“No need.” He struggled to get up, but he collapsed again, powerless.
“You’re quite tough.” Jiu Hui sighed and dragged Nan Feng into the barrier. She saw the head disciple of the Shenji School grinning at her and pointed at the purse on his waist, holding up five fingers.
“Can you make it a little cheaper?” The sect’s head disciple’s expression was bitter. Most of his valuables had been compensated to Jiu Hui before the banquet. Now that he was asked to pay another 5,000 spirit stones, he felt distressed.
Jiu Hui turned her head away, not planning to pay him any more attention.
“Five thousand, so be it.” The sect’s head disciple gritted his teeth, took off his purse, and handed it to the edge of the barrier. “Let me in.”
“Come in.” Jiu Hui beckoned the sect’s head disciple into the barrier, but she didn’t tell him that she had originally only planned to accept five hundred.
The sect’s head disciple huddled dejectedly in the corner of the barrier, clutching his empty purse and consoling himself that while spirit stones were easily lost, life was hard to come by.
“Fellow Daoist Nan Feng, don’t just lie there. Get up quickly. Your master is about to prepare to catch turtles in a jar.” Jiu Hui lifted a corner of the table curtain, grabbed Nan Feng by the collar, and dragged him to the front.
Nan Feng raised his head and saw that his master, who had been poisoned, waved his hand and casually formed a barrier, trapping all the members of the Demon Cult within.
“How did you know that my master wasn’t poisoned?” Nan Feng asked Jiu Hui in a daze. Even he hadn’t noticed it, so how had Jiu Hui guessed it?
“Right here.” Jiu Hui pointed to her head.carpreads.pages.dev
“Can you tell us more about it?” Tao Er took out a handful of melon seeds from his purse.
“None of you guessed it?” Jiu Hui took half of the melon seeds from Tao Er’s hand. “Then I’ll tell you my guess.”
Nan Feng was silent, and the sect’s head disciple silently moved his buttocks to the middle.
“After entering the Jiutian Sect, I discovered that not only does the Jiutian Sect have a protective mountain formation, but there are also patrolling disciples who guard the sect 24 hours a day, every day. These patrolling disciples are all at the Golden Core stage or above, not to mention the dozens of Elders with profound cultivation bases. Under such strict protection, how could so many people from the Demon Cult sneak in? Unless half of the people in the entire Jiutian Sect have abandoned the light and turned to the dark, joining the Demon Cult.”
“That’s absolutely impossible.” Nan Feng said resolutely, “My Jiutian Sect disciples cultivate the Great Dao of Benevolence, how could we collude with the Demon Cult?”
Jiu Hui glanced at him and said, “I heard that your sect’s Daoist Master Jin Yi…”
Nan Feng’s always serious face almost couldn’t hold it back. He gritted his teeth and said: “There is no need to mention the old matter again, not to mention that demon sect’s enchantress deliberately seduced Sect Uncle Yin Ji with the intention of destroying his Taoist heart. What does it have to do with my Sect Uncle?”
At this moment, in the grand hall, the demonic cultivator was cursing at Jin Yi: “Jin Yi! You took advantage of our princess’s youth, seduced her into falling for you, and then abandoned her without a second thought. How can a hypocrite like you be revered as an Immortal Lord?”
The Demon Cult’s accusation echoed throughout the grand hall and reached those within the barrier. Several people silently glanced at Nan Feng. Even the sect’s head disciple, who feared the Jiutian Sect, couldn’t help but look up.
Nan Feng: “…”
“Not only that, you also took advantage of the Dharma Protector’s love for the princess and lured him to Wenxian City to take his life. You hypocritical schemers, our Demon Cult will make you pay in blood!”
“The incident that happened in Wenxian City, was it also planned by your Jiutian Sect?” Tao Er gave Nan Feng a thumbs up. “As expected of a major sect, your plans are truly meticulous.”
Nan Feng’s face turned red with anger. “This matter truly has nothing to do with us!” In his agitation, he aggravated his internal injuries, and he clutched his chest and coughed up a few more mouthfuls of blood.
Zhi You glanced at Jiu Hui, who smiled innocently. She had only stabbed the Demon Cult’s Dharma Protector in the kidney with a butcher knife. What did anything else have to do with her?
“I know you’re anxious, but don’t worry. We all believe that this matter has nothing to do with your Jiutian Sect.” Tao Er was afraid that if he continued speaking, Nan Feng would vomit blood again, so he quickly said a few words of praise for the Jiutian Sect.
After all, he was the head disciple of the Jiutian Sect, and they couldn’t afford to offend him.
“The disciples of the Jiutian Sect would never collude with the Demon Cult, so this grand ceremony is bait for the Demon Cult, and we guests are just pawns and bait to make up the numbers.” Jiu Hui smiled faintly. “With the smallest sacrifice, we can reap the greatest benefits. Immortal Venerable Bu Ting is a smart man.”
Nan Feng did not respond. His gaze was fixed entirely on his most respected master.
The Demon Cult’s insults and accusations did not provoke any reaction from Bu Ting. He turned around and glanced at the place on the altar where the painting of the Gan tree had originally hung, and drew his sword with a flourish.
With a single sword strike, countless Demon Cult disciples were reduced to ashes. The remaining members of the Demon Cult were terrified and retreated, only to find that they had already been trapped in a barrier, with nowhere to escape.
By this point, how could they not understand what was going on?
“We fell into their trap!”
“Bu Ting, you have such sinister methods.”
Bu Ting ignored the insults of these people. He walked down the steps with his sword in hand and swung it again, and half of the Demon Cult disciples who had been insulting him were gone.
The Sect Master of Changshou Palace had an unsightly expression on her face. She looked at Bu Ting, who showed no signs of poisoning, and suddenly understood that Bu Ting must have known about the Demon Realm’s plan long ago. However, in order to catch all these people in one fell swoop, he was willing to use her Changshou Palace disciples as bait.
“Bu Ting, even if you kill all of us today, you won’t be able to stop the heavenly punishment.” The highest-cultivated demon cultivator clutched his injured chest, his expression twisted in pain. “So what if you’re the Sect Master of the Jiutian Sect? In the end, you’re just a mortal.”
“The heavens punish all living beings, and the demon realm has nowhere to escape.” Bu Ting unleashed his third sword strike, and only three of the demonic cultivators in the entire hall were still alive. He stopped in his tracks and looked down at the demonic cultivators lying on the ground, his face devoid of emotion. “If I can earn a glimmer of hope for survival, what does it matter if I kill every yao and demon in the world?”
“HAHAHAHAHA!” The blood-spewing demon cultivator seemed to have heard the most absurd joke. “Do you think that the heavens want to destroy demons or yaos? The heavens want to destroy you humans! What we do in the demon world is nothing more than following the Great Dao and the will of the heavens.”
“Spreading rumors to confuse the public.” Bu Ting pierced the demon cultivator’s dantian with a sword, stepped on the blood flowing out of the demon cultivator, and walked to the last two demon cultivators.
The two demonic cultivators had pale faces, and blood had soaked through their robes. Bu Ting’s expression was indifferent. “Which of you is the First Prince of the Demon Clan?”
The two demon cultivators did not speak.
Bu Ting stopped asking and thrust his sword.
“Immortal Venerable!” Jin Yi blocked the sword. “Why don’t we spare their lives and ask them about the Demon Cult’s next plan?”
“It’s not hard to let you know.” Bu Ting put away his sword.
Seeing that his sword had been sheathed, Jin Yi’s heart relaxed a little.
Tao Er, who was hiding in the turtle shell barrier, turned pale. “The might of a great cultivator is so terrifying.”
These highly cultivated demonic cultivators were unable to withstand the sword that Immortal Venerable Bu casually swung. The majestic sword energy spread throughout the hall, making it hard for him to breathe.
The sect’s head disciple took the opportunity to sidle up to Jiu Hui and ask coyly, “Those five thousand spirit stones…?”
“Don’t even think about it, it’s a sin to even think about it!” Jiu Hui covered her purse and hid behind Zhi You. Zhi You spread his arms in cooperation, shielding her tightly.
The sect’s head disciple was about to say something more when a horrifying scream suddenly erupted in the main hall.
The two demonic cultivators fell to the ground, clutching their heads and letting out howls that sent shivers down everyone’s spines.
“Soul… Soul-Extraction Technique.” The Palace Master of Changshou Palace was as pale as a ghost. This technique was even more brutal than Soul-Searching Technique. It could not only separate the soul from the body, but also extract all the memories of the other party. The person whose soul was extracted would be in so much pain that they would rather die. This technique was extremely dangerous and could easily backfire. Almost no one dared to use this technique.
To this day, no one knew this magic technique anymore, and it was unknown where Bu Ting had learned it.
After condensing the extracted memories into a magic orb, Bu Ting handed the orb to Jin Yi. “Everything you want to know is in there.”
Jin Yi watched the Demon Cult’s First Prince twitching and wailing in pain on the ground, his face pale as he reached out to catch the magic orb.
He knew that the First Prince’s life could not be saved.
“The catastrophe is imminent, and the lives of myriad beings are behind you. Do not let yourself be entangled in romantic feelings.” Bu Ting stopped looking at Yin Ji, swung his sword to end the lives of the last two demon cultivators, and ordered his disciples to come in and clean up the mess.
The blood of the demonic cultivators stained the entire hall red. Bu Ting turned around to face the crowd. “Thank you all for helping my humble sect to eliminate these demons. I am ashamed that you all were frightened.”
He took a step back and bowed deeply with clasped hands.
Everyone was originally upset because Bu Ting had kept things from them, but when they saw him, who had an extraordinary status, bowed to them and apologized, they felt flattered instead. They hurriedly got up and returned the greeting.
Since it was a plan against the Demon Cult, it was naturally not good to let too many people know, not to mention that they had not encountered any life-threatening danger, so it would seem narrow-minded to dwell on it further.
The head disciple of the Shenji School pinched his empty purse, feeling that the five thousand spirit stones had been spent in vain. Had he known that there would be no danger, he would not have begged Jiu Hui to hide in this protective barrier.
He glanced at Jiu Hui, who was hiding behind Zhi You, and dared to be angry but did not dare to speak.
The banquet ended in chaos. Everyone left. Bu Ting stood alone in the empty hall. His gaze swept across all the tables and chairs, and finally, he saw a small pile of ash on a table in the corner.
He slowly walked to the table and reached out his hand.
Creak.
The wind blew open the hall door. Bu Ting watched as the wind stirred up the ashes, swirling in the air before finally blowing them out of the hall. He took two steps outside, then stopped and waved his hand to close the door. The empty hall gradually darkened until darkness enveloped Bu Ting.
-—–
As the sun set in the west, night fell.
The moonlight was cold and clear, and the Zhenyao Prison under the moonlight was even more sinister and terrifying. There were no flowers, plants, insects, or birds here, only the occasional sound of copper bells.
Qiu Hua stepped under the tower in the moonlight, which fell on her face, making her complexion look cold and pale. Her pitch-black eyes were filled with a crazy determination.
“Sword of Heaven’s End!” She raised her sword and slashed at the barrier.
“Sect Master Qiu.”
Her sword-wielding motion paused as she turned to look at the person who had arrived.
Jiu Hui sat on the branch, shook her feet, and smiled at Qiu Hua with a bright face: “This tower not only suppresses a ten-thousand-year-old great yao, but also countless evil yaos. If they escape, the lives of ordinary people within a radius of hundreds of miles will be lost.”
“When did you get here?” Qiu Hua did not put away her sword.
“I got here after dark.” Jiu Hui jumped down from the tree, walked to Qiu Hua’s side, and looked up at the sky: “Look at the moonlight tonight.”
Qiu Hua looked up at the sky.
“What a beautiful moon it is.” Jiu Hui placed her hand on the barrier, which rippled with a faint, flowing light. “Perhaps at this moment, there are scholars composing poems under the moon, children chasing and playing beneath it, and peddlers traveling by its light. Sect Master, can you truly bear to do this?”
Qiu Hua’s sword-wielding hand trembled slightly as she spoke with a choked voice, “Step back, or I’ll kill you.”
“Shhh.” Jiu Hui grabbed Qiu Hua’s sword-wielding wrist. “Someone’s coming. Let’s hide first.”
Qiu Hua looked at Jiu Hui and did not pull her hand away.
“Don’t worry, with me here, no one will find us.” Jiu Hui pulled Qiu Hua and flew to a tree. The two of them held hands and sat side by side. They took out a large piece of mermaid yarn cloth and put it on themselves, and their figures immediately disappeared.
“Look, isn’t the scenery here unique?” Jiu Hui took the sword from Qiu Hua’s hand, and the sword turned into a golden hairpin in her palm. She reached out to straighten the broken hair beside Qiu Hua’s temple and inserted the golden hairpin into her hair bun.
In the darkness, the sound of footsteps drew nearer.