Volume 1, Chapter 114 – If You Object, Then Fight Me

Outside the secret realm, above the Tianqiong Plains.

Li Hanyi stood motionless at the bow of the Cloudsea Spirit Vessel, the Listening Rain Sword cradled in her arms.

Her cool gaze swept calmly over the entrance to the secret realm below.

Ever since the disciples of Yaochi Immortal Palace had entered the secret realm, she had kept watch here without leaving for so much as a moment.

Then the elders left behind by the various factions began sensing, one after another, that the life tokens of Huo Wushuang and several disciples from Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge and Xuanming Sect had shattered.

Gazes filled with shock, fury, wariness, and disbelief turned involuntarily toward the silver-white spirit vessel and the figure standing at its bow.

“Huo Wushuang… is dead?!”

“And several disciples from Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge!”

“Xuanming Sect has lost several people too!”

“Judging by the residual images recorded before their life tokens shattered… the disciples of Yaochi Immortal Palace were responsible!”

“It was Liu Ruyan… and Gu Luoli… How dare they?!”

“How dare they go so far as to kill them? Aren’t they afraid our sects will retaliate?!”

Hushed discussions and barely suppressed fury spread through the camps of the factions involved.

The elder from Heavenly Fire Valley looked thunderous, spiritual power surging uncontrollably around him.

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The elders leading the groups from Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge and Xuanming Sect were equally livid, murderous intent flickering in their eyes.

Huo Wushuang was not only the young valley master of Heavenly Fire Valley, but also the valley master’s youngest son. Possessing the Scarlet Flame Spirit Body, he had been the focus of immense expectations!

Now that he had perished here, how could Heavenly Fire Valley possibly let the matter rest?

Although those lost by Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge and Xuanming Sect were not their most important core disciples, they had still been carefully nurtured elites. Their deaths were a blow to both factions’ prestige!

Several razor-sharp gazes, as palpable as drawn blades, fell upon Li Hanyi at the bow of the spirit vessel.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, the elder from Heavenly Fire Valley glared furiously at Li Hanyi.

“A disciple of your Yaochi Immortal Palace killed the young valley master of my Heavenly Fire Valley inside the secret realm. Yaochi Immortal Palace must give us an explanation!”

His voice, infused with the spiritual power of a Mahayana cultivator, rolled across the plains, instantly drawing the attention of every faction gathered on the Tianqiong Plains.

Countless gazes converged on them, their owners eager to watch the confrontation unfold.

Even those from such mighty factions as Qingyun Sacred Land, Lingxu Sacred Land, and Tianyuan Sacred Land turned their attention over.

Those from the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, Wondrous Sound Pavilion, and the other factions watched in silence, each wearing a different expression.

Faced with the Heavenly Fire Valley elder’s accusation, Li Hanyi slowly turned her head and fixed her cool gaze on him.

“An explanation?”

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Li Hanyi’s voice was clear and melodious, yet it carried a chill that seemed capable of freezing the soul, reaching every person present with perfect clarity.

“Within a secret realm, life and death are left to fate, and opportunities belong to those with the ability to seize them.”

“Your Heavenly Fire Valley disciple was outmatched. He died, and that was the end of it. What explanation is there to give?”

“If you continue to make a nuisance of yourself…”

Li Hanyi slowly closed her hand around the hilt of the Listening Rain Sword.

The instant her fingertips touched the hilt…

“Clang!”

A clear sword cry rang through heaven and earth!

An intangible yet terrifying sword intent, seemingly capable of cleaving the sky itself, erupted from Li Hanyi and soared into the heavens!

The clouds above were forcibly torn apart by the sword intent, leaving a rift several thousand feet long!

Sunlight poured through the rift, illuminating her cool, otherworldly features as well as the cultivators below, whose expressions changed drastically!

The elder from Heavenly Fire Valley looked as though he had been struck by lightning, his face turning deathly pale!

The elders leading the groups from Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge and Xuanming Sect felt their souls tremble violently.

At that moment, the entire Tianqiong Plains fell silent!

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Every cultivator who had been waiting to enjoy the spectacle froze on the spot, their faces filled with horror and disbelief!

So this was… the strength of Yaochi Immortal Palace’s Grand Elder?!

A single burst of sword intent possessed such terrifying power?!

Then what would happen if she actually drew her sword…

No one dared imagine it.

Li Hanyi slowly released the hilt, and the terrifying sword intent receded like the tide.

Her calm gaze swept over the deathly silent crowd below before finally settling on the pale-faced elder from Heavenly Fire Valley.

“The disciples of Yaochi Immortal Palace know their limits.”

“If anyone objects… come and fight me!”

With that, she paid no further attention to anyone and turned back toward the entrance to the secret realm.

As though everything that had just happened amounted to no more than swatting away a bothersome insect.

The deathly silence over the Tianqiong Plains persisted for a long time.

Only after the rift in the clouds slowly closed and the dark-red light of the sky once again shrouded the earth did the members of the various factions come back to their senses.

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They exchanged glances, each seeing the same profound shock and… wariness in the others’ eyes.

The Heavenly Fire Valley elder clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug deep into his palms. Blood seeped out, but he did not even notice.

Humiliation! Utter humiliation!

And yet he did not dare lash out!

That sword intent just now… had unquestionably surpassed the Mahayana realm. It might even have reached the level of Tribulation Transcendence!

Heavenly Fire Valley had only one Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, their secluded ancestor, who would never emerge unless something momentous occurred!

Yaochi Immortal Palace had actually dispatched a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator for a single secret realm expedition?

The gazes of the other faction leaders, including those from the three great sacred lands, changed completely as they looked at the figure aboard the spirit vessel.

They might previously have harbored some curiosity or desire to measure themselves against her, but now only grave caution and an indescribable hint of awe remained.

The Laws Secret Realm had always been a stage for the younger disciples.

Yet the Grand Elder of Yaochi Immortal Palace had made a declaration in the most direct and domineering manner possible:

There were rules beyond the stage as well.

And she was the one who set them.