Chapter 83: The True and False Sect Leaders of the Hall of Yama

Xie Wuji charged forward with unstoppable force.

The sect master stared at Xie Wuji in astonishment. "This move..."

Bang!

With a thunderous crash, the sect master was blasted away. Yet he seemed truly wounded this time, for a few drops of blood seeped from beneath his mask. The master of the Hall of the Yama Demon demanded, "Who are you? How do you know that technique?"

"I'm your father!" Xie Wuji cursed loudly.

The sect master was enraged and struck out with his palm. Xie Wuji had not expected such ferocity; the strike contained tremendous power—he could not withstand it directly. He dodged aside, but suddenly the master's attack changed direction, shifting from top-down to aiming straight at the crown of Xie Wuji's head.

"Not good!" Xie Wuji cried out, but it was too late to evade. With a crisp crack, the palm landed squarely on his back.

Blood spurted from Xie Wuji's mouth as he crashed to the ground in a daze, battered and utterly disheveled.

"That brat!" Duan Fei's eyes nearly popped from their sockets as he glared at Xie Wuji. "He actually dared to trick me!"

"This boy is somewhat connected to the Undying Sect," called the distant sect master. "Spare his life, Duan Fei. Just cripple his hands and feet!"

"Yes!" Duan Fei replied. But at that moment, Xie Wuji suddenly turned his head. "Fire Ape!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Xie Wuji's second spirit beast, the Fire Ape, materialized and appeared before Duan Fei, pounding its fists and forcing him back a step.

Duan Fei laughed boisterously. "Well, well! A Fire Ape of the Earth-grade! But mine is no slouch either—Ironback Brown Bear, come forth!"

With a shake, Duan Fei summoned his own spirit beast. The Ironback Brown Bear appeared and immediately lunged at the Fire Ape, smashing it to oblivion.

Letting spirit beasts leave the body was already extremely draining. Xie Wuji's earlier Mountain Crash and now the out-of-body summoning had nearly exhausted all his spiritual power. He could barely stand.

Duan Fei dismissed his spirit beast and approached Xie Wuji step by step. "Sorry, kid, but your hands and feet are forfeit!"

Xie Wuji gritted his teeth, inwardly lamenting his impending doom. He instinctively shut his eyes, bracing himself—but after a long moment, Duan Fei still made no move.

Sensing something wrong, Xie Wuji slowly opened his eyes. To his astonishment, everyone present was bound tightly by green vines!

What was happening?

These green vines were clearly poisonous—but where had they come from? Xie Wuji looked into the distance and heard a burst of laughter from afar.

"My foolish junior brother, you can't take all the glory for yourself!"

The speaker was Yang Hongliu. Xie Wuji looked up and, to his surprise, saw three figures atop a distant rooftop: Eastgate Swordmaster, Ji Liancheng, and Yang Hongliu.

Ji Liancheng knelt on one knee, vines spreading from his body, ensnaring all three thousand present so tightly that none could move.

Xie Wuji was dumbfounded.

Ji Liancheng was a master of formations—was this the true power of his formations?

At that moment, Eastgate Swordmaster and Yang Hongliu leapt down from above. Eastgate Swordmaster cast a glance at Xie Wuji. "Who hit you?"

"Well..." Xie Wuji was at a loss.

"I did," Duan Fei laughed. Suddenly, shaking himself, he burst free of the vines. His burly frame now stood close to Eastgate Swordmaster.

Eastgate Swordmaster narrowed his eyes. "You did?"

"Yeah, so wh—"

Before Duan Fei could finish, Eastgate Swordmaster vanished and reappeared behind him. Nine flying swords traced seamless arcs through the air, each tainted with a thin line of blood.

Duan Fei's body was now laced with a dense web of crimson lines. He turned, shocked, and managed to gasp, "Who...are you?"

The words had barely left his lips before his body collapsed, crumbling like a heap of wooden blocks into a pile of bloody flesh.

It was a complete and utter instant kill, without warning.

Eastgate Swordmaster spoke coldly, "Xie Wuji is my junior brother. Dying like this is a mercy for you."

Silence. A deathly silence enveloped the crowd. Even Xie Wuji was speechless. In the blink of an eye, Eastgate Swordmaster's nine swords had unleashed countless slashes, dissecting Duan Fei entirely.

Only after a moment did the blood begin to seep slowly over the scattered chunks of flesh.

"You... You are the Young Sect Master of the Scarlet Cloud Sect, Eastgate Swordmaster?!" the opposing sect master's voice trembled.

Yang Hongliu came to Xie Wuji's side, helping him up. "Don't think your senior brother is always aloof and indifferent. In truth, he inherited our sect master's worst trait."

"What?" Xie Wuji was bewildered.

"Protectiveness," Yang Hongliu grinned.

A warmth filled Xie Wuji's heart. Perhaps this was what it felt like to be cared for. In his former life, such concern was rare, but here, he truly felt it.

"By the way, just how powerful is our senior brother?" Xie Wuji asked.

Yang Hongliu blinked. "Don’t tell me you don’t know? He’s the strongest among the disciples. Both he and Bai Li Qingyan are at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, but he’s at the Tenth Heaven while Bai Li Qingyan is at the Ninth. In terms of realm, our senior brother has the edge."

Xie Wuji drew a sharp breath. He had not expected Bai Li Qingyan to be so formidable.

Just then, the opposing sect master aimed a torch at Eastgate Swordmaster. "So what if you’re the Young Sect Master of Scarlet Cloud Sect? Die!"

With a furious roar, the torch spewed forth a fierce jet of flame, whirling like a tornado straight towards Eastgate Swordmaster.

Eastgate Swordmaster stood immovable as a mountain. The flames drew ever closer, and all who watched held their breath. Suddenly, he moved.

With a flick of his finger, his nine flying swords formed a circular shield before him.

The sword shield spun rapidly, deflecting the flames back. With a thunderous explosion, the firestorm turned upon the sect master himself.

Boom!

A violent blast sent the sect master tumbling backward, his mask flying high and spinning through the air.

It was a complete suppression—a one-sided defeat. The sect master had no chance to counterattack.

Xie Wuji was stunned by Eastgate Swordmaster’s prowess. He knew how formidable the sect master was; that palm strike earlier had nearly crushed him. Yet, in Eastgate Swordmaster’s presence, the man was powerless.

But as the mask hit the ground, Yu Baosi sprang up, gritting his teeth. "Who are you? Why did you impersonate my master?!"

The surrounding disciples were stunned. Xie Wuji was at a loss—what kind of play was unfolding here?

"A disciple of the Myriad Demon Hall?" Eastgate Swordmaster frowned.

The masked man immediately tried to escape, leaping towards a distant wall.

"Behold my formation!" Ji Liancheng shouted.

From behind his collar, a flurry of talismans shot out, assembling into a formation diagram midair.

The man crashed into the formation and fell hard to the ground, unable to rise. If not for the faint movement of his chest, all would have thought him dead.

Yu Baosi rushed over, yanked the Myriad Demon Hall disciple up, and shouted, "Where have you hidden my master? Tell me! Speak!"

"Hahaha! You Yama Hall dogs, you’re all fools! Your beloved master sold his soul to us for power, and you were kept entirely in the dark... Hahahaha, what a joke!"

"You bastard! Bastard!" Yu Baosi roared, but the disciple’s head lolled to the side—he was already dead.

Eastgate hurried over, pried open the man's mouth, and said, "Just as I thought. The disciples of the Myriad Demon Hall all have false teeth filled with poison. The moment they're questioned, they break the false tooth and die instantly!"

"My master... Where is my master..." Yu Baosi collapsed to the ground, weeping.