Mind Sword

"Daoist Qingyu, save us!"

Behind Daoist Xuan'ai, several thousand disciples cried out in unison, their sobbing voices heart-rending enough to move anyone.

Daoist Qingyu could not tell whether Daoist Xuan'ai had released control for an instant, or whether she was controlling the disciples and making them shout like this.

"What exactly do you want? The position of Sect Leader? Take it. I can give you anything, as long as you spare these disciples!" Daoist Qingyu said through gritted teeth. Circumstances forced her hand; she had no choice but to bow her head to Daoist Xuan'ai.

Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. She had been angered into coughing it up.

Daoist Xuan'ai sent Daoist Qingyu flying with a palm strike and said disdainfully, "The position of Sect Leader? I once wanted it very badly, but now... I only want to stay by Ancestor Hongchen's side."

"Human Emperor Jiang may already have noticed something amiss. I need to control the Sect Protecting Array and keep Human Emperor Jiang and Junior Niece Jing Xin out, so hand over the array core obediently."

"Human Emperor Jiang, Junior Niece Jing Xin, you came too late." Daoist Xuan'ai planted her foot on Daoist Qingyu and sneered.

The Sect Protecting Array unfolded, like a bubble enveloping the entire Red Dust Pure Land. It appeared fragile enough to burst at a touch, yet it was incomparably solid. The Red Dust Pure Land had stood for ten thousand years, renowned for its mystery and peerless beauties. Countless people had coveted its beauty, and it had weathered several crises, yet all had been stopped by the Sect Protecting Array. No one had ever broken it.

Daoist Xuan'ai was not worried in the slightest that Jiang Li could break the Sect Protecting Array. This was a Formation Ancestor Hongchen had brought from the Immortal World. Even if an ordinary immortal attacked with all their strength, the great array would not tremble in the least.

She refused to believe Jiang Li could break it! Jiang Li was merely a Great Ascension Stage Mortal Body, not some supreme being of the Immortal World. How could he compare to an Immortal World array? Although Pure Heart Saintess often overstepped her authority to make decisions, seeing her master so humiliated still made her eyes redden as she bombarded the Sect Protecting Array.

A peerless Green Lotus spun and bloomed in the Void. Ripples spread through space, which seemed unable to bear the Green Lotus's weight. Pure Heart Saintess pointed forward, and the peerless Green Lotus smashed fiercely into the array, shattering space.

When the Sect Protecting Array remained utterly unscathed, dozens more Green Lotuses bloomed in the Void and crashed into the array together.

The violent blast wave leveled the surrounding area, but the Sect Protecting Array remained unaffected.

Jiang Li stepped forward and patted the panting Pure Heart Saintess.

"My turn."

Those two simple words revealed Jiang Li's confidence.

As though she had heard a hilarious joke, Daoist Xuan'ai threw back her head and laughed. "Human Emperor Jiang, I respect your contributions to the Nine Provinces and do not wish to humiliate you. Retreat, or else your myth of invincibility will be shattered today!"

Jiang Li ignored her and instead called to Daoist Qingyu beneath her foot. "Sect Leader Qingyu, I'll save your life today. Stop holding a grudge against me as well. Let's write off all past debts, shall we?"

Before Daoist Qingyu could even answer with a "Fine," Jiang Li swung down his fist. The Sect Protecting Array, unharmed for ten thousand years, cracked like a mirror and shattered.

Daoist Xuan'ai stared wide-eyed as immense terror surged through her heart. Seeing Jiang Li and Pure Heart Saintess walk toward her step by step, she hurriedly pointed at the thousand-odd disciples and screamed in panic, "Don't move! I planted Mind Control Gu in all these disciples! With a single thought, I can make them all kill themselves! No matter how fast you are, can you be faster than one thought?!"

Jiang Li truly stopped advancing. He watched her quietly and said slowly, "I truly have no confidence in being faster than a thought."

Daoist Xuan'ai breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed her life was safe for the moment. Then she could not help wanting to sneer.

Whether it was the arrogant Daoist Qingyu or the peerlessly prideful Human Emperor Jiang, did they not still obediently listen to her because they feared for the lives of a group of Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation disciples?

To Daoist Xuan'ai, this was laughable.

Daoist Qingyu and Human Emperor Jiang were merely strong in cultivation. They could not abandon others, and their minds were not strong enough. They did not count as true powerhouses. Only someone like her—ruthless, self-centered, and highly cultivated—could be called strong! She believed that one day, she would surpass Jiang Li and rule beneath heaven! "My demands are not much. Let me leave with Ancestor Hongchen, and all of you must swear to heaven..."

"...but why would I need to be faster than a thought?"

Jiang Li took a sword from his Storage Ring. Sensing trouble, Daoist Xuan'ai hurriedly ordered some disciples to kill themselves, intending to intimidate Jiang Li.

Jiang Li swept out his sword. Not even a trace of Sword Qi emerged, yet the Gu Worms inside those thousand-odd disciples were severed in two and died one after another!

The disciples who had just been about to kill themselves instantly broke free of control and stopped.

"My swordsmanship is clumsy. I only know this one move." Jiang Li continued toward Daoist Xuan'ai, frightening her so badly that she collapsed onto the ground. She no longer had the strength to stand, and desperately kicked her legs to retreat backward.

"This move is called Mind Sword. It rises within thought and falls into the sea of consciousness. Between that rise and fall, Sword Qi forms within the body."

"This move was originally used to sever people's sinews and strip away their flesh and bones. Now it seems that it is also exceedingly suited for slaying Gu and saving people."

"Wait, I still have..." Seeing Jiang Li raise his longsword, its cold gleam flashing beneath the moonlight, Daoist Xuan'ai was so frightened that her heart and gall split, her soul leaving her body. She hurriedly tried to explain her value to Jiang Li.

Yet Jiang Li did not even listen. One sword stroke descended, and her head flew high into the air. Xuan'ai died with her eyes unclosed.

"To kill you, there is no need for any swordsmanship."

With that utterly ordinary sword stroke, one that could not even be called a technique, all dust settled.

Jiang Li had originally intended to let Pure Heart Saintess resolve this matter herself, but it had exceeded what she could handle alone, so he could only do it for her.

"Thank you, Human Emperor Jiang, for helping the Red Dust Pure Land survive this calamity. This little woman has no way to repay you, so I can only offer myself to you."

"..."

Seeing that Pure Heart Saintess could still joke, Jiang Li assumed her Dao heart was unharmed. He did not take up her words, instead walking over to Daoist Qingyu.

"You were plotted against so thoroughly that your entire sect nearly became the Joyous Union Sect. The Red Dust Pure Land should learn some caution. I will keep this matter secret for you and will not spread it."

Daoist Qingyu sincerely knelt on the ground and performed a great salute to Jiang Li. Just as Jiang Li had said before saving her, all past grievances were written off. She no longer regarded Human Emperor Jiang as the enemy who had killed her former lover, but as the benefactor who had saved the Red Dust Pure Land.

Without Jiang Li, the Red Dust Pure Land would have become a laughingstock, and she, Qingyu, would have been nailed to the Red Dust Pure Land's pillar of shame.

"The Red Dust Pure Land will forever remember Human Emperor Jiang's actions tonight."

"...Big Brother Jiang, am I going to die?" In Lower River Town, Du Xiner's gaze had scattered. She could no longer see who had come, only sensing by feeling that Jiang Li had arrived.

In truth, Jiang Li was not alone. Pure Heart Saintess had also come, but she deliberately concealed her aura. She did not dare face this simple-minded junior sister directly.

With Daoist Xuan'ai, the owner of the Gu Worms, dead, the Gu Worms had died as well. At this moment, corpses carpeted both Upper River Town and Lower River Town, and deathly aura hung thick in the air. Du Xiner had been a Golden Core Cultivator before her death, so she could hold on a little longer, but not for much longer.

In a subdued voice, Jiang Li told Du Xiner everything. Pure Heart Saintess hid to one side and silently wiped away tears.

"Is that so? So I died long ago. No wonder I could never cultivate..."

Du Xiner smiled, but even she did not understand why she was smiling.

"Has Senior Sister Jing Xin not come? I really wanted to see her once..."

Hearing this, Pure Heart Saintess no longer hid her aura. She rushed over at once and clasped Du Xiner's icy little hand. "Junior Sister Xiner, Senior Sister is here. Senior Sister is here!"

But Du Xiner did not react. Her head drooped limply to one side.

She was dead.