It was a moonless night. Only a few faint stars blinked in the sky. For cultivators, who were long used to eating the wind and sleeping beneath the heavens, this was hardly an inconvenience. With their profound cultivation, they needed no shelter—just a few wards laid down around them, and the wilderness would suffice for the night.
Li Xun had spent many nights like this on Zuowang Peak. The others were no strangers to it either—even Qi Bi and Qi Yun, the two female cultivators in the group, took it all in stride.
Soon, the gathering fell into silence, everyone sitting cross-legged in quiet meditation.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. His Golden Core quivered; he instantly halted the flow of his true breath and opened his eyes.
Lin Ge stood there, lids lowered, but with a smirk playing on his lips: "Get up. We have... visitors."
"Huh?"
Li Xun was startled—but then caught the tone in his master's voice. "Visitors" didn't mean friends. His heart tensed. His hand reached instinctively for his sword.
By now, everyone else was awake. The more experienced disciples immediately moved to the perimeter, forming a protective circle around the younger ones. Daoist Minglan and Yue Mingfeng stood beside Lin Ge, both wearing grim expressions.
Minglan, tall and thin, with a flowing black beard and an air of immortal grace, looked especially serious now. "Senior Brother," he said, "I just saw Heartfire Transformation—it looks like someone from Heartless Sect."
"Heartless Sect?" Lin Ge's face stayed calm, eyes fixed on the darkness ahead. There, a pale flame flickered faintly—ghostly and cold.
Yue Mingfeng, compact and sharp-featured—he didn't really look like a Daoist, but his cultivation ranked just beneath Lin Ge's, second only among them.
Squinting into the gloom, Yue Mingfeng muttered, "Eightfold Heartflame—it's one of their elders. But which one…?"
Lin Ge remained laid-back, as always, as if nothing ever rattled him. He turned to Li Xun. "Get inside the circle. Know your place…" he said lazily.
Li Xun wasn't stupid. Without needing further explanation, he responded at once. As he passed the circle's edge, he noticed Qi Bi giving him a small, reassuring smile.
He was the youngest and the weakest of the group, so naturally he took his place at the very center. Even then, unease gnawed at him. His hand never left the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at a moment's notice.
Suddenly, that pale flame in the distance went out.
Then, almost immediately, a dry chuckle echoed through the night: "Ah, Mingxin Sword Sect… always so self-righteous, never changes!"
With the laughter, a white-robed figure drifted into view, stopping a few dozen paces away. In the hazy darkness, Li Xun could only make out the man's outline—but Lin Ge and the others could clearly see his face.
The man gave a long look at Lin Ge, a strange expression tugging at his lips. "Been a while, hasn't it? Heaven's Heart Sword Lin Ge. What brings you down the mountain to embarrass yourself?"
Lin Ge's mouth twitched slightly. Then he gave a soft chuckle: "So it's you—Heart Slayer Xin Jizi. Hundred years we haven't met and you still haven't made any progress. No wonder the Heartless Sect is going downhill."
As Lin Ge had guessed, the figure was none other than Xin Jizi, an elder from the Heartless Sect—one of the Ten Mountain Sects of the Tongxuan Realm.
Though he was of the same generation as Qingxu, his cultivation was far weaker—even below Lin Ge's. At least, that had been true a hundred years ago.
His face was long and gaunt, cheekbones protruding sharply, utterly devoid of color—an appearance that bordered on ugly. But his voice was full of breath and strength, drifting eerily across the hills, loud enough for all to hear.
"Oh, please—over a hundred years in cultivation without a step of progress? That's perfectly normal. Not like you, Lin Ge—back then, you collapsed in utter disgrace, didn't you? Had to be dragged out from between some demoness's thighs, kicking and screaming!"
"You've been hiding on that mountain all century, trying to scrub off the stink, huh? And now you finally come down—congratulations! I'm sure you smell fresh as a daisy. Planning to lure in a few more demon girls for fun?"
The words were vicious. Every line jabbed at Lin Ge's sore spots, merciless and cutting to the bone.
Back on the mountain, these matters were taboo. Even if people knew about them, no one dared bring them up to his face. And if they had to be mentioned, they'd always be veiled in euphemism, cautiously worded to avoid striking a nerve.
Yet now, only a few days after descending the mountain, the first cultivator they encountered was already tearing into him, viciously and without restraint.
Li Xun suddenly understood another reason why Lin Ge had been so reluctant to come down the mountain.
Though he was in the inner circle and couldn't see Lin Ge's expression, he could well imagine the man was livid. No one could take such public humiliation in stride—least of all someone like Lin Ge, who was so proud, so obsessed with saving face.
At this point, if Lin Ge were to silently draw his sword and strike, Li Xun wouldn't be surprised in the least.
But before Lin Ge could move, the surrounding senior disciples were already shouting in fury, drawing their swords one after another. Judging by their stance, it looked like they were ready to rush forward and tear Demon Slayer to pieces.
Li Xun, though less outraged internally, still put on a show—he even stepped forward a few paces, only to be pulled back by two senior brothers beside him.
Xin Jizi, however, ignored their bluster. He stood there alone, yet showed no fear. For him to appear in front of Lin Ge and the others so brazenly, he clearly had his backing. If Lin Ge really did draw his sword, Xin Jizi seemed confident he could hold his own.
A hundred years ago, he might not have been able to take on the "Heaven's Heart Sword." But now, facing a man widely regarded as a cripple, could he really lose?
Just as that thought took root, Lin Ge gave a soft, low chuckle.
"Back then, the friends from various sects who rescued me from the Boundless Sea of Desire... helped me preserve both my Dao heart and my cultivation. That, I've never forgotten."
His laugh was strange, resonating from deep within his chest. Though his words seemed humble, that eerie tone created a sense of unspoken pressure. No one dared take him lightly.
After a brief pause, his voice began to rise—clearer and sharper now, tinged with a trace of anger. "But there's still one thing I don't understand. Daoist Xin Jizi, you weren't some clueless child back then—why would you act like one? That year, during the Mirror-Water Gathering, who was it that swore so solemnly—"
"Ahem!"
A sudden cough interrupted him—dry and deliberate. Daoist Minglan had stepped forward. His long beard swayed slightly as he fixed his gaze on Xin Jizi and spoke coldly:
"Daoist Brother Xin Jizi, that was uncalled for. You know very well the hardship my Senior Brother Lin endured. All the sect elders, including your own sect master, are well aware of it.
"A hundred years pass, and you pretend to forget? If your sect leader were here, I daresay he'd be ashamed of you."
Li Xun felt a shift—clearly something was being left unsaid here, some kind of veiled exchange.
Then again, he didn't find it strange. The world was full of things that looked noble on the surface but hid rot underneath. Even if that so-called "phoenix-slaying" incident a hundred years ago had deeper secrets, it wouldn't surprise him.
While he was turning that over in his mind, Xin Jizi's face also flickered with a trace of embarrassment. Minglan hadn't used sharp words, nor had he struck hard—but his calm tone, every word rooted in fact, left Xin Jizi no room to argue. His bluster now looked more like petty provocation.
Still, Xin Jizi wasn't the sort to cling to a losing fight. Realizing he'd gained no ground, he gave a tight-lipped smile, the hollows of his face tightening slightly.
"Ah, just joking around, of course! It's been too long—I'm here today for a different reason entirely."
"'A reason?'" Yue Mingfeng's face showed a faint sneer. "What matter could possibly require an elder of the Heartless Sect to show up with more than twenty fellow Daoists in tow? If it's truly something so grave, then Elder Xin Jizi should go to Lianxia Mountain and report it to our sect master. I'm sure he will provide you with a proper explanation."
From Lin Ge's earlier "Daoist Xin Jizi," to Minglan's "Daoist Brother," and now Yue Mingfeng's "Elder"—each address became more formal, yet each carried an increasingly frigid tone.
Xin Jizi let out a booming laugh, but the smile on his gaunt face quickly faded. "Tell me, was it you lot who slew a demon flood dragon at the Sha River the day before yesterday?"
Lin Ge, by now, had seemingly returned to his usual languid demeanor. Whatever he truly felt inside was anyone's guess.
He answered in a flat voice: "We did."
The moment he finished, Yue Mingfeng picked up seamlessly: "That vile dragon stirred up chaos and committed countless murders in the Sha River. For cultivators like us to slay such a monster—it aligns perfectly with the will of Heaven. But if Elder has come for that creature, then what is the purpose of your visit?"
Before Xin Jizi could reply, Yue Mingfeng's sharp-featured face twisted into an exaggerated expression of mock surprise: "Don't tell me… that demon dragon was an old acquaintance of yours?"
Xin Jizi's face grew paler, shadows deepening around his hollowed cheeks. But in those sunken eyes, a strange white light glimmered. With a cold snort, he ignored Yue Mingfeng's sarcasm and said in a chilling voice:
"I don't care that you killed the dragon. But it had three dragon pearls in its body—treasures our sect has long sought!"
It was a shockingly blunt claim, stating outright his intention to snatch something from others.
"Dragon pearls?" Daoist Minglan raised a brow. "Those are hardly rare items. Since when has the Wuxin Sect ever lacked such trinkets?"
Xin Jizi gave no answer—just a cold, grating laugh. His strange gaze, however, was subtly shifting and scanning the crowd.
Li Xun's heart gave a jolt.
Dragon pearls might be extraordinary treasures in the human world, but in the Profound Realm, they were fairly common. While they had some benefits for eyesight, vitality, and even cultivation, they couldn't compare to steady, methodical progress through real cultivation. Most of the time, they were treated more like fancy baubles.
No one in the group thought much of them, so yesterday, Lin Ge had casually handed the three pearls over to Li Xun for amusement. At this very moment, they were tucked inside his robes.
If it were up to him, he wouldn't think such trivial objects were worth starting a conflict with the Heartless Sect. Unfortunately, for his elders—who valued the sect's honor above all—this wasn't just about three pearls.
The three leaders exchanged glances, all sensing that something was off.
In the center of the circle, Li Xun slipped a hand into his robes and touched the three dragon pearls. Their cool, slick texture was clearly different from the Jade Bixie amulet he also carried against his chest.
The pearls felt slightly slimy—not nearly as crisp and pure as the amulet. Just from that, Li Xun had a sudden urge to toss them away.
He fumbled with them for a moment, but lacking the experience to detect anything unusual, he set the thought aside. Just as he looked up, he found himself locking eyes with Xin Jizi from across the distance.
He's looking at me! The realization struck Li Xun like lightning. Could he know I have the pearls?
A chill spread down his back. His hand clenched tighter around his sword hilt.
Could it be the pearls are somehow linked to him?
He wasn't the only one unnerved. Seeing Xin Jizi's strange gaze, Lin Ge and the others also sensed something was wrong, and their focus subtly shifted backward.
At that exact moment, Xin Jizi let out a piercing shriek and leapt into the air. "You little wretch—you dare destroy my dragon pearls!"
A burst of searing white fire exploded from his body, crackling with a furious snap-snap-snap, loud enough to make everyone's scalp tingle.
From the flames, two bright sparks shot outward, streaking past the heads of Lin Ge and the other two elders—straight toward the disciples behind them.
"What a fine blazing heartfire! But Elder, aren't you being a little too hasty?"
With a cold laugh, Yue Mingfeng was the first to move. Rather than charge forward, he leapt backward instead, his sword slicing through the air with a sharp hum. Spiraling like a shuttle, it flew straight toward the two fire sparks.
At the same time, Daoist Minglan let out a furious shout. His own sword aura burst from his body with a roar, lifting him into the air as he head-on met Xin Jizi's heartfire!