The three abbotesses disappeared into the sky in a blink. Soon after, the sounds of their furious battle faded away. It was unclear if Abbotess Liang would be able to escape but the other two were certainly unwilling to let it happen.
The four kings of the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent stood around awkwardly for a few seconds before each making some excuse and making a quick exit. This had been a debacle of epic proportions and a stain on their collective reputation. They didn’t want to lose face anymore in front of the whole city.
Chen Wentian was finally left alone. No one else dared to come forward and harass Long Yifei, not with the weight of the newcomers hanging over everything. The marriage-seeking event was over before it even began. It wasn't real to begin with but now it was dead for certain. With half the original entrants dead and the other half scared beyond their wits, the last thing they wanted to do was show their faces around here.
The steep sign-up fee was also forgotten. Nobody came to ask for it back. It was simply seeking death at this point. This allowed Chen Wentian to pocket over two hundred million taels of gold, a substantial fortune even for him. It was an amount of wealth that far surpassed ordinary Spirit Lord sects of the provinces and reached the level of those in the capital. With this, Ten Thousand Flower Valley had leaped into the big leagues in one go.
He squinted at the sky and spoke to the two remaining ladies of the Virtuous Order, “Noble prioresses, what will happen to Abbotess Liang?”
Both of them descended and it was Gui Li who replied first, “Immortal Blue Dragon, we meet finally. I have already seen your first elder. She is a talented woman!”
“Uh…” He didn’t know what to say to that.
“Hehehe… anyway, as for that slut named Liang, she may live or she may die. It is up to our abbotesses and how merciful they are feeling when they finally break her limbs and shatter her meridians.”
“I bet she dies.” The other one, Zhu Yao’er, said, “A red abbotess stepping into the territory of us whites... whether it was on purpose or by accident, it’s the perfect chance to get rid of one of them. The order will heavily reward us!”
“Red? White?” Chen Wentian asked.“Reds are the sororal sluts. They wear red-colored robes. We are the whites since everyone in the order wears white.” Zhu Yao’er replied.
“Ah… but still, the death of a Spirit King is not a small matter. What if this angers them, the reds as you call them, and they decided to punish the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent?” He pressed.
It was a real possibility, one that could spell disaster for him and his sect.
Gui Li waved her hand, “I won’t worry too much. This land is designated as white territory. If the reds come here, it is considered an invasion and we are free to fight them without regard. Within the Martial Brilliance Continent and others, there are large areas that are neutral. Both orders can exist in those areas and there are strict rules for how we fight. It is a peace compromise brokered by the Immortal Association.”
Zhu Yao’er chimed in, “It’s her own fault for coming here. If anything happens, that wrinkly old lotus will suffer more since it is she who fooled Abbotess Liang and didn’t reveal the true nature of the subcontinent. As one of the four kings, there is no way she didn’t know.”
Chen Wentian frowned slightly as he listened to these two Spirit Lords of the Virtuous Order. Although their faces were full of mature beauty with only a slight hint of age, their words and tones were filled with a surprising level of hatred and disregard for their enemy. It was truly like fire and water, dark and light, they were seemingly enemies to the death.
He wasn’t too happy about getting himself involved in such a messy situation. But the situation had devolved to such a point that he was forced to. It had been the only way he and his disciples could think of to save Long Yifei.
Despite what would come in the future, for now, she was alright and that was what mattered.
He looked down at Long Yifei and gave her a comforting squeeze around the waist. She smiled ever so slightly and laid her head on his shoulder.
A few moments later, several Spirit Lords appeared. They were various members of the four king sects and here to clean up the aftermath. The bodies were removed and visible damage began to be repaired. One of them flew over and greeted them.
“I am Immortal Ardent Duchess Su Tan. Welcome, guests from the Virtuous Order of Chunzhen. Would you all be needing a place to stay? My master, the Solemn Duke, has instructed me to see to anything you may need.” She said respectfully.
The two prioresses looked at Chen Wentian as if he should answer.
When he didn’t, Gui Li spoke, “I think a normal immortal dwelling is fine for us in the meantime. Though, I expect we will be leaving for Ten Thousand Flower Valley shortly.”
“Actually...” Chen Wentian interrupted, “We might have to wait a little while. My third disciple is still locked in a dream array and won’t awake for another week at least.”
“That’s okay. We shall wait for our abbotesses to return. We are in no hurry, not for a matter as important as this.” Gui Li said.
“That’s fine, let me speak to Long Yifei first. She’s still confused about the situation. I want her to understand the whole situation. I won’t allow her to be forced into anything.”
His words were firm and left no room for argument. The other two immortal ladies did not find the need to object and agreed. They followed Su Tan away, finally leaving him alone with his disciple.
He took Long Yifei back to the Small Wind Pagoda and their hotel room. It was empty as the others were all back at the sect.
He set her down in one of the plush sofas and activated as many privacy runes and protective spiritual shields as possible. He then sat beside her with a long, tired sigh.
“Where to begin… I guess I should start with when I found about that crazy woman called Abbotess Liang…”
Long Yifei remained mostly silent as he explained the whole story bit by bit. He started with discovering Abbotess Liang and her intent to steal Long Yifei as her own disciple. He then went over his discussions with his other disciples, the difficulty of fighting against a Spirit King, and how they all wanted to save her.
The plan they came up with was a collaborative effort and ended up being a multi-layered plot. The first phase was the fake marriage-seeking event. The purpose of this was twofold. The first was to create a massive crowd in front of the Lotus Tower on the morning when Long Yifei would awake to distract Abbotess Liang and her accomplice, Gong Liyun. With both of their attention mostly focused outside on the crowd, there would be less chance of them detecting Chen Mo’s presence.
The second effect of the crowd was to gather broad support from the masses. Even though this alone was not enough to deter the abbotess, such ardent support, especially from the big fish such as Ming He and Tian Yunhao, was bound to attract the attention of the Spirit Kings.
This was the second phase. There was a chance of the second phase succeeding but it was low. It hinged on the other three Spirit Kings teaming up to block Abbotess Liang and Gong Liyun. This didn’t end up happening. Chen Wentian underestimated just how much the Eastern Light Clan and the House of Armament hated each other. He thought that a foreign Spirit King invading their territory to steal disciples from a local Spirit Lord would be something unacceptable to them. It didn’t work in the end as his own influence and power were too little to sway them to his side.
However, the first two phases were all just a ploy to keep the abbotess unbalanced and hide the reality of the third phase, the secret call for help to the Virtuous Order of Chunzhen.
He went on to explain the order, its power and influence across the subcontinent as well as the whole human world. The order was also a member of the Association Steering Council. They were a superpower sect that held tremendous sway across many continents. They were the only power that he could call upon to help fight off Abbotess Liang and they had done the task admirably.
While he was still speaking, Long Yifei’s hands moved and clutched onto his. He paused and looked up, letting himself be captured by her glittering blue eyes that were filled with emotion and uncertainty.
“Master…” She said softly, hesitantly, “Master, what did you have to agree to... for them to help us?”
“Oh!” Chen Wentian let out a disarming laugh and pulled her into his arms, “Don’t worry. Fei’er. it’s not bad as you think. In fact, it’s quite good for you and me both!”
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