Chapter 77: Greed Rises, the Dao Body Falls
Chapter 77: Greed Rises, the Dao Body Falls
Ling Yi picked up a sword from the ground, drew it, and pointed it at Lian Ziqing.
“Don’t kill me…”
“Wait…”
The first line was shouted by Lian Ziqing.
The later one came from Qian Luoying.
Supported by her two disciples and still bound by the Demon-Binding Rope, Qian Luoying slowly walked over.
Ling Yi glanced at Qian Luoying, but his sword remained aimed at Lian Ziqing.
Qian Luoying wore a look of shame, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.
“Junior Sister, you still have a bit of conscience after all…” A hint of relief showed in Lian Ziqing’s eyes as he spoke with emotion.
“Untie the Demon-Binding Rope on me, and stop talking nonsense. I know it’s very simple for you,” Qian Luoying said.
Lian Ziqing’s eyelids twitched twice. Gritting his teeth, he pointed at Qian Luoying: “You… you really… you’re something!”
Then, panting heavily, his face dark with anger, he chanted an incantation and formed hand seals.
The next moment, the Demon-Binding Rope loosened from Qian Luoying and fell down along her body.
But just before it hit the ground, the rope suddenly flew up into the air—
Like a spirit snake, it swiftly shot toward Ling Yi to bind him!
A ferocious smile spread across Lian Ziqing’s face as he roared, “You bastard, go die!”
A mighty wave of energy erupted explosively!
Lian Ziqing’s figure shot up as he pounced directly at Ling Yi!
He slapped a palm fiercely toward Ling Yi!
All his power was condensed within that palm. He wanted to blast this person completely with one strike, into dust, into nothingness!
Only then… could he vent the hatred in his heart!
It was true he was injured this time, but learning from last time’s lesson, he always carried six or seven Defensive Artifacts on him!
The moment he was struck down by the Formation Array’s energy, he had forced himself to descend rapidly.
So although wounded, it was far from as serious as it looked!
It was because Ling Yi wanted the Demoness to capture them alive that he had been given this opening.
If Ling Yi had aimed to kill directly, it naturally wouldn’t have been so troublesome.
But was that really the case?
Just as the Demon-Binding Rope was about to bind Ling Yi, a look of intense shock flashed in Qian Luoying’s eyes. She shouted, “Stop!”
But Lian Ziqing’s movements were too fast!
Faced with such a frenzied counterattack, Qian Luoying simply had no time to stop it.
Pfft!
A soft sound.
Lian Ziqing stared wide-eyed at the sword that had pierced through his heart, his mouth slightly agape. He wanted to say something, but the surging blood choked his words.
Ling Yi looked at Lian Ziqing with an unchanged expression.
With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out the long sword, swung it backhand, and Lian Ziqing’s head fell to the ground. He was dead beyond dead.
This time, Qian Luoying only turned pale, unable to utter a single word.
That Demon-Binding Rope, a Dao-Entry Grade Magical Artifact, had just touched Ling Yi’s body before it dropped to the ground like a dead snake with a plop.
The Demoness snorted in Ling Yi’s mind: “Again wasting so much of my energy! To kill such scum, do you need to care so much about the details? You didn’t let me kill him directly, not just because you were worried about your loved ones’ safety and held back, right? You were also too concerned about this foolish sister’s feelings!”
“My mistake,” Ling Yi admitted sincerely.
Actually, the Demoness had already warned him—Lian Ziqing wasn’t that severely injured.
Ling Yi had also tried his best to guard against Lian Ziqing’s sudden counterattack, but a Peak Dao-Entry expert was truly too powerful!
He still hadn’t managed to defend completely.
If the Demoness hadn’t acted in time, he might have already fallen to Lian Ziqing’s sneak attack.
People like Lian Ziqing, even if not particularly clever in schemes, were after all old-timers who had lived for many years.
Older ginger is still spicier.
Facing the cruel and extraordinarily powerful Cultivation World, Ling Yi still had much to learn.
Looking at Lian Ziqing’s severed head and body, Qian Luoying couldn’t help but close her eyes. Two lines of tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.
Toward Ling Yi, she couldn’t utter a single word of blame.
Even with low emotional intelligence, she knew this incident wasn’t Ling Yi’s fault. That Lian Ziqing, in such a situation, still thought to ambush Ling Yi… being killed in turn could only be said to be his own fault.
“Master…”
“Master, are you alright?”
Mo Yunwu and Jiang Yuntong, both supporting Qian Luoying, wore looks of unease.
With the binding undone, energy soon flowed through all parts of her body. Qian Luoying shook her head lightly, then opened her eyes and looked at Ling Yi.
“I’m sorry!”
She bowed deeply to Ling Yi.
“There’s no need for that,” Ling Yi said with a bitter smile.
“It’s my fault, I almost got you killed, I… ai!” Qian Luoying wept, unable to continue.
The remaining Elders were much more severely injured than Lian Ziqing, having indeed lost all ability to resist. Ling Yi quickly captured and gathered them together.
Seeing Lian Ziqing dead, those Elders all turned deathly pale with fear. They didn’t dare utter any of the foul words they had spoken before.
Thinking back on Qian Luoying’s earlier warnings, each sentence truly was sound advice.
But what was the point of saying that now?
The commotion here also attracted the attention of other Heaven’s Gate Sect members.
Many people began rushing over.
Including Feng Bubian and other Elders previously excluded by Lian Ziqing. Upon arrival and seeing the scene, they too were stunned.
Apart from Feng Bubian, who knew a bit of what had happened, the remaining non-confidants of Lian Ziqing, Elders with relatively detached personalities, didn’t even know what had occurred.
Two reclusive senior figures were also startled out of seclusion. Upon arriving, they stood dumbfounded as well.
Just went to sleep, and now it’s like this?
The Sect Leader was killed by someone?
What exactly happened?
Feng Bubian’s eyes flickered. Among these Elders, few had the capability to take over as Sect Leader. He was definitely the most promising one, and he had always harbored this ambition.
It was just that Lian Ziqing had kept a firm grip on the Heaven’s Gate Sect, leaving him no opportunity.
Now the chance had arrived, but looking at the person standing beside Qian Luoying, Feng Bubian decided to remain silent for now.
After all, it couldn’t possibly be Qian Luoying becoming the Sect Leader, right?
If that happened, it would be utterly unjust!
“Speak, what exactly happened?”
An elderly person, skeletal and thin, with a pair of eyes so murky they seemed as if they could burn out at any moment.
Yet with his appearance, the previously somewhat chaotic mountain stream gradually calmed.
Clearly, within Heaven’s Gate Sect, he was an elder of considerable status and prestige.
Qian Luoying glanced at the several Elders who were seriously injured. “You speak first.”
The Elders who had intended to keep their mouths shut were momentarily stunned.
“You really want us to speak?”
An Elder who had previously insulted Qian Luoying had a twitching corner of his mouth. In his eyes, there was a bit of disbelief, but more so, a deep fear.
When the Formation Array was activated earlier and that invisible attack fell upon them, they finally understood how terrifying the master of that Grotto Abode truly was.
Qian Luoying’s eyes held a trace of faint sorrow as she glanced at that Elder. “If I didn’t let you speak, you wouldn’t speak?”
The Elders very much wanted to say in unison: If you don’t let us speak, we won’t speak!
Despite the many people present now, they understood better than anyone that if the person beside Qian Luoying truly started killing, few would survive such a powerful attack.
For Heaven’s Gate Sect, such a large sect, in that person’s eyes, was probably no different from a swarm of ants—destroyable in the blink of an eye!
Someone in control of such a super Formation Array, even if their own cultivation level was low, could not be underestimated because of the formation’s power!
Naturally, these Elders resented Qian Luoying, but they resented Lian Ziqing even more.
Even though they had already suffered a great loss last time, they hadn’t learned their lesson and still coveted that person’s possessions. Now, not only was Lian Ziqing dead, but they had also been dragged into this mess.
The Elder who had insulted Qian Luoying spoke with a bitter expression. “Great Uncle Master, there’s nothing to say. We cannot blame them.”
Upon hearing this, many people were stunned.
Only the few severely injured Elders remained silent, seemingly unsurprised.
The thin, emaciated elder frowned and looked at Qian Luoying. “Little Yingzi, your character has always been good. What happened? You tell us.”
Qian Luoying glanced at the thin elder. “Since Great Uncle Master trusts me and wants me to speak, then I will speak…”
She then began recounting how Ling Yi came searching for the Grotto Abode left by his own family, how a misunderstanding arose with Heaven’s Gate Sect, how he was surrounded and attacked, and how he activated the Formation Array, injuring Lian Ziqing.
Then she spoke of how Lian Ziqing sent her to the Capital of Great Qin to search for clues, attempting to seize the treasures within that person’s Grotto Abode. However, through a series of coincidences, she met Ling Yi and became friends with him.
“I admit that at the beginning, I also had some thoughts about the things inside that Grotto Abode. But after learning that the Grotto Abode was indeed passed down by his family, not obtained by chance, I changed my original opinion.”
“Since the Grotto Abode belongs to him, then whether there are treasures inside or not has nothing to do with us. We are not bandits, so naturally we have no right to seize things by force… So I hoped to resolve the conflict between both sides through my own efforts.”
As Qian Luoying narrated everything calmly, the truth of the matter was presented clearly for the first time.
Aside from not mentioning the Cultivation Method, Qian Luoying concealed almost nothing.
She didn’t even try to beautify herself, frankly admitting that she had also been greedy at first.
Indeed, it was that Cultivation Method that made her choose to switch sides and befriend Ling Yi. She didn’t consider herself a flawless saint; she had her own selfish side too.
But after recognizing the reality, she realized that befriending Ling Yi was far better than making an enemy of him. Naturally, she hoped Lian Ziqing could also calm down and give up using shady methods to deal with Ling Yi. This was genuinely for Lian Ziqing’s sake, for Heaven’s Gate Sect’s sake.
Unfortunately, Lian Ziqing not only didn’t appreciate it, but also began to hate her along with Ling Yi…
And Lian Ziqing precisely discovered the change in her after she returned, which completely amplified his own greed, leading to Perish Both Body and Dao today…
One could only say, character determines fate. Being a bit selfish isn’t a big deal, but if one harbors ill intentions, retribution will come sooner or later.
After finishing, Qian Luoying looked at the thin elder. “Great Uncle Master, Luoying is at fault…”
The elder looked at her, his gaze sweeping over the calm-faced Ling Yi, and said lightly, “You, what fault do you have?”
Qian Luoying lowered her head, her eyes reddening, and whispered, “If not for me, today’s incident wouldn’t have happened…”
“The Sect Leader harbored greed, sowed evil seeds, and now reaps the consequences. What does that have to do with you?” The elder spoke, then looked at the other Elders, unable to help sighing again, and asked, “Is anything she said a lie?”
The Elders looked at each other and all shook their heads slightly.
Although it was almost certain that Qian Luoying’s breakthrough likely had the help of a top-tier Cultivation Method, if she herself didn’t speak of it, who would dare insist it was so?
Lian Ziqing said there was, and then he died.
So, even if it were true, so what?
That person favored Qian Luoying and gifted it to her. ‘The method is not taught to a third person’ is also a rule in the Cultivation World. Lian Ziqing developed greed; if he had succeeded, that would be one thing, but he failed. Who would sympathize?
If they were to speak of it now, it would only make others look down on them more.
The thin elder naturally saw there were still some issues here. For example, why did Qian Luoying suddenly choose to stand on the same side as the other party? Was it really just to resolve the misunderstanding?
But this actually wasn’t important.
Cultivation emphasizes karma and affinity. Whatever the reason—whether sentiment or benefit—it belonged to Qian Luoying’s own fate.
Lian Ziqing’s death could only be said to be his own misfortune.
Of course, all this was based on the premise that the other party was stronger.
If Lian Ziqing had succeeded today, naturally he would have been considered wise and far-sighted; that would be a different story altogether.
For an elder like this one, who had lived over a hundred years, what couldn’t he see through?
He glanced at Ling Yi and noticed he always stood beside Qian Luoying, not defending himself even once. Although the energy fluctuations around him weren’t strong, they were steady and calm. Clearly, he didn’t take the current situation seriously.
If they really continued to make a fuss, Heaven’s Gate Sect would likely only bring humiliation upon itself.
Since that was the case… then forgive him!
Turn big matters into small ones, and small matters into nothing. The death of a Sect Leader was not a small matter, but if the entire Sect were destroyed because of it, that would be truly unjust.
The thin elder exchanged a look with another elder who had emerged from seclusion, then said, “Since that’s the case, this matter cannot be blamed on them. Qian Luoying, as an Elder of Heaven’s Gate Sect, was wholeheartedly considering the Sect’s interests and is also not at fault. Sect Leader Lian, facing benefits, developed greed, harmed a fellow Sect member for personal gain, and committed a great crime. Now that he has Perish Both Body and Dao, naturally the grievances are settled…”
Then he looked toward Ling Yi. “Young man, what do you think?”
Ling Yi looked at the elder and clasped his hands. “Senior is wise and just. This junior has no objections.”
“In that case…”
A faint sense of relief appeared in the thin elder’s murky old eyes as he was about to continue, but he was suddenly interrupted by someone’s voice.
“Wait a moment…”