Chapter 7: The Only Turning Point (Extra Update)
==============================
Inside the Hall of Heavenly Secrets, silence reigned supreme.
So quiet that even the faint sound of leaves landing on the roof could be heard by the two kneeling below.
Li Ying Tian suddenly felt a wave of regret wash over him.
But alas, once words are spoken, they’re like spilled water—impossible to take back.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Tan Ziyan’s eyes turned red.
“Senior Brother, do you really think of me as such a heartless person?”
“N-no… that’s not what I meant, I just…”
“Ever since the anomaly in the Chaos Forest, I’ve been stuck in the Grand Hall, running calculations day and night without a wink of sleep. But do you know? No matter how hard I struggle, no matter how I twist the premises, the results all point in one direction.”
Li Ying Tian was taken aback. Now he understood why Tan Ziyan wouldn’t open the door for him—his junior sister had been tirelessly calculating the heavenly principles while being utterly sleep-deprived.
But judging by her tone, it seemed the results weren’t good.
In that moment, the usually decisive and commanding sect leader found himself hesitant to ask any more questions.
Tan Ziyan let out a bitter laugh, “At this point, my luck is almost exhausted, and I only have one last chance to calculate.”
Li Ying Tian gasped, “Junior Sister, how did it come to this? Luck is fundamental to your grasp of the heavenly way! Once it runs out, you’ll never be able to comprehend the heavenly secrets again!”
“Hah, given that Thousand Bird City is gone, what use is heavenly insight to me now?”
At this moment, Li Ying Tian really wanted to slap himself for those words and retract them.
His junior sister was wagering her very own luck to repeatedly calculate the future fate of Thousand Bird City, potentially shortening her life dramatically in the process.
For a cultivator, that was nearly equivalent to s*icide.
“Junior Sister, just stop it right here.”
Li Ying Tian stressed, “I refuse to believe that a prestigious Thousand Bird City, standing strong for thousands of years, would fall so easily. What if more enemies come? We have the other six major sects to rely on; they wouldn’t just sit back and watch!”
Tan Ziyan acted as if she hadn’t heard him at all, calmly saying, “Senior Brother, please protect me.”
Li Ying Tian was shocked, “Junior Sister, you can’t be serious…”
“I’ve made my decision!”
As soon as Tan Ziyan finished speaking, a purple light enveloped her body.
Li Ying Tian, feeling utterly helpless, had no choice but to use his cultivation to isolate the entire Grand Hall from the outside world, so that not even the smallest disturbance could disrupt Tan Ziyan’s final calculation.
As that purple light danced around her body and finally focused at her forehead, Li Ying Tian’s heart was in his throat.
After a long moment, the small purple orb of light suddenly burst apart, and the entire Grand Hall was covered in a layer of shimmering purple dust, resembling stars twinkling in the night sky.
Tan Ziyan aged ten years in an instant; the wrinkles on her face became more pronounced, and even strands of white hair peeked through her once-celestial locks.
“Junior Sister, you’ve suffered so much.”
Li Ying Tian could barely stand to look.
This beautiful junior sister was sacrificing so much for Thousand Bird City. How could he, her senior brother, let her down?
Tan Ziyan slowly opened her eyes, neither sad nor happy, and said, “Senior Brother, amidst all these countless gaps, I’ve finally found a turning point.”
Li Ying Tian was taken aback, “What is it?”
“Cold Wind City.”
“Cold Wind City?”
Li Ying Tian repeated those three words several times, but couldn’t grasp their meaning.
“Junior Sister, what are we supposed to do with just those three words?”
Tan Ziyan shook her head, “I don’t know either. Discovering such a turning point among the chaotic flows of heavenly law is already my limit. How to proceed—shouldn’t that be something the sect leader needs to ponder?”
Li Ying Tian nodded solemnly, “I understand now, Junior Sister. So…”
“I’m fine. Just know that the fate of Thousand Bird City is in your hands now. No matter what happens in the future, I won’t leave Thousand Bird City.
This is my home. If my home is gone, then living is pointless.”
“Rest assured, Junior Sister, I’ve got this!”
Li Ying Tian had no more words to say.
Tan Ziyan’s sacrifice touched him deeply; one could say this piece of information was almost bought with her life.
But how to make good use of it required swift gathering of intelligence, so he could make the next judgement.
Back in the meeting hall, he wasted no time, immediately summoning all the elders and inner door disciples present to discuss the matter.
Before long, a disciple reported that they had heard numerous rumors about Cold Wind City within the city.
“White Feather City is making a big push against Cold Wind City?”
“Yes, Sect Leader. From the current situation, White Feather City seems to have the upper hand.”
Last time he visited White Feather City, the Bull-Headed Man clearly promised him that he would provide information on the Cold Moon Witch in ten days. Now they were waging war on a monster city he had never even heard of.
What could be the connection?
Wait a minute, could the Cold Moon Witch be in Cold Wind City?
That would explain why the Bull-Headed Man was so eager to attack, trying to seize Cold Wind City before the deadline.
So that’s how it is.
As long as they could fully control the Cold Moon Witch, surely all the adverse factors concerning Thousand Bird City would vanish into thin air.
Upon thinking of this, Li Ying Tian felt like he had forgotten something.
Right! The tribulation phenomena over the Chaos Forest!
Hold on, could the Cold Moon Witch have become a newly emerged apex demon?
Now that would be problematic.
No wonder his junior sister was so anxious, tirelessly calculating.
To deal with an apex demon, Thousand Bird City would need full force just to have a fighting chance.
But in doing so, the city would be left vulnerable.
What if enemies took advantage of that gap? Wouldn’t it be…
Perhaps Thousand Bird City could request assistance from the Heavenly Sword Sect.
But what if their involvement disrupted the luck of Thousand Bird City? What then…
Li Ying Tian fell into a spiral of conflicting thoughts.
Just then, a disciple hurriedly burst into the meeting hall, reporting real-time battle conditions.
“White Feather City has been defeated! White Feather City has been defeated!”
Li Ying Tian jumped, “What happened? Didn’t we just say Cold Wind City was in a dire situation? How can this…”
“Cold Wind City lured the enemy in deep, surrounded them from both sides, and annihilated White Feather City’s vanguard! The Lion Demon King has fallen!”
“What?”
Li Ying Tian didn’t care much for which monsters had died; he only felt a hint of disdain from the Great King of the Split Land. Since he guessed the Cold Moon Witch was in Cold Wind City, why didn’t he go capture her himself?
Instead, he sent a mere local king?
Completely beneath notice.
As the atmosphere in the meeting hall grew tense, the sound of flapping wings suddenly echoed from above.
It was the aerial patrol team riding on celestial beasts.
Why are they back at this hour? Surely these guys aren’t slacking off?
Under Li Ying Tian’s signal, Gongsun Ding went out to check what was happening.
Before long, Gongsun Ding returned with a peculiar expression, leading a monster into the meeting hall.
This creature was covered in feathers, sporting a bald vulture head, its constantly shifting yellow-brown eyes startling everyone.
The crowd was taken aback, the elders stood up, but Li Ying Tian remained unmoved.
It had been hundreds of years since a monster stepped foot in Floating City.
Li Ying Tian shouted, “What’s going on?”
Gongsun Ding clasped his hands together, “This monster is an envoy from White Feather City.”
With a thud, the vulture knelt before them, crying, “The Great King of the Split Land has been attacked and is gravely injured.”
“What!”
Li Ying Tian clutched his heart, the series of events was becoming too much for him to bear.
