Chapter 85: Backlash—Hand Her Over!

After the disciple guarding the mountain finished his report, the air around them turned sharply cold.

Pei Yin, Xuanyangzi, and Tianjizi all had grim expressions, eyes brimming with clear displeasure and discontent.

The Second Elder was the first to snort coldly, his voice laced with indignation.
“One of the Ten Great Clans, yet so lawless and unruly! To dare trespass into our Penglai Sea Territory—do they take our number one sect for decoration?”

“The Ye family has indeed grown increasingly brazen, causing a ruckus in our territory as if we old fogeys mean nothing,” Tianjizi said blandly, though a glint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

“They dare provoke us at our doorstep? Has the Ye family grown so arrogant they think they can do as they please? Let this old man stretch his limbs a bit—these aged bones haven’t moved in years!”

Xuanyangzi’s tone dripped with disdain. Just moments ago, he’d been worried about whether Ye Qingning would survive the trial of the Heart Demon Illusion, and now the Ye family had already come knocking. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Without waiting for Pei Yin to speak, he flicked his sleeve, ready to leave the peak, but had only taken a step before Pei Yin blocked his path.

“A mere Ye family doesn’t warrant the hand of a Grand Elder. Since they’ve named me specifically, as the head of the sect, if I don’t make an appearance, how will others perceive Penglai?”

Pei Yin’s tone was calm, yet carried a weighty authority that brooked no opposition.

The Second Elder nodded approvingly. “The Sect Master is right. If you don’t meet them, others might think Penglai is afraid of the Ye family.”

“This must be about Ye girl’s heartblood. Now that the parasite within her has been dissolved, the type of mother-daughter Gu she carried always leads to backlash once the daughter Gu is purged.”

“That biological daughter of the Ye family must be suffering from the backlash. That’s the only reason they’d be yelling outside the sect.”

“Now that it’s come to this, the Ye family won’t be satisfied with just demanding an explanation—they’ll surely want the girl handed over. What does the Sect Master plan to do?” the Second Elder asked.

Although the Ye girl wasn’t blood-related to the Ye family, she was raised there from childhood. If Penglai refused to hand her over, they’d need a solid reason. Without one, his advice was simple: beat them into submission—strength speaks loudest.

“No need to worry, Second Elder. I have a plan,” Pei Yin responded calmly, intending to take Shen Xuan and go meet the Ye family personally.

But the Ye family had come with hostility, unwilling to wait even a moment. A brash voice, full of fury, suddenly pierced through the sect-protecting barrier.

“Sect Master Pei refuses to show himself—is this how Penglai treats its guests?!”

Tianjizi’s face darkened. “So it’s Ye Tianying, that old bastard. No wonder they’re acting so unruly!”

“The Ye family even brought their old ancestor—clearly, they’re determined to take that girl back.”

The technique used—Voice Transcending the Realms—was created by the eminent Buddhist monk Fanyinzi. It allowed one’s voice to pass through any obstacle, including all forms of matter and formations, even powerful sect-protecting arrays.

Not only could the sound resonate with the spiritual energy of the formation to pass through it, it could also affect those within the array—instilling fear, causing injury, or even attacking the soul.

However, the spell was extremely taxing on one’s spiritual power. Even a cultivator at the Integration stage couldn’t cast it often.

There were specially made formations and artifacts that could block this technique—but most sects chose not to use them.

After all, if such a sound was blocked, no one would know if someone came knocking—wouldn’t that make them look like cowardly turtles hiding in their shells?

Ye Tianying’s roar startled every disciple in Penglai Sect.

The inner disciples were fine, but many outer disciples, being weaker, were immediately left with buzzing heads from the shock.

Once the initial shock of someone actually daring to cause trouble at Penglai Sect passed, everyone turned into eager spectators, ready to watch the drama unfold.

The quicker ones already had spirit recording jades out, racing to higher peaks just to capture the moment—so they could be the first to post the footage on “Xianmen Hot Topics” for the whole cultivation world to enjoy.

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Chapter 85: Backlash—Hand Her Over! (Part 2)

High in the sky, Ye Xin and three Ye family elders floated with hands behind their backs.

Ye Tianying, hot-tempered as ever, roared as soon as Pei Yin appeared,
“Sect Master Pei! Penglai has gone too far! You took my Ye clan’s direct descendant’s heartblood and caused her to suffer backlash from the mother Gu, damaging her heart meridians! Does Penglai really think my Ye family is powerless?!”

Thanks to Ye Hanyue’s dramatics, the entire Ye clan believed that it was with the help of Shen Xuan and the others that Ye Qingning managed to obtain the heartblood.

What shocked the Ye family even more was that as soon as they arrived at Penglai, Ye Hanyue began clutching her chest in pain, sweat pouring from her forehead, coughing up blood in great gulps—it scared them half to death.

A quick examination revealed that Ye Hanyue was indeed suffering from the backlash of the mother Gu—meaning the daughter Gu had been dissolved.

Ye Hanyue’s eyes widened in disbelief, muttering over and over,
“Impossible! This is impossible!”

To her, if the parasite couldn’t be broken in her previous life, how could it be undone so easily now?

Refusing to believe it—perhaps due to her actual madness, or her past habits of self-harm—she suddenly went berserk, pulling out a dagger and slashing her arm fiercely.

Blood splattered instantly, soaking her sleeve in red.

Ye Hanyue seemed numb to the pain, eyes fixated on the blood gushing from her wound.

She waited—but the wound never healed.

Moments later, she broke into maniacal laughter, muttering,
“It’s broken… the Gu is really broken… Ye Qingning actually dissolved it!”

“Father! Didn’t you say it couldn’t be undone?! Why?! Why has it been undone?!”

Ye Xin was dumbfounded. There was only one person in the world capable of removing that parasite, and that person was untraceable—how had that wretched girl found them?

He had never seen Ye Hanyue like this before. Fearing she’d gone mad, he quickly assured her,
“Yue’er, calm down. I’ll bring her back to the Ye family and let you handle her however you want!”

And so, Ye Tianying flew into a rage, using his divine technique not only to demand Ye Qingning’s return but also to seek justice from Penglai Sect—lest word spread and the Ye family lose face.

Pei Yin’s expression remained calm, but his presence was equally forceful.

“The Ye family has trespassed into my Penglai Sea Territory, and we have yet to retaliate. That alone is giving your clan face. How dare you claim we’ve gone too far?”

“As for the matter of heartblood—Penglai will take responsibility. Since she has joined our sect, she is one of our own. Even the Ye family cannot lay a finger on her.”

Ye Tianying’s face darkened. Beside him, Ye Xin’s expression turned even uglier.
“So what you’re saying, Sect Master Pei, is that you refuse to return my daughter to the Ye family?!”

“Correct. We won’t. If Penglai wants to protect someone, no one can take them—not even the Ye family. And you know very well why she needed to take that heartblood, don’t you?”

“I don’t care what schemes your Ye family has. Now that the Gu is broken, whether she’s still one of yours is questionable. If you want to take her, you’ll have to get through me first.”

Pei Yin’s words rang with finality, leaving no room for negotiation.

Ye Xin’s face twisted, a fierce glint flashing through his eyes. As the Ye clan patriarch, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

Seething with rage, he turned toward Pei Yin.
“Sect Master Pei, are you really willing to become the enemy of the entire Ye family over one wretched girl?!”

Pei Yin chuckled lightly, genuinely amused by how deranged the father and daughter pair seemed.
“Penglai Sect has never feared anyone. Certainly not the Ye family. Go ahead—attack if you dare.”

“Fine! Since Sect Master Pei insists, then allow me to challenge you personally!”