Chapter 80: The Death of Qiao Pifu
"The immortal of Xuantian Sect was actually killed by that martial artist!"
When the figure with its right arm ablaze beheaded Immortal Ming Yue with a sword, this scene struck the hearts of the many worshippers and even the chubby official of the previous 5th rank. It felt as if their worldview had collapsed.
Can immortals really be killed?
That's not right!
How dare he lay a hand on the immortal of Xuantian Sect?
All these years, the Immortal Gate's "immortals" and "cultivators" have been seen by ordinary people as mysterious and powerful figures.
The immortal beings enshrined in the Taoist temple are objects of respect and worship for ordinary people.
Before the Inhuman War forty years ago, there were martial artists who dared to challenge the cultivators.
However, in the past forty years, the immortal beings have become idols worshipped by ordinary people in temples, and Taoist temples have spread throughout Jiu Province's major cities.
Immortal beings represent mystery and nobility. They are the ultimate image of transcendence and immortality in the imagination of ordinary people. They are like lighthouses on the sea and idols on the altar.
Although the terms "immortals" and "cultivators" are somewhat complimentary, they are also beings that ordinary people cannot disobey.
And that person, Immortal Ming Yue, is already dead. With just one strike, even the body turned to ashes.
In the midst of shock, they also felt an indescribable fear and panic.
How could it be? How could someone kill the Immortal Gate's immortal?
After feeling scared and anxious, they saw the figure with a burning right arm slowly walking towards Xuantian Temple, which made them feel conflicting emotions.
That is sadness.
This person is going to die.
"What a brave and heroic figure..." someone sighed softly, but dared not speak loudly.
Emperor Yonghe was also looking at that figure.
He originally had his hands crossed behind his back, but now his hands were instinctively clasped in front of him, appearing a bit absent-minded.
"Does an ordinary person have the responsibility for the rise and fall of the world?"
"The Qiao family has such a grand scale... But which Qiao family is this?"
At this moment, he suddenly understood the meaning behind Qiao Mu taking off that catcher's uniform.
That was not because of being scolded and threatened by officials, so he angrily abandoned his position as a constable.
He was not impulsive, but had planned ahead.
"This is splitting his own identity, doing things on his own. If the officialdom is corrupt, abandon the official position and not involve others. In the name of an ordinary person, plead for the people, and slay the immortals?" These thoughts crossed Emperor Yonghe's mind.
The so-called ordinary person, neither an official nor a scholar, neither rich nor noble, actually refers to the most common ordinary people.
He unconsciously applied some force on his hand, and his nails hurt his palm.
Such words, such attitude, only made him, the Great Yan Emperor, have a surging anger that he couldn't vent, and his face unconsciously became a little hot.
If even a mere ordinary person knows to shoulder the responsibility of the rise and fall of the world.
If even an ordinary person dares to go against the trend, challenge those above, and kill the immortals of the Immortal Gate.
Then, what about him, this emperor? What about him, Emperor Yonghe?
Should I carry a larger responsibility? Should I strive to do better?
In the teahouse, he felt that this person's words were sharp, perhaps mocking him.
At this moment, he finally realized that Qiao Pifu's words and actions were consistent, truly a rare hero in the world!
But Guard Chu beside him interrupted his thoughts.
"Your Majesty," Guard Chu suggested at this moment:
"The 'Etching Bones Li Fire' is quite troublesome. Even if a humble servant like me, who is only a 3rd rank Spirit Refining martial artist, were to touch it, I wouldn't be able to extinguish it and could only sacrifice my arm to survive. And now, Qiao Pifu is already at the end of his strength, it's a dead end for him."
"Should I intervene and sever his arm to save him?"
Chu Xing is an Emperor's Flying Fish Guard, who usually silently accompanies and waits for orders, rarely making suggestions.
But at this moment, as he watched that burning figure, he felt a sense of pity and spoke up.
"Are you going to take action?" Emperor Yonghe fell into deep thought at this moment.
The previous touch was just a touch, and the feeling was just a feeling.
But if Guard Chu were to take action, that would be another problem.
He is the emperor, not an ordinary man, so he can never make decisions based solely on his emotions...
Meanwhile, Qiao Mu had already arrived at the entrance of Xuantian Temple.
The miscellaneous martial artists retreated as he moved forward, no one wanted to provoke his bad luck.
Qiao Mu looked up towards the inside of Xuantian Temple.
Due to the recent commotion, there was no one inside Xuantian Temple, only a glimpse of the temple halls on the layers of steps in the distance.
The huge incense burner at the entrance of the temple was filled with dense incense, creating a hazy and fragrant atmosphere.
Through the misty scent of incense, you could faintly see the statues of the immortals inside the grand hall.
These statues were all exquisitely crafted, clearly made by skilled artisans.
The immortals' figures were all graceful and ethereal, with flowing robes that made them look like celestial beings. Their eyes slightly narrowed as they looked down upon the worshipers below, a look of compassion and sorrow on their faces.
Each and every immortal in the temple seemed to be gazing down through the hazy smoke, all focused on the ordinary martial artist who had daringly intruded upon their Taoist temple.
Thanks to the martial artist's exceptional vision, Qiao Mu could read the names on the immortals' plaques.
Among the immortals standing guard was the "Great Virtue and Power, Immortal Xuantian."
The statue positioned farthest and closest to the entrance was slightly smaller, and it belongs to "Immortal Chiyang".
As he gazed into the distance, a sudden jolt shook his heart. An inexplicable intuition arose, directing his attention to the mountain behind Xuantian Temple.
............
Xuantian Temple's back mountain.
Two Taoists beside the waterfall are still leisurely playing chess, while the young Taoist in green robes stands by, watching the game.
Suddenly.
The Taoist on the left puts down the chess piece and solemnly says,
"Ming Yue, she's dead. Even the 'Etching Bone Li Fire Talisman' was used, all killed by that ordinary martial artist."
The Taoist on the right is momentarily stunned, then nods slightly:
"Is that so? She turned out to be even more pathetic than I expected, tarnishing the reputation of our Xuantian Sect."
"Is it because her cultivation time was too short?"
Practitioners have always been inferior to cultivators in martial arts, as proven by the solid achievements of cultivators forty years ago.
So they always look down on those who practice martial arts.
Although they have a low opinion of martial artists, there is one thing they must admit...
The path of immortality requires many years of practice and cannot be achieved easily.
The path of martial arts leads to a shorter life span, but it allows for faster progress compared to the path of immortality.
After cultivating for over ten years, Female Cultivator Ming Yue was only seen as just entering the doorway of immortality.
However, if a martial artist diligently trains for over ten years, it becomes a different story.
For external martial artists like Sheriff Qian, who focuses on physical training, over ten years is enough to reach their personal peak, but after that, they enter middle age and their vitality declines.
"Ming Yue has passed away, and that ordinary martial artist has already arrived at the entrance of Xuantian Temple..."
"So what? Isn't it Senior Chiyang who is in charge of guarding Xuantian Temple this year?"
"Brother Chiyang? It looks like he has embarked on a spiritual journey and is not within the boundaries of this mortal city."
"Brother Chiyang is really carefree... but shouldn't it be up to you and me to take action? After all, Xuantian Temple is a sacred place of worship. If we don't do something soon, things could really go wrong."
"You're right... let's finish this game of chess and then take action."
The two Taoists playing chess calmly discussed while continuing to play.
Suddenly.
All these Taoists turned their heads together and looked towards a towering pavilion on a higher part of the mountain.
"Saintess... has come out of seclusion? Did she sense anything?"
"Although the Saintess started practicing the path of immortality halfway through, her cultivation may not match that of a true sect disciple, but she is still a Saintess... it seems like we don't need to get involved." The Taoists continued playing chess leisurely.
........
At the foot of the mountain is Xuantian Temple.
Behind the crowd, Chu Xing looked into the distance at the figure with the burning right arm. He saw the red flames spreading slowly on his arm and couldn't help but speak up again.
"Your Majesty, if you don't make a decision soon, the opportunity will pass."
"...He is a commoner, I am the emperor. When the emperor acts, he must plan and think carefully before taking action. We must not be hasty."
After a moment.
"Your Majesty...."
"....Do you think that Qiao Pifu has any hidden tricks up his sleeve that can be used in a desperate situation to seek a last chance for survival?"
"Even if he does, it's gone now."
Another moment later.
"Your Majesty?"
"...The Immortal Gate is powerful, while the Great Yan Kingdom is weak. Forty years ago, it was already struggling. What about now? It may be easy to protect him, but what about afterwards?"
After a moment.
Various thoughts flashed through Emperor Yonghe's eyes, but in the end, he only let out a small sigh.
Qiao Pifu is not a young man anymore, already in his middle age, so why can he make such decisive choices?
In fact, Emperor Yonghe is also in his middle age, but...
When Emperor Yonghe was young, he witnessed the awe-inspiring figures of ministers sacrificing themselves for the country's difficulties. During his youth, he had ambitious aspirations to become a wise ruler. However, as he entered middle age and faced the pressures of cultivators, his youthful spirit gradually faded away, leaving him only with continuous planning, constantly weighing the pros and cons...
"Then... go ahead and take action." After considering, he finally made a decision.
In an instant, Chu Xing's hand held an extra flying knife, and his hand became blurred.
Tee-hee!
With a cold flash, in the blink of an eye, Qiao Mu's burning right arm was cut off at the shoulder!
Chu Xing took a small breath.
He bent his knees slightly, about to unleash his internal strength and perform lightness skill, to quickly take Qiao Pifu away. But suddenly, his movement froze, and he stood still in the same spot.
Above Xuantian Temple, there was a woman in flowing white robes, riding the wind on a sword.
She had a tall and graceful figure, with smooth skin and a transcendent temperament. At the same time, she exuded the vibrant energy of a martial artist.
Chu Xing didn't move anymore.
Because he knew, the moment to save Qiao Pifu... was already gone.
Saintess Wu Qingxin, as a disciple of the Martial Saint, was already a 4th rank martial artist before joining the Immortal Gate. Now, her cultivation in the path of immortality and martial arts is unknown, but she definitely cannot be weak.
Just now, he stepped forward with a certain possibility of using his extraordinary speed and agility to secretly save the person without revealing his identity.
But now...
Was he ultimately a step too late?
Opportunity waits for no one, time won't come again.
Chu Xing couldn't help but look up at Emperor Yonghe, only to see him standing there, slightly lost in thought, without saying a word.
.....................
Qiao Mu was already weak and didn't realize what had cut off his arm.
His right arm, separated from his body, was almost instantly engulfed in flames, burning his bones and blood to ashes.
However, a mysterious intuition arose in his heart again, this time pointing directly at the sudden appearance of Saintess Wu Qingxin.
"The intuition cultivated by the Martial Saint Spiritual Technique should point to someone or something related to the Wuji Association. How could it be a practitioner from the Xuantian Sect Immortal Gate?" Qiao Mu had this thought in his mind.
Saintess Wu Qingxin glanced around, pausing briefly on the corpse of the Blue-eyed Flying Tiger, a spiritual beast dead on the street in the distance. Then her eyes fell on Qiao Mu, and her brow slightly furrowed.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice cold and distant.
Thinking it was someone from the Wuji Association, but upon closer inspection, realizing it was only a sixth ranked martial artist who had already lost an arm and was nearing death with dried up vital energy and blood.
Qiao Mu spoke, "Someone seeking righteousness and justice-"
He had intended to inquire about this female cultivator's background before his death, but to his surprise, disappointment flashed across Wu Qingxin's face as soon as he finished speaking.
"Righteousness? Justice? How boring," she said indifferently.
"The Immortal Gate's actions are always right, even if they are wrong."
After saying this, she only glanced at Qiao Mu and made no other unnecessary movements.
Suddenly, he jumped up.
At Qiao Mu's shoulder and arm where it was broken, the strange Etching Bones Li Fire started burning again.
The fire spread very quickly and in an instant, Qiao Mu's whole body was covered in this Li Fire, turning him into a burning fire person.
Qiao Mu was burning fiercely, but he didn't die immediately.
This was not because he had fought all the way here with a strong vitality.
But this Saintess seemed to intentionally want to watch Qiao Mu slowly suffer from the burning pain until he died. This Etching Bones Li Fire should have quickly burned a person to ashes, but at the moment, it was burning a bit slower.
Do you want to torture me?
Within the engulfing flames, Qiao Mu's lips on one side of his mouth slightly twitched.
He turned around for one final look in his life, not to see Xuantian Temple or the Saintess, but to gaze upon the bustling crowd of worshippers filling the streets.
The people were not alone, but a large group of people.
Some of them were attracted by the commotion and had just come over to watch, without understanding the cause and effect.
Although some people read from beginning to end, they consistently leaned towards the side of Xuantian Sect's Immortal Up there.
Some people looked at him with pity and sorrow, some people opened their mouths in astonishment, some people frowned, and some people stared at him angrily.
"On this fifteenth day, it is appropriate to burn incense and pay respects to the gods."
Burning, Qiao Mu shouted in a hoarse voice:
"You all should take a good look, what kind of immortal god you are worshipping!"
"You all should take a good smell, how fragrant is this fragrance of mine, a mere mortal?"
In front of the eyes of the incense-worshipping crowd, at the entrance of the Immortal Gate Taoist Temple, his body fell down in the midst of blazing flames, burning away little by little.
Qiao Pifu passed away at the age of 44.
