Chapter 13: Coercion

Chapter 13:
Coercion

 

AN AIR DEFENSE barrier surrounded the periphery of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. Immortal swords not of the sect could not enter without prior notice, and those entering without authorization would be knocked off course. Thus Shen Qingqiu stopped at the foot of the mountain and sent the flying sword back, using the chance to change his clothes and procure a bamboo hat to wear.

Cultivators often passed through the little village at the foot of the mountain, yet today he didn’t see many. Shen Qingqiu was just beginning to find it strange when someone asked, “This immortal master, he… Is he heading up to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect?”

Shen Qingqiu nodded.

That person continued, “Surely going right now isn’t a good idea?”

Shen Qingqiu’s heart tightened. “What do you mean, it isn’t good?”

That person and a few others looked at each other. “You still don’t know?” they asked. “This mountain has been under siege for two days.”

As Shen Qingqiu passed through the gates and climbed the tall staircase, he failed to encounter a single disciple on watch. The ominous premonition in Shen Qingqiu’s heart grew stronger and stronger. He leapt up multiple steps at once, dashing upward. The farther up he went, the clearer it became that in many stretches of sky above Qiong Ding Peak, thick black smoke roiled, intermingled with the flash of lightning and crash of thunder.

The summit of Qiong Ding Peak was an absolute mess. The mountain forests in flames, the ground littered with icicles, the eaves of roofs collapsed and destroyed like they’d been through multiple brutal battles.

Outside Qiong Ding Hall, two distinct factions faced each other. On one side were the human cultivators: some standing and some on the ground, while Mu Qingfang shuttled busily back and forth between them. On the other side were demon soldiers in black armor: a dense legion with an awe-inspiring presence.

Though there seemed to be a temporary ceasefire, the moment someone drew their sword even a mote, the tension that drifted in the air like gunpowder would reignite.

It looked like Luo Binghe was no longer bothering to hide his identity, and Shen Qingqiu was not surprised. Luo Binghe’s bloodline reveal in the original work had been around this time as well. His momentum as he climbed to the top of demonkind was by this point unstoppable, and he had already thoroughly brainwashed Huan Hua Palace, reshaping them until they were perfectly submissive to him. With his footing secured, he of course no longer needed to be secretive. The only difference between this formal shedding of pretenses and the scenario in the original were the setting and synopsis.

Though the disciples on the peaks had to wear uniforms, there were also many acclaimed cultivators who weren’t subject to these restrictions, and so no one paid particular attention to Shen Qingqiu’s out-of-place attire. He squeezed his way through the crowd until he was standing before the hall entrance and peered inside.

Yue Qingyuan sat there with his eyes closed while Liu Qingge stood behind him, palm pressed against his back. The ripples of spiritual energy around their bodies seemed rather unstable. In all likelihood, neither of their situations were good. Shen Qingqiu had finally reunited with his zhangmen-shixiong and unfortunate shidi only to find them in such a sorry state—a state that he’d put them into. Guilt welled within Shen Qingqiu’s heart, but when he turned again, his breath stuttered.

Luo Binghe was standing at the other side of the great hall, a heavy air around him.

He was wearing black, which made his skin shine translucently pale in comparison. His eyes were dark as pitch but also blisteringly bright, and his expression was cold and dispassionate, yet the air around him struck a fearful unrest in others. Mobei-Jun stood behind him. Though it was the position of a deputy, his head was slightly raised, like an ice statue to whom haughtiness was second nature.

Yue Qingyuan suddenly opened his eyes.

“Zhangmen-shixiong, you… Are you all right?” Qi Qingqi asked worriedly.

Yue Qingyuan shook his head, then looked at Luo Binghe. “In the past, when the demon race attacked Cang Qiong Mountain, your distinguished self met them head-on as part of the resistance while your shizun protected the entirety of Qiong Ding Peak alone. I never thought that you’d be the one leading the demon race to push Cang Qiong Mountain into such straits.”

“If your sect hadn’t pushed me so far, I wouldn’t want to do the same,” Luo Binghe said indifferently.

Qi Qingqi was so enraged that she ended up laughing instead. “Ha ha! Cang Qiong Mountain has pushed you too far? The entire world should come hear this. Even if we put aside the matter of you being an ungrateful wretch who betrayed your sect, you forced your own shizun to self-detonate in front of you. Then you clung to him even after his death, doing heavens know what with his body. And now you strike back at us with false accusations! So just who is going too far?!”

Luo Binghe turned a deaf ear to her taunts. “Who’s next?” he asked apathetically. “I’m taking this nameplate.”

Shen Qingqiu startled and looked up. The nameplate Luo Binghe spoke of was the horizontal plaque hanging high inside Qiong Ding Hall. The two characters on it, “Cang Qiong,” had been personally inscribed by the founder of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. After so many years, it held extraordinary significance, and it was equivalent to a slice of Cang Qiong Mountain’s dignity. Likewise, taking this inscription would be the equivalent of slapping Cang Qiong Mountain across the face. Back when Sha Hualing had impudently led an army to surround Qiong Ding Peak, her goal had been to take this same nameplate back to the Demon Realm to show it off.

“If you want to fight, then fight,” said Qi Qingqi. “First you burn down one of our abodes, next you destroy a gate, and now you’re here to take this nameplate. What are your intentions? To torment us methodically, bit by bit, and refuse us a swift release?”

“Qi-shimei, let it be,” Yue Qingyuan said as he stood. Though he was at a disadvantage, his expression was as steady as Mount Tai so as not to undermine his troops’ morale. “Qingqiu-shidi’s immortal body has already been placed inside the hall. He is of my Cang Qiong Mountain, and more importantly, of Qing Jing Peak. After he passes, he must be interred among the graves of the generations of Qing Jing Peak Lords to rest in peace. Unless you slaughter the entirety of Cang Qiong Mountain, so long as anyone in this sect has a single breath left to breathe, regardless of how long it takes, Qingqiu-shidi’s body will never again fall into your hands.”

“Exactly so!” many of the others present chorused simultaneously.

Shen Qingqiu had known they would adopt this sort of attitude. It was precisely because he knew Cang Qiong Mountain would do anything to protect that body of his that he’d had to come back.

The corner of Luo Binghe’s mouth tugged up into an icy-cold smile. He lowered his head and said in a measured tone, “I won’t do anything to Cang Qiong Mountain personally. And I won’t kill a single member of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. But what I have plenty of is time—time to stall you out.”

Those three words “stall you out,” one by one, resounded clearly within Shen Qingqiu’s ears. Suddenly, his entire heart sank.

Luo Binghe was not the kind of person to engage in polite debate. When he was at an absolute advantage in terms of pure power, he was disinclined to feign civility, and if there was a sect he wanted something from, he would employ the most direct and effective approach: bathe the sect in blood, slaughter all comers, and take the desired object away.

Yet in this case, Luo Binghe had possessed the patience to stall for two days thus far. It moreover didn’t seem like he’d been taken by a carefree mood, but rather like he was waiting for something.

For example, waiting for Shen Qingqiu himself to appear.

Shen Qingqiu tightened his fist.

“Attack,” said Luo Binghe.

Mobei-Jun let out an “oh,” and stepped forward, before suddenly saying, “I already have, many times.”

All those exploded ice shards, those holes pitting the walls and ground outside the hall, were his great works.

“Then get someone else to attack in your place,” said Luo Binghe.

Mobei-Jun nodded, reached behind himself, and scooped up a cowering figure. He dangled this person like a little chick and tossed him into the large empty space between the two sides with a plop.

Shang Qinghua’s soul was about to fly away. He crawled to his feet in terror, and when the people of Cang Qiong Mountain saw him, fire nearly spewed from their eyes.

It wasn’t just them. Shen Qingqiu was also about to spew raging flames from his eyes and mouth. That trouble-causing fucker, “Great Master” Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky! Ah, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Qi Qingqi drew her sword with a whoosh and yelled, “Traitor!”

Shang Qinghua smiled obsequiously. “Qi-shimei, if you have something to say, say it properly. Don’t wave your sword around like that. You’re so pretty, if you were only a bit gentler—”

Qi Qingqi had already sent her sword flying in his direction, yelling in rage. “Who’s your shimei?!”

Shang Qinghua hurriedly dodged, hiding behind Mobei-Jun. Devoid of sympathy, Mobei-Jun kicked him right back out.

“I was forced against my will, don’t be like this,” Shang Qinghua said with a long-suffering look. “If anyone sees us comrades fighting amongst ourselves, we’ll be ridiculed.”

Shen Qingqiu was flabbergasted. Shang Qinghua truly had even less integrity than he’d imagined, to be able to say something like that now. It was…genuinely a bit shameless…

“Who’s your comrade?” Qi Qingqi yelled. “You let demonic beasts into the Immortal Alliance Conference. Did you think of how the dead and injured Cang Qiong Mountain Sect disciples were your comrades? You turned traitor and became the demon race’s dog. Did you think of how we’re your comrades? You fought up the mountain with the devil himself today, and you have the face to call us comrades?!”

The two of them chased each other around the hall in what was basically a screwball slapstick scene. Shen Qingqiu watched from the side, his heart rising and falling along with it. Chop, chop, chop—oh, fuck, almost got him! Qi Qingqi, go for the crotch! Awesome!

Liu Qingge withdrew the spiritual energy he was feeding into Yue Qingyuan’s back, having finished the stabilization, and stood. Cheng Luan trembled in its sheath, letting out a buzzing cry.

Yang Yixuan cupped his fist. “Shizun, you’ve been fighting that demon for an entire day!”

“Stand down,” Liu Qingge said heavily.

Luo Binghe gave him a glance, then smiled and said lightly, “Ah, the loser I defeated.”

Though not loud, each word was enunciated clearly, the pitch rising, and so everyone in the large hall could hear. Liu Qingge’s hand tightened on his sword, his eyes sparking with electric current. Nothing could humiliate the Bai Zhan Peak Lord more than the word “loser.”

Yang Yixuan’s temper flared and he shot back, “Demon mongrel!”

Luo Binghe didn’t take it to heart. “Yes, I am a mongrel. The entirety of Cang Qiong Mountain was overwhelmed by a mongrel. Glorious, isn’t it? And not just Qiong Ding Peak: I can conquer each of the remaining peaks one by one. Let everyone in all the realms know that Cang Qiong Mountain, the leader of the cultivation world, was slaughtered by a mongrel, powerless to fight back. How about it?”

“Luo…Luo Binghe,” Ning Yingying cried, distressed. “Will you only be happy once you burn everything, Qing Jing Peak included, to ashes?”

Luo Binghe responded immediately, without a second thought. “Of course not.” He frowned. “If anyone dares to touch a single blade of grass, a single tree, a single stalk of bamboo, a single building on Qing Jing Peak, I will not spare them.”

Liu Qingge humphed. “How insincere.”

Cheng Luan flared, its sword glare sweeping past Luo Binghe’s cheek and whipping up his hair.

Luo Binghe put his hand on the sword hung at his waist, returning bite for bite. “You overestimate yourself.”

In the end, however, the two swords failed to cross again. Shen Qingqiu stood between them.

Sword energy surged and collided from both sides, promptly splitting the bamboo hat he’d been wearing for appearances in two. With his left hand, he caught the point of Cheng Luan between two fingers, preventing Liu Qingge from advancing another mote, while his right pushed down on the hand Luo Binghe had placed on Xin Mo, preventing him from drawing it.

It’s only a body, everyone, only a body. There’s no need for this!

Shen Qingqiu looked to his left, then looked to his right, those words still unspoken on his tongue. Then Luo Binghe abruptly flipped his hand over and grabbed his wrist, fastening around it securely like a shackle of ice. The smile on his face looked almost twisted as he articulated each word. “Caught you, Shizun.”

Even though Shen Qingqiu had long been prepared, he couldn’t resist a chill of terror at seeing this face so close.

After a moment of absolute silence, a clamor rose in the hall.

Yue Qingyuan was astonished, his voice trembling faintly. “Are you…Qingqiu-shidi?”

Qi Qingqi forgot to hack at Shang Qinghua any further, and the latter hurriedly took the chance to scramble back behind Mobei-Jun.

Ning Yingying tugged on the battered and bruised Ming Fan. “Da-shixiong, did you hear?” she murmured. “A-Luo and Zhangmen-shixiong are saying that person is…Shizun?”

“He looks like he is…” said Ming Fan. “But also not?”

However, Yang Yixuan’s approach was entirely different. He said in shock, “These techniques, isn’t it Peerless Cu…Senior Peerless? Senior…Peerless is Shen-shibo?”

Thank you for not saying the entire ID!

Liu Qingge’s eyes suddenly went wide, his usual unaffected expression cracking completely. “…You’re not dead?”

Shen Qingqiu’s once guilty and grateful feelings shattered to pieces. “Liu-shidi, what’s that look on your face?” he asked, disbelieving. “Aren’t you happy your shixiong is alive?”

Liu Qingge’s face flickered through an entire rainbow of colors: first green, then black, then white. It was quite a marvel to see, and many others looked about the same. Before Shen Qingqiu could respond, a hand tugged his face back around.

“At last you’re willing to reveal yourself?” Luo Binghe asked.

Shen Qingqiu’s bones felt like they were about to break under Luo Binghe’s grip. The only things he could move were his legs, but it wasn’t like he could kick Luo Binghe’s crucial bits before the crowd. Faint flames of rage surged within him as he recalled every detail of what had happened.

“You did this on purpose,” he said.

“What are you referring to, Shizun?” said Luo Binghe.

“Instead of directly butchering your way through the mountain, you chose to drag things out to this extent. You meant to draw me out.”

Luo Binghe sneered. “So Shizun can, at times, guess what this disciple is thinking as well. This disciple is so overjoyed that he might lose his mind. I’m dying to beat my chest and stomp my feet, and I will certainly remember this moment until the end of my life.”

Liu Qingge withdrew his sword, his body swaying like he was still a bit dizzy. He pointed it at Luo Binghe. “You, let go of him.”

Luo Binghe dragged Shen Qingqiu into his arms and said irritably, “What did you say?”

His movements were forceful, and as Shen Qingqiu was pressed into his embrace, those simmering flames leapt into a towering blaze a meter high. He silently sucked in a breath. “When did you realize that it was the real me in the dreams?”

If Luo Binghe hadn’t discovered that weak link, he could never have guessed that Shen Qingqiu wasn’t dead, nor would he have been able to get Shen Qingqiu to deliver himself, free of charge, simply by waiting at Cang Qiong Mountain.

“Shizun, aren’t you being a bit too condescending to me? Even if I didn’t suspect it the first time, I really would have been a fool if I failed to notice anything wrong the second.”

Shen Qingqiu’s knees suddenly hurt. You’re not the fool, he thought to himself, I am.

He’d known exactly how incredible Luo Binghe’s cultivation was, how transcendental his control over the dream realm—and yet. Only Shen Qingqiu could have been fully aware of these things and still believed that Luo Binghe had been genuinely delirious, unable to differentiate between an intruder and an illusionary creation.

“If you’d already noticed something wrong, why not expose me?” Had it been fun playing along with the skit of a loving master and filial disciple?

Luo Binghe stared at him. “Why should I have exposed you? Didn’t my sweetness make Shizun oh-so happy?”

Happy…?

Shen Qingqiu hadn’t been even the slightest bit happy—he’d only been worried about Luo Binghe’s emotional state. And this incident proved that even his worry had been a factor under Luo Binghe’s control. After all, this was Luo Binghe, the male lead. How could a single blunder on Shen Qingqiu’s bumbling part have turned him into a small, pitiful white lotus?

Shen Qingqiu was indeed the type who was open to coaxing over force, but you couldn’t just slap him in the face afterward with an “I faked it.”

“Wait,” Qi Qingqi blurted out. “Exactly what is going on here?” She pointed toward the interior of Qiong Ding Hall. “Isn’t that…that thing lying inside there Shen Qingqiu? How has another appeared?”

Luo Binghe appeared to be in a good mood. “Why not ask the former An Ding Peak Lord?”

Fucking hell, thought Shen Qingqiu. He should have known Shang Qinghua’s slimy lack of integrity would come into play.

Shang Qinghua let out a weak laugh, and with a single sideways look from Mobei-Jun, he stepped forward without delay. Drawing a deep breath while raising his head and chest, he said in a clear voice, “Several years ago, in a certain place, Shen-shixiong happened upon and obtained a treasured item known as the Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom. This fungus has strong spiritual affinity and can recreate a flesh body. With this, Shen-shixiong pulled off a grand escape in Hua Yue City by letting his soul leave his original form! Therefore, the one in the hall is him, though it’s only an empty shell, and this one here is also him! Both are him!”

It was a succinct, crystal-clear summary. Countless pairs of eyes promptly turned toward Shen Qingqiu. Liu Qingge instantly pointed Cheng Luan at him, his new murderous intent even stronger than what he had directed at Luo Binghe.

“If that was the case, then why did you make no attempt to correspond with the twelve peaks for five years?” Yue Qingyuan asked quietly. “We received neither news nor sound from you. Could it be that, deep down inside, you see your fellow sect members as unworthy of trust?”

Harboring guilt within his heart, Shen Qingqiu’s voice was weak. “That—Shixiong, hear me out…”

“Shen Qingqiu you…you!” Qi Qingqi raged. “Do you know how much suffering you’ve caused your shixiong? How much your disciples cried? They wept so much so constantly that Qing Jing Peak might as well have been cloaked in rain clouds for an entire year! It was unbearable to visit! And while the peak lord seat was empty, you were free as a bird, having the time of your life in the outside world!”

Shen Qingqiu was greatly afraid of the sharp-tongued Qi Qingqi jabbing at him and chewing him out. “I didn’t do it on purpose, and I wasn’t having the time of my life in the least,” he hurried to say. “I was buried underground for five years and only woke up a few days ago! You tell me how that counts as free. It’s all his fault!”

“How can you blame me?” Shang Qinghua said, indignant now that the heat was back on him. “You were the one who said to ripen it quickly!”

Liu Qingge held his temples. “Shut up!”

Shang Qinghua shut up. The ruckus they were making as a group would have been comical under different circumstances, but because the occasion was all wrong, Shen Qingqiu found the humor quite dampened.

The entirety of Qiong Ding Peak was awash with firelight and scattered with scorched debris. After two days of back-and-forth and siege warfare, it had lost its usual dignified grandeur. Both within and without the hall were bloodstained faces and disciples who had to be supported. The younger generation were worse off—constantly looking around anxiously, their complete exhaustion obvious, momentum spent like an arrow at the end of its flight.

Meanwhile, within the opposing battalion were demon generals and cavalry dressed in black armor, ready to move in a pincer maneuver. They glared like ravenous tigers, like freshly sharpened blades, the edges bright and gleaming.

Shen Qingqiu retracted his gaze. “Luo Binghe, you said you came to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect in order to capture me.”

“Correct,” said Luo Binghe.

“You’ve captured me.”

And since he’d achieved his goal, it should be time to withdraw.

Luo Binghe stared at him. “You won’t run anymore?”

Shen Qingqiu was silent, then slowly nodded. “I won’t run anymore.”

The corners of Luo Binghe’s lips twitched and then pulled up into a helpless smile. It held none of the mocking sarcasm that had been plastered on his face until this moment. “I’ve believed Shizun so many times already,” he said lightly.

“Shen Qingqiu, what’s the meaning of this?” Liu Qingge asked suddenly. He stared at Shen Qingqiu as if he’d suffered some enormous disgrace. “The Bai Zhan Peak Lord is here, yet you throw yourself at another’s feet before him?”

Shidi, I understand that as the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, you feel like your dignity has been violated, but please use a different phrase. Like hell I’m “throwing myself” at anyone! Use a different phrase, thank you!

“You fear becoming a burden to Cang Qiong Mountain,” said Liu Qingge, “but Cang Qiong Mountain fears not your burden.”

Luo Binghe sneered. “How many unbroken bones do you still have?”

Yue Qingyuan’s hand grasped Xuan Su’s hilt.

He’d barely done so when, next to him, Mu Qingfang anxiously said, “Zhangmen-shixiong, you were in secluded cultivation and forcefully interrupted your training, then faced these strong foes. It was already terribly hard on you. By pushing yourself to draw your sword now, I’m afraid your body will really…”

A burst of black qi rose from Yue Qingyuan’s face, but he forced it back down. “Even if I can’t, I must,” he said in a strained voice. “Shidi has already died once, and at that moment, I was unable to protect him. How can I watch him go to his death a second time?”

At those words, turmoil surged within Shen Qingqiu’s chest. When it came to the people whom Shen Qingqiu most admired and revered in this world, the one who placed first was none other than Yue Qingyuan. It wasn’t so much because of his sincere desire to shield Shen Qingqiu but because of how he always put his entire heart and soul on the line for the sect.

Shen Qingqiu was too ashamed to let Cang Qiong Mountain and its sect leader continue to wipe his ass and pay the bill. He was the one who had dug his own grave, so he was also the only one who should suffer the consequences. “This is the disciple I taught, so it’s only right for me alone to take responsibility. Zhangmen-shixiong is the head of this sect. On your shoulders rests the safety of every disciple on the twelve peaks. I trust you know what to choose.”

The hall was dead silent. Yue Qingyuan’s face froze, and the knuckles of his hand gripping the sword went stark white. Shen Qingqiu was reminding him: when in an unfavorable situation, the choice he should make as head of the sect went without saying.

The various peak lords had the exact same thought.

So instead it was Ning Yingying who ran out. She grabbed Shen Qingqiu’s arm and yelled, “I disagree!”

“Ming Fan, take care of your shimei,” said Shen Qingqiu.

“I’m no longer a child,” said Ning Yingying. “I don’t need to be taken care of! It’s always Shizun taking on everything himself, whether it was that time with the demon woman or against Huan Hua Palace at Jin Lan City. So this time, why must it be you again? Why is it always Shizun who needs to suffer each and every time?”

Because this was the grave he’d dug. However, it seemed like he’d managed to raise a normal and filial girl after all. A portion of his remaining worries found release.

“Weeping at your age,” he chided. “What sort of image are you projecting? This master won’t die.” Within his heart he added, Probably…

The next moment, Ming Fan spoke, his face full of sorrow and rage. “Isn’t Shizun prostrating and submitting himself to the demons for Cang Qiong Mountain’s sake a fate worse than death? The sayings only speak of throwing away all one has to give to accompany righteous men—never about doing it to appease demons!”

What are you even saying? Ming Fan, you little hellion, how about you speak human words?!

The situation had dragged on for so long that Luo Binghe had long lost his patience. He grabbed Shen Qingqiu with one hand, then put the other on Xin Mo’s hilt. “I’ll take Shizun’s immortal body as well.”

“You’re going too far,” another peak lord said angrily. “The person isn’t enough for you, you also want the corpse? And for what?”

Luo Binghe didn’t answer and only waved at Mobei-Jun, issuing the order. Just when things had calmed down after such difficulty, another wrong word would reignite the conflict.

Wanting to cut that off at the pass, Shen Qingqiu was about to tug on Luo Binghe’s arm, but thought this too unsightly and switched to yanking on his sleeve. Only after mulling it over briefly did he steel himself and say, “I’ve already submitted to you. Why go so far?”

Upon saying these words, Shen Qingqiu felt deep shame.

He was a man, yet he had been forced to meekly tell another man that he would “submit to him,” in front of so many people. And above all, the other man was his former disciple, which made it even more frustrating and shameful.

Nonetheless, displays of submissiveness had a guaranteed effect on any man. Luo Binghe’s expression noticeably cleared quite a bit, and not only did his grip loosen somewhat, his tone even softened. Despite this, his words remained as forceful as before. “It’s Shizun’s original body, after all, so it’s inextricably involved. And in the case Shizun tries to pull off another grand escape, this disciple would really be at a loss.”

As soon as he turned his face away, his voice cooled. “Take it away.”

Mobei-Jun had yet to move when Liu Mingyan suddenly appeared in the hall to whisper into Qi Qingqi’s ear. The latter tilted her head to listen, and shock bloomed on her face before it transformed into calm.

“There’s no need to fight anymore!” she called out. “Luo Binghe, there’s no need for anyone to fight,” she continued to say loudly. “Even if we agreed to let you take the body away, your wish would not come true.”

Shen Qingqiu was well aware of Qi Qingqi’s intense personality, and he figured that she was liable to do something extreme to enrage Luo Binghe. But just as he was thinking that this didn’t look good, she surprised him by gesturing for Liu Mingyan to step forward.

“Mingyan, tell them.”

“Shen-shibo’s immortal body has disappeared,” said Liu Mingyan.

After speaking, she stepped aside, and several disciples were brought in from the back of the hall. These were the disciples in charge of guarding the funerary platform, who watched over where the bodies lay. At this moment, they were all unconscious, and from their faces to their fingertips their skin was an eerie, bruised color.

The hall burst into an uproar. Yue Qingyuan’s expression immediately changed, and Luo Binghe also raised an eyebrow.

“No need to look at me, Luo Binghe,” Qi Qingqi said, unperturbed. “I indeed wanted to hide the body away, but by the time I sent Mingyan to the back to move it, the platform was already empty. It’s as if the corpse we’d carefully preserved managed to fly off without wings.”

Her mood and words were both overjoyed. It turned out she’d rather the corpse fly off than let Luo Binghe take it away.

Mu Qingfang was next to the disciples, examining them. “They’re fully unconscious, but their lives are in no danger. They were poisoned.”

“What poison?” Yue Qingyuan asked.

“At this point, I cannot come to a conclusion. They’re also uninjured. Wait for me to draw some blood for tests.”

“If it’s a poison from the Human Realm, Mu-shidi would be able to identify it at a glance,” said Qi Qingqi. “Since he can’t, I have to ask: Was it you?”

“I dislike using poison,” Luo Binghe said mildly.

This was the truth. Luo Binghe rarely killed with poison. On top of that, in a situation like this where he held the complete upper hand, Luo Binghe had no need to lie.

That was to say, some unknown party had taken advantage of the conflict between the two sides to slip onto the mountain entirely unnoticed. And this person had stolen away Shen Qingqiu’s corpse from right under the noses of both the demon race and cultivation world while only a handful of walls away. How could anyone not be shocked?!

Shen Qingqiu was puzzled. Why would someone steal his corpse? How come no one had wanted him while he was alive, but now that he was dead, he’d become Helen of Troy?

Luo Binghe discerned that continuing to talk here would be pointless and frowned. “Fine. No matter who took it, I’ll find it.”

Xin Mo left its sheath and black qi streamed forth from it. An arcing crack split open where the blade sliced through the air.

“Drop the siege,” Shen Qingqiu said to remind him.

Luo Binghe gave him a look, then said brusquely, “As Shizun wishes.”

Cheng Luan’s sword point hit the ground. Following it upward, Liu Qingge’s hand was tightly clenched beneath his sleeve, and blood poured from a gaping open wound. It trickled down the length of the blade and dripped onto the floor. After a long second, he finally spat out a word: “Wait!”

This word was akin to an icicle launching forth, yet within it burned deep-seated flames of rage and a fighting spirit that could swallow the heavens.

Xin Mo was sheathed, but Luo Binghe sneered. “Just try to stop me!”