He returned to Mysterious Heaven City outside the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect.
Li Yang heard quite a few cultivators talking:
"I heard that little demoness from Crane-Cry Peak was killed!"
"Really? Isn't her father the Six Desires Demon Venerable? Who would dare kill her?!"
"Good riddance! She slaughtered her fellow disciples. She deserved to die! If there hadn't been so many complications, the Enforcement Hall would have executed her on the spot under our Mystic Heaven Sword Sect's rules long ago!"
"The Six Desires Demon Venerable showed up in Myriad Phenomena City, and that big shot from the Sword Alliance has already gone after him. Let's hope he can protect that heroic cultivator!"
That big shot from the Sword Alliance was the powerful cultivator who had demanded the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect hand her over. He had spent the past few days sitting cross-legged outside the mountain gates, blocking the entrance.
Otherwise, Shen Lou'er would have taken a teleportation array and fled far away long ago. Why would she have needed to sneak through the Mystic Demon Mountain Range?
As the instigator of this uproar, Li Yang returned to the sect as though nothing had happened.
Suddenly-
Through some unseen connection, he sensed an intense surge of killing intent.
"Looks like the Six Desires Demon Venerable already knows it was me. Saintess Su Yao and the male demon cultivator she was hiding must have told him!"
Li Yang snorted coldly and marked down that grudge.
Fortunately, he had already returned to the sect. At least he was safe inside.
As for defying his master's orders, he had prepared for the consequences before daring to act, notifying his friends in the Sword Alliance beforehand.
The Mystic Heaven Sword Sect was a sect he had carefully selected, with principles he could trust. As for why his master had protected that demoness this time, he did not know.
But when he had been about to kill Shen Lou'er, his master's phantom had chosen to withdraw. That alone showed his master would at least not harm him through underhanded means.
The moment he stepped onto Crane-Cry Peak, his senses blurred, and he found himself standing in Crane-Cry Hall.
"Li Yang, do you acknowledge your crime?!"
Lu Feng sat in the seat of honor, his piercing eyes like two blades of refined steel stabbing into Li Yang's soul.
"What crime have I committed?"
Under that oppressive aura, Li Yang was like duckweed tossed in the wind, yet his gaze remained utterly resolute.
"When I entrusted you with escorting your junior sister, you swore solemnly that you would 'fulfill Master's instructions and deliver Junior Sister safely to Myriad Phenomena City.' Why did you go back on your word, deceive me, and cruelly murder her?!"
Faced with Lu Feng's interrogation, Li Yang remained composed:
"I did deliver her safely to Myriad Phenomena City. How did I go back on my word or deceive you?"
"You! You insolent brat who doesn't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is!" Lu Feng raged. "Do you know her father is the Six Desires Demon Venerable? With your Qi Refining cultivation, he could crush countless thousands of you with a single finger!
"Yet you acted without considering the consequences, seeking only a moment's pleasure in slaughter!
"Did you ever consider that this would make a Demon Venerable bear a grudge against our Mystic Heaven Sword Sect? How many of your fellow disciples might die because of it? And still you refuse to repent!"
Li Yang felt no guilt whatsoever:
"If we sword cultivators must hesitate at every turn, we might as well stop cultivating the sword. We might as well let dual-cultivation practitioners drain us, demon cultivators devour our flesh, heretic cultivators bleed us dry, and ghost cultivators seize our souls.
"It's true that I wield my sword to kill, but its true purpose is to protect countless living beings.
"If we don't make evil understand the price of wanton murder, it will only grow more brazen!
"It's precisely because of those heroes of the Sword Alliance who slay demons and defend the righteous path regardless of the consequences that we enjoy this peaceful, prosperous age!
"So even if our Mystic Heaven Sword Sect were wiped out because of this, I would have no regrets!
"You, on the other hand!
"Master, you've disappointed me deeply!"
When had Lu Feng ever suffered such defiance, such an overturning of the natural order, as Li Yang was displaying now?
And from a mere Qi Refining disciple, at that.
"Utterly unreasonable! If every sword cultivator were like you..."
Li Yang interrupted him. "If every sword cultivator were like me, those nominal disciples wouldn't have died!"
His voice rang firm and clear, his words righteous:
"Junior Sister used outbreaks of her demonic nature as an excuse to slaughter her fellow disciples and advance her cultivation. Her crime deserved death!
"Master, you secretly taught Junior Sister a demonic art, indirectly encouraging her to grow ever more audacious. You bear fault as well!"
Lu Feng laughed in anger:
"From the sound of it, you want to kill your master too?!"
Li Yang shook his head. "This disciple wouldn't dare."
"Wouldn't dare right now, or wouldn't do it?" Lu Feng's eyes blazed, their edge growing sharper, until even the void rang with the cry of swords.
"Wouldn't do it," Li Yang said firmly. "Master's wrongdoing was unintentional.
"This disciple killed Junior Sister, first, to slay a demon and defend the righteous path, cutting down a rising star of the demonic path;
"Second, to avenge my fellow disciples and honor the departed souls of my senior and junior brothers and sisters;
"Third, to erase this stain for Master and uphold your reputation as a righteous practitioner of the sword!
"But this disciple wishes to remind Master: whoever shelters evil demons shares their guilt!"
Lu Feng's tone turned utterly cold:
"How did I never realize that my disciple was so outrageously bold that he would even dare threaten his master?
"Believe it or not, I could slap you dead right here, and no one would ever know!
"After all, a mere Qi Refining disciple like you isn't even worthy of having a Soul Lamp lit in the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect."
Overwhelming sword intent and killing intent swept toward Li Yang, pressing down on him until his legs trembled.
Yet they still could not force him down completely. He stood like a pine in the raging winds upon a sheer cliff.
Astonishing sword intent erupted from Li Yang as well, its sharpness surpassing even Lu Feng's!
He cleaved apart the oppressive force rushing at him, his expression cold and his words decisive:
"If Master is that kind of man, then before I die, I'll certainly curse you once-you old beast!
"I once asked you, Master-what exactly is a sword cultivator?
"Your answer was:
"Those who wield swords to kill their enemies use swords as their Magic Treasures; those who control Sword Pellets use swords as their means. Yet those who cast spells and wield divine abilities need not be excluded from the ranks of sword cultivators."
"To judge solely by whether one wields a sword or commands a Sword Pellet may be simple and clear, but it loses sight of the true essence.
"Those who wield swords or command Sword Pellets have merely stepped through the gates.
"To truly enter the hall lies in always keeping a sword cultivator's spirit suspended within one's heart, never allowing it to fall.
"Only those who always uphold a sword cultivator's bearing can be called pure.
"As long as a sword remains in one's heart and that sword cultivator's spirit has not dispersed, one may be called a sword cultivator.
"As for what the sword in your heart is, and what a sword cultivator's spirit means, you must ask your own heart."
Li Yang paused:
"This disciple engraved your words upon his heart and never dared forget them.
"Thus, this disciple's actions leave his conscience clear!
"We sword cultivators would sooner die than bend our swordsman's bones!"
Lu Feng was moved.
He had only meant to frighten Li Yang a little, yet ended up being lectured instead.
"Enough, enough. Yes, you're the morally noble one."
Lu Feng took out a storage bag and tossed it to Li Yang:
"Hurry off and cultivate. Stop being an eyesore!"
Then, as though swatting away a fly, he tossed Li Yang out of the hall.
"Incredible. A true prodigy has emerged among my disciples! Too bad he's a rotten bastard who defies his master and betrays his forebears!"
Lu Feng praised him and cursed him in turn, his expression thoroughly conflicted.
Beside him, a man in splendid brocade robes abruptly appeared.
"What a Li Yang!
"He seems to act without regard for the consequences, but in truth, he accounts for everything.
"To think he could forcefully kill Shen Lou'er, who possessed the Six Desires Demon Body, despite the lifesaving trump cards you and the Six Desires Demon Venerable gave her. This boy is no fish destined to remain in a pond!
"Such courage, character, and strength... Senior Brother Lu, why not give him to me? I'd like to raise a successor."
"Get lost!" Lu Feng cursed with a laugh. "It would be one thing if I hadn't discovered such a promising seedling, but now that he's finally revealed himself, I can hardly wait to cultivate him myself!
"Besides, you have five or six female disciples on Sect Master Peak, all peerless beauties. If he went there, how would he have any mind left for cultivation?"
"Didn't I just take in a male disciple recently?" Ling Wujie, the sect master of the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect, shifted the topic. "With the Six Desires Demon Venerable's methods, finding his daughter's real killer won't be difficult. He's a powerful Body Integration Realm cultivator. I'm afraid you alone can't protect the boy."
"No matter. I've already made arrangements." Lu Feng stroked his beard, looking as though everything was under control.
"My third disciple's great-aunt is a Void Immortal from an Immortal Ancient Aristocratic Clan. She's currently in a commandery city within the Great Qian Dynasty, cultivating through Mortal Transfiguration."
"If this brat can establish a connection with her, why would he need to fear the Six Desires Demon Venerable?"
Ling Wujie frowned slightly:
"Aren't you afraid the brat might offend her? Our Mystic Heaven Sword Sect can't afford to offend someone of that stature."
Lu Feng revealed an inscrutable smile:
"I originally intended to use Shen Lou'er as this pawn, but now I've discovered a more suitable candidate.
"Li Yang killed Shen Lou'er and made an irreconcilable enemy of the Six Desires Demon Venerable. That's the crucial point.
"Whether he can win that person's favor is actually secondary.
"Junior Brother, do you really think I've fallen so far?
"I misjudged Shen Lou'er and gave her the opportunity to slaughter our sect's people. I won't deny that fault.
"So I can only turn that mistake to my advantage and kill both her and her father to honor the departed souls of their victims."
"What are you planning?"
"The original target of this game was the Seven Emotions Demon Venerable. But if this brat joins in, the Six Desires Demon Venerable will certainly appear too. We can catch them all in one net!" Lu Feng's eyes were razor-sharp.
"You're using your disciple as bait?!" Ling Wujie exclaimed. "What a waste it would be if such a promising seedling died!"
"As long as he's a proper sword cultivator, he absolutely won't die!" Lu Feng declared solemnly.
"He is proper, but he isn't normal," Ling Wujie reminded him. "With his extreme way of doing things, can you guarantee he'll follow the moves you've laid out?"
Lu Feng's confident smile stiffened. "He probably won't die."
"You just said absolutely."
The two fell silent for a moment before Ling Wujie suddenly lowered his voice and asked:
"Say, we're working with that Sword Alliance big shot to leak the Household Ancestor Ning's whereabouts during her Mortal Transfiguration. What if the brat gets so carried away with killing that he even does something to the Household Ancestor Ning's Mortalized Body—"
"Quiet!" Lu Feng's expression shifted slightly. Just imagining it made him break into a cold sweat. "Don't you go cawing ill omens!
"I've investigated him. That brat has firm boundaries, and everyone he kills deserves to die. As for that ancestor of the Ning Lineage, apart from the strange fact that she's never had a Dao companion, there's nothing unusual about her.
"From that, we can assert that the two will ultimately reap only good fruit from their connection. You'd better not curse that sort of situation into happening."
Ling Wujie shrugged. "I'm just worried. What if! I'm only saying what if-
"Suppose the Household Ancestor Ning's Mortalized Body fell into the hands of evil demons, and they threatened her life. What choice do you think that brat would make?"
"Then of course-" Lu Feng's voice abruptly stopped.
After a long silence, he said, "I believe he'll make the right choice. From that, we can prophesy that the two will ultimately form a karmic bond. Ideally, the Household Ancestor Ning's Mortalized Body will experience romantic love!"
"You just said assert."
P.S. If you leave after reading only the opening, you'll miss the gold you finally managed to sift out.
Come see where all those cries of "So satisfying!" in the review section come from.
Before you continue