Chapter 224: The Tyrannical Side of Taichu

This cultivator’s brows and eyes were filled with a baleful aura, and he possessed a flying sword. He had to be at the Spirit Tree Realm. Judging by his appearance, he was likely a rogue cultivator.

Master Chi Lian’s face was full of astonishment. No wonder this kid dared to appear. It turns out he found a helper! And from the looks of it, this rogue cultivator’s cultivation is quite good; he even has a real flying sword.

Wait, that’s not right, Master Chi Lian’s expression tensed. This Qin Haoxuan is fleeing for his life, at a speed that even the cultivator on the flying sword behind him can’t match. If that cultivator were his helper, there would be no need for one to flee for his life while the other desperately gives chase. A strong killing intent showed in Yunhe’s eyes as he looked at Qin Haoxuan. It was clear he wanted him dead.

Seeing Master Chi Lian from a distance, Qin Haoxuan quickly shouted, “Uncle-Master Chi Lian, someone is trying to kill me from behind! Save me!”

Master Chi Lian’s brow furrowed. Even an idiot could see that Qin Haoxuan was deliberately luring him here to save his life. Although he was being used as a tool, after a moment’s thought, he knew he had to step in. It wasn’t just because he wanted to capture Qin Haoxuan. Most importantly, this was also a matter of the Taichu Sect’s face.

The people of Taichu could fight amongst themselves behind closed doors. But if an outsider dared to offend any one of them, even one of the weak disciples from the Nature Hall, it was unacceptable. For such a person, the only response was the sword. The reason Guyun had stood up for a disciple of the Nature Hall all those years ago was this very principle. I can bully my own people from Taichu, but if an outsider dares to do the same? Then I will cut you down until you are dead and annihilate your entire sect!

Master Chi Lian shot a fierce glare at Qin Haoxuan and then blocked Yunhe’s path. “Fellow Daoist,” he said, “I am Chi Lian of the Taichu Sect. May I ask how this disciple of my sect has offended you, that you would disregard your own status to hunt him down?”

Seeing that Qin Haoxuan had fled right to a senior from his own sect, Yunhe’s face turned cold. The Taichu Sect… to any rogue cultivator, it was a behemoth. If not for the fact that his disciples had been killed, he really wouldn’t want to start a conflict with them, but…

“Fellow Daoist,” Yunhe said to Master Chi Lian, cupping his hands in a salute, “I am but a humble rogue cultivator. If not for the fact that all four of my disciples were killed by this junior of your esteemed sect, I would not be hunting him down like this. I ask that you raise your hand high and let me kill him. Afterwards, I will certainly give your esteemed sect an explanation…”

An explanation? Master Chi Lian’s expression turned frigid. He understood what the other party’s so-called “explanation” meant—just some compensation. After all, having killed a disciple of the Taichu Sect, the guardian sect of the Soaring Dragon Nation, they would certainly not let the matter rest. After giving an explanation, the sect would have saved face and would not get entangled with a Spirit Tree Realm expert. To kill a disciple of my Taichu Sect, and think you can settle it with some compensation? he thought, his expression growing stern. It seems our sect has been silent for too long. A mere rogue cultivator actually dares to say he has killed a disciple of my Taichu Sect and will just give some compensation as an explanation.

Seeing his unfriendly expression, Yunhe took a deep breath. “Fellow Daoist, as long as you let me kill this little beast, I will not only give the Taichu Sect an explanation, but I will also give you a satisfactory one. What do you think…”

Master Chi Lian’s brow furrowed tightly. The other party possessed a flying sword and was a Spirit Tree Realm expert. On a normal day, he really wouldn’t want to provoke him. But now… this was no longer a matter of him trying to get the Spirit Liquid from Qin Haoxuan. This was a matter of the Taichu Sect’s face. As an elder of the sect, if he were to let a rogue cultivator kill another junior disciple, how could he face the memorial tablets of the past sages of Taichu? He might as well just smash his head in and die right here.

“Fellow Daoist, it is not that I am afraid of you. But if you insist on stopping me from killing this little beast…” A cold sneer escaped from Yunhe’s nostrils. “Then this humble Daoist will truly not be polite.” His tone had gradually hardened. After all, he was a figure who had escaped from under Guyun’s sword all those years ago. Although Master Chi Lian’s cultivation was not bad, compared to a giant like Guyun, he was far too lacking. There was no one else from the Taichu Sect here. Even if he killed him, the news might not get out. And so what if it did? His own cultivation had advanced these past few years. Even if Guyun himself were here, it would be hard to say who would win.

A cold, frosty sneer came from Master Chi Lian’s nostrils, and a natural look of high and mighty arrogance appeared on his face. “Yunhe, this seat will tell you. Never mind if my Taichu disciple had a good reason to kill your disciples; so what if he killed them for no reason at all? You dare to kill a disciple of my sect? I will annihilate your entire sect. Don’t think that my Taichu Sect truly cannot find the location of your Tongtian Temple. We just think you are pitiful and have given you a place to breathe.”

Yunhe was also stunned. They had only just met. He had not even announced his affiliation, yet the other party had already recognized him. This was not a good thing.

“I will give your Taichu Sect face, but don’t think I am afraid of you!” Yunhe’s face grew even more sinister as he said angrily, “If I cannot even avenge my own disciples, what face will I have left to stand on? Taichu? What is it worth?”

Master Chi Lian’s face grew cold and hard, the veins on his forehead gradually bulging. To dare to speak of the Taichu Sect in such a manner, that was courting death. A disciple of Taichu, even knowing they were no match, would absolutely not let the other party off easy at a time like this.

“Yunhe, this seat thinks you are courting death!” With a flip of his wrist, the Talisman Sword he had been refining for many years appeared in his palm.

“Whether I die or not, why don’t you try and see?” As he spoke, Yunhe shook the flying sword in his hand, and countless tiny sword intents surrounded him.

Seeing the flying sword, a look of alarm appeared on Master Chi Lian’s face, and his eyes flickered. From a distance, Qin Haoxuan, who had been observing him, saw the look of alarm and guessed that he was likely no match for the flying-sword-wielding Yunhe. Without a second thought, he immediately activated the Thousand-Mile Talisman and fled. Master Chi Lian was no friend of his; in fact, he also wanted to capture him. What if he was unwilling to provoke this Yunhe and instead teamed up with him to deal with him? Then he would surely be dead.

Seeing Qin Haoxuan flee again, Yunhe was enraged. He raised his flying sword, and the countless sword intents swirling around him merged into a vast white light that slashed towards Master Chi Lian. At the moment he struck, Master Chi Lian knew that a peaceful resolution was impossible. His expression hardened, and he also flipped his hand, infusing his Talisman Sword with spiritual energy. A thousand-zhang sword gleam flickered to meet the attack.

Yunhe’s strike had originally been a single streak of white light, but as the sword qi reached Master Chi Lian, the light suddenly flared, and the qi condensed into a giant sword body several dozen zhang long. Its heaven-cleaving, earth-splitting pressure slammed into the pressure of his own Talisman Sword. In that instant, Master Chi Lian’s sword pressure was like a small blade of grass in a gale…

Hiss, hiss…

Although he managed to block the blow, his Talisman Sword cracked and shattered into pieces. One strike. Both at the Spirit Tree Realm. One had a flying sword, the other just a Talisman Sword. The vast difference in their strength made Master Chi Lian curse inwardly. He knew Yunhe and his flying sword were formidable, but he had never expected them to be this ferocious. His own Talisman Sword couldn’t even take a single blow.

“Pfft!”

A mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth. As his body flew backward, a jade talisman appeared in his palm. Hundreds of esoteric, golden characters flowed and rotated on its surface, forming an indescribable array. They rapidly expanded, becoming a great gilded array that protected him within it. At the same time, a giant spiritual pillar shot into the sky. Yunhe’s mountain-cleaving sword struck the array of the jade talisman and was like a clay ox sinking into the sea… not even the sound of a collision was heard; the force was completely absorbed by the formation.

This is… Yunhe recognized it at a glance. This was the Qi-Swallowing Eight Desolations Array that Guyun had used when they had fought. Any attack that struck it, as long as it couldn’t crush it, would be completely absorbed. The heaven-piercing spiritual pillar made his heart pound. The meaning of the summons was too obvious. If there were any Taichu disciples nearby, they would surely come running the moment they saw it.

A quick battle… to a quick end? he calculated.

“Yunhe, this seat has already notified my other senior brothers. Elder Yufeng of our sect’s Elder’s Council is also nearby. You are absolutely no match for him. I see that your cultivation has not been easy; I advise you not to throw your life away for a moment’s impulse,” Master Chi Lian said after releasing the communication talisman. He was unwilling to face him head-on again and was now trying to stall for time. This Elder Yufeng was the Ninth Elder of the Elder’s Council. In the cultivation world of the Soaring Dragon Nation, his name was extremely well-known. It was impossible for Yunhe not to have heard of him.

If he couldn’t even see through this little trick, he wouldn’t have lived to this day. He laughed with extreme anger. “Before your fellow disciples arrive, I will kill you first!”

Although he was a Spirit Tree Realm expert, he was, after all, just a rogue cultivator. Obtaining resources was much more difficult for him than for a sect elder like Master Chi Lian. Now, seeing that he couldn’t even take a single strike, a wicked thought arose in his heart. No matter how weak he was, he was still a Spirit Tree Realm elder of the Taichu Sect. From his experience, such experts from major sects often had many good things on them.

If I can capture him, take all his good things, and force the Taichu Sect’s cultivation arts out of him, he thought, his mind racing, as long as I can get his valuables and their orthodox arts, I’ll just flee far away. Outside the sect’s sphere of influence, I won’t have to be afraid.

At this thought, greed flashed in his eyes. A streak of sword light swung from his hand, the sword qi whistling as it tore through the sky.

Master Chi Lian had already prepared to fight. Seeing him strike, his expression changed, and a thought flashed through his mind. If I had a flying sword, with the exquisite sword arts and orthodox cultivation of the Taichu Sect, a mere rogue cultivator like him would have died at my hands a hundred times over.

Thoughts were just thoughts. He knew that with his bare hands, he could absolutely not block this strike, and with their cultivation levels being on par, it was also impossible for him to escape. Since he couldn’t run, his only option was to use a forbidden art, the Reverse Primordial Art. Perhaps then he would have a fighting chance. This art involved burning the true essence of his spirit tree, consuming his lifespan to temporarily increase his strength. If the spirit tree was completely burned, he would fall back to the Spirit Sprout Realm.

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