Chapter 248 - 242: Sect Leader! I Have Something to Report
To the southeast, in a deep and secluded canyon.
The scorching sun hung high in the sky, baking the earth. The canyon walls on both sides were searing hot to the touch.
The area was deserted, with only a few vultures circling high above, casting lonely shadows on the ground.
Wang Xiedi trudged through the canyon, his steps uneven.
Following the directions Dong Changsheng had given him, he had rushed all the way here.
The bright sun shone down on him, but it couldn’t dispel the growing unease in his heart.
Everything was clearly visible, yet an unsettling strangeness permeated the air.
He rounded a bend, and the end of the canyon suddenly opened up into a small valley.
It was then that he heard familiar voices.
It sounded like Ye Longtao and several other junior brothers who had been undercover.
He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, so Wang Xiedi quickened his pace.
"...This disciple has not failed his mission! I have never forgotten the Sect Leader’s great kindness! We endured humiliation in the demon’s den, hoping day and night, and today, we have finally parted the clouds to see the sun!"
Ye Longtao then thought of Dong Changsheng. The man had a peculiar way of thinking, but he had helped settle the commotion and even covered their retreat, so he added a mention of him.
"Sect Leader, this mission’s success is also thanks to Dong Changsheng. He covered our retreat, allowing us to make these gains."
Sunlight streamed down from a fissure at the top of the canyon. A beam of light fell directly upon the Xuanyuan Daoist, splitting his entire figure into light and shadow.
One half of his face was bathed in sunlight, his expression compassionate;
the other half was hidden in shadow, its details indistinct.
He listened quietly to their report, then slowly turned around. The sunlight illuminated a face wearing a gentle smile.
"Well done. You have all done very well."
His voice was so warm and gentle, seemingly able to soothe one’s heart.
But in the next instant, that warmth became a death knell.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Without the slightest warning, the outer sect disciples, still in the throes of excitement, suddenly convulsed. Then, under an invisible force, they exploded!
Blood and viscera splattered in the sunlight, forming brilliant yet terrifying mists of red.
The blood mists rapidly condensed into several blood pills, which hovered in mid-air before Xuanyuan swept them into his sleeve.
At the same time, wisps of their souls were drawn by an unseen force into the Crystal Ball in his hand.
This sudden scene silenced Ye Longtao, who had been in the middle of his passionate speech.
The excitement and sycophantic glee on his face instantly froze, replaced by terror.
"Sect... Sect Leader..."
His legs gave out, and with a THUD, he fell to his knees, trembling and stammering incoherently:
"Th-they... they were just useless outer sect disciples... A little punishment... they deserved... deserved it... But... but..."
He panicked. Although he had always looked down on this group of wastes who had no hope of even reaching Foundation Establishment, believing their attempts at Cultivation were a waste of resources, seeing them so easily obliterated by the Sect Leader and refined into blood pills still struck a fear deep into his very soul.
’This... This is too much, isn’t it?’
’Couldn’t he have just beaten them up and thrown them out of the sect?’
’They were wastes with no hope for Cultivation anyway. Making them give up their fantasies early would have been for their own good. Why...?’
The Xuanyuan Daoist glanced down at Ye Longtao, who was trembling like a leaf at his feet, and spoke in a flat tone.
"Do you have a problem with it?"
"No! No problem at all!"
Terrified, Ye Longtao kowtowed repeatedly.
"A good kill! A great kill! Those outer sect wastes deserved to die! To... to be able to serve the sect as blood pills is... is the best fate they could have hoped for!"
"I also have more information!"
He was afraid that if he was half a second too slow, the Sect Leader’s next target would be his own head.
The Xuanyuan Daoist looked at his pathetic display, a flash of disappointment in his eyes, and finally sighed.
"Alas, Longtao. Ever since I saved you and took you as my disciple, you have always been arrogant and domineering within the temple.
If you had shown even a little backbone just now, perhaps I, your master, could have thought more highly of you before your death."
"How can we, people of the righteous path, be so afraid of death?"
These words made Ye Longtao’s heart clench instantly.
"Behaving like this... you still lack the moral fiber of our righteous path."
He slowly reached out and gently placed a hand on top of Ye Longtao’s head.
"But I will know your information after I search your soul. Relax. It’s normal to feel dizzy."
"Sect..."
Ye Longtao only managed to get out one word before he felt a force descend from the top of his head.
POP!
A line of blood bloomed along his neck.
His brain was still functioning. His eyes even saw his own headless body slowly toppling over.
Then, his consciousness plunged into eternal darkness as his soul, too, was sucked into the Crystal Ball.
The Xuanyuan Daoist withdrew his hand. He watched as Ye Longtao’s corpse also turned into a blood pill, then said:
"We were master and disciple, after all. I didn’t let you suffer too much in your passing."
And Wang Xiedi, who had just arrived, saw this entire scene unfold before his eyes.
Xuanyuan looked over at the figure frozen in place.
"Wang Xiedi..."
The Xuanyuan Daoist looked at Wang Xiedi, a bitter smile on his face.
"So you’ve come too. It seems the only one missing is Su Ling’er."
"Sect... Sect... Sect Leader..."
Wang Xiedi’s teeth were chattering uncontrollably. His legs trembled so violently that they could no longer support his weight, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Wh-what... what is happening?"
Silencing witnesses!
Those two words exploded in his mind!
In an instant, fragments of deeply buried memories—scenes that had been obscured in the illusion of the Asking Dao Ladder—now became crystal clear!
’Miss Qin, who took a mission from the Sect Leader and never returned!’
’Could it be... could it be that all the senior brothers and sisters who supposedly left the mountain for training and never came back... are already dead?’
’Miss Qin... she’s also... dead?’
The Xuanyuan Daoist looked at Wang Xiedi’s face, which was a mask of utter shock, and said calmly:
"Haven’t you already guessed the answer?"
"AHHH—!"
Wang Xiedi completely broke down!
’Miss Qin, who gave him a warm steamed bun when he was about to starve to death...’
’Miss Qin, who brought him back to Qingxu Temple and had always been so good to him...’
She was dead!
Killed by the very Sect Leader he had respected most!
’What do I do? What do I do?!’
’Get revenge?’
’Can a mere Qi Refining disciple like me even get revenge?’
His mind was in chaos, and fear threatened to swallow him whole.
Miss Su!
Right! There was still Su Ling’er, Miss Su!
’I have to... I have to tell Miss Su this information!’
’She isn’t here yet. I have to escape and tell her to run! Tell her to get away from here!’
This thought became his only obsession.
He forced his disobedient body up, using his hands and feet, scrambling and crawling on the ground, desperately trying to stand and escape this hell.
In the Xuanyuan Daoist’s eyes, his pathetic yet stubborn appearance was nothing more than a futile struggle.
"You think you can run?"
The Xuanyuan Daoist stroked his beard, slowly raised a hand, and pointed a finger in Wang Xiedi’s direction.
Just then, a clear voice cut through the dead silence!
"Sect Leader! I have a situation to report!"