Chapter 23

Dozens of sword lights tore through the air. Tai Cang teleported several miles away and stared coldly toward their source. "Duobao!"

What a small world.

Duobao led three direct disciples and more than a dozen inner disciples as they closed in, all brimming with killing intent. In the blink of an eye, Tai Cang was surrounded on all sides.

"You're quite hard to kill." Duobao and the three direct disciples formed a second encirclement, sneering. "Let's see where you can run today!"

A cold glint flashed in Duobao's eyes. "Tai Cang, today I'll settle both old and new scores with you!"

"You've ruined my plans time and again. You should pay the price for that."

He hated Tai Cang to the bone. If not for this man's interference, he would have brought all of the Jie Sect direct disciples under his command long ago.

Then none of the later upheavals would have happened, nor would the Jie Sect's twelve direct disciples have split into three major factions. Even with the title of senior brother and Sect Master Tongtian's support, Zhao Gongming and San Xiao had never been willing to bow their heads. The small group formed by Wudang, Jinling, and Guiling likewise refused to submit.

All of this had begun with Tai Cang. If they had not been in the Three Teachings' trial grounds, with Saints watching them, he would have torn Tai Cang into ten thousand pieces.

It was indeed time to settle this.

A cold smile touched Tai Cang's lips. The Yinghuo Sword in his hand trembled lightly as his gaze swept over Duobao and the three Jie Sect direct disciples. Not only was he unafraid, he was delighted. It was not easy to find people in the vast Beast Realm, yet they had delivered themselves to him. This was a heaven-sent opportunity.

He stepped forward and looked directly at Duobao. "Make your move. Let me see what you're relying on."

"If all you can do is wag your tongue, you'll only expose your own incompetence."

The moment those words fell, silence descended in every direction. Not only Duobao and the others, but even the great powers watching from outside suddenly understood—the root of the Jie Sect's internal strife lay between Tai Cang and Duobao.

Good. Very good!

Duobao quickly recovered, murderous intent blazing in his eyes. "Attack. Leave him with one breath."

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

The three direct disciples and dozens of—

The great powers around them remained calm, leisurely sipping their wine.

Unlike Di Yi and the others, they had already seen through the True Martial Black Eagle Banner that Tai Cang had brought out. Although they had not recognized it at first, it was undoubtedly an innate spiritual treasure.

With an innate spiritual treasure protecting him, the Jie Sect disciples' attacks could not harm Tai Cang in the slightest. It looked imposing, but in truth, it was all futile.

"Third Brother, look at the sort of disciples you have under you."

Yuan Shi, seated in the place of honor, snorted and turned to mock Tongtian. "They strike so viciously even against their fellow disciples, not to mention that Tai Cang belongs to my Cang Sect."

At those words, excitement flashed through Jieyin and Zhunti's eyes.

The Jie Sect's internal conflict was so fierce that these people even wanted Tai Cang dead. Did that not mean they had a greater chance of drawing Tai Cang into the Western Teachings?

But soon, the two seemed to realize something and turned their gazes toward Yuan Shi.

Yuan Shi had previously expressed his desire for Tai Cang to join the Chan Sect. That meant he was a competitor as well.

For a moment, each of the Six Saints harbored their own thoughts. They remained silent, staring intently at the mirror reflecting the battlefield.

"Duobao, is this all you and your people can rely on?"

Tai Cang's icy voice echoed between heaven and earth.

A breeze swept through the area, and the dust raised by the mountain's collapse gradually dispersed, revealing Tai Cang standing there completely unharmed. The True Martial Black Eagle Banner shone behind him, while not a single wound could be seen on his body.

But the way Tai Cang looked at Duobao and the others was now filled with chilliness.

Although he had blocked every attack with the True Martial Black Eagle Banner, their intent to kill him could not be concealed.

Faced with people who wanted him dead, killing intent naturally surged in his heart. He would not let them off so easily.

"Tai Cang!"

"That's impossible!"

Duobao and the others stared in disbelief.

The people who had been cheering moments earlier now stood with their eyes wide open, their faces full of disbelief as though they had seen a ghost.

"An innate spiritual treasure!"

"You actually possess an innate spiritual treasure!"

Duobao was the first to recover. He stared fixedly at the True Martial Black Eagle Banner behind Tai Cang, his eyes bloodshot as jealousy and resentment burst forth. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Impossible! Master would never bestow an innate spiritual treasure upon you."

"Where did this treasure come from? What makes you worthy of possessing an innate spiritual treasure?"

At that moment, Duobao and the others completely lost their composure.

An innate spiritual treasure.

It was the supreme treasure they dreamed of obtaining but could never have. That was precisely why they had gone to such lengths to suppress Tai Cang.

But what now?

They had yet to obtain an innate spiritual treasure, while Tai Cang already possessed one—and it was clearly of no low grade, or else how could it so easily withstand the combined attack of them all?

"Nothing is impossible."

Tai Cang swept his cold gaze across Duobao and the others. A mocking smile appeared on his lips as he raised the Yinghuo Sword. "Innate spiritual treasures are not exclusive to Tongtian alone."

"Duobao, you have plotted against me time and again. As you said, it is time to settle this score."

With that, Tai Cang no longer hesitated. During this time, the Nine Revolutions Cang Skill had restored more than half of his mana.

He formed a hand seal with his left hand, and the Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder stirred in response.

Rumble—

In an instant, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Endless dark clouds gathered and soon blanketed the sky for thousands of miles.

In an instant, pitch-black thunderbolts churned and raged. The Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder took shape within the clouds, and an aura of destruction enveloped every Jie Sect cultivator present.

"This is bad!"

"It's the Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder!"

"We've been locked onto!"

The cultivators' expressions changed drastically. They knew all too well how terrifying the Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder Tai Cang wielded was. Lightning filled the heavens and earth, shrouding an area of thousands of miles. There was nowhere to run.

As if by unspoken agreement, everyone looked to Duobao, hoping their senior brother would save them.

"Junior Brothers!"

Duobao's expression was livid. He brought out more than a hundred acquired spiritual treasure flying swords to guard himself and said in a low voice, "Save yourselves. If you can't hold on, crush your jade talisman."

Those words struck everyone like lightning.

Who would have thought that even Duobao was helpless? The nominal disciples and inner disciples turned pale with fright. The Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder could even kill a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. How could Golden Immortals like them possibly survive?

"Run!"

"Get out of here!"

The panicked cultivators scattered in every direction.

"Trying to leave?"

"Do you take me for decoration?"

Tai Cang raised his hand with a cold smile, and lightning poured down from the sky. Though it was not the Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder, the violent bolts still struck the fleeing cultivators into screaming misery. They fell from the air like dumplings. Some had barely hit the ground before lurking ferocious beasts tore into and devoured them. Even those who triggered their jade talismans and teleported away only had severed limbs and mangled bodies sent out of the secret realm.

In an instant, more than half of the dozens of cultivators had fallen. The surrounding ferocious beasts, drawn by the scent of blood, crazily pounced upon the survivors.

"Not good!"

"Crush the jade talismans, quickly!"

The injured hurriedly crushed the jade talismans Laozi had granted them. Streams of white light flashed, and the power of space blocked the ferocious beasts' attacks. Looking at their companions' remains, the cultivators who had survived the disaster felt chills run down their spines.

"Tai Cang! You actually slaughtered your fellow disciples!"

"You deserve death!"

Duobao roared with bloodshot eyes, both shocked and terrified. He had never imagined that the carefully planned siege would turn into such a tragedy. As the one who had gathered them, even if Tai Cang bore the main responsibility, Duobao could not escape Sect Master Tongtian's punishment. Worse still, if Tai Cang could use the ferocious beasts to massacre his fellow disciples, how could he possibly spare Duobao himself?

At that thought, Duobao felt a chill creep down his spine, and the urge to retreat arose within him. But he was beneath the Primordial Clarity Divine Thunder's shroud, his aura already locked on. There was nowhere to flee unless someone helped him.

He instinctively looked toward the three Jie Sect direct disciples not far away.

If the three could restrain Tai Cang for even a moment, he could seize the chance to escape, perhaps even—

But before Duobao could speak, the three had already come to their senses. Faces full of terror, they begged Tai Cang for mercy. "Senior Brother Tai Cang, spare us!"

"This has nothing to do with us! Duobao was the one who wanted to deal with you!"

"Senior Brother Tai Cang, show mercy! I'm willing to expose the person behind this!"

"You..."

Duobao froze on the spot.

He understood that his plan had completely failed.

The three had already been frightened out of their wits by Tai Cang. How could they dare oppose him now? They certainly would not obey Duobao's orders anymore.

Duobao clenched his fists, the resentment in his eyes nearly solidifying, yet he did not dare make another rash move.

The Yinghuo Sword in Tai Cang's hand paused slightly. He looked at the three with interest. "Go on."

"I'd like to see who has been framing me from behind the scenes."

Tai Cang was indeed interested in the person who had tipped Duobao off and incited him to deal with Tai Cang.

"It was Chang'er Dingguang Xian!"

The three scrambled to speak first. "He was jealous of Senior Brother's talent and coveted the position of chief inner disciple. That was why he told Duobao about the Sun Palace."

"Duobao knew he was being used, but he relied on his status as chief direct disciple to suppress you. He was afraid you would be promoted to a direct disciple and take away some of his authority."

"Senior Brother Tai Cang, we've told you everything we know. Please spare us. From now on, we will never associate with Duobao again."

As their words fell, the entire area sank into deathly silence.

Duobao's face turned ashen. He glared viciously at the three, wishing he could tear them to pieces.

Though he did not know that the great powers outside were all watching, he knew the Three Pure Ones Sages would certainly be observing developments in the Beast Realm.

This testimony had pushed him into a place beyond redemption. Even Sect Master Tongtian would likely come to harbor misgivings about him.

"So the Jie Sect has such filth within it!"

The great powers watching outside erupted in uproar.

Who could have imagined that the root of the Jie Sect's internal strife was jealousy among fellow disciples?

Tai Cang was not only hated by the inner disciples; even the direct disciples could not tolerate him.

Given that, Tai Cang's retaliation against the Jie Sect disciples was entirely understandable. If it were anyone else, who could swallow such an insult?

"He's only an inner disciple?!"

Jieyin and Zhunti's shocked cries rang through the clouds.

Neither had expected that Tai Cang, so stunningly talented, was not even a direct disciple within the Jie Sect.

Nuwa could not help glancing toward Sect Master Tongtian as she silently thought, Has Tongtian lost his mind? Instead of taking such a fine talent as a direct disciple, he lets those mediocrities occupy lofty positions!

"Senior Brother..."

Zhunti could barely contain his excitement as he tightly gripped Jieyin's hand.

Tai Cang was merely a Jie Sect inner disciple, which gave them even greater confidence in recruiting him. If they offered him the position of direct disciple, how could Tai Cang, oppressed as he was within the Jie Sect, possibly have no resentment?

"Bastard!"

"Bastard!"

Unlike the shocked great powers of the prehistoric world, Chang'er Dingguang Xian, among the Jie Sect group, had gone deathly pale.

He had never expected things to develop this far, much less that his act of informing on Tai Cang back then would be exposed.

Thinking that Tai Cang would never spare him, and that Sect Master Tongtian would not forgive him lightly either, Chang'er Dingguang Xian saw only darkness ahead. He could not care about anything else and hurriedly tried to slip away.

He could not remain at Kunlun Mountains, nor could he stay in the Jie Sect. He had to flee immediately, or there would be only one path left: death.

"So it was him!"

A flash of understanding passed through Tai Cang's eyes. At last, he knew who had secretly tattled on him back then.

Then the killing intent in his eyes surged as he murmured, "Chang'er Dingguang Xian, I haven't even settled my score with you, yet you dared provoke me first. You are truly seeking your own death."

"Since that is the case, once this is over, I will send you on your way."

With that, Tai Cang locked his gaze onto the three men in the distance. With a thought, the Yinghuo Sword trembled, and three streams of sword qi shot through the air.

"Not good!"

The three men's expressions changed drastically. They hurriedly tried to dodge, but it was already too late. The sword qi slashed down and sent them flying in an instant. As blood sprayed from their mouths, they cried out in terror, "Tai Cang! We are Jie Sect direct disciples! Do you dare kill us?"

Tai Cang paid them no heed. He glanced at the task panel, where the progress had reached seven out of twelve, and said coldly, "That strike was punishment for attacking me earlier. It has gravely wounded you, but not taken your lives."

"Get lost! Withdraw, or don't blame my sword for showing no mercy."