"Clang!"
The final sword strike unfolded like slow motion—a blazing arc of fire split the sky, leaving behind a trail of flames resembling a phoenix's tail feathers.
Even the blood-red moon had no choice but to retreat, hiding behind the clouds.
The last few demons collapsed with a thunderous crash, heads severed from their bodies.
Luo Luo and Li Zhaoye darted out from opposite sides, meeting amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of blood. Their eyes locked, as if reliving yesterday.
She gasped in amazement, "I got stronger, but the demons did too. Feels like nothing's changed—like I leveled up for nothing!"
Li Zhaoye burst into laughter. "If you hadn’t leveled up, you’d be dead already, Luo Dummy."
Luo Dummy shot back, "Got it, Li Doggy."
After clearing the demons ravaging the Jianmu, the two quickly located the source of the disturbance.
In the distance, the rift to the underworld resembled a pool of murky, black sludge spilled across the ground, its surface reflecting distorted, kaleidoscopic street scenes like filthy yet dazzling bubbles.
Demons crawled out from within.
Only a sect-level artifact could seal such a breach.
Luo Luo and Li Zhaoye exchanged glances.
Both were broke.
But they were used to being broke—poor folks had their own poor solutions.
Li Zhaoye tilted his head. "Let’s go in, slaughter a bunch, and use their corpses to block the entrance."
"Mm!"
For now, that was the only way.
By the time Yue Wugou emerged from seclusion, True Lord Pangyue was already at his wit's end.
"A sect’s treasure must guard the sect! We can’t let demons destroy our foundation. Ah—my dear boy, you’re finally out!" He took a closer look. "Did you break through?"
Yue Wugou gave a slight nod.
Daoist Cangyue stood nearby, lips pursed as he reluctantly glanced at Yue Wugou and grumbled, "This old man is truly useless. I was supposed to protect you during your cultivation, but I only got in the way."
Every time he tried to assist, he failed. The moment he stepped away in frustration, Yue Wugou seized the opportunity to succeed.
Wasn’t that just a slap in the face?
Daoist Cangyue couldn’t hide his irritation and muttered, "Your forehead looks a bit dark. You should stay in the sect to stabilize your cultivation. If you wander out, you might run into ghosts."
Yue Wugou replied calmly, "I’m going to Qinglin Sect. I’ll handle the Jianmu disaster along the way."
His life-bound weapon, the Moonwheel Halberd, was a divine artifact on par with the Taiyi Sword—it could temporarily suppress the broken seal.
Daoist Cangyue: "..."
Being ignored and talked back to by juniors—every elder’s fate.
Even a revered Daoist wasn’t spared.
Yue Wugou arrived at Qinglin Sect without delay.
From afar, he saw crowds of refugees gathered on Qinglin Mountain. His white-haired father-in-law led the sect’s disciples in a desperate struggle to maintain the protective barrier.
Yue Wugou paused briefly before stepping forward.
He raised his hand, and layers of moonlight spread outward, annihilating every demon in its path.
The refugees erupted in cheers.
"We’re saved! We’re saved!"
"The Heavenly Dao Sect has come to rescue us!"
"It’s Young Master Yue! We’re saved!"
A shrill voice suddenly cut in, "What are you waiting for, Qinglin Sect? Hurry up and drop that useless barrier so Young Master Yue can protect us!"
"Hey now," someone retorted, "don’t bite the hand that feeds you! Without this ‘useless barrier,’ you’d already be demon dung!"
Silence fell instantly.
The speaker looked around, only to realize no one backed him—everyone knew Qinglin Sect’s barrier wouldn’t last much longer. Their only hope was the Heavenly Dao Sect.
"...Heavenly Dao Sect! Heavenly Dao Sect!"
The exhausted Qinglin disciples clenched their jaws and silently turned to their sect leader.
"Drop the barrier!"
The white-haired sect leader dispelled the formation with a hand seal, staggered forward, and collapsed into the arms of his head disciple.
The crowd surged forward in alarm. "Sect Leader! Sect Leader!"
"Don’t worry. Master is fine—just exhausted," the head disciple said firmly. "He held on all night. Let him rest."
He knew the truth: the sect leader would rather die than owe Yue Wugou a debt. Being saved by him was a humiliation for the old man who had lost his wife and daughter.
But what could they do?
If only they were stronger.
The head disciple shot a glance at the moonlit figure hovering above and spat silently, "Hypocrite. Pah!"
The hypocrite descended like a god.
Not only did the refugees cheer, but even a few Qinglin disciples eagerly approached to curry favor.
Disciple A grinned obsequiously, "Last time you visited with Junior Sister, I toasted you three times! Do you remember me?"
Disciple B simpered, "Ah, the world pities Junior Sister, but who understands your pain? The one left behind suffers the most!"
Disciple C fawned, "Don’t take it personally, Sect Leader’s just got a resting sour face! He’s actually so proud to have a son-in-law like you!"
Yue Wugou acknowledged them with a faint nod.
The disciples gathered around the sect leader seethed with anger, itching to rebuke the sycophants, but the weary old man raised a hand to stop them.
"...Let them be."
"Tch!"
The group sighed in frustration.
The sect leader gasped for breath. "Jianmu has fallen. All of you—descend the mountain at once. Slay the demons."
"Yes!" "We obey!"
The Heavenly Dao Sect’s enforcement team, following Yue Wugou, resolved the crisis at Qinglin Mountain and immediately marched toward Jianmu.
Along the way, they mopped up the remaining demons, earning widespread acclaim.
"Senior Brother, doesn’t it feel like there are way fewer demons than expected?" A young Qinglin disciple frowned. "Looking back, the demons were overwhelming at first—we were on the verge of collapse. Then suddenly, their numbers dropped sharply, like a cliff edge."
"Mm." The head disciple nodded. "I noticed it too."
He just hadn’t wanted to say it.
Why had the demons suddenly dwindled? The Heavenly Dao Sect must have intervened.
His master refused to acknowledge their debt to the sect, and so did he.
The young disciple clenched his fists. "Senior Brother, I still believe Sect Leader’s wife and Junior Sister’s deaths are tied to that man! I can’t accept it! But... but..."
The head disciple felt the same.
After a long silence, he sighed.
What could they do? The Heavenly Dao Sect had already given their explanation. The culprit was Yue Ranchen, and she was dead. What more could they demand?
This time, the Heavenly Dao Sect had saved countless lives. Like it or not, they owed them.
For a moment, the sect leader had seemed to crumble, his spirit broken—because he had no choice but to swallow his pride and let it go.
The head disciple murmured, "Focus on the fight."
"Understood."
By the time Yue Wugou and his forces reached Jianmu, the sun had already risen.
"...Huh? The demons are all dead?"
Morning sunlight spilled across the ground, illuminating the chaotic ruins of the colossal Jianmu City, where the corpses of demons large and small lay strewn about. Dark bloodstains had dried on the bronze wood, pooling in patches and smears.
Who killed them?
While outsiders were baffled, the disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect knew the truth—they hadn’t slain a single demon in Jianmu! They had expected a bloody battle upon arrival, yet within dozens of miles, not a single living demon remained.
As the Heavenly Dao Sect stood bewildered, the crowd that had followed them erupted in cheers.
"Heavenly Dao Sect! Heavenly Dao Sect!"
"Young Sect Master! Young Sect Master!"
"Ah, this…" The disciples of the Enforcement Team glanced at Yue Wugou, who remained expressionless and did not deny the praise. Emboldened, they straightened their backs and accepted the unearned glory.
"Hey—there’s a survivor!"
A sharp-eyed rescuer pulled a living little girl from the bronze wreckage.
The girl murmured dazedly, "Immortal sister… killed the demons…"
The crowd laughed. "Little blind girl, can’t even tell men from women! Though the Young Sect Master does have a face as fair as a maiden’s, doesn’t he?"
The girl shook her head. "Not him…"
Her kitten-like voice was drowned in the sea of adulation.
"As expected of the Young Sect Master! Unmatched!"
"A calamity of this scale, resolved without a trace!"
"Who else but the Young Sect Master could achieve such a feat?"
A few disciples of the Qinglin Sect pressed their lips together in silence.
"Immortal sister! Immortal sister!" The little girl suddenly sprang up and dashed toward the heart of the ruins.
The crowd followed her gaze.
"Pfft."
At the center of the wreckage stood two dust-covered figures, swaying unsteadily.
"Pah! Pah!"
Luo Luo glared at Li Zhaoye, fuming. "If you were going to topple a mountain, you could’ve warned me!"
A mountain—that enormous—had come crashing down, leaving her mouth full of dirt. And not just any dirt—moldy, underworld filth.
Li Zhaoye sighed. "Can’t you teleport?"
Luo Luo: "...I forgot."
She still wasn’t satisfied. "No, I’m still not used to teleporting! Don’t act like it’s obvious!"
He lazily patted her head, humoring her. "Fine—whatever."
As they bickered, the sound of fluttering robes reached them. A group of cultivators descended before them.
"Where did you two come from?" A nameless cultivator waved them off like flies, his voice grating. "Can’t you see how dangerous this place is? Scram!"
Luo Luo: "?"
Li Zhaoye: "?"
Luo Luo answered earnestly, "It’s not dangerous anymore."
"Ha!" The cultivator puffed up with pride. "Only thanks to Young Sect Master Yue!" He gestured grandly around. "All of this—every last demon—was slain by him! Show some gratitude!"
Luo Luo and Li Zhaoye exchanged glances, both laughing in disbelief.
Li Zhaoye’s gaze landed on Yue Wugou—who was theatrically rescuing a cat from the rubble.
"Yue," Li Zhaoye said bluntly, "are you crippled?"
Yue Wugou glanced at him coolly.
Li Zhaoye smirked. "If you’re too weak to kill demons, we’d be happy to lend you a few."
Yue Wugou frowned. "This humble one—"
Before he could finish, his sycophants exploded. "The audacity! Trying to steal credit from our Young Sect Master! Know your place! You think you could slay demons like these? Look in a mirror before spouting nonsense!"
Luo Luo’s temper flared.
She stepped forward, locking eyes with the man. After a long pause, she slowly spat out, "I’ll kill Yue Wugou."
The man, caught off guard, stammered, "Y-you—what kind of nonsense is that?"
Panicked, his face flushed and paled in turns. He forced a simpering smile toward Yue Wugou. "Young Sect Master, pay no mind to this madwoman! Haha!"
This reckless girl dared to offend the Young Sect Master—he couldn’t let her drag him down.
Yue Wugou’s gaze settled on Luo Luo. "It’s you."
He blinked slowly, his lashes veiling his glass-like eyes.
"If you want something, take it up with my father at the sect." His voice was indifferent. "Step aside. This matter is urgent."
Luo Luo: "?"
"Tch." Li Zhaoye grinned. "What a pristine white lotus!"
A single dismissive line, and he and Luo Luo were reduced to glory-seeking opportunists?
He tilted his head toward Luo Luo. "Go on. End him."
Luo Luo nodded solemnly. "Mm!"
Her sword, Qiushui, left its sheath. In one fluid motion, she leapt, reversed her grip, and brought the blade down with a thunderous slash!
"Screeee—BOOM!"
Flames erupted from the sword’s edge, lighting up the sky.
Yue Wugou hadn’t expected her to strike so decisively. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before he swept his sleeve, shoving bystanders aside. A crescent of silver light shot toward Luo Luo.
The attack arrived in an instant.
"Clang!"
Her blade shattered the moonlit arc.
Yue Wugou had only used enough force to repel a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Luo Luo’s lips curled in a cold smile.
She wasn’t offended by his underestimation—deception was fair game. If he wanted to underestimate her, all the better.
In the span of a thought, she chose not to teleport. Instead, she rode the momentum of her strike, crashing down like a meteor.
"Whoosh—HUM!"
Her sword swept horizontally, aiming for Yue Wugou’s midsection.
He exhaled softly and stepped back, narrowly avoiding the blow.
"Continue this folly," he said coolly, "and I will not—"
Before he finished, Luo Luo vanished.
Teleportation!
His pupils contracted—she was at the Divine Transformation stage!
Luo Luo dissolved into the wind, her presence merging seamlessly with the surroundings.
Her sword, its edge and killing intent concealed, slipped silently toward him.
"Clink!"
"Tch."
Yue Wugou twisted aside, but too late—a thin line of blood bloomed at his waist.
A superficial wound.
He retaliated with another silver crescent. Luo Luo blocked with her sword, the impact sending her flipping backward to disperse the force.
He turned, brow furrowed. "What is the meaning of this?"
The onlookers finally recovered from their shock.
After a beat, curses erupted.
"Witch! She must be colluding with demons, ambushing the Young Sect Master!"
"Kill her! Kill the witch!"
Yue Wugou frowned and repeated, "Ambushing me—what is the Tai Xuan Sect’s intention?"
Li Zhaoye raised a hand cheerfully. "Ah-ah-ah—let’s not twist words. If we say we’ll kill you, we’ll kill you. That’s not an ambush—that’s keeping our word!"
As the crowd gaped, Luo Luo attacked again.
Li Zhaoye stood by, grinning. Anyone who tried to interfere found themselves tangled in his sealing threads.
"His cultivation’s unstable. You can take him," he called to Luo Luo. "Play it safe—break his realm first."
Luo Luo: "Got it!"
Yue Wugou’s pupils shrank. "Is your sect truly determined to make an enemy of the Heavenly Dao Sect?"
Openly crippling someone’s cultivation—this was a declaration of war!
"Don't try to pin this on us—personal actions have nothing to do with the sect." Li Zhaoye lazily tugged on a sealing thread, tripping a few charging cultivators face-first into the dirt.
Yue Wugou nearly laughed in frustration.
"Attacking while I was advancing my cultivation and slaying demons—what a fine way to claim no sect involvement!"
"Boom!"
Luo Luo swung her sword down furiously. "Who here hasn’t advanced? Who hasn’t fought demons? Open your damn eyes and look around!"
A wave of flames crashed down like a meteor.
She had just broken through to the Divine Transformation realm, and her foundation wasn’t exactly stable.
After exterminating the demons at the Jianmu Tree, she and Li Zhaoye had infiltrated the Nether Realm, slaughtering their way through and even toppling a mountain, leaving them covered in dust.
As if anyone here was at full strength.
The survivors in the ruins might not recognize Luo Luo, but they definitely knew the blaze that lit up the night sky.
"It’s her! It’s her!"
"She’s the goddess who saved us! That’s her!"
Hearing this, the disciples of the Qinglin Sect exchanged glances and silently stepped forward, shielding the survivors behind them.
"Are you certain they were the ones who purged the demons at Jianmu last night?" the head disciple asked.
"Yes!"
A quick check of the timeline confirmed that no more demons had appeared afterward.
"So…" The Qinglin Sect members shared looks. "All this time, the Heavenly Dao Sect did nothing, while the disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect rushed from afar to help?!"
"Bullshit!" a hoarse voice screeched. "It was Young Master Yue who led the Heavenly Dao Sect in exterminating the demons! These two frauds are just trying to steal credit! Shameless!"
The flattery made the Heavenly Dao Sect disciples shift uncomfortably.
They knew damn well whether they’d fought or not.
"Regardless," one Heavenly Dao disciple stepped forward, voice grave, "our Young Master risked his life, even sacrificing his divine artifact to repair the seal. Yet these two disrupt and delay—do they mean to doom the world?"
The crowd roared in agreement.
Above, Luo Luo and Yue Wugou had already exchanged nearly a hundred blows.
She fought ferociously, ignoring her unstable cultivation, charging forward without hesitation.
If Yue Wugou didn’t dodge, every strike would land—at the Divine Transformation realm, spiritual clashes were no different from physical ones.
"Whoosh—BOOM!"
Yue Wugou frowned.
With Li Zhaoye watching like a tiger from the sidelines, he didn’t dare go all out.
"I don’t recall ever offending you two."
Moonlight rippled as he retreated gracefully, a streak of fire barely missing him.
Yue Wugou continued, "Even if there’s some grudge, prioritize the greater good. If I’ve wronged you, I’ll make amends afterward."
His words sounded noble, and the crowd below erupted again.
"Stop this—do you want the Tai Xuan Sect to be remembered as villains for eternity?!"
"Young Master Yue cares for the world! And you dare ambush a righteous man?!"
"Do you think you can silence the judgment of history?!"
"Your names will be cursed forever!"
"STOP! STOP NOW!"
Luo Luo, who had once been a mosquito herself, wasn’t bothered by their buzzing.
She swung her sword faster, fighting with increasing frenzy.
"Don’t worry," she said earnestly. "Once you’re dead, we can still use your Moonwheel Halberd to seal the breach. No difference."
Yue Wugou: "..."
He finally understood—Luo Luo genuinely meant to kill him.
"Then don’t blame me for showing no mercy."
Luo Luo laughed wildly. "Took you long enough! No backing out now!"
Before the words faded, the two collided midair with a force that seemed to mute the world.
For a heartbeat, only a faint white noise hummed between heaven and earth.
Then—
"BOOM!"
The shockwave exploded outward, dimming the sunrise as silver and crimson light rippled across the ruins of the bronze city.
"Pfft—"
Luo Luo spat blood, grinning. "That’s the spirit! Again!"
Yue Wugou suppressed the surge of energy in his chest, his palm chilling with frost.
He didn’t understand. How could this woman smile so brightly, so arrogantly?
She was just a Divine Transformation cultivator. Against him, newly ascended to the Unity realm—what gave her this confidence?
He’d never faced an opponent like her.
"BOOM!"
Another full-force collision.
Her Autumn Water Sword scraped against his Moonwheel Halberd, the friction turning the metal red-hot.
Luo Luo pressed forward, eyes blazing with the desire to drag him down with her.
Yue Wugou retreated.
He valued his life too much to risk mutual destruction with some madwoman.
That single step back cost him momentum.
Luo Luo seized the opening. With a hum, she gathered the world’s spiritual fire, its brilliance outshining the dawn.
Sword raised, flames condensed—she lunged, slashing relentlessly!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—"
Yue Wugou’s heart pounded.
Not only did he have to counter Luo Luo, but he also had to watch for Li Zhaoye’s ambush.
A moment’s lapse, and his halberd took several brutal strikes.
Luo Luo was bleeding more than him, but pain meant nothing to her. Seeing his pupils shrink, she only grew fiercer.
Yue Wugou: "..."
When had he ever provoked such a lunatic?
Amid the ruins—
"Hey," a young cultivator called to Li Zhaoye, "why aren’t you helping her?"
Li Zhaoye glanced over, recognizing him—the same fool who’d questioned Yue Wugou at the crime scene and got beaten for it.
With a lazy smirk, Li Zhaoye said, "Me standing here is threat enough. Take notes, kid."
Young Cultivator: "..."
That was a lesson in how to fail at life.
"CLANG—!"
Luo Luo’s sword locked with Yue Wugou’s halberd.
Sparks flew as the blades held fast.
Yue Wugou’s left hand glowed with a crescent moon, poised to strike—when a killing intent prickled his back.
He jerked away, whirling to glare at Li Zhaoye, who innocently spread his hands.
"Don’t blame me—I didn’t move a finger!"
Yue Wugou’s lips thinned.
This couldn’t continue.
"What do you two even want?"
Luo Luo and Li Zhaoye exchanged a glance.
In unison:
"To kill you."
"Exactly what we said—killing you."
Yue Wugou scoffed. "Then there’s no room for negotiation."
His aura shifted instantly.
Like moonlight itself, he dissolved into the air, surging toward Luo Luo.
"Now we’re talking!" Luo Luo’s eyes sharpened. Sensing the spatial distortions, she teleported, thrusting her sword—
"Shhht—!"
Her blade pierced a weak point in the moonlight.
The recoil nearly shattered her body, leaving her flickering like a reflection on water.
‘Oops, my cultivation’s destabilizing.’
But retreat never crossed her mind.
With a soft "whoosh," her body ignited, merging with her sword as she stabbed forward—one final, desperate strike!
In that instant, it felt as though life and death hung in the balance.
The moment Li Zhaoye moved, a figure materialized in the void before him.
"Hm?" Li Zhaoye raised a brow. "Brother, you look familiar."
The other man sighed with a faint smile. "We did cross paths once before. The Divine Lord has an excellent memory."
Li Zhaoye's lips twitched.
Who could have guessed that the "low-level cultivator" who once cursed him as a white lotus and even slapped him during the Qingyun Preliminaries was none other than the illustrious Daoist Cangyue?
