Outside the Weiyun Sect, heads bobbed in a dense crowd.
Dozens of tables were laden with rich meats and dishes, their heavy aroma drifting for miles.
"Haha, what brings Brother Withered Leaf to my Weiyun Sect?" Feng Ling laughed heartily from the head of the banquet, breaking the silence first.
The mutually hostile crowd burst into chatter and laughter, pretending they were old friends.
Across the dozens of drinking tables,
the air was thick with "liveliness," though everyone remained on guard in secret.
"I heard that Brother Weiyun returned from the dead, so I came to pay my respects and offer my congratulations."
Withered Leaf Ape wasn't foolish either. He knew "Ling Weiyun" was merely putting on an act, so he shot a meaningful glance as he spoke.
Elder Lingchen cooperated, producing a modest gift and rising to hand it to Feng Ling.
"Brother Withered Leaf, you could've just come, why bring a gift too? No need to stand on ceremony..." Even as Feng Ling said this, he had someone bring the box forward, cracked it open just a sliver, took a single glance, and accepted it, making the whole affair seem quite mysterious.
"Brother Weiyun, do you still like it?"
Withered Leaf Ape stroked his beard with a smile, deliberately stressing the word "like."
"Good! This old man likes it very much."
Hearing Feng Ling's hearty laugh, a flicker of delight flashed across Withered Leaf Ape's eyes.
He thought: Since you're so willing to read the situation, once you give the order, this old man won't spare a single person here.
Hmph! You want the Weiyun Thunder Technique?
Feng Ling sneered inwardly:
Wanting it is fine,
but you'll need... to live long enough to enjoy it!
"Dad, what's in the box?"
Ling Chi and the other craned their necks, unconcerned that Withered Leaf Ape and the others were watching them.
"Right! My lord, what is that? Don't tell me you're offering compensation. You can't go soft in the head—we lost eight disciples! Don't think you can fob us off without paying in full!"
The Impostor Madam Pan Yuan joined in, and at the end glared viciously at Elder Lingchen.
Anger filled Elder Lingchen's face. He began to rise again and argue for his dignity in his later years, but a powerful force pressed him back down.
"Silence! You three have utterly humiliated this old man!"
Feng Ling's expression darkened. After his sharp rebuke, the three of them reined themselves in somewhat.
"Brother Withered Leaf, please don't take offense! To show my apology, I, Ling, will punish myself with a cup first!"
As he spoke, a sharp glint flashed in Feng Ling's eyes. He tilted his head back and downed the cup in one gulp before inviting the main figures at the banquet to drink, but no one dared move.
"Haha, why does no one wish to honor me? Are you afraid I've poisoned the wine? If not, then you're deliberately refusing to give me face!"
With things said this far, the crowd could no longer refuse, and they drank several rounds together.
Pairs of small porcelain cups clinked together, dazzling beneath the midday sun!
The Impostor Madam Pan Yuan's eyes flickered as she hid a sip behind her sleeve without drinking. Ling Chi and the other saw everyone drink without incident and began greedily downing cup after cup.
After three rounds of wine,
and five courses of food,
the crowd talked merrily,
as if everyone had forgotten their grudges.
"Alright, Brother Weiyun, we've eaten and drunk... time to talk business!" Withered Leaf Ape drew out his words, signaling Feng Ling in secret.
Then the three of them shouted and struck at Madam Pan Yuan: "Evil Spirit Master! Won't you reveal your true form?"
"Boom!!"
"Boom!!" A thunderous crash rang out. Wood splinters flew everywhere as the entire main banquet table shattered. Everyone was startled by the sudden turn of events!
In the stunned aftermath, the sound of overturning tables spread through the crowd, and both sides drew their blades, squaring off against each other!
Tension crackled in the air... the suffocating atmosphere was nothing like the earlier scene of brotherly camaraderie.
"Haha, so the three of you really were in collusion all along—too bad I saw through you!"
In her urgency, Madam Pan Yuan unleashed three palm strikes. They knocked Feng Ling and the other two back, and she gazed at their drastically changed expressions with satisfaction.
"This wine is poisoned—you truly aren't Madam Pan Yuan!" Feng Ling and the other two collapsed. Elder Lingchen cried out, while most of the disciples broke into a cold sweat and fell, barely circulating their energy to resist the poison.
"Dad! Didn't you say you hadn't poisoned this wine?"
Ling Chi and the other were in great pain, but their Fifth-Turn Cultivation left them able to move.
Idiots!
I said it, and you believed me?
Don't you understand the principle that in war, deception is no vice?
Feng Ling ignored them and quietly slipped a white Cultivation Pill to Withered Leaf Ape and the others beside him as they circulated their energy to drive out the poison.
However, this poison truly wasn't Feng Ling's doing, even though he'd sensed something beforehand.
"Hmph! Good thing we're not afraid of poison!"
"Hmph! Good thing we're not afraid of poison!" They snatched up a black pill that had rolled over from who knew where and swallowed it. The weakened Ling Chi and the other then stood up and took their places behind the Impostor Madam Pan Yuan.
This isn't good!
The weakened crowd's faces changed at once. They understood that Ling Chi and the other had betrayed them, and the two factions, once hostile to each other, huddled together.
But the dozen or so hidden Moles struck, taking more than twenty lives in one attack!
Having succeeded with one surprise strike, they didn't dare risk another, and simply surrounded the remaining fifty-odd members of both factions tightly.
"You bastards! You two beasts, how dare you collude with an Evil Spirit Master!"
Hearing his disciples' endless screams, Feng Ling's face turned dark and deathly pale. He glared at Ling Chi and the other, traitors who had turned against their own, and cursed them viciously.
He acted furious on the surface but cursed the two fools' stupidity inwardly. Thankfully, he still had a card up his sleeve!
After exchanging blows with Madam Pan Yuan, Feng Ling and the other two realized with shock that she possessed only Sixth-Revolution Cultivation.
The true Seventh-Turn Evil Spirit Master was someone else!
Still hidden!
Withered Leaf Ape and Elder Lingchen were weakened by the poison and couldn't fight at full strength. Even after their combined efforts softened the blow, Feng Ling still took a strike worth nearly Fifth Rank, and it hurt terribly. For now, idle chatter was the best way to stall for time!
"Dad! You're already so old—the Sect Master's Position should have passed to the two of us long ago, for us to take turns holding it. Yet you stubborn old fossil refuse..." Their words dripped with selfishness and resentment.
Feng Ling sighed inwardly. If Ling Weiyun had handed over the Sect Master's Position while alive, there was no telling what a mess these two would have made of it.
"Hmph! Don't you two useless wretches want to join the Evil Spirit Master Organization? Then hurry up and finish off this stubborn old fool of a father!"
At that moment, the Impostor Madam Pan Yuan transformed into a masked woman clad in black.
She first gave Ling Chi and the other a contemptuous glance and a light snort, then looked toward Feng Ling with amusement. She was eager to watch a truly tragic emotional drama unfold!
As for what she'd said about joining the Evil Spirit Master Organization—these two? With that spineless attitude? Pah!
"Once Ling Weiyun is dead, I'll be the first to slay you two!" Black Smoke thought, having decided to kill them.
Pitifully, the two foolish fellows still wore expressions of excitement, pressing step by step toward their own father, believing that others truly held them in regard!
"Dad, your children have come to see you off! Walk the road ahead in peace—it'll spare Mother from being all alone and pitiful down there!"
"Yes, that's right! With you keeping her company, she won't be lonely, and we can rest easy too!"
A fervent gleam rose in the eyes of Ling Chi and Ling Han as they spoke and edged closer to Feng Ling. They had cast their bond of blood and kinship to the Nine Heavens and beyond.
"You bastards! You two things, lower than pigs and dogs—this old man was blind,
had I known I'd raise such beastly sons, I should have hardened my heart and purged the sect from the very start!"
Outwardly, Feng Ling's face blazed with fury, but inwardly he grew colder. Thank goodness he had no sons like these!
These two clearly knew that their birth mother had been murdered, yet they pretended not to know.
Worse, they had even called that Evil Spirit Master "mother" and now sought to harm their own father!
People like this could no longer be described as merely inhuman—they were utterly without conscience!
Lonely...!?
Pitiful...!?
He had planned to spare their lives to repay the kindness he owed Ling Weiyun and his wife. But seeing this, it would be better to slay them both on the spot and let their parents deal with them in the underworld!
Feng Ling could do it!
Judging by the timing, it should be about right now...
Seven...!
Six...!
.....
Three...!
Two...!
Collapse!!!
"Thud!" Right as Ling Chi and the other stood barely half a meter from Feng Ling.
Two abrupt sounds of kneeling rang out—a bizarre sight that left the crowd utterly baffled.
"Ah... it hurts!"
"It's—it’s the ancestral poison... the Seven-Step Soul-Severing Powder!" Terror seized Ling Chi and the other. They tried to rise, but failed.
"Ah—" Watching the two before him, legs trembling, bodies utterly drained of strength, yet still desperately reaching out trying to strangle him. Feng Ling truly felt sorrow on Ling Weiyun's behalf: to have finally gained sons in his old age, cherished and doted upon endlessly in his palms, only to end up with... this.
"Today, this old man will set family ties aside for the sake of justice! You two beasts, go and die..."
Feng Ling slammed his palm into the ground and burst upward, startling Ling Chi and the other. Before everyone's eyes, fresh blood sprayed three meters into the air.
Ling Han collapsed to the ground,
breathing his last on the spot...
That easily? The Seven-Step Soul-Severing Powder surely couldn't have such an effect!
Just as Feng Ling prepared to kill Ling Chi with another palm strike, crisp clapping rang out with mocking laughter: "Hahaha... splendid, simply splendid..."
A dozen or so Black-Clad Figures emerged from the sect. One stood at the gate, looking down at Feng Ling and the others, while the rest spread out to surround them again!
The moment Black Smoke saw who had arrived, delight flashed in her eyes, and she hurried forward to greet him.
After two steps, she sensed something was wrong. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground!
"Boom, boom!!" Twin bursts of energy erupted from Withered Leaf Ape's and Elder Lingchen's palms. The two streams of poisoned Blackwater they had held back shot toward the fallen Black Smoke.
"Not good! It's a trap..."
The alert Black-Clad Leader roared and struck at once, heading straight for Withered Leaf Ape.
The Black-Clad Leader trusted Black Smoke to handle the unattended Elder Lingchen herself!
Explosive booms rang out in rapid succession as the Black-Clad Leader and Withered Leaf Ape exchanged hundreds of blows within seconds!
The Black-Clad Leader wielded an eerie fist technique wreathed in Black Qi, its illusions flickering between existence and extinction.
Meanwhile, Withered Leaf Ape's Withered Leaf Palm shifted endlessly, scattering withered yellow maple leaves wherever it passed.
For a time,
The two remained evenly matched!
Black Smoke was formidable as well. Though the poison had paralyzed her lower body, her palm technique remained bizarre and unpredictable.
Against Elder Lingchen, who also wielded the Withered Leaf Palm, she held her own without the slightest disadvantage!
The crowd watched silently, unable to help, while the rest of the Black-Clad Men simply stood observing quietly, seemingly with no intention of joining the fight—whether out of excessive confidence in their leader or for some other reason, no one could say.
After roughly the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, none of the four had determined a victor, though Black Smoke, hampered in her movements, was subtly falling behind. All of this the Black-Clad Leader took in, and he couldn't help but grow somewhat irritated.
With a thunderous "boom," the Black-Clad Leader suddenly forced Withered Leaf Ape back, then whirled around at blinding speed to drive off Elder Lingchen, sweeping Black Smoke up and leaping clear of the battle.
Blood trickled from the corner of Elder Lingchen's mouth. Withered Leaf Ape caught him as he flew backward.
Sixth Rank against Seventh Rank,
proved lacking in the end!
"You two, escort her back to the Main Headquarters to heal!" After instructing two Black-Clad Men to carry Black Smoke away, the Black-Clad Leader turned and summoned Xu Laosan along with seven or eight Black-Clad Men of Fourth and Fifth Rank.
The nine closed in together, forming another small circle around Feng Ling and the other two.
His intent was clear: since a one-on-one duel couldn't settle things, then he'd take the swift route to victory—overwhelm them with numbers!
He did not expect Fourth- or Fifth-Rank fighters to wound Sixth-, Seventh-, or Eighth-Rank opponents. At least, they could distract them. Never underestimate even the smallest distraction; in a battle between masters, life and death can hinge on a single moment!
"Hiding your head and showing only your tail—who are you?" Retreating to stand beside Withered Leaf Ape and the other, Feng Ling's gaze darkened: "What grudge does this old man hold against you?"
The Black-Clad Leader did not answer. After studying Feng Ling for a moment, he broke into a savage grin: "Haha, this old man has watched your every move from the start, and now I can confirm it... after being brought back to life, you no longer possess Eighth-Revolution Cultivation!"
The moment these words left his mouth, the vast majority present were struck with shock, their hearts filling with unease.
"What! The Sect Master's cultivation has dropped?"
"We've been pushed this far, yet the Sect Master shows no sign of acting... no wonder!"
"Ugh, the Weiyun Sect is finished! We're finished too!"
The dazed disciples and Sect Disciples came to their senses and murmured among themselves. Some complained, some lamented, and some voiced bitter resentment. Every kind of negative emotion filled the air...
He was grinding down their morale!
Sensing the shifting emotions of the many Sect Disciples, Feng Ling's gaze grew ever colder.
The Black-Clad Leader, however, remained utterly unconcerned, the corner of his mouth curling slightly beneath the black cloth covering his face as he slowly strode toward someone standing not far off.
"Ah! What are you going to do?" A poisoned hand wreathed in Black Qi descended toward Ling Chi's head. Still kneeling weakly, Ling Chi was gripped by terror.
"Thud..."
A dozen or so thuds rang out as the patrolling Moles collapsed to their knees. Those near the grief-stricken, furious disciples had their skulls smashed open, brains bursting out!
The Seven-Step Soul-Severing Powder was slow-acting. After taking seven steps, the victim would succumb, leaving the lower body limp and useless, like a tiger with its fangs pulled!
In theory, it could hold an Eighth-Rank Advanced Ghost Spirit Master in place for at least a day. Anyone below Eighth Rank would die within seven steps without an antidote!
That was why the Black-Clad Leader had spared part of his force and sent Black Smoke away.
Feng Ling had said he hadn't poisoned the wine, but that didn't mean he hadn't poisoned the food...
If Feng Ling had not considered the innocent disciples, he would have used something deadlier than the Seven-Step Soul-Severing Powder, a slow-acting poison meant mainly to capture victims alive!
"Ling Weiyun, you truly are ruthless with poison!"
Turning to see that seven or eight more of his own men had died, the Black-Clad Leader's expression darkened—every single death was an enormous loss to the Evil Spirit Master Organization!
"Same to you—you're not bad yourselves, poisoning even your own people!"
Feng Ling met him tit for tat, openly mocking him, and deliberately glanced at Ling Chi.
"Haha, well said! Those two little beasts of yours just swallowed an 'antidote' soaked in another poison. Within half an hour, it will take effect and kill him, reducing him to a puddle of pus!"
"Hah—" The crowd sucked in a breath. What kind of antidote was that?
It was nothing more than a different, deadlier poison!
"And another thing, this worthless wretch..." The Black-Clad Leader glanced at the terrified Ling Chi beneath his hand and sneered: "He isn't one of us!"
"What a fine Evil Spirit Master!" Feng Ling's expression remained calm—he'd already anticipated this outcome.
In truth, that remark about "one of us" had been deliberately aimed at Ling Chi's ears—he wanted to see whether the boy, now abandoned, would feel even a flicker of remorse in the end!
But Ling Chi's next words left Feng Ling completely disillusioned.
"You all—how vicious!"
Ling Chi snapped back to his senses, glancing in terror behind him at the Black-Clad Leader, then turning to look at Feng Ling, before finally roaring out this single line!
A shrill, agonized scream tore through the air.
Beneath the blazing sun, an eerie mist of blood sprayed through the air. Before the horrified crowd, five long, razor-sharp claws plunged into the skull from which fresh blood still gushed!
A fleeing Ghost Spirit Body was devoured on the spot!
The five blood-soaked fingers withdrew, and droplets slid from their tips.
Five gaping, bloody holes marked the skull before the corpse crumpled to the ground!
Blood continued to pour out, staining the terrified face crimson—a horrifying sight!
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