Page 49

The words "Trust me" were still in his throat when Mu Liuyun raised her hand and snapped his neck with crisp efficiency.

Sword Lord Qingyun let out an indistinct gurgle and breathed his last just like that.

"Don't mention him. You're not worthy."

Mu Liuyun stood up. From beginning to end, not even the hem of her skirt had brushed against Sword Lord Liuyun. She found him filthy.

How did a man like this have the gall to say he loved her?

Her dao companion, Sword Lord Qingshuang, had been a gentleman as pure as a clear breeze and moonlight after rain, yet this vile man had harmed him. Their child had nearly died at his hands, too.

If not for Qiaoqiao...

Following her gaze, everyone turned to Qiaoqiao. If she hadn't seen through the Sword Lord's true face, how much longer would everyone in the Flowing Cloud Sect have been deceived by him?

She had saved the sect from an enormous crisis!

Seeing her round almond eyes and the light of wisdom plainly shining on her adorable face, everyone was filled with admiration. That clever little head had saved the Flowing Cloud Sect. She had rendered a great service to the sect!

Mu Liuyun walked up to her. "Qiaoqiao, you've rendered a great service this time. Is there anything you want?"

Qiaoqiao blinked. "The lamp-"

Shen Ji hurriedly said, "Sect Master, perhaps we should discuss this in private."

Their little junior sister really dared to say it. Asking to use the Divine Lamp in front of everyone-wasn't she afraid of getting beaten?

Mu Liuyun seemed to understand something and nodded.

By then, the elders had gathered around as well. Someone asked, "Qiaoqiao, how did you find out about Sword Lord Liuyun?"

The others were curious, too. How exactly had she learned about such a closely guarded matter from the past?

"I dreamed-"

"While I was in seclusion, my spirit once wandered to Qingshuang's grave. His soul sensed it and appeared to me in a dream," Bai Fu said mildly, standing beside her.

"He also told me about Fengyuan's bloodline awakening." Bai Fu glanced at Fu Fengyuan. "His meridians were blocked because his bloodline could not awaken. It required the stimulus of his own powerful will, and could only awaken once it reached the critical point."

Only then did Fu Fengyuan understand why his master's earlier help had been in vain. The key had been that sliver of conviction needed to make the breakthrough himself.

Everyone understood, too. So the Immortal Venerable had perceived heaven's workings and dreamed of it!

No wonder the Immortal Venerable had stayed beside his little disciple all this time. Qiaoqiao had revealed all this at his instruction. It seemed the Immortal Venerable valued this little disciple greatly.

Qiaoqiao looked up at her master and obediently shut her mouth.

[Fine. As an envoy of justice, I need to keep a low profile.]

[Heaven's secrets must not be divulged. Keeping a suitable air of mystery will help me fulfill my mission better!]

Her senior brothers and sisters: ...

What did she mean, heaven's secrets must not be divulged? Every little thought in her head had already been exposed.

The elders all thanked Ethereal Peak for saving the sect. The Immortal Venerable would not accept gifts of thanks, so Elder Yao took out her savings on the spot and gave Qiaoqiao a full five hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Qiaoqiao was stunned. Wasn't this a little too much?

Elder Yao said, "You didn't just expose Sword Lord Qingyun's true face. You changed the Flowing Cloud Sect's future!"

What did these few Spirit Stones amount to?

All the elders nodded.

Looking at Fu Fengyuan, whose Radiant Dragon Bloodline had awakened, Elder Yao seemed to see the Flowing Cloud Sect's hope. There was no counting on Mu Liuyun, who wanted nothing but to lie flat. Fu Fengyuan, this tender young sapling, still had tremendous potential to nurture!

"Young Master," Elder Yao said, "if there is anything you don't understand in your cultivation from now on, you may come and ask me."

The other elders gathered around as well.

"It was supposed to be me..."

"Me..."

Watching this scene, Mu Ye stood despondently to one side, his eyes bloodshot and his teeth clenched. He was supposed to be the Flowing Cloud Sect's young master!

The blows he had suffered were too great. First his parentage had been exposed, and then he had witnessed his biological father's death.

With Sword Lord Liuyun dead, what was he?

Not only had he lost his position as the young sect master, but he had also become the son of the Flowing Cloud Sect Master's enemy!

It was over!

It was all over!

Would he be driven out of the sect, or would he become Mu Liuyun's next target for revenge?

Mu Ye was in a daze, even showing signs of madness. He charged out like a madman, but halfway there, a crescent-shaped rift suddenly opened before him. Two streams of Devil Qi reached out from the rift and coiled around his neck. Mu Ye's eyes bulged as he made a series of rasping sounds, and he was strangled to death!

Atop the main peak, the Mountain-Suppressing Bell, the core of the mountain-protecting formation, let out a long, resonant peal, announcing that the formation had been damaged and Devil Cultivators had torn open a spatial rift!

Dense Devil Qi gushed out of the rift, and Devil Cultivators emerged in an endless stream.

The cultivators' expressions changed, and they cried out in horror, "Devil Cultivators! Devil Cultivators are invading!"

"Quickly, meet the enemy!"

On the day of the sect master's birthday banquet, Devil Cultivators had actually torn open a gate between realms and launched a massive assault on the Flowing Cloud Sect!

Chaos erupted all around. The multicolored radiance of Law Treasures flared as the Flowing Cloud Sect's cultivators clashed with the invading Devil Cultivators.

The Devil Cultivators attacked with overwhelming force, with three devil generals overseeing the battle. Devil Qi surged skyward, shrouding the summit of the main peak.

Amid the chaotic crowd, three demonic shadows suddenly appeared before Qiaoqiao.

"Little junior sister!"

Her senior brothers and sisters all rushed over to save her.

Yet their little junior sister remained perfectly composed. With a white plum branch in hand, she unleashed her sword technique. Petals whirled, falling like a sudden downpour. The wind rose and the rain hastened, drifting and scattering, falling like rosy clouds.

Her apricot-yellow skirts billowed with her movements, her figure light and graceful. Her impenetrable sword technique enveloped the three demonic shadows. Sword Qi suddenly erupted, and the three Devil Cultivators surrounding her were driven back several zhang by that single strike!

What Qiaoqiao had used was precisely the second sword form of High Antiquity: Descending Flower Rain!

In the secret chamber, Sword Immortal Liuyun had taught her two sword forms from High Antiquity. Together with Slay the Star River, that made three forms in total. The Sword Immortal had said that once she thoroughly mastered and integrated these three forms, she could roam unchallenged beneath the heavens.

When Qiaoqiao entered Foundation Establishment, she had spent seven days in seclusion precisely to comprehend the second sword form, "Descending Flower Rain." Her comprehension was astonishing. Ever since learning this second form, she had had no chance to use it. Today, she finally had a chance to display her might!