our sect leader really does this, Junior Sister Lu might be sentenced for assault, especially since our sect leader has a good relationship with the police chief. Their chief was once an elder of our Hengshan Sect!"
Wan Yunting nodded, understanding the crucial point, and asked, "Does Senior Sister Zheng mean that you want me to step forward and talk to your sect leader?"
"Yes, after all, you are the sect leader of the Wuliang Daoist Temple. It's best to sit down and talk with our sect leader. We can't afford further conflict; it's best to resolve major issues into minor ones and minor issues into none at all!" Zheng Rong said.
Wan Yunting nodded, but Zheng Rong raised an eyebrow and continued, "However, our sect leader is not easy to deal with, especially since he was the one who pressured Junior Sister Lu to marry his son, which caused the conflict. The sect leader ordered Junior Sister Lu not to use Hengshan Sect techniques outside. The relationship was very strained back then. Then, the day before yesterday, Junior Sister Lu suddenly returned to seek justice and fairness!"
"I understand."
Wan Yunting knew all these things, as Lu Xiaodie had told him before. He said, "Then Senior Sister Zheng, without delay, let's go up the mountain now. I'll pay a visit to your sect leader to discuss this matter."
"Alright, I'll take you up the mountain."
Zheng Rong nodded and got up. Wan Yunting called the owner to settle the bill and then followed Zheng Rong out of the restaurant with Duan Yingying. In the small town, the main mode of transportation was three-wheeled vehicles. Zheng Rong hailed one, and Wan Yunting and Duan Yingying got in, heading directly towards the mountain gate of the Hengshan Sect.
The mountain gate of the Hengshan Sect is located in Beiyue. After half an hour on the three-wheeled vehicle, they arrived at the foot of Mount Beiyue, which is the lower part of the Hengshan Sect's mountain gate. However, since the Hengshan Sect is built within Mount Beiyue, it takes another half an hour's walk to reach the actual mountain gate.
Nowadays, most major sects have outer and inner disciples. The outer disciples are responsible for providing tourist services and collecting entrance fees, while outsiders are forbidden from entering the inner sect. Only inner disciples can come and go freely.
Wan Yunting and Duan Yingying followed Zheng Rong, walking towards the inner sect of the Hengshan Sect. Along the way, they encountered many outer disciples of the Hengshan Sect. However, seeing that Wan Yunting and Duan Yingying were brought by Zheng Rong, they naturally said nothing.
When they reached the actual gatehouse leading into the inner sect, the two inner disciples on guard scrutinized Wan Yunting and Duan Yingying and asked Zheng Rong, "Senior Sister Zheng, who are these two people, and why are you bringing them into our inner sect?"
Zheng Rong looked at the two junior disciples and pointed to Wan Yunting, saying, "This is Master Wan from the Wuliang Daoist Temple. He has come specifically to visit our Hengshan Sect. Junior disciples, quickly go and inform the sect leader, say that Master Wan requests an audience!"
"Master Wan of the Wuliang Daoist Temple. No wonder he looks familiar, it really is that Wan Yunting!"
The two young disciples found Wan Yunting familiar at first glance, as there had been too much news about Wan Yunting recently, and the Hengshan Sect did not prohibit inner disciples from using mobile phones.
"Why are you still standing there? Hurry up," Zheng Rong glared at the two junior disciples. One of them nodded and turned to sprint into the mountain gate to inform the sect leader.
"Master Wan, I'll take you inside..."
Zheng Rong turned and said to Wan Yunting before continuing to lead them into the inner sect of the Hengshan Sect. Along the way, she also briefly introduced the scenery and affairs within the Hengshan Sect to Wan Yunting and Duan Yingying.
The junior disciple who went to report was very fast. In a short while, he arrived at a grand hall, where a man in his fifties, wearing a grey robe, was seated at the main seat, drinking tea. He was the sect leader of the Hengshan Sect, Bai Yihe!
Beside him sat a woman, Bai Yihe's wife, named Qin Juan. She said, "Yihe, if Lu Xiaodie is unwilling to marry Xiao Liang, there's no need to force her. We can choose other female disciples from the sect to marry Xiao Liang for procreation. I think that girl Xiaoyue is quite good; she seems to like our Xiao Liang a lot..."
"What do you know!"
However, Bai Yihe put down his teacup and glanced at his wife Qin Juan, saying, "Let me ask you, where did Lu Xiaodie get her current martial arts skills?"
Qin Juan's expression faltered. Bai Yihe continued, "She alone managed to injure Elder Chen and Elder Wu. Don't you find her skills suspicious?"
Qin Juan raised an eyebrow and nodded, saying, "It is indeed quite suspicious. Lu Xiaodie's current martial arts realm should be at Dan Jin, right?"
Bai Yihe's cunning eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded, saying, "When she was expelled from the sect, she was only at Hua Jin. In the few years since, she has broken through to Dan Jin and possesses unfamiliar techniques. She must have met a master, perhaps a great opportunity!"
Qin Juan seemed to understand her husband's intention in detaining Lu Xiaodie and asked, "You want to find out the origin of Lu Xiaodie's skills?"
Bai Yihe nodded. He was tall and thin, and especially when his pair of cunning old eyes narrowed, he didn't look like a good person. He sneered, "It's evident that she must have been guided by a master in her martial arts, otherwise her swordsmanship wouldn't be so sharp and powerful. It's clearly a superior swordsmanship and internal energy cultivation method!"
"If we can obtain a set of superior internal energy cultivation methods from her, it will be enough to elevate our Hengshan Sect to the next level!"
Qin Juan nodded, but then raised an eyebrow and said, "If Lu Xiaodie truly learned her skills from a master, and if we trouble her like this, will the master behind her come forward to help her?"
Bai Yihe's thin lips curled up. He picked up his teacup with one hand and used the lid to scrape the tea leaves from the bowl, saying with a smile, "We've detained her for two days, and no one has come to our Hengshan Sect to help her. This means her skills are definitely..."
"Sect Leader...!"
Just then, a young disciple from outside rushed in and directly interrupted Bai Yihe, saying, "Master Wan from the Wuliang Daoist Temple requests an audience!"