The official declaration of war by Xiang Shaoyun was a big deal. The atmosphere in the city turned nervous as everyone was afraid that the entire city would be engulfed in the flames of war. At that time, they would be implicated even as bystanders. After all, a battle of such scale would usually result in massive destruction due to the sheer amount of experts involved.

They could only pray that the city wouldn't be the battlefield. Only then would they stay safe.

Meanwhile, several organizations in the city were eliminated in the span of one night. They were the organizations loyal to the Di Sect. They had hidden well, but with Qian Furen's defection, all of them were exposed.

Everyone in the city felt a sense of crisis, and a great commotion erupted in the Di Sect.

The people of the Di Sect were now aware of Xiang Shaoyun's return, and all of them were awaiting Di Batian's command to go and eliminate him. Xiang Shaoyun was back to take his revenge. For him to publicly declare war on them, it was clear he was looking down on them.

However, Di Batian still remained hidden during his secluded cultivation session. Nobody could find him, and the first young master, Di Lang, was forced to take charge. Di Lang was a middle-aged man, and he was the eldest of Di Batian's nine sons. He looked somewhat mediocre; he was only a third-stage Soul Foundation Realm cultivator.

With Di Lang's strength, he was most certainly not the most remarkable one. Even the third son, Di Luoyang, had caught up to him in terms of cultivation. The death of Qin Shiling had filled Di Lang's heart with fury, and he was thinking of a way to get rid of Xiang Shaoyun. With his father missing, he found the opportunity to send an army after Xiang Shaoyun.

Alas, when he actually tried taking command, he found that not many people were willing to obey him. Even among those who obeyed, they were only paying lip service instead of actually carrying out his orders. Not a single Heaven Battling Realm expert responded to his call for help, which further hurt his feelings.

It had been confirmed that Xiang Shaoyun had Heaven Battling Realm experts at his side. Without Heaven Battling Realm experts, they would stand no chance against him. Di Lang's incompetence to fully take charge of the situation caused the sect members to start stirring restlessly.

"Why is the sect master still in seclusion? Our enemies are already at our gates. This is too humiliating!"

"The sect master hasn't abandoned us and escaped, right? If he has, we will be in big trouble."

"Don't go around spreading rumors. The sect master is probably at a crucial point in his cultivation. Otherwise, he would have shown himself and crushed that little bastard by now."

"Why is the previous young master so confident? The old sect master couldn't have returned, right?"

"The old sect master is dead, which is why the current sect master had taken over the position. That little bastard is simply unhappy that someone else is the sect master."

...

It didn't take Xiang Shaoyun long to receive a message from Old Winter and Old Summer. He learned that Di Batian was still in seclusion, and he also found out about the restless atmosphere in the sect.

After hearing about it, he convened with his people and prepared to launch an attack. Before setting off, he sent his clone out first. His soul clone was already at ninth-stage Soul Foundation Realm and was firmly in the middle-tier among the experts of the dominion. As long as he didn't encounter those at the Heaven Battling Realm, he could basically do whatever he wished.

Why did he send his clone alone to the Di Sect? It was because he wanted to find out for himself what was actually going on in the sect. He was also planning to destroy the sect's defensive formation. After doing so, he would be able to support his army and reduce their casualties.

Naturally, he wasn't arrogant enough to look down on all the experts in the sect. After approaching the sect, he turned invisible because it was the only way to walk directly into the sect without obstructions. Turning invisible was the ability that had given him the confidence to destroy the sect's defensive formation.

As Xiang Shaoyun stood before the majestic sect gate, his heart was filled with melancholy. He thought, I'm finally back.

This was where he had grown up, and he was the one who had lost this place to others. Once, his heart was filled with incomparable regret. Now that he was back, he felt thankful for Di Batian in a way. Without Di Batian's betrayal, he would still be living the life of a rotten young master. He would not put any effort into being strong, and he would not work relentlessly for his future. He would still be wasting away his time like the playboy young master that he was before.

Xiang Shaoyun could not afford to waste too much time thinking of the past while standing before the gate. He stepped into the sect. Currently, the sect was in high alert. Security was extremely tight, and even a housefly would have a hard time intruding into the sect. Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun could casually walk past the guards undetected.

Xiang Shaoyun felt somewhat smug at his success, and he hurriedly headed toward the mountain peak where he once resided. It was named Shaoyun Peak and contained a lot of his happy memories.

Upon arriving at the peak, he found out just how desolate the peak was. The place where he once resided was broken and dilapidated, and those who once served him at the peak were all dead.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw a figure kneeling in the corner and muttering about something. Somewhat curious, Xiang Shaoyun walked over.

"The young master is back. I hope he can obtain victory and retake what was his," whispered the figure softly.

Xiang Shaoyun wouldn't be able to hear anything if he hadn't gotten near.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Xiang Shaoyun couldn't help but softly exclaim, "Little Qian."

Fortunately, he was able to quickly regain his calm. His voice was soft, so nobody would hear him unless that person was right beside him.

"Who is it?" The kneeling woman was frightened, and she jolted up from the ground before turning around.

As she turned, a slightly round and exceptionally beautiful face was revealed before Xiang Shaoyun. Her skin was tender and fair; her eyes were akin to a pair of luminous moons that gave one the urge to cherish her. She also had an incredibly attractive hourglass figure. Unfortunately, she looked somewhat weak, as though a simple gust of wind could blow her away.

This was a woman with a delicate bearing, one that anyone would have an urge to protect. Xiang Shaoyun's emotions turned complicated when he saw her. This woman was none other than Yao Qian, his favorite maid from back then. The two had grown up together, but because she wasn't that good looking back then, he had liked Xia Yunxi more than her.

He still remembered Yao Qian as a snotty-nosed brat who loved sticking to him everywhere. He used to find her too needy, but seeing her again filled him with melancholy.