I am Zhao Zhijing, a poor Taoist priest, and I have disciples all over the world.

The night was peaceful except for the occasional vulture flying back and forth in the sky, making a hoarse and low cry that made people feel unhappy.

The next morning, everyone continued their journey eastward. The desert was desolate, with endless yellow sand as far as the eye could see. Only the crisp sounds coming from Xiao Zhao from time to time proved that they were not dreaming.

After Song Yuanqiao and others recognized Zhang Wuji at Guangmingding, they did not have much communication due to the rush of time. But given Zhang Wuji's character, if he really received favors from Zhu Changling, he would never have said nothing about it.

On his way back, he happened to pass by Zhuwu Lianhuanzhuang again, so Zhang Songxi thought about going there to find out the truth. If his earlier guess was true, then he would have to be severely punished.

But when I was still several miles away, I could faintly smell the smell of burnt coals. Thinking of the cries of vultures I heard last night, an ominous premonition suddenly came to my mind.

The group hurried on their way, and when they arrived at Zhuwu Lianhuan Village, they found that all the red bricks and green tiles, the bluestone roads, and the various trees that had formed shades outside the village had been burned to ashes, leaving it in ruins.

Everyone immediately became extremely cautious and checked the house carefully inside and out, but apart from dozens of corpses that were burnt to charcoal and whose original features could not be recognized, they found nothing else.

"Wu Bi is no mediocre person, otherwise he wouldn't be able to run such a large manor."

Zhang Songxi frowned and said, "Apart from the Ming Cult and the Kunlun Sect, I really can't think of anyone else in the Kunlun Mountains who could uproot Zhuwu Lianhuan Village."

Although Zhang Songxi mentioned the Ming Cult and the Kunlun Sect, the murderer was obviously not from either of them. Mo Shenggu glanced at Song Qingshu and said in a deep voice, "Could it be true, as Qingshu said, that the evil Cheng Kun colluded with the Mongolian court and wanted to take advantage of the fact that the six major sects and the Ming Cult were fighting to the point of both sides being defeated, so as to catch them all in one fell swoop?"

He Songyan of the Huashan Sect shouted at the side: "The Mongolian Tartars have always won by numbers, but I have never heard of any masters. Their Wubi Kung Fu is not weak. I don't think they will not even have a chance to fight back."

The two factions discussed for a while, and both felt that the matter was indeed very strange. They immediately ordered all their disciples to step up their precautions, as the journey back to the Central Plains would certainly not be peaceful.

However, Song Qingshu knew that it was Zhao Min who did it. She had the two Xuanming Elders, the Right Envoy of Light Fan Yao, the masters of the Western Regions Vajra Sect, and the strange people she recruited from the martial arts world. It was nothing for her to take down the Zhuwu Lianhuanzhuang.

"It seems that even without Cheng Kun's tip-off, Zhao Min still took action."

They buried the body and continued on their journey. However, despite being on guard day and night, nothing happened for the next five days.

Many people in both factions breathed a sigh of relief, but Song Qingshu was the only one who became more alert. Although he knew the general plot, Zhao Min was a female Zhuge Liang who was as good as Huang Rong.

At this time, she had not yet met Zhang Wuji, and she was even more ruthless and merciless. If she wanted to protect the people from both factions, she must not take it lightly.

By the evening of that day, they could see patches of green grass everywhere, and it seemed that there was a grassland ahead. The disciples of the two factions, who had suffered enough from the raging yellow sand in recent days, were immediately cheered up.

"Is that a fellow disciple from the Wudang Sect?"

Just as they were rejoicing, dozens of people hurried over from the front, most of them were nuns in black robes, and several male disciples followed behind.

Song Yuanqiao walked out first, clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "I am Song Yuanqiao from the Wudang Sect. Are you a disciple of the Emei Sect?"

The middle-aged nun in the lead said happily, "It turns out that it is the Wudang Sect's Great Hero Song who is here. I am Jingkong from the Emei Sect and am here to greet you."

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Jingkong hurriedly asked, "Song, how was the battle at Bright Summit? Did you see our master return?" Song Yuanqiao asked in surprise, "Master Miejue came down the mountain earlier than us. She should have left Yumen Pass by now. Didn't you guys meet her?"

Jingkong replied hastily, "We were ordered by our master to split into three groups to meet them. We will communicate with each other by signal cannon along the way. We shouldn't miss them!"

Song Qingshu shook his head secretly. Although Master Miejue was a bit stubborn, the main reason was that the opponent was too strong. Even without the "Ten Fragrance Softening Powder", Zhao Min's ability was enough to play with the entire Emei Sect in the palm of her hand.

If it weren't for the idea of forcing the six major sects to submit to the imperial court, I'm afraid no one would have escaped the fate of Zhuwu Lianhuanzhuang.

"Don't worry, nuns. The weather in the desert is unpredictable. I think that's why the trip was delayed."

Jingkong and other Emei disciples were most worried that their master and fellow disciples would fall into the hands of the evil cult. Now that they saw that the Wudang and Huashan sects had returned safely, they felt relieved.

The two sides talked about the situation in the desert, then said goodbye to each other and went on their own way.

After another two days of walking, they finally entered Yumen Pass. Seeing that the disciples of both sects were extremely tired, Song Yuanqiao discussed with the two elders from Huashan and decided to find a town to rest for a night. They also sent people to purchase horses and disguise them as merchants from Zhongyuan to hide their identities.

The Huashan Sect was only the last among the six major sects, but it was much more generous than the Wudang Sect. It bought dozens of horses and even mule carts for loading goods right away.

By the time the Huashan Sect disciples drove the horses back, it was too late to stop them. Zhang Songxi watched from the side and shook his head, thinking that the Huashan Sect was used to bullying others in the Central Plains, and that such ostentation would definitely attract attention.

Sure enough, something went wrong that night. First, the food and tea in the inn were poisoned. Fortunately, it was discovered in advance, but the innkeeper and the waiters said they knew nothing and instead accused the inn of reporting the incident to the police.

"This place is full of weirdness, so let's not make things complicated."

Song Yuanqiao waved his hand, and everyone left the inn immediately, preparing to leave the town first. However, after walking only twenty or thirty miles, the newly bought horses began to foam at the mouth and fall to the ground. It was obvious that they had been poisoned without anyone noticing.

"The enemy is in the dark, and I am in the light. If this continues, we will be exhausted before the enemy shows up."

Seeing that the other party finally started to act, Song Qingshu felt a little relieved. It is better to fight against the enemy with a general and block the water with earth than to receive a sudden arrow from an unknown direction.

But not everyone else was so calm. They felt that the evil cult they saw on Guangming Summit was not so sinister and vicious. Moreover, they were already exhausted and were showing signs of collapse under the pressure.

"They don't dare to fight with real swords and guns in front of us, which shows that they are afraid of the reputation of Wudang Sect. There is nothing to be afraid of. We just need to arrange more people to guard against it."

Song Qingshu took the initiative to step forward and appease everyone, and the Wudang disciples naturally responded one after another. Seeing that his actions were appropriate, Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou and the other three remembered his talents and martial arts when he captured Cheng Kun and defeated Master Miejue at Guangmingding, so they simply obeyed his orders.

However, the Huashan Sect was not as united as the Wudang Sect. Some of the members were close confidants of Xian Yutong and were worried that they would be liquidated after returning to Huashan. Others thought that with so many people walking in one place, the target would be too obvious.

Therefore, within half a day, more than 20 people left under the pretext of urinating or secretly. (End of this chapter)