"Junior Sister Yun, just say the word," Jin Yu said. "We're only waiting here with nothing to do anyway."
Cheng Su narrowed her fox-like eyes. "At least call me 'Elder Sister.' If you do that, then of course I'll help you out."
Ye Liuqin smiled as well. "Junior Sister, there's no need to be so polite."
Duan Yiwei's face darkened visibly.
"Were the people from these three Holy Lands actually out of their minds? This successor of the Wushuang Sect was nothing more than a measly little Gold Core cultivator. If the four Holy Lands joined forces, wouldn't it be easy to completely suppress her?
The Wushuang Sect's hidden troves would be theirs to plunder, at will.
But look at this mess.
Now that the other three factions were all cozying up to Yun Jin, it made him stick out like a sore thumb. Idiots. A bunch of brainless fools!"
Duan Yiwei kept his face grim but said nothing.
Outside the Holy Lands, everyone else was just an ant.
Since Jin Yu and the others had already agreed, whether he agreed or not didn't matter. Better to follow the tide and bide his time.
Yun Jin gave a slightly bashful smile. "It's not anything major. It's just that my cultivation is still low, and when I came down the mountain, I took on a sect task. But this task… it's super difficult."
As she spoke, her tone turned troubled.
"How difficult?" Cheng Su asked, her interest piqued.
"It's Luohua Mountain, right outside Lin City. They say some evil cultivators are hiding there. The scary part is, even Nascent Soul disciples have suffered serious losses inside." Yun Jin's face was full of fear. "I'm only at the Gold Core stage, and I accidentally accepted this mission with insane difficulty. The mission details even said: 'Do not approach unless you are at Divine Transformation.' But you, Senior Brothers and Sisters, are all at Divine Transformation. If you go with me, I think we can complete it, right?"
She ended with an actual question.
Jin Yu raised an eyebrow and immediately stood. "Luohua Mountain? I'll go with you now. It's nothing. I can handle it myself. Whether the others come or not doesn't matter. I'm enough."
He couldn't stand that questioning tone of Yun Jin's.
Sure, he was at Divine Transformation.
But he was Divine Transformation from the Kunlun Sword Sect.
That wasn't the same thing at all.
Seeing how worried Junior Sister Yun looked, it was time to show her what a peerless sword cultivator truly was.
The sect master had entrusted him with taking care of her. He would do so properly.
"Luohua Mountain is no big deal. Senior Brother Jin can handle it alone. At worst, we'll just go with him. With Kunlun Sword Sect disciples by her side, that's more than enough. The rest of you might as well stay here," said another Kunlun disciple, rising.
"That's right, we'll go," others from Kunlun echoed.
"Thank you, thank you, Senior Brothers and Sisters," Yun Jin said, looking deeply moved.
Cheng Su narrowed her eyes.
Heh.
What was Kunlun Sword Sect up to?
Trying to steal the credit?
The sect master had hinted clearly—this Junior Sister Yun was one of their own.
Would Beastmaster Sect need Kunlun's help?
Cheng Su smiled thinly. "Junior Sister Yun's mission might not just be about killing. Sword cultivators are great at that, but what if it takes brains instead? Better let our Beastmaster Sect handle it."
"Exactly, exactly," said the Beastmaster Sect disciples, nodding eagerly.
Ye Liuqin's eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled. "But when the Beastmaster Sect moves, you bring a whole troop of spirit beasts. Too conspicuous. Let Xuandan Gate go with Junior Sister Yun—quick and clean."
Duan Yiwei was stunned.
They were… fighting over her?
Did they have no shame at all?
Yun Jin looked deeply touched but still clung to her frightened demeanor. "But Luohua Mountain really is dangerous. Why don't… all of you come with me? If we're outnumbered, we can help each other if things go south."
Everyone glanced at each other, unable to hold back a chuckle.
This little thing, and she warranted all of them going?
But seeing Yun Jin's fearful expression—and noticing the other sects weren't backing down—Jin Yu and the others nodded in agreement.
They turned to look at Duan Yiwei.
Duan Yiwei's face was blank. "Qingxiao Pavilion will go too."
He didn't care about helping Yun Jin. But if she took people from the three Holy Lands with her, he had to follow. Who knew what tricks they might pull?
The Wushuang Sect's soup—Qingxiao Pavilion was going to get a taste, no matter what. None of these people were going to pull anything behind his back.
Once everyone agreed, Yun Jin visibly brightened. She looked grateful as she said, "With so many Senior Brothers and Sisters with me, I feel much safer. But…"
There was a but?
Everyone froze.
Wasn't this lineup more than enough for a place like Luohua Mountain?
Yun Jin lowered her voice and whispered cautiously, "I heard from a little source… that the evil cultivator hiding in the mountain might be someone significant. If we launch an attack, we might provoke a Mahayana-level expert."
Mahayana.
Everyone frowned slightly.
Even if it was only someone outside the core realms, they were all still at Divine Transformation.
That gap in cultivation wasn't something they could just ignore.
Yun Jin piped up again. "Actually, there are two Mahayana seniors from Yuehua Sect nearby. Should we ask them for help? Also, isn't Yuehua Sect close by? We can ask for more Mahayana help from there. And there are other nearby sects—why not ask them to lend us any Unity-level or above experts they can spare?"
The group went silent.
Wasn't this… just a mission at Luohua Mountain?
Even if there really was a Mahayana cultivator in hiding, wasn't this going too far?
Yun Jin's eyes shimmered with tears. "Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, I'm just too scared. You don't understand. My senior brother and I are just nobodies from a mid-sized sect in a remote corner of the empire. We've never seen much of the world.
I don't even know why the Sword Tomb chose me. It just suddenly pushed me into this situation."
Her voice trembled. "Why is Heaven doing this to me, making me bear something I was never meant to carry?"
And with that, Yun Jin began crying.
Yu Songnian: "…"
Tian Po Sword: "…"
If they could, both of them would've rolled their eyes at her.
"Third Senior Brother, say something! Aren't we pitiful?" Yun Jin looked at Yu Songnian.
Yu Songnian didn't want to speak. He just numbly nodded.
Yun Jin instantly looked more aggrieved. "See? We really are just disciples from a mid-tier sect. So clueless. I think… at least ten Mahayana cultivators would help me feel a little safer. What do you all think?"
The members of the four Holy Lands were momentarily speechless.
Still…
Given how remote Canglan Kingdom was, and considering Yun Jin came from a mid-tier sect, this kind of reaction wasn't too surprising.
"Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, can you help? Please invite ten Mahayana experts?" Yun Jin looked at them, her eyes wide and pleading.
Everyone sighed but agreed in the end.
"Duan Yiwei, this region is under Qingxiao Pavilion's jurisdiction. Go talk to Yuehua Sect. Have them send reinforcements," Jin Yu said directly.