The Steamed Bun's Invasion
Epigraph: avast1, Wan Renwang
A decade, a dream world has passed,
The tale of Man Hoang Xing is now complete.
Do readers still remember it in their hearts?
Do you still wait, still hope for more?…
The majestic Qingyun mountain range stands tall,
Its seven majestic peaks draw gasps of awe.
A colossal, renowned sect,
With countless brilliant disciples…
But now, smoke and fire obscure the sky,
The Demonic Sect besieges, everywhere is blood red.
Will Righteousness triumph over Evil?
Or will blood flow like rivers in this place?…
(avast1)
In the Central Plains, the Righteous Path has Qingyun,
Its ancient prestige, revered by all.
The barbaric Demonic Sect, now invades,
The Righteous Path in peril, its fate hanging by a thread.
(Wan Renwang)
The Qingyun mountain range stands majestically in the Central Plains, its seven majestic peaks soaring above the blue clouds, its posture reaching the heavens, its aura divine.
The Qingyun Sect was founded over two thousand years ago, starting with Patriarch Qingyunzi. It passed through the glorious era of Patriarch Qingye and has been passed down to this day. The current Sect Master, True Immortal Tianchengzi, possesses unfathomable cultivation. He is a man of high virtue and prestige, revered by all under heaven. Within the sect, talents emerge in continuous waves. In the same generation as the Sect Master, there are also other Righteous Path titans renowned throughout the land, such as Zhenwu, Zheng Tong… Among the younger disciples, there are countless brilliant talents with extraordinary innate gifts. Among them, the two personal disciples diligently nurtured by True Immortal Tianchengzi, Dao Xuan and Wan Jianyi, are the most outstanding. They can be considered once-in-a-millennium prodigies.
All under heaven believe that the Qingyun Sect truly deserves its reputation as a renowned great sect, the leader of the Righteous Path.
From the foot of Qingyun Mountain, looking up at the majestic peak, ten thousand *zhang* high, one’s gaze cannot encompass its entire vista. It only makes mortals yearn for it more, wondering what kind of prosperous and beautiful immortal paradise lies atop that majestic spiritual mountain.
Such a majestic immortal mountain, such a renowned Righteous Path sect, should have been a place for all beings under heaven to admire. But for the past year, the Demonic Sect Master, Qiu Wangjin, has mobilized all the elites of his sect. From the Sacred Palace in the barbaric Northwest, he swept across the land, advancing directly towards Qingyun Mountain. In the warm, flower-filled and sunny spring weather, the Demonic Sect's grand army tightly encircled Qingyun, launching a fierce assault up the mountain.
In front of the dense forest at the foot of Qingyun Mountain, two figures stood. One was a resolute young man with a heroic bearing, frowning as he gazed intently at the majestic spiritual mountain piercing the blue clouds. A hint of worry was etched on his face. Beside him stood a person clad in pitch-black clothes, their face completely obscured by a black scarf, revealing only a pair of deep, profound eyes.
The forest behind them was far from quiet; figures flickered here and there. Occasionally, flashes of blades and swords could be seen, sending shivers down one's spine.
A moment later, the young man suddenly sighed, then clasped his hands behind his back and paced back and forth, seemingly extremely anxious. The black-clad figure beside him merely glanced at him before looking away, showing no intention of offering advice.
Thus, the young man lost his patience first. He turned his head, frowned, and said to the black-clad figure:
“Mr. Gui, I still find it hard to understand. Why, for such a major undertaking, did the Sect Master order me to stay at the foot of the mountain and not participate? Could it be that he harbors suspicions about me?”
The black-clad figure merely grunted. He did not answer, but instead asked:
“Where did you learn your skills?”
The young man replied:
“The Sect Master taught me.”
The black-clad figure asked again:
“How has the Sect Master treated you?”
The young man pondered, then nodded and replied:
“His kindness is as heavy as a mountain, no different from a parent’s.”
The black-clad figure grunted.
"It's good that you understand. As I see it, the old Sect Master treats you exceptionally well. The legacy of the Ghost King Sect will surely fall into your hands someday. Don't overthink it."
The young man sighed and turned around, glancing at Qingyun Peak, shrouded in clouds, he said:
"If that's the case, why didn't the old Sect Master let me participate in such a major event as attacking the Qingyun Sect, but instead made me lead you to wait in this forest, doing something as trivial as providing backup?"
The man in black was silent for a moment before saying:
"There are two possibilities for this. First, the old Sect Master knows this is an extremely perilous battle. The Qingyun Sect is a major sect with a thousand-year history, possessing countless masters. Even a slight misstep could lead to death, so he deliberately found a way to keep you out of it. The second possibility…"
At this point, he suddenly lowered his voice to a whisper, took a step closer to the young man, and carefully looked around before speaking:
"Second, perhaps the old Sect Master himself is pessimistic about the outcome of this battle. Out of concern for the Ghost King Sect's legacy, he dispatched you here to provide backup in case of unforeseen circumstances."
Hearing this, the young man was startled and alarmed. He turned to look at the man in black and said in a deep voice:
"Gui Xiansheng, please enlighten me?"
The man in black merely chuckled, acting as if he hadn't taken his own words seriously. A moment later, he casually added:
"That was just wild speculation."
The young man stared at him with a cold expression, his lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out. He silently turned away and continued to gaze up at the peak.
Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted from the forest behind them. The young man's face grew stern as he shouted:
"What's going on?"
Very quickly, a man emerged from the forest, dragging an old man who looked like a woodcutter. The man's face was panicked, as if he, too, was in awe of the young man. As he approached, the man said:
"Reporting, Deputy Sect Master, we apprehended this old man near the forest."
The young man fixed the old man with an icy gaze.
An invisible wave of authority washed over them. The old man, seemingly just an ordinary woodcutter and still reeling from the fright of seeing blades and swords in the forest, could not withstand it. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, muttering and gasping, his words unintelligible.
The young man snorted coldly then turned to his subordinate. The subordinate quickly reported the full story:
"Deputy Sect Master, we've questioned him. This old man is a local villager, a woodcutter. He was just passing by coincidentally today."
"Huh?" The man in black, known as Gui Xiansheng, suddenly spoke up. He frowned and asked: "Which village?"
"A village located more than three miles from here, right at the foot of Qingyun Peak, named Caomiao Village."
Gui Xiansheng shook his head and said:
"Too close. I'm afraid our hiding place will be exposed. Why did no one discover it before? Let me lead some men to wipe out that village…"
"Wait!"
Gui Xiansheng was cut off before he could finish. He frowned and asked the young man:
"Xiao Wan, what's wrong?"
The young man merely gave a faint smile, waved his hand, signaling his subordinate to drag the old man into the forest, then casually said:
"He's just an ordinary mortal. The prestige of our Sacred Cult isn't built on indiscriminate slaughter. Wouldn't that just make the Central Plains sects look down on us? Besides, our Sacred Cult's main army has already attacked the mountain. What good would killing him do? It's best not to complicate things further."
Mr. Gui thought for a moment, then quietly nodded. The young man he called Xiao Wan continued to gaze at Thanh Vân Mountain in the distance, his expression constantly shifting as if he were worried about the people on the mountain.
Suddenly, Xiao Wan's pupils contracted.
He then saw a mass of black clouds suddenly roll in across the clear blue sky, immediately shattering the white clouds that had been drifting lazily across it.