For a time, the atmosphere deep within the stone cavern fell silent.
The faint firelight flickered upon the stone walls, stretching the old man's gaunt shadow to an extreme length.
Su Yueli simply watched him quietly, her expression undisturbed.
After a long while, the old ancestor finally let out a long breath. "Must this old man truly die? If I die, then the Azure Cloud Sect... will completely collapse."
Su Yueli looked at him, her voice even. "It is merely karmic retribution. Back then, the personal disciple of your Great Elder harmed a mortal friend dearest to me, causing him to freeze to death in a ruined temple. That man was long ago slain by my hand."
"And your young sect master, Lu Feiyu, slaughtered mortals wantonly before he took office. Among them... were my parents."
The old ancestor's clouded eyes narrowed slightly. "So... all the upheaval you have stirred up over these past hundred years was, from beginning to end, only for revenge?"
"Of course."
Su Yueli nodded. "If not for these grudges, I would have practiced my martial arts in peace while you cultivated your immortality. We would originally have kept to our own waters, neither offending the other. But in that battle a hundred years ago, you grievously wounded me and stubbornly protected Lu Feiyu. Therefore, you must die."
In truth, she did not harbor much pure emotion toward the old man before her.
That old bastard had protected Lu Feiyu back then for the sect's prestige.
Before so many immortals, if their young sect master had been executed by a martial artist in full view of all, how could the Azure Cloud Sect have retained any face in the cultivation world afterward?
For the sake of the sect's interests, it had been inevitable that he would