At Last, Tianwu

"All right, let's say Lu Bai came from the Outer Realm and isn't a Heavenly Demon. I still have several blood debts to settle with him," Flower Face said.

"Elder Lin of my Hundred Flower Grave worked tirelessly for years, always devoted to driving out demons and defending the Way."

"His noble character was admirable even to me, yet he fell victim to Lu Bai's murderous hand."

"His body has yet to grow cold. Do you acknowledge this blood debt, Lu Bai, or not?"

"Elder Lin? You mean that old slacker, right?" Lu Bai seemed to recall something, then replied bluntly, "He killed himself."

"His whole body was smashed to pieces, and you're telling me it was suicide?" Flower Face stared at him in disbelief. Could anyone really lie so brazenly?

"I have his diary as proof." Lu Bai smiled as he looked at the half-collapsed Lingfeng Tower.

"Your so-called Elder Lin of the Hundred Flower Grave wasn't nearly as noble as you make him out to be. That day, I exposed one of his scandals, and he chose to kill himself because he couldn't face anyone. Read his diary, and you'll understand."

Lu Bai and Flower Face looked each other in the eye. They both understood what the other meant.

That diary might contain some secrets of the Hundred Flower Grave. At this standoff, if they wanted to pursue the matter, they would have to make the evidence public.

In other words, they could no longer use Elder Lin's death to pressure Lu Bai.

They might even have to go along with Lu Bai and smear Elder Lin's name.

And judging by the sect's investigation into Elder Lin, the diary might well exist.

So that's why no normal person keeps a diary!

Flower Face seethed inwardly.

"Fine. I'll concede that this blood debt has nothing to do with you. Then let's discuss the next one."

"You killed my father in Shoushan Village. After you left, all eighteen households in the village were attacked by Phoenix Flying Ladies from the Tianwu Demon Realm."

"Only a handful of villagers escaped. They're all with the Hundred Flower Grave now and can confront you at any time. Do you admit to it or not?"

"Then why not talk about Black Tiger Stronghold, right beside Shoushan Village?" Lu Bai didn't back down at all.

"There was no Black Tiger Stronghold. The only group nearby was the Black Tiger Sect, a sect willing to resist the Outer Realm Demons." Flower Face seemed to have expected this and answered without hesitation. "The Luohe Sect and Longshan Sect can both vouch for that."

"I heard the entire Black Tiger Sect was wiped out recently. Don't tell me you did it."

"Wherever you go, rivers run red. The name Blood-Stained Rivers and Mountains certainly suits you!"

"That's right. The Black Tiger Sect were fellow martial artists who stood against the Outer Realm Demons. We can all testify to that," someone nearby chimed in.

Back when Black Tiger Stronghold had become the Black Tiger Sect, they had sent invitations to several sects.

The Luohe Sect, Longshan Sect, and other orthodox sects would never associate with evil practitioners.

Hearing Flower Face's words, Lu Bai understood. The Hundred Flower Grave had clearly covered up every trace of what happened with Black Tiger Stronghold.

Black Tiger Stronghold had already been wiped clean. Now it had been recast as an orthodox sect.

The men from the Luohe Sect and Longshan Sect looked utterly confident, as if even the King of Heaven couldn't change the fact that Black Tiger Stronghold was an orthodox sect.

Under these circumstances, the situation was against Lu Bai.

After all, the only defensible reason he had for attacking Flower Face's father was that the man had killed the parents of the woman from Black Tiger Stronghold because they planned to report him to the authorities.

That gave Lu Bai grounds to step in as a righteous hero.

Now that Black Tiger Stronghold had become an orthodox sect, the chain of evidence had been broken. For example, why had the woman's parents planned to report them?

That was how things stood: the power to control the narrative outweighed the facts. Once one link in the chain failed, if you couldn't prove your innocence, you were guilty.

"I was the one who destroyed the Black Tiger Sect." Just then, a woman's voice rang out. Several women came gliding over.

White stockings were the best!

White stockings paired with a strapless camisole, a few white ribbons wrapped around her body.

She radiated an innocent yet seductive allure, her sex appeal turned up to the max.

Some newcomers to the Jianghu watched the scene and even started wondering, Do we really have to oppose the Holy Land? It doesn't seem so bad.

Of course, they were still too young. They didn't know that while the Phoenix Flying Ladies of the Tianwu Holy Land were alluring, they wouldn't let anyone touch them.

If they had, the Martial Forest wouldn't have resented the Tianwu Holy Land so deeply.

The woman who had spoken was the same one from Black Tiger Stronghold. She had now joined the ranks of the Phoenix Flying Ladies.

Her slightly rounded belly had flattened out.

Every year, the Phoenix Flying Ladies scouted throughout the Martial Forest. Anyone who met their standards of beauty was recruited into the Tianwu Holy Land.

The Tianwu Holy Land also had a method for rapidly increasing one's martial prowess. Even someone with no martial arts experience could become a peerless expert in just half a month.

Lu Bai wasn't surprised that the woman had become a Phoenix Flying Lady.

Now that the Hundred Flower Grave and the Tianwu Holy Land were at war, the Tianwu Holy Land was hardly defenseless.

There were plenty of Phoenix Flying Ladies, and they were trying every means at their disposal to suppress the Hundred Flower Grave's rebellion.

For instance, they investigated the Hundred Flower Grave's secrets and wiped out minor factions that had sided with it.

In the process, they found the woman practicing Flower Fist at Black Tiger Stronghold, then naturally recruited her into the Phoenix Flying Ladies.

The moment the Phoenix Flying Ladies arrived, most of the people present turned hostile toward them.

Flower Face seemed to have lost all interest in Lu Bai. Breathing heavily, he stared at the Phoenix Flying Lady in the lead.

"Witch, you dare show your face here!" Flower Face's face flushed red. The scar writhed like a worm, making him look especially terrifying.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" the leading Phoenix Flying Lady said, fixing her gaze on Flower Face as though he were some curious specimen. "You think a few traitors' help will let you rise up?"

"Once our connection to the Upper Realm is restored, the most thorough reckoning awaits you."

"And you, too!" The Phoenix Flying Lady's gaze swept across the crowd. Many members of the martial factions looked uneasy.

Hadn't they dared to oppose the Holy Land only because the Hundred Flower Grave had sworn that the Holy Land had lost contact with the Outer Realm?

What if contact is restored...? As soon as that thought occurred to them, many began considering escape.

"By the way, when I came in, it looked like the people from Tianwu had retaken the gateway. The passage will probably be restored before long," Lu Bai said earnestly from the side.

"But that's not the point." Lu Bai looked at the people from the Luohe Sect and Longshan Sect and spoke amiably. "Let's get back to what we were discussing."

"You may have been tricked by Black Tiger Stronghold. They were a bandit den, and Shoushan Village was their lookout."

"As for me, I was just righting wrongs."

The faces of the people from the Luohe Sect and Longshan Sect turned pale, then flushed red.

This time, it really seemed the King of Heaven was coming.

Second update. Good night, everyone.