The Villainous Eldest Senior Brother and His Yandere Junior Sisters

「Three days later.」

「Qinglan Sect, Taiqing Palace.」

「Destiny Palace, side hall.」

"The cool breeze delivers news, the autumn moon is boundless. My yearning for you makes each day feel like a year~"

A handsome man, garbed in snow-white robes, lounged on a reclining chair with his legs crossed. One hand casually cradled a pot of Immortal Tea as he hummed a little tune with an air of nonchalance.

"Eldest Senior Brother! Time to eat!" a cheerful voice called from outside.

Lin Xiao glanced over as the hall door was pushed open. A square-jawed young man with a simple, honest face walked in, carrying a basket full of steaming food.

Although his current cultivation realm was high enough that he no longer truly needed to eat, his desire for delicious food hadn't diminished in the slightest.

"Mmm, this smells divine."

"Your culinary skills are getting more exquisite every day, lad."

Lin Xiao patted his junior brother's shoulder, then opened the meal box and began to eat heartily.

"By the way, Huaizhen, have any of your senior sisters, or Master, come looking for me these past three days?" Lin Xiao asked as he chewed on the aromatic meat.

"Of course! Especially Senior Sister Yurong! She's been looking for you like crazy these past two days, Eldest Senior Brother!" Huaizhen said. "But don't worry, Eldest Senior Brother! No matter how they threatened or tried to bribe me, I didn't reveal a single word!"

"The lad has potential. Come, I'll reward you with a piece of beef."

Lin Xiao nodded, satisfied. He flicked his finger, and a juicy piece of meat, guided by spiritual energy, flew towards Huaizhen.

"Thank you for the meat, Eldest Senior Brother! Hehe!" Huaizhen chewed happily, then said, "But, Eldest Senior Brother, what I cooked isn't beef!"

"Oh? The texture isn't like beef. Could it be the meat of a Spiritual Beast?" Lin Xiao asked curiously.

"That's right! It's Illusory Kun Chicken meat. I used the sect merits I saved up to exchange for it at the Sacred Beast Garden! I always see you looking at this chicken and laughing whenever you go to the Sacred Beast Garden, Eldest Senior Brother, so I figured you must be very interested in it!" Huaizhen said with a broad grin.

SPLAT.

Lin Xiao instantly spat it out.

"Promise me you won't use this chicken anymore... It's bad luck!" Lin Xiao shook his head, his appetite instantly vanishing.

"Sorry, Eldest Senior Brother! Huaizhen misunderstood you. It won't happen again!" Huaizhen quickly apologized.

"It's alright. You may leave now."

Lin Xiao waved him away and turned to look at the rows of Jade Plaques arranged on the hall's altar.

"Eldest Senior Brother, what are these? Every time I've come by these past few days, I've seen you observing these plaques," Huaizhen asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.

"These are Lifebound Jade Plaques. Each one is tied to the life of an inner sect disciple," Lin Xiao explained leisurely. "A first-rate Righteous Path sect like ours has many disciples, and they often venture out to eliminate demons and defend the innocent. Therefore, the sect uses these Jade Plaques to communicate with disciples on missions at various posts, making it easier to track their movements."

"What if... the person dies?" Huaizhen asked in a strained voice.

"When a person dies, the plaque shatters," Lin Xiao said faintly.

No sooner had he spoken than—

BANG!

A sharp cracking sound suddenly echoed.

From the second tier of the altar, a Jade Pendant instantly shattered into two pieces and fell.

"There, you see? Just like that."

Lin Xiao sighed, bending over to pick up the broken half of the Jade Plaque. A line of golden ancient script appeared on it: "Qinglan Sect, Red Cloud Peak, inner sect disciple, Wu Tianfan. Stationed at Big Black Mountain, Canglan City, Great Qi Dynasty. Deceased."

"Heavens! Just as Eldest Senior Brother said, does this mean Senior Brother Wu has already..." Huaizhen's mouth hung open, horrified. "I was just talking to him last month! You have to understand, he was the third-ranked inner sect disciple of Red Cloud Peak! His cultivation level had already reached the initial Golden Core realm!"

"Hmph, he's nothing much." Lin Xiao shook his head and continued to gaze at the highest tier of the altar.

BANG!

Another crisp crack echoed.

A Jade Plaque exploded, shattering into fragments as tiny as a thumbelina!

"Now, this one is even more significant." Lin Xiao walked forward and used his mana to temporarily piece together the jade fragments. Golden ancient script immediately appeared on them:

「Qinglan Sect, Sect Leader True Master Ziyun's second Direct Disciple, Li Haoyang. Stationed at Big Black Mountain, Canglan City, Great Qi Dynasty. Deceased.」

"This... how is this possible?! Senior Brother Li was a Direct Disciple of the Sect Leader! His strength was second only to Senior Brother Xu, the Chief Disciple of Dragon Head Peak! How could he just..." Huaizhen turned pale, utter shock written all over his face.

"Sigh." Lin Xiao also released a deep sigh.

As it turned out, according to the original novel's plot, this was exactly what was supposed to happen. Five days before the start of the Five Branches Martial Arts Tournament—which was right now on this timeline—the Qinglan Sect's station in Canglan City, on the border of the Great Qi Dynasty, had been invaded by the Demon Sect. Several high-grade spiritual veins there were completely corroded by Demon Aura. The inner sect disciples guarding the Canglan City stronghold, including Li Haoyang, a Direct Disciple of Dragon Head Peak, had all met a violent end. Furthermore, they hadn't died in battle but were poisoned! Thousand-Year Corpse Poison! This incident immediately caused a huge stir among the Qinglan Sect's leadership. An emergency meeting of the Five Branches was convened in Shenxiao Palace. In reality, on the vast Divine Continent, the Righteous Path and the Demons had clashed for tens of thousands of years. Almost every year, countless disciples were sacrificed in disputes with the Demons. The Qinglan Sect's leadership hadn't paid it too much mind. But this time was different. This time, the one who died was a Direct Disciple of a Branch Chairman! The Cultivation World had always been brutally realistic. Servant disciples were inferior to Outer Sect disciples, Outer Sect disciples were inferior to inner sect disciples, and inner sect disciples were far inferior to Direct Disciples. Thus, the death of Li Haoyang, a Direct Disciple, naturally ignited the fury of the high-ranking Elders.

According to the normal plotline, what happened next was that after discussion, the Chairmen of the Five Branches would decide, by drawing lots, to dispatch one Chief Disciple to lead a group of inner sect disciples to Canglan City to investigate the cause of the incident.