"Be that as it may."
Lin Zhaoyu frowned slightly.
"Given the current situation, if Master does not intervene, we will either die here or watch as all of Shenzhou falls into the hands of the Luochà people."
The head of the seven disciples of Taixu, Lin Zhaoyu.
Although her strength only ranked third, her gentle and temperate nature had earned her the simple gratitude of the other six disciples. While the Celestial Immortal Chiyuan had taken on seven disciples, she was, in fact, absent from Taixu Mountain most of the time.
To the other six, Lin Zhaoyu was like a mother.
On a side note.
If the childhood of the seven was essentially "handled" by Lin Zhaoyu, then the martial arts of the other junior brothers and sisters were mostly taught by the second disciple, Su Mei.
Therefore, Lin Zhaoyu and Su Mei undoubtedly held the most authority on Taixu Mountain.
Although Chiyuan was their master in name...
To put it bluntly, it was really just a title.
And because Lin Zhaoyu's own personality was nostalgic and she didn't know how to resist, Su Mei was, in a sense, the true leader of Taixu Mountain in the "mortal world."
This was also the cause of the events in the original timeline's "Taixu Sword Chronicle": the fourth junior sister, Jiang Wanru, suffered a cultivation deviation (was eroded by Honkai energy). Chiyuan, knowing the danger (the possibility of becoming a Herrscher), insisted on killing her. However, the seven disciples did not understand the reasoning, and after their pleas were fruitless, it was Su Mei who took the lead in the act of "masterslaying."
"If the enemy's numbers are only what they were today, I alone am enough to hold them back."
Cheng Lingshuang, who was sitting cross-legged on a bamboo mat, slowly opened her eyes.
Today, she had single-handedly held off over a hundred knights wielding Honkai energy weapons, and the toll it took was by no means small. Tianming had placed an enormous bet on this battle; after all, if they won, the entire world would be theirs.
Among the knights leading the charge were many deathly warriors trained by Tianming.
The impact of them self-destructing their weapons before death had greatly weakened Cheng Lingshuang's combat strength. If not for her natural Stigmata, she would have likely succumbed to cultivation deviation by now.
And such weapons...
Everyone knew that what happened during the day was merely a probe. For tomorrow's decisive battle, there was no telling how many more Tianming could bring out.
"In the end."
"We still have to find a way to persuade Master to act."
The youngest of the seven disciples, and also the only male, Ma Yanqing, spoke up.
"As long as she is willing to make a move."
"Where would those arrogant Luochà people even get a chance?"
"Sigh."
Su Mei sighed softly.
"I've already said, that's precisely the problem."
"When the imperial court sent people to Taixu Mountain, they weren't originally asking for us. Even if we were willing, with Master's elusive style, where would we even find a trace of her?"
"..."
A light breeze blew in from outside the tent.
The chilly spring wind made Su Mei shiver involuntarily.
Immediately after, she understood the shocked expressions on her junior brother's and sisters' faces. Even someone as strong as Fifth Junior Sister couldn't possibly appear behind her so silently. In the entire world, only one person could do that—
"Ma... Master!?"
---o---
The seven disciples of Taixu simultaneously bowed to the person entering the tent.
Though they didn't know why, their master, the Celestial Immortal Chiyuan, had indeed arrived. This was something none of them had expected.
However...
Drip.
Su Mei, the most sharp-witted of them all, broke into a nervous sweat.
"How terrifying."
This was Su Mei's first impression as her master walked into the tent.
But this feeling was slightly different from usual. Her master was revered as the world's number one, and her aura was more one of aloofness and detachment, as if she were "not of this world." She had never shown much emotion, even towards her seven disciples.
Most of the time.
The seven of them only vaguely understood their master's principles and boundaries because they were "familiar" with her.
But no matter what...
The evaluation "stern, serious, and by-the-book" was always fitting.
Yet the aura emanating from their master now was completely different—an undisguised oppressive feeling, like that of a predator sizing up its prey.
Even with the mental fortitude cultivated from the Taixu lineage, she had almost failed to conceal her emotions!
Fortunately.
The feeling came as quickly as it disappeared.
"Mas... ter?"
And when she raised her head, Su Mei's confusion only grew—
Her master's attire wasn't the ethereal "Azure Empyrea" robes, but an extremely "daring" and "form-fitting" outfit that made even her blush!
More importantly...
White hair, red eyes, wreathed in cloud-like flames.
Although Su Mei had never seen her master like this before, it wasn't hard to imagine that this appearance was likely the true form of the "Celestial Immortal Chiyuan."
"Su Mei?"
"Disciple is here!"
"..."
"Tomorrow's matter, I will decide."
---o---
"BOOM!!!"
Long, cloud-like sleeves hung at her side.
The cracks on the Xuanyuan Sword were rapidly repaired as Chiyuan was forced back to her original spot once more. A thirty-foot-wide ring of light bound her firmly in place, impossible to break through no matter what she tried.
"Who in the world are you?"
"..."
Looking at the figure floating in the air, identical to herself, Chiyuan asked again.
"Eh?"
"I'm you, of course~"
"To put it in more common terms..."
The other Chiyuan opened a notebook that had appeared out of thin air—such paper was clearly not something that should exist in this era.
"An inner demon?"
In the next moment.
The notebook in the other Chiyuan's hand vanished, replaced by a feather that looked like a hair ornament.
"Fenghuang Down."
Countless memories surged forth from the depths of her mind. Chiyuan frowned deeply, her detached emotions finally reawakened... and supercharged!
"You are..."
"The Herrscher of Sentience!?"
The Eighth Herrscher had appeared ahead of schedule!
No, to be precise, the first Herrscher of the Current Civilization had become the Herrscher of Sentience!
Chiyuan still couldn't believe what was happening. Under her protection, Shenzhou had not experienced a disaster on the level of a Great Honkai Eruption for over four thousand years.
Even in the distant West, she had never heard of a threat of this magnitude.
There hadn't even been a medium-sized Honkai energy fissure, so how could a Herrscher be born? What's more, the vessel wasn't even human, but the Herrscher Core in her own hands, which had long been made into a Key of God (Fenghuang Down)!
This was simply...
"Bingo~"
"You guessed it, but there's no prize."
Unlike Chiyuan's stern seriousness, the Chiyuan in the sky was filled with a "trollish" feeling in her words and actions:
"Hey, other me."
Looking at the ridiculously out-of-place watch she had just conjured to match her outfit, this Chiyuan whispered to the other:
"While there's still time, let's keep playing, shall we~?"