Chapter 552: Just Watch: How I Will Execute Him (Transition Chapter)

"..."

The Heavenly Sword Sect Master paused, then glanced oddly at the several senior brothers beside him.

Shen Yi's cold and rigid attitude toward Baohua Xianzi was extremely rare even across the entire Hongze.

It wasn't because of the dragon lady's ethereal beauty; after all, there were quite a few cultivators who did not favor women.

It was mainly due to the conduct of the Purple-Bearded White Dragon clan.

Who would refuse a group of living bodhisattvas who required no filial piety in daily life, yet would grant any request as long as you held the moral high ground?

Perhaps some might mock the Eastern Long Gong for being foolish behind their backs, but at least face-to-face, no one would mind giving them some face... saying a few nice words wouldn't cost a piece of flesh.

Who knows, one day these Purple-Bearded White Dragons might save one's life.

Especially after looking at Li Xuanqing beside Shen Yi and making a slight comparison, the sense of absurdity in the hearts of the several Sect Masters grew even stronger.

They all felt the two were very similar, whether in personality or talent, but now it seemed the differences were quite significant.

At least Shen Yi's deeply hidden sense of caution, his nature of trusting only himself as if the whole world owed him, was utterly different from the Li Xuanqing of the past who believed the entire heavens and earth should actively favor him.

Such a personality might cause Sect Master Shen to have fewer friends, but it would also greatly reduce the risk of him being betrayed.

"Very well."

Baohua Xianzi remained silent for a long time before finally lowering her head in dejection, saying softly, "You are right."

If others did not trust the Eastern Long Gong, she might have argued a few points, but the General Nanyang Sect indeed had reason not to trust them, even though Grandfather had already stripped Aunt Ziling of her status as the Eastern Palace Dragon Lady; he disdained to cling to connections with the heavenly immortals.

Yet the trauma suffered by the General Nanyang Sect could never be recovered.

Shen Yi did not look back again, leading Li Xuanqing and Lingdang straight out of the Immortal Cave.

He actually held no ill will toward Baohua; on the contrary... he felt some gratitude.

If he had not coincidentally returned today, Baohua Xianzi would have been the last line of defense protecting Senior Li Xuanqing's life; even if she might not truly succeed, it was still better than having nothing.

The reason for his cold mockery was partly due to the anger that had flared up earlier.

Of course, the more important reason was that such a well-meaning person without a proper stance, if their power could surpass all beings, would be a living, breathing righteous judge, but if their power was insufficient... the outcome usually would not be good.

Helping everyone is equivalent to helping no one; it is hard to gain the sincere support of others, and more often they are merely used to solve troubles, while every time they intervene, they incur the hatred of the other side.

Shen Yi did not want to be dragged into this muddy water; merely taking care of the General Nanyang General Nanyang Baodi left him somewhat exhausted.

It was better to stay far away from these Purple-Bearded White Dragons.

After the two figures disappeared from the Immortal Cave.

The several Sect Masters finally withdrew their gazes, turned, and looked at the dejected girl in the purple skirt: "Baohua, why come to Yu Nanhong to wander instead of visiting your aunt in West Hong? Things have been unstable here recently."

"It is precisely because it is unstable that I came."

Baohua Xianzi sighed: "But now it seems it has become even more unstable."

Seeing her state, Wushuang Sect Master smiled helplessly, walked over, gently patted her head, and comforted her: "We will find a way to resolve this. Go back, and convey our greetings to your grandfather for us; tell him not to worry."

Actually, the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong and the Eastern Long Gong had no real grudge; when the incident occurred, the Eastern Long Wang had specifically summoned Li Xuanqing, chatting with him for several months, carefully analyzing the situation and explaining his bright future, all to prevent the young man from acting impulsively.

Yet Ziling, relying on a few tears, provoked his pride and praised him a couple of times, causing Li Xuanqing to dismiss the Eastern Long Wang's words as absolute nonsense.

The several Sect Masters knew clearly who the enemy was.

Furthermore, over these many years, the remaining few traces of displaced anger had slowly dissipated.

"..."

This gentle pat on the head instantly brought Baohua Xianzi's thoughts back to one hundred thousand years ago; back then, these several seniors had treated her quite well.

She bit her lip, struggled for a long time, and finally said: "I will tell Grandfather about the Yue family matters and hope to help Yu Nanhong a little. Venerable seniors, Baohua's mind is somewhat chaotic; I shall take my leave first!"

Having spoken, she respectfully bowed, then turned and left the Immortal Cave.

Transforming into a Purple-Bearded White Dragon, she sped toward West Hong.

After a long while.

Lingyue Sect Master glanced disdainfully at Wushuang Sect Master: "At your age, still tricking little girls here; a self-pitying scheme, I never thought you'd come up with that."

Across the entire Hongze, when it came to grasping the nature of the Eastern Long Gong, who could compare to the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong who once knew them so well?

"Who else but us, given how difficult things are now?"

Wushuang Sect Master, face unblushing and heart untroubled, said calmly: "This was a measure of last resort."

"It is indeed quite shameless."

Heavenly Sword Sect Master, expression cold, stepped toward the cave exit.

He preferred to solve troubles with power rather than relying on such petty tricks.

Alas, who knows what bad luck has befallen us recently.

The Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong had been well-behaved for these years, yet overnight, it suddenly felt as though they had offended the entire Hongze.

First, the Southern Long Gong went mad; then the Western Long Gong wanted to jump in; now even the Yue family's young man has come to cause trouble, forging yet another great enemy.

Pick any one of these factions; if not for the fear of the Immortals, the six of us senior brothers and sisters working together would consider it a loss even to glance directly at them... but with all of them combined, even two fists cannot fight four hands.

Simply bizarre! It gives one a headache.

Fortunately, there is still this young man Shen Yi, which is slightly comforting; he silently opened the Fourth City... it is also time for him to merge with the Dao, though who knows how many years it will take.

Or perhaps he too will waste many years like Li Xuanqing, trying to open that Fifth City?

"By the way, when he just extended his hand to give the order."

"I seemed to see Zhu Shixiong Qin again."

"What? Even after making a comeback, the General Nanyang Sect still wants to be the leader?"

Heavenly Sword Sect Master's words of dissatisfaction echoed endlessly within the Immortal Cave, causing the other several Sect Masters to fall silent with a wry smile.

General Nanyang Sect.

Shen Yi untied the bell, releasing the many officials abducted by Long Yuetian; he gave no reminders, merely sending Li Qingfeng, whom he had picked up on the way, to distribute the pills and treat everyone's injuries.

For a Return-to-Void cultivator, a top-tier great demon of Bai Yujing that had traveled all the way from the Northern Flood was itself a calamity from out of nowhere.

No matter how cautious they were, once they ran into one, they could only consider themselves unlucky.

Whether it was cultivators like Nie Jun who hailed from the General Nanyang treasure land, or the loose cultivators Shen Yi had brought back from outside, they had long understood this truth.

Of course, giving up eating for fear of choking was also not an option.

When it was time to go out and gain experience, one still had to go—cultivation was always a matter of fate.

Inside the Ancestral Hall.

Shen Yi walked slowly to the edge of the meditation cushion, lowered his gaze, and looked at the wooden figure lying on the ground.

Li Xuanqing raised his head to glance at the statue of the ancestor, then silently looked toward Shen Yi, his eyes suddenly evasive.

For some reason, as a once-dominant prodigy of the younger generation in Hongze, he now felt an inexplicable guilt—the same kind he had felt as a novice cultivator when, having been too playful and forgotten his training, he had unexpectedly come face to face with that strict master.

"Perhaps I didn't think things through carefully enough."

Li Xuanqing struggled to organize his words, wanting to explain what had happened earlier: "Next time…"

Before he could finish, Shen Yi slowly crouched down. He did not, as Li Xuanqing had imagined, put on the airs of a sect master, attempt to lecture him, or plan to use a long-winded speech to pull Li Xuanqing back from his death wish. Instead, he meant to grumble about his own affairs.

"Sigh."

Shen Yi let out a faint sigh, reached up to rub the bridge of his nose, and said in a voice tinged with an unusually rare weariness: "Honestly, I'm pretty fed up."

Li Xuanqing froze for a moment, then immediately tried to apologize.

Shen Yi waved his hand, cutting him off, and continued: "My original plan was, once I had the strength to protect myself, to find a safe place, marry a few beautiful wives… of course, one would do too—anyway, just to live out my three-hundred-year lifespan comfortably."

"But later I realized, those four words—'strength to protect myself'—are actually pretty absurd."

"Because no matter how fast I kill, there's always something above that can threaten me."

Shen Yi tugged at the corner of his mouth, a fierce glint surfacing in his eyes.

These things had made him unable to eat or sleep in peace, left him taciturn, unwilling to waste a single moment, afraid that some mishap might arise because of it.

Hearing this, Li Xuanqing fell into a rare stupor. The implication behind this young sect master's words was so chilling that even he, a former prodigy, felt a trace of terror.

When a person lives in this world, how could anything ever go perfectly according to plan?

Even if one ascended to the Immortal Court, or remained a loose cultivator with a realm above all living beings… above one's head there was still that bleak blue sky watching over everything.

Shen Yi seemed to read Li Xuanqing's thoughts. The fierceness in his expression quickly melted into a helpless, lazy smile: "So the fact that I can't rest is purely my own doing. You don't need to keep feeling like it has anything to do with you."

"If I can survive the Long Gong's hands, afterward I plan to try going to see that immortal. If possible, I'll take you along."

Having said that, Shen Yi stood up again and turned to walk out of the Ancestral Hall.

It was now obvious that the immortal had a grudge with the General Nanyang Sect, and he was now planning to merge his Dao with the General Nanyang treasure land.

Shen Yi dared not pin his hopes on the immortal having let the matter go, nor could he tolerate eking out a living on the other's turf, worrying every day, with accidents waiting to happen at any moment.

If the heavens were too high, then he'd first consider slaying the immortal on earth—future matters could wait for the future.

"You… went to the Western Flood, and somehow you seem a little different from before."

After a long silence, Li Xuanqing spoke—it was the first time he had ever heard Shen Zongzhu open his heart.

Hearing this, Shen Yi cast a glance at An Yi, who was waiting at the entrance of the Ancestral Hall.

Once the dam of emotions broke, it was hard to hold it back again afterward.

"Such a thing is almost impossible… After my matter, that immortal sealed Hongze even more tightly. On this stretch of water and land, cultivators simply cannot reach his level."

Li Xuanqing finally spoke, bringing up the matter of that Hongze Daxian.

This was also why he no longer dared to think about revenge.

"How would you know without trying?"

Shen Yi stepped over the threshold and said softly: "You won't lose anything anyway. Just watch."

Watch what?

Li Xuanqing didn't quite understand what the other man wanted him to watch.

But soon, he saw Shen Yi transform into a streak of flowing light, shooting off in a familiar direction.

Li Xuanqing always felt as if he had been through something like this many times before.

From the first time Shen Zongzhu condensed his Dao Pillar, to the successive harvests of Hongmeng Purple Qi, the man was now a top-tier great cultivator of Bai Yujing who had opened four cities!

"N-no, it can't be, can it?"

Li Xuanqing finally couldn't help opening his mouth, his eyes full of horror. One step further, and that would be the fifth city!

That was a realm no one in all of Hongze had ever touched!

(End of chapter)