Chapter 241: You Cannot Keep the Sword Pavilionâs People
âFellow Daoists, what business do you have surrounding my Sword Pavilionâs domain?â
Su Qinian furrowed his brows. He and the elders had made great gains in the Great Secret Realm. Yet, the moment they emerged, they were greeted with the sight of their sectâs disciples being bullied. His face darkened immediately.
âYour Sword Pavilion patriarch harbored a demonic cultivator and slaughtered our sectâs disciples! Until the True Saints of the Holy Lands arrive, no one from the Sword Pavilion is going anywhere!â
Su Qinian landed at the entrance of the Sword Pavilionâs grounds. With a glance at the eager eyes of his disciples behind him, he and the four elders stepped forward, standing between them and the opposing sect cultivators.
âYou claim my patriarch harbored a demonic cultivator? What a joke! Not long ago, it was my patriarch himself who personally slew the Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect! He loathes evil and injusticeâhow could he possibly shelter a demonic cultivator?â Su Qinian slammed his Xuanwu Sword into the ground with a resounding boom, shaking the earth beneath them. âLetâs be honestâarenât you all just here looking for trouble? Perfect timing. I had a lucky breakthrough in the secret realm. Letâs see if I can stretch my limbs with you all!â
The sect elders and leaders present were mostly at the Nascent Soul stage.
No one dared to make a move against Su Qinian. Now that he had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, he was practically invincible below the Soul Formation stage.
âSect Master Su, your patriarchâs actions were witnessed by all! He destroyed the strongholds of two Holy Lands!â
âThe Holy Landsâ strongholds? Destroyed?!â Su Qinian looked up, and his heart sank.
Just before leaving the secret realm, he had been chatting with the elders about how clear and cloudless the sky looked today.
Well, of course it was cloudlessâthe two towering strongholds that once blocked the sky were gone.
Now, only the Zhenwu Stronghold floated alone in the eastern sky. And judging by the commotion over there, they must have already learned of Zhang Yibaiâs demise.
So⦠their patriarch really did destroy the strongholds of Fanjing and Yaoci?
And wiped out all the disciples inside?
Even with his experience of juggling multiple love interests, Su Qinian still found his vision going dark. He barely managed to steady himself by gripping the Xuanwu Sword. What the hell had happened while they were inside the secret realm?!
Despite feeling an impending catastrophe, Su Qinian forced himself to remain composed and spoke coldly:
âOur patriarch is a reasonable man. If he chose to protect a so-called demonic cultivator, then that person must not be an ordinary demonic cultivatorâthere must be more to the story. If he destroyed the two Holy Landsâ strongholds, then they must have been opposing him first!â
High above in the clouds, the hidden Chen Huaian nodded in approval.
Yes, yes! This was why he admired Su Qinian.
The man had said exactly what he wanted to hear.
He had chosen to remain hidden precisely to observe the Sword Pavilionâs stance on this matter.
After all, he wasnât some benevolent philanthropist. Granting the Sword Pavilion a place within his miniature world was already a great favor.
If they wanted him to continue developing the miniature world and providing cultivation resources, they had to prove they were worthy of his investment.
And now, with Su Qinianâs firm stance, the Sword Pavilion had passed the test.
âSect Master Su, where is your sense of reason?! Are you saying that the Sword Pavilion is incapable of wrongdoing?â
âWhether my people have done wrong is for the Sword Pavilion to judgeâno one else may interfere.â Su Qinian placed his hand on his sword hilt, his gaze turning icy. âOf course, if you think you can defeat me, then maybeâjust maybeâIâll allow you to say a few bad words about us.â His voice dropped, laced with a chilling threat. âOtherwise⦠you die.â
âPavilion Master.â Elder Li from Hidden Sword Peak approached Su Qinian and whispered a few words.
He had just finished gathering information from the Sword Pavilion disciples and had pieced together the full picture.
All four of the Pavilionâs direct disciples had vanished. Many other sectsâ top talents were missing as well. Li Qingran had exposed Fanjing and Yaoci Holy Landsâ sinister plots, and their patriarch had acted decisively, slaughtering multiple Void Fusion powerhouses from the Holy Lands. Every cultivator who had attempted to touch the sword formation had been obliterated.
That was why the entire battlefield reeked of blood.
âSo thatâs how it is⦠Then thereâs nothing more to say.â Su Qinianâs expression darkened.
Their patriarch had left the sect to protect them.
Now, their four top disciples were missing.
The thought of Yue Qianchi and the othersâ uncertain fate made Su Qinian clench his fists tightly. A cold, murderous intent brewed in his eyes.
Since its founding, the Sword Pavilion had always avoided worldly conflicts.
Even during its lowest days, it had only resorted to robbing passing flying boats and spirit stones.
Morally questionable? Sure.
But they had never harmed anyone.
And if they compared it, the spirit stones theyâd robbed paled in comparison to how much the Pill Sect extorted in a single transaction.
If the world insisted on making an enemy of the Sword Pavilionâ
Thenâ¦
âAll Sword Pavilion disciples, heed my command!â
Su Qinian stomped the ground. BOOM! The earth trembled as his Xuanwu Sword hilt leaped into his grasp.
Behind him, every Sword Pavilion disciple drew their swords in unison.
âWe will carve our way through! No matter who stands in our wayâeven if the heavens themselves oppose usâwe will return to the Sword Pavilion today!â
They had already steeled themselves for battle. With the True Saints yet to emerge from the secret realm, now was the best chance to break out.
As for Yue Qianchi and the othersâ¦
Though it pained him, the Sword Pavilion had more disciples than just those four.
Ensuring the survival of the rest took priority.
Once they handled the immediate crisis, he would personally hunt down the four disciplesâ whereaboutsâalive or dead, he would bring them back.
âDestroying our Holy Landâs stronghold, slaughtering our Saintessâyou think you can just leave?!â
Suddenly, an enraged female voice ripped through the sky.
Emerald vines burst from the earth, twisting like giant serpents. In mere moments, they encased the entire Sword Pavilion in a massive prison.
A female cultivator in flowing green robes hovered in midair, her eyes cold as an icy lake.
With a wave of her wide sleeves, a crushing spiritual pressure swept downward, causing the very stone bricks of the Sword Pavilionâs grounds to fracture and splinter.
She was in the Void Fusion Realm.
And her cultivation was even higher than the three Yaoci elders who had stayed behind.
She was Jade Condensation, the Second Elder of Yaoci Holy Land.
She had originally entered the Great Secret Realm alongside Jade Yao.
However, Jade Yao was still inside, recovering from her injuries. Upon sensing that True Saint Jade Qing was in danger, she had stepped out to investigate.
When she learned that three Void Fusion elders had been killed and their stronghold destroyed, her fury knew no bounds.
There was no way she would allow the Sword Pavilion to escape!
âSword Pavilion scum, die!â
Jade Condensation thrust her palm forward. Before her attack could even land, the sheer force of her energy sent a violent gale tearing through the air, nearly knocking the Sword Pavilion disciples off their feet.
Untilâ
A sword cry rang out.
In an instant, the wind stilled.
Jade Condensation felt a sudden chill at her throat.
A black sword had somehow appeared at her neck.
Reflected in its polished blade was her own frozen expression of shock and horror.
She had not even seen the moment that sword was drawn.
âY-Youâre⦠the Sword Pavilion patriarch?â
âYou cannot keep the Sword Pavilionâs people.â
Chen Huaian did not answer further. He merely tapped the swordâs guard with his fingers.
The sword cry shattered her soul.
The vine prison collapsed in an instant.
âTell Jade Yao and Monk Fanye.â Chen Huaian sheathed his sword, his cold gaze sweeping across the gathered cultivators.
âIf anything happens to my four direct disciples⦠your Holy Lands will never know peace.â
And thenâ
With a casual flick of his fingersâ
Every Sword Pavilion disciple vanished.
The sun burned bright overhead.
And above the Sword Pavilionâs domainâ
A single, razor-straight sword mark split the clouds apart.
â¦
â¦