The style of the Aoyama Sect was reflected in their famous mantra, "Do you have a death wish?"
This mantra was sometimes expressed in other forms. For example, the Immortal Liu Ci, his personal disciple Zhuo Rusui, and the current Jing Jiu all uttered a faint "hmm" like this mantra.
He Bumu was an elder of Shiyue Peak. He had been dealing with plants and magic pills for a long time, so he had a steady and mild temperament. When he uttered this mantra, he changed his wording to sound more polite, at least he mentioned the option of not wanting to die.
But everybody knew that it was unnecessary. No matter how mild Elder He's words were, they were actually extremely tough or cruel.
At the critical moment, the Aoyama Sect would only provide the world with two choices: to obey or to die.
If the Platanus Sect was in chaos, and the Sect Master Chen and Sensei were killed, the Aoyama Sect, as the guardian of the order of the Cultivation world in the south, would have to do something.
It meant that this middle-aged man named De Yuanquan would die for sure, regardless of whether he could succeed the position of the Sect Master or not.
Many Cultivation practitioners had heard of this famous mantra of the Aoyama Sect, but few had actually heard it with their own ears.
There was an uproar in the crowd.
Many people thought that the Aoyama Sect would keep a low profile for many years in order to wait for the "spring rain". Unexpectedly, this seemingly mild elder had forced the Grandmaster and De Yuanquan to the edge of the cliff. Was the Aoyama Sect going to kill someone in public today?
The expression on the Grandmaster's face didn't change, and the wrinkles on her face didn't move a bit, as if they were carved by a knife.
"This is the internal affair of the Platanus Sect. Even though the Aoyama Sect is the leader of the orthodox Cultivation sects, you can't interfere in it."
She took two steps forward slowly with the walking stick in her hand, and said to He Bumu expressionlessly, "You want to command the world? Is the Aoyama Sect going to learn from the Bloody Demon Church? "
This was a forceful and reasonable accusation, and it was hard for anyone to answer. Moreover, He Bumu was just like the other sword cultivators of Aoyama. He was not good with words. But why were most of the Aoyama Sword Cultivators not good with words? Naturally, it was because Aoyama Sect rarely needed to reason with others.
"It seems that the Cloud Dream Mountain has made a promise to the Old Lady."
He Bumu directly pointed out the essence of this matter. "I don't want to know about those things, but I want to see the Sect Master and the Young Sect Master tomorrow. Otherwise, who is this …"
Lin Yingliang, a disciple of Shiyue Peak, said, "De Yuanquan."
He Bumu continued, "… That's right. Mister De Yuanquan, in that case, I have no choice but to ask you to die."
After saying that, he led Lin Yingliang and the other disciples of Aoyama out of the hall, not giving the Grand Mistress a chance to speak again.
The hundreds of cultivators in the hall were silent. The air was filled with an oppressive and tense atmosphere.
They could clearly sense that this Elder He and the few young disciples were in a bad mood, and they were very angry.
It was evident that the people of Aoyama didn't want to use their swords carelessly and be criticized by the Cultivation circle. That was why they left on their own, giving the Platanus Sect a night to think it over.
As for who would win, it wasn't the focus of the Cultivation practitioners.
Though He Bumu was a regular elder with a few regular disciples, he was nonetheless an elder and a disciple of Aoyama.
Even if they couldn't deal with the Platanus Sect, Aoyama would send someone else to deal with them.
The Western Sea Sword School was wiped out by the Aoyama Sect two years ago; it was believed that no one would forget it even after two hundred years.
All the gazes fell on the Grand Mistress, wondering what she would choose.
If something had happened to the Sect Master Chen and Sensei De, the war would be inevitable. However, according to the style of the Grand Mistress, she wouldn't be so extreme in the beginning.
The expression of the Grand Mistress didn't change, and there was no sign of hesitation or compromise.
The crowd thought of what Elder He had said, thinking that Zhongzhou School had intervened in the end … But wasn't the other side still sealing off the mountain?
…
…
After returning to the quiet courtyard, the three monks took off their conical hats.
The old monk looked at Jing Jiu and sighed, saying, "This elder of your sect is a bit too hot-tempered."
For a Buddhist disciple, asking others if they wanted to die and asking them to die was indeed a bit hard to accept.
Jing Jiu said, "He Bumu has to make pills as well as grow flowers, so it's inevitable that he's a little hot-tempered."
The two hot-tempered people weren't the same thing.
It meant that he didn't care about He Bumu's attitude at all.
Because of that incident, the Aoyama Sect was very quiet. However, silence didn't mean that it was low-key. More often than not, it meant that some kind of power was accumulating.
From him to Yuan Qijing, from He Bumu to Lin Yingliang, these young disciples all had some emotional problems, so it was natural that they were a bit hot-tempered.
At a time like this, the Grand Mistress of the Platanus Sect actually colluded with the Zhongzhou School, so the Aoyama Sect would instinctively make the toughest response.
The young monk didn't understand the conversation between his Master and Jing Jiu, so he asked worriedly, "Are Sect Leader Chen and Junior Sect Leader all right?"
Jing Jiu looked at the sky outside the courtyard, as if he was listening to something. After a while, he said, "They're fine."
The old monk asked him, "Are you really going to work here?"
Jing Jiu uttered an "Hmm".
…
…
The water of Morning Lake was very green, and there was a ball of white feathers floating in the water. It was unclear whether it was a willow catkin blown by the wind or a white goose looking for fish with its head lowered.
Along with the sound of water splashing, the ball of white feathers sank toward the bottom of the lake at a faster and faster speed until it turned into a white line. It was so quiet that it didn't attract any attention.
The bells hanging on the willow branches by the lake didn't ring out any warning.
It didn't take long before a white cat appeared on a remote island, dripping wet after a gentle wind blew over. The cat's hair was very long. It was combed smoothly by Zhao Layue and Cold Cicada on the Shenmo Peak every day, so it didn't look like much. But once the cat's hair was wet, it would become tangled up, making it look like a mess.
The white cat lowered his head and puffed out his chest, trying his best to lick his chest; but when he found it was in vain, he shook his head angrily and jumped into the patch of forest one thousand feet away.
The Platanus Sect was heavily guarded, especially this small island, which was full of formations and traps.
Though these formations and traps couldn't harm the cat, it would be troublesome if they triggered the alarm.
That Little Mistress was no match for the cat, but it would be troublesome if she used the most powerful magic treasure of the Platanus Sect to fight against it.
The three things the white cat liked the most in his life were sleeping, sleeping on Jing Jiu's head, and sleeping in Zhao Layue's bosom; but the only thing he disliked the most was trouble.
As such, he was very careful not to leave any footprints on the sandy beach, nor did he leave any urine under the tree. Yet, it was a troublesome thing to walk so carefully. The expression in his eyes grew more resentful, as he wondered why Jing Jiu chose to walk on his own when he could pretend to be a soundless human-shaped stone.
It was then that he heard a feeble voice coming out of the stone wall.
"You're really a burden to my son …"
"Mom, don't say that … Grandma is a bad person … I don't like her anyway."
"Don't say that about the elders. If you hadn't made her so sad this time, she wouldn't have made such a choice."
"Humph, she doesn't want me to be with Brother Zhan; so I won't listen to her. What's wrong with being a monk? Do monks eat our rice? "
Hearing this, the white cat was sure that this was the place he was looking for, and the people imprisoned in the stone wall were the mother and daughter he was looking for.
He raised his head and meowed softly at the sky.
…
…
As the Lord Guardian of the Aoyama Sect, Liu Ada had the lethality of someone at the initial stage of the Connecting Heaven Level. But what was a little embarrassing was that in recent years, whenever he went out with Jing Jiu, the people he met were people he couldn't defeat, or people he didn't dare to fight. For example, the Azure Dragon, the Great Ancestor of the Mysterious Dark Sect, and Taiping Zhenren … But in a place like the Platanus Sect, he could be more relaxed. Even if the trouble he didn't want to face came, he could just fight it out.
After confirming that he couldn't open the stone wall, he went straight to the core area of the Platanus Sect. He hid among the green leaves of the mountain and looked at the tower in the distance.
That was the Star Gazing Tower of the Platanus Sect. It had a very tacky name, but it could be seen in all the prefectures.
The Matriarch sat in a chair. De Yuanquan stood in front of her, his attitude respectful.
"I know I should wait for another two years, or at least until the Zhongzhou School ends its seclusion …"
The Matriarch looked at him and said, "But I won't be able to live until next year, so I can only take the risk."
De Yuanquan lifted the front of his robe and knelt in front of her, saying, "I'm unfilial to have troubled you, Mother."
The Matriarch said, "It doesn't matter whether you call me Mother or Aunt. I've never hoped that I could become your biological son by adopting you, nor have I hoped that you would pass the position of Sect Leader to Sensei after my death. But in all things, you have at least one advantage, and that is that your surname is De. You can't change that."
De Yuanquan kowtowed and said, "It's all because of Mother's love."
The Matriarch said, "If you want to settle this matter, you have to let Miss Chen die. Tonight, you will deal with it."
De Yuanquan was a little surprised. He thought, "A few days ago, Sensei threatened to kill herself, so you let Miss Chen live. You planned to let her die slowly … Today, the people from the Aoyama Sect had come, but you suddenly used such a thunderous method. Are you really not afraid of the Aoyama Sect's attack?"
The Matriarch said, "Threatening to kill seems simple, but it's actually not. You have to at least let them know that you dare to die, and that you dare to let others die. I want to use Miss Chen's death to win the trust of the Aoyama Sect, and then use Sensei to force them to retreat temporarily. As long as I can delay it for another year, when the matter is settled, it doesn't matter anymore. "
De Yuanquan said, "I will follow Mother's teachings."
The Matriarch glanced at him and said, "You have to remember, we can threaten others with death, but others can also kill us."
De Yuanquan thought of the question asked by the elder of the Aoyama Sect, and said with a cold expression, "He Bumu has just entered the Broken Sea State, so he is no match for me."
The Platanus Sect was a major orthodox sect, with the protection of the Mountain Gate Formation. Even if the Aoyama Sect wanted to attack it, they would have to pay a great price, and it would take some time.
All he needed to do to kill that damned De Sese was to move a finger.
As long as no one could threaten him by the Dawn Lake, the Platanus Sect could delay this matter.
The Matriarch was in her late years, so she felt tired after speaking a few words.
De Yuanquan helped her to the bed and took care of her carefully before leaving the Star-picking Tower.
Not far from the Star-picking Tower to his own residence, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned around and looked at the mountains, but he found nothing.
…
…
By the time the white cat returned to the small courtyard, Jing Jiu was cultivating on the futon with his eyes closed.
Usually, when he cultivated on the Shenmo Peak, he would lie down or sit casually. It was rare for him to cultivate in such a formal and ritualistic manner.
A band of fog came out from the top of his head, which seemed to contain countless tiny crystal particles, which were the materialized sword wills.
The Sword of the Universe and the First Child Sword were moving slowly against each other in the patch of fog.
There were many ways to train the swords in the world, but nobody knew more than Jing Jiu. What he used that day was the method of sharpening the swords.
The two swords faced each other, and their wills acted as a bridge. Then, they were sharpened by the purest and sharpest sword wills in heaven and earth, and the connection between them would grow stronger.
The longer they drifted in the patch of fog, the energy of the Sword of the Universe grew quieter, and the energy of the First Child Sword grew fainter.
The blood left by Nan Qü and Xiwang Sun on the sword after being separated for a thousand years had almost disappeared.
The white cat transmitted everything he had seen to Jing Jiu through his spiritual awareness.
He learned the location of the small island, the number and distribution of the bells, the weakness of the formation, and De Yuanquan's manor cave.
All these were arranged by Jing Jiu. He thought that he would go to rescue the people first and then do something else.
Jing Jiu didn't open his eyes, so it was unclear if he had heard what the cat said.
The fog coming out from the top of his head grew fainter, and the energies of the Sword of the Universe and the First Child Sword grew fainter.
The white cat had vaguely guessed something, his pupils shrinking a little. He took two steps back, making way for a passage leading from the small courtyard to the sky.
… …
… …
Morning Lake was very large.
The Near-Star Building was about ten miles away from the place where the guests of various sects were staying.
The wind chimes on the eaves suddenly rang out.
The Grandmaster opened her eyes and got up to look at a spot, her face pale.
In a building not far away, the bell also rang loudly.
A sword light arrived at the deep end of the building after passing through the ringing of the bell.
De Yuanquan lifted his eyes and waved his hand expressionlessly. The bell tied to his wrist flew up, heading toward the sword light.
He had been taught by the Grandmaster in secret for many years, so his Cultivation state was indeed profound. The flying sword was clamped by the bell!
A powerful and heavy force passed through his fingers. De Yuanquan grunted and took half a step back. The spot between his eyebrows turned red, as if it was about to bleed.
The energy of the flying sword was desolate, but it was rather broad, looking rather uncoordinated.
De Yuanquan's expression changed slightly as he thought of whose sword it was.
As the wind blew up, Jing Jiu showed up in front of him and pointed at the spot between his eyebrows with his right hand.
It was indeed you!
De Yuanquan turned his palms over and clamped Jing Jiu's right hand.
He didn't pay any attention to the sharp pain coming from his hand and the blood dripping down from it. He looked at Jing Jiu's face, full of anger and confusion.
How dare you come to kill me in order to avenge that wicked girl De Sensei!
Even though you are a rare genius in the sword work of the Aoyama Sect and have reached the State of Free Travel at such a young age, how dare you come to kill me!
Do you know what state I'm in?
How preposterous!
Even though De Yuanquan felt it was preposterous and enraged, he didn't intend to kill Jing Jiu.
The reason was simple: he didn't dare.
The bell in the building rang loudly.
The bell clamping the Sword of the Universe started to emit soundless waves.
No matter how powerful a Cultivation practitioner was, his Taoist Heart would be easily broken by these bells. Then, Zhen Yuan would be completely weak and could only surrender.
Jing Jiu's expression didn't change. His right hand suddenly emitted a beam of light.
It was neither the light produced by the Taoist magic arts nor the light of magic treasures. It came from his hand.
The light was a bit cold, like the luster of metal.
There was a soft clank sound.
Jing Jiu's right hand went through De Yuanquan's head.
There was not a drop of blood.
There was not even a drop of brain.
The bell stopped ringing.
The wind rose again.
Jing Jiu disappeared.
So did the Sword of the Universe.
The wind rose in the small courtyard ten miles away.
The old monk and the young monk didn't have a high state, but they vaguely felt that something had happened.
They looked into the room subconsciously and found Jing Jiu sitting on the rush cushion, not moving a bit.
Looking at Jing Jiu on the rush cushion, the white cat opened its mouth in shock, but couldn't make a sound.
(End of this chapter)
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