Chapter 22 Upholding Justice

"Hmph," Li Qingshan let out a cold snort. "He did indeed produce a Saint-level cultivation technique; he does not need the three great sects to uphold justice for him."

"But the justice of my Qingyun Sect still requires me to uphold it!"

"The justice of the Qingyun Sect?" Li Yangzi retorted. "Why are you seeking to uphold the justice of your Qingyun Sect here at our Xuandan Sect?"

"Why here at the Xuandan Sect?" Li Qingshan pointed at Chen Xuan, shouting angrily, "Chen Xuan, you killed Elder Lin of my Qingyun Sect. Shouldn't you give my Qingyun Sect an explanation?!"

"What? Chen Xuan actually killed a Qingyun Sect elder!"

"No wonder Li Qingshan is so furious."

"Nonsense! What evidence do you have to prove that our Sect Master killed your elder?" Li Yangzi immediately stepped forward to refute the claim. If this were proven true, the three great sects would have a legitimate excuse to openly invade the Xuandan Sect. The consequences would be unimaginable.

"Evidence?" Li Qingshan sneered. "Very well, I shall give you evidence!"

Li Qingshan waved his hand, and a father and son stepped out. It was the Ye family: Ye Dahai and Ye Fan.

"It’s you two!" Li Yangzi would never forget this pair; they were the ones who caused the decline of the Xuandan Sect. He never expected them to have defected to the Qingyun Sect. "You dare return to the Xuandan Sect? You are courting death!"

Li Yangzi moved to strike, but with a mere flick of his sleeve, Li Qingshan sent Li Yangzi stumbling back several paces, blood spilling from his mouth.

"What? Are you trying to silence witnesses?" Li Qingshan scoffed, then turned to the Ye father and son. "Tell everyone what happened."

"It was Chen Xuan," Ye Dahai wailed, his voice filled with grief. "Chen Xuan used our Ye family’s name to extort wealth everywhere. Afterward, he made my daughter, Ye Xueyan, take the blame. When Xueyan could no longer bear the burden and wanted to sever ties with him, Chen Xuan, fearing the truth would be exposed, struck and killed my daughter. Elder Lin tried to intervene, and he was killed by Chen Xuan as well."

"I beg you all to seek justice for me~" Ye Dahai and Ye Fan cried out, their performance so 'sincere' and 'heart-wrenching' that it could not have been more convincing.

"I never imagined that the affairs of the Ye family were all orchestrated by Chen Xuan himself."

"I truly thought the Ye family had acted on their own initiative."

"The highest cultivation in the Ye family is mere Foundation Establishment. If not for Chen Xuan, who is at the Nascent Soul realm, backing them, how would they dare to offend other sects?"

"I never thought the Xuandan Sect would be so wicked."

The crowd whispered among themselves.

"That is a lie!" Chu Lingyun was furious to hear others slandering Chen Xuan. "It was clearly your Ye family who were insatiably greedy! You took resources from the Xuandan Sect and even threatened other sects."

"We did not kill Ye Xueyan either."

"Everyone, do not listen to her!" Ye Dahai shouted. "She is an illegitimate daughter of the Ye family. To gain cultivation resources, she willingly prostituted herself to Chen Xuan. A person who can abandon her own bloodline has no credibility whatsoever."

"You liar!" Chu Lingyun was trembling with rage. She could endure slander against herself, but she could not accept Ye Dahai slandering Chen Xuan.

"Hmph, Chen Xuan, what else do you have to say for yourself?" Li Qingshan glared at Chen Xuan.

***

In his eyes, however, greed and relief outweighed his anger. It was fortunate that the Ye father and son were putting on this act; otherwise, he would never have found such a perfect pretext to attack the Xuandan Sect. The Saint-level technique—he was determined to have it.

"So Ye Xueyan is actually dead." Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow. He was not particularly surprised; Ye Dahai was capable of anything, even selling his own daughter. Yet, Chen Xuan did not take her death to heart. The Ye family no longer had any connection to him, and he would certainly not avenge Ye Xueyan. Once a person is disloyal, they are never to be used again.

"No words?" Li Qingshan sneered. "Are you trying to play deaf and dumb to muddle through this?"

"I killed them," Chen Xuan said, his tone flat.

"Excellent! It is good that you dare to admit it!" Li Qingshan was inwardly thrilled. If Chen Xuan had denied it, there might have been room for argument, but now that he had confessed publicly, he could rightfully seize the Saint-level technique.

"Where are the disciples of the Qingyun Sect!" Li Qingshan shouted.

*Whoosh!*

A massive flying vessel suddenly arrived above the Xuandan Sect, with thousands of disciples circling on their swords. The momentum was imposing.

"We are here!"

"Elder Lin was a kind and generous man who loved his disciples, yet he was brutally murdered. Should we not seek justice for him?" Li Qingshan wore an expression of profound grief.

"Uphold justice!"

"Uphold justice!"

Incited by Li Qingshan, thousands of Qingyun Sect disciples roared in indignation.

Shi Hui and Dongfang Qiu exchanged a look and then spoke in unison: "Where are the disciples of the Yueshan Sect and the Riyue Sect!"

Immediately after, two more massive flying vessels appeared, carrying thousands more disciples. Three vessels, thousands of disciples—they blotted out the sun and sky, covering almost the entire Xuandan Sect.

The cultivators who had come to participate in the Xuandan Sect’s grand competition were trembling with fear, looking on in dread at the overwhelming number of disciples from the three great sects.

"They brought so many people!"

"That is at least two thousand people. They intend to wipe out the Xuandan Sect."

"The three sects have brought six Nascent Soul realm experts, ten Golden Core realm experts, and thousands of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators. This is enough to shake the entire Great Xia Empire."

"Even though the Xuandan Sect has a Saint-level technique, they have fewer than a hundred disciples and only three elders, all of whom are merely at the Golden Core realm. They cannot compare to the three great sects."

"Moreover, the Qingyun Sect Master broke through to the Spirit Severing realm ten years ago. Even if Chen Xuan just broke through to the Spirit Severing realm, he is no match for Li Qingshan."

"Is the Xuandan Sect truly about to be destroyed?"

The crowd was horrified. Across the entire Great Xia Empire, there were only a few dozen Nascent Soul realm experts on the surface, and unless a major catastrophe occurred, none would act lightly, as every move would bring a bloodbath. Yet now, to attack the Xuandan Sect, six Nascent Soul experts and one Spirit Severing expert had arrived.

The disciples of the Xuandan Sect and Li Yangzi all turned deathly pale. The presence of the disciples and elders from all three sects clearly indicated that this had been pre-planned.

"Sect Master Shi, Sect Master Dongfang," Li Yangzi said with a grim expression. The momentum of the three sects was far too powerful; for the Xuandan Sect, it was like an egg striking a rock. But as an elder of the Xuandan Sect, he had to speak up. "This is a grievance involving the Qingyun Sect; you have no reason to intervene."

"Hmph," Dongfang Qiu replied. "My Riyue Sect and the Qingyun Sect have been on good terms for a century. When the Qingyun Sect suffers such injustice, how could my Riyue Sect stand idly by?"

"I agree," Shi Hui nodded.

Li Yangzi’s expression turned even grimmer. He had hoped to keep the Yueshan and Riyue Sects out of it, but he never expected them to offer such a shameless excuse.

"Master Wandu, Elder Yao." Li Qingshan looked toward the Poison Master and the elder from the Hehuan Sect, both of whom had been standing with the Xuandan Sect just moments ago. "Do you still intend to support the Xuandan Sect?"

"The Saint-level technique is indeed precious."

"But that is only if one lives long enough to cultivate it."

The Poison Master and Elder Yao struggled with their decision. The power of the three great sects was too immense for the two of them to contend with, yet they were too desperate for the Saint-level technique to give it up.

"Do not worry, both of you," Li Qingshan enticed them. "As long as you hand over the Saint-level technique to me, you may become elders of my Qingyun Sect, and you will still be able to practice the Saint-level technique."

The Poison Master and Elder Yao exchanged a look.

"Very well. We hope Sect Master Li keeps his promise!"

The two flew to Li Qingshan's side and handed over the Saint-level technique.

"Little friend, what about you?" Li Qingshan looked at Luo Hao.

Luo Hao held the Saint-level technique in his hands, his gaze fixed on Chen Xuan. He had already recognized Chen Xuan as the expert who had saved him earlier.

"Senior," Luo Hao knelt before Chen Xuan and said with great sincerity, "Thank you for saving my life earlier. Luo Hao will never forget this."

"Mm." Chen Xuan nodded slightly.

This Luo Hao had good character. Even though the current situation was extremely unfavorable for the Xuandan Sect, he had not sided with the three great sects.

"A life-saving grace deserves to be repaid like a gushing spring." Luo Hao stood up, his gaze firm as he looked at Li Qingshan. "The Sect Master showed me kindness by bestowing upon me the Saint-level technique. I shall defend the Xuandan Sect with my life. I will not become a base, ungrateful wretch simply out of fear of death."

"I... will not... give it to you!"