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Chapter 302 This Calamity Is Inescapable

Jiyue was just a maid, and she didn't know much, so she was basically in a state of confusion.

Ji You knew he wouldn't get anything out of her, so he got up from the small building and rushed to the vicinity of the Jade Balance Hall where the Dan Sect leader was "bedridden".

Under the gentle breeze, her clothes fluttered, and Ji You landed silently in a secluded tea pavilion.

Then a golden glow surged in his eyes as he looked down into the forest.

At this time, the Yuheng Palace was under heavy guard, with all doors and windows tightly closed, and guards stationed at both the front and back gates.

However, the guards were not from the Dan Sect itself, but rather from those who were neither disciples of the Dan Sect nor members of the Immortal Sect.

Those people were quite skilled; most of them were at the upper realm of the Fusion Dao.

Moreover, they look to be about the same age as Cao Jingsong.

There is a major hurdle between the lower three realms and the upper five realms, and after mastering the lower three realms, there are hurdles to overcome step by step.

At Cao Jingsong's age, if he can cultivate and merge with the Dao to the highest realm, he can become an instructor in a celestial sect.

Ji You had considered the identities of these people when he went up the mountain, guessing that they should come from a family related to the Dan Sect by marriage.

Lacking combat power, the Dan Sect, as one of the immortal sects, has always lived with extreme caution and vigilance, relying on marriage alliances to gain the ability to protect itself for thousands of years.

Their marriage partners were mostly exceptionally talented individuals from minor aristocratic families.

Smaller aristocratic families are easier to control, and there's no risk of them using marriage alliances to control the entire Dan Sect due to excessive ambition.

These are the gatekeepers, basically the core members of the families that the Dan Sect has won over over the years through marriage alliances with female alchemists.

Just then, Ji You suddenly felt a powerful aura rushing towards him, so he turned his head to look.

On the white jade walkway with a nine-story drop, an old man dressed in a fairy robe floated in.

"We have come here to seek an audience with the Grand Master of the Pill Sect after discussing matters with the elders of the Daoist Sect."

"Our sect leader is currently resting in bed and is unable to receive guests at this time. Please forgive us, Elder Shang."

Before the Jade Balance Hall, six young men dressed in crimson robes stepped forward to greet them, but before they even stopped, they had already bowed and politely declined.

Upon hearing the voice, Shang Que frowned: "Who are you?"

"I am Hong Zhen, a disciple of the sect leader. These are my junior brothers and sisters."

The sect leader Yuan Li has six disciples, all of whom are upper-level alchemists and are the main force in supplying pills every year.

So others may not know Hong Zhen's name, but these elders are quite familiar with him.

This is a disciple of Yuan Li with exceptional talent. His success rate in achieving the required elixir is astonishing, making him the top among the six disciples. Many immortal sects and aristocratic families have considered arranging marriages between their descendants and him.

Ji You recognized two of them as people she had met before.

One of them was Wenbin, who was commissioned to demonstrate alchemy to the Tianshu Academy when they visited Danshan.

Another is Yuan Bingqing, who came to Danshan with Danyangzi because of You Buyu's matter during the autumn battle four thousand years ago, and was entrusted by Yuan Caiwei to deliver a letter for her.

"So it's the sect leader's top disciple."

"Elder Shang, you flatter me. The pill appreciation event at Kaiyang Hall has already begun, hasn't it? Did you see any pills that you like? Master said that everyone who comes up the mountain today is a distinguished guest of our Pill Sect, and all of them can be given away for free."

"I'm not particularly interested in pills this time, but since the sect leader of the Pill Sect is not available to receive guests, I'll just come back tomorrow morning."

Shang Que waved his sleeves and turned around, saying, "The Dan Sect's alchemy is inherited from the Heavenly Dao, and its mysteries are boundless. Master Yuan has controlled the sacred artifact for many years, and his alchemy skills are unparalleled. He should have recovered overnight."

The six disciples watched him leave, their smiles fading, and their brows furrowing slightly.

However, not long after the elders of the Dao Asking Sect left, an elder from the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion also arrived.

What he said was almost the same as what Shang Que said: he also wanted to see Yuan Li. However, Hong Zhen and the others replied that the sect leader was ill and unable to get up.

"Elder Huo Yu of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion has come to request an audience with the Grand Master of the Pill Sect..."

"Elder Chen Ke of the Chen Clan has come to request an audience with the Sect Master of the Pill Sect..."

"Elder Yan Jingfu of Lingjian Mountain has come to request an audience with the Sect Master of Danzong..."

One group of people arrived after another, all of them leaving without being granted an audience, and none of them pressed the issue...

After the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), and after seeing off the elder from Lingjian Mountain, the sun began to set.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the golden light enveloped the Jade Balance Hall, its golden roof reflecting a dazzling brilliance.

Seeing that the visit had come to an abrupt end, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and a trace of fatigue appeared on their faces.

Hong Zhen, a disciple of Yuan Li, leaned against a pillar in the corridor: "Of the six great immortal sects, five have come."

After hearing this, Yuan Bingqing looked up and asked, "Only the Heavenly Academy didn't send anyone?"

"My Dan Sect and the Heavenly Academy have some connections after all. Even if they wanted to come, they wouldn't do it so openly. It's just that five out of six families came, which is no different from all six families coming."

During the conversation, Wenbin suddenly received a message from a disciple. After unfolding it and glancing at it, he walked towards Hong Zhen and said, "It's not the five major sects, Senior Brother, all six major immortal sects have arrived."

Hong Zhen's eyes widened in surprise: "How could this be?"

“A disciple just came to inform us that Ji You from the Heavenly Academy also came to the mountain this morning. He showed up at Danxiaping and then disappeared.”

“Ji You…”

Upon hearing this name, all the male disciples, including Hong Zhen, fell silent.

They grew up on Dan Mountain and were treated like their own children by the sect leader. In fact, they all had feelings for Yuan Caiwei. After all, who wouldn't like the sect leader's daughter whom they spent every day with?

When the Dan Sect decided to take You Buyu as their son-in-law, intending to form a marriage alliance with the Heavenly Academy, they even expressed the idea of ​​eloping together, but the other party did not respond.

Later, You Buyu fell from his cultivation level at Lingjian Mountain, and the marriage was called off.

They were initially relieved, but then rumors about Ji You and Yuan Caiwei began to circulate, and these rumors persisted for two or three years.

The Dan Sect is in a semi-secluded state, and the alchemists on the mountain are not able to travel around.

They were unaware of the details of the rumors, and even their understanding of Ji You was not as good as that of ordinary disciples of the Immortal Sect, but a hidden pain always lingered in their hearts.

"No, Ji You doesn't have a good relationship with the Heavenly Academy, so why would he come to my Dan Sect to ask for people on behalf of the Heavenly Academy?"

Yuan Bingqing spoke up after a moment of silence: "It must be because I've been so stressed these past few days that the disciples down the mountain mistook me for someone else."

Wenbin looked at Yuan Bingqing upon hearing this: "It is true that Ji You was rejected by the Heavenly Academy, but this is not the first time he has acted on behalf of the Heavenly Academy. Don't forget that he went to Lingjian Mountain to seek the Dao and was also sent as an envoy to the Snow Region as a disciple of the Heavenly Academy."

"They were forced to go."

"He didn't break through the sword forest of Lingjian Mountain because someone forced him to."

Hong Zhen frowned slightly after hearing this: "People who are not of good enough background will be regarded as outcasts in Qingyun Tianxia. Ji You may appear aloof to the outside world, but it is not impossible that he secretly tries to please her in order to fit in."

Wenbin looked down at the crowd thronging the mountainside and said, "This might not be a bad thing."

"What does Junior Brother Wen mean by this?"

"Whether it's five or six makes no difference, but since he came here today like the other immortal sect disciples, it means he has no goodwill towards my Dan Sect. The rumors about him and Caiwei are probably just rumors, otherwise he wouldn't have shown up."

Just as Yuan Bingqing was about to say something, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a graceful figure descending from the Yaoguang Palace: "Senior Sister Caiwei..."

Everyone looked up at the sound and saw Yuan Caiwei gracefully descending the mountain.

Several young men were about to greet her, but when they noticed that Yuan Caiwei's eyes were bright and her steps were hurried, with anticipation in her eyes, as if she were going to see someone, they suddenly swallowed back the words they were about to say.

The Dan Sect is facing many major issues recently, the biggest of which is the issue of the inheritance of sacred artifacts.

They all knew that Yuan Chen had officially gone into seclusion, and that Junior Sister Caiwei was keeping a close watch on him, never leaving his side.

In other words, she wouldn't easily leave Yaoguang Palace unless someone she really wanted to see came.

Just then, they learned that Ji You had come to the Dan Sect.

As their gazes shifted away from Yuan Caiwei's steps, their expressions gradually turned grim.

When they discovered that Yuan Caiwei had gone in the direction of their own bamboo house, they suddenly realized that Ji You, who had disappeared after going up the mountain, might be in her boudoir.

Ji Yue also came from the direction of Yao Guang Palace at this time, barely following behind.

She went to Yaoguang Palace after Ji You left the bamboo house courtyard, feeling that since he was the son-in-law, she should inform the young lady of the news as soon as possible. Just as she ran closer, she saw the crowd looking up at her, so she bowed slightly.

As Yuan Caiwei's personal maid, Ji Yue actually knew that several of her senior brothers had always harbored feelings for her.

After all, some of the medicinal herbs and essential oils they cultivated were distributed through her.

But Ji Yue felt somewhat sorry for them, thinking that they probably didn't know that their young lady had already been dumped by the newly arrived son-in-law.

This wasn't just something she, as a maid, made up; she discovered that after her mistress returned from Shengjing, she had secretly taken a lot of pills to boost the mother's and baby's energy, seemingly in an attempt to stabilize the pregnancy.

They only stopped after it seemed they had confirmed there was no further activity.

After bowing, Ji Yue turned and headed towards the bamboo house...

Ji You left the solitary tea pavilion next to the Jade Balance Hall at noon and first went back to Danxiaping for a walk.

There were many disciples of the Immortal Sect at the foot of the mountain, even more than in the early morning.

He also discovered several acquaintances, such as Yan Ye and Yan Qingchi, who were from Xuanjian Peak of Lingjian Mountain and were responsible for guarding the Sword Forest.

There were also two elderly men, one from the Huo family and the other from the Shang family, who had both accompanied him on his mission to the snowy region.

However, the difference between these people and the ones we met in the morning is that they are not at Danxiaping, but have gone to Tianshu Temple.

The reason was that the Dan Sect had a sudden idea to hold a pill appreciation event in the Tian Shu Hall and invited the disciples of the immortal sects to come and appreciate them.

Pills from the Dan Sect have always been highly sought after and priceless. The pills presented at the Pill Appreciation Gathering are all treasures from within the sect. However, Ji You noticed that the people from the Immortal Sect seemed somewhat distracted during the pill appreciation process, as if their purpose was not in the pills themselves.

Ji You then left Danxiaping and returned to Yuan Caiwei's bamboo house courtyard.

Some things don't need to be observed for too long before you can get a general idea of ​​what's going on.

The leader of the Dan Sect was not actually ill; he was feigning illness to avoid being seen.

As for the elders of those immortal sects, they knew he was faking illness, so they took turns coming to force him to see people.

Something is indeed about to happen to the Dan Sect, and it is very likely to be a disaster.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have summoned all their in-laws and relatives to the mountain to take precautions.

The current courteous manners of the Immortal Sect are merely a facade; a true storm seems to be brewing.

Just then, the gate of the bamboo house courtyard was suddenly pushed open. Ji You looked up at the sound and saw Yuan Caiwei pushing the gate open and entering the courtyard.

She wore a blue silk dress embroidered with peonies, the hem of which rippled as she walked. A jade hairpin was tucked into her hair, making her skin appear as white as fresh snow. Her beautiful eyes brightened slightly when she saw Ji You.

She was just in the Yaoguang Palace when Jiyue told her that the young master had arrived, and she seemed momentarily dazed, as if she didn't realize what the young master meant.
It wasn't until Yuan Chen asked, "My brother-in-law is here," that she realized Ji You had arrived at Danshan and had rushed over.

However, when Yuan Caiwei actually saw Ji You, she suddenly felt a little lost.

Her relationship with Ji You wasn't as intimate as Yan Shuyi's; they usually kept to a polite distance, similar to Kuang Cheng and Wei Rui's relationship, with the most extreme being a lip-to-lip friendship.

As a result, Xinyuan was suddenly kicked, and it was still that kind of powerful shot without any pre-arrangement.

In Yuan Caiwei's original imagination, this matter should have been completed naturally after they made promises to each other, made vows of eternal love, and whispered "husband" to each other.

As a result, the order was reversed, and things like titles and sentiments were not properly addressed, leaving the Dan Sect's daughter somewhat bewildered.

"Young master, it's been a long time..."

After muttering something, Yuan Caiwei quickly looked at Ji Yue: "Um... Yue'er, go and serve the tea."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yue hurriedly went inside to fetch the tea set, but couldn't help feeling a little puzzled.

I've already taken the pregnancy-preserving medicine a while ago, so why are you still calling me "Young Master" so formally? It sounds more like a friend than a Daoist couple.

She picked up the tweezers and put tea into the teapot, then heard the sound of chatting in the courtyard.

"How is Yuan Chen's acquisition of the sacred artifact going lately?"

"Progress has been slow, but there have been some results, and my father has finally breathed a sigh of relief."

"That's good……"

Ji You muttered to herself, and suddenly felt quite strange, as if she didn't know what attitude to adopt.

If they get too intimate, it seems a bit inappropriate.

If you treat her as a virtuous person, but you also feel that you clearly let her bloom for one night and kicked her until she cried out.

As Ji You pondered, her gaze involuntarily drifted to her lower abdomen.

Yuan Caiwei noticed his gaze, and a slight blush rose to her cheeks: "I'm not pregnant..."

"I'm not in a rush for you to get pregnant right away..."

From the moment they were admitted to the hospital, the two addressed each other as "young master" and "young lady," and were very polite. Suddenly, they started talking about whether or not the woman was pregnant, which made the atmosphere a little more romantic.

However, at this moment, Jiyue, who had gone to make tea, came out of the room with a clatter, bringing tea and breaking the atmosphere.

Yuan Caiwei suddenly came to her senses and asked with a blank look, "I forgot to ask, why did you suddenly come to the Pill Sect, young master?"

After placing the teacup on the table, Ji You said, "After the new year, I have been searching for places with abundant spiritual energy to cultivate. On the way, I received a message from Yan Shuyi saying that the Dan Sect was in trouble, so I rushed over. As soon as I entered the mountain, I saw many people from the Immortal Sect. What exactly happened?"

Yuan Caiwei's eyelashes trembled slightly as she said, "Six days ago, our Dan Sect received letters from other immortal sects, saying that they had found a unique and precious material..."

Ji You understood somewhat: "They want your help to refine pills?"

"That's right. They sent a message saying they would send us some medicine to make pills, and they did arrive as scheduled, but they didn't bring any medicinal herbs. They said the herbs were extremely precious and couldn't be taken out of the sect at will."

"?"

"To put it bluntly, their real goal is to take away the alchemists on the mountain."

Ji You was slightly taken aback: "Isn't this a taboo of your Pill Sect?"

Yuan Caiwei nodded: "My Dan Sect went through a dark period when it was enslaved and kept by other immortal sects. Since then, we have been cautious. My ancestors also went to great lengths to write the rule that immortal sects are not allowed to forcibly lend alchemists into the Qingyun Immortal Rules. But the problem is that now all the immortal sects have come."

The Azure Cloud Immortal Rules were jointly formulated by the Immortal Sects to maintain mutual restraint and stability.

However, although these immortal rules have bound the four directions and brought peace to the world of Qingyun for hundreds of years, no matter how just they are, they are ultimately a tool of the rulers.

The rules of the celestial realm will be altered according to the needs of the ruling class.

In other words, if all the immortal sects in Qingyun Tianxia speak with one voice, then every word they utter can become a new immortal rule.

The old celestial rules are now meaningless.

Just like now, when the Immortal Sect needs a stable source of pills, it sets rules prohibiting the keeping of pill masters.

However, when the Immortal Sect needs alchemists, that rule becomes invalid.

Unfortunately, the Dan Sect did not expect their attitude to change so quickly. Before activating the mountain-protecting formation, they found that these people could no longer be persuaded to leave after the arrival of the others.

After pondering for a long time, Ji You spoke up: "I am quite curious, what kind of medicinal herb is so precious that it could mobilize the entire Immortal Sect and even tear up its own established Immortal Rules?"

Yuan Caiwei pursed her lips: "I also didn't understand, so I asked my father, but he didn't explain it clearly. He only told me and Yuan Chen to enter the Yao Guang Palace and be protected by the sacred artifact, and not to leave for a while."

"Then your father pretended to be sick to buy time?"

"Yes, Father invited all the families related to the Dan Sect by marriage to Dan Mountain, and then claimed to be ill and refused to see them. In fact, he did not want to provoke the anger of the Immortal Sect, nor did he want the disciples of the sect to be taken away."

After hearing this, Ji You looked at Yuan Caiwei and asked, "Danzong and Tianshu Academy are on good terms. Have you ever asked Tianshu Academy for help?"

Yuan Caiwei lowered her eyes and said, "Actually, we sent a letter to the Heavenly Academy immediately, but we didn't get any news back. I guess even the Holy Sect doesn't want to be enemies with the five great immortal sects that have joined forces. They didn't send anyone because they are on good terms with us."

“But this can’t go on. Those immortal sect members don’t have that much patience. If they’re determined to do it, your father will eventually have to step in.”

"Actually, Father has already decided to meet with them tomorrow..."

After revealing everything, the bamboo courtyard fell silent.

This calamity for the Dan Sect has truly been difficult.

Since Yuan Li claimed to be ill and delayed his departure, and even summoned his in-laws to the mountain, he must have wanted to refuse.

However, rejection might be the worst outcome for the Dan Sect.

(End of this chapter)