Celestial General Sui Yin

Sun Yougui was overcome with grief and indignation. "Celestial General, why did you kill my junior brothers?"

Clad in armor, Sui Yin held two Heavenly Corpse Sect elders in his hands. Their neck bones had long since been broken, and not a trace of breath remained.

He said blandly, "All men may punish these heretical demons and crooked paths!"

Sun Yougui trembled with rage, yet he knew he was no match for this Celestial General. Just as he was about to soar into the air, Sui Yin tossed aside the corpses of the two Heavenly Corpse Sect elders, took a great stride, and used the "Thousand-Li Courtyard Door, Earth-Shrinking Art." In a single blur, he appeared at Sun Yougui's side and drove out a punch, blasting a hole straight through the Heavenly Corpse Sect elder from back to chest.

In the mortal world, Sun Yougui had counted as a great cultivator of the evil path. Before Sui Yin, however, he was no different from a chicken being slaughtered, utterly without room to resist.

After killing Sun Yougui, Sui Yin took out a small banner and gave it a light shake. The souls and essence-blood of the three Heavenly Corpse Sect elders were all sucked clean into it.

Sui Yin searched them carefully and collected the magic treasure pouches of Sun Yougui and the others. He spat and cursed, "The evil cultivators of the lower realm are all a pack of paupers. If they hadn't cultivated the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation and provided food for my Soul-Guiding Banner, killing them would have been a losing bargain."

He put away the small banner, gave a sinister chuckle, and shouted, "Junior lurking at the side, why haven't you shown yourself? Must you wait for this Celestial General to make a move?"

Xiao Nan's face went slightly pale. He dispelled his invisibility technique, knowing it could not fool this Celestial General. One hand held down Zhu Xiong, the other Lu Xuansheng, as he said, "This disciple of the Five-Terrace Sect, Xiao Nan, greets the Celestial General."

Sui Yin gave an oh. "So you are disciples and granddisciples of Zhang True Lord."

"What are you afraid of? This Celestial General is not one who slaughters the innocent indiscriminately."

The instant those words left his mouth, Zhu Xiong nearly snapped back. He had personally watched this Celestial General slaughter nearly every cultivator at Little Cold Mountain. If that was not slaughtering the innocent indiscriminately, then what was?

Fortunately, Xiao Nan sent a stream of true qi into him and sealed the Little Dragon King's tongue, not daring to let him speak.

Yet Lu Xuansheng could not hold back. "If you do not slaughter the innocent indiscriminately, then there is no one in this world who does."

Xiao Nan inwardly cried out that things were bad and tried to salvage the situation, but it was already too late.

Sui Yin cast him a sidelong glance, and his body suddenly vanished. In a flash, the tiger demon Lu Xuansheng was in his grasp. As easily as squeezing a kitten, he snapped his neck with a crack.

Sui Yin said blandly, "This sort of demon does not know what is good for him. I had intended to spare your life for the sake of Zhang True Lord's descendants. Since you sought death yourself, you cannot blame this Celestial General."

Xiao Nan hurriedly sealed Zhu Xiong's magical apertures, afraid that the little dragon would act in a fit of anger and stand up for his friend.

He quickly said, "If the Celestial General has no further business, this lower-realm cultivator, Xiao Nan, shall take his leave."

Sui Yin waved a hand. "Help me carve two stone steles and bury these three evil cultivators and this demon."

Xiao Nan set down the Little Dragon King, used his swordsmanship to cut two stone steles, and dug two large pits. He had already recovered his flying sword, so such a small task was easy as turning over his hand.

When Sui Yin saw that Xiao Nan had finished the steles, he said blandly, "Carve this on one: 'I am Sui Yin, Celestial General who patrols the realms. By order, I sought to recover the Langhuan Celestial Stele. Passing through this place, I happened upon evil-path cultivators slaughtering innocent living beings to refine their arts. I slew the Heavenly Corpse Sect members at Little Cold Mountain and buried their bones here.'"

"On the other, carve: 'I am Sui Yin, Celestial General who patrols the realms. By order, I sought to recover the Langhuan Celestial Stele. Passing through this place, I happened upon a tiger demon causing trouble and devouring living people alive. I slew the tiger demon at Little Cold Mountain and buried its corpse here.'"

Xiao Nan carved the steles as instructed and buried the remains of Sun Yougui and the others, along with the tiger demon Lu Xuansheng.

Sui Yin gave a satisfied shout. "You are not bad. If you ascend in the future, come to the Plague Department and seek me out for a drink." With that, his body flashed, and he vanished without a trace.

Xiao Nan did not dare linger either. He took the Little Dragon King Zhu Xiong and hurried back to the Water Pool Villa.

Only after entering the Water Pool palace did he dare release Zhu Xiong's restraints. Thinking of his friend's tragic death, Zhu Xiong burst into loud sobs. "Mister Xiao Nan, can a Celestial General be so utterly unreasonable?"

Xiao Nan sighed. "If the Little Dragon King speaks carelessly, even your father will not be able to protect you. How bold was Lu Xuansheng, to dare mock him to his face? A great demon is causing havoc in the Heavenly Court right now. As a member of the Demon Race, he might have been implicated even if he had done nothing. Let alone mocking a Celestial General to his face."

Hearing the commotion, Zhu Ying and Wang Chong hurried out. They were each delighted to see Xiao Nan and Zhu Xiong, but were startled anew when they saw Zhu Xiong weeping bitterly.

Xiao Nan recounted what had happened, then added, "The cultivators near Little Cold Mountain have now all been slaughtered by Celestial General Sui Yin. No one remains to covet the Langhuan Celestial Stele."

"And Sui Yin will certainly take that Celestial Stele away. No one will be able to pry into the Dao arts engraved upon it any longer."

When Little Bug heard of this, he was greatly shocked. Could that bear demon have been wronged as well?

And who killed the classmates and teachers of Egret Academy?

He resolved to bury the matter in his heart and not mention it to his master. Little Bug could see that Xiao Nan was utterly helpless against Celestial General Sui Yin. Telling him would only leave master and disciple worrying together, and would be of no use.

After crying for a while, Zhu Xiong remained despondent and could not cheer up. Born in the East Sea Dragon Palace and raised as the Little Dragon King in pampered luxury, he had never suffered such a setback. Even righteous sword immortals from the Five-Terrace Sect like Xiao Nan would give his father face.

This was the first time he had witnessed the ferocity and tyranny of a Celestial General, and his heart was deeply shaken.

Even Zhu Ying was greatly shaken upon hearing of it. Had I not happened to meet Master, my second brother would likely have been killed by Celestial General Sui Yin just like Lu Xuansheng.

We were fortunate this time, but that may not be so next time. I should persuade Second Brother not to associate with people like Lu Xuansheng in the future.

Still, that Celestial General is far too tyrannical.

Xiao Nan sighed. He had never coveted the Langhuan Celestial Stele in the first place. He said to Zhu Ying and Wang Chong, "This matter is settled. I shall take you back to Wutai Mountain to cultivate with single-minded focus. Until you have mastered the Primordial Sword Formula, you are not permitted to leave the mountain."

Aside from training his disciples, he himself wished to return to the mountain and cultivate the newly acquired Profound Lantern Record, so that he could break through the barriers and climb to a higher level.

Sui Yin gazed at Little Cold Mountain from afar, thoroughly satisfied, and muttered to himself, "I slew fifty-seven evil cultivators and twenty-five demons. With steles raised as markers and dreams sent to the people nearby, I can gain more than ten small shrines and receive offerings of incense. Though it is only the flesh of mosquitoes and flies, it is better than nothing."

He extended his palm toward the Langhuan Celestial Stele and gave a shout. The Langhuan Celestial Stele rose into the air, shrank into a jade tablet, and fell into his sleeve.

From afar, Sui Yin spotted White Spider Elder staring at the sky with a face full of horror. With a casual point, an immense force descended from the heavens. A single finger crushed the demon to death, pounding White Spider Elder into a mush of bone and flesh.

White Spider Elder had already become a shadow in Wang Chong's heart, someone he feared deeply. Yet in Sui Yin's hands, he was merely the sort to be crushed to death with a single finger.

Having killed White Spider Elder, Sui Yin could not be bothered to erect another stele for such a "little demon." Riding ten thousand streams of rosy light, he flew straight toward the Heavenly Court.