Chapter 997: Clearing House

In this situation, Lu Min found it inconvenient to follow. However, he wouldn't be in any danger staying at Longsword Mountain, and its cultivators were unlikely to harm him. So, despite a slight awkwardness, he entered the Longsword Mountain gate along with the cultivators.

As per the command from Longsword Mountain’s sect leader, Master Rongyun, the Longsword Mountain cultivators immediately ordered Ji Qian’s disciples to return to their peaks for quiet cultivation, effectively placing them under house arrest.

Outside, Ji Yuan and Xiezhi were at the forefront of the chase. While Rongyun and the six highly skilled transmission elders of Longsword Mountain were a moment behind, they could still see Ji Yuan’s escape light ahead and sense Ji Qian’s lingering aura.

“This person’s sword-escape speed isn’t slow, but we’ll catch him eventually. What about those behind us, though?”

Xiezhi didn’t need to worry about the chase; Ji Yuan would naturally lead the way. His concern was more with the Longsword Mountain people who were following.

“They are all intelligent people. There’s no need for much discussion about right and wrong now. At most, the Longsword Mountain people will feel conflicted, but they will never help Ji Qian against us.”

“Good, it’s up to you then.”

As Xiezhi said this, Ji Yuan shook his head and took out his wolf-hair brush from his sleeve.

“To stop him, we’ll still need Fellow Daoist Rongyun.”

Another golden paper page floated out of Ji Yuan’s sleeve. This page had once been inscribed with spiritual writings similar to imperial decrees, inciting the war between the nations of Zuyue and Dazhen, which had pushed Dazhen into peril. The source of this golden page, no doubt, came from the person fleeing ahead.

As he spoke, without dipping the brush in ink, Ji Yuan’s wolf-hair brush transformed into a faint Xuanhuang color. He then put the brush to the golden page and wrote a large character, "定" (Ding).

A body-fixing spell?

Xiezhi, of course, knew Ji Yuan’s body-fixing spell, but this wondrous technique had significant limitations. It was most effective when the target’s cultivation was far inferior to Ji Yuan’s; otherwise, it had little effect. The sword cultivator ahead was almost another True Immortal, so it was unlikely to have a significant impact on the overall situation.

“Not for me to use, but for Fellow Daoist Rongyun.”

As if knowing Xiezhi’s thoughts, Ji Yuan explained, then lightly tossed the golden page backward. The golden light drifted with the wind towards the Longsword Mountain cultivators behind them.

Rongyun only saw a streak of golden light emanating from Ji Yuan’s sword-light in the distance, flying towards him. He instinctively reached out, and a golden page landed in his hand.

‘Ding?’

The character "定" appeared on the golden page. Rongyun and the six Longsword Mountain masters behind him were a little confused, but they clearly sensed that this golden page was extraordinary. Ji Yuan’s telepathic message had already reached Rongyun and the others.

No matter how many identities Ji Qian held, or how many rebellions and schemes he had concocted, he was ultimately a cultivator of Longsword Mountain, one who had ascended to immortality step by step within Longsword Mountain. While Longsword Mountain’s rules were lenient, such sects, which had fewer rules, often valued those limited rules even more, and their leaders held immense authority.

Ji Yuan’s meaning was simple: Rongyun was the current sect leader of Longsword Mountain, able to command all matters within the sect. In the sense of immortal cultivation, his authority was as vast as the heavens. If Ji Yuan’s body-fixing spell and imperial decree power were wielded through Rongyun’s mouth, no matter how high the cultivation of the person ahead, they would absolutely not be unaffected.

Upon hearing this explanation, Rongyun and the six transmission elders of Longsword Mountain were stunned, but they didn’t dwell on the miraculous effectiveness of the body-fixing spell. The immediate priority was to stop Ji Qian, and since Ji Yuan had said so, they would try it.

Holding the golden page, Rongyun once again glanced at the "定" character. Then, he looked at the distant escape light, almost at the visible horizon, and narrowed his eyes. A faint aura steadily rose within him. As the current sect leader of Longsword Mountain, he could not tolerate any disciple acting against their principles.

“Ding—”

The moment Rongyun opened his mouth, the golden page in his hand instantly dissolved into dust in a faint golden light. The sound from his mouth suddenly transformed into a thunderous roar, echoing into the distance. Even Rongyun himself was slightly startled.

Ji Qian, still fleeing and constantly deliberating countermeasures, suddenly heard the thunderous Daoist sound arrive in an instant—"Ding!"

At that moment, a terrifying pressure descended upon him. His entire body’s magical power seemed to solidify, the bridges of heaven and earth within and around him froze, the acupuncture points throughout his body ceased to function, and his internal organs and every muscle lost sensation.

‘What!?’

As a thought of extreme horror just arose, Ji Qian’s escape light had already dissipated. His body merely flew forward due to inertia and began to fall.

One breath...

This terrifying sensation lasted for only one breath. After that single breath, Ji Qian’s internal magical power, spiritual state changes, and the twisting force of his acupuncture points had already broken through the restraints of the body-fixing spell. Still in shock, he immediately frantically channeled his magical power, performing the sword escape technique to flee, but he also understood that this single breath had been a desperate one.

“Clang—”

“Too late.”

Ji Yuan’s calm voice already came from behind, but faster than the voice was a streak of sword light. This sword light was already upon him, yet he had felt no crisis before. Almost the moment he regained consciousness, he saw the sharp edge appear at his neck.

Fortunately, Ji Qian had experienced many fortuitous encounters and undergone hundreds of years of diligent cultivation. At the moment this sword arrived, he managed to make an almost impossible maneuver.

“Crackling…”

Ji Qian’s neck twisted as if dislocated at that moment, and simultaneously, his right hand immediately drew his sword.

“Clang—”

The ear-piercing clash made Ji Qian’s ears ache, and his scalp trembled from the vibrations. The immense force on his sword-wielding right hand made his entire arm go numb, only to recover instantly as his magical power circulated.

At the same time, a large clump of hair drifted in the wind. All the long hair on the entire right side of Ji Qian’s head, from his temples to the curved top of his head, was shorn off. His hair crown was also flung away, his loose hair flying wildly in the wind, and one side of his face was bald, making him appear utterly disheveled.

“Hahahahaha... hahahahahaha... one sword cut him half-bald!”

Xiezhi burst into wild laughter. Compared to the excitement of a grand battle, this scene truly delighted him, making him laugh uncontrollably.

During the brief moment of that sword strike, Ji Yuan had approached Ji Qian to a sufficiently close distance. Even though Xiezhi was laughing madly beside him after the first strike, Ji Yuan didn’t stop and immediately made another thrust with his sword.

“Swish…”

The sword light flowed like a cascading silver river, and in the next moment, it was already before Ji Qian. The latter, almost immediately after blocking the previous sword, swung his own sword to block again.

“Clang—”

Before one sword strike landed, Ji Yuan unleashed another. His longsword pointed with an endless stream of sword lights. Against the person in front, he had no need for courtesy or deference; taking advantage of their weakness to deliver the fatal blow was enough.

“Clang…” “Thump…” “Boom…”

Ji Qian used all his might to parry Ji Yuan’s flowing sword techniques, his own sword wailing mournfully.

Once Ji Yuan made his move, Ji Qian naturally couldn’t escape. Rongyun and the others behind also immediately caught up. They didn’t stop Ji Yuan; instead, they formed a fan-shaped encirclement around Ji Qian, and Rongyun immediately began to question him accusingly.

“Ji Qian, disciple of Longsword Mountain, do you know your crime?”

This rolling thunderous voice shook heaven and earth, containing the solemn authority of Longsword Mountain’s Grand Dao, causing people’s minds to tremble.

Rongyun had actually employed a subtle tactic. Instead of asking a question like “Did you truly do such and such?” he directly accused Ji Qian, intending to observe his reaction.

Ji Qian was being suffocated by Ji Yuan’s various sword arts and techniques. Crucially, Xiezhi was eyeing him menacingly, his terrifying aura locking him down, forcing him to divert attention to defend himself. Hearing Rongyun’s words, his mind was shaken, causing his thoughts to become somewhat muddled, but hope also sparked within him, and despite his unstable aura, he immediately responded aloud.

“Sect Leader, do not listen to Ji Yuan and Lu Min’s nonsense! The matter of Jingxuan Sea Pavilion has nothing to do with me! How can the Sect Leader condone outsiders acting presumptuously within our Longsword Mountain?”

Ji Yuan’s sword momentum gradually ceased. He looked at Ji Qian and said calmly,

“Did Sect Leader Rongyun mention anything about the Jingxuan Sea Pavilion?”

Ji Qian’s heart trembled again, and his spiritual platform fully regained clarity at that moment. Just seeing his reaction, Rongyun no longer held any hope for him.

Recalling Ji Yuan’s words before they chased out, Rongyun’s cold gaze fixed on Ji Qian.

“You also harmed the Sitting Earth Bright King, didn’t you?”

Ji Qian’s heart quivered once more. He felt as though Longsword Mountain already knew everything. He wanted to say something but found himself speechless. Seeing his reaction at this moment, no further explanation was needed.

“Mr. Ji, do we need to capture him and ask him some questions?”

Rongyun asked this, and Ji Yuan shook his head.

“I imagine we will not be able to get any information from him.”

Rongyun sneered slightly, nodded, and said,

“Then that suits me perfectly. Six Elders, follow me to cleanse our sect!”

“By your command!”

As the words fell, the seven Longsword Mountain cultivators, whose anger was even fiercer than Ji Yuan’s, drew their swords almost simultaneously, attacking Ji Qian mercilessly. In an instant, sword light crisscrossed the sky.

At this point, Ji Yuan and Xiezhi retreated to the side. Although Ji Qian was also a cultivator of the True Profound realm, his cultivation was clearly inferior to Rongyun’s. The six transmission elders of Longsword Mountain were also not ordinary individuals; they were cultivators capable of intervening in True Immortal battles to some extent.

The seven attacked in perfect coordination, showing no mercy. Ji Qian found it impossible to completely neutralize all attacks. He could only try his best to block Rongyun’s sword, and even with protective treasures, he was continuously injured.

“Tsk tsk, these sword immortals are really ruthless. Ji Yuan, aren’t you worried that Longsword Mountain might still have remnants of Ji Qian’s faction?”

As Xiezhi asked this, Ji Yuan, whose Immortal Binding Rope was already peeking out from his sleeve, shook his head.

“Those masters at the mountain gate before were fine. Even if there are remnants, Longsword Mountain will deal with them. You and I don’t need to worry.”

Xiezhi glanced at Ji Yuan’s sleeve, saw the Immortal Binding Rope, and grinned.

“I haven’t had a chance to fight today. I’ll help them finish this quickly!”

With that, without waiting for Ji Yuan’s reply, he stepped forward and rushed into the crisscrossing sword light. Besides dodging the direct sword lights, he surprisingly withstood some of the sword qi with just his physical body, closing in on Ji Qian to attack with his fists and kicks.

Ji Qian, after all, was a highly cultivated individual. Even in this situation, he could still pay attention to Xiezhi, wielding his sword with one hand and parrying Xiezhi’s attacks with the other, seemingly trying to entangle with Xiezhi to avoid the sword lights.

But as soon as he made contact with Xiezhi’s fist, an extremely dangerous aura instantly exploded from the fist, tearing his protective magical power to shreds in an instant.

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

“Roar—”

Even though Ji Qian reacted again, in just a single instant, his left palm collided with Xiezhi’s four fists. His entire left arm, along with his left shoulder, twisted in that moment. Moreover, as he rapidly retreated, Xiezhi closed in, unleashing a terrifying roar.

“Om…”

Like a brass bell slammed over his head, Ji Qian’s mind, which had received successive attacks in a short time, became a chaotic mess in that instant.

“Humph!”

Rongyun snorted coldly. His figure left a blurry afterimage of sword light. His body followed the sword’s form, man and sword moving as one. Only when the sword light dissipated did his form emerge from the blur, already behind Ji Qian, his hand gripping his longsword, no longer making a move.

The six transmission elders of Longsword Mountain also withdrew their swords and stopped attacking. Xiezhi retreated a bit and likewise ceased his attacks.

Ji Qian’s left arm was twisted, his right arm held his sword in defense, and his body was somewhat stiff. He slowly turned his head to look at Rongyun behind him.

“Hmph…”

Before he could utter a word, Ji Qian was decapitated, and his primordial spirit instantly dissipated.

“Heh, died cleanly enough!”

Xiezhi let out a chuckle, but then noticed Rongyun suddenly looking at him.

“The demonic aura this Fellow Daoist just displayed is not simple either. Mr. Ji’s side actually has such a formidable demon cultivator following him?”

“Hey, hey, hey, Rong, just because your Longsword Mountain has scum, does that mean demon cultivators can’t follow the righteous path?”

The six Longsword Mountain elders immediately glared, but Rongyun raised a hand to stop them. The latter said no more to Xiezhi, only looking at Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan returned his gaze with a pair of calm, ancient eyes.

“Naturally, I have many more matters to inform Fellow Daoists of Longsword Mountain.”

At this point, Ji Qian’s corpse began to dissipate little by little, ultimately leaving behind only a robe and a longsword. The longsword circled the spot where Ji Qian disappeared a few times.

“Whir—”

After a mournful cry, the sword light shot into the sky, then descended with powerful sword intent, striking at Rongyun and Xiezhi. The two stepped on clouds to evade, but the immortal sword’s light flared, continuously striking at those present. After several futile strikes, it suddenly changed its momentum and fled into the distance.

However, just as it broke through the clouds, the immortal sword crashed head-on into a golden light. In an instant, it was tightly bound by the Immortal Binding Rope, and then, still trembling, it was sent before Ji Yuan.

“Buzz… Buzz…”

Even though the Immortal Binding Rope held the immortal sword, sword qi continuously leaked out, as if wanting to tear Ji Yuan, who held it, into pieces.

“Alas!”

Ji Yuan sighed. He rode the wind to Rongyun, pulled off the Immortal Binding Rope, subdued the immortal sword, and handed it to him.

“This sword should remain in Longsword Mountain’s keeping!”

Rongyun also sighed, took the longsword, and drew a golden scabbard from his sleeve, sheathing the sword. The endlessly struggling sword immediately quieted down.

Immortal swords typically did not belong to a sect; they were loyal only to their master, at most feeling a slight kinship with their master’s sect. In truth, it should have been allowed to leave, but in this situation, Ji Yuan chose to subdue it.

“Very well, please return to the mountain with me for a discussion…”

The news of Ji Qian’s death and the complete dissipation of his spirit greatly shook Longsword Mountain. The crimes he committed were equally shocking. Such matters were far easier to ascertain after Ji Qian’s death than when he was alive.

And the other news Ji Yuan brought was only circulated among the high-level cultivators of Longsword Mountain.

Although it was a case of “getting to know each other through conflict,” even after Ji Yuan left, the feelings of the Longsword Mountain people towards him remained very complex. There was respect, certainly, but definitely not fondness. As for hatred, that was out of the question too.

However, Longsword Mountain’s reply to Ji Yuan’s request was more straightforward than he had expected.

Rongyun did not mention Longsword Mountain’s previous thoughts of reclusion, stating directly that if Ji Yuan’s words were true, swords would surely emerge from Longsword Mountain.