Chapter 55: Act in Heaven

The fourth Elder of Xuanyuan Sect flew backward, wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, and glared at the Ziguang Sect Elder—clearly, the sudden turn of events had severely injured him.

Seeing this, everyone was left speechless.

Although they hadn't seen what exactly happened, they had seen the fourth Elder get injured.

Moreover, they had also noticed that the Ziguang Sect Elder was now accompanied by another Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Only then did everyone understand why the fourth Elder had been injured—after all, he was facing a two-on-one assault from two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The fourth Elder finally understood why the Ziguang Sect's Foundation Establishment cultivators had been attacking him these past days: partly to test his strength, and partly to lull him into complacency.

The Ziguang Sect Elder, seeing the fury in the Xuanyuan Sect's fourth Elder's eyes, sneered, exchanged a glance with the person beside him, and then attacked from left and right.

Boom!

Immediately following the thunderous crash came a terrifying shockwave; Luo Yao, though far away, was still flung backward by its force.

Could it be that Han Qing had also come to the same conclusion about leaving early?

One of the Ziguang Sect Elders coldly surveyed the Xuanyuan Sect disciples lying on the ground and said, "Kill them all!"

"Act in Heaven's Name!"

"We had always strived to maintain peace with Ziguang Sect, but who knew they would unilaterally tear up the agreement, slaughter our Elders and disciples, and seize our Spirit Stone Mine? Today, we must act in Heaven's Name and eradicate Ziguang Sect."

"They're too cruel."

Once the bell rang, it meant something major had happened—everyone who heard it had to gather at the Square.

But just as Luo Yao had left and hadn't gone far, she heard a deafening explosion behind her.

Unable to make sense of these questions, Luo Yao didn't dwell on them; instead, she went to Ju Dan Peak to find Yan Jie, asking how to repair Puppets and inquiring about her master's whereabouts.

If this news reached the sect, the entire Xuanyuan Sect would be shaken.

Unless death was certain, no cultivator would self-destruct—especially one who had barely achieved Foundation Establishment.

Luo Yao stopped thinking further and turned to run back toward Xuanyuan Sect's main gate; glancing back, she saw one of the Ziguang Sect's Foundation Establishment Elders drenched in blood—clearly badly wounded.

"That's right—we must teach them a lesson!"

A stout man standing in the center of the stage stepped forward—he was clearly Wu Yue, the sect master of Xuanyuan Sect.

Sect Master Wu raised his hand downward, and the crowd instantly fell silent.

Fang Qingyan, seeing Luo Yao, was naturally delighted; first she confirmed she was unharmed, then sighed in relief, and afterward pulled out several Pills and handed them to Luo Yao.

"Your master is already a Foundation Establishment cultivator—why worry about him? Worry about yourself instead."

"Han Shimei?" Luo Yao froze.

She turned back in horror and saw that the fourth Elder had just self-destructed.

Luo Yao and Fang Qingyan arrived at the Square, both puzzled.

Some were made by herself, others given by her master—she had specifically saved them for Luo Yao.

The Square was already packed; counting them, there were nearly a thousand people.

"I'm sure none of you yet know what happened," Sect Master Wu briefly recounted the Ziguang Sect's ambush, then declared with fury,

"Act in Heaven's Name! Destroy Ziguang Sect!"

The fourth Elder had already considered retreating the moment he saw the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, losing his will to fight—but he was quickly surrounded by Ziguang Sect cultivators.

And she hadn't encountered him on the way.

"Since we discovered the Spirit Stone Mine, Ziguang Sect has constantly sought to seize it. We sent Elders and disciples to reinforce our position, yet we were repeatedly ambushed. If we don't teach them a lesson, the world will think Xuanyuan Sect is made of paper."

The two of them found another chance to spar briefly, gaining some practical combat experience.

Yet he managed to escape Ziguang Sect's ambush, overtake everyone else, and return first—that's no small feat.

It wasn't until an hour later that Luo Yao finally met Xu Zhanglao and asked about her master's condition.

Luo Yao didn't understand his meaning, but Xu Zhanglao offered no explanation.

"If it weren't for Han Shimei risking his life to deliver the message, we'd still be completely in the dark."

In an instant, wails filled the air.

Not only that—the fourth Elder's self-destruction had been meant to take them all down with him.

And on the stage stood several Foundation Establishment cultivators; though Luo Yao didn't recognize them, they were surely Xuanyuan Sect's senior leaders.

"Ziguang Sect has gone too far. If we let them run rampant, how will we ever leave our sect? How will we survive in the Immortal Cultivation World? We must teach them a lesson."

She felt relieved she had left early—if she'd been caught in a Foundation Establishment cultivator's self-destruction, her cultivation level would have left her either dead or gravely wounded.

Soon, Luo Yao understood Xu Zhanglao's meaning.

A nearby kind-hearted person immediately explained, "It's Han Qing, Han Shimei—if he hadn't risked his life to bring back the news, we'd never have known how cruel the Ziguang Sect truly is."

Many disciples below joined in, screaming hysterically—they were clearly furious.

She had left early because she thought: with two Foundation Establishment cultivators from Ziguang Sect appearing, the fourth Elder wouldn't stand a chance, and might flee—then Ziguang Sect's two cultivators might vent their anger on their mountain. Who knew…

Fang Qingyan didn't press further; she had intended to refuse payment, but Luo Yao forcibly shoved the Spirit Stones into her hands.

Beside the stage, Luo Yao spotted Han Qing—he had clearly cleaned himself up, so no wounds were visible, but his face was pale and his breath erratic.

…

But the key question was: she had left early and suffered no harm—why was Han Qing so badly injured?

Had he encountered Ziguang Sect's ambush?

Indeed, as soon as Luo Yao returned to the sect, she saw many disciples gathered together, brimming with righteous fury.

Walking closer, she heard them discussing what had just happened.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Xuanyuan Sect's bell rang out with thunderous, resonant tones—Luo Yao knew that unless something major occurred, the bell atop the sect's mountain would never be struck.

Even from afar, Luo Yao could hear the piercing screams, sending a chill down her spine.

The surviving Ziguang Sect disciples immediately raised their Weapons and charged at the Xuanyuan Sect disciples.

Luo Yao frowned; she should have been the first to leave the scene, and after leaving, she had rushed back to the sect at full speed, yet someone was even faster than her?

She remembered that Han Qing had told her to leave first, then went to watch the spectacle, but when she went there, she did not see Han Qing's figure at the scene.

Seeing this scene, Luo Yao quietly left; regardless of how the ending unfolded, leaving here as soon as possible was the safest course of action.

Deeply moved in her heart, Luo Yao also gave her a Jade Slip containing records of ancient alchemy experience obtained from a Golden Core cultivator's Storage Ring, and then bought a batch of Spirit Herb seeds from her.

"Punish them, punish them!"

Luo Yao was still considering whether to tell the sect about the matter, how to reveal the matter to the sect without exposing her identity, yet the news had spread even faster than she could have.

Luo Yao did not know what had happened there, but the fact that they had forced the Fourth Elder of the Foundation Establishment Stage to self-destruct clearly indicated something had occurred.

"Exactly, dozens of disciples, including the Foundation Establishment Stage Elder, were all harmed by them."

Another Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator was not as miserable, but was still seriously injured.

Perhaps she had been distracted by the Foundation Establishment Stage battle at the time and had not seen Han Qing.

"Kill!"

That cultivator said with a face full of anger, "Do you know? When Shimei Han returned, he was covered in blood, and after telling us the news, he fainted. Even someone as good as Shimei Han was not spared; Ziguang Sect is too despicable."

Clearly, there must have been others at the scene who escaped and returned.

"The sky is about to change!"

A Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator actually self-destructed?

The crowd's shouts were deafening, spreading surging like a tide in all directions. The high-pitched cries filled the entire venue, igniting the very air.

Everyone's blood boiled; they could not wait to immediately draw their swords and charge at Ziguang Sect.

(End of this chapter)