The Cloud Mist Palace. The Cloud Dragon Palace.

Startling Rain and Thunder. Yesterday had been clear skies, yet a sudden deluge of rain and lightning descended, shrouding all of Mount Hua in a tempest.

Outside the Cloud Dragon Palace now, the torrential downpour completely obscured the distant mountains, the nearer palace structures, and even the closer Coiling Dragon Pillars, weaving heaven and earth into a single net of rain. The rain was intense.

Inside the Cloud Dragon Palace at this moment, all Six Sword Immortals of the North Peak were present, joined by Chu Tian, the Flying Sword, making seven in attendance. The seven were seated around the long Yunhua Stone table within the Cloud Dragon Palace.

Venerable Yuanyuan held an urgent dispatch: "This urgent report was just given to me by Junior Brother Ye." Junior Brother Ye, of course, referred to Ye Yangrong, the Round Separation Sword. Ye Yangrong was in charge of intelligence among the Six Sword Immortals of the North Peak; all reports passed through him before being organized and presented to the Peak Master, Venerable Yuanyuan.

Each of the Six Sword Immortals of the North Peak had their own area of responsibility. "The content of the urgent dispatch states that subterranean demons have appeared in Donglu County, Dongdao Prefecture, East Ping Province, which falls under our jurisdiction," Venerable Yuanyuan announced.

"And this time, it is not just one, but a sect of subterranean demons." "What?" The surrounding six Sword Immortals, all seasoned veterans of countless battles, could not help but change color. A sect of subterranean demons—what did that concept imply?

Subterranean demons possessed a certain level of organization, forming sects similar to those of the Immortal Sects. However, the sects of subterranean demons were vastly different from the surface Immortal Sects.

The sects of subterranean demons emphasized a brutal system of elimination, where disciples frequently engaged in mortal combat within the sect; it was a ruthless application of the law of the jungle. A subterranean demon sect was indeed a terrifying prospect.

Thus, even the six Sword Immortals, seasoned by long campaigns and weathered by storms, could not prevent their expressions from subtly shifting. Venerable Yuanyuan shook his head: "It is not the massive demon sect that everyone imagines.

It is merely a small sect formed by subterranean demons, named the Moon Demon Sect." Hearing that it was only a small sect composed of subterranean demons, the Sword Immortals present let out a collective, deep sigh of relief and settled their nerves. Sects, too, were categorized into large, medium, and small entities, both in the underworld and on the surface.

An Immortal Sect like Mount Hua was considered a massive sect. Should a large subterranean demon sect invade, it would truly be an ill-fated event—an Immortal-Demon War that would engulf the entire Great Jin Kingdom, turning into a calamity of slaughter.

Even the Sword Immortals present doubted they could survive such an ordeal. Fortunately, this was only a small sect invasion.

Small sects formed by subterranean demons were not excessively powerful. Basically, a behemoth like the Mount Hua Immortal Sect could easily crush a minor sect composed of subterranean demons.

It was only a small sect, and the Sword Immortals felt their worries abate. Venerable Yuanyuan spoke: "Junior Brother Chu, I had already intended to assign you the recent frequent movements of subterranean demons, and now it seems I must entrust this matter to you." "Yes," Chu Fei, the Flying Sword, nodded.

"It is just a small sect. How about this: take the Ten Great True Disciples with you to gain some field experience," Venerable Yuanyuan instructed.

The Ten Great True Disciples needed to descend the mountain to face trials and tribulations; those who never faced storms could never truly grow. If they hadn't experienced actual combat, no amount of nurturing their strength with spiritual elixirs would be of much use.

"Yes," Chu Fei nodded. "Since all Ten Great True Disciples are being dispatched, you must be extra cautious," Venerable Yuanyuan cautioned.

"Yes," Chu Fei nodded again. "This Donglu County lies within Dongdao Prefecture of East Ping Province.

Although this area is under our jurisdiction, it actually borders the territory managed by the South Peak, Luoyan Peak, of Mount Hua's other mountain. This spot is essentially the demarcation line between our jurisdiction and the South Peak's.

The South Peak ought to send personnel as well," Venerable Yuanyuan explained. The Great Jin Kingdom was superficially governed by the Great Jin Imperial Court.

In truth, the Imperial Court merely acted as an agent. The finest resources of the Great Jin Kingdom were actually held by the Five Great Immortal Sects: the most fertile lands suitable for cultivating medicinal herbs, the richest mines, everything—it all belonged to the Five Great Immortal Sects.

Even in other regions, the small portion went to the proxy Imperial Court, while the larger share obediently flowed to the Five Great Immortal Sects. Having occupied the resources and the authority, they naturally bore the obligations.

When demons appeared, unless the situation was exceptionally easy, it was usually the people from the Five Great Immortal Sects who handled it. And for the Five Great Immortal Sects to manage the entirety of the Great Jin Kingdom's territory, they had to divide the regions for management—which area belonged to which sect for governance, which area was whose responsibility—otherwise, chaos would ensue.

This management was generally simple: they would dispatch ordinary disciples for routine matters and only summon true experts when real trouble erupted. For instance, this time, with trouble brewing in Donglu County, Dongdao Prefecture, East Ping Province, an area at the junction managed by the North and South Peaks, the North Peak would send people, and the South Peak would also dispatch personnel.

Both sides would send forces. "The South Peak, truly a nuisance," Dugu Ye remarked with a faint, knowing smile.

—————— The torrential rain had not ceased. However, the contingent from the North Peak was already on the road.

As True Disciples of an Immortal Sect, none were coddled to the point of refusing travel in a downpour. Leading this contingent was Chu Fei, the Flying Sword.

Of the Ten Great True Disciples, only eight were sent; the Eldest Disciple, Yun Yi, and the Second Disciple, Yun Ping, were absent. They had other assignments.

Both their strengths had deepened considerably, and they each carried numerous duties, usually not participating in such training missions, as they had long since passed that stage. The eight remaining True Disciples were all around twenty years old and still required tempering.

Lu Yuan wore a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, the rainwater streaming down. He traveled alongside the others.

Among the True Disciples, those with good relations stayed together; Lu Yuan's close companions were Ye Fang and Ye Yuan. Lu Yuan felt a twinge of envy for Martial Uncle Chu Fei, the Flying Sword.

At their level, mana enveloped their entire bodies, rendering them immune to wind and rain, their robes remaining utterly dry. Just then, Ye Fang remarked, "Demons have appeared in Donglu County this time." "Indeed," Ye Yuan nodded.

"I truly haven't fought a demon before." A slight nervousness permeated them, as never having engaged a demon before naturally caused some unease. In the teachings of the Five Great Immortal Sects, they had long known that the subterranean demons were the true opponents of the Five Great Immortal Sects.

"It's really nothing much. Demons are just what they are," Lu Yuan said, recalling his previous encounter with Shura, after which he felt demons were simply manageable, so he didn't dwell on it.

Ye Fang scoffed: "That's easy for you to say. Your mana is high now, and your swordsmanship is superb, so naturally, you aren't afraid.

Why don't I suddenly achieve enlightenment and grasp Sword Intent?" Ye Fang watched Lu Yuan with tearful envy regarding his good fortune, refusing to believe Lu Yuan's current cultivation and skill were the result of effort; he simply presumed Lu Yuan relied on sheer luck. "Oh yes, speaking of good swordsmanship, the group from the South Peak we will be cooperating with this time belongs to the Sword Sect.

Their swordsmanship should also be quite exceptional. I wonder whose is better: theirs or Senior Brother Six's," Ye Yuan interjected suddenly.

Mount Hua's Five Peaks were: East Peak (Chaoyang Peak), South Peak (Luoyan Peak), West Peak (Lianhua Peak), Central Peak (Yünü Peak), and North Peak (Yuntai Peak). Among these five, the East Peak and South Peak emphasized the Heavy Sword, believing that invincible swordsmanship naturally led to invincibility.

Meanwhile, the Central Peak and West Peak focused on Qi, arguing that once one's mana reached a certain level, all opponents could be naturally annihilated, rendering swordsmanship unimportant. Only the North Peak emphasized a balance between Sword and Qi, deeming both equally crucial.

This resulted in the East Peak and South Peak generally possessing excellent swordsmanship but comparatively weaker mana. The Central Peak and West Peak generally possessed stronger mana but weaker swordsmanship.

The North Peak, practicing Sword and Qi equally, maintained moderate levels in both mana and swordsmanship, representing a middle path—though 'moderate' never meant 'weak.' Five thousand years ago, the founder of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect established the sect; at that time, there were no Five Peaks. The disciples of Grandmaster Tongxiao the True Man were all extraordinary individuals.

The true core of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect back then resided in the Sword Qi Soaring Hall. However, it was this very concept of "Sword Qi Soaring" that caused the trouble.

Sword Qi Soaring—the Sword came first. But clearly, some disciples of Grandmaster Tongxiao believed Qi should precede the Sword, while others insisted the Sword came first.

This division sparked two factions: the Qi Sect and the Sword Sect. Seeing that the conflict between the two factions was nearing an internal clash, something that would harm the sect's strength...

At that moment, Yun Xiaoyao, the Second Generation Ancestor of the North Peak, emerged, mastering both Sword and Qi, and became the foremost expert, grandmaster, and paramount figure in the Great Jin Kingdom at the time. The stance of the Second Generation Ancestor Yun Xiaoyao was: "If you insist on being the Sword Sect or the Qi Sect, fighting now will only deplete our own strength.

Since Mount Hua has many peaks, why not let the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect establish themselves on different peaks, propagating for hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of years? Then, we can see whether the Qi Sect or the Sword Sect has triumphed." Of course, when the Second Generation Ancestor Yun Xiaoyao made this declaration, he was already the foremost master in the Great Jin Kingdom, lending immense weight to his words.

Subsequently, the Mount Hua Immortal Sect divided into five: Two Sword Sects. Two Qi Sects.

One balancing both Sword and Qi. This formed the current structure of the Five Peaks of Mount Hua.

(The fourth update is delivered; there will be one more tonight. Also, yes, this book references the 'Sword and Qi factions' from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer; this book is intended to be unique.)