Who Dares Slander My Senior Brother 86

Chapter 86

He looked around in confusion, then fixed his gaze fiercely on Jun Yanzhi, saying, “I went crazy halfway because you made me drink your blood. I only wanted to come back and kill people, all because of you.”

Jun Yanzhi looked down at him from a high vantage point and replied, “Not only you, but any peak master I suspected is now under my control.”

As this statement was uttered, the expressions of Lu Changqing and the others changed drastically. Some of the more timid ones drew their swords and stared at him, creating a tense atmosphere.

Elder Yun Xi remained composed, stroking his beard quietly before smiling and saying, “It’s understandable that you don’t trust anyone.”

Jun Yanzhi raised the sword, and lifted Zhao Ningtian’s right arm up into the air. The middle finger of his right hand was bitten off halfway, the wound left untreated and still bleeding, all stuck together in a mess.

Wen Jing pointed his sword at Zhao Ningtian’s neck expressionlessly.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Fw Dkd Fosae pldple bkp ydtla, vbl posae yway qzknjlakdt yde cwadkdt, xyjkdt pkggzkdt pswdep sd Hbys Lkdtvkyd’p pjkd. Eld Kkdt pyke, “Ebyv olal usw eskdt yv xu alpkeldnl ulpvlaeyu? Gde oblal kp vbl czsse qzyt kd uswa byde?”

Hbys Lkdtvkyd oyp kd pwnb rykd vbyv bl nswze byaezu clya kv, pbswvkdt ydtakzu, “Yshl vbl posae yoyu y ckv!”

Eld Kkdt alxykdle pkzldv, cwv vbl posae kdnble nzspla ytykd.

Hbys Lkdtvkyd ulzzle, “R oldv vs uswa rzynl vs xyjl usw qyzz kdvs vbl Jzsse Wzyt Mlnbdkiwl. Ekvb Kwd Zydgbk cwpu elyzkdt okvb vbl okelpralye qkal, bl oswzed’v byhl vkxl vs nbypl yqvla xl.”

Eld Kkdt xshle vbl posae pzktbvzu, “Jynj vbld, usw ekptwkple uswaplzq yp Pwyd Dwyd yde zle vbl elxsd nwzvkhyvsap vs elpvasu vbl Tldtuydt Vyzynl?”

Wlya qzypble ynaspp Hbys Lkdtvkyd’p lulp yp bl zssjle yv Kwd Zydgbk, rydvkdt blyhkzu, “R oyp yzps nslanle cu Dk Wydt. R bye ds nbsknl cwv vs ytall. Rd qynv, R yx fwpv y rkvkqwz rlapsd…”

Ozela Zwd Dk pyke kdekqqlaldvzu, “Dk Wydt’p alnsaep nsdvykd dsvbkdt, yde uswa dyxl kp dsv xldvksdle.”

Hbys Lkdtvkyd oyp pvwddle, “Ebyv?”

Elder Yun Xi said, “If you hadn’t lost your composure and waited quietly for the outcome, we wouldn’t have known that you were the one who impersonated Duan Xuan back then.”

Zhao Ningtian remained in a daze for a long time.

Jun Yanzhi spoke slowly, “Although Xi Fang is extremely guilty, it seems he wanted to take full responsibility for everything and didn’t want to use us to commit murder. If you had remained calm for a few more days, perhaps this storm could have calmed down. However, you acted impulsively, causing harm to the hundreds of disciples in the Sword Sect, putting them in imminent danger…”

Elder Yun Xi continued, “Why do you have the Blood Flag? Were you behind the tragedies of the major sects in recent years?”

Zhao Ningtian was filled with remorse, keeping his head low and saying nothing.

Li Qingyun despised such a man who lacked responsibility and pointed her sword at his throat coldly, “He caused five to six hundred people to be in peril, and his crimes are unforgivable. Why bother asking? My sword carries the extreme cold poison of the northern polar region, and it will make him suffer as if a myriad of insects are gnawing at his heart, leaving him worse than dead for three years.”

Zhao Ningtian’s expression changed.

Li Qingyun was Elder Yun Xi’s favorite disciple and had the deepest understanding with him. Seeing that she was playing the role of the stern one, Elder Yun Xi stroked his beard and said, “After all, he is the peak master of the Sword Sect. For many years, he has worked hard, although not without faults. If he’s willing to confess honestly, we can at least give him a quick death.”

Zhao Ningtian gritted his teeth, looking at everyone, knowing that he had no other choice but to say, “When I was cultivating, I encountered a bottleneck and was anxious to progress. In my impatience, I accidentally damaged my spiritual roots and, in my anger, I sought out demonic cultivation. I found out about Fu Xiu’s whereabouts but was discovered by Xi Fang. When he learned of my intention to turn to demonic cultivation, he forced me to impersonate Duan Xuan and commit the incident at Hengyang Palace.”

“Go on.”

“Originally, Xi Fang’s plan was for me to impersonate Duan Xuan and lead the demonic cultivators to destroy Hengyang Palace. He would follow afterward and exterminate the demonic cultivators, leaving a few survivors to declare Duan Xuan’s guilt, justifying his execution. Unfortunately, an accident occurred.”

“What accident?”

Zhao Ningtian’s eyes showed fear as he replied, “At that time, Jun Yanzhi was only ten years old. He witnessed his mother and sister being killed and couldn’t control the inner demon within him, going berserk. I lost my sanity as well and couldn’t differentiate between friend and foe; I only had the urge to slaughter. When I regained my senses, I found myself lying in the mountains near Hengyang Palace. I didn’t know if my identity had been exposed, so I didn’t dare to return, and I just fled.”

“What about the Blood Flag?”

“After I returned to the Sword Sect, I felt uneasy. The next day, I heard about the destruction of Hengyang Palace, but the matter of demonic cultivation was never mentioned. Finally, when Xi Fang returned, he told me that everything was settled, and I no longer needed to worry about it. Worried that the truth might be revealed, I wanted to find Xi Fang and clarify things. However, I saw him holding a black flag in his hand, lost in thought, and then he threw it into a cliff. I knew that it was the Blood Flag, and greed arose in me. So, I anxiously flew down the cliff overnight and finally found that black flag.”

“Why didn’t Xi Fang destroy the Blood Flag?”

“The Blood Flag is a treasure of the Yuanying stage; how could it be easily destroyed? Such demonic objects, if kept for a long time, will lead people to desire the demonic path. Since Xi Fang hated this demonic object for harming Lu Zhen, yet couldn’t destroy it, he threw it into a remote valley where no one would go.”

“What happened later?”

“I didn’t know about the purpose of the two legacies Xi Fang sought. Later, during the arena battle, I lost my senses and went mad, just like back then. I was extremely alarmed and began to suspect that Yun Shao Yi from that year might not be dead. But at that time, I still didn’t know that Jun Yanzhi was Yun Shao Yi. Later, Xi Fang led people to besiege Jun Yanzhi and mentioned how he saved him in the past. Only then did I realize that Yun Shao Yi had been beside us all along. Xi Fang actually left this disaster in the Qing Xu Sword Sect for more than a decade.”

Elder Yun Xi said calmly, “He sealed Jun Yanzhi’s memories in the Sword Sect to let him grow up and seek revenge. When Jun Yanzhi went mad back then, it ruined his plan. When Xi Fang rushed to Hengyang Palace, all the demonic cultivators had already fled, and even the whereabouts of the two legacies were unknown. These two legacies had been in Hengyang Palace for thousands of years, and they no longer acknowledged the Sword Sect as their master. He wanted to reclaim the legacies, so he could only use Jun Yanzhi.”

Jun Yanzhi lowered his head.

Elder Yun Xi continued, “He had Jun Yanzhi live peacefully in the Sword Sect for more than a decade and cultivate feelings with the disciples of Huishi Peak. When Jun Yanzhi grew up, he killed the disciples of the Shuiyue Palace in the secret realm, recreating the tragic scene of Hengyang Palace. This forced Jun Yanzhi to recover his memories. At that time, Jun Yanzhi would have a grudge in his heart and would investigate slowly based on his memories. He would undoubtedly kill all the demonic cultivators and expose Duan Xuan, thus killing him.”

Wen Jing asked, “And then kill him?”

Elder Yun Xi sighed, “Yes, from start to finish, Jun Yanzhi was just a pawn in his plan. Once Duan Xuan dies and the whereabouts of the two legacies are revealed, Xi Fang will kill all the disciples of Huishi Peak and force Jun Yanzhi to go mad in front of everyone. At that point, Jun Yanzhi’s heart will be as lifeless as ashes, and he will no longer hide his identity. That’s when Xi Fang will use the Purifying Immortal Tower to capture and destroy Jun Yanzhi.”

This was the ending of the tragic fate of the disciples of Huishi Peak in “The Calamity of All Beings.”

Wen Jing whispered, “Not only Jun Yanzhi was a pawn, but even the disciples of Huishi Peak were also pawns.”

Elder Yun Xi hung his head and said, “In his records, he mentioned that those who achieve great things will inevitably have to sacrifice a small number of people for their ideals and goals. This is what he referred to as necessary sacrifices.”

Wen Jing felt deep hatred but couldn’t utter a word.

Lu Changqing asked, “Why did the plan fail again?”

Elder Yun Xi glanced at Wen Jing and replied, “It was because of him. He exposed Jun Yanzhi’s true identity, prevented him from killing Duan Xuan, and even wounded Jun Yanzhi with a sword. In front of Wen Renmu, Jun Yanzhi revealed his true identity. Xi Fang knew that this matter couldn’t be concealed any longer, so he led his people to surround Huishi Peak, intending to capture Jun Yanzhi ahead of time.”

Wen Jing’s cold gaze swept across the crowd and then kicked Zhao Ningtian, saying, “Continue.”

Zhao Ningtian staggered from the kick but didn’t dare to resist. He lowered his head and said, “After I knew that Jun Yanzhi was Yun Shao Yi, I was extremely afraid and wanted to kill him as soon as possible. Later, Jun Yanzhi spread the news that he would retrieve the ‘Five Elements Origin Sword Art’ and kill all the disciples of the five major sects if he didn’t succeed. I hoped that he would be captured by someone soon, so I used the Blood Flag to commit numerous bloody murders among the various sects.”

Elder Yun Xi said, “The news about retrieving the ‘Five Elements Origin Sword Art’ was spread by Xi Fang through Zhu Jin. He originally intended for the various sects to kill some promising young disciples to weaken their strength, but someone unexpectedly disrupted his plans. Yet, this situation somehow suited his intentions, and he planned to capture that person after everything was over and kill him.”

Zhao Ningtian swallowed hard.

Everyone remained silent, gazing at him.

Elder Yun Xi took a few slow steps and finally looked up to the sky, saying, “Now, everything is revealed, and the truth behind that huge unsolved case from the past has come to light. Zhao Ningtian, it’s time for you to go.”

Zhao Ningtian’s face turned pale, and tears suddenly filled his eyes. He tightly grabbed Elder Yun Xi’s clothes, pleading, “Elder… Elder…”

A voice slowly came from the crowd, “Elder, there’s no need to kill Zhao Ningtian.”

Everyone turned around and saw a man with a haggard appearance and disheveled hair. His eyes lacked any expression, like dead fish. It was Zhu Jin, who had been silent for a long time.

“Master Xi Fang once said that the Blood Flag is a demonic treasure, and those with lower cultivation cannot control it; they will suffer a backlash effect. By sealing his sea of qi, he will rot and die within three-quarters of an hour, just like those killed by the Blood Flag’s technique.”

Zhao Ningtian was greatly alarmed, “No, no, no…”

Zhu Jin spoke slowly, “Master Xi Fang despises the Blood Flag to the core, yet you, in your ignorance, chose to use this flag to harm others. After using you, Master Xi Fang had already arranged an escape route for you. Zhao Feng, why don’t you take matters into your own hands?”

Zhao Ningtian looked at everyone, seeing no trace of pity in their eyes. Fear consumed him as he tearfully pleaded, “Please spare my life…”

Wen Jing and Jun Yanzhi remained silent, and no one made a move.

Zhao Ningtian sat blankly on the ground, several times attempting to end his own life, but fear prevented him from doing so. For someone who feared death so much, wouldn’t it be preferable for others to kill him? The idea of destroying himself was undoubtedly his greatest dread.

Finally, Zhao Ningtian cried until he had no more tears left. He raised his trembling hand and made a gesture towards his lower abdomen, causing his sea of qi to freeze instantly.

Under the watchful eyes of all, numerous small wounds appeared on his body, spreading rapidly. In just a moment, he looked at everyone, as if pleading, and his body gradually decayed, ultimately turning into a pool of blood.

Amidst the misty morning fog in the mountains, the air felt refreshingly pure, bringing a sense of relief to everyone’s hearts.

Elder Yun Xi looked up to the sky, and his white beard floated gently in the mountain breeze. “The truth has been revealed, and the grievances have been cleared. Jun Yanzhi is truly innocent. What do you plan to do next?”

No one dared to answer, and they all looked at him simultaneously.

Their grudges with Jun Yanzhi ran deep, making it difficult to resolve the knot in their hearts for a while. However, when it came to the difficulties faced by the Sword Sect, they had no choice but to act according to Elder Yun Xi’s wishes, feeling a bit frustrated. Especially for those like Lu Changqing and Shao Jun, who fell under the Blood Flag’s curse, they needed help but couldn’t easily ask for it, making their faces look gloomy.

Jun Yanzhi said, “First, I will tend to the injuries of the disciples.”

Shao Jun asked him, “Jun Yanzhi, you just mentioned that any Peak Lord you suspect is currently under your control. What does that mean, and what do you plan to do?”

Jun Yanzhi replied nonchalantly, “The remnants of the Blood Flag on your bodies will naturally be cleansed.”

Shao Jun and Li Qingyun exchanged glances, feeling relieved.

Elder Yun Xi smiled, gracefully adjusting his white sleeve as he surveyed the crowd. “Xi Fang has passed away, and it is time for our Sword Sect to select the Seventh Generation Grandmaster. I wonder what thoughts you all have regarding the candidate?”

Everyone kept their heads down, reluctant to speak. They all knew whom Elder Yun Xi favored, even though some were dissatisfied, no one dared to openly oppose his wishes.

Li Qingyun smiled and lowered her head, stepping forward. “I dare to suggest a candidate. This young man possesses outstanding talent, righteous character, and he exposed Xi Fang’s true nature, rescuing our Sword Sect from turmoil. It would be appropriate for him to assume this role. However, he is still young with limited experiences, and his arrogance needs someone to guide and instruct him.”

Elder Yun Xi was slightly surprised. “Such a talented young man, who is it?”

Wen Jing felt a surge of energy gently nudging him forward, causing him to take an unstable step forward. Li Qingyun said earnestly, “It is this self-recommended young man. A few days ago, he criticized us for failing to distinguish right from wrong and let down Elder Qing Xu, suggesting he would teach us how to manage and expand the Sword Sect.”

Wen Jing blushed slightly. “I spoke recklessly. I hope the peak masters and senior uncles won’t take offense.”

The atmosphere lightened, and even Lu Changqing’s expression eased.

Shao Jun scolded, “You have the nerve to criticize us, but no courage to admit it?”

Elder Yun Xi lightly stroked his beard, his gaze becoming more severe. “Wen Jing, disciple of Duan Xuan, listen carefully. Starting tomorrow, I will temporarily take the role of the Third Generation Yuan Ying Elder, overseeing the Sect. I will remain here to focus on cultivation and handle the affairs of the Sword Sect. Any objections?”

Wen Jing was taken aback, about to voice his opposition, but everyone else promptly consented, “No objections.”

Wen Jing: “…………”

Elder Yun Xi continued, “Since it’s settled, after this chaos in our Sword Sect, we need to recuperate. All peak masters spread the word: from today onwards, everyone should focus solely on cultivation. Any further oppression or conflicts will result in the forfeiture of one’s cultivation and expulsion from the Sword Sect.”

“Yes.”

Elder Yun Xi then turned to Jun Yanzhi and smiled gently. “Yanzhi, Hongxiu Peak is currently without a master, and I was thinking…”

But Jun Yanzhi glanced at the others and noticed their uneasy expressions, so he calmly interjected, “Elder, there’s no need to worry. I have no intention of staying in the Sword Sect. Once everyone is healed, I plan to return to Hengyang Palace to cultivate and find some tranquility.”

Wen Jing couldn’t believe what he just heard. His heart sank, and he felt a sense of urgency, yet no words came out of his mouth; he could only grit his teeth as he stared at Jun Yanzhi.

Everyone remained silent.

Looking at the whole situation, the Sword Sect owed Jun Yanzhi too much and caused him too much harm – first, they exterminated his entire clan, and later, they falsely accused him. It seemed destined that the former Grandmaster Chang Sun Liupin, who left three thousand years ago, would return as the Peak Master of Hongxiu Peak. It was a natural outcome of his journey.

Lu Changqing pressed his lips together and spoke seriously, “Yanzhi, your past actions had reasons behind them, and this time, you saved our Sword Sect’s disciples. You have earned our gratitude, so why not stay?”

Jun Yanzhi glanced at Wen Jing and calmly replied, “I cannot go against my ancestral teachings, and my father died because of Xi Fang. For both moral and logical reasons, I cannot return to the Sword Sect.”

Wen Jing stared at him blankly.

He was the reincarnation of Qing Xuzi, and he was the future Grandmaster of the Sword Sect. This place should be his home. However, Jun Yanzhi refused to return to the Sword Sect, what did this mean? Was he planning to part ways?

Lu Changqing sighed, “You make a valid point.”

Elder Yun Xi glanced at both Wen Jing and Jun Yanzhi, then suddenly chuckled, “Since that’s the case, go and heal the injuries of our Sword Sect’s disciples quickly. Once you’re done, you can leave and not linger here.”

Lu Changqing and the others were taken aback, but Elder Yun Xi laughed heartily and flew away.

As he left, the others knew that Jun Yanzhi and Wen Jing wanted to talk, so they gradually dispersed, leaving the two alone in the vast square.

Wen Jing silently gazed at him and spoke softly after a long pause, “Shixiong, are you really leaving?”

“Mhm.”

“When will you go?”

Jun Yanzhi lowered his head. “Next month, I suppose.”

Wen Jing grew anxious. “If that’s the case, I don’t want to stay in the Sword Sect either. I’ll go with you.”

Jun Yanzhi stepped forward with a faint smile. “Learn more from Elder Yun Xi during this time. I will also cultivate a specific technique. When the time is right, we can be together again.”

“What technique?” Wen Jing asked.

Jun Yanzhi held him gently. “In any case, focus on your cultivation and don’t overthink. I finally caught you, and I can’t bear to let you go.”

Wen Jing’s heart felt a pang of sadness but didn’t know Jun Yanzhi’s true intentions, so he snuggled quietly in his embrace.

They embraced each other affectionately and exchanged kisses. After a while, Jun Yanzhi let him go and whispered, “I need to go and heal them. Will you come with me, or will you return to Heshi Peak?”

“… I’ll come with you,” Wen Jing replied after some consideration. “But first, I want to go back and hug the big turtle.”

“Okay.”

Returning to embrace the big turtle in his arms, Wen Jing hurried to the Qing Xu Hall. The place was bustling with disciples going about their business, a familiar sight that reminded him of the time when Jun Yanzhi saved people years ago.

Wen Jing held the turtle for a moment, then found his usual spot and sat down cross-legged. He played with the turtle while gazing at Jun Yanzhi, who was fully focused, using spiritual energy to gently heal the disciples.

Stroking the turtle’s head, Wen Jing whispered, “Big tortoise, I have this strange feeling of time turning back…”

…

************