Chapter 190 — Anomaly

And at this very moment, just as Ming Li and Jin Pingyue were about to enter the mysterious, uncanny Hundred Thousand Savage Mountains in pursuit of the defeated, fleeing Beast Sovereign, within the sacred Yuheng Hall atop Jietian Peak of Canglan Mountain there erupted a quarrel of no small size.

After the beast-demon calamity, the heads of the six branches of the Canglan Sect other than the chief branch of Jietian Peak had gathered once more in Yuheng Hall—a rare occurrence. But what mattered most was that they had not come at the summons of the sect master, Dao Yan; they had come of their own accord. And the one who received them in the great hall was not Dao Yan either, but Xiao Yichen, whose face bore a faint look of embarrassment.

Among the six branch heads, Qi Hao of Longji Peak and Chu Yuhong of Chaoyang Peak were both of the second generation and of the same generation as Xiao Yichen, so naturally they could not speak as bluntly as the other four martial uncles; for most of the time the two of them remained silent. But the heads of the other four branches—Dazhu Peak, Xiaozhu Peak, Fenghui Peak, and Luoxia Peak—did not mince words.

Tian Buhui, head of Dazhu Peak, had the loudest voice of the four. Seated upright in a chair of red sandalwood, he said coldly to Xiao Yichen, "Nephew Xiao, we six have been here two hours now. Why does our senior brother the sect master still not come out to see us? In his eyes, have we old fellows sunk so low as this?"

Xiao Yichen's face was steeped in embarrassment, a bitter smile all over it, and he said with an ingratiating air, "What words are these, Uncle Tian? You have always been a man of great virtue and prestige in our Canglan Sect, and my master has always held you in high regard—everyone knows it..."

Before he could finish, Tian Buhui gave a snort and said with a cold laugh, "So our senior brother holds me in such high regard that he leaves me to cool my heels here for two hours and gives me not a thought?"

Xiao Yichen was checked for a moment, then said with a bitter smile, "Uncle Tian, I have already told you: my master did indeed enter the Moon Mirage Cave-Heaven ten days ago for secluded cultivation and has not come out since. At present the affairs of Jietian Peak are temporarily in my hands."

The four elder branch heads seated below gave a simultaneous cold snort, plainly disbelieving Xiao Yichen's words. Master Shuijing of Xiaozhu Peak, seated to one side, said coldly, "Nephew Xiao, these ten days, though I have been at Xiaozhu Peak, I have several times heard that our senior brother the sect master has been behaving strangely on Jietian Peak. Worse still, some days ago, late one night, word spread that the sect master, as if gone mad, stood atop Yuheng Hall howling at the sky. Is this so?"

Xiao Yichen shook his head at once. "Nothing of the kind, nothing of the kind. Uncle Shuiyue must have heard wrongly. My master is a man who has attained the Way, leader of the righteous path under heaven, of immortal bearing—how could he do anything so wild and unreasonable?"

The four elder branch heads exchanged a glance, and each saw in the others' eyes grave doubt concerning Xiao Yichen's words. Daoist Tianri, who sat beside the head of Fenghui Peak and had succeeded Tianyun Daoren as head of Luoxia Peak, looked lean and ascetic, clad in a Taoist robe, his brows tightly knit, and said, "Nephew Xiao, it is not that we, your martial uncles, mean to make things hard for you. The truth is that our senior brother the sect master is the very heart of our Canglan Sect; should anything befall him, I fear the foundation of our Qingyun itself would be shaken. It is for this very reason that we insisted on coming up to question you—do not take it to heart."

At this moment the six vein heads were seated below, while the central seat that had once belonged to Immortal Daoyan was naturally left empty. Xiao Yichen, whose rank and seniority were both below those of his uncles, had no choice but to stand to one side. He gave a bitter laugh and said, "Uncles, I would never dare harbor resentment in my heart, but—but His Reverence the Master has indeed gone into seclusion and left strict orders that he is not to be disturbed. It is not that Yichen is deliberately obstructing your visit to the Master."

Tian Buhui gave an angry snort and said, "Say no more nonsense. In recent days the whole Canglan Sect has been buzzing with it—the conduct of our exalted Sect Master has been utterly bizarre. All day long on Jietian Peak he is at one moment frenzied, at another dazed. If Senior Brother the Sect Master is unwell, then we as his junior brothers must find some way to treat him, or at the very least look in on him. And if he is perfectly well, why would he refuse to come out and see us?" Here his voice suddenly rose, and he demanded in fury, "Xiao Yichen, tell us the truth—how is Senior Brother the Sect Master?"

Xiao Yichen's body gave a start, as though Tian Buhui's raised voice had frightened him, yet his face still wore that faint bitter smile, and he said nothing.

Zeng Shuchang, head of Fenghui Peak, who had sat to one side saying little all this while, glanced at Xiao Yichen, his brows tightly knitted. After a moment's thought he said, "Let it be this way, Nephew Xiao. We old men know well that you have always revered your master and would not dare defy him, so we will not put you in a hard position. Now all we ask is that you take us to the place where Senior Brother the Sect Master is in seclusion, and we will pay our respects to him ourselves. What say you?"

Xiao Yichen froze for a moment and said nothing, though a thoughtful look came over his face. Zeng Shuchang turned and glanced at the others behind him; Tian Buhui, Master Shuijing, and the rest all nodded slowly. Zeng Shuchang cleared his throat and rose slowly to his feet, his tone calm, and said, "Nephew Xiao, in truth we are only concerned for Senior Brother the Sect Master. Toward His Reverence we have always held the deepest respect—this is known to all in the Canglan Sect. Once we have seen Senior Brother the Sect Master and know that he is well, we will naturally be at ease, will we not? By the way, I hear that Senior Brother the Sect Master has gone into seclusion these past days, and by the old customs of the Canglan Sect that can only mean one of three places: the sealed chamber of Yuheng Hall, the Ancestral Shrine, or the Illusory Moon Grotto. I wonder whether he..."

As Zeng Shuchang spoke on, his voice gradually slowed, but his gaze was fixed on Xiao Yichen. Xiao Yichen's expression shifted several times, and after a long while he bowed his head slightly toward Zeng Shuchang and the others and said, "His Reverence the Master, in recent years, because Qingyun has suffered so many upheavals, has often blamed himself, and he frequently offers sacrifices to the past generations of ancestors at the Ancestral Shrine."

Zeng Shuchang frowned, nodded, and said no more. He took the lead toward the rear hall of Yuheng Hall, with Tian Buhui, Master Shuijing, and Immortal Tianri following behind. Qi Hao and Chu Yuhong rose slowly; as they passed Xiao Yichen, Qi Hao too wore a faint bitter smile, and reached out to pat Xiao Yichen lightly on the shoulder. Xiao Yichen sighed, shook his head, and said nothing.

The Ancestral Shrine in the rear mountains of Canglan Mountain was still hidden deep within the secluded woods, only a corner of its flying eaves showing through the gaps in the emerald-green treetops. Perhaps it truly was the protection of the past generations of Canglan Sect ancestors, for in ten years the sect had passed through two harrowing calamities, and yet this place had never been damaged.

As in former days, seen from afar, faint points of incense flame flickered within the dim shrine, giving one a sense of unfathomable depth.