/
Shen Liuxiang had never seen such a smile before. Although his eyes and lips carried a joyful expression, there was also an unshakable sadness in them.
He couldn’t help but furrow his brow. “Are you alright?”
Ye Bingran gradually withdrew his smile, as if he had completed a difficult task, leaving only weariness on his face.
He shook his head lightly, but his figure swayed violently. Shen Liuxiang quickly supported him and noticed that the spiritual energy around them was becoming restless. He widened his eyes, “You’re about to break through?!”
The previously quiet crowd suddenly erupted.
One more step and the Sword Sovereign would reach the Harmonization realm!
Lan Xiaosheng’s face turned pale.
During the breakthrough period, it is most taboo to have any interruptions. If one is not careful, they might fall into an irreversible disaster. At this moment, with Nan Yaoquan’s unwelcome arrival and the surrounding crowd surging, it was not a good time for Ye Bingran to have a breakthrough.
Someone must protect Ye Bingran.
Lan Xiaosheng was about to rush over, but Nan Yaoquan raised his hand to stop him. “I’ve heard that Sword Sovereign cares deeply for the junior disciples. Now that Ye Bingran is about to break through, shouldn’t he come out to protect them?”
Lan Xiaosheng’s face turned frosty. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Nan Yaoquan only smiled and didn’t speak. Ling Ye saw this and narrowed his eyes, reaching out his hand to Su Baiche beside him.
In an instant, chaos broke out in this area.
The raindrops fell heavily, and Shen Liuxiang helped Ye Bingran sit down. Rainwater poured down their faces, and Ye Bingran’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, making it difficult for him to open his eyes.
Shen Liuxiang looked around. Lan Xiaosheng, Ning Runxin, and others were blocked by the demonic cultivators, leaving him as the only one protecting Ye Bingran.
Shen Liuxiang set up a barrier to shield Ye Bingran, intending to add some extra protection, when suddenly, a person appeared silently by his side.
In that moment, he felt a chilling sensation.
“Leave it to me.”
The person was dressed in a black satin robe, his long hair neatly tied with a jade crown. His face was stern and handsome. He raised his hand and cast a prohibition on the barrier, isolating all external disturbances.
“Master! Master has arrived!” The disciples of the Sword Sect were overjoyed, and other cultivators also showed delight.
The only Mahayana realm cultivator in the cultivation world had arrived!
Nan Yaoquan’s eyes slightly narrowed as he stared at the figure standing on the roof for a long time before suddenly lifting the corners of his lips and bursting into laughter.
“Yu Fusheng, oh Yu Fusheng, interesting, truly interesting. It was worth mobilizing such a great force on this trip.”
Ling Ye had already rescued Su Baiche. When he heard this, he looked at the Daoist Jianzhen(1) and asked, “What do you mean?”
“There are things you still don’t understand in this world,” Nan Yaoquan said with surprise, then added with a cryptic meaning, “The foundation of the Sword Sect is in chaos, and the cultivation world’s power is waning. Our Demon Realm wants to add another fierce general.”
Ling Ye frowned, deep in thought.
“My purpose here has been achieved,” Nan Yaoquan turned to Su Baiche, “You’ve had enough fun outside. It’s time to go back to the Demon Realm with your elder brother.”
Su Baiche gritted his teeth and glared at him while inching closer to Ling Ye, wishing to slash him with his gaze. He hated the feeling of being controlled. He would never want to go back to the Demon Realm!
Nan Yaoquan noticed his displeased gaze and smiled indifferently, extending his hand toward him. “Whether you come to me voluntarily or I catch you, the result will be the same. The only change will be the treatment when you go back will be different. Think it over.”
Su Baiche’s body trembled uncontrollably, and a cold frost filled his eyes.
Once again, he felt this feeling that he detested. If only he were stronger, how could he be controlled like this!
Tong Xi panicked in his mind, shouting loudly, “You can’t go with the Demon Lord! Hurry and hold onto Ling Ye! The critical moment is coming, and you must stay by Zhou Xuanlan’s side!”
Su Baiche’s face turned pale, and even though he was unwilling, he reached out and grabbed Ling Ye’s sleeve.
He was about to ask for help when he heard a light laugh in his ear, “Why isn’t Elder Su stinking anymore?”
Su Baiche felt a chill behind him.
Shen Liuxiang appeared by his side at an unknown time. He lifted his foot and kicked Su Baiche’s backside, sending him stumbling away from Ling Ye and onto Nan Yaoquan.
Everything happened unexpectedly.
Ling Ye turned his head to look at his playful and smiling junior brother, unable to speak for a while, while everyone around was dumbfounded.
Lan Xiaosheng: “······”
This idiot.
Even if he didn’t like the other person, he shouldn’t have taken action in front of so many people.
Pushing a fellow disciple into danger in public, behaving so arrogantly and maliciously, wasn’t he afraid of gaining a bad reputation?
Ling Ye lightly touched his forehead and sighed helplessly.
He reached out and pressed Shen Liuxiang’s head, his slender fingers entangling in the soft black hair, venting his anger by rubbing it into a messy bird’s nest.
Shen Liuxiang, who thought he would be scolded, froze for a moment and then dumbfoundedly said, “Senior brother, stop messing with my hair, I’ll go bald! I’ll go bald!”
Ling Ye asked, “Do you understand your mistake now?”
Shen Liuxiang pouted, covering his messy hair and moved aside slightly, “I understand, senior brother.”
Onlookers were still in awe of Shen Liuxiang’s bold move.
Ling Ye turned his head, standing tall with the night wind causing ripples in his clothes.
He suddenly clasped his fists and pretended, “In that case, I trouble Brother Nan to take good care of Baiche. I will personally come to the Demon Realm another day and bring him back.”
Nan Yaoquan raised an eyebrow, understanding his intentions.
Ling Ye, as the Sect Master of Qingling Sect, was informing everyone present that he agreed to Su Baiche going to the Demon Realm. In this way, Shen Liuxiang’s earlier act of pushing him away couldn’t be considered a fault.
Furthermore, the fact that he and Nan Yaoquan were friends was known to the world. It could be assumed that the two had some private arrangements.
Nan Yaoquan readily agreed, giving him face, “I will certainly take good care of him.”
Su Baiche’s face turned ashen, but he was held down by the Demon Lord and couldn’t move. His eyes were fixed on Shen Liuxiang.
One day, he would kill him!
In Su Baiche’s mind, Tong Xi kept shouting anxiously, “This is bad! This is bad! What do we do now? I told you not to go to the Demon Realm, but now, if Zhou Xuanlan needs you, and you’re not there, how will you capture him in the future? It’s already difficult enough!”
Su Baiche’s eyes turned colder.
As Nan Yaoquan was about to leave, he asked Shen Liuxiang again, “Will you come with me? The cultivation world will not be peaceful in the coming days. For my adoptive father’s sake, I will always protect you in the Demon Realm.”
Shen Liuxiang looked at Su Baiche, who looked like he had given up on life, and gave a wry smile, raising his hand in a gesture of farewell.
“Brother Nan, take care.”
Nan Yaoquan saw Su Baiche’s expression, but he didn’t say much. Finally, he glanced at Daoist Jianzhen and revealed a meaningful smile before leading the people from the Demon Realm to leave.
Yu Fusheng, the most respected figure in the current cultivation world.
He has fallen into darkness, truly laughable.
Yet, these ignorant people still can’t see it and continue to regard him with reverence, but they will eventually suffer the consequences.
T/N: Okay guys, you wanna know what deep confession part 2
 I kind of don’t really hate Su Baiche. I mean bro is really just trying to live out his villain story and be a terrible person, but Tong Xi just refuses to let him LMAOO, #let_subaiche_be_a_terrible_person_in_peace . On the otherhand it seems that Yu Fusheng is VERY suspicious

Anyways, I have been reading the comments, and I have noticed one of the dear commenters mentioned that Ling Ye acts like an asshole
 now to each of our own, we all have our opinions, HOWEVER I do request the commenter to a duel to the battle death since I simply CANNOT take this Ling Ye slander!!! Am I allowed to duel the readers? Dunno. Will I? Yes, dear commenter you know who are, be prepared at 2 am with your best sword.
(1) – Perhaps now would be a good time to mention in case anyone does not know, but Daoist Jianzhen is Ye Bingran’s Master’s formal title. Kind of like how Immortal Shen -> Shen Liuxiang, Demon Lord/Venerable -> Nan Yaoquan. His title can otherwise be translated as “Sword True Immortal”, but I felt like the titles were getting too wordy for readibility so this was more appropriate.