By now, more than an hour had passed.
Seeing the growing impatience and hostility on the faces of the various sects, Wu Gensheng spoke earnestly to the Old Celestial Master and the others:
"If you want to enjoy a banquet, the order in which the dishes are served matters a great deal. I invited you all to gather at Dragon Tiger Mountain, fully expecting you to lie in wait ahead of time. Yes, I'd also prepared a way to deal with you.
"I knew that our friends who care about Sanyi wouldn't tell them about this incident, so I only notified my Sanyi brothers recently.
"As long as they knew I was here, they'd come even if this were Dragon Tiger Mountain, a den of dragons and tigers—or even the underworld. That was better than being stopped by all of you."
As soon as Wu Gensheng finished speaking, the people from the Sanyi Sect arrived in a furious rush.
One by one, they glared at Wu Gensheng, their faces full of displeasure.
At that moment, Sichong and Zhang Jingqing, who were of the same generation, exchanged a glance, as if communicating something.
Zhang Zhiwei was curious too. The person walking at the very front wasn't Sichong, the Sanyi Sect's highest-ranking and most accomplished member; nor was he Chengzhen, Immortal Daying's eldest disciple; nor was he one of the younger generation, like Shuiyun or Lu Jin. He was simply a handsome young man Zhang Zhiwei had barely seen before.
It seemed that this one man alone had the rest of the Sanyi Sect in check.
Du Yang cupped his fists and said respectfully, "Greetings to everyone in the Inhuman world. I am Du Yang of the Sanyi Sect, and my master is Zuo Ruotong."
The major sects of the Inhuman world were anxiously trying to confirm what had happened at Sanyi that day. Had Wu Gensheng and Li Muxuan really killed Immortal Daying?
After all, Sanyi and Quanxing were on the verge of fighting. At most, all they had heard was hearsay.
After a few polite exchanges, Du Yang spoke bluntly. "My master did not die at the hands of Wu Gensheng and Li Muxuan. He used Wu Gensheng's help to break through to Triple Inverse Life. Once he realized that even Triple Inverse Life could not make him an immortal, he chose to pass away."
"Li Muxuan and Wu Gensheng were only guilty of recklessly trespassing on the mountain that day."
His words caused an uproar among the major sects of the Inhuman world.
"What? So Immortal Daying chose to pass away? That kid's revealed something this big!"
"I knew it. How could Wu Gensheng and that brat Li Muxuan have killed Immortal Daying?"
"Is this kid crazy? He's publicly admitting that Triple Inverse Life can't make someone an immortal. He's digging his own sect's grave!"
"Admirable as that may be, what will become of the Sanyi Sect now?"
For a time, the Inhumans from the various sects discussed the matter among themselves.
Zhang Jingqing smiled and looked at Du Yang. "You're so young, yet you have such courage."
"But with those words, you may have just torn up the Sanyi Sect's foundations."
If that was the explanation, then the Sanyi Sect's strange refusal to seek help from the other sects made sense.
Wu Gensheng gave a bitter laugh and turned to Du Yang. "You really said it. How did you persuade your fellow disciples?"
He had imagined all sorts of possibilities, but had always felt the Sanyi Sect's people would never let him go.
He had never expected anyone among them to admit the truth.
If so, all the preparations he'd made were useless.
It seemed he'd been judging a gentleman by a villain's standards.
Du Yang answered with complete seriousness. "Persuading them was difficult. I couldn't do it. But if you tie them all up and lock them away for ten days or so, even the most complicated problem starts to make sense."
"Those who still can't understand can be sent down the mountain."
Wu Gensheng burst out laughing at that, only to furrow his brow a moment later.
After something so outrageous had happened, the Sanyi Sect had accepted the truth, but Li Muxuan was still as timid as ever. Somehow, the situation seemed even more troublesome.
"The Sanyi Sect! So this is supposed to be some blood feud? Our Quanxing leader even helped Immortal Daying."
"But people from our side still died because of this whole mess!"
As Du Yang finished explaining, a furious roar rang through the valley.
Footsteps, the rush of clothes cutting through the wind, and cries rose one after another from every direction. Figures appeared among the trees, behind the boulders, and even on the cliffs, surrounding the small valley until not a gap remained.
Nearly every Quanxing member who'd received the signal and could make it had arrived.
Their eyes were sharp and their expressions fierce as they glared at Du Yang, as if they could swallow him whole.
"That's right! It was wrong of Li Muxuan to lead our leader into the Sanyi Sect, but Immortal Daying chose to pass away. You've made it sound as if Quanxing committed some unforgivable crime!"
"Your Sanyi Sect came onto our turf and threatened Master Liu the Dough Sculptor to force a meeting with our leader. When you couldn't meet him, you killed so many of our people. How do you explain that?"
Having learned the truth, the Quanxing members were indignant and furious.
So it turned out the Sanyi Sect had taken out all its anger on them. They'd suffered for nothing.
Du Yang faced the Quanxing members. "What my junior uncle and eldest senior sister did that day was indeed inappropriate, but they only wanted to find your leader. They never intended to hurt Master Liu the Dough Sculptor."
"You had seven days. Yet dozens of you came that very night, while there were only three of us. I never attacked first; I only defended myself. What did I do wrong?"
"In the end, it was Quanxing that wanted to wipe out our Sanyi Sect. You barged onto our territory and killed us without bothering to learn the truth. That's far too overbearing."
Du Yang's explanation only made the Sanyi Sect's people shout back even more loudly.
The grudge between Sanyi and Quanxing had been sealed. What were they supposed to do now?
The righteous sects all began to berate Quanxing, accusing them of resorting to every underhanded trick.
Just as the two sides were about to clash, Du Yang stepped forward and bowed to the people from the various sects. "Right and wrong, cause and effect—it's hard to tell them apart. But this is ultimately a blood feud between Sanyi and Quanxing. Please, don't interfere."
Then Du Yang turned to the Sanyi Sect members. "Ten out of ten of the Sanyi members who died were killed by me. The battle that follows has nothing to do with you."
His words left Sichong, Chengzhen, Lu Jin, Shuiyun, and the others so ashamed they could hardly face anyone. Their master and senior brother had clearly told them not to seek revenge, yet they hadn't listened—and had brought this disaster upon the Sanyi Sect.
With that, Du Yang walked alone toward the Quanxing members and cupped his fists. "If you want revenge for the blood feud, come to me, Du Yang. Leave my fellow Sanyi disciples alone."
"Those responsible must answer for their deeds. I killed them, and I'm willing to bear the consequences of everything the Sanyi Sect did."
"If you believe I've insulted Quanxing, or want to kill me and the Sanyi Sect, then come at me."
The moment he finished speaking, Wu Gensheng thought, This is bad.
In the next instant, countless Quanxing members charged forward.
The killing intent of so many people converged, almost tangible in the air.
This had gone entirely beyond Wu Gensheng's expectations.
So many Quanxing members had died at Du Yang's hands, and they'd been bottling up their anger. Quanxing had the numbers, and Du Yang's words were so arrogant. Of course they wanted him dead.
Only then did many people realize something was wrong. This is bad. Du Yang's words sound righteous, but he's practically walking to his death.
But Quanxing moved too quickly. They were a step too late.
"Kid, prepare to die!"
"Repay our dead brothers!"
"Capture him and make him reveal the secrets of Triple Inverse Life!"
Amid the roars, dozens of figures attacked first.
All sorts of flashes of qi erupted—blade auras, sword energy, poisonous miasma, venomous insects, flying needles, talismans... A torrent of strange and vicious attacks poured down on Du Yang like a storm.
The assault was so dense it nearly blotted out the sky above the valley, sealing off every possible escape route around Du Yang.
Yet in the face of this encirclement, enough to make any expert blanch, Du Yang's expression didn't waver in the slightest.
He simply raised his right hand a little.
A pure, vast white qi burst forth around him.
His body instantly turned translucent. White light seemed to flow beneath his skin, and a soft yet solid white radiance enveloped him.
Du Yang's feet left the ground as he slowly rose into the air. His clothes and hair stirred though there was no wind, while clear qi swirled around him.
He looked no different from an exiled immortal descending into the mortal world.
The attacks raining down upon him struck the seemingly thin layer of white radiance and melted away, like snow beneath the blazing sun.
Blades and flying swords shattered inch by inch. Poisonous miasma and venomous insects vanished into ash. Before the needles and talismans could even reach him, their light had already gone out.
Suspended in the air, Du Yang swept his indifferent gaze over the horrified crowd below.
He joined his fingers as though they were a sword and casually slashed downward.
A concentrated streak of white light, like moonlight, appeared in midair and soundlessly swept through the dozen or so Quanxing fighters at the forefront.
They froze in place, still poised to charge or attack.
In the next moment, their bodies seemed to be sliced apart by invisible blades. Their protective qi shattered like paper, and blood gushed from the cleanly severed wounds like fountains. Severed limbs and entrails tumbled to the ground.
"Triple Inverse Life!"
Someone screamed, utterly terrified.
"What? Someone in the Sanyi Sect has reached Triple Inverse Life? No wonder they're so confident!"
"So this is the legendary Triple Inverse Life—the realm pursued by generations of Sanyi disciples for a thousand years!"
"His whole body has transformed into qi. Those moves, that power—he looks like an immortal descended to earth!"
The righteous sect members who had been preparing to help all stiffened in shock and stopped moving.
Triple Inverse Life had appeared before their eyes, alive and real.
The Sanyi Sect had lost Immortal Daying, but it had someone to carry on his legacy.
Before you continue