The Beiyao Sect cultivators had been left in a somewhat disheveled state moments ago, but now that the Nine Saints Hall disciples were completely suppressed, they found themselves without opponents and quickly regained their footing.
Gleaming longswords unsheathed one after another, their cold glints weaving into a seamless, airtight net of blades that surrounded the Nine Saints Hall disciples, who were pinned down and unable to move under the overwhelming spiritual pressure.
The tips of the swords pointed directly at their throats, waiting only for the command to strike.
The Eleventh Elder's expression turned grim. Ten thousand talismans suddenly flew from her sleeves, sweeping toward the surrounded disciples like a surging golden torrent.
The talismans unfurled layer upon layer in midair, stacking into a thick barrier of light. As the golden light flowed, it blocked all the menacing sword qi outside.
Moqi narrowed his eyes and sneered, his tone dripping with disdain. “Overestimating your capabilities.”
The majestic spiritual energy around his body erupted violently, slamming into the talisman barrier like a collapsing mountain or a raging tsunami.
A dense barrage of crisp cracking sounds echoed as the talismans shattered inch by inch, turning into a shower of fine golden foil that drifted down. His single strike had blown them all away.
Unable to withstand the backlash of the spiritual energy, the Eleventh Elder let out a muffled groan and stumbled back half a step.
Fortunately, a hand from behind steadied her shoulder, keeping her from falling.
Blood seeped from the corner of her lips. Without looking back, she lowered her voice and said urgently, “Little Wood, run! Go find the Second Elder!”
Lin Mu was the only disciple who could still move. There was no telling what a lunatic like Moqi would do, so saving even one person was better than nothing!
“Run? Where could you possibly run to?”
Moqi spoke in a slow, deliberate manner. With a wave of his sleeve, a grayish-blue barrier of light slowly closed over the top of the valley, sealing Yunxue Valley tightly and blocking all paths of escape.
He withdrew his hand, his cold gaze sweeping across the tense faces of the Nine Saints Hall disciples. His voice was chillingly indifferent. “If you do wrong, you must naturally accept punishment. I have no desire to wipe you all out. The leader takes the punishment. What do you think?”
Song Yao: “...”
Great.
This wave was aimed right at her.
She gave a comforting pat to the Eleventh Elder, whose body had visibly tensed, and stepped forward with an air of someone ready to take responsibility for her own actions.
Before she could speak, Moqi suddenly raised his hand and clenched it. Amidst the pile of fallen disciples, Ming Ran let out a sharp groan as her neck was violently seized. She was hoisted into the air out of nowhere, dangling before everyone's eyes.
“Let's start with you.”
Moqi's fingers tightened as he looked down at her terrified, contorted face. “How do you want to die? I can grant your wish.”
Song Yao: “?”
Disciples in the crowd began to struggle, shouting in anger, “Let go of Senior Sister Ming!”
“Come at me if you have the guts!”
“You're slaughtering disciples! What kind of righteous sect are you?!”
“...”
Moqi ignored them completely. After waiting a moment without receiving an answer, he sighed with mock regret. “Not speaking? Very well.”
He then looked at Song Yao, who was standing in the crowd, a flash of mockery passing over his face. “You are her senior sister. Why don't you choose a way for her to die?”
His logic was very simple.
Having been tricked by her and subjected to so many whip lashes, he had long wished to kill her.
But since he hadn't fully obtained the elixir recipe yet, he couldn't touch her.
Furthermore, these sword cultivators weren't afraid of death, but they valued camaraderie above all else.
Killing her junior sister would surely be far more painful than killing her directly.
Just thinking about it was amusing.
Song Yao's eyelashes fluttered slightly. Her face, which had been gentle and even slightly smiling just a moment ago, instantly turned completely calm.
She lifted her eyelids and looked at him, her clear, cool eyes devoid of any excess emotion.
Moqi felt an inexplicable chill from her gaze, a faint shiver silently creeping up the back of his neck.
Snapping back to reality in the next instant, his embarrassment turned into anger, and he said in a deep voice, “If you don't choose, I will do it myself.”
Unable to break free, Ming Ran's entire face flushed red from being choked. She squeezed out a sentence from her throat, “Cut the crap! Do whatever you want with me!”
“I see she wields her sword quite well!”
He sneered. Channeling his spiritual energy, a longsword at his side unsheathed with a sharp clang. “Why don't I sever her tendons first and destroy her cultivation?”
The surrounding Nine Saints Hall disciples fell completely silent, their pupils shrinking to the size of needles.
Ming Ran came from a family of sword cultivators and was obsessed with swords to an extreme degree.
Severing her tendons would be far more cruel than taking her life.
The Eleventh Elder's face changed dramatically. Talismans shot out from her sleeves in an instant, streaks of golden light flying straight toward the longsword.
But she was a step too late.
Several Beiyao Sect cultivators formed a formation to block her, forcibly enduring the golden light.
Everyone could only watch helplessly as the cold gleam, carrying a sharp wind, slashed toward Ming Ran's limply hanging wrists.
—But the expected tragedy did not occur.
The wind died down, and the clouds stilled.
The incomparably sharp blade came to a sudden halt just half an inch from Ming Ran's wrist.
Even the menacing sword qi dissipated in an instant.
Moqi's brow furrowed sharply, a look of astonishment crossing his face.
What was going on?
Why... could he no longer control his sword?
It was as if something had forcefully erased the divine sense and spiritual energy he had attached to the sword.
How could this be?
Although he was a spiritual cultivator, this sword had been with him for decades and had long been deeply bound to him.
Under the suspicious and uncertain gazes of the crowd, he focused his mind to probe with his divine sense again. The sword's body vibrated with a buzzing sound in midair, emitting rapid hums, yet it remained completely motionless, even... pushing his divine sense away.
No.
Something was wrong.
He had never experienced such an extreme loss of control.
Moqi chanted two mental cultivation spells in quick succession. The sword body vibrated even more violently, as if caught in a tug-of-war between two opposing forces.
In the next instant, the longsword broke free from his shackles completely and abruptly reversed its direction.
The cold gleam of the sword's tip sharpened, pointing straight at him.
The Nine Saints Hall crowd watching below had no idea what was happening. They stared at him in utter astonishment, wondering what kind of trick he was playing.
The Beiyao Sect cultivators were even more stunned. “Elder, what... what are you doing?”
Moqi finally snapped out of his shock. His ruthless gaze swept over the thousands of cultivators below, his voice tight with panic as he roared, “Who is it?! Who is playing tricks?!”
The people below were even more bewildered than he was, exchanging puzzled glances.
Only Song Yao stood in place, still quietly watching him.
The moment their eyes met, Moqi's heart clenched.
Could it be her?
The thought was dismissed the instant it arose.
Absolutely impossible.
Even if she possessed extraordinary talent and bizarre methods, she was ultimately just a teenager.
With a mere Golden Core cultivation, how could she possibly shake the soul bond he had shared with his natal sword for decades?
To achieve such a feat, one would at least have to be a sword cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage or above...
No.
He was already in the late stage of the Nascent Soul, and even a regular Nascent Soul expert could not wrest a sword from his hand so easily. It would take someone at least in the Deity Transformation Realm.
Was there a Deity Transformation Realm expert hiding here?!
Did the Nine Saints Hall also have a Deity Transformation Realm expert?!
Before his thoughts could settle, a wave of startled cries suddenly erupted from the Beiyao Sect's ranks.
“My sword!”
“My sword as well!”
The longswords in the hands of the hundreds of Beiyao Sect cultivators who had been standing with their weapons drawn began to vibrate frantically. Almost at the exact same moment, the spiritual energy and divine sense attached to them were forcibly stripped away.
The backlash caused a dull ache in everyone's heads. Before they could regain control, the longswords flew out of their hands all at once, carving cold silver arcs in midair.
Then, they reversed their blades, pointing coldly and menacingly at their respective owners.
Rate on N.U.
