Chapter 240: The Big Fish Eats the Small Fish

The entrance to the secret realm was in complete chaos.

Too many sect cultivators had been slain by Chen Huaian’s sword. Some hadn’t even realized what had happened before their elders or juniors were reduced to a mess of flesh and blood, leaving no remains to bury.

“Damn you, Sword Pavilion! My Yunlan Sect will never share the same sky with you!”

“But that senior is no longer part of the Sword Pavilion…”

“So what? He was once with the Sword Pavilion, so this matter is their responsibility!”

Amidst the wails of grief, harsh words like these echoed frequently.

Yet, no one dared to say they would seek trouble with Chen Huaian.

The Void Fusion Realm—this was already the pinnacle of cultivation in the entire Cangyun Realm. Even the grand elders of major sects could only look up to such profound cultivation.

Not to mention, this one wasn’t just any ordinary Void Fusion cultivator—he had already slain nearly a dozen of his kind today.

For a cultivator in the Fusion stage, getting killed was already a rarity, yet in this man’s hands, even an early-stage Void Fusion cultivator was slaughtered like a mere dog.

“Our sect is already weak, and now we've lost so many disciples. We are no match for the Sword Pavilion. Besides, there is no need for us to act. Now that the Holy Lands of Yaoci and Fanjing have been destroyed, the two True Saints will not sit idly by!”

“That’s right. When the Great Secret Realm opens, we should first surround the Sword Pavilion disciples!”

As the various sect cultivators glared at the Sword Pavilion’s disciples and secretly plotted, the long-silent entrance to the Great Secret Realm suddenly let out a thunderous roar.

Much like the activation of the smaller secret realm, a teleportation array flickered with light near the massive gate.

Before long, figures began emerging from the air—these were mostly elders from different sects. However, the moment they stepped out and looked around, they were dumbfounded.

“Elder Li, why does the sky seem… so open now?”

“Uh… It seems that Yaoci and Fanjing’s strongholds are… gone?”

“Elder Wang, why does the air smell so strongly of blood? Could it be that our killing intent is too strong…”

Looking down at the mountains beneath the secret realm, they saw the peaks were stained crimson. A lake had even turned a faint red.

Countless sect disciples and rogue cultivators scurried through the mountains, with battles and cries of sorrow echoing from all directions.

“This is bad! Something’s happened!”

A sect elder hurried back to his sect’s grounds, only to find his disciples pale as ghosts—less than a tenth of them remained alive.

“Who?! Who did this?! Who dared slaughter my sect’s disciples?!”

“It… it was the Sword Pavilion’s patriarch…” a disciple stammered, trembling.

“Good! Very good, Sword Pavilion!” The elder didn’t bother asking for details—he immediately turned and flew toward the Sword Pavilion’s domain.

The same scene played out across multiple sects.

Before long, the Sword Pavilion’s stronghold was completely surrounded by sect elders and leaders from all over.

“Where is the Sword Pavilion’s patriarch? You dare kill our disciples?! Today, we will slaughter every last one of you!”

After declaring his intent, one sect elder discreetly turned to his disciple and whispered, “By the way, what’s the Sword Pavilion patriarch’s cultivation level?”

The disciple glanced at him hesitantly, then lowered his head and mumbled, “V-Void Fusion Realm…”

“What?! Void Fusion?!”

The sect elder’s back stiffened as he sucked in a sharp breath. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“…You didn’t ask…”

Swallowing hard, the elder turned back toward the Sword Pavilion, his expression changing immediately. Clearing his throat, he spoke in a much gentler tone:

“Ahem, there must be some misunderstanding here. Could we perhaps discuss what offense my sect’s disciples have committed against the senior? If the senior does not wish to meet, that is fine as well—we can certainly negotiate appropriate compensation…”

Of all the people to provoke, why did it have to be the ultimate old monster of the Void Fusion Realm?!

He had already made up his mind—once this was over, he would resign from his sect immediately. This was terrifying. He needed to find a remote place to hide for a few decades before resurfacing!

“Fellow cultivators, there must be a reason for all this bloodshed. Why don’t we get the facts straight before making a decision?” A voice rang out from the crowd.

When everyone turned to look, they saw that the speaker was Yun Baiyu, the Valley Master of Lingxi Valley. Instantly, they parted to make way.

Lingxi Valley and the Pill Sect were both famous in the Cangyun Realm for their expertise in medicine, but Lingxi Valley had a far better reputation.

The Pill Sect focused primarily on making money—anyone with enough spirit stones could buy the best treatment from their disciples. Meanwhile, Lingxi Valley disciples healed people without being so mercenary.

Had anyone else spoken up, the sect leaders and elders would have dismissed it as nonsense. But since it was the Lingxi Valley Master, it was worth some serious thought.

And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the Sword Pavilion patriarch was a Void Fusion powerhouse.

“Fellow Daoist Yun is right. We should get to the bottom of this before assigning blame.”

A step down was immediately taken. The truth was, no one wanted to take responsibility.

A few sects with more backbone chose to endure the humiliation in silence.

Those who truly had the courage to act had already done so—they wouldn’t have run here demanding an explanation from the Sword Pavilion.

As for those who hadn’t acted yet, they were merely lying in wait, searching for the right moment.

After questioning their disciples, the sect elders and leaders quickly turned dumbfounded.

As it turned out, the Sword Pavilion patriarch had been protecting his disciple by setting up a sword formation. But the disciples of various sects, incited by an elder from Fanjing Holy Land, had charged in to break the formation. When the Sword Pavilion patriarch returned and saw people attempting to destroy his disciple’s defense, he had wiped them all out on the spot.

Whether or not the disciple was sheltering a demonic cultivator was irrelevant.

The Sword Pavilion was infamous for protecting its own in the Cangyun Realm.

To openly attack the disciple of a Sword Pavilion elder? Wasn’t getting slaughtered the natural consequence?

Fairness? Justice? Righteousness?

Strength was fairness. Strength was justice. Strength was righteousness.

“Sigh, this whole mess… It’s hurting our sect’s relationship with the Sword Pavilion.”

“Indeed, indeed. Why did those juniors get involved in the holy lands’ grudges against the Sword Pavilion?”

Having learned the truth, most sect leaders were already thinking of backing down.

“By the way, where are the people from Fanjing and Yaoci Holy Lands?” someone suddenly asked.

“They… they were cut down by the Sword Pavilion patriarch in just two sword strikes. He also… also killed many elders and disciples from the holy lands…”

At these words, the air fell deathly silent.

Seeing the shifting expressions of these wily old foxes, Yun Baiyu knew things were about to take a bad turn.

Suddenly, a cultivator from an unknown sect stepped forward, wearing a righteous facade. “We righteous cultivators must stand against demonic cultivators! Our disciples assisted the holy lands in attacking the sword formation—this was an act of justice! Yet they were slain by the Sword Pavilion patriarch! No matter how strong he is, must we bow to him? No! We must seek justice! No matter how powerful he is, the True Saints of the holy lands will surely avenge us!”

In that instant, the sect elders who had just emerged from the Great Secret Realm found themselves perfectly aligned with those outside who had planned to encircle the Sword Pavilion.

The big fish eats the small fish, and the small fish eats the shrimp.

“Indeed! With the True Saints backing us, we have nothing to fear!”

“Today, we shall avenge our fallen disciples!”

The atmosphere grew tense as the Sword Pavilion disciples unsheathed their swords, preparing for battle.

Just then—

A series of sword cries split the sky.

Everyone looked up to see five flying swords streaking toward them.

Upon those swords stood none other than Su Qinian, the Pavilion Master of the Sword Pavilion, along with the four Great Sword Peak Elders.

At last, the elders of the Sword Pavilion had returned from the Great Secret Realm.

…