Star Trace Gate

Chapter 826: Xianlan Fire, Cause and Effect Echo

In the inner hall.

Amidst her elder brother's roar, Yang Ling'er gradually guessed what he was thinking.

She was shocked and confused, and she couldn't believe that this close relative who had been easy-going, loving and even somewhat indulgent to her and her husband in the past, would show the most despicable side of human nature at this moment.

Is this still the brother I know? How could he be such a stranger to me...?!

Her face was pale, and her voice was trembling as she asked, "Yang... Yang Mingtang, tell me the truth. You are forcing me to tell you his hiding place. Do you really want to kill him to prevent future trouble?"

Yang Mingtang looked at his sister, who had grown up under the patronage of the rich and powerful, and was pampered and loved. Although he deeply hated to hurt her, he gritted his teeth and emphasized, "It's not that I want to do this, but there are too many people in this city who follow my Yang family and have already concluded that he died the moment he drank the poison! If you bring him back to life now, these people will be disappointed, afraid, and terrified... It will also sow the seeds of trouble for the future that will never be eliminated!"

"This city can only have one city lord and one power. Do you understand?!"

He clenched his fists and persuaded in a low voice: "Ling'er, I know you and him...!"

"Excuses! These are all excuses you're using to steal the throne in your lust for power!" Seeing her eldest brother's resolute stance, Yang Ling'er's heart completely crumbled. Tears streaming, her fists clenched, she roared, "Why are those people you mentioned disappointed, frightened, and terrified now that he's alive?! How did they live before? My Yang family generals are all incredibly loyal and brave, and the younger generations of the clan hold our father in high esteem. Why, in your mouth, have they become a bunch of greedy, demanding people?!"

"You have to understand, there's no such thing as unconditional loyalty in this world. It's only the discontent and greed that grows as you rise higher and higher. Political power struggles are all about balance. While he was alive, the balance remained intact. But with his death, those who already had more will have to give up what they've already secured, and that goes against human nature, do you understand?!" Yang Mingtang glared. "Three generations of kinship are only a few generations apart! While father is still alive, we can maintain balance, but what will happen to him a hundred years from now? Have you ever considered this?!"

"Brother, don't say so much. I just want to ask you a question today. Do you really have to do this? Can everything... go back to the past and be the same as before?!" Yang Linger asked with a trembling voice, gritting her teeth.

Yang Mingtang stood in the shadow of the lights, his eyes determined.

“Okay, okay…!”

Yang Ling'er looked at his expression, turned around and walked to the table behind her, reached out and suddenly picked up the porcelain pot, and slammed it hard on the table.

"Oh!"

There was a crisp sound, and the porcelain pot shattered. Countless fragments fell, piercing Yang Linger's jade hand, causing her skin to bleed bright red.

Yang Mingtang froze in place, saying in astonishment, "You...!"

Yang Ling'er stared at her eldest brother with a resolute gaze. She reached out and picked up a broken piece of porcelain pot. She leaned against his neck and spoke succinctly, "He and I are husband and wife. Since we are husband and wife, we have sworn vows to heaven and earth and married. We must be together through life and death, and never betray each other. I'm not a powerful being, much less one in power. I can't stop you from doing anything you want... But if you kill him, I will die with him and be buried in the same grave!"

As the words fell, the sharp fragments of the porcelain pot slowly scratched her fair neck, and blood gushed out.

"Stop!" Yang Mingtang waved his hands urgently, "Put down the pottery!"

"Are you going to kill him or not?!" Yang Ling'er replied without giving in.

In the inner hall, the brother and sister looked at each other in silence.

Yang Mingtang looked at his sister, feeling quite powerless. He clenched his fists for a long time before he let out a long breath. His whole body limp, he said, "Ling'er, time moves forward silently. How can we go back to the past? The turmoil in Chaolong City today is like the fragments in your hand... Once broken, it can never be restored."

"For him, faking his own death, could it really be considered risking his life to save someone? If the Xianlan Sect hadn't given him the slightest chance, or even if Wuchen had personally come to Chaolong City and personally supervised his execution, how would my Yang family choose between the destruction of our entire clan and saving him alone?! Do we really want to sacrifice the lives of our entire clan?"

"Don't ask yourself, just ask him in your heart...what would he think about this matter?"

Yang Mingtang sighed and shook his head, saying, "Father said that I was too heavy-hearted and unstable when it came to power struggles. It's true... I'm not ruthless enough to see you die with him... Perhaps with my second son at home, I can still do it."

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked out of the inner hall.

When Yang Linger heard her elder brother's words of giving up, the porcelain piece in her hand fell to the ground instantly.

She was delighted and looked out the door with gratitude, bowing to express her gratitude.

……

Seven days after the fifteen sect leaders and kings perished in the emperor's tomb, the five cities of Xianlan, where undercurrents were surging, finally heard the shocking echo of the collapsing mountains.

At night, at the end of the Xu hour, outside the Immortal Mountain, a thousand divine rainbows cut through the silent night sky, each holding a magic weapon, surging with thousands of strange visions, and heading straight for the Asking Dao Palace.

At the forefront of the thousand divine rainbows stood the Witch-woman, the leader of the Ghost Sect. Holding the Infinite Venerable, she soared above the Wandering Dao Palace. Her delicate form cloaked in dark clouds, her voice resounding like a mighty bell, resonating throughout the heavens and earth: "Today, we will destroy the Immortal Wave and restore peace to the Five Cities! In this battle, our Ghost Sect will not touch the mortal realm, but will only target the immortals above the Nine Heavens. Those with foul thoughts in their hearts may ascend to the Wandering Dao Palace to avenge their grudges and redeem their grievances!"

Shouts filled with endless resentment resounded throughout the five cities of Xianlan and soon received countless responses.

Ever since Wuchen's death, the cultivators of the Five Cities, who had been suppressing their desire for revenge, were now completely enraged. Generations after generations, they had been oppressed for countless years, and now that a leader had finally emerged from the world, they naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to strike a blow.

In an instant, countless divine rainbows suddenly rose up from the five cities of Xianlan, followed by thousands of evil spirits, carrying hearts full of anger, and rushed towards the fairy mountain.

At the same time, in addition to Chaolong City, the other four cities of Xianlan also took action. They secretly sent nearly a thousand masters of the third rank and above, masked, up the mountain, blending in with the countless wandering cultivators, killing anyone they saw and smashing any temple they found, like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves...

The world was in great shock, but what shocked them was not the Xianlan Sect being destroyed, because after Wuchen's death, this was something that everyone could foresee and was bound to happen.

The people were shocked by the Li Gui Sect because no one had ever imagined that this sect, known as an evil sect, could accumulate such a strong foundation despite being hunted and surrounded by the Xianlan Sect.

They already had over a thousand cultivators, though most were of the third rank, which was still quite astonishing. After all, it was during the reign of the Xianlan Sect that it slowly grew to this size, and it hadn't existed for very long, perhaps only six or seven, or perhaps eight years.

With the Li Gui Sect leading the charge and the other four cities of Xianlan secretly fueling the flames, this battle to destroy the sect was almost a complete loss from the start.

Within the Xianlan Sect, most of the weaker disciples, immortal masters, and elders had secretly descended the mountain within these seven days, voluntarily shedding the robes that once symbolized glory and privilege, and fleeing in disgrace. However, there were also those who had grown up in the Xianlan Sect, having lived there for decades, even a hundred or two hundred years, and who held a deep affection for the place.

In their inherent perceptions, these people simply don't believe they've ever exploited the common people. They believe all the privileges and resources they've been granted are innate, inherently their due. And what's happening today isn't a revolt after intense exploitation, but simply a bunch of bloodthirsty ants, rats, and bugs, a bunch of ungrateful villains taking advantage of the Xianlan Sect's weakness to plunder.

This inherent understanding is the result of years of accumulation and sedimentation. Just like many wealthy businessmen, they never believe that their huge wealth is obtained from the world, but rather that it is the reward they deserve through hard work, planning, and management...

With this understanding, those who stayed behind naturally felt sadness and anger, as well as a sense of needing to protect their family. So, facing the siege of countless people, they all chose to defend their religion with their own bodies, fighting to the death!

The massacre lasted for a whole night, the palace of the Immortal Sect collapsed, and blood flowed like a river!

Countless people went up the mountain overnight, carrying bamboo baskets or cloth bags, following the monks and looting everything from the Xianlan Sect. Even the rivets in the wooden beams of the temple were lifted up and eaten up.

The Xianlan Sect's millennia-old Star Source Pool and precious pearls were plundered to the last speck of dust. Among them, the Ligui Sect, the first to break into the Dao Palace, plundered at least tens of millions of Star Sources, becoming rich overnight. Then, the "troops" from the four Xianlan cities secretly abducted numerous Xianlan Sect Taoists, forcing them to hand over their complete mental methods, treasures, Star Sources, and other precious possessions.

After robbing them, they smashed the star cores of these Taoists, turning them into cripples, and then threw them to the angry people to vent their anger.

Until dawn, a huge fire broke out in the Taoist Temple. The bodies of hundreds of Taoists were hung in the ruins, their Taoist robes stripped off, and their naked bodies were gradually devoured by the flames.

The fire lasted for three days, just like the fire that burns the wasteland in late autumn and early winter, sweeping across the land of yesterday's harvest, carrying full hope and longing for next spring... another good year and a good harvest.

……

After three days of fire, this thousand-year-old immortal sect was completely destroyed and became the dust of history.

But even though the Immortal Sect has fallen, those lackeys who used to abuse the power of the immortals to bully others, oppress others without limit, and were extremely greedy still exist in the world.

This evening.

Chaolong City, inside the government office.

Yang Ganglie was sitting on a large wooden chair, frowning as he looked at a list that had been hidden in the archives for many years. The list recorded the names of many military generals who had previously disappeared in Chaolong City.

"Tap!"

A burst of hurried footsteps was heard, and a general of the Yang family walked in quickly.

This man's name was Yang An, the nephew of General Yang. He commanded the Chaolong Guard and was mainly responsible for city defense.

Upon seeing his uncle, he immediately knelt on both knees and said respectfully, "General, the city's secret guards have secretly submitted documents. Since yesterday, many low-ranking cultivators in the city have been moving around frequently, secretly spying on the dozens of wealthy and powerful families affiliated with the Xianlan Sect. This afternoon, after 3 p.m., these cultivators secretly gathered... and seemed to be making some moves."

After listening to the report, General Yang just frowned and said nothing.

Yang An was silent for a while, then took the initiative to ask, "General, do you think I should mobilize the guards and prepare to suppress the rioters in advance? If we allow these rioters to burn, kill, and loot, the order in the city... will probably collapse completely."

In his report, he had even referred to those low-ranking cultivators as "rioters." Of course, he wasn't to blame for this, as it was subconscious, instinctive, a reflection of the inherent class differences between the common people and the gentry and the powerful. This difference was even more pronounced under the Xianlan Sect's oppressive rule.

General Yang looked at him, shook his head slightly, and said, "This thousand-year-old resentment is destined to turn into a bloody rain after Wuchen's death, flooding the five cities of Xianlan. At this time... anyone who stands in the way will inevitably become the next to die and be destroyed."

"This is the general trend and cannot be violated."

"My Long and Yang families are both the most powerful and influential families affiliated with the Xianlan Sect. The reason we haven't suffered backlash at this moment is not because our reputation is better, but because hundreds of thousands of troops are in the city. The people are resentful but dare not vent their anger."

The general saw things clearly. He stood up and walked to the inner hall door. Looking at the blazing sun about to set, he said helplessly, "At this moment, we haven't suffered the calamity of extermination. This is already a great blessing. How can we go against the tide of disaster?"