Chapter 259: Not a Demon

Peace negotiations?

Upon hearing Daoist Shouren’s suggestion, even more people furrowed their brows.

“He’s addicted to killing, an extremist by nature. He’s slaughtered countless on his path to ascension. And now you’re saying we should negotiate peace with him? Isn’t that just raising a tiger to invite disaster?”

“Someone like him would never be sincere. Even if we make peace now, once he grows stronger, he’ll turn against us. By then, it’ll be too late for regrets.”

Daoist Shouren chuckled and said, “If you ask me, you’ve all demonized Lu Ye far too much. I once investigated every part of Lu Ye’s journey from the First Heaven onward, and I found that this image you’ve painted of him as a demon among demons—it’s not accurate.”

“What’s not accurate? He killed in the First Heaven, killed in the Second, and killed in the Third. Now he’s in the Fourth Heaven, and he’s still killing. Throughout history, aside from demonic and heretical cultivators, who else has committed such frenzied slaughter? If that’s not a demon, what is?” a Heaven and Earth Realm expert retorted angrily.

“But I see it differently. Please, allow me to explain.”

“In the First Heaven, Lu Ye was somehow driven into demonic possession. But under siege by numerous foreign races, he had no choice. After going berserk, his master warned everyone to stay away. Lu Ye had already lost control. Yes, he bears responsibility, but it wasn’t entirely his fault.”

“Later, he was besieged by many sects’ experts. To protect himself, he triggered a tribulation. Then they sent out Divine Dispersing cultivators to kill him—and he killed them in return.”

“Then came the foreign invasion. Lu Ye stepped in to slay the invaders and even donated a vast amount of resources to various sects, shielding the people of the world. That, I’d call a righteous act.”

“And after that? The Jiang Clan’s Jiang Die tried to kill him for no reason. Lu Ye fought back in rage.”

“In the Second Heaven, he traveled eighty thousand miles, killing only those who came to kill him—just to get revenge on Jiang Die. Think about it: he’d just entered the Second Heaven and was immediately attacked by countless people. Was that his fault too?”

“In the Third Heaven, again it was the Jiang Clan who struck first. Lu Ye retaliated and destroyed them. Is self-defense a crime?”

“Later, rumors spread that Lu Ye was the reincarnation of a great power. Many coveted his treasures, and so he killed again.”

“Now here in the Fourth Heaven, people are blocking the Ascension Pool. Blocking the Ascension Pool—what a despicable act! And now, just because he fought back, you brand him as a demon among demons?”

“There’s no justice in that!”

Daoist Shouren’s words were impassioned.

He was trying his best to prove that Lu Ye was not the villain they claimed he was.

But irritation lined the brows of the crowd.

Was it really so important whether or not Lu Ye was a “demon among demons”?

What truly mattered was the massive fortune Lu Ye might be hiding.

The techniques and methods he used simply had no place in the lower realms—they were too advanced.

Sure, blocking the Ascension Pool was shameful. But Lu Ye acted alone. With no sect behind him to retaliate, what was there to fear?

“Daoist Shouren, we’d actually like to negotiate peace as well. Why don’t you go and ask Lu Ye whether he’s willing? If he agrees, then peace it is,” said a Heaven and Earth Realm expert from the Star-Picking Sect with a smile.

Upon entering the Fourth Heaven, many new sects had emerged—each more prestigious than the last. If your ancestors hadn’t produced an Emperor, you didn’t even have the right to call yourself a sect. Without a Great Emperor in your lineage, you weren’t fit to be labeled elite.

Take the Star-Picking Sect, for example—it was the legacy of the Star-Picking Emperor.

Even though that emperor was a figure of ancient history, having an emperor as an ancestor meant their name carried weight.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course we are. You just saved us. Do you think we’d lie to you now?”

Daoist Shouren gazed at them, his heart feeling somewhat bitter.

He wasn’t stupid. He could tell they were just making excuses to shift responsibility. But he truly didn’t want to see any more bloodshed.

Sigh...

Forget it. He’d go ask Lu Ye himself if peace was an option.

Daoist Shouren flew off in the direction of Lu Ye.

As soon as he left, a Heaven and Earth Realm expert’s face twisted with rage.

“Damn it! Damn it! My senior brother died just like that! Lu Ye must die!”

“He must. But we need a real plan. We can’t keep letting him fly us like kites!”

“Convene a war council!”

This meeting was led by four major factions: the Myriad Age Sect, the Wang Clan, the Invincible Sword Sect, and the Three Immortals Mountain.

The Myriad Age Sect had already been ransacked by Lu Ye, but now they had experience fighting him. They knew Lu Ye was extremely skilled in formations. And in most cases, formations were essentially meaningless against him.

So they had moved their valuable treasures long before, keeping them far from the sect.

In hindsight, that was quite a wise decision.

This council alone had thirty-one Heaven and Earth Realm experts in attendance. Including those killed by formations, the total number of high-level cultivators who had been mobilized against Lu Ye had reached a terrifying seventy.

As for those in the Samsara Realm? Too many to count.

There was no choice. Lu Ye had provoked countless factions in the Third Heaven, many of which had branches or presence in the Fourth Heaven as well.

Meanwhile, Daoist Shouren had arrived a great distance from Lu Ye.

He began speaking slowly.

“Shouren greets fellow Daoist Lu Ye.”

Lu Ye didn’t open his eyes. But this was someone who shared his suffering—so he responded.

“You’re here to negotiate peace?”

Daoist Shouren was slightly taken aback.

“How did ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) you know?”

“The Dao of Protection has always been like this.”

Daoist Shouren was—

“You recognized me as soon as you ascended to the Fourth Heaven?”

“I didn’t. But I sensed from you a familiar aura of the Dao of Protection—very similar to an old friend of mine.”

Upon hearing this, Daoist Shouren’s emotions stirred.

“There’s really... another person in this world who cultivates the Dao of Protection?”

Lu Ye opened his eyes. His complexion had regained a trace of redness—not the ghostly pale it had been before.

At this moment, only Daoist Shouren cultivated the Dao of Protection.

“There was.”

“Hahaha! Wonderful! Wonderful! My path is not a lonely one—I'm not alone on this path, hahaha...”

Daoist Shouren suddenly began laughing—laughing with such joy that his face twisted. Gradually, the laughter became sobbing. The smile slowly turned into tears.

“Can I meet him?” Daoist Shouren asked.

Lu Ye was silent for a moment before slowly replying.

“He’s dead.”

Daoist Shouren’s eyes brightened.

“How did he die?”

“He protected others, but failed to protect himself. Thought he was guarding his beloved—yet it was that very beloved who killed him.”

Daoist Shouren’s gaze dimmed.

Just a single sentence—but Daoist Shouren could almost feel the pain himself. Just imagining it made his chest ache.

The Dao of Protection was rooted in emotion.

If not for being so sentimental, none would tread this path.

And yet those who cherished emotions most... were the ones killed by emotion.

“Then, fellow Daoist—are you willing to negotiate peace?”