Chapter 363: Turbulent Situation, the End of the Mo Sect

The Fisherman of Whales' voice slowly spread out.

But the killing intent within it was utterly unyielding—the grudges and vendettas spanning more than a decade, the rage, the hostility, the treacherous schemes—were about to reach their final conclusion.

And far away,

the Fisherman of Whales pressed his palm upon the head of the last of the Mo Sect's Four Guardian Protectors; silver hair fell down, all around lay corpses and shredded flesh, yet the man himself was immaculate, untouched by a single speck of dust.

The Mo Sect's final Guardian still struggled to attack.

He grabbed his blade, preparing to launch a sudden counterkill—but a foot came down, crushing his wrist, grinding his palm and bones into pulp; the Fisherman of Whales' strands of hair stirred slightly.

The Mo Sect Guardian, Helian Fengling, spat blood and said: "Our Holy Church…"

"Naturally."

The Fisherman of Whales replied: "It is already dead."

Over these past months, the Fisherman of Whales personally traversed every corner of the Western Regions, exterminating over a hundred outposts—anyone who cultivated Mo Sect Wu Gong was stripped of their cultivation; those who remained obstinate were slain on the spot!

The legends of the Jianghu had been utterly enraged.

If you wished to enrage the Green Robe Longlife Guest, obstruct his pursuit of immortality; if you wished to provoke Murong Longtu, trample and humiliate Li Guanyi and Murong Qiushui; if you wished to enrage the Fisherman of Whales—

plan for his daughter to take up a blade and kill him herself.

The Fisherman of Whales had found records from every location.

Those detailed records—methods of extracting bloodlines, experiments of replacing flesh and blood on Westerners and abducted Central Plains children—his gaze fell upon these things; they were the final entries in the Juan Sect.

"Three beggars, swapped flesh and blood; died within three days."

"Attempted injecting rat blood into six-year-old children: three boys, three girls."

"All died screaming in agony."

"Fascinating. Humans are living beings too—why not?"

"Exchanged male blood with female blood; all died…"

"Beheaded a five-year-old girl, sewed her head onto a hunting dog's body, presented it as human; her father wept in shock, his heart seized with grief and died—autopsied his heart: under extreme shock, the bloodlines reversed—marvelous, marvelous."

"They say one dies of heartache and spits blood—turns out it's true."

"What a pity—if we had no such opportunity, no such experiments, how would we know this was real?"

"Later attempted over a hundred times—all failed."

"Encountered the Wu Dao legend, the Green Robe Longlife Guest, and demonstrated this method."

"The Longlife Guest remained silent, then used his wondrous art to separate the child's head from the dog's body, restored her human form, cared for the girl for three months, never letting her blood cease, played with her—yet sadly, even a Wu Dao legend could not defy this rule; one day, the girl suddenly remembered her experience."

"She screamed in tears: 'Father, my heart aches!'—spat blood and died."

"The Green Robe Longlife Guest fell into long silence."

"You destroyed our three main sects, killed three thousand seven hundred people—all with skulls and spines inserted into hunting dogs' necks, grotesque in appearance."

"What a pity—we still thought the Longlife Guest sought immortality."

"He had transcended worldly ethics and morality; we never imagined that one who walked such a path would still oppose us for the sake of ordinary people. It seems the Green Robe Longlife Guest's focus is not on 'immortality'—but on 'Guest.'"

"Commoner!"

"Fool!"

Seeing these cold, dismissive comments, the Fisherman of Whales' killing intent grew heavier—he dared not even imagine what could have stirred even the most cold-hearted of the Four Legends, the Longlife Guest, to pity.

The Longlife Guest sought immortality, yet remained arrogant and detached, striking only martial masters of the Jianghu, rarely harming common folk; his Dao was icy, never harming children—if one lacked greed or desire, his teachings were truly peerless.

The Fisherman of Whales slowly turned the pages.

"Discovered 【Dawen Clan】 Juan Sect: inbreeding to purify warhorse bloodlines."

"Warhorses are no different from humans—both are flesh and blood. If warhorses can be purified this way, why not human blood?"

The Fisherman of Whales' gaze froze. He already knew what this thick stack represented—even for one as reckless as him, an absurd horror rose within him, a visceral revulsion, a surge of killing intent.

He fell silent; Helian Fengling tried to flee, but was locked in place by the array.

The Fisherman of Whales flipped to the later pages.

But the Mo Sect's experiments were even more—grotesque and vile—than he had anticipated.

"Attempted: mother-child bloodline linkage to purify blood."

"Forced son to mate with mother; bore daughter, blood purified; then forced mother to mate with son, father to mate with daughter—repeated several times over twenty years; blood became extremely pure—but the child born had a damaged soul, like a fool…"

"Yet the blood was extremely pure."

"Could raise the sect leader's daughter, nurture her well, and when she grew, make her meet her father—use aphrodisiacs to make her mate with her father, the Fisherman of Whales…"

BOOM!!!

The Juan Sect in the Fisherman of Whales' hand turned instantly to dust!

The entire Mo Sect outpost collapsed inward.

A terrifying pressure wave nearly solidified; Helian Fengling stiffened, staring at the Fisherman of Whales—who moments before had carried the aura of a Jianghu legend—now with hair and beard bristling, veins bulging violently on his forehead, throbbing.

Bloodshot eyes appeared, wild with madness; he grinned fiercely:

"Good, good, good!"

"Indeed, there are only wrong names—never wrong nicknames!"

"Indeed, Mo Sect!"

"Deserve to die! Deserve to perish! Deserve to be wiped out!"

"Back then, when we struck the Tuyuhun, we weren't ruthless enough—how dare you, inhuman monsters, still live?!"

Helian Fengling coughed blood and laughed wildly: "If Xiao Yuxue hadn't refused to walk this path, why would we need blood-replacement techniques? She became our sect leader yet still clung to petty moral constraints!"

"Flesh and skin, ruler and subject, father and child—these are merely the shackles forged by Central Plains' corrupt Confucians. A mother giving birth is like pouring liquid from a flask—what gratitude? What constraint?"

"Only by casting off worldly bonds can one draw closer to the true Dao of Heaven!"

"Cut off human emotion! Extinguish selfish desire! Draw near to Heaven's Dao!"

The Whale Fisher sneered: "I'll fuck your mother!"

He grabbed He Lian Fengling's head and slammed it into the ground—once, twice, three times—until the earth shattered, cracking into vast, grotesque spiderweb fissures.

The Whale Fisher seized He Lian Fengling and yanked her violently to one side, tearing away huge chunks of bloody flesh that left her screaming in agony, yet she still said: "You didn't kill her back then, wasn't it because…"

"You recognized her—the five-year-old girl you met when you were still a beggar."

"Back then, inside the Wind and Snow Temple, she gave you buns and slipped you a basic breathing technique, pretending she'd lost them—then was forced to kneel in the snow as punishment by the former abbot, sitting there for hours, nearly losing half her life."

"Those two buns saved your life; the technique opened your path forward."

"You hated her, yet couldn't bring yourself to kill her over a decade ago."

The Whale Fisher gripped He Lian Fengling with one hand and lifted her up:

"Wrong."

"This time I came to settle the grudges of decades past."

"In the Jianghu, grudges are settled only by life and death."

He flayed He Lian Fengling alive, yet she showed no fear—she laughed loudly: "Kill me! Kill me! My soul shall be reborn in the Buddha's realm, as a Bodhisattva or Vajra under the future Maitreya!"

The Whale Fisher swept his sleeve.

He Lian Fengling's Nascent Soul turned pale.

His luminous Nascent Soul was directly sucked into the Whale Fisher's sleeve by a formation; the Whale Fisher lowered his gaze and sneered: "Who do you think I am?"

"There's an old Jianghu saying: 'It's better to resolve grudges than to deepen them. When will Jianghu grudges ever end?' But they misunderstood its meaning."

"As long as you kill every enemy, there will be no grudges left."

"Before me, even the Buddha must kneel!"

The Whale Fisher crushed He Lian Fengling's Nascent Soul inch by inch into ash.

Let every strand of her soul endure the torment of reincarnation before death.

He walked down and saw beneath this branch temple a place like a pigsty—men and women, naked, their necks chained, caked in filth, lying there with vacant, idiotic grins.

A foul stench rolled through; the white-haired Whale Fisher stood silently there.

The Whale Fisher's heart clenched in pain.

A young woman tugged at his sleeve, her face twisted in a vacant, foolish smile.

The words "Mo Sect" twisted into a malice far beyond expectation.

What kind of acts earn a man the title of "Demon" in the eyes of the world?

The Whale Fisher's killing intent surged wildly, yet he let out a long sigh—the beggar-born former wanderer finally realized: he could slaughter the entire Mo Sect, obliterate every Jianghu faction, but he could not change this era.

Before the tragedy and tide of the age, individual valor fades too utterly.

The courage of a common man.

"Mo Sect…"

He contacted Li Guanyi, his voice thick with killing intent; he drew a deep breath and said: "... You come with me. I'll send some people to your location, then go alone. Meet me again in the city."

Li Guanyi replied: "Alright."

He paused, gripped his sword, and said solemnly: "Killing her… counts as mine…"

"No!"

The Whale Fisher's voice fell silent, then he said: "The grudges of the previous generation belong to the previous generation. You stay with Yao Guang. No matter what, if your hands ever stain her mother's blood, a hidden thorn will always linger in your bond."

"I know your nature—you'll always care."

"Even if she doesn't deserve to be Yao Guang's mother."

"Let me handle it."

The silver-haired Whale Fisher smiled lightly: "I want my daughter to have a love that is whole, perfect, pure—without a single impurity. All the evil fruits? I will bear them. I must cut them away myself."

"The grudges of the previous generation began with me—"

"And must end with me."

……………………

Li Guanyi watched the characters on the tortoise shell slowly vanish; for some reason, he sensed a change in the Whale Fisher, sensed the complex emotions in his voice—

At this moment, Li Guanyi could already faintly perceive this shift in aura.

It felt like the time his great-grandfather went to fight at the Imperial Academy.

As if something long crushed within him was finally being released.

Li Guanyi suddenly understood: the youngest legend of the Jianghu seemed ready to lay down his burdens and take another step forward.

"Truly an unparalleled genius…"

Li Guanyi thought, paused, lifted his sword, and walked outside. When he reached the Anxi Protectorate, he could hear Po Jun's voice—Po Jun was deeply displeased with the current situation in the Western Regions, with the rising storm of conflict.

When Po Jun was displeased, he spoke—just as when he wanted a Bai Ren duel, he drew his sword.

"Those generals in the Western Regions are fools! Idiots!"

"Yu Langwang swore by the Eternal Heaven—and these Westerners believed him?!"

Khan Qibili said: "For the warriors of the desert and steppe, the Eternal Heaven is the most majestic, supreme entity beyond even their ancestors. Even the ancient Kingdom of Tuyuhun, and earlier legends from epic tales, had such scenes."

"Heroes would swear blood oaths beneath the Eternal Heaven and become brothers."

"No one ever betrays the Eternal Heaven…"

Po Jun glanced at him, lips twitching: "But Yu Langwang is a Central Plains man."

Khan Qibili: "…………"

Po Jun rubbed his forehead: "The world is vast, yet these Western generals don't even know Yu Langwang personally smashed temples, ordered the monks to shave their heads and become frontline soldiers."

"Then he melted the gold leaf off the Buddha statues to fund his army."

"Rumors say he's still using that gold today—clearly, Central Plains monks were truly rich."

A monk said he slandered the Buddha, destroyed the Buddha, and would descend into the eighteen layers of hell.

The Wolf King crushed the monk beneath his feet and replied with contempt.

I hope that when the time comes, hell is not overrun by you monks—leave me no room. If there is a King Yanluo in hell, then I too can raise an army and become its king.

Such a man does not believe in karma or reincarnation, so why would he believe in Eternal Heaven? Damn it, Chen Dingye would laugh himself sick if he saw this!

He deposed and installed emperors—none of his ancestors could stop him.

Would he believe in your Eternal Heaven?

In this era, vast territories meant that rumors, knowledge, and truth itself were resources. The western generals spent their lives charging across the sands, leading troops by instinct and bravery, relying solely on oral tradition—none had ever set foot in the Central Plains.

They knew only the heroes of the west; their knowledge of the Wolf King's past was vague. Neither Qi Bi Li nor Fan Qing knew the details, and upon hearing this, their expressions changed.

Qi Bi Li's face darkened slightly and said: "... Then, what of the west right now..."

Po Jun replied: "Have you ever seen a gambler?"

"Doesn't a gambler know he risks losing?"

"But when the stakes before them are too great, they ignore the risks. They know someone will lose, someone will die. Some even fear the Wolf King may break his word—but the stakes..."

"In Central Plains casinos, gamblers bet their own hands—or even their parents' fortunes—to win; win, and they gain hundreds of taels of silver; lose, and how many kill themselves, are beaten to death, or see their wives and daughters sold into slavery?"

"Don't they know they might lose?"

"They merely cling to luck, thinking they won't be the ones to lose."

"They think they might win."

"A hundred taels of silver can make men ignore the possibility of death—how much more so the chance to be crowned king, to have their name echo through history? The annals are dark and silent; how many heroes fell because of 【greed】?

Qi Bi Li asked: "Will the Wolf King kill them?"

Po Jun said: "I don't understand what the Wolf King does—he merely preserves his own strength, letting the Tanguts and western tribes slaughter each other. As for what comes after, he won't move against these western 'kings' immediately."

"He must still consider his lord, fear the Emperor, and keep those fifty thousand troops reserved for a critical moment—to waste them on these westerners? Steel must be used where it cuts best. If I'm right, the Wolf King will indeed recognize this king."

"Then he will use the momentum to control this king, turning him into a tool to balance Chen and Ying."

"But in the end, this king of the west will die a violent death."

"Perhaps by falling from wine, or by a stray arrow."

"Or perhaps—"

Po Jun extended a finger, pointing to the sky, and said: "The oaths sworn to Eternal Heaven, the blood pacts that once convinced the world—these will rot away in time."

"Eternal Heaven itself will grow filthy."

Qi Bi Li erupted in rage: "How dare the Wolf King treat our Eternal Heaven like this!"

Po Jun said: "He is a man of the Central Plains."

Pure-blooded western khan Qi Bi Li felt a sharp ache in his chest.

Mr. Po Jun was brilliant, a genius of unmatched talent—but he loved blade combat, and his words were knives that pierced straight into the heart.

Po Jun said: "Unless Eternal Heaven truly sends someone down to raise an army and punish the Wolf King for breaking oaths and promises—letting oathbreakers suffer the punishment they deserve."

"Then Eternal Heaven's illustrious reputation might still be preserved."

"But where would such a one come from..."

As the generals fell silent, footsteps approached. The door swung open, and a young general entered, clad in scaled armor with a white battle robe bearing martial and civil sleeves. All the generals inside turned sharply toward Li Guanyi.

A moment of silence.

Li Guanyi frowned: "What's wrong?"

Qi Bi Li froze, thought, then suddenly understood, bowing deeply:

"Nothing."

Hadn't he already found Eternal Heaven?

Li Guanyi nodded slightly, sat down, and spoke clearly:

"I just heard your discussion."

Qi Bi Li's eyes brightened. He thought of his lord's deeds, and desire rose within him. Westerners grew up hearing tales of Eternal Heaven—its reach was as vast as the Central Plains' vows sworn to Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and immortals.

In the Central Plains, only the God of Wealth rivaled such faith.

Or perhaps along the southern coasts, where people worshipped the goddess Mazu.

For westerners, it was like the captains of southern maritime fleets solemnly swearing to Mazu that they would never fight.

To the west, Eternal Heaven was as the God of Wealth was to the Central Plains, as Mazu was to the seas.

Westerners naturally held some trust in it.

Thus Qi Bi Li's anger, resentment, and fear over the Wolf King's oath tarnishing Eternal Heaven's glory grew—and he now hoped his lord would defeat the Wolf King. Hearing Li Guanyi speak, he grew even more reverent.

Li Guanyi paused, seizing the core point.

The young general's gaze burned bright.

"Are the monks rich?"

Qi Bi Li: "............"

Po Jun: "............"

Po Jun curled his lips, expression unchanged: "Useless, my lord. The western Buddhist sects are now destitute. Though the so-called 【Spiritual Mountain】 still exists, with golden temples atop it, it's far too distant from us."

Li Guanyi said: "Pity."

Po Jun asked: "Will you contest for the Tangut capital, join the Wolf King's claim that whoever enters this city shall be king?"

Li Guanyi said: "I will enter Tangut—but not contest this."

Fan Qing, Qi Bi Li, and others were slightly surprised. Li Guanyi said: "I go to Tangut only because I've given my word and owe old debts—but I will not contest this to prolong my life..." Li Guanyi lowered his eyes slightly, calmly:

"How can a king be made by others?"

"If one can be crowned, one can be stripped."

Two sentences had already risen above the chaos of this western frontier.

Li Guanyi said: "If we're being honest, the Wolf King isn't fit to grant me a title."

Fan Qing asked: "Only the Red Emperor's title?"

Li Guanyi did not answer. He merely gazed outside, where Anxi City thrived—its weather bitterly cold, rooftops coated in frost, people coming and going through the city, bustling and lively, the common folk living in peace and prosperity, something exceedingly rare in this western frontier.

Li Guanyi watched the commoners for a long while, then lowered his gaze and shook his head, softly replying: "Not that."

Khan Qibili grew confused.

Fan Qing fell into thought.

Li Guanyi said: "The title of Wang Hou is not what I desire."

"I have already made a promise—to save the Tangut people. I must lead these citizens out of the city. Bazhar…" Li Guanyi began, and as he spoke, the first nomadic chieftain they had met after arriving in the western frontier looked up and said:

"Tanger…"

Li Guanyi said: "You once asked me what a hero is. The version you heard was that in chaotic times, those who kill are heroes, and the greatest hero is the one who kills the most."

"I couldn't answer you then. Now I can."

Li Guanyi paused, then replied: "I think, for me…"

"A hero is one who saves lives."

"The one who saves the greatest number of people—that is, in my eyes, the greatest hero."

Bazhar's expression changed; he froze slightly. Li Guanyi raised his brow and said: "So today's matter is this—I shall go to the Tangut Kingdom. The Tangut are surrounded by the Wolf King's army and cannot be easily entered."

"We must save the Tangut people without triggering bloody combat."

"Gentlemen, do you have any strategies?"

Hao Yuan Xia, crown prince of the Tangut Kingdom, felt his eyes grow moist. Seeing Li Guanyi truly considering saving lives, this desperate, displaced crown prince of the Tangut nearly wept.

But this matter was extremely difficult.

All exchanged uneasy glances, feeling the weight of it—just as Li Kedi had said, the western generals had no restraints like those in the Central Plains; these nobles each had their own grasslands and oases, their own herds and tribes.

Sons killing fathers, uncles seizing nephews—for the title of Tian Kehan, it was common for sons to train elite archers with whistling arrows to kill their own fathers; to claim the title of Tian Kehan, a son could kill his father.

Slaves were seized, servants existed, and the lives of common folk were worth no more than a hemp rope.

Historically, the moral baseline of western frontier generals and warlords fell far below that of Central Plains generals.

All western generals were like wolves with bloodshot eyes, their killing instincts rising—Li Guanyi now entering the fray, if he sent a large army, he would provoke the Wolf King's blade; if he went alone, it was nine deaths and one life. Yet Po Jun suddenly laughed.

Everyone turned to look.

Li Guanyi said: "Mr. already has a strategy?"

Po Jun said: "What I excel at isn't these things. The three realms of a strategist are: strategizing for oneself, strategizing for others, strategizing for the world—this is merely the art of 【strategizing for oneself】." Some felt disappointed, but Po Jun smiled again: "Yet though I am not skilled at strategizing for myself—"

"There is someone here who excels at it."

"I was just about to inform my lord."

Po Jun rose and tapped the table. Outside, a man walked in.

His face was plain, his expression earnest.

Fan Qing instinctively stood, grabbing the bench beside him.

Lei Laomeng seized the rope tied around his waist—strong enough to bind a black bear.

Shi Dalin immediately gripped the super-anesthetic Ma Fei San.

Everyone stared at the young man as if seeing a ghost.

The young man rubbed his nose, silent, stepping back.

He retreated behind the others' line of sight.

Only Li Guanyi rose, his face alight with joy, laughing loudly: "Hahahaha! It's Mr. Master Wen He! You've come too!" Li Guanyi strode forward and gave Master Wen He a crushing bear hug. Master Wen He, helpless, softened in expression.

"If my lord errs, I have no place to dwell."

"So I came."

"This too is 【strategizing for oneself】."

"Let this matter be entrusted to me…"

The young man smiled.

Pure. Harmless.

Tiance Prefecture—Master Wen He.

Arrived on the western frontier battlefield.

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