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Late that night.
Outside the Jade Capital.
“You ought to believe us now, right, Monk?” Yuan Heng asked with a grin.
The monk’s head bobbed up and down as fast as a pestle crushing garlic, and his expression was rife with emotion. “I don’t simply believe you, I’m simply overcome with admiration!”
When Su Yi, Bai Wenqing, and Yuan Heng barged into the imperial palace, Monk Hongji and Ge Qian stayed behind, watching from the shadows. They were also there to prevent any of their enemies from escaping.
Naturally, they were there to see Su Yi exterminate Elder Hua Hongtai, the Spirit Dao cultivator.
Even now, Monk Hongji felt shaken.
Su Yi asked, “I heard that the Celestial Prison Demon Court has occupied four of the Eight Great Yao Mountains. I know about Bloodthistle Yao Mountain, but what about the other three?”
The monk instantly calmed down and explained at top speed, “There’s also Treasure Temple Yao Mountain, Silverflame Yao Mountain, and Heavenfault Yao Mountain. Each has Gathering Stars Realm cultivators to hold down the fort.
Su Yi nodded. “If I’m to clean them up, I naturally have to pull their bases up by the roots.”
He then looked at Yuan Heng, Bai Wenqing, and Ge Qian. “You three are to split up and act separately. Yuan Heng, you take Silverflame Yao Mountain. Ge Qian, you take Silverflame Yao Mountain. As for you, Miss Bai…. You and the monk should go to Treasure Temple Yao Mountain together.”
Bai Wenqing wasn’t a cultivator of the Great Zhou, and she wasn’t familiar with its geography. With Monk Hongji to guide her, there was no need to fear her getting lost.
“Got it!” All three agreed.
Monk Hongji, however, was stunned. “Young Lord Su, are you planning to rip the celestial Prison Demon Court up by the roots?”
“They weren’t a faction of the Azure Continent to begin with,” said Su Yi. “At most… I’m destroying the power they’ve built up in the Great Zhou.”
Monk Hongji gulped, then pounded his chest and said with an air of righteousness, “Young lord Su, you act for the good of the world, to save the populace from flood and flame. This monk might be inept, but he is willing to cast himself into the flames on your behalf. I shall not refuse my duty!”
Su Yi’s companions found this rather funny. He’s just asking you to guide Bai Wenqing, yet you’re acting like you’re throwing yourself to your death. It’s too much!
“Alright, let’s get to work. I’ll wait for you at Bloodthistle Yao Mountain.”
Su Yi then picked up the still-unconscious sultry woman and took to the skies.
He already knew that she was called Liu Ying, and she was in the Gathering Stars Realm. She was one of the Celestial Prison Demon Court’s dharma protectors.
More importantly, her background wasn’t at all simple. She was the sect leader’s younger sister.
When he arrived at Bloodthistle Yao Mountain, should he encounter trouble, he might well be able to put Liu Ying to good use.
After watching Su Yi disappear into the distant night skies, Bai Wenqing looked at Yuan Heng and said gently, “Big Brother Yuan Heng, you must be careful.”
“You too,” said Yuan Heng with a grin. “If you encounter danger, use the talisman Master gave you to defend yourself.”
“Mm.” Bai Wenqing nodded.
When he saw the two chatting as if there were no one else around, Ge Qian felt a pang of jealousy, and he turned and left.
When they saw this, Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing chatted a while longer before parting ways.
……
The next day.
Bloodthistle Yao Mountain.
Su Yi flew in over the horizon.
Mountains stretched into the distance, rising and falling, as far as the eye could see. They were enveloped in faint spiritual energy. Even the rocks and trees bore the mark of the silently awakening spiritual energy.
“It really is different than before,” Su Yi said softly.
When he was last here, the Spiritmartial Marquis’ Greenplate Army had been stationed outside to prevent spirit beasts from fleeing and to maintain peace in the surrounding territories.
At the time, Ning Sihua and Shen Jiusong were traveling with him. It was also on Bloodthistle Yao Mountain that Su Yi met the Mountain-Subduing King, Mu Xi, Grand Elder Pu Yi of Starcliff Academy, Lu Zhangfeng, and several others.
When he compared what he saw to his memories, even Su Yi couldn’t help but feel the passage of time.
Time forged heartlessly ahead.
When Su Yi was first here, he was only in the Martial Dao’s Qi Accumulation Realm.
Now, he was already in the Origin Dao’s Gathering Stars Realm; he and his past self weren’t even remotely comparable!
Su Yi carried Liu Ying in one hand and continued ahead.
After about the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Su Yi’s divine sense detected the presence of a group of martial artists.
“This is the trend of the world. If we want to rise to prominence in these turbulent times, our only choice is to submit to the Celestial Prison Demon Court. Otherwise, there’ll be no place for us to establish ourselves.”
“But they’re a demonic faction, and who knows how many innocent civilians they’ve killed over the past few weeks? If we pledge ourselves to their cause, won’t we become irredeemable heretical fiends like them?”
“What do you mean, ‘heretical fiends’? Since when has this world differentiated between righteous and wicked? Didn’t you hear that even the imperial family and the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect submitted?”
“That… aigh!”
…Martial artists of all ages were clustered together and chatting.
When Su Yi walked over, he instantly attracted their attention.
“Young man, this is Celestial Prison Demon Court Territory. What are you doing here?” an old man in white asked gravely.
Su Yi didn’t answer. He just swept his gaze across the martial artists. “So, you’ve become the otherworlders’ dogs. How does it feel?”
Everyone’s expressions darkened.
A middle-aged man growled, “Young man, watch your mouth!”
Su Yi laughed. “Alright, no need to discuss that. I’m going to kill the cultivators of the Celestial Prison Demon Court now. Are you going to stop me? Or will you stand back and watch?”
What!?
The group almost dared not believe their ears.
“Insane! He’s obviously gone insane!” muttered a young man in black.
The others all had strange looks on their faces too. A young man had shown up on Bloodthistle Yao Mountain out of nowhere, saying he wanted to kill the cultivators of the Celestial Prison Demon Court. This… This really was no different from insanity.
Who beneath the heavens was unaware of how terrifying the Celestial Prison Demon Court was?
“Young man, hurry up and leave. You cannot afford to provoke the Celestial Prison Demon Court. Take this old man’s advice. Don’t be so foolish as to seek out your own death,” sighed a white-robed elder.
Su Yi found all of this rather dull, and he couldn’t be bothered to say anymore. He just continued ahead.
“Stay where you are!” shouted the young man in black. “Are you deaf? This is the Celestial Prison Demon Court’s territory. Without orders, no one is allowed past this point, no matter who they are!”
Su Yi stopped, then said, “So, do you plan to risk your life on the Celestial Prison Demon Court’s behalf? You’re going to stop me?”
“Idiot!” shouted the young man in black. “Can’t you tell? All of us have already pledged ourselves to the Celestial Prison Demon Court’s cause. How could we tolerate….”
Splurt!
The black-clothed young man’s head hit the ground with a splash of blood.
Everyone was startled, and their expressions changed dramatically.
Su Yi said calmly, “You were weaker, so you chose to submit so that you might live. Understandable, but I’ve come here today to kill. Are you sure you want to stand in my way?”
Everyone hesitated.
Su Yi said no more. He just continued ahead.
The group watched him leave. A long time passed, but no one else attempted to stop him.
“Who is that guy? Isn’t he a bit too arrogant? We urged him not to throw his life away out of the goodness of our hearts, and not only did he not appreciate our kindness, he even killed someone! He’s simply frenzied and depraved!” someone said indignantly.
“Just wait. This is unlikely to end well for him,” someone said coldly.
After a moment’s silence, a conflicted expression appeared on the white-robed elder’s face. “I actually rather hope someone can destroy the Celestial Prison Demon Court. Then… We would obtain release, but more than that, the citizens of the Great Zhou would no longer be as lambs to the slaughter.”
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Everyone’s expressions changed in response.
“Elder Li, loose lips lead to disaster!” someone warned.
A middle-aged man said in a low voice, “Elder Li, forgive my rudeness, but unless an immortal descends, the Great Zhou shall remain under the dark shadow that is the Celestial Prison Demon Court going forward. No one shall escape!”
“Is that so….” The white-robed elder muttered bitterly to himself. “I, Li Changlin, was once palace master of Luyang Academy. I presided over an entire region, and my name was famous throughout the Great Zhou. Yet now, I’m like an ownerless dog. To think I’d sink so low…”
Everyone was silent.
The former prominent experts of the Great Zhou had all either died, submitted to the Celestial Prison Demon Court, or fled the country entirely.
A sufficiently powerful storm could blow even the distinguished and accomplished away. The world… had changed completely!
Suddenly, off in the distance, someone shouted, “Stop right there! Who are you?”
The white-robed Li Changlin and the others instinctively looked over.
Several hundred feet away, two dark-robed disciples of the Celestial Prison Demon Court appeared, blocking the blue-robed young man’s path.
Shit! Li Changlin and the others’ expressions shifted.
Were the Celestial Prison Demon Court cultivators to discover that they’d let the young man in blue pass unimpeded, there was no way they’d let them off!
However, before they could react, they saw a flash of sword light.
Splurt! Splurt!
Both Grain Avoidance Realm disciples’ heads flew through the air.
Blood fell like a waterfall.
The young man in blue continued leisurely ahead, not sparing the bodies so much as a second glance.
“This…” Li Changlin and the others gasped in surprise, and their scalps went numb.
To them, Grain Avoidance cultivators were lofty experts, Earthly Immortals, people mortal martial artists like them could only gaze upon from afar.
Yet now, that blue-robed young man had just killed two of them with ease, as if he were squashing a pair of ants!
“Who was that guy?” someone exclaimed.
“Could you determine his cultivation?” asked another.
“How terrifying!” said another in astonishment. A chill coursed down his spine. He’d just realized that, had they dared block the blue-robed young man’s path, they might well have been reduced to corpses by now!
“I’m going to go see what happens!” Li Changlin said suddenly. “Even if there’s only a small chance, I… I hope someone can really give the Celestial Prison Demon Court a crushing defeat!
“Even if he’s ultimately no more than a month to flame or an ant trying to shake a tree, he’s worthy of our respect and admiration. We ought to cheer him on!
“Even if he cannot escape death in the end, we ought to do what we can to honor him. We should give him a proper funeral and erect a grave marker in his honor. Then, future generations will know with certainty that not everyone in the Great Zhou is a coward afraid of death!”
His voice started out somber, but gradually deepened, becoming impassioned and determined.
The palace master of Luyang Academy was now fervent, yet composed.
“Elder Li, he… He….”
The martial artists were flabbergasted, but Li Changlin’s words moved them, and their expressions filled with uncertainty.
“Let’s go! Let’s go see what’s happening!” Someone gnashed his teeth and followed.
“I’ve long since had enough of living as those fiends’ dog!”
“Come on, all of you!”
Before long, several others followed.
However, a few remained in place, unwilling to follow.
“They’ve obviously lost their minds. This is the Celestial Prison Demon Court we’re talking about here! They’ve got Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators to hold down the fort. It would take an immortal from on high to save us! Anyone else would simply be throwing their life away.”
The martial artists who remained behind acted as if they were looking at a pack of fools. They watched Li Changlin and the others with confusion written all over their faces.
They knew they were doomed, yet they did it anyway. Why do something so foolish?