Chapter 42
“What's wrong? You still want to duel with me?” Yun Zimo raised an eyebrow, a cold smirk playing on his lips. “I’m not like the Fourth Brother; I won’t suppress my cultivation. Against someone as arrogant and oppressive as you, even if my realm crushes yours, I wouldn’t feel the slightest bit ashamed!”
Yun Zimo was also at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, but he had more treasures than Zhang Hanxiao. While Zhang Hanxiao would spend his spirit stones as soon as he earned them, Yun Zimo saved up, and with his skills in refining and formation, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators found him quite difficult to deal with.
“Third Senior Brother, are you afraid?” Li Qingran stared intently at Yun Zimo.
“You don’t need to provoke me; I won’t fall for it.” He took out his flying sword, his gaze landing on the Su Xian sword. “Your sword is quite good, but I won’t be like the Fourth Brother and suffer losses because of my weapon. I have plenty of flying swords!”
Li Qingran, however, didn’t respond. Instead, he bowed respectfully to the sect leader, Wu Duantian, and said loudly, “Sect Leader Wu, the Qingyun Sect upholds the principle that ‘only good can’t be slandered, and only evil can’t be allowed to thrive.’ Slandering others and colluding to harm fellow disciples is a serious crime. Is there any truth to this?”
Wu Duantian, his mind preoccupied with restoring his dantian, was momentarily taken aback by Li Qingran’s sudden question. After a pause, he finally replied, “There is indeed such a matter.”
“Li Qingran, what are you trying to say?! I haven’t slandered you at all!” A flicker of barely perceptible panic crossed Yun Zimo’s eyes.
But he thought he had handled this matter cleanly; even if questioned, he could just deny it.
What evidence could Li Qingran possibly have?
Li Qingran shot a glance at Yun Zimo and continued to ask Wu Duantian, “What punishment should be meted out?”
Wu Duantian narrowed his eyes, stroking his beard as he said, “For slander and defamation, if the circumstances are mild, the Law Enforcement Hall will issue a verbal warning. If it happens again, the offender will be sent to the Penitence Cliff. For colluding to harm fellow disciples, if the facts are confirmed, the punishment is severe: the offender’s tongue will be cut out, their eyes gouged, and molten iron poured into their ears, with no treatment for a month, as a form of punishment!”
For cultivators, having their tongue cut out, eyes gouged, and molten iron poured into their ears wasn’t an irreparable injury, but the pain would be excruciating. Moreover, being unable to hear, speak, or see for a month, spending every day in darkness and silence, was indeed a severe punishment.
Upon hearing this, Li Qingran bowed again, “Yun Zimo, the third direct disciple of Chixiao Peak, colluded with an outer sect elder to slander and persecute fellow disciples. As a prestigious sect, the Qingyun Sect surely cannot turn a blind eye to such matters?”
At these words, many people present changed their expressions. Though Li Qingran didn’t say it outright, everyone understood the implications.
Yun Zimo appeared furious, but his clenched fists betrayed his inner tension. The outer sect elder Wang Chuan’s eyes glinted with malice as he glared at Li Qingran, wishing he could devour him whole. A few outer sect disciples also averted their gazes, instinctively hiding behind the crowd.
“Bastard, you actually did such a thing?!” Daoist Qingxuan slammed his palm on the table, drawing his sword and pointing it at Yun Zimo, his eyes wide with rage. His black-and-white hair was blown up by the pressure radiating from him, resembling a lion with its mane on end.
【Tsk, I command you to sit down!】
In the void, a consciousness swept over them, carrying an undeniable authority.
Daoist Qingxuan gritted his teeth and took three deep breaths before finally sheathing his sword.
Since this mysterious cultivator had helped Li Qingran restore her dantian, he must be the one who refined the divine pill at that time. Such a being was at least at the Dao Integration stage, someone he couldn’t afford to provoke. Moreover, all the elders present were equally formidable, unless the Qingyun Ancestor emerged…
But the Qingyun Ancestor was in seclusion to break through a bottleneck; it would be unwise to disturb him.
He had to endure.
Daoist Qingxuan did his best to suppress the anger boiling within him.
Wu Duantian’s expression grew serious. As the saying goes, “If the people don’t raise the issue, the officials won’t investigate.” If Li Qingran hadn’t spoken up, he would never have known about this matter. But since she had brought it up, the situation had escalated.
Normally, out of respect for Daoist Qingxuan, he would choose to mediate or settle it privately.
But today, Li Qingran had a mysterious figure standing behind her, one whose exact position was still unknown.
Did he dare to muddy the waters?
Moreover, this matter was, to put it bluntly, a headache for both Chixiao Peak and Daoist Qingxuan.
On ordinary days, Daoist Qingxuan didn’t think much of him as the sect leader.
Today was a perfect opportunity to give Daoist Qingxuan a little lesson while also showing goodwill to the figure behind Li Qingran.
He was also thinking of helping his direct disciple, Zhao Lingtian, restore his dantian!
“Yun Zimo, is what Li Qingran said true?” Wu Duantian fixed a cold gaze on Yun Zimo, the aura of a late-stage Transformation stage cultivator locking onto him.
Under that piercing gaze, Yun Zimo felt a chill run down his spine. He understood the consequences of this matter coming to light, but with Li Qingran having no evidence, he stubbornly retorted, “I ask the sect leader to see clearly; I have never done such a thing. This is Li Qingran’s slander!”
Wu Duantian could tell from Yun Zimo’s bluster that he was already on shaky ground. He then turned to Li Qingran, “As the sect leader of Qingyun Sect, if you are expelled because of this matter, I will certainly seek justice for you. But everything must be based on evidence. Do you have any concrete proof?”
Justice?
Li Qingran found it laughable.
The “justice” Wu Duantian spoke of wasn’t for her; it was for the elder behind her.
Without that elder’s protection, she wouldn’t get anything today.
“Of course, I have evidence. I was expelled from the sect, and before I left the mountain, I found a disciple involved in the matter and offered him a thousand low-grade spirit stones to reveal the mastermind behind it. He thought I would no longer be a member of Qingyun Sect, and with the temptation of spirit stones, he told me everything. That disciple even made me swear to the heavens that I wouldn’t disclose this matter, or else…”
Li Qingran’s gaze sharpened as she looked directly at Wu Duantian and the others from Chixiao Peak.
In fact, she could have exposed Yun Zimo before being expelled. But at that time, she still held onto a glimmer of hope, fantasizing about the bonds of brotherhood and dreaming of a day when she could return to Chixiao Peak and reconcile with everyone. It was only when Zhang Hanxiao threw her into a dilapidated hut that she realized—those from Chixiao Peak were no longer worth her expectations.
【Elder, Qingran won’t let you down!】
Her eyes darkened as she murmured to herself.
The past pain poured out with each word: “...or else, I shall suffer the torment of ten thousand swords piercing my heart!”
As soon as the words left her lips,
Zing—! An illusory sword pierced through her from behind.
Li Qingran’s face turned pale, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, dripping down her chin with a soft ‘plop’ onto the ground.
Her trembling hand rose, covering her chest where the illusory sword had pierced through, her body swaying dangerously, barely able to stand with her right hand propped against the sword.
Zing, zing, zing—!
More swords fell from the void, embedding themselves in her body.
The intense pain felt like countless insects gnawing at her nerves.
“Ugh…”
Blood gushed from her mouth, flowing from her seven orifices, staining the floor with a shocking crimson.
Yet she remained silent.
The plaza in front of the Qingyun Sect was eerily quiet.
Everyone stared in shock at the scene before them, their minds trembling.
In less than two breaths, Li Qingran was surrounded by a multitude of illusory swords, turning her into a living pincushion! It seemed as if the weight of these swords was pressing down on her, her long hair cascading to the ground, mingling with the blood, and she could only kneel on one knee to keep her frail body from collapsing.
The profound scriptures of the Great Dao swirled around the swords.
Ten thousand swords piercing the heart.
The oath of the Great Dao was fulfilled before all eyes.
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Chapter 43: Are You Satisfied?
“Help! Someone, please help!”
“No way, the game didn’t even hint at a plot twist involving a female lead!”
Outside the ‘game,’ Chen Huai’an was dumbfounded, witnessing Li Qingran instantly turn into a bloodied figure.
For a moment, he even wondered if he hadn’t recharged enough!
He frantically tapped the screen, causing more cracks to spread across his already battered phone.
Sweat rolled down his cheeks, and at that moment, Chen Huai’an desperately hoped for the system to pop up a recharge button.
All the disciples of Qingyun Sect were stunned, and among the crowd, one disciple turned pale, his face filled with disbelief.
He could never have imagined that Li Qingran would use the oath of the Great Dao as a means to prove herself.
That was the torment of ten thousand swords piercing the heart!
A moment’s inattention could lead to a shadow that would haunt one’s cultivation journey for a lifetime, making it impossible to advance further!
On Chen Huai’an’s side, the long-awaited pay-to-win moment finally arrived, as a prompt box slowly appeared on the screen before it could be completely shattered.
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