Crimson blood dripped down his pale palm, and without the bamboo hat to conceal it, his handsome face was revealed. The white-robed Buddhist disciple, whose expression had remained calm throughout, finally raised his eyes to look at everyone.
Under his gaze, everyone suddenly fell silent. The awe they had felt at the sight of his face slowly settled, and their faces unconsciously took on a look of peace.
And ease.
Even the wind around them seemed to have stilled, leaving only the sound of dripping blood.
Drip... drip...
"Fellow Daoist." Suddenly, a clear voice rang out. Only then did everyone notice that a young man as radiant as the moon had appeared beside the white-robed Buddhist disciple.
The young man was tall and slender, with strikingly handsome features, yet standing beside the white-robed Buddhist disciple, he still had to raise his head slightly to meet those exceptionally clear eyes.
With a smile, Jing Fanyu offered him a jade-green bottle. "These are high-grade Blood-Staunching Pills. Please accept them, fellow Daoist."
"Thank you, fellow Daoist." Wu Fei knew that the flash of sword light had come from beside this man. After thanking him, he slowly accepted the jade-green bottle, took out a Blood-Staunching Pill, and swallowed it.
It was indeed a high-grade Blood-Staunching Pill of excellent quality, and its effects were remarkable. In mere moments, the bleeding stopped, and the hideous wounds healed completely.
"Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist."
Jing Fanyu turned to deal with Meiji. They had come down the mountain to welcome disciples from the various sects, and that sword strike had come from his accompanying martial uncle.
"Senior Brother, your prayer beads." Kuzheng retrieved Wu Fei's prayer beads, which the red silk had sent flying.
Wu Fei nodded slightly, his expression peaceful from beginning to end. Even when injured, he had shown little emotional fluctuation.
At the sight, the others could not help recalling the rumors about this Buddhist disciple, the True Disciple of the Buddha Spirit Sect's sect leader: he had been born with an Innate Exquisite Heart, whole and flawless.
If anyone had doubted it before, seeing him today dispelled all their doubts. With his desireless, almost golden-radiant appearance, he truly lived up to his innate Exquisite Heart.
The Buddha Spirit Sect's sect leader had truly taken in a fine seedling!
After dealing with Meiji, Jing Fanyu turned to the Buddhist cultivators. "Fellow Daoists of the Buddha Spirit Sect, please follow me. Your accommodations have already been arranged within the sect."
The Heavenly Sword Sect martial uncle stayed there with the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples to await the other sects, while Jing Fanyu alone escorted Wu Fei and the others up the mountain.
The white-robed Buddhist disciple was peerlessly handsome and serene, while the blue-robed sword cultivator had refined features and a tall, upright bearing. Walking together, the two made a pleasing sight.
"I am Jing Fanyu. Might you be Fellow Daoist Wu Fei of the Buddha Spirit Sect?" Jing Fanyu asked politely.
Jing Fanyu's reputation was no less impressive than Wu Fei's. He was the True Disciple of the sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, the largest sect in the cultivation world.
Wu Fei lifted his eyes slightly, seeming to feel some goodwill toward this Heavenly Sword Sect disciple who had just brought people to rescue him. "So you are Fellow Daoist Jing."
At this, Jing Fanyu's gaze flickered almost imperceptibly, and he began introducing the place to Wu Fei and the others.
The Buddha Spirit Sect had arrived relatively early. Once they had settled in, Kuzheng watched Jing Fanyu's retreating figure. "I heard Fellow Daoist Jing is the True Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect's sect leader. I never expected him to be so approachable."
Wu Fei nodded calmly. "Go and meditate in your rooms. Do not go out over the next few days, lest unnecessary trouble arise."
His fellow disciples offered Buddhist salutations and returned to their rooms. Although some among them were senior to Wu Fei, his position was special, and his reliability had earned him considerable trust from the others.
Night fell.
Inside his room, Wu Fei sat upright on the couch, his eyes lightly closed as he slowly turned the prayer beads in his hand. Jing Fanyu's face flashed through his mind, and the beads in his hand suddenly stopped.
"Approachable..." Wu Fei murmured as he opened his eyes. They held none of the serenity everyone had seen during the day. Instead, they were profoundly dark.
With a slight movement, he turned his palm over, and a tiny insect appeared in it. He raised it to his ear and listened.
Wu Fei, whose original name should have been Lu Wufei, had accidentally transmigrated after a car crash into a book lying on the passenger seat.
"Heavenly Dao."
And the protagonist of that book was Jing Fanyu, the sole True Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect's sect leader.
But no one knew that Jing Fanyu had another identity...
The Heavenly Sword Sect was shrouded in the deep darkness of night, with scarcely any stars overhead. Meiji, the Devil Cultivator who had caused trouble during the day, had been locked in the Devil Suppression Prison.
The Devil Suppression Prison was heavily guarded. Under cover of darkness, a figure in black slipped inside without attracting the guards' attention.
Within the dim prison, numerous Devil Cultivators guilty of heinous crimes were confined far apart from one another.
Meiji, who had only been imprisoned that day, hung from the wall with enormous spirit-sealing chains piercing her shoulder blades, barely clinging to life.
A figure appeared before her. Meiji slowly raised her head, and her eyes lit up. "My lord! Please save me, my lord!"
In the vast prison, a tall figure shrouded in black robes stood before Meiji, his face concealed behind a black mask.
Yin Fan remained entirely unmoved by Meiji's pleas and asked unhurriedly:
"Who told you to attack the Buddha Spirit Sect's Buddhist disciple?"
Meiji's eyes shifted. The next moment, a black whip formed from Demonic Qi appeared in Yin Fan's hand. It lashed her, and Demonic Qi entered her body through the wounds, wantonly destroying her sinews, bones, and meridians, leaving her in unbearable agony.
"Ah!" Meiji could not stop screaming.
"I'll talk! It was Devil Venerable Mingyu! Spare me, my lord!"
"Traitorous wretch!" Yin Fan snorted coldly, recalling the crimson blood running down the white-robed Buddhist disciple's arm during the day, while that desireless face had shown not the slightest change. He really wanted to...
He really wanted someone to drag him into the abyss and watch those clear eyes take on different emotions.
With a slight shift of his thoughts, the Demonic Qi completely destroyed Meiji's body, and she gradually fell silent.
"Wu Fei..." The young Devil Venerable chuckled softly, the meaning in his eyes unreadable.
Meanwhile, in the quietest courtyard of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
"Wu Fei..."
After listening to the final words by his ear, Wu Fei moved his hand slightly and put away the Sound-Listening Insect.
When he had fought Meiji during the day, he had used the red silk to plant the Sound-Listening Insect's offspring on her. Then, every sound around Meiji would be transmitted to him through the offspring.