Chapter 63: Completely Bereft of Conscience!

“Thank you both for saving my life!” Ji Yaoyue spoke with a deep bow. Having self-detonated her Jindan, she had lost almost everything; she no longer possessed her former haughtiness.

The two men exchanged a glance, then broke into laughter. “You must be Peak Master Ji Yaoyue. Peak Master Wan Helai sent us to rescue you, correct?”

Ji Yaoyue let out a long breath of relief. “So it was Peak Master Wan who sent you? Wonderful! I am in your debt!” Earlier, she had sent out a transmission talisman to Wan Helai, begging for help. She had not expected them to appear at such a critical moment.

“Heh, do not be happy too soon. Whether you live or die depends on…”

Puchi!

Before the man could finish, the sound of a sword whistling through the air erupted from behind. A blade pierced directly through Ji Yaoyue’s throat. Her life force dissipated at a terrifying speed. Her eyes were wide with a thick, suffocating sense of indignation.

She could not believe it even as she died. She was the Peak Master of Saintess Peak, a figure of noble status who had nurtured a genius like Liu Ruyan. She was a woman who was about to receive vast resources from the Blood Moon Holy Land. How could she die here, in this place, at the hands of a stranger?

Yet, until her last breath faded, she could not even see her killer’s face. She died with her eyes open.

“A person like this is not worth even a single word of nonsense.” The woman who had stabbed Ji Yaoyue slowly removed her mask; it was Wang Min.

“True. The two of us were hesitating.”

“Qin Long, Zhou Wu, since you were dispatched by Wan Helai, how will you explain this when you go back?” Wang Min asked.

Qin Long chuckled. “That is easy enough. We will simply say she was devoured by demonic beasts before we could arrive.”

Zhou Wu nodded. “Haha, let’s do exactly that!” He then looked at Wang Min. “Wang Min, now that you have killed Ji Yaoyue, consider it your certificate of merit for entering the Holy Tabernacle. When we return, we will recommend you to the Hall Master!”

Wang Min nodded. “My only goal now is to join the Holy Tabernacle. Meeting you two was a stroke of immense luck; thank you.”

The two men smiled. “Our Holy Tabernacle welcomes anyone who is irreconcilable with the Blood Moon Ancestor! We wait only for all things to be ready. Once the Hall Master gives the call, we shall rise together for the Great Righteousness!”

Wang Min’s eyes darkened with resolve. “We are all subjects of Qingzhou who have been tormented by that Ancestor. For the sake of the Holy Tabernacle, I am willing to face death!”

“Hahaha, I feel the same!”

“Let’s move. We have more Blood Messengers to hunt!”

* * *

When Lu Jin returned to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect with the antidote, he could not find a trace of Chu Tianxiong. The transmission talismans he sent out vanished like stones sinking into the ocean.

Lu Jin felt a sense of foreboding; something had definitely happened. On the surface, the sect appeared peaceful, but dark currents were roiling beneath. When Lu Jin released his mental power to investigate, he discovered something horrifying: certain disciples were secretly murdering their own sect brothers!

Their goal was to take their blood.

Through his mental perception, Lu Jin sensed a thick, cloying stench of blood coming from a restricted area deep within the sect. He did not delay. He appeared silently within the forbidden zone.

A blood pool stood before him, churning with thick, crimson liquid. The bodies of the disciples who had been drained were being burned on the spot. Not far away, a group of disciples was bound by spiritual ropes, kneeling on the ground as they waited for the slaughter. They were actually waiting to die!

Was there anything more cruel in this world?

“Beasts!” Lu Jin had never imagined such horrors would occur within his own sect. Looking at the despairing faces of those disciples, his internal fury could no longer be contained: it erupted like a volcano.

Boom!

Spiritual Qi radiated outward, instantly covering a radius of a thousand yards.

“Who is it? Who dares to interfere with the Blood Pool!” The leader was not a mere disciple; he was the Peak Master of Yellow Sand Peak, Chai Quan!

Seeing Lu Jin, the disciples who were like lambs waiting for the knife began to struggle. “Senior Brother Lu Jin, save us!”

“Peak Master Chai Quan has colluded with the Blood Messengers! They want to sacrifice us all to the Blood Moon Ancestor!” Their cries were desperate. The thirst for life in their eyes made Lu Jin’s gaze even more resolute.

“Chai Quan! You are a Peak Master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, yet you slaughter disciples within the sect walls!” Lu Jin let out a thunderous roar. Flames danced in his eyes as he stared at the man; he wanted to tear him into ten thousand pieces. However, Chai Quan was doing this for a hidden purpose, and Lu Jin needed to extract more information from him first.

“Lu Jin?” Chai Quan’s expression shifted when he saw Lu Jin, but then he began to laugh. “Hahaha… so you found us? Lu Jin, you are a disciple with excellent talent. Why not work for me instead? I can recommend you for entry into the Blood Moon Holy Land. How about it?”

Lu Jin narrowed his eyes. As expected, it was related to the Holy Land again. “Work for you in this bereft, conscience-lacking business?”

“You are also a member of the Blood Messenger Alliance, aren’t you?” Lu Jin’s voice was icy. “In that case, today, there is no path of survival for you between heaven and earth!” His killing intent permeated the air.

Chai Quan gave a sharp command. “Since you seek death, I shall destroy you before the Saintess kills you herself! Disciples, hear my order! Slay this cur immediately!”

A group of over twenty disciples charged at Lu Jin. They used lethal moves from the start; even the spiritual Qi they radiated was laced with a bloody aura. Clearly, these disciples had also been secretly practicing the Blood Demon Art from the Holy Land.

However, even if their combat power had surged due to the technique, their leader, Chai Quan, was only at the 7th-grade Jindan realm. To the current Lu Jin, they were not a threat.

“Die, all of you!”

Lu Jin’s spiritual Qi crisscrossed. The Ten Thousand Swords Sovereign Manual erupted instantly. He did not even use defensive power; there was only offense!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosions rang out. Within the restricted area, chaos reigned, and screams echoed. The accomplice disciples were powerless against Lu Jin’s assault. In the blink of an eye, they all collapsed, their fates unknown.

The battle ended so quickly that Chai Quan was left dazed. He had not even had time to react before his followers were wiped out.

“Such a fast sword…” Chai Quan’s gaze was freezing. “Lu Jin! I did not expect you to have cultivated the Ten Thousand Swords Sovereign Manual to such a level!”

“But do you think Chu Tianxiong only taught that sword technique to you? You are wrong! I will show you what the true Ten Thousand Swords Sovereign Manual looks like!”

Lu Jin roared, “You talk too much!”

Buzz!

He waved his arm. Strands of sword light surged like a flood, charging toward Chai Quan. Chai Quan gritted his teeth and did not retreat.

“What? Have you already reached the Jindan realm? Even so, a 1st-grade Jindan is still an ant to me!” Only now did he realize Lu Jin had broken through, but as a 7th-grade Jindan, he felt he had nothing to fear.

The technique Chai Quan unleashed was also the Ten Thousand Swords Sovereign Manual. This high-grade Earth-tier martial art was supposed to be reserved for the Sect Master, but Chai Quan had secretly learned it by watching Chu Tianxiong. He had practiced it in the dark until he achieved significant mastery. He had never used it in public before, fearing the consequences of theft, but now that the sect was in chaos, he no longer cared. He wanted to defeat Lu Jin using the exact same technique to crush his spirit.

However, when the identical techniques clashed, Chai Quan’s heart filled with terror. Lu Jin’s sword stream was like a ferocious beast: it was far more overwhelming. Their scales appeared similar, but upon contact, Chai Quan’s sword stream was swallowed and crushed with effortless ease.

Puchi!

While Chai Quan was still in shock, a longsword trailing a tail of fire bypassed his defenses and pierced straight through his Dantian.

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NOTES

Yellow Sand Peak (黄沙峰): Huangsha Peak. One of the nine peaks of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.