Ancestor of the Yue Clan, Daoist Cangyue.
Yue Wugou had only recently ascended to the Harmony Dao realm, his foundation still unstable. As his ancestor, how could Daoist Cangyue rest easy letting him wander alone? If he were to perish prematurely, where would justice be sought?
Sure enough, trouble found him the moment he stepped out.
Fortunately, Daoist Cangyue had followed.
With a pained expression, he intercepted Li Zhaoye: "This junior of mine does have a habit of being insufferable—prone to offending others. Even you, Divine Sovereign, must find him grating. Truth be told, even I often feel the urge to thrash him!"
Li Zhaoye’s voice was icy: "Then why stop me? Let me have my turn."
Daoist Cangyue forced a bitter smile: "The Yue Clan’s lineage must continue. At my age, if I were to father another child, how would we even reckon the generational hierarchy? Grant me this face—I’ll discipline him myself later, how about that?"
In the span of their exchange, the sky erupted with anomalies.
Silver moonlight clashed violently with autumn-water red hues, their intertwined ripples spreading endlessly, vanishing beyond sight.
Luo Luo’s blade sliced through the moonlight, leaving trails like a fallen galaxy.
Her flames scattered repeatedly, their fragmented tails streaking behind her like dying fire-moths.
Amidst the dazzling spectacle, two figures suddenly solidified in the air.
Her sword tip aimed at his heart, while the crescent blade of his halberd hovered at her throat.
The next moment would decide life or death.
Luo Luo didn’t flinch. With a resonant clang, she thrust forward.
Yue Wugou’s pupils contracted sharply.
She was reckless with her life, but he couldn’t afford to be.
Even if he killed her, the cost would be severe—his cultivation might regress irreversibly.
He knew Daoist Cangyue had arrived.
With his ancestor holding back Li Zhaoye, why risk his noble flesh against a commoner’s stubbornness?
Decision made, his fingers shifted seals, and he retreated swiftly.
Luo Luo clicked her tongue.
Her gaze lifted, the reflection in her sword revealing eyes ablaze with defiance.
"Yue, you’re nothing but a coward!"
She pursued, her blade descending in a furious slash.
Yue Wugou replied coolly: "Killing you holds no meaning."
Luo Luo sneered: "Killing me? You lack the skill."
Cultivation and killing were two different arts.
For someone like her, no stranger to death, the subject of demise was as familiar as an old tale. No one had more experience.
Compared to Li Zhaoye, Yue Wugou’s killing techniques were amateurish.
To defeat her, he’d have to overwhelm her with sheer power—crush her defenses, break her spirit. Knowing this, Luo Luo attacked relentlessly, her bravado a calculated bluff.
She’d gambled right. The coward wouldn’t trade his life for hers.
"We bear no grudges, past or present," he said, directing moonlight from afar to harry her. "I never act without purpose."
"Ha!" Luo Luo swung her flaming sword, charging again and again.
"Boom—!"
Her frenzy only grew.
Daoist Cangyue’s expression darkened.
Yue Wugou, too cautious to risk injury, was being pressed relentlessly by Luo Luo.
At this rate, his cultivation would destabilize before the fight concluded.
Troublesome, regardless of outcome.
"Enough," Daoist Cangyue turned to Li Zhaoye. "With no enmity between you, why insist on this pursuit?"
Li Zhaoye raised a hand: "Ah, don’t speak too soon. Who said there’s no enmity? This is vengeance."
Daoist Cangyue feigned surprise: "My disciple rarely ventures out. When could he have incurred such wrath?"
Without wasting words, Li Zhaoye reached into his spatial pouch and produced a skeleton, tossing it before Daoist Cangyue.
"See for yourself—whose handiwork is this fatal wound?"
A crescent-shaped scar marred the bones.
At their level, discernment was instantaneous.
This was Yue Wugou’s doing—his halberd’s signature. No one else, not even Yue Ranchen, could replicate it.
Daoist Cangyue’s heart sank.
So, this truly was a vendetta.
A closer look revealed brittle bones—the victim’s cultivation hadn’t reached the Golden Core realm.
A mere minor cultivator.
Daoist Cangyue exhaled in relief.
"Ah!" He slapped his thigh theatrically. "What a misunderstanding! Rest assured, Yue Wugou will be punished severely. Name your compensation!"
Li Zhaoye smiled lazily: "I said—he dies." He pointed at the skeleton. "This person had no quarrel with Yue Wugou, yet met unjust ruin. Explain that."
Explain?
Daoist Cangyue scoffed inwardly.
Below Golden Core, they were less than ants. Who mourned crushed insects?
But since the deceased had ties to the Profound Sky Sect, some appeasement was necessary.
"Of course, of course," Daoist Cangyue chuckled. "But with calamity looming, shouldn’t we prioritize the greater crisis? Once the disaster is averted, I’ll personally drag that fool to your doorstep!"
"Daoist!" "Ancestor!"
Disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect rushed to greet him.
"This corpse… Golden Core initial stage?" A law-enforcement disciple frowned. "Forgive my bluntness, but with the cataclysm upon us, could such a weakling even have survived this long?"
"Exactly! Even if the Young Master erred, so what? He’s a hero who’ll save the world! How can a nameless Golden Core wretch compare?"
"Right! Such trash doesn’t deserve life!"
Daoist Cangyue raised a hand, silencing them.
He sighed: "I dislike stating the obvious, but the truth remains—our world bows to strength. The weak perish; that’s fate. Death only proves one’s inadequacy… or poor luck."
Li Zhaoye nodded: "Fine."
He bent down, rummaging again in his pouch.
"Boom!"
A searing flare forced onlookers to shield their eyes.
Blades of sword-light assailed Yue Wugou as Luo Luo, her right hand gripping her sword and her left weaving seals, unleashed a crushing suppression.
The ruins behind Yue Wugou ignited.
Spiritual flames devoured bronze, melting it into a molten tsunami that cut off his retreat.
The metallic sheen of that liquid death promised agony beyond measure.
Trapped between sword and lava, Yue Wugou nearly laughed in frustration.
His reluctance to suffer even a scratch had led to this—a lower-realm cultivator cornering him!
Before he could react, Luo Luo was upon him, her blade descending.
Gritting his teeth, Yue Wugou channeled his halberd’s power to meet the strike head-on.
"Clang—CRASH!"
In an instant, blood and energy surged violently, shaking the very foundation of his cultivation. Yue Wugou calmly swallowed the faint metallic tang in his throat, his cold gaze fixed on Luo Luo—he wanted to see just how badly she’d been injured after that brutal clash.
"Boom!"
As if on cue, the massive wave of molten bronze behind him came crashing down.
In a flash, countless golden sparks of metal erupted, filling the sky and earth with scorching, acrid fumes. Molten bronze splattered and flowed, obscuring all vision.
By the time the molten bronze had settled over the ruins, ten breaths had passed.
Luo Luo hovered mid-air, gripping her sword with one hand, her face slightly pale. She raised a finger, wiping away a trace of blood from the corner of her lips before flicking it away indifferently.
Yue Wugou’s heart sank.
She was tougher than he’d expected.
He was a man of noble jade-like refinement, while she was nothing but a reckless life—fighting her head-on would only leave him at a disadvantage.
"Clang—"
Luo Luo twirled her sword, shifting it to her side.
While his gaze flickered and his thoughts scattered, she quietly burned away the large mouthful of blood she’d spat into her sleeve earlier.
That clash had nearly made her cough up a lung.
Luckily, she’d been prepared. The molten bronze had masked her being sent flying, grievously wounded.
By the time the air cleared, she’d already steadied herself, pretending as if nothing had happened.
She spun her sword, teleported, raised it—and slashed again!
"Boom—!"
Amid the sea of bronze flames, her sword gleamed brilliantly, its aura overwhelming.
"Come fight!"
Her blade cut through empty air as Yue Wugou teleported away, his expression darkening.
Luo Luo scoffed.
Li Zhaoye pulled out a Qiankun pouch.
He sighed. "My Luo Luo is so poor she won’t even take ill-gotten gains—such a big Qiankun pouch, so very big! And she just buried it with the bones."
The disciples of Qinglin Sect recognized the markings on the pouch.
"This… this belongs to Junior Brother Yu?!"
Li Zhaoye took out the identity token and the shattered weapon Luo Luo had deliberately placed back inside.
The Qinglin Sect disciples trembled. "It really is Junior Brother Yu!"
Their heads snapped toward Yue Wugou in the sky.
"He’s the murderer! He killed Junior Brother Yu!" a young cultivator shouted, voice shaking. "He knew all along that Junior Brother Yu was innocent!"
Daoist Cangyue frowned. "Not a disciple of Tai Xuan Sect?"
—Then why the hell is Tai Xuan Sect meddling?
The head disciple of Qinglin Sect clenched his fists, his gaze locked on the skeletal remains.
"Senior Brother!" "Senior Brother!"
"He killed Little Junior Sister, killed our master’s wife, killed Junior Brother Yu—it was all him!"
Fury erupted into the sky like a towering inferno.
Both Luo Luo and Yue Wugou sensed it mid-battle.
Luo Luo swung her sword down, smirking. "Your crimes are out in the open now."
Seeing the Qinglin Sect gathered around Li Zhaoye, Yue Wugou could easily guess which incident had been exposed.
Pursing his lips, he summoned a flood of moonlight, pressing down on Luo Luo like a colossal palm.
He wouldn’t give her another chance to trade blows recklessly.
His expression remained calm, indifferent. Just some nameless, insignificant cultivator—no one would care even if the truth spread.
"Indifferent, huh?" Luo Luo tightened her grip on her sword, her lips curling slowly.
She raised her blade, leaped into the air, and slashed down with her full weight behind it!
The silver moonlight crashed into her, but she channeled her flames, plunging through it, sword and all—without dodging.
"Boom!"
The distance between them closed in an instant.
Luo Luo’s voice was a devil’s whisper. "Let me guess why you went out of your way to kill Yu—"
"Why did Yue Wugou insist on killing Yu?"
Amid the ruins, Li Zhaoye analyzed solemnly for the crowd. "There’s likely only one reason—when Yu left Ji Chunhong’s place, he must have seen Yue Ranchen skulking around. He reported it to Yue Wugou."
The Qinglin Sect disciples seethed. "After the incident, the Heavenly Dao Sect immediately punished Junior Brother Yu without even giving us a chance to confront him!"
"So Yue Wugou knew everything from the start!"
"Him attacking Yu is irrefutable proof! He silenced him out of guilt!"
"If Yu had been devoured by demons, the truth would’ve been buried forever!"
Their gazes turned skyward, dazed.
"It was Luo Luo who buried Yu’s remains… Without her, we’d never have known the truth…"
"Is she… fighting for Yu now?"
Their bodies trembled, eyes reddening.
But the Heavenly Dao Sect disciples protested. "What nonsense! That case was settled long ago—it was all the Second Young Master’s wrongdoing, dragging our Young Sect Leader into it!"
"Tsk." Li Zhaoye wagged a finger sympathetically. "If your brains don’t work, go home and take your medicine—look at your wise old ancestor. He’s already figured it out."
Daoist Cangyue gritted his teeth.
As an ancient schemer, he’d long suspected Yue Wugou wasn’t the untainted white lotus he pretended to be.
He just hadn’t cared enough to dig deeper.
This world was cruel—those without cunning or ruthlessness never survived.
Luo Luo closed in.
"You were already on your way back that day," she said. "Yue Ranchen switched places with you halfway, didn’t he?"
Otherwise, how could "Yue Wugou" have barged into the courtyard so soon after Yu left?
Yue Wugou’s eyes flickered, rage flashing in his heart.
If it were night, he could have harnessed the power of the moonlight to obliterate Luo Luo effortlessly.
But it was daytime—channeling spiritual energy now would alert her instantly.
Her instincts were terrifyingly sharp, especially when it came to sensing killing intent.
"Yu really overestimated you," Luo Luo sneered. "Did you really need someone to tell you your brother lusted after your wife? You knew all along!"
Yue Wugou’s breath hitched.
His heart demon during tribulation had said the same thing.
Luo Luo had seen right through him.
"And you still think you’re the victim?" She curled her lips disdainfully. "Yue Wugou, you’re nothing but a coward, a worthless piece of trash!"
Without waiting for a response, she attacked again.
Every slash was a life-for-life exchange.
Yue Wugou’s eyes darkened as he retreated, refusing to engage directly.
Luo Luo laughed coldly. "You watched as your wife was humiliated, as she was killed—you just stood there. When Yue Ranchen possessed you, you could’ve done the same. You were there, clinging to the wall, watching everything."
His face remained expressionless, but veins bulged at his temples, his gaze icy. "You’re courting death."
"Good, good," Luo Luo grinned. "Finally showing some killing intent? Come on, fight me!"
Before he could react, flames erupted around her, blazing as if they could incinerate the heavens.
With overwhelming force, she brought her sword down!
Moonlight gathered behind Yue Wugou.
"Whoosh—"
A crescent moon unfurled at his back, and Luo Luo charged straight toward it—as if she meant to collide with the real moon itself.
She wasn’t afraid.
She’d seen through him completely!
"Ha!" She laughed sharply, her flames intensifying, her aura piercing the sky. Her body and soul became fire, burning fiercely—no retreat, no surrender!
"Tsk—"
Daoist Cangyue feigned a sharp inhale, shifting into a battle stance as he subtly blocked Li Zhaoye's path.
"Your wife brought this upon herself," he declared, laying the groundwork in advance. "Yue Wugou has yielded again and again, endured over and over. At this point, it's a matter of life and death. You... you..."
He wagged a finger reproachfully. "Honestly, you don’t even know how to cherish beauty. Now look what’s happened—you’ll regret this to death!"
Li Zhaoye stared at him for a moment before chuckling lazily. "Why the rush? You know nothing about my wife’s strength."
"She’s just a Nascent Soul—"
Before he could finish, the situation in the sky shifted abruptly.
Luo Luo’s full-powered sword strike landed squarely on the moon.
The cataclysmic collision one might expect never came—at the very last moment, Yue Wugou, valuing his life, retreated once more.
"Seriously?" Daoist Cangyue was speechless. "What are you afraid of?"
Li Zhaoye let out a low laugh. "If you ever bothered to walk among mortals, you’d know the biggest cowards in this world aren’t the common folk—it’s the pampered nobles."
Though the Yue Clan had transitioned from aristocracy to a sect, they still clung to their privileged airs. What other sect could produce a useless wastrel like Yue Ranchen?
Daoist Cangyue’s expression darkened.
He hadn’t yet grasped the severity of the situation. After all, there was still a significant gap in cultivation between the two.
If Yue Wugou fled in defeat, the humiliation would be minor—but the damage to his Dao heart...
"Crash!"
Luo Luo’s sword shattered the moon’s glow, her figure leaping from the fragments like a deity descending.
Raising her blade overhead, it ignited into flames before she brought it down with a thunderous roar!
Yue Wugou had grown accustomed to her relentless assault.
His thoughts scattered as he frowned, dodging left and right with rapid teleportation.
"Hah..." Luo Luo sneered. "Yue Wugou, you’re no victim! Even if Yue Ranchen possessed your body, he lacked the soul power to wield your divine artifact. You could’ve saved Ji Chunhong with your Moonwheel Halberd—but you were too much of a coward, standing by and doing nothing!"
Yue Wugou’s pupils trembled, his face twisting in fury.
"A spineless worm who watched his wife suffer and did nothing to protect her!" Luo Luo taunted mercilessly. "Even a rooster would fight back if you tried to kill its mate—you’re worse than a chicken!"
Her sword strikes came in waves, each slash adding to the inferno.
Yue Wugou’s mind reeled as he staggered backward.
Then—a misstep.
Now!
Luo Luo formed a seal with one hand and vanished, slipping into the void.
The flames she’d unleashed surged and multiplied, stacking upon one another, distorting space itself as they roared forward with unstoppable momentum.
Below, Daoist Cangyue’s face paled. He moved to intervene—
Only for Li Zhaoye to casually block him.
"Ah-ah-ah," Li Zhaoye grinned, infuriatingly smug. "Think I’m just gonna stand here and let you interfere?"
Daoist Cangyue didn’t waste words, striking immediately.
Li Zhaoye snorted, his body dissolving into ghostly afterimages as the two clashed in a blur of hundreds of exchanges.
The space trembled; the ruins quaked.
Meanwhile, the battle above reached its conclusion.
One sword.
Like autumn water, like a rainbow’s arc.
Amplified by the crushing momentum, Luo Luo’s transcendent strike pierced Yue Wugou’s chest.
On the day Yue Ranchen died, Yue Wugou had theatrically wounded himself in the same spot.
—"This wound will never heal."
Luo Luo had never been one for fair fights.
Exploiting weakness was her specialty—this strike aimed precisely at his so-called "unhealable" injury.
"Shhk."
The blade ran him through.
Yue Wugou froze mid-air, staring in disbelief at the sword in his chest.
Luo Luo pushed deeper, then twisted horizontally, stopping just as the tip grazed his heart.
With a kick, she sent them both plummeting into the ruins below.
"Boom!"
Dust settled.
Atop the rubble, Luo Luo stood with one foot on Yue Wugou, her Autumnwater Sword buried in his chest.
Leaning down, she pressed the blade further.
Gasps erupted from the Heavenly Dao Sect’s disciples as they surged forward—
"Who dares take another step?" Luo Luo’s icy gaze swept over them.
Yue Wugou’s heart pulsed frantically against the steel.
The disciples swallowed hard, wiping cold sweat, not daring to move.
On the other side, Daoist Cangyue and Li Zhaoye remained locked in their stalemate.
Assured of control, Luo Luo bent lower, smirking. "Coward! When Yue Ranchen killed your wife, you had every chance to save her—but you chickened out!"
Yue Wugou spat blood, shamefully shutting his eyes and turning away.
Luo Luo laughed. "Just now, you had countless opportunities to kill me—if only you’d risked your life. But you faltered again! I knew you would! If you didn’t have the guts to fight back then, what made you think today would be any different?"
Yue Wugou shuddered.
"Next life," Luo Luo murmured, eyes narrowing, "grow a spine."
As his eyes flew open in realization, her sword erupted in flames.
A flick of her wrist—
The blade swept sideways, trailing fire and blood.
"No—!"
Daoist Cangyue’s face contorted in rage.
The disciples lunged forward, seeking vengeance for their young master—
Luo Luo tilted her head, bemused. "You really think you’re stronger than a Dao Unity cultivator?"
They froze, nearly tripping over themselves.
Right. This demoness had just slain their leader... What hope did they have?
"You—how could you—?"
Luo Luo smiled. "Those who live by the sword, die by it. Why shouldn’t I?"
"Shhk!"
Li Zhaoye disengaged, landing beside her.
Daoist Cangyue knew pursuit was futile, standing stiffly in the distance, silent.
Li Zhaoye glanced at Yue Wugou’s corpse.
"Clean work," he nodded. "No need for follow-up."
Luo Luo shrugged. "I don’t leave loose ends."
Grinning, he turned toward Daoist Cangyue’s group, raising his voice with deliberate insolence.
"In the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. Sometimes luck just isn’t on your side—dying only proves you lacked skill... or fortune."
The disciples stiffened.
Those were Daoist Cangyue’s own words, thrown back in their faces.
Nothing cut deeper.
Daoist Cangyue forced a smile. "Well played. This grievance is remembered."
"Who’re you threatening?" Li Zhaye whispered to Luo Luo. "Pretty sure the old man still wants to sacrifice me anyway."
Luo Luo nodded. "Yep."
If not for Li Zhaoye’s current invulnerability, this would’ve been a fight to the death.
She addressed the crowd cheerfully. "So? Are we done here? We’ve got a Moonwheel Halberd to retrieve and a hellmouth to seal."
Busy schedule, after all.
The onlookers: "..."
Daoist Cangyue swept his sleeves and left.
After the two departed, the disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect silently stepped forward to retrieve the body of the young sect leader.
The crowd dispersed swiftly.
A long time later, only a few members of the Qinglin Sect remained in place, staring motionlessly at the pool of blood amidst the ruins.
"Yue Wugou—what a prodigy, a figure who once sat high above the clouds! Today, he met his disgraceful end, all because of... a mere trifle of a murder case." The speaker laughed, tears streaming down his face. "The victim was just... just a nobody, an insignificant little figure."
The Qinglin Sect members all chuckled.
The wind brushed against their faces, cold and biting.
A nameless little figure, unknown to anyone.
Yet someone avenged him.
