Huge thanks to Katy for the kofis. Enjoy the bonus chapters, we have four this week. Thanks again!

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In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

The secret realm near the Boundary City finally closed.

Just as Wen Jue had anticipated, the spiritual energy gains from this realm were far less than before.

Stuffing all the spiritual energy into the barrier stone, Wen Jue couldn’t help but frown at the meager remaining amount. He had originally thought this harvest would last at least another thousand years, even if there was no surplus.

But judging by this, the spiritual energy within the barrier stone would likely run dry in seven or eight hundred years at most.

The situation wasn’t looking good.

But Qin Zhou had returned. So, perhaps there was still reason for optimism.

Wen Jue smiled faintly, opened the barrier stone’s space, and stepped inside.

The smile froze on his face the moment he entered.

The barrier stone space, once illuminated by countless stars, now lay in utter darkness.

He looked up at the sky. Where were the stars?

The stars… were gone?

A chill swept through Wen Jue’s heart.

Then it dawned on him—only he and Qin Zhou had ever been here.

His heart began to warm again.

Wen Jue flicked his wrist, sending out a few points of spiritual energy that instantly illuminated the entire space.

The light revealed the storage room tucked away in the corner.

“…I told you to inventory the storage room. What exactly did you inventory?”

Instead of taking the storage room, they’d taken all the ‘stars’.

Wen Jue sat down, gazing up at the pitch-black night sky. His voice was faint and melancholy. “You took things without a word.”

No one answered him, just like the night sky—silent and still.

After a long while, Wen Jue gave a self-mocking chuckle.

If he asked you how everyone died, how would you answer?

You couldn’t answer.

How did they die? He was the one who killed them.

Wen Jue closed his eyes, clenching his fist so tightly his knuckles dug into his palm.

The village chief’s return didn’t mean everything was fine.

Even if there was a way to change the current state of the Immortal Realm, the dead would never come back.

Everyone else had the right to look forward to the future after the village chief’s return.

Except him. He didn’t have that right.

Wen Jue sprang to his feet, all emotion settled deep within his eyes. His black pupils mirrored the pitch-black night sky, not a single speck of starlight shimmering within.

【The secret realm has ended. It’s time for you to return.】

“Understood,” Wen Jue’s voice was slightly cold. “The barrier stone’s spiritual energy is insufficient. Use it for now. Once I’m out of the Immortal Restraint Prison, I’ll go kill.”

[…I was merely reminding you…]

“Does it matter if I kill more or fewer?” Wen Jue’s expression was icy. “Don’t suddenly appear and provoke me again. We’ll all go down together!”

[… ]

Wen Jue stepped out of the barrier stone. The moment he exited, he vanished from the spot.

After that, within Qin Zhou’s Cosmos Bag, the summoning button beneath Lu Yi’s portrait in the villager registry quietly turned gray once more.

Of course, Qin Zhou, immersed in his blacksmithing, remained utterly unaware of this.

“They’re all dead. Every soul token shattered. Not a single one returned alive.” The Huatian-stage elder of the Guiyuan Sect emerged from seclusion to find the disciples’ hall littered with broken soul tokens.

“The tokens didn’t turn to dust—they preserved their souls! Should I thank this demonic sect for that?!” The enraged elder smashed the table before him with a single palm strike.

No one in the hall dared speak.

The soul tablets weren’t reduced to dust, but they were shattered into fragments. This meant their souls had entered reincarnation, no longer part of this world.

Guiyuan Sect had sent thirty disciples, all at the Nascent Soul stage. Among them, the Sect Master was already at the late Nascent Soul stage, yet not a single one returned.

“Who ordered them to go? I explicitly forbade the Guiyuan Sect from sending anyone to the secret realm opening! Who dared advocate their participation?!”

“Great-Uncle!” The deputy sect master knelt with a thud. “Great-Uncle, it was the Sect Master’s own decision. Since the Sword Sect hasn’t joined the righteous alliance yet, the Sect Master said… said now was precisely the moment for the Guiyuan Sect to seize the initiative and establish our standing among the righteous factions.”

Subsequently, the Sect Master assembled thirty Nascent Soul disciples to journey together to that realm city’s secret realm.

The Spirit Transformation Stage elder closed his eyes tightly, utterly bewildered.

Why did the Sword Sect suffer the fewest casualties each year? Why did Sword Sect always emerge unscathed… The Sword Sect is protected. When the Cangyun Sword Immortal steps forward, even two demonic overlords must show some deference. How could these young fools of the Guiyuan Sect fail to see this!

Why compete with the Sword Sect for the title of righteous faction leader? Why be the one to stick their neck out!

In previous years, the righteous faction’s casualties were always far fewer than the demonic sects’. Wasn’t that precisely because the Sword Sect was protecting them…

These young fools, blinded by their delusions, have just gambled away their lives!

“Great-Uncle Master, before he left, I heard the Sect Leader say he obtained some scroll of a Demon-Slaying Great Formation. He claimed it could surely kill that demonic fiend Wen Jue and restore peace to the cultivation world… Had I known he’d never return, I would have stopped him!” The Deputy Sect Leader wept bitterly.

“They weren’t going to seize a treasure? They went to kill Wen Jue?”

“Yes.”

The Core Formation-stage elder nearly coughed up blood.

Wen Jue’s cultivation was unfathomable even to them, late Core Formation practitioners. How could these Nascent Soul juniors possibly dare?

But consider this—

Thirty disciples.

That’s thirty Nascent Soul cultivators.

Even for a major sect like the Guiyuan Sect, cultivating thirty Nascent Soul cultivators would consume countless years of effort and resources.

“Wen Jue, you demonic fiend! Your actions are utterly ruthless!!”

“Great-uncle, it’s not just the Guiyuan Sect. Over a dozen sects from the Righteous Alliance… more than a hundred people. Not a single one has returned.”

“What have those sects said?”

“The patriarchs of those sects… have yet to respond. But their life tokens are likely shattered as well. This matter…” The deputy sect master was at a loss.

Over a dozen righteous sects had lost disciples, but the Guiyuan Sect suffered the heaviest casualties.

To say they’ve been severely weakened this time would be an understatement.

“Set this matter aside for now. My breakthrough is imminent. After I survive the great tribulation, I will not let this rest!”

Even in the late Nascent Soul stage, he still feared that demonic fiend somewhat. But if he broke through to the Core Formation stage, could he finally confront that fiend? Even if he alone couldn’t defeat Wen Jue, he would rally the venerable elders of the righteous factions.

The task of slaying demons was not solely the Guiyuan Sect’s concern!

Over millennia, countless righteous cultivators had perished by Wen Jue’s hand. To leave this vengeance unavenged would make them unworthy of the righteous path!

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Beyond the losses suffered by several righteous sects, the demonic sects also endured heavy casualties this time.

Within the Demon Sect, only Lu Xiao knew Jiang Huan was from the Sword Sect. Everyone else still regarded him as the Left Guardian, even assuming his confinement resulted from inadvertently angering the Sect Master.

Thus, gathering intelligence proved relatively easy for Jiang Huan.

Learning that the Sword Sect remained unscathed eased Jiang Huan’s mind considerably, yet hearing of the Demon Sect’s devastating losses still made him frown.

With neither the righteous path nor the Demon Sect emerging victorious, who stood to gain from this mutual destruction?

Lost in thought, Lu Xiao pushed open the door and entered, flashing him a smile.

Jiang Huan: “…”

“So many of the Demon Sect perished, and you still find it amusing?” Jiang Huan regarded Lu Xiao coldly.

“Amusing indeed,” Lu Xiao replied. “Those who opposed my faction have been largely eliminated. With the Demon Sect secured for centuries to come, how could I not be pleased?”

“But why the frown, Left Guardian? The Sword Sect suffered the fewest casualties. You should be pleased.”

Lu Xiao walked over and sat down beside the bed.

The scent in the room had long since dissipated. Yet stepping into this space still stirred memories of scenes that made one blush and heart race.

“So you’re the one who benefits.” Jiang Huan fell silent. Lu Xiao usually seemed so simple-minded—could he really have thought to use the secret realm as an opportunity to eliminate rivals?

Jiang Huan considered it and became certain that this must have been orchestrated by the Supreme Patriarch.

“That’s irrelevant.” Lu Xiao shrugged.

“When will you let me return to the Sword Sect?” Jiang Huan asked coldly.

“I’m not chaining your feet,” Lu Xiao said, staring at his legs for a few seconds. Oh, they were still bare.

Jiang Huan swiftly tucked his legs under the quilt.

“You promised to let me return to the Sword Sect. The payment… has been given. As the esteemed Master of the Demon Sect, you can’t go back on your word, can you?” That’s right—this was a transaction.

Jiang Huan wanted to live.

Compared to sleeping with Lu Xiao a few times, he valued his life more.

Lu Xiao smiled. “I just brought back some secrets I meant to share with you. Since the Left Guardian can’t wait to leave, then off you go.”

Jiang Huan’s ears perked up. “Whose secrets?”

“My Uncle Wen’s.”

Jiang Huan shuddered. Wen Jue’s secrets? He couldn’t possibly know about them.

Wait… Wen Jue was a demonic master. His secrets…

“I’m not exactly in a rush to leave either.” Jiang Huan stared at the ceiling.

“Then sleep a little longer?”

Jiang Huan instantly flared. “Is sleep the only thing in your brain!?”

Lu Xiao looked aggrieved. “But I haven’t slept in days.” He’d been off in the secret realm and hadn’t had time to come over.

“Tell me the secrets first!”

Lu Xiao sighed and spoke slowly, “Remember when we followed my Uncle Wen earlier? We saw his lover—that mortal at the Qi Cultivation stage. You remember?”

“Of course I remember.” That incident had even earned Lu Xiao a beating from Wen Jue.

“He’s my grandfather.”

Jiang Huan nearly choked on his own spit.

“Huh—what?”

Lu Xiao shrugged. “The man who raised my father and Uncle Wen. I wonder if you’ve heard that legend.”

“What?”

“The Sovereign of All Realms.” Lu Xiao’s voice grew solemn. “A figure from ten thousand years ago.”

Jiang Huan nodded. Of course, he knew. Not only did he know, but he was quite familiar with it.

The legendary Lord of All Heavens was none other than the master of his own master, Cangyun the Sword Immortal—his great-grandmaster!

However, Jiang Huan was still young and had never met that venerable elder.

“That’s him. My grandfather.”

Jiang Huan nearly blurted out, Are you out of your mind?

How could his great-grandmaster possibly be the one who raised Wen Jue and the Supreme Patriarch? His great-grandmaster was the one who raised his master!

“You… got that wrong, didn’t you?” Jiang Huan cleared his throat. “Legend says the Lord of All Heavens raised… it should be Cangyun Sword Immortal, right…”

Lu Xiao waved his hand dismissively. “It doesn’t really matter.”

Jiang Huan: “…”

How could it not matter?

“By the way,” Lu Xiao asked, narrowing his eyes, “how did you know my grandfather raised the Cangyun Sword Immortal? The Left Guardian really holds considerable status within the Sword Sect, doesn’t he?”

Jiang Huan shuddered and replied in a low voice, “I’m just an ordinary inner sect disciple.”

If Lu Xiao found out he was the Sword Sect Patriarch’s junior brother—and even the disciple of the Cangyun Sword Immortal—it might complicate things.

Better to keep it hidden.

Lu Xiao: “Oh~ An ordinary inner sect disciple. Next time, come meet my grandfather with me.”

Jiang Huan:?

“Don’t you want to meet the legendary figure?”

“…It’s not that I don’t want to, but are you absolutely sure you’re not mistaken?”

“You doubt this master?” Lu Xiao leaned in, pinning him down. “Seems I’ll have to prove my strength to you.”

Jiang Huan: …

Three seconds later, Lu Xiao was flung out of the room, accompanied by Jiang Huan’s two word—

“Get lost.”

The Demon Sect Master is insane. Of that, he was certain.