Peak Master Duan, who was also in the crowd of the elders spoke up, "There's not much time left. Let's discuss such stuff after we find those assassins."
"Yes," Grand Elder Xuan nodded his head and continued, "The disciples are all safe in the banquet hall, no need to worry about them, let's get those assassins."
No," Grand Elder Li shook his head, "No need to care about those assassins, we need to get our disciples to safety first, let's go."
He didn't waste any more time and headed towards the base of the First Peak.
Everyone else, except two people, followed him, hurrying to get to the base, though they were confused why they needed to care about the disciples when the assassins were still at large and might escape if no one searched for them.
...
The two who didn't follow the elders were Sect Leader Su and Peak Master Duan. Later one stayed back when he saw Sect Leader Su was not moving.
He came closer to him and said, "Brother Su, that was a close call. It was good that you were able to maintain your emotions when that brat tried to probe your sudden reaction. Now let's go."
Sect Leader Su however smiled, put his hands behind his back and with a proud expression, he said, "Brother Duan, did you hear what that girl said?"
"Uh… about 'taking care' of your son?" Peak Master Duan was confused.
"Hun? No-no, the earlier part. Did you hear what she and Jun Xie said about Fang Chen seeing through the illusion?"
Peka Master nodded, "Yes," and then with a smile, he said, "My nephew sure is talented. I wonder whose genes are the reason behind his talent? Yours' or Sister-in-law's?
"Of course you Sister-in-laws," Sect Leader Su had an expression of melancholy and regret as he said, "I wish I could go and tell him how proud I am. Brother Duan, will he recognise me?" A tinge of nervousness appeared on his face.
Peak master Duan couldn't help but sigh at his senior brother's fate. As a husband he couldn't keep his wife safe and now as a father, his son doesn't recognise him.
Letting out a deep sigh, Peak Master Duan then put his hand on Sect Leader Su's shoulders and said, "Brother Su, it's not the time to think about such things. Don't forget that your son is also among the disciples down there and the assassins might target them to create a distraction."
Just then, Sect Leader Su's face suddenly turned pale as he remembered what Grand Elder Li had told him a few minutes ago.
The Sleeper Cells among the disciples!
'Damn it, how could I get distracted so easily!'
Without thinking any more, he rushed out of the hall, catching up with the elders who had already reached the base of the peak.
Being high realm cultivators, it wasn't a big deal for them to traverse this distance within seconds.
As they reached the base, Grand Elder Li suddenly turned and said to Sect Leader Su, who had also caught up, "Sect Leader Su, I think we need to scatter the disciples in the group."
"No-no," SEct LEader Su rejected this idea, "We can't do that, the disciples being in groups is what they want."
"Ah, yes," Grand Elder Li started to think about any other way while scratching his chin.
Everyone other than these two were confused about what they were talking about.
And it included Yuan Shuchun, however she wasn't afraid to interrupt and said, "Elders, what are you talking about? Why are we caring about the disciples? They are safe in the Banquet Hall."
"No they are not!" Both, Grand Elder Li and Sect Leader Su, replied at the same time.
And then only Grand Elder Li continued, "We need to get the disciples to safety because among them are spies, who will soon explode, killing everyone around them."
Hissssss
Everyone else other than these two took a deep breath when they heard of such a dreadful future.
"What?" Grand ELder Xuan, who was also surprised, had never heard of such kinds of spies.
"Yes, you heard it right," Sect Leader Su replied, "These spies are called Sleeper Cells. They are brain-washed people who act like normal people until they get a signal or someone presses the trigger. And tonight, those assassins have pressed the triggers, waking up the sleeper cells."
"Now, those sleeper cells will explode, decimating everything in the vicinity. This means we are about to lose all the new Inner Court disciples and the older Inner Court disciples who are also part of the Heavenly League."
These words were like a bombshell being dropped over their heads, as everyone present at the scene suddenly got tensed.
Tonight might possibly be the most tragic night in the history of the Gracious Sword Sect.
Yuan Shuchun suddenly asked, "What is the trigger you're talking about, Sect Leader Su?"
Sect Leader Su pursed his lips and said, "The sign was the sentence that those assassins shouted before jumping in the endless ravine."
"What did they shout?"
"They shouted 'Thousand souls to the Demon God' before running away."
Many elders were surprised when they heard this, because they had witnessed those assassins shout these words but they would have never imagined that these seemingly childish and corny words were actually a switch to start a massacre in their sect.
Meanwhile, Yuan Shuchun and Jun Xie stared at each other in shock as these were exact words that they had faintly heard in the banquet hall!
…
A/n: Hey guy, so I noticed a mistake in previous chapters: the cultivation of those assassins is actually Qi Stabilization Realm (the third and last stage of tri qi realms), not Qi Condensation Realm (which is the second realm). Also, I forgot to mention the last part about the shout which Jun Xie and Yuan Shuchun had heard just after the assassinaion attempt on her, but before Grand Elder's arrival.
For non-privileged readers: We will only have one chapter today because something urgent came up and I could only write one and a half chapter, which is now published as a long chapter. Please bear with the slow release rate for two more days till I handle the stuff here.. Thank you.