Lin Jiu was startled—‘Wait, did Qin Yunxi witness the entire process of me developing new downlines?!’
Trying her best to remain composed, she silently confronted Qin Yunxi from afar. The legendary eldest senior brother sat in the shadowy corner, dressed in a simple, light-colored middle robe. His cheeks and eye sockets were sunken beneath his prominent cheekbones, his lips pale, and his skin dull—yet it was evident he was a handsome man. Thanks to his current appearance, however, he appeared somewhat ghostly despite it being broad daylight.
A faint shiver ran down Lin Jiu’s spine, but she suppressed the strange discomfort she felt and nodded gracefully in his direction.
Qin Yunxi nodded slowly in return.
‘No malice?’—Lin Jiu glanced regretfully at the second lotus petal in her spiritual sea, which had reached an eighty percent blossom.
The malice she had harvested from Zheng Ziyu mother and son must far exceed that of Qin Yunxi, a stranger. Qin Yunxi had easily helped her fully open the first lotus petal, yet Zheng Ziyu and Lin Dong, who hated her enough to wish her death by a thousand cuts, had only managed to bring the second petal to eighty percent! This clearly showed that the further she progressed, the more malice would be needed to open the subsequent petals, and the greater the benefits would be once they were opened.
Especially that ultimate killing move, powerful enough to annihilate even a Nascent Soul cultivator, which could be unlocked after opening the outer eight lotus petals—that’s certainly very tempting. But Lin Jiu, of course, had no intention of turning herself into a public enemy just to absorb malice, unlike the foolish side character Lin Qiu.
‘I need to make them dislike me without giving them a big enough reason to kill me,’ Lin Jiu mused. ‘I still need 20% more malice… Let’s see how the Wang family performs!’
She gathered her skirt and dashed toward the main gate. Between the reception hall and the gate was a long staircase of white stone, flanked by jade trees with translucent flowers. The misty clouds swirling around made it obvious that this was a place rich in spiritual aura, truly a land of immortals.
Inhaling the subtle floral fragrance in the air, Lin Jiu felt a wave of refreshment wash over her. If her situation weren’t so awkward, she would’ve liked to join the Wanjiangui Sect, cling tightly to the male and female leads, and ascend to immortality along with them when they achieved their Dao. What a shame… if only she had transmigrated before the wedding took place!
Shaking her head and sighing all the way, Lin Jiu arrived at the main gate. The tension in this place was quite palpable, even as she made her way there. By listening to the loud arguments in the distance, she could piece together the general gist of the situation.
The Wang family’s most heavily guarded treasure, the Stalactite Spiritual Essence, had been plundered last night. To be able to break through the Wang family’s protective barrier and swiftly kill Wang Shanzhi, the Flowing Fire Sword Immortal, in a single strike—that was a feat only a select few powerful figures on the Tianyuan Continent could achieve.
Although the culprits had covered their faces, witnesses recognized them as a pair of young man and woman. The Wang family patriarch, Wang Tianpo, immediately suspected one of the great sword immortals under Wei Liang.
Thus, they had brought Wang Shanzhi’s corpse and demanded a comparison of handprints.
There were now only three and a half disciples left under Wei Liang: the second-ranked Gu Fei, the fourth-ranked Murong Chun, the seventh-ranked Liu Qingyin, and finally the heavily injured and now paralyzed eldest disciple, Qin Yunxi.
The second disciple Gu Fei had suffered much humiliation at the hands of Zheng Ziyu and was already in a foul mood. When the Wang family showed up at the main gate with such an insulting demand, he exploded in anger. The more composed fourth disciple Murong Chun, realizing that the death of a Sword Immortal at the early Soul Transformation stage was no small matter, persuaded Gu Fei to comply with Liu Qingyin’s help. The three reluctantly compared handprints, which ruled them out as suspects.
But their concession only emboldened the Wang family. With increasing aggressiveness, they demanded that eldest disciple Qin Yunxi also be brought to the main gate for verification, or that Wang Shanzhi’s body be carried up to his abode if he wasn’t able to.
The Wanjiangui disciples, already at their breaking point, immediately began arguing with the Wang family members.
Wei Liang stood behind the crowd and watched the farce with cold, lofty eyes. With his position as a Great Sword Monarch, his blade was only unseathed during real battles. Participating in this kind of bickering? Not in this lifetime.
All of a sudden, a member of the Wang family brazenly shouted, “What about the Sword Monarch Wei Liang?!”
In an instant, all was silent.
Wanjiangui disciples were about to erupt in anger when they saw Wei Liang unexpectedly take a slow step forward, hands behind his back,
The disciples immediately stepped aside, making way for him.
Step by step, Wei Liang slowly made his way towards the Wang family members. The crowd, comprising more than a hundred people, instinctively moved back, and a few who were standing near the edge of the stone steps accidentally rolled down like dumplings.
“Master!” Gu Fei, his face flushed with anger, was about to draw his sword to defend his master.
Wei Liang casually raised his hand, signaling for the disciple to step back.
The oppressive aura of a Sword Monarch was unstoppable. Wang Tianpo, the patriarch of the Dongting Wang family who stood at the forefront, was drenched in cold sweat in no time, which streamed down his body like rain. He forced himself to maintain his composure, slightly tilting his head up to face Wei Liang.
Wei Liang stopped in front of him and spoke coldly. “In the battle against the devils, Wanjiangui Sect lost three Great Sword Immortals, fifteen Sword Immortals, seventeen Nascent Soul cultivators, four hundred eighty-two Golden Core cultivators, and seven hundred fifty-one Foundation Establishment disciples. I was also gravely injured, and my cultivation has yet to fully recover.”
Everyone present held their breath, many with tears welling up in their eyes.
“Your Wang family, on the other hand…” Wei Liang’s eyes were icy, “among your twenty-three Great Sword Immortals, your only casualty was a single minor injury. Of your fifty-six Sword Immortals, not one was harmed. The death toll among your Nascent Soul cultivators was barely worth counting on one hand. The thousands of Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators you reported died were all outsiders hired with spirit stones.”
Wang Tianpo’s face turned pale. “The reason the Wang family had fewer casualties was because close family members supported one another through the crisis.”
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