Stronger from Earth

As envoys visiting the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable and others found themselves in an awkward position. As direct mentors of Sword Immortal Qingfeng, they were tasked with both apologizing and uncovering the truth.

Honestly, knowing Qing Feng as they did, that child was humble and cautious—it wouldn’t make sense for him to commit such an act of dragon slaughter.

Celestial Sword Mountain did not lack cultivation resources, and they had long found substitutes for what one might gain from slaying a dragon. If it were for a momentary impulse, one could only say that people underestimated the wisdom of the true inheritors of Celestial Sword Mountain.

Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable and others kept communicating with the Dragon Race at the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, probing into the details of the incident.

The more they inquired, the more questions arose in their hearts.

They deeply suspected that someone had orchestrated the incident, aiming to provoke a conflict between Celestial Sword Mountain and the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest.

But where was the evidence?

As the group entered the Grotto Heaven of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable and others saw the gazes of the True Dragons, sending chills down their spines.

The eyes of the entire Ten Thousand Dragon Nest were filled with anger—discontent over the dragon slaughter, and frustration with the traitor of Celestial Sword Mountain.

Celestial Sword Mountain, so mighty, created the dragon-slaughtering path to enlightenment, with disciples and grand-disciples slaying countless dragons, advancing step by step on the lives of the Dragon Race.

Even if the Great Saints of the Dragon Race bowed their heads and requested the Demon Suppression True Monarch to restrain the disciples, placing the dragon-slaughtering path aside.

Yet here we are, over a hundred years later, faced with the same situation again.

Do they really think the Dragon Race is easy prey? With the backing of the Demon Suppression True Monarch and the formidable combat power of Sword Cultivators, do they not care about the Dragon Race’s dignity?

If Celestial Sword Mountain truly holds this attitude, then there’s no reason for the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest to remain on the Mother Star. It would be bloodshed upon Celestial Sword Mountain, proclaiming to the world with the lives of True Dragons and Sword Cultivators that the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest is not to be trifled with!

Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable spoke, "Esteemed ones of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, we of Celestial Sword Mountain acknowledge Qingfeng’s wrongdoings.

But this matter is full of doubts—why Qingfeng entered the ocean, why he clashed with the Dragon Race, why he dared to slaughter a dragon—these matters are still under investigation.

We hope you will grant us time to uncover the truth and give an account to the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, as well as to clear Celestial Sword Mountain’s name."

In his view, after the incident, the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest should have protected the scene and then investigated alongside Celestial Sword Mountain.

To directly convict Qingfeng and escalate the situation to a clash between their factions was to truly put Celestial Sword Mountain in the hot seat.

However, one could not blame the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest for their reaction, for Celestial Sword Mountain had bullied them so severely in the past, and they had yet to vent that resentment.

Upon hearing this, Long Yu coldly replied, "Celestial Sword Mountain’s Sword Immortals are indeed remarkable, doing such deeds yet still seeking excuses."

"The head of my Dragon Race descendant lies there, the blood and tears have not yet dried, restless even in death," a Dragon Race elder spoke.

Being of the same generation as Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable, his words came with no intention of sparing any face.

As the victim, humiliated and bereft of a True Dragon, how could the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest speak softly?

To hell with that.

As for the supposed doubts, what of it? Celestial Sword Mountain thinks there are doubts—let them investigate on their own.

Without concrete evidence, without the so-called truth, don’t come here trying to shift the blame onto us.

The massive figure of Long Wudao’s Dragon Body hovered in the air, and as he lowered his gaze, he spoke solemnly, "Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable, if you do not accept our decision from the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, then conduct your investigation."

With that, he released the restraints on Sword Immortal Qingfeng, allowing this "suspect" to recount the events.

"Master, Grandmaster, you, have arrived." Sword Immortal Qingfeng, now without his prior arrogance, spoke with shame, "Disciple has troubled you!"

Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable coldly instructed, "There is no need for extraneous talk—just recount the events to us."

If they were at Celestial Sword Mountain, he would have surely closed the door and given a sound beating for causing such a huge problem for the sect. Truly unfilial.

Sword Immortal Qingfeng then began detailing the events: At first, he was traveling in a coastal city. Later, he heard rumors of strange items appearing in the sea. During the search, he clashed with the Dragon Race, and in the heat of their insults towards Celestial Sword Mountain, his anger led to a fight, unintentionally resulting in the death of the other party.

During his account, Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable frequently interjected with questions, the more he asked, the more reckless and impulsive Qingfeng’s actions seemed—uncharacteristic of his usual demeanor.

There were points of doubt and some traces, but now that the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest had already labeled the incident, and even Qingfeng himself admitted to it, continuing the investigation would be difficult.

At this point, they could only bear the blame publicly and pursue the investigation privately.

Just like when Zhao Hao killed Chen Qingniu’s father, anomalies were discovered back then. It wasn’t until years of investigation that the truth came out: it was orchestrated by an Immortal from the Abyss Realm.

But truth aside, they must still handle the situation accordingly.

Ziwei Immortal Monarch bowed deeply in apology, "As the master of the disciple Qingfeng, I bear inescapable guilt for his grave offense. Today, I apologize to everyone at the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest."

The dragons of the Dragon Race remained silent. Did they think it could be brushed off so easily? Impossible.

Ziwei Immortal Monarch sighed deeply and placed his hand on disciple Qingfeng’s head, using Sword Qi to erase Qingfeng’s lifelong cultivation.

It was a process both painful and despairing.

Hearing Sword Immortal Qingfeng’s wails and pleas, the dragons of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest felt an immense satisfaction, regretting only that they could not do it themselves.

After a brief moment, Qingfeng transformed from a talented Peak Celestial Tier Sword Immortal into an old man with white hair.

Even with Celestial Sword Mountain’s abundant resources and meticulous mentoring, Qingfeng’s future was now doomed to be barren, far from his previous potential.

This disparity would bring him lifelong suffering.

"Is it enough?" Ziwei Immortal Monarch asked.

Long Yu snorted coldly, "Of course not."

Ziwei Immortal Monarch drew out his Long Sword, severing his own arm, then destroyed his Lifebound Flying Sword, and placed it beside the Fallen Dragon.

A Sword Cultivator of the Star Lord Realm willing to break his sword and injure himself as a penance, his sincerity was beyond question.

"The disciple’s offense has been punished; what’s insufficient will naturally be borne by me as his master," Ziwei Immortal Monarch’s face was filled with sorrow.

To damage one’s Lifebound Flying Sword was a loss no Sword Cultivator could easily endure, and he was no exception.

Long Wudao spoke, "We’ve observed Celestial Sword Mountain’s sincerity. Thus, we shall grant you two days to investigate.

If the truth is uncovered, all shall rejoice. If it turns out Celestial Sword Mountain wasn’t wronged, then we shall judge the crimes in the City of Ten Thousand Beasts.’

"Having the disciple of Celestial Sword Mountain judged and tried by the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest would indeed preserve Celestial Sword Mountain’s dignity and uphold the respect of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest.

In order to avoid this ordeal and to preserve the sect’s honor, Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable and others needed to hasten their investigation.

Long Wudao’s gaze fell upon Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable and company, a mocking smile playing at his lips. Having orchestrated matters so far, how could he allow Celestial Sword Mountain to uncover the truth?

At least, not within these few days.

Ziwei Immortal Monarch and his party left the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, burdened with worry, unsure how to unveil the truth in two days.

From afar, Wang Xuan watched their despondent figures. He had not expected Ziwei Immortal Monarch would even lose an arm.

Needless to say, the fate of Sword Immortal Qingfeng could never be a good one either.

’It seems Celestial Sword Mountain hasn’t uncovered the truth, nor did they ever realize that those who entrapped them were Long Yu and the Alien Race, much less that the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest had been covertly infiltrated and overtaken by the Alien Race.’

Had they known, would they have borne the blame willingly, or apologized subserviently?

Surely, they would have summoned the Demon Suppression True Monarch long ago, to cleanse the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest of aliens!

By this point, Celestial Sword Mountain seemed to have no means of turning the tide. Now, it was Wang Xuan’s turn to step in.

But his intervention wouldn’t come cheap. Celestial Sword Mountain, Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, and those aliens—all would have to pay dearly.

"Daoist, please wait."

Wang Xuan, in the guise of Longevity Taoist, called out heartily, summoning Celestial Desolate Sword Venerable and the others.

His clone was still out gathering blessings and promoting the progress of the Time Domain, while his true form had settled into Deep Space, beckoning these Celestial Sword Mountain sword cultivators who had just swallowed a bitter pill of humiliation.