Half a day later.
Yao Chongshan and Guan Yingzhi kept their word and traveled to the main peak of Earth Sword Mountain, where they met up with Tang Kejing, Gu Jiyang, and Song Wu.
During the gathering, several cultivators chatted casually with the Yao couple, filled with praise. They all said the two of them were among Earth Sword Mountainâs most promising candidates to reach the Nascent Soul stage.
"Oh, no, no, my wife and I just gained a bit of advantage thanks to battlefield contributions," Yao Chongshan replied with his usual humility. "After the two-sect war, our cultivation speed will slow down like everyone else's."
Even so, Yao Chongshan took those words to heart. He firmly believed that it wouldn't be long before he reached the Nascent Soul stage and became one of Earth Sword Mountainâs venerable masters.
Soon, the rest of the group arrived.
As the organizer, Tang Kejing didnât delay. After a respectful salute to the others, he took the lead and flew off from Earth Sword Mountain.
Seeing this, the others followed close behind, heading together toward Luoyun Market.
âŠ
Luoyun Market sat on the border between Chu Kingdom and Kang Kingdom. It was a border market, quite far from Earth Sword Mountain.
The five of themâTang Kejing and the othersâflew for several days straight. Once they were certain the road was safe, they gradually relaxed their guard and even started chatting and laughing along the way.
But just as they were passing a white cloud overhead, Yao Chongshan suddenly sensed something and his face changed. He abruptly stopped and sent a voice transmission to the others, telling them to halt.
"Junior Brother Yao, whatâs wrong?" Tang Kejing looked confused. He hadnât sensed any danger ahead.
Still, he trusted Yao Chongshanâs instincts. After all, the Yao couple were some of the very few sword cultivators in Earth Sword Mountain.
Sword cultivation was a top-tier inheritance in the immortal path. Anyone who practiced it was usually exceptionally gifted.
And in certain aspects, sword cultivators could even rival those born with spiritual physiques.
Like nowâtheir sense of danger was significantly sharper than most.
"My spirit sword gave a warning. Thereâs something wrong ahead," Yao Chongshan said grimly.
Spirit sword warning?
At that, the others immediately realized who had redeemed the âGolden Rock Spirit Swordâ from the sectâs Merit Hall over ten years ago.
That sword wasnât an ordinary magic weapon. It was a proto-spiritual treasure, containing a barely-formed sword spirit inside.
Spiritual treasures were exclusive to the Divine Transformation stage.
Even if the Golden Rock Spirit Sword wasnât fully developed, it was still overwhelming at the Golden Core stageâbasically unstoppable.
However⊠even though Yao Chongshan and the others reacted quickly and communicated silently using voice transmission to retreat from danger, their speed couldnât match Wei Tuâs Nascent Soul-level power.
As they backed away, the white cloud in front of them suddenly surged forward, enveloping all five of them in an instant.
Then, the cloud turned into a yellow mist, sealing off their movement.
"Is this the Yellow Cloud Net from the Ying Ding Tribe?"
Right away, the veteran Golden Core cultivator Tang Kejing recognized this deadly artifact from the Ying Ding Tribe.
"What? The Ying Ding Tribe?"
"Why would a cultivator from the Ying Ding Tribe attack us?"
Aside from the Yao couple, the other threeâTang Kejing, Gu Jiyang, and Song Wuâwere shocked and confused.
None of them could recall doing anything lately that might have offended someone from the Ying Ding Tribe.
Naturally, Yao Chongshan and Guan Yingzhi kept quiet about the real reason. They werenât about to admit that this ambush might have been orchestrated by Wei Tu, seeking revenge for his masterâs death.
"Senior Brother Tang, with our combined strength, we have no rival within the Golden Core realm. No need to fear this lowly sneak attack!" Yao Chongshan shouted as he raised his magic sword.
Hearing this, Tang Kejing, Gu Jiyang, and Song Wu didn't question him. They nodded and each summoned their own magical weapons, ready to fight their way out.
But what happened next instantly froze the blood in their veins.
With a sharp âwhoosh,â a flash of green light streaked past their eyes. In an instant, one of Yao Chongshanâs arms was gone, replaced by a cloud of blood mist.
If not for his quick sword escape, he wouldâve been killed outright.
"Nascent Soul-level cultivatorâŠ"
The voices of Tang Kejing and the others trembled. They couldnât believe what they were seeing.
Then came another flash of green light.
This time, Yao Chongshanâs other arm burst into blood mist and vanished without a trace.
At that moment, Tang Kejing and the others finally realized that Yao Chongshan hadn't escaped that fatal strike because of a timely sword escape. The Nascent Soul old monster was toying with himâtorturing him slowly, refusing to let him die cleanly.
"Senior, who are you? Why are you targeting me, Yao? What did I do wrong?"
Yao Chongshan had already lost both arms. Before he could unleash any of his full power, most of his cultivation had already been crippled. Staring in horror into the yellow cloud, he spoke with a trembling voice.
Heâd cultivated his whole life. He wasnât overly cautious, but heâd never been foolish enough to provoke a Nascent Soul master.
Everything happening now was far beyond what he could have ever imagined.
"Senior⊠are you the Divine Master of He Di? Or Divine Master Du Long? Or perhaps Divine Master Donglai?"
Gritting his teeth, Yao Chongshan blurted out the titles of three Nascent Soul elders from the Ying Ding Tribe, hoping for a response from within the yellow cloud.
"Senior, Junior Brother Yao is a Golden Core elder of our sect, one of our top talents. If heâs done anything to offend, I hope youâll be mercifulâŠ" Tang Kejing also stepped in, trying to speak on Yao Chongshanâs behalf.
But no one inside the yellow cloud responded.
Instead, right after he spoke, another flash of green light swept across. Tang Kejing saw it clearly this timeâa man in a green robe, plain-looking and nothing like the three Divine Masters heâd just named. His attire didnât match the grassland styles of Kang Kingdom either.
"Wei Tu!" Tang Kejing gasped in shock, instantly recognizing the green-robed cultivator.
After all, Wei Tu had become a household name in the Kang Kingdomâs cultivation world even back when he was only at the Golden Core stage. There werenât many Golden Core cultivators who didnât know his name.
Still, Tang Kejing couldnât understandâwhy was Wei Tu targeting Yao Chongshan specifically? And why such cruelty?
âŠ
On the other side.
The moment Tang Kejing saw Wei Tu, Yao Chongshanânow face to face with himânaturally recognized the same man he had always feared deep down.
Unfortunately, he now had no strength left to resist. All his spiritual power was completely sealed off by Wei Tu.
Andâ
Wei Tu seemed intent on extracting the âGolden Rock Spirit Swordâ from his body, destroying his sword root and foundation altogether.
"Alchemist Wei, war spares no one. I only killed your master because⊠I was a cultivator of Earth Sword Mountain."
"If you kill me now, my sect will definitely avenge me."
Once he saw Wei Tu, Yao Chongshan gave up all thoughts of begging. He knew there was no way Wei Tu would spare someone who had killed his master.
So instead, he tried to provoke him further, hoping to push Wei Tu into doing something that would lead to retaliation from Earth Sword Mountain.
"War spares no one? Youâve got a point, Daoist Yao," Wei Tu sneered. "But let me askâback when I spared your life, why didnât you say that?"
With a cold laugh, he pressed a finger to Yao Chongshanâs forehead and forcibly pulled out the Golden Rock Spirit Sword from his sea of consciousness.
"So this is the sword that sensed my Yellow Cloud Net. Earth Sword Mountain really does have deep roots. No wonder itâs been around for ten thousand years."
Wei Tu glanced at the glowing, spiritual three-foot short sword in his hand and clicked his tongue in amazement.
But while he was marveling, someone else was suffering.
As soon as Wei Tu pulled out the Golden Rock Spirit Sword, Yao Chongshan let out a sharp, miserable scream. He collapsed onto the yellow mist, barely clinging to life.
He looked nothing like the proud man who had left Earth Sword Mountain just a few days earlier.
"Husband!"
Off to the side, Guan Yingzhi couldnât take it anymore. Overwhelmed by grief, she turned into a streak of purple sword light and lunged straight at Wei Tu.
But without Yao Chongshanâs support, her power was no more than a standard late-stage Golden Core cultivator. She wasnât even a match for a peak-stage Golden Core, let alone someone like Wei Tu.
"Noisy," Wei Tu said with a frown. With a flick of his sleeve, he summoned a soft green sword and sealed her up, just like he had done to Elder Ma.
"Senior Brother Tang, Senior Brother Gu, Junior Brother Song! Arenât you going to help? This demon wants to wipe us all out!" Guan Yingzhi shouted in panic, trapped and unable to escape.
But Tang Kejing, Gu Jiyang, and Song Wu didnât move.
They exchanged glances, all wearing hesitant expressions, and collectively took several steps back.
It was obvious now that Wei Tu, the Nascent Soul master, had come specifically for the Yao couple. The rest of them were not his targets.
Otherwise, with Wei Tu's strength, they would never have come out of this completely unharmed.
"You call yourselves fellow sect members⊠shameless!" Guan Yingzhi exploded with rage at the sight, shouting through clenched teeth.
At first, Tang Kejing and the other two looked embarrassed, clearly uneasy. But as Guan Yingzhiâs curses grew more venomous, the three of them stopped caring altogether and wore blank expressions.
Wei Tu glanced at them, noting their tactful silence. He gave a small nod of approval and said, "As long as you three behave, this grudge wonât involve you."
In truth, Wei Tu never intended to escalate this matter beyond the Yao couple.
He wasn't some lone wanderer. He had a family, childrenâthings that could be used against him. If things spiraled out of control, even though he was a Nascent Soul cultivator now and could kill Tang Kejing and the others today, the Earth Sword Mountain elders could easily retaliate against his family tomorrow.
The Yao couple had broken protocol and shown no mercy when they attacked Che Gongwei. That didnât necessarily mean Earth Sword Mountain would break the rules in turn and come after Wei Tuâs people.
But if they ever did, he would respond just as ruthlesslyâno more holding back.
As for destroying bodies to erase evidenceâŠ
That might work in the mortal world. But in the chaotic world of cultivation, it was pointless. The moment word spread that he had reached the Nascent Soul stage, even if there was no proof, Earth Sword Mountain would know it was he who killed the Yao couple.
So unless necessary, he didnât want to let this grudge snowball into an all-out war.
"Yao Chongshan, if you keep running your mouth, not only will you die, but your partner will too."
Wei Tu smiled faintly, turning to the nearly crippled Yao Chongshan and said calmly.
"Guan Yingzhi can live?"
Those words lit a spark of hope in Yao Chongshanâs heart. If she could survive, then taking all the blame for what happened to Che Gongwei didnât matter.
And maybe⊠just maybe, if she ever reached the Nascent Soul realm, she could avenge him one day.
"It was my greed. I forgot the kindness Senior Wei showed by sparing me back then⊠and killed his master Che Gongwei afterward, without any sense of gratitude."
Yao Chongshan lowered his head and admitted guilt.
As soon as those words left his mouth, Tang Kejing and the others exchanged glances. Their eyes now carried an undeniable look of contempt toward the Yao couple.
They finally understood why Wei Tu, despite being a Nascent Soul elder, would break convention to assassinate the Yao coupleâbecause they were the ones who had first broken the rules.
This wasnât something that could be brushed off with a simple 'war spares no one.'
Compared to demonic cultivators, righteous cultivators were held to a different standardâone that included a bottom line. That bottom line might seem useless at times, even mocked by some, but when invoked, no one could argue against it publicly.
At the very least, all the major sects prided themselves on being righteous sects on the surface.
And now, it was clear. Wei Tu, a Nascent Soul master, was merely punishing two Golden Core juniors.
"Senior Wei, rest assured. Once I return to the sect, I will report everything in full detail. I will not defend Yao Chongshan in the slightest."
Tang Kejing stepped forward and made his stance clear.
If it had been any other time, and Yao Chongshan had committed such a grave crime, as his senior, Tang might have tried to cover for him. But this was different. The two had provoked a Nascent Soul master.
He would have to be a fool to get involved.
They had brought this on themselves.
No power. No justification.
"We agree as well," Gu Jiyang and Song Wu echoed, immediately distancing themselves from the Yao couple.
Seeing all this, Yao Chongshan seethed with silent hatred. But he also held onto the idea that Wei Tu would let Guan Yingzhi live now that he had admitted guilt.
Thenâeverything shattered in an instant.
Wei Tu raised a hand and tapped lightly. In the blink of an eye, Guan Yingzhiâs body exploded, turning into a bloody mess. Her soul and body were gone.
"Why? Why didnât you keep your word?" Yao Chongshan roared, teeth clenched, every word laced with fury.
But Wei Tu didnât even flinch. He simply furrowed his brows, glanced at Yao Chongshan, and said blandly, "You already confessed. So why would I spare your partner? Did you really believe what I said?"
"Besides⊠I never promised Iâd let her live."