Chapter 84: Today I Will Cleanse the Sect

"Senior Brother, I never expected you to be this kind of person; you've hidden yourself so deeply." Ye Zhiqiu's beautiful eyes showed a disappointment hard to put into words.

Lu Xingfeng's smile held resentment: "I never wanted this; you drove me down this path. I gave you ten years of feeling, relinquished the Sect Leader role for you, yet received no affection—I'll reclaim everything I yielded to you."

"Moreover, I've figured it out: since I can't win your heart no matter what, as a consolation, possessing your person is acceptable."

"Becoming Sect Leader is just my first step; I will keep you by my side, watching me climb step by step to the pinnacle of power! I will make sure you never escape my grasp for the rest of your life."

Watching Lu Xingfeng's originally refined features grow increasingly twisted, Ye Zhiqiu felt no fear, only a chill in her heart.

She couldn't be sure whether he could truly summon the so-called Giant Snake with secret arts, but she didn't want hundreds of sect disciples to become sacrifices.

Lu Xingfeng saw her doubtful expression and sneered: "Ye Zhiqiu, you have no choice—either obey me from now on and immediately announce your abdication, or watch me slaughter everyone on your side; in the end you'll still have to hand over the Sect Leader position."

"You just said that as soon as you send out the signal, the sacrificial ceremony will begin, right?" Ye Zhiqiu said while backing away.

Lu Xingfeng stepped forward, slowly approaching: "What, do you think your martial arts can stop me?"

"My martial arts won't do. But don't forget, what our Tian Shu Sect excels at is..."

Ye Zhiqiu continued speaking while retreating, her lower back touching the table holding the spirit tablets; she then gently pressed with her waist, secretly activating a mechanism.

Lu Xingfeng stopped: "Of course I haven't forgotten—it's just mechanism arts, right? This is what I despise most, yet ever since the former Sect Leader began to value mechanism arts above all, causing the sect to neglect martial arts, you aren't you just currying favor with him to gain his favoritism toward you?"

Then he gave a contemptuous smile and lowered his gaze to the bluestone floor before his feet.

"Junior Sister, you deliberately lured me to this spot just to control me with the mechanism below, right?"

"Do you really think you can escape my notice and secretly set up these useless toys in the Ancestral Hall?"

Having said that, he decisively stepped onto it.

Normally, once this mechanism is activated, if the ground within its coverage bears a weight greater than Ye Zhiqiu's, it triggers.

This was set up by Ye Zhiqiu long ago as a precaution.

Therefore, it must first be switched to standby before it can be triggered.

Once triggered, several iron rods will shoot up from the ground around Lu Xingfeng at an angle, instantly forming an umbrella-shaped iron cage to trap him.

But his powerful Internal Strength surged into the ground instantly, shattering the mechanism's components before the rods could be triggered.

A muffled crack sounded.

The bluestone slab floor, centered on him, cracked in a spiderweb pattern reaching the walls.

And those iron rods that could have protruded from the floor now showed no response.

Lu Xingfeng laughed triumphantly: "So-called mechanism arts are useless before absolute strength! I truly don't understand why the former Sect Leader insisted on studying something so utterly worthless."

Just as he was lost in his triumph.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, two iron chains flew out from the left and right corners of the wall behind him.

The tips of the chains, bearing barbed Hook Claws, struck his shoulders precisely and, upon impact, sank into his flesh.

Instantly, excruciating pain spread through his body like lightning.

His pure white robe was also stained red with blood.

"Ye Zhiqiu! You!" Lu Xingfeng roared in anger, enduring the pain, and tried to pull back the Hook Claw lodged in his shoulder blade.

However, the mechanism was still operating, and the iron chains quickly tightened.

Enormous pulling forces from left and right made Lu Xingfeng scream in agony.

He dared not move, for even a slight lift of his arm would intensify the tearing pain; he could not even shift his shoulder at will.

"Senior Brother, do you still think mechanisms are useless?" Ye Zhiqiu stood before him, coldly saying, "You only know I set up mechanisms, unaware it's a dual structure; only to blame you and your lackeys for neglecting mechanism arts—despite knowing there are mechanisms, you still fall victim."

Lu Xingfeng felt the pain in his shoulders drill into his marrow, beads of sweat the size of beans appearing on his face, "Ye Zhiqiu……you think……this could……take me down……?"

"Who said I'm only taking you down?"

Ye Zhiqiu raised her right hand, "Today I will cleanse the sect."

As her slender hand extended from her sleeve, a black tube about a foot long appeared in Lu Xingfeng's sight.

"My master told me on his deathbed that the reason he didn't pass the Sect Leader position to you wasn't only because he favored me more, but also for another reason."

"That is, he thought you are a person of deep scheming and profound city."

"Such a person is either utterly good or utterly evil; he raised you for over thirty years yet still couldn't tell which."

"So, since I inherited the Sect Leader position, I have been guarding against you."

"To be frank, the recent linked mechanisms were made especially for you—not only in the Ancestral Hall, but anywhere in this sect where I could imagine being alone with you, they are present."

While speaking, Ye Zhiqiu aimed the black tube at Lu Xingfeng.

The two were less than ten feet apart; Lu Xingfeng stared fixedly at the dark opening of the tube, a chill running through him.

First, he never expected Ye Zhiqiu to have taken precautions against him so early.

Second, he had guessed this tube was likely another weapon crafted by Ye Zhiqiu.

"Heh…hehehe…" Lu Xingfeng let out a strange laugh, "Looks like I underestimated you; in terms of scheming and city, you're still the sharper one."

Ye Zhiqiu said calmly, "I harbor no ill will toward others, but that doesn't mean I lack defensive vigilance; this is a lesson I learned ten years ago."

"What……is your background?" Lu Xingfeng asked while secretly circulating his Internal Strength, "The weapon in your hand is probably even more formidable than the one that accidentally fell into Zhuiyingjian not long ago; I never imagined you'd lose one yet still have another."

"That wasn't an accident; I deliberately pretended to drop it carelessly in front of everyone," Ye Zhiqiu said calmly, "otherwise, how could I let you lower your guard against me?"

"As for my background, even if you were dying, I wouldn't tell you."

Ye Zhiqiu pressed the cold tube, about two fingers thick, against Lu Xingfeng's forehead, her finger about to pull the trigger beneath the tube's end.

This, in fact, is a crudely handcrafted shotgun.

It is also the first time it has been shown to others.

Like the revolver she previously crafted, it was made after years of gathering materials and enduring countless failures.

Although it can't compare to even modern homemade firearms, it is at least usable, its power not small; in this era it could be called a peerless divine weapon—no matter how high the opponent's martial arts, she could still strike them with it.

"Junior Sister… spare my life!" Lu Xingfeng shouted.

Ye Zhiqiu's eyes were full of coldness, the finger on the trigger quickly exerted force.

In that instant, Lu Xingfeng endured the tearing pain of his flesh, forcibly wrenched open his right shoulder, tilted his head to dodge the muzzle, and simultaneously struck out with a palm toward Ye Zhiqiu's chest.

Ye Zhiqiu no longer had time to fire a shot to blast his head, and could only, in the moment of rapid retreat, fire by feel.

Bang!

A deafening roar!

Ye Zhiqiu was knocked back by the recoil and almost fell.

Most of the spray of tiny pellets from the barrel struck Lu Xingfeng's right arm.

A mist of blood floated in the air.

The middle of Lu Xingfeng's arm below his right shoulder became a mass of rotten flesh.

The upper arm bone was completely broken.

Only some tendons and skin remained connected, letting his right forearm barely hang on.

"Ah!"

Lu Xingfeng let out a shrill scream, violently wrenched his left shoulder free from the hook‑claw, then quickly pressed several points on his chest with his left hand, enduring the terrible pain to seal his own bleeding points.

After quickly finishing that, he panted, knees on the ground, weakly lowering his head.

At this moment he was like a tortured ghost from hell.

At the shoulder blade on his back, the flesh was turned outward, the wound deep enough to see bone, his right arm's broken bone clung to sinews and swayed weakly at his side.

His white robe was almost completely stained red, and a pool of blood lay on the ground.

Ye Zhiqiu quickly reloaded a shotgun shell, then pressed the muzzle against Lu Xingfeng's head.

"Senior Brother, out of ten years of fellow‑disciple feeling, I originally wanted to let you die painlessly—why struggle and bring suffering on yourself?"

Speaking, she was about to pull the trigger to completely execute him.

"The sacrificial ritual is complete! The giant snake will surely appear!" Lu Xingfeng roared with all his strength, "Once I die, no one can control it!"

Ye Zhiqiu's motion paused, she frowned and said, "You haven't sent out a signal, have you?"

Lu Xingfeng slowly raised his head, his eyes blood‑red with a ferocious grin, "I lied to you… I don't need to send any signal at all, because I already told my people: at midnight, directly slit the throats of those four hundred disciples to bleed them out and complete the sacrificial summon… By now their blood has all drained… That ten‑plus‑zhang‑long Transform‑into‑Jiao giant snake is probably already on its way."

Ye Zhiqiu's pupils contracted violently, as if a bolt of lightning had struck her from head to foot.

Lu Xingfeng used his left hand to yank off the arm hanging from the right half of his arm, excitement flashing in his eyes, "Junior Sister… are you very surprised? Why is it that only you may guard against me and set a trap, while I cannot take precautions?"

Ye Zhiqiu trembled all over, "You… you mean all of this is true?"

"Of course it's true," Lu Xingfeng stared at the wobbling barrel as he staggered to his feet, "I also have to consider all possibilities, don't I? What if you have some means to control me? Wouldn't that be wasted effort? Indeed, I'm still the superior strategist."

Ye Zhiqiu gritted her teeth and said, "I don't believe it!"

"What don't you believe?" Lu Xingfeng resumed his pose of total control, "Is it that you don't believe I really did that, or that you don't believe there's a giant snake?"

Ye Zhiqiu stared fixedly at his eyes, "I believe neither."

Lu Xingfeng laughed, "Then just kill me; as long as the giant snake appears later, you'll find you have no way to cope, only able to watch it indiscriminately devour everyone—then you won't regret it."

Ye Zhiqiu's back teeth ground together with a creaking sound.

Lu Xingfeng laughed ever more wildly, "Besides me, no one in the world knows how to control that giant snake. Do you want to use the lives of thousands of Tian Shu Sect members to test whether it will wreak havoc everywhere, or do you want to beg me for a way out?"

The situation reversed once again.

Ye Zhiqiu looked at his smug, arrogant appearance and wished she could tear him to pieces.

But Ye Zhiqiu dared not take that risk.

If he really had finished the sacrificial summon, and if such a giant snake truly appeared…… the Tian Shu Sect would be doomed!

"You……" Ye Zhiqiu gritted her teeth until they bled, utterly helpless, she put down the shotgun in her hand, "Fine…… you win. I will yield the Sect Leader position to you……"

For the sect, for the lives of the remaining thousands of disciples.

She could only compromise.

Lu Xingfeng took the shotgun from Ye Zhiqiu's bloody left hand, then pressed the barrel to her chin, "Junior Sister, if you had cooperated earlier, this wouldn't have happened—why make it come to this? Of course, besides yielding the Sect Leader position, you must attend me day and night, obeying my every command."

"Don't push your luck!" Ye Zhiqiu hated him so much her eyes were about to bleed.

Lu Xingfeng's gaze turned icy cold, "Such an attitude is wrong; from now on, if you defy me even once, I'll unleash the giant snake to wreak havoc—care to try?"

Ye Zhiqiu suppressed her anger, "Lu Xingfeng… you will die a horrible death."

"Kneel!" Lu Xingfeng bellowed.

Ye Zhiqiu was already completely under his control; even if she were angrier, she could only kneel before him.

"Hahaha!" Lu Xingfeng threw back his head and laughed, "Now that's more like it!"

Saying that, he grabbed Ye Zhiqiu and pulled her up, then with one hand encircled her waist, "To make you truly submit, so you never again harbor any thought of opposing me, I must bring you to see that giant snake with your own eyes. I can guarantee you, if you obey, I will myself send it back to Zhuiyingjian."

Afterwards Ye Zhiqiu was taken by him out of the sect's Ancestral Hall.

The Ancestral Hall stands on the summit of the main peak, directly ahead is a rocky outcrop shaped like an eagle's beak, an open‑air platform.

Standing on the platform, one can overlook the surroundings.

Under the night sky, the four sacrificial platforms in the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest are all brightly lit.

Although far away, one could still make out many corpses piled around the sacrificial platforms, the tabletops already stained red with blood……

When Ye Zhiqiu saw this scene, tears blurred her vision, her whole person felt as if her soul had been drained, she collapsed helplessly to the ground.

"Come, lean into my arms." Lu Xingfeng gripped the shotgun in one hand and slowly sat beside her.

Ye Zhiqiu had no choice but to comply.

Lu Xingfeng lowered his head to sniff the fragrance between her hairs, smiling, "If you hadn't just broken my right arm, I could still hold you. I know you hate me to death, you've imagined cutting me into a thousand pieces countless times in your heart, but I don't care—as long as you forever stay obediently by my side."

"Also, you must never attempt suicide from now on; you must keep living well, otherwise I'll just summon the giant snake and have thousands of Tian Shu Sect disciples buried with you."

Ye Zhiqiu heard these words, a chill ran from head to toe, her heart already consumed by despair.

……

At this moment, inside Zhuiyingjian.

Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, relying on Protective Gear reinforced with Snake Skin and Snake Tendon, have smoothly passed through the forest and arrived at the foot of a sheer cliff.

The two passed through an area frequented by beasts and indeed saw packs of wolves as well as large carnivorous beasts such as brown bears, tigers and leopards.

But as soon as they got a little closer, the beasts would clutch their tails and flee.

Just the Giant Snake scent drifting from the two of them was enough to make them cower.

"There's a cave here; let's go in and rest first, and tomorrow we'll tidy up and turn this place into a new base," Ning Jinli said, pointing at a nearby opening.

Xiao Qidi suddenly turned, stared at the pitch‑black forest, and said in a low voice, "Did you hear any strange sounds?"