You Lived Thanks to My Sharp Eye
A cultivator's ascent was divided into Dao Cohort, Daoist, Dao Master, and Dao Grandmaster.
Above those stood Great Daoist Master, Earthly Daoist, Heavenly Daoist, and Saint Daoist. Some spoke of a realm higher still—the Earthly Saint Divine Venerable—but that was nothing more than legend.
Dong Hyo, sect master of the Yangcheon Sect, was a powerhouse who had reached the Ninth Heaven of Dao Grandmaster. Anything past Great Daoist Master was a height one saw only in mid-rank immortal sects and above, so among low-rank sects he stood at nearly the very peak.
Just now he was drawing in the subordinates scattered to every quarter and moving with them as one body. He would rather have taken to the air, but too many of his disciples had yet to reach a realm that allowed flight, and he had no choice.
"This is the place. Right beneath the cliff."
At his subordinate's word, Dong Hyo nodded.
"Disciples, keep watch on the surroundings. Elders only—with me."
Dong Hyo and the elders of the Yangcheon Sect sprang lightly down the cliff and alighted on ground that could not be seen from above.
What met them was nothing they had expected, and for a moment they were thrown. Three youths—young enough that one might still have called them children. A man in outlandish clothes was shouting something at another, who had plugged his ears as if he wanted none of it, while a woman watched the pair with nothing on her face but contempt.
Look as they might, the elders decided, these were no people of Black Phoenix Hall. A few of them caught the cavern behind the three and the uncommon aura seeping from it, and surprise flickered across their faces. Had a place like this been sitting inside their own territory all along?
Yet none of them was shaken as Dong Hyo was. The head was gone, but he knew the fallen corpse at a glance: Jin Seo, an elder of Black Phoenix Hall.
"You dare brawl inside the Yangcheon Sect's domain?"
One elder bellowed it, voice thick with rage. The man who had been covering his ears—Yi Yeok—bowed his head with scrupulous courtesy.
"Aigoo. Now that I look, you're the renowned masters of the Yangcheon Sect. Humble wretches like us are honored to set eyes on such exalted persons."
The tone was soft, groveling to the point of servility. The elder eased a fraction, though anger still rode his voice when he asked again.
"Who are you?"
"We are mere travelers, sir. We came hoping to see the world-famous Heaven-Center Immortal Realm, and lost our way."
The elders frowned. A few even let out snorts of laughter. What secular man could stroll the territory of the immortal realm in perfect peace?
"You dare mock this sect? I'll ask once more. Who are you lot, and what business brings you here? Fail to answer properly, and I'll cut you down on the spot—"
"Heo Elder. Restrain yourself."
Dong Hyo stopped him. The rebuked elder's eyes flew wide in bewilderment. Dong Hyo turned to Yi Yeok and offered a formal cupped-fist salute.
"I am Dong Hyo, sect master of the Yangcheon Sect. Might I ask your honored name?"
"Nameless nobodies of the secular world. Nothing more."
He plainly had no intention of answering. At their sect master's courtesy the elders began to murmur, and Dong Hyo lifted a hand and silenced them.
"If there is a reason you cannot answer, I will respect it. Then allow me just one question more. These people of Black Phoenix Hall who lie here—were they dealt with by you, young master?"
Only then did the elders recognize Jin Seo's corpse, and a stir ran through them again. The Yangcheon Sect had clashed with Black Phoenix Hall more than once and knew their strength well. They were not the sort to scruple over method if it meant winning, and Jin Seo in particular was a fighter whose victory not even an elder or the sect master could guarantee in single combat.
It was unbelievable. These people gave off no immortal qi, and their blood spirits did not look especially strong—and they had killed Jin Seo?
"I didn't want to. But they took my 'friend' hostage and started making threats, so..."
Yeogwi snorted.
"No—I mean, they seized one of our party and threatened us. There was nothing else for it. We were lucky. If they hadn't let their guard down, it would have been my neck on the ground."
The groveling still soaked every word, and that, more than the claim itself, sent a chill through Dong Hyo and the elders.
Only then did something click for him.
From time to time a higher sect would fling its affiliated disciples out into the Heaven-Center Immortal Realm without warning, to temper them. They would not risk losing a precious prodigy, of course, so they released only those they judged to have reached a certain level. Perhaps the youths before him were geniuses, taken up in childhood by a mid-rank immortal sect—or even a high-rank one.
A shiver crawled up Dong Hyo's spine. However they had taken Jin Seo, three of them could hardly be enough to handle him, his elders, and the host of disciples waiting above. But if they truly belonged to a high-rank immortal sect? Should anything occur that such a sect found displeasing, keeping his seat as sect master would be the least of it. Depending on the case, the Yangcheon Sect itself might be wiped out.
"I see. You seem not to have fully grasped the situation, young master, so allow me to explain."
His manner grew still more courteous. He cleared his throat as if he had become a storyteller in a marketplace.
"Of late, bands from Black Phoenix Hall have begun appearing near the Yangcheon Sect's domain. At first we thought little of it. We even told our people not to clash with them if they could help it. But they came more and more often, and a few days ago they finally went so far as to kill disciples of this sect. We could not stand by. We left only the minimum needed to guard the Yangcheon Sect and formed this pursuit party."
Yi Yeok nodded. Only now did he understand why the sect had been so easy to strip bare.
"In the midst of that, we sensed the energy of a demonic sect in this very place and came running. Yet you had already handled it, young master. It shames us that this sect could not lend its strength in time."
"Tch. That's what I'm saying. Should've gotten here sooner."
Mo Yeong clapped a hand over Yeogwi's grumbling mouth. Dong Hyo took in the man's clothes and grew all the more certain of his guess. If he were not of a high-rank immortal sect—whose conduct not even secular folk, nor the low- and mid-rank sects, could begin to understand—how could he possibly dress in something so grotesque?
Yi Yeok bowed his head.
"Please, pay it no mind. My companions look sound enough on the outside, but in truth their wits are lacking. Little better than livestock. They're butchers of men who absolutely will not kill unless they're paid for it, and it seems they're furious at having killed so many and gained nothing. I ask you, Sect Master, to take their measure with a broad heart."
By Dong Hyo's judgment, this was a threat: produce a reward for disposing of Black Phoenix Hall.
"O-of course we must compensate you! Our Yangcheon Sect may be nothing but a low-rank immortal sect, but we surely have things you would find of use. Humble as it is, come to our sect, rest, and ease the fatigue of the road. If you see anything you need, you have only to say the word."
Yi Yeok, of course, had not the slightest intention of returning to the place he had just robbed.
"I'm grateful for the consideration. But our schedule is urgent, and I don't think we can delay any further. I'll do my best to soothe the volcanic fury of my companions. It won't be easy, of course..."
It was nothing short of extortion. Dong Hyo's face went pale.
"I-Immortal Stones! We have Immortal Stones!"
He snatched a small pouch from his robes in a panic.
"To spur on our lazy disciples, we set Immortal Stones on the heads of Black Phoenix Hall. One for a subordinate, three for a squad leader, and ten for Jin Seo. Let me see..."
He opened the pouch and began to count what was inside.
Yi Yeok tilted his head. Do things ever fall into place this neatly?
Dong Hyo, however, seemed to read the gesture differently. As if lightning had struck him, he thrust the entire pouch over.
"How could I dare haggle with an honored young master? Take all of it!"
"No, I wonder if it's all right for me to accept..."
Dong Hyo spoke with a desperate look.
"In a low-rank immortal sect like ours, even an inner elder can obtain only three or four Immortal Stones in a month. For you, young master, it must be woefully insufficient, but please accept it as the sincerity of our sect."
Yi Yeok weighed the pouch in his hand. It was his first time seeing Immortal Stones, so he could not be sure of the exact number, but there seemed to be thirty at the least. He glanced at Yeogwi and Mo Yeong. Their faces said they had no idea why the sect master of the Yangcheon Sect was being so warm.
There was, of course, no need to refuse what was being offered.
"You show us such kindness I hardly know where to put myself. I will be sure to remember the name of the Yangcheon Sect."
It was the sect master, rather, who hardly knew where to put himself.
"Not at all. If even this meager aid has been of help, it is a great honor."
Then they fell briefly silent. Yi Yeok tilted his head.
"Is there something more you wished to say?"
"Ah—no! I only wish you a peaceful journey."
Dong Hyo hurriedly led the elders off. Then he shouted up to the disciples who had been waiting above.
"The Black Phoenix Hall curs who dared invade this sect's domain—we cut them down with our own hands! The cleanup can wait. We return first. Well done, all of you!"
He set off at once. The elders scrambled after him.
"Why did you do that? They looked like nothing but green boys... Do you know them, Sect Master?"