The Qingliu Sword Sect has been passed down for thousands of years, and the ten thousand long steps at the entrance of the mountain are also sealed with the thousands of sword intentions of sword practitioners from all generations.
The disciple's entrance test only unlocked one ten-thousandth of the power. If it were truly fully unlocked, even a strong man in the Tribulation Crossing Stage would probably be strangled to death on the spot by these sword intentions.
At the moment, a group of people were standing at the foot of the mountain, vaguely divided into five teams, led by Chijinzi from Fubuki Island, followed by Master Duyuan from Tianyin Temple, Jiang Family Master Jiang Aotian, and Yu Family Master Yu Jianli.
Jiang Aotian looked back at the ancestor of the Wan family, frowned, and asked in confusion: "Old Wan, why are you standing so far back? If others see us, they will think we are ostracizing you."
The old ancestor of the old family laughed, and the smile on his kind face was the most gentle. He shook his head and said modestly: "I am an old man whose head is about to fall into the loess, but my cultivation is the lowest. Standing in front will only make people laugh. It is better for me to hide this old face in the back."
Yu Jianli was an extremely handsome middle-aged scholar. What he held in his hand was not an ordinary weapon, but a folding fan made of jade bones. His face was particularly haggard and pale. After hearing this, he just glanced at the ancestor of the Wan family lightly and said nothing more.
Master Duyuan of Tianyin Temple also remained silent. He never raised his head throughout the whole process, and solemnly struck the wooden fish without saying a word.
These two people seemed to be really here to pay their respects. The warm and friendly smile on the face of the Wan family's ancestor made him look like they were here to sell incense, candles and paper money. Only Qian Zhenzi and Jiang Aotian, who took the lead this time, looked like they were here to cause trouble.
Jiang Aotian, who had been waiting for a long time, felt annoyed. He stabbed his knife into the ground with both hands and cursed: "The Qingliu Sword Sect is so arrogant. Two of the three people in the Tribulation Crossing Stage have died, and the other one is probably at the end of his life. Do they still think they are the number one sect in the world? They have ignored us for most of the hour!"
Qian Zhenzi also looked a little irritated, but he was calmer than Jiang Aotian. He looked ahead and said calmly, "Why are you so anxious? They can't stay in there forever. Besides, we are here to pay our respects as friendly sect members, not to cause trouble. Are you still worried that they won't open the mountain gate?"
Jiang Aotian snorted coldly and weighed the big knife in his hand: "My son can cut through the protective formation of Chuixue Island, but I can't cut through the sword formation of Qingliu Sword Sect?"
He really brought up something that was out of the question. Qian Zhenzi's face suddenly turned cold, and he snorted sarcastically, "Then go ahead and chop. Qingliu Sword Sect has produced three sword cultivators who have ascended to heaven. Their sword spirits are left in the formation. If you are not afraid of death, then go ahead and chop."
“Qian Zhenzi, stop being so sarcastic! You are so good at formations, why don’t you break their sword formation? It was you who said Ye Shubai came back for revenge, and that he would come after us sooner or later, so we might as well strike first. That’s why we are all gathered here. Now you are so guilty and become a wimp again, you coward!”
"Jiang Aotian, you are slandering me!"
"You're the fucking dog!"
Hearing the two people quarreling, Yu Jianli frowned, moved to the side and was too lazy to talk to them. Master Duyuan lowered his head and numbly tapped the wooden fish, as if he heard nothing.
The Jiang family and Chuixue Island have always been at odds. People from these two sects are all arrogant and proud. The Jiang family thinks that the people of Chuixue Island are weird, gaudy and boastful, while the latter think that the Jiang family is vulgar, especially this time when Jiang Si won the first place in the sword-fighting competition on Chuixue Island's territory, the Jiang family was very proud and arrogant for a while, and the relationship became deadlocked.
The Wan Family Patriarch looked around at everyone, stepped forward, and advised kindly: "Hey, Aotian, don't worry. Two respected elders have died in our sect. I think it's normal to delay for a while since we are busy with everything. We have been busy all day, so why not rest here for a while."
After he finished speaking, he brushed over the mustard seed sac and took out something as big as a date pit from it. The thing grew in the wind and turned into an elegant and interesting carved building with tables, chairs and tea sets all ready. Several pretty children following behind him politely led the people upstairs to sit down, served tea and water, and even took out a small red clay stove, put smokeless Tiannan silver-thread charcoal in it and began to warm the wine.
Only the wealthy Wan family could afford such a treasure and such a sensible servant.
Qian Zhenzi was too lazy to argue with Jiang Aotian, and led several elders of the Spiritualization Stage of Chuixue Island into the mountain. He drank a cup of hot wine, glanced at Jiang Aotian who was sitting at the mountain gate and did not enter, and sneered: "You are a brave but foolish old man!"
He tilted his head to one side and said in a slow tone, "Fellow Daoist Yu, when we enter the mountain gate, how about you first explain the situation to Ye Shubai? If the evil cultivators commit crimes again, how can we start a civil strife at this time?"
Yu Jianli sat at the side, feeling uneasy. For some reason, his face was extremely pale, and his eyes were vague, as if he was wandering in a trance. Qian Zhenzi explained it to him twice before he nodded slightly.
Qian Zhenzi glanced at Master Duyuan who was still beating the wooden fish, frowned, and then turned his gaze to the ancestor of the Wan family who was drinking a cup of tea seriously.
"Friend Wan, you..."
"I'm ready." Before Qian Zhenzi could speak, the Wan Family Patriarch smiled knowingly and said meaningfully, "Fellow Daoist Qian, don't worry. I've made sufficient preparations this time and I won't let you down."
Fortunately, I finally have a reliable teammate.
Qian Zhenzi thought so and breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up a glass of fine wine and drank it slowly. His eyes fell on the stone steps of the mountain gate of Qingliu Sword Sect, and his heart was heavy.
Could it be that Ye Shubai wants to be a coward? He has been waiting for almost an hour. It is impossible that he is setting up a sword formation in there and preparing to duel with so many people
As the sky darkened and the sun set, Jiang Aotian's cursing below grew louder and louder, and even Qian Zhenzi seemed to be unable to hold back.
Just as he was thinking this, a Jindan-stage disciple walked down slowly from the top of the mountain gate. He was handsome and had a fine figure, but his voice was loud and rough as soon as he opened his mouth: "Excuse me, seniors, are you here to pay your respects to our sect leader and the Grand Elder?"
Jiang Aotian held the knife and rolled his eyes: "Of course, your Qingliu Sword Sect's way of entertaining guests is really unique. You made us wait here for an entire afternoon! You kid are still dawdling here, I will definitely let your elders deal with you!"
Zhu Erchong sneered inwardly, thinking that this was Wen Yun's order, to leave these old dogs alone and kill their arrogance before letting them in. He was doing what his master had ordered, to see which elder dared to deal with him.
Qian Zhenzi suppressed all his emotions, flew downstairs, looked down at Zhu Erchong below, and said expressionlessly: "Young man, take us to the top of the mountain quickly."
Zhu Erchong didn't mean to make things difficult for them, and he led them to the mountain gate obediently.
As soon as they entered the mountain gate, the group of people found that the Qingliu Sword Sect was indeed dressed in plain clothes everywhere, and each peak was unusually quiet.
Jiang Aotian took a look, then prepared to walk towards the Tenth Peak with his knife in hand, ready to cause trouble.
Seeing this, Zhu Erchong called out to him, "Senior, you are going in the wrong direction. The First Peak is this way."
Jiang Aotian thought to himself, I have been to your sect so many times, don't you know? But this time, they were prepared to force Ye Shubai to erase the past, and if he didn't want to let it go, it was fine. They were all ready to turn against him and kill him.
With five seniors in the Tribulation Crossing Stage coming here, could it be that they are really here to kowtow to that loser Liu Zhengxu
Zhu Erchong really thought they were here to burn incense, and called out loudly: "Senior Jiang, the condolence procedure must be carried out at the First Peak. You must go to the First Peak to burn incense first, and then go to our leader's memorial tablet to burn incense. As for kowtowing..."
No matter how heartless he was, he still knew the etiquette of hospitality. However, he had already known from Wen Yun that this group of people had come with bad intentions and were not sincere in their condolences, so he deliberately said some sarcastic words to deal with them.
As expected, this successfully angered Jiang Aotian: "Tsk, you are a dog with no ivory in its mouth, what else can you say..."
Seeing Jiang Aotian's mouth twitching as if he was about to curse, Qian Zhenzi cursed him in his heart as a stupid teammate and interrupted him, saying, "Got it. Please lead the way, little friend."
Zhu Erchong held the sword and led them towards the first peak at a leisurely pace.
Tonight is the seventh day since Liu Zhengxu's death, and also the night of the first seven days.
Liu Luoyin knelt on the ground, burning paper money without saying a word. Hundreds of disciples from the First Peak also knelt on the ground in silence.
No matter how heartbroken the disciples of the First Peak were before, they had cried dry tears long ago and could only kneel on the ground and wail. Moreover, the world of cultivation was different from the mundane world, where casualties were extremely common. For example, when Grand Elder Ouyang died, there wasn't even a memorial tablet for him. However, since the person who died this time was the leader of a sect, the ceremony would inevitably be a little grander.
But now it has been the seventh day. The sword cultivators with high cultivation and who have been practicing fasting for a long time are fine. After all, it takes several years to gain enlightenment through seclusion occasionally. But those with low cultivation have already lost their minds. When they hear the noise coming from outside, their gazes quietly drift away.
Many elders had already recognized who the person was. They stood up hastily and saluted with a look of surprise on their faces.
The languid face of the great elder Hong Zhuo at the front brightened up, and he quickly came forward and saluted respectfully: "My dear seniors, I didn't expect you to come in person! If the head of the sect knew about this..."
Qian Zhenzi pretended to be sad and said, "We are of the same origin and have been friends for thousands of years. I am deeply saddened to hear that Elder Ouyang and Sect Leader Liu have both passed away. The fellow Taoists of Qingliu Sword Sect have acted upright and honestly. We have had a deep friendship over the past few hundred years, and I should be here to see you off on your final journey."
Upon hearing this, Great Elder Hong Zhuo knelt down and kowtowed, sobbing, "Our Qingliu Sword Sect has always been upright and honest, but we never expected such a huge scandal of infighting among fellow disciples!"
Very good, this guy is very sensible. It seems that he has accepted the 300,000 spiritual jades.
Qian Zhenzi was satisfied in his heart, but pretended to be shocked: "What about fellow disciples killing each other? Could it be that there is something else behind the death of Elder Ouyang and Sect Leader Liu?"
Elder Hong Zhuo looked up to the sky and cried, "Family disgrace should not be made public, but how can we keep it a secret from you when a ruthless person like a demon cultivator emerges from the Qingliu Sword Sect? Today he killed our sect's supreme elder and elders, and tomorrow he will probably kill those of us who are dissatisfied with him!"
"This person is..."
"This person is Ye Shubai from the Tenth Peak!"
Elder Hong Zhuo knocked hard on the ground. He was one of the many direct disciples of Grand Elder Ouyang. Seeing that his master was dead and he had no one to rely on, and worried that Ye Shubai would eliminate him, he secretly turned to Chuixue Island for enticement. Qian Zhenzi said that as long as he planned things well and helped the ignorant little girl of the Liu family to become the head of the sect, he would be granted the position of Grand Elder!
What a respect this is!
Rather than living under the shadow of the Tenth Peak for the rest of your life, you might as well give it a try!
Elder Hong Zhuo cried and exaggerated the incident of Ye Shubai killing Elder Ouyang as a fight between fellow disciples for power and personal revenge, and he also put the blame of the death of Sect Leader Liu entirely on him.
The entire First Peak's main hall was filled with kneeling disciples, elders, and direct disciples of the Qingliu Sword Sect. Almost all of them were here, plus there were several hundred disciples of the First Peak. The hall was kneeling full, but at this moment they all raised their heads and looked at the performance in front of the spirit tablet in a daze.
Only Liu Luoyin had his back to the crowd, as if he had lost his soul, burning paper numbly.
"My poor niece Luo Yin is only in her early twenties. She lost her mother when she was young, and now her father has been murdered by a villain. I watched her grow up, and I will stand up for her even if I risk my life!"
Jiang Aotian finally got into the role, and asked with eyes wide open: "Hey! Could it be that Ye Shubai killed Sect Leader Liu in order to seize power?"
Elder Hong Zhuo said in a heavy tone: "That's right!"
Zhu Erchong and the other disciples who were kneeling on the ground were startled, and subconsciously raised their heads to refute: "No! We were all at the Tenth Peak that day, and we heard from Senior Sister Liu that the headmaster failed to survive the tribulation..."
"You are young and don't understand how treacherous people are." Elder Hong Zhuo knelt in front of the spirit tablet and cried bitterly, "On the day when the master left, I saw with my own eyes that Ye Shubai and his disciples left the First Peak! Niece Luo Yin, you had not spoken before because of the tyranny of Ye thief. Now that all the seniors are here, you can tell us all the grievances of your father!"
Qian Zhenzi also sighed, took a step forward and stood behind Liu Luoyin: "Luoyin, your father and I have been friends for hundreds of years. Tell me, if there is any injustice, we will go to the Tenth Peak now to seek an explanation!"
Liu Luoyin slowly raised her head, and everyone realized that she had become extremely thin in just seven days. Her originally plump face became thin and pale, like a walking corpse.
Her eyes were fixed on Elder Hong Zhuo, who was crying and pleading for justice for her father. His words were so convincing that it seemed as if he had really seen his father being killed by his own hands.
Then he looked at Qian Zhenzi, who was also the head of one of the three major sects. He had indeed had tea and discussed Taoism with his father before. At this moment, he was also looking at him with concern and kindness like an elder.
Then look at Jiang Aotian who entered the mourning hall carrying a knife, and at the leaders of the major sects who were daydreaming.
Finally, his gaze fell on the disciples on the First Peak who had low cultivation and red eyes from crying.
She moved her lips and finally spoke on the seventh day after her father's death. However, she did not look at Qian Zhenzi or Hong Zhuo, but at a young disciple from the First Peak: "Master Ye, are you here?"
The young disciple panicked and whispered, "Uncle Liu, I don't know..."
These words seemed to have drained all of Liu Luoyin's strength. She was swaying and about to fall down, but Senior Sister Meng Ran, who was kneeling not far away, stood up quickly, stepped forward and supported her.
She tightly grasped Senior Sister Meng Ran's sleeve, raised her pale face, and begged in a low voice: "Senior Sister, please go and ask Master Ye."
Senior Sister Meng Ran frowned and sighed, and whispered: "Are you really going to listen to what these outsiders say..."
“Senior Sister!” Liu Luoyin begged, his eyes, the only ones that still had a hint of life, staring at her with tears: “Please!”
Senior Sister Meng Ran had no choice but to stand up, take a look at the people who came with ill intentions, sigh, and head towards the direction of the Tenth Peak.
Qian Zhenzi silently glanced at his group of people. Jiang Aotian, who had been arguing with him all the way, now showed an eagerness to fight and couldn't hold his temper at all.
Yu Jianli, the patriarch of the Yu family, stared blankly ahead. It was clearly late autumn, but he was still fanning himself slowly with a jade-bone fan. No one knew what he was thinking.
Master Duyuan of Tianyin Temple had already been kneeling on the ground, looking at the wooden fish with pity in his eyes and chanting the Sutra of Rebirth.
Qian Zhenzi was extremely dissatisfied with the performance of these people. They had clearly agreed to work together to deal with Ye Shubai. Now justice was on their side. Not only did they seize the opportunity to kill him openly together, they also found a good opportunity to control the Qingliu Sword Sect. However, this group of people were not reliable at all and were like loose sand!
At this moment, his eyes met with the ancestor of the Wan family who was standing at the back. The other party looked back at him with a comforting smile, and he looked like he had made full preparations and was full of confidence.
Qian Zhenzi felt relieved immediately.
This time the wait didn't last long.
In the candlelight, an extremely long shadow walked slowly from outside to the main hall. The shadow of the wooden sword in his hand was slanted and long, swaying slightly, and slowly fell at Qian Zhenzi's feet.
Even so, he actually felt a little frightened in his heart, until he touched his mustard seed bag and felt relieved knowing that the white jade inside was still there.
Ye Shubai now only has the broken jade in his hand. The old waste Ouyang's life span is almost exhausted, and he relied on the white jade to break through to the Tribulation Period. It is not surprising that he was killed. Today, they have joined hands. Are they still afraid of Ye Shubai, whose jade infant is broken
Qian Zhenzi had taken out the formation plate at some point, and secretly set up hundreds of powerful killing formations.
Jiang Aotian narrowed his eyes, with a mixture of suspicion and excitement in his eyes. He held the knife in both hands and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Yu Jianli, who was originally in a trance, slowly raised his head and looked at Ye Shubai with complicated eyes. His hand holding the fan became tighter and tighter, and cracks gradually appeared on the jade fan bones.
The sound of the wooden fish that had been there all the time disappeared quietly at some point, and Master Duyuan of Tianyin Temple stood up silently, clasped his hands together, and lowered his eyes.
The ancestor of the Wan family who was standing at the back was shocked, his eyes revealing ecstasy and relief that no one could detect. His knees bent involuntarily and he almost couldn't help but kneel down. However, he finally suppressed his excitement and just looked at the man with tears in his eyes.
It's him.
It’s really him, he’s back!
The shadow was getting closer and closer, until the cold and aloof man walked into the store, everyone realized that the man was exactly the same as in their memory, without any change.
Qian Zhenzi's expression suddenly became dazed. He took a long breath to come back to his senses and sternly rebuked—
"Ye Shubai! You killed your fellow disciples. If you can't give an explanation to the Qingliu Sword Sect today, I'm afraid the righteous path will not tolerate you!"
Ye Shubai didn't say anything, but another slender figure appeared behind him.
With the same proud features, Wen Yun looked over with a half-smile in his hand, holding a black wooden stick.
She replied coldly, "You are the one who decides whether the righteous path can accommodate anyone? Do you want to take care of the affairs of the Qingliu Sword Sect? Master Qiandao, you are worthy of living by the sea!"