25: Chapter 25 The Undercurrents at Bright Summit

Inside the Secret Passage of Bright Peak, a black shadow crept along silently.

The shadow wore a Shaolin Sect robe, his face covered by a black cloth, revealing only a pair of sinister, ruthless eyes. It was none other than Cheng Kun, who had escaped from the Shaolin Sect.

Relying on his familiarity with the Secret Passage of Bright Peak, he silently infiltrated the core area of the Ming Cult headquarters.

At the other end of the Secret Passage lay the tomb of Yang Dingtian, leader of the Ming Cult, which was also the place where Yang Dingtian had once practiced the Heaven and Earth Great Shift.

This time, his goal in infiltrating Bright Peak was to ambush the upper echelons of the Ming Cult, throwing the cult into internal chaos so they would be leaderless, forced into a passive defense, and left to fight to the death with the Six Major Sects.

He had been plotting this scheme for half his life.

Years ago, his Junior Sister—who was also Yang Dingtian's wife—had an affair with him. When Yang Dingtian discovered them, he suffered Qi Deviation and died, and the Junior Sister committed suicide out of shame.

From that moment on, he swore a blood oath to destroy the Ming Cult, ensuring that the sect Yang Dingtian had personally founded would be ruined by his own hands.

Originally, his plan had been flawless: take advantage of the Wudang Sect's centennial birthday banquet to incite the five major sects to pressure them, forcing the Wudang Sect to turn against Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun and plunging the Central Plains Martial Arts World into chaos.

However, he never expected that Zhang Sanfeng, who should have been at the end of his rope and nearing his end, not only didn't die but instead achieved a Breakthrough to the Great Grandmaster Realm.

He had then exposed all of Cheng Kun's conspiracies in public, ruining his reputation and making him a public enemy of the entire Central Plains Martial Arts World.

Driven to desperation, he had no choice but to flee the Shaolin Sect, go to the Ruyang Princes Mansion, find The Xuanming Elders, and set this new plan in motion.

"Hmph, Zhang Sanfeng, you ruined my plans, so I will have the entire Central Plains Martial Arts World buried with me!"

Cheng Kun gave a sinister laugh, his eyes full of malice. "Ming Cult, Six Major Sects, you all must die! You will all become stepping stones for my revenge!"

He continued to creep forward silently, making his way toward the tomb chamber.

Meanwhile, the Ming Cult headquarters at Bright Peak remained in a state of fragmentation.

Inside the main hall, the Ming Cult's upper echelons were arguing, the situation in complete disarray.

Left Emissary Yang Xiao sat in the main seat with a cold expression, watching the crowd arguing below with undisguised impatience.

"Enough! Stop the arguing!" Left Emissary Yang Xiao slammed the table, his Innate Peak-stage aura erupting instantly.

"The Six Major Sects have already gathered their Disciples and are heading toward Bright Peak. They are almost at our doorstep."

"Instead of thinking about how to defend against the enemy, you are here fighting among yourselves. Do you want to wait for the Six Major Sects to storm Bright Peak and slaughter us one by one?"

"Left Emissary Yang Xiao, stop spouting such sarcastic nonsense!" Zhou Dian, one of the Five Wanderers, suddenly stood up and pointed at Left Emissary Yang Xiao, cursing angrily.

"If it weren't for you hogging the position of Cult Leader and acting arbitrarily, driving away the White-Browed Eagle King and angering the Green-Winged Bat King, would our Ming Cult have fallen into this state today?"

"That's right!" Monk Budai Shuobude also spoke up.

"Cult Leader Yang has been missing for over twenty years, and you, Left Emissary Yang Xiao, have held onto the power of the Ming Cult all this time, yet you refuse to appoint a new Cult Leader."

"You have caused the Ming Cult to fall apart; the Heavenly Eagle Cult has broken away, and the Five Elements Flags refuse to take orders. Now that the Six Major Sects are attacking, you finally remember us? It's too late!"

"I act arbitrarily?" Left Emissary Yang Xiao sneered and stood up.

"At the very least, I, Left Emissary Yang Xiao, have remained at Bright Peak, guarding the Ming Cult headquarters! What about you Five Wanderers?"

"After Cult Leader Yang disappeared, you all flew off to far-away places, ignoring the affairs of the Ming Cult. Now that the Six Major Sects are attacking, you come back and have the nerve to blame me?"

"Bullshit!"

"Left Emissary Yang Xiao, don't be so arrogant!"

The two sides immediately fell into a chaotic argument, with tensions rising so high that they nearly came to blows.

No one noticed a young Disciple of the Ming Cult in the corner outside the hall, watching the arguing crowd.

A faint, imperceptible sinister smile curled at the corners of his mouth. He retreated silently, passing on the news of the internal strife among the Ming Cult's upper echelons.

At this moment, the Ming Cult was already riddled with holes.

Cult Leader Yang Dingtian had been missing for over twenty years, leaving the group leaderless.

The vast Ming Cult had long since fractured, morale was low, and it was as scattered as loose sand.

Never mind the Six Major Sects attacking together; even if only the Shaolin Sect and Emei Sect were to attack, the current Ming Cult might not be able to withstand it.

And just as the Ming Cult's upper echelons were arguing endlessly, Cheng Kun's conspiracy was also advancing.

He had not only infiltrated Bright Peak but also secretly sent people to spread rumors to the Six Major Sects.

The rumors claimed that the Ming Cult had secretly defected to the Yuan Dynasty imperial court and reached an agreement with the Ruyang Princes Mansion to help the Yuan Dynasty imperial court destroy the Central Plains Martial Arts World and annihilate the Six Major Sects.

It also claimed that the Ming Cult had secretly dispatched experts to prepare an ambush on the Six Major Sects to seize their sect-protecting Secret Manuals.

These rumors were half-true and half-false, and highly deceptive.

The Six Major Sects and the Ming Cult already had deep-seated grievances; decades of blood feuds had long made the two sides like fire and water.

Coupled with the fact that Cheng Kun had been lurking in the Shaolin Sect for many years, planting countless insiders and constantly fanning the flames within the Six Major Sects, the Six Major Sects were soon thoroughly enraged by the rumors.

At the Shaolin Temple, Abbot Kongwen could not withstand the indignation of Kongzhi, Kongxing, and the crowd of Disciples within the temple.

They all demanded to go to Bright Peak to encircle and suppress the Ming Cult and clean up the sect. In the end, he had no choice but to nod in agreement, gather the Shaolin Sect Disciples, and set off toward Bright Peak.

At Mount Emei, Abbess Miejue already hated the Ming Cult to the bone. Years ago, her Senior Brother, Gu Hongzi, had died of anger on the road after losing a martial arts duel against Left Emissary Yang Xiao.

She had an irreconcilable hatred for Left Emissary Yang Xiao.

Upon hearing the rumors, she was even more furious and immediately gathered the Emei Sect Disciples, took the heavenly sword, and was the first to set off toward Bright Peak.

Sect Leader He Taichong of the Kunlun Sect, the five elders of the Kongtong Sect, and Sect Head Xian Yutong of the Huashan Sect all responded, gathering their sect Disciples and marching toward Bright Peak in the Western Regions.

The several major sects were united as never before, with only one goal—to destroy the Ming Cult and bathe Bright Peak in blood!

All of this was within Cheng Kun's calculations.

Inside the Ruyang Princes Mansion, Princess Zhao Min looked at the secret report in her hand, a smug smile curling at the corner of her lips.

"Great Master Yuan Zhen truly did not disappoint me."

Princess Zhao Min twirled a jade hairpin in her hand and said with a smile, "The Six Major Sects and the Ming Cult will soon be fighting to the death at Bright Peak."

"Once they are both heavily injured, we can strike, wipe out all these experts of the Central Plains Martial Arts World, and completely control the Central Plains Martial Arts World!"

Beside her, Mr. Lu and Mr. He—the two known as The Xuanming Elders—bowed together.

"The Princess is brilliant and resourceful; how could these Jianghu martial artists possibly be the Princess's match?"

"This time, we will surely destroy the Central Plains Martial Arts World in one fell swoop and make a great contribution for the Prince!"

Princess Zhao Min smiled smugly, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

"Pass down the order: have our people closely monitor the movements of the Wudang Sect," Princess Zhao Min said, her smile fading as she spoke in a deep voice.

"That old Daoist Zhang Sanfeng is the biggest variable. Once he makes any move, report to me immediately!"

"Yes! Princess!"

What they did not know was that Yu Lianzhou had already been traveling day and night with the Wudang Sect Disciples, setting foot into the Western Regions.

At Wudang Mountain, Zhang Sanfeng had also long since made his arrangements.

Looking at the secret report in his hand and learning that the Six Major Sects had all departed and were heading toward Bright Peak, there was not a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He slowly stood up and said to Song Yuanqiao beside him, "Yuanqiao, you take the remaining Junior Brothers and Disciples and guard Wudang Mountain well."

"I am going to Dadu in person to meet with the people from the Ruyang Princes Mansion."

"Master, you are going to Dadu yourself?" Song Yuanqiao's expression changed. "Dadu is the capital of the Yuan Dynasty imperial court—a dragon's den and a tiger's lair, full of danger! You cannot risk yourself alone!"

"A dragon's den and a tiger's lair?" Zhang Sanfeng smiled faintly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"I would like to see what ability this Ruyang Princes Mansion has, daring to scheme against the Central Plains Martial Arts World time and time again."

"If I don't cut off Cheng Kun's backing, this storm will never end."

As his words fell, his figure flashed, and he had already vanished from Zixiao Palace.

The next moment, he had left Wudang Mountain and was speeding alone toward the direction of Dadu of the Yuan Dynasty.