Several days later, news of the Inquiry Sword Sect's destruction swiftly spread through the major sects.
Heavenly Profound Immortal Sect, Wangxian Peak.
The Heavenly Profound Sect Master, seventeen Supreme Elders, and thirty-two peak masters gathered in one hall.
"I have summoned you all today because of the destruction of the Inquiry Sword Sect. I trust you already know the details?" the Heavenly Profound Sect Master said.
More than half of them nodded.
A Supreme Elder named Chen Jiuchuan thoughtfully explained, "According to the surviving disciples of the Inquiry Sword Sect, this catastrophe began with a disciple named Liu Yan'er. Liu Yan'er was skilled at dancing through every social circle, bewitching many of the sect's elders until they lost their senses. Afterward, she even tried to use this to challenge the Inquiry Sword Sect Leader, Luo Qingdie."
"Unable to bear the humiliation, Luo Qingdie sought justice. Yet she never expected every elder in the sect to side with Liu Yan'er. In a fit of fury, she began killing indiscriminately. In the end, the situation continued escalating until the entire sect was slaughtered."
After hearing this, the remaining minority wore slightly dazed expressions.
"Isn't that a little too bizarre?"
"I'm rather curious now. Just how devastatingly beautiful is this Liu Yan'er?"
"Was she a celestial maiden descended to the mortal world?"
Everyone discussed it animatedly.
At that moment, the Heavenly Profound Sect Master spoke. "You have all missed the point."
"What?"
"Liu Yan'er is merely a mortal. No matter how adept she is at handling every side, the number of elders she could win over is limited. No matter how much she humiliated Luo Qingdie, there was only so much she could do. Yet matters developed to such an extreme extent. The problem must lie with Luo Qingdie," the Heavenly Profound Sect Master said.
"That's right. Come to think of it, I heard those disciples mention that Luo Qingdie seemed jealous of Liu Yan'er's beauty."
"The fuse that lit this tragedy was Luo Qingdie's disciple talking back to her for Liu Yan'er's sake. She killed her own disciple with a backhand strike."
"Along the way, a Supreme Elder tried to calm the conflict, and she killed her too."
"The more we talk about it, the more wrong it sounds. Wasn't Luo Qingdie said to be a kind person? How did she suddenly become so extreme and volatile? Even if a disciple did something excessive, could it really hurt her? She is a dignified Mahayana Stage cultivator. Couldn't she simply laugh it off? Did she have to make a move?"
"What about the sect rules? What did she take them for?"
The elders all discussed among themselves.
"Exactly. Therefore, we suspect..." the Heavenly Profound Sect Master said solemnly, "that Luo Qingdie may have fallen into demonic cultivation."
The moment those words came out, the elders' expressions changed at once.
"Fallen into demonic cultivation?"
"So that's it. No wonder she was so ruthless."
"This is a great calamity!"
"If Luo Qingdie has fallen into demonic cultivation, she will pose an enormous threat to the Nine Provinces Continent. If she has also colluded with those demonic cultivators, the consequences will be even more unimaginable. Therefore..." The Heavenly Profound Sect Master's face was grave. "We must eliminate her as soon as possible."
"But how?" the elders asked.
"Should we guide her back to the Righteous Path? But she is so bloodthirsty, and she is a Mahayana Stage cultivator. How could we possibly do that?"
"Otherwise, should we kill her? But our strength is insufficient as well."
"You need not worry. I already have a plan." The Heavenly Profound Sect Master smiled faintly. "I guarantee we can put her to death!"
The Heavenly Profound Sect Master then laid out the plan in detail.
After hearing it, everyone applauded and praised it.
"Good, good, good. This plan is excellent."
"We will definitely grind Luo Qingdie to dust!"
"As expected of the Sect Master. Truly impressive."
The Heavenly Profound Sect Master enjoyed the elders' praise for a while, then waved his hand. "This is everyone's achievement, not something I devised alone. Besides, time is pressing. Let us act quickly."
"Yes!"
Everyone accepted their orders and left the hall, their faces full of righteous determination, as though they were about to rid the Righteous Path of a scourge.
Yet at the same time, another thought lay buried deep within their hearts, though no one voiced it.
Whether Luo Qingdie had fallen into demonic cultivation was not actually important.
Even if Luo Qingdie had not fallen into the demonic path, they would still eliminate her as someone who had. They could no longer tolerate Luo Qingdie. Before this, they had been able to tolerate her because although she was powerful, she was weak-willed, willing to follow rules, and extremely easy to manipulate.
Otherwise, without even a single Mahayana Stage cultivator, how could the Heavenly Profound Immortal Sect have kept the Inquiry Sword Sect firmly beneath its heel, become the foremost sect of the Righteous Path, and order them about at will?
But now, Luo Qingdie's temperament had changed drastically. She could not endure even the slightest grievance, no longer followed rules, and flipped the table at the drop of a hat. What were they supposed to do? Bow their heads and submit obediently? Why should they? So what if you're at the Mahayana Stage?
The people of the Heavenly Profound Immortal Sect had grown accustomed to being overbearing. How could they endure such a thing?
Luo Qingdie could not be allowed to remain!
Elsewhere, in an uninhabited land of clear waters and green mountains, Chu Lu lay atop a huge boulder.
After killing for an entire day, he needed to look at something beautiful to refresh his eyes, and chat nonsense in the group while he was at it.
When they had been slaughtering everyone earlier, neither Chu Lu nor Luo Qingdie had had time to report the situation in the group. The four goofballs had practically been worried to death, constantly asking what was happening.
Now that they had some free time, they naturally had to satisfy their curiosity.
Hua Honglian: "What? You killed everyone in the Inquiry Sword Sect?"
Xu Liniang: "Isn't that a bit excessive? Though I felt things were already a little excessive when you killed Fan Bailu..."
Zhu Shanlin: "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What barbaric behavior from barbarians. It has none of the beauty of schemes and calculations."
Liu Ruyue: "The roles are reversed."
Luo Qingdie also felt somewhat guilty and softly retorted, "It wasn't everyone. We left over a hundred outer sect disciples alive."
Everyone immediately spoke in unison. "What's the difference between that and wiping out the entire sect?"
Luo Qingdie was left speechless.
Chu Lu said at that moment, "Why worry about so much? Just tell me, wasn't the problem solved?"
"How is this solved?"
"Everyone is dead. That means no one will steal Luo Qingdie's pills, no one will steal her Spiritual Treasures, no one will steal her Spiritual Plants, and no one will rip out her heart and lungs. Her tragic future has been swept away in one stroke. How is that not solved?"
Everyone was instantly speechless.
Hua Honglian: "Th-That works too?"
Xu Liniang: "I keep feeling there will be backlash later."
Zhu Shanlin: "Same here. I feel this will leave endless trouble behind. The sect was destroyed just like that. How could others possibly have no reaction?"
Liu Ruyue: "Looking forward to what comes next."
Chu Lu curled his lip, too lazy to pay attention to these female-audience goofballs. Luo Qingdie was a Mahayana Stage cultivator. What trouble could there possibly be?
He opened the mission panel, preparing to complete the mission and return.
Honestly, he was a little reluctant.
It was not that he had grown fond of being a woman. He simply could not bear to part with the cultivation of the Mahayana Stage, nor the surging power within his body.
But what belonged to another would always belong to another. He could not stay here as Luo Qingdie for the rest of his life.
Besides, Chu Lu had a little pride in his bones. He believed that with the Transcoding Function he was about to obtain, he could likewise cultivate to the Mahayana Stage!
However, when he looked at the mission panel, he was shocked to discover that the mission was still marked as incomplete.
"Huh? What's going on?" Chu Lu tapped confirm, only for a pop-up warning to state that the mission had not been completed.
Luo Qingdie: "What's wrong, Chu Lu?"
Chu Lu: "The system seems to have malfunctioned. I clearly completed the mission, but it says it isn't complete."
Hua Honglian: "It malfunctioned?"
Xu Liniang: "Ah, so this thing really is unreliable."
Zhu Shanlin: "No, no. Could it be that you really haven't completed the mission?"
Liu Ruyue: "Same."
Chu Lu: "??"
Zhu Shanlin: "The mission was to avoid the tragic future while still preserving your reputation, right? Even if you did avoid that tragic future, your reputation..."
Hua Honglian: "Sect-destroying murderer."
Xu Liniang: "Sect-destroying murderer."
Liu Ruyue: "A great villain."
"No, I considered that long ago." Chu Lu said, "Did you forget that I left over a hundred survivors? They're all on my side, believe I'm innocent, and understand the whole course of events. As long as they spread the truth, my reputation should be fine."
The Chat Group was immediately filled with question marks.
Even Luo Qingdie no longer took Chu Lu's side. "Chu Lu, you killed so indiscriminately... Even if you had some justification, it's impossible for it to have no effect on your reputation at all, isn't it?"
"No, there shouldn't be any effect, right? Besides, it has only been a few days."
When Chu Lu saw that no one in the Chat Group believed him, he said, "Then let's ask around everywhere. There's no way my reputation is bad."
Before you continue