Winged Immortal Arrived, Wild Winds Pressed Upon the Realm

The peace on Golden Turtle Island did not last long.

Only a little over a month had passed since Xuan Chuan's tribulation and Duobao Daoist's visit.

That day, the sky was clear and the breeze gentle. Many Jiejiao disciples were either cultivating quietly in their cave-dwellings, discussing the Dao in the mountains, or gathering at marketplaces to exchange supplies. It was a scene of perfect harmony.

Then, suddenly—

Woooo—!!!

A shrill wind howl, as though it had risen from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, tore through the heavens without warning!

It was not a single gust, but boundless hurricanes, as though they had risen from every corner of the Primordial World at once!

One moment, the sky had been cloudless for ten thousand miles. The next, the skies above all Golden Turtle Island were covered by dense, ink-dark, roiling lead-gray clouds!

Within those clouds, countless thick pillars of cyan tornadoes flickered in and out of sight, shrieking like ghosts weeping and gods howling!

Even more terrifying was the vast pressure that descended with them, as though an ancient divine mountain were bearing down from overhead!

This pressure was not directed at any one person. It blanketed the entire Golden Turtle Immortal Island with wild, tyrannical force!

The supreme will contained within it—sharp, swift, and capable of tearing apart all things—instantly turned countless low-cultivation disciples pale. Their mana stagnated within them, and they could barely breathe!

"Daluo Realm pressure!"

"Who is it?!"

"What terrifying wind laws... This is..."

Doubt and panic spread among the disciples.

Duobao Daoist, who had been meditating in a side hall of Biyou Palace, abruptly opened his eyes. With a flicker, he was already outside the hall and in the air, staring toward the source of the wind with a deep frown.

Zhao Gongming, the Three Xiao Sisters, Golden Spirit Holy Mother, and the other core disciples were also alarmed.

At the heart of that pressure, at the source of the winds filling the sky, a figure hovered in the high-altitude cloud vortex directly above the mountain where Xuan Chuan's Cave-Dwelling stood, carrying himself with the air of one who looked down upon all creation!

Deep within the cloud vortex, a figure gradually came into view.

He was a young man clad in black feathered robes. His face was handsome to the point of seeming demonic, yet it carried a bone-deep chill.

His ink-black hair hung loose behind him. His eyes were pure gold, but his pupils were two vertical slits, like a hawk eyeing its prey—cold and merciless.

Behind him, the phantom of a pair of dark-golden wings that blotted out heaven and earth faintly unfurled. Each minute flap made the winds between heaven and earth grow fiercer, making the laws themselves wail.

Winged Immortal!

"Xuan Chuan, come out!"

The cold voice was not loud, yet it was like a polar gale, instantly piercing the layers of restrictions outside Xuan Chuan's Cave-Dwelling.

It rang clearly through every corner of the cave-dwelling, carrying an unquestionable command and... faint killing intent.

Inside the cave-dwelling, Xuan Chuan, who had been stabilizing his Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation and nourishing the Fate-Cutting Sword, suddenly opened his eyes.

Two substantial streaks of violet-gold light flashed through his eyes. He slowly rose to his feet, his expression calm and unsurprised, carrying only solemn gravity.

What was meant to come had come in the end. And it had come so swiftly, so tyrannically.

He took a single step, and his figure appeared outside the cave-dwelling, atop the mountain peak, facing the figure in the cloud vortex high above from afar.

His violet robes snapped wildly in the violent currents, yet Xuan Chuan stood as immovable as an ancient pine rooted in stone.

The aura of an early-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal spread forth without concealment. Though it lacked the overwhelming vastness of the other party's Daluo Realm pressure—

It was condensed and pure, carrying a sharp will to "sever all laws," forcibly driving the pressing gale back three feet.

"Martial Uncle Winged Immortal." Xuan Chuan cupped his hands, his etiquette impeccable and voice steady. "I failed to greet you from afar, Martial Uncle. You have arrived at Golden Turtle Island with such great fanfare. Might I ask what instruction you have for me?"

"Instruction?" Winged Immortal's golden slit pupils locked onto Xuan Chuan. A cold, mocking curve rose at the corner of his lips. "I came to teach you what rank means, and what rules mean!"

His gaze was like a blade as it swept over the many Jiejiao disciples gathering below because of this disturbance, though none dared approach. His voice suddenly turned harsh, like a fierce wind sweeping across the Ninth Heaven:

"Xuan Chuan! You are merely a junior of later generation, a black panther who took human form. By sheer luck, you gained Master's favor. He bestowed the Purple Lightning Hammer upon you and permitted you to temporarily act as chief disciple. That was already a heaven-sent grace!

"Yet you did not know gratitude or repay it by diligently cultivating yourself. Instead, the moment you gained power, you began acting recklessly!"

He pointed at Xuan Chuan, and his voice shook the clouds into turmoil. "You used public power for private gain, fabricated charges, and harmed your fellow disciples!

"Though Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal may have committed faults, how could you be allowed to inflict private punishment and beat him until both body and soul were annihilated? That is the first charge!"

"You invented pretexts and used 'clearing Karmic Force' and 'averting calamity and disaster' as excuses to pry into your fellow disciples' secret arts and covet their magic treasures!

"You forced your fellow disciples to register and record their private matters, plunging the sect into a miasma of smoke and filth and leaving hearts in constant dread! That is the second charge!"

"You formed cliques and factions, suppressed those who disagreed with you, and repeatedly made things difficult for Jin Guang, Spirit Tooth, Horned Head, and the other attendant immortal lords who had served Master for many years. You bullied and coerced them, obstructing their cultivation and staining their Dao Hearts with dust! That is the third charge!"

With each accusation Winged Immortal delivered, his voice rose another degree and his momentum grew stronger. The phantom wings behind him flapped, transforming the wild winds into countless transparent wind blades that sliced through space with piercing shrieks.

The disciples below listened in terror. Many secretly glanced toward Jin Guang Immortal and the others, who had appeared at the edge of the crowd at some unknown time to watch.

Jin Guang Immortal wore a grief-stricken, indignant expression. Lingya Immortal ground his teeth, while Qiu Shou Immortal looked heavy-hearted and helpless, as if their appearances confirmed Winged Immortal's accusations.

"After such perverse conduct and tyrannical arrogance, are you worthy of being Jiejiao's chief disciple? Are you worthy of wielding a Saint's token such as the Purple Lightning Hammer?"

Winged Immortal's final question rang out harshly. Killing intent was fully exposed in his golden slit pupils. "Today, I shall act in Master's stead to purge the sect, set chaos right, and restore order!"

He stepped forward, and the winds filling the sky abruptly converged in his palm, condensing into a giant wind blade a hundred zhang long, its cyan wind radiance flickering. Wherever its edge pointed, space shattered inch by inch!

"Xuan Chuan, I shall give you two choices!"

"First, immediately hand over the Purple Lightning Hammer, cripple your cultivation, go to the cave-dwellings of Junior Brothers Jin Guang, Spirit Tooth, and Horned Head to kowtow and beg forgiveness, then get out of Golden Turtle Island. You are never to set foot here again!"

"Second, I will personally seize you and escort you before Biyou Palace to request Master's holy judgment! By then, it will not be as simple as crippling your cultivation!"

Tyrannical! Overbearing! Entirely unreasonable!

Using the might of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal to directly oppress another with force, he gave Xuan Chuan no chance whatsoever to defend himself! Or rather, in Winged Immortal's eyes, Xuan Chuan was simply not worthy of defending himself to him!

Xuan Chuan quietly listened until he had finished. There was neither joy nor sorrow on his face, but his gaze grew colder and colder, like ice that had endured ten thousand years.

"Are you finished?" Xuan Chuan slowly asked. His voice was not loud, yet it strangely pierced through the howling winds and rang clearly in every ear.

"Hm?" Winged Immortal frowned.

"Martial Uncle Winged Immortal."

Xuan Chuan raised his head, his gaze calmly meeting those golden slit pupils. "Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal colluded with the Western Religion. The evidence was irrefutable. Executing him according to sect rules was to uphold the sect. How was that harming him?

"Registering the karmic ties of magic treasures and sorting through Karmic Force was done to help my fellow disciples avoid tribulations and disasters. There is already proof of Merit. How was that prying and coveting?

"As for Martial Uncles Jin Guang, Spirit Tooth, and Horned Head, I ask myself whether everything I did was in accordance with sect rules and open and aboveboard. How was that making things difficult for or bullying them?"

He stepped forward, and violet-gold sword intent began rising around him, once more forcing back the pressing winds and pressure.

"Martial Uncle has not returned to the island for a long time, yet upon hearing only one side of the story, you have raised such a great commotion and used your power to oppress others. You even demand that I surrender the treasure Master personally bestowed upon me, cripple my cultivation, and kowtow in apology..."

Xuan Chuan's tone remained steady, but it carried a decisive resolve that could cut nails and sever iron. "Forgive me, but I cannot comply!"

"Good! Good! Good!"

Winged Immortal laughed in extreme anger and said "good" three times in succession. No warmth remained in his golden slit pupils, only pure, icy killing intent.

"Stubborn beyond redemption, seeking death yourself! Then let me see just how much you, this 'Jiejiao chief disciple,' truly weigh!"

Before his words had faded, the hundred-zhang wind blade in his hand came crashing down!

There was no flourish, no probing strike—only the crushing superiority of realm and power! Wherever the wind blade passed, space was effortlessly torn apart like cloth, revealing the black chaotic currents of the void beyond!

The violent laws of wind condensed to their utmost limit, locking down every inch of space around Xuan Chuan, leaving him nowhere to evade!

"Then—please enlighten me, Martial Uncle!"

Violet-gold light exploded in Xuan Chuan's eyes. With a clear dragon's cry, the Fate-Cutting Sword leapt into his hand!

Lightning patterns shone along the blade as chaotic aura flowed around it. Facing that world-destroying wind blade, it slashed upward in defiance without the slightest fear!

BOOM—!!!

The violet-gold sword aura and cyan wind blade collided violently in midair!