There were hundreds of thousands of cultivators attending the Sword Conference, some of them notable heroes of the era. And in front of their very eyes, this Lu Zhifeng who has been at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage for many years was crippled by a single blow from Li Huanhan.
With a shattered core, his cultivation level became no different than that of a mortal and needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. Sparing his life could almost be described as a cruel mercy. The most unusual aspect of this was the fact that a cultivator of the same realm as his opponent was defeated in one strike.
Only the Peng Lai disciples felt gratified by this outcome. They knew that Li-shixiong was always this overbearing. There was a reason that everyone avoided Qing Jing Peak, and it wasn’t purely out of consideration for Jiang Xianjun.
Li Huanhan was still young by the standards of the cultivation world and relatively unknown. But those of Peng Lai thought that he rather resembled a king of hell with those blood-red eyes that made people want to avert their gaze.
Li Huanhan stood still in the silence. He withdrew that blood-coloured sword shining with a sinister light into his body.
For some reason everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Huanhan only had eyes for the one seated atop He Huan tower.
To break the tense atmosphere, Tong Guiyu spoke out. “Since the innocence of Comrade Cheng and Peng Lai has been proven, Protector Liu, you may continue.”
Protector Liu watched as Li Huanhan returned to the tower. He knew in his heart that even he could not avoid that move just now. He sighed and tried to calm his frazzled nerves.
The interrupted Sword Conference resumed.
Jiang Yinghe pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to say something but held back in the end. “We will talk about this later.”
Tong Guiyu laughed when he heard this. “Peng Lai seems fond of punishing its disciples behind closed doors. In my opinion, your disciples were right: swords really are blind. No one would say anything even if you killed him.”
Jiang Yinghe shot him a look. “Do you know why those of the righteous faction have an easier time ascending than others?”
Tong Guiyu smiled. “Isn’t it because of your upright morals? But since the Dao is natural, following the intentions of Heaven can also be considered righteous.”
“Heavenly intent,” said Jiang Yinghe who was raised to believe in self-sufficiency as he set down a piece on the chessboard, “is but another name for the desires of humans.”
—-
Jiang Yinghe’s disciples did not act out again for the rest of the conference.
Many people were thinking, never mind his disciples. If the Xianjun himself did something then there would be no point in continuing the event.
He Huan sect was a gracious host. Jiang Yinghe even stayed an extra day to discuss the Dao with Tong Guiyu. Chang Ye was a devil so he was bored out of his mind listening to them speak which is why he waited outside in a tree while polishing his flute.
Only half of his face was beautiful. There were disgusting scabs and scars underneath the mask that hid the other half. There was a silver protection seal on his forehead made by Jiang Yinghe. As long as it remained, it would prevent his damaged meridians from rupturing.
The green flute in Chang Ye’s hand seemed ordinary, if of slightly higher quality than usual. He set down a new layer of restrictions every time he brushed over it, securing it even more than Li Huanhan’s blood sword.
This was the devil instrument Duanshe Li that could freely change its appearance. In the recorded legends, the Devil King Tianhou used it in the form of a longsword to seal the devil god of the time above the Endless Sky Watchtower.
Chang Ye’s mind was filled with the thought of his Shizun’s faint yet refreshing fragrance as he worked. He snapped back to attention when he heard voices approaching.
“Did you see Jiang Yinghe? He was the one that was playing chess with our Deputy Sect Master!”
“Who didn’t see him? Only our He Huan sect is lucky enough to feast our eyes on one of the top ten legendary beauties of the cultivation world from up close hehehe…”
His movements stilled for a second. Chang Ye glanced at the two male He Huan disciples walking over.
“That cold and haughty appearance of his just makes me want to press him down and do you-know-what to him. Man, I’ve got to get a furnace like that in the future…”
“Pah, as if you could. I heard that when Jiang Yinghe started out a thousand years ago there were many people who wanted to sponsor him but guess what? They all fell under his sword. Some that went too far were even killed. Heck, you would think he practised dual cultivation based on his appearance. I just don’t understand how a man like that is still a virgin.”
“You know how those sword practitioners can be. They’re only able to dedicate so much time to training because they haven’t gotten any action yet.” The first man laughed derisively. “Why don’t you serve a jar of Yuanying Springtime Wine to that frigid Jiang Xianjun? Who knows? You might just get it on with him.”
“Isn’t that too little?” His companion said, “For sword cultivators like him you need to bring out the big guns, something stronger like Seven Days of Joy…”
He was prevented from speaking further by the crisp melody of a flute.
The sound pierced through the eardrums and seemed to convey a dangerous warning to their brains. Yet the two that heard it were unable to run before they collapsed to the ground, having lost control of their muscles.
They wanted to scream but no sound came out. Just as their terror reached a tipping point, the sound of someone landing lightly on the ground was heard under the song that continued to play.
Then, leaves could be heard crunching as someone approached. All they could do was move their eyes around desperately.
The flute grew silent.
The two wanted to cry out for help until an even stronger pressure crushed their bodies into the ground, making it even more impossible to make a sound.
The person that spoke first wanted to cry so badly. He felt a foot step on his back hard enough to pulverize his tailbone. He saw the dark green outfit the other person was wearing.
He heard a light laugh.
It sounded like it came from a lively and mischievous youth.
“You guys are quite brave.” There was a hint of a smile in Chang Ye’s words. His expression was warm and pure, with his eyes crinkling out of joy. “Is Jiang Xianjun someone the likes of you can covet?”
The sentence was said so languidly that it didn’t seem to be a question anymore. Like it was more of a joke.
The man underneath his foot convulsed in indescribable agony. The other tried with all his might to lift his head. He saw the half-masked face of Chang Ye.
An androgynous beauty stood before him. His long and dark eyelashes framed his face and made him resemble a harmless little animal.
But this angelic youth was still smiling as he removed his foot from where it was buried.
A metallic scent spread through the air as blood gushed out of the gaping wound.
The man that saw this bugged out his eyes in fright but he could not scream. All he could do was continue to listen to this deceptively delicate youth speak in his clear voice.
“Shizun’s name and everything else about him. All of it belongs to me.”
His lips curled up. There was an endless darkness in his eyes. “And as for you guys…well, you’ve dirtied me.”
As he finished speaking, Chang Ye flicked the emerald flute in his hands. The bodies on the ground immediately disintegrated. Even the traces of blood evaporated, as if the two were never there to begin with.
The youth wiped down the flute one last time. He turned towards where Jiang Yinghe was having a discussion with Tong Guiyu, muttering to himself. “I promised my Shizun to not let others pollute me so I have to be a good person. I hope you guys can understand.”
He put away the flute and set off in his usual lively manner to find his Shizun.
The conversation in He Huan was just wrapping up as he arrived.
Jiang Yinghe rose and performed a simple salute to Tong Guiyu. “It has been a long time since we last met, but I must be going now.”
Tong Guiyu sighed. “If our path to the Dao remains smooth, a few years would pass by in the blink of an eye.”
Jiang Yinghe nodded in agreement. Just as he was about to depart with the Peng Lai disciples, Protector He entered the pagoda with a strange expression. He said to Tong Guiyu, “Deputy Sect Master, two soul lamps of our disciples were extinguished just now.”
The soul lamp going out meant that they had died. Tong Guiyu paused, “Were they travelling outside?”
Protector He shook his head. “No, they were inside sect territory.”
Tong Guiyu frowned. He didn’t suspect Jiang Yinghe or Peng Lai sect at the moment, instead opting to personally investigate. He gestured for Protector He to send off Xuan Wei Xianjun.
Since this was a private matter, Jiang Yinghe could not interfere. He had ordered Li Huanhan and Qin Jun to look after the Peng Lai disciples, so only his youngest remained by his side.
When Jiang Yinghe took Chang Ye’s hand to lead him away, he suddenly heard a very small and troubled voice.
“Shizun….was this done by a demonic or ghost cultivator? Have they infiltrated the He Huan sect?”
Chang Ye’s hand tightly held his sleeve. It was a habit that no amount of admonishment seemed to change.
Jiang Yinghe knew that his little disciple was easily scared and lacked a sense of security, so he replied in a softer tone. “Everything will be fine. Shizun will protect you as long as you’re by his side.”
Protect, huh.
This was a foreign word to him. It made his lies, his disguises and all his efforts to craft that mask to be just a tiny bit closer to the one beside him feel worth it.
If his tail could be out right now, he would definitely wrap Tianhou’s thick and strong tail around the waist of the person in front of him so that he could never leave.
Chang Ye glanced at him with a hidden sparkle in his eyes. He swallowed and nodded seriously. His hand clenched Jiang Yinghe’s just a little bit tighter.
“En!”
Author’s Corner
Chang Ye: Shizun I’m scared qaq
System: …Scared my ass! I can’t even bear look at how blackened you are!