“Ah, who is it? Is she the only one who can command Mount Huang? Aren’t there other descendants of the person who subdued the Vermillion Bird?”

     Mo Ran only replied, “A thousand years ago, the one who subdued the Vermillion Bird spirit was called Song Qiao. His courtesy name was Xingyi.”

     Xue Meng turned pale with fright, and he blurted, “The Lord of Huabi, Song Xingyi?!”

     “Yes.”

     “H-he’s the last Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast in the history of cultivation to reach the rank of zongshi!”

     Mo Ran said expressionlessly, “That’s right. So the last person who could open the gate to Mount Huang died in the sea of fire at Rufeng Sect. It was Song Qiutong.”

     Xue Meng’s mouth dropped open, and he was about to say something when there was a sudden commotion in the distance. A large group of green-clothed cultivators from Bitan Manor were suddenly gathered at the barrier at the foot of Mount Huang.

     “Palace Master Li!”

     “Palace Master!”

     Chu Wanning’s expression changed slightly. With knitted brows, he walked over and pushed through the crowd. He saw that Li Wuxin was being supported by his disciples, his face as white as paper as he spat blood.

     The blood stuck to his beard, his lips turning blue and white. Suddenly, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. He was already unconscious. He muttered in a trembling voice, “He is the first… he is… he is the first…”

     Because Li Wuxin withdrew his power, the remaining sect leaders suffered backlash from the barrier. Since Huang Xiaoyue was only the acting Hall Master of Jiangdong Hall, his spiritual energy was weaker than the other sect leaders. At this point, he wasn’t able to bear it any longer; even turning his head was difficult.

     Jiang Xi, on the other hand, was also pale, but still had the strength to look over at Li Wuxin and say, “He fell victim to the Phoenix Nightmare.”

     The Phoenix Nightmare Curse was attached to the boundary around Mount Huang. If someone attempted to tear open a crack and climb up the mountain, they would easily be engulfed in this nightmare.

     This was similar to the illusion of Jincheng Lake’s Heartpluck Willow. However, the Phoenix Nightmare was extremely difficult to get rid of, and those who were trapped often never woke up again.

     Seeing this, the group of Bitan Manor disciples knelt to the ground, some of them even starting to wail, “Palace Master! Please wake up, Palace Master!”

     Li Wuxin laughed and talked unclearly in his sleep. Suddenly, he broke free from his disciple Zhen Congming, who had been supporting him. He laid on the ground and began to shake excitedly, laughing, “First! First! First!”

     Among the disciples of the other sects, someone whispered, “What’s first?”

     Li Wuxin, however, wasn’t going to answer them. Immersed in the joy of his nightmare, his mouth opened, revealing two rows of teeth that were sticky with blood. He laughed uncontrollably for a long time.

     After a while, it was as if the joyful nightmare had suddenly taken a turn. Suddenly, his old, wooden face stiffened and revealed an expression of rage.

     “...No… you… you can’t do this! You promised to return the secret sword scroll of Bitan Manor back to me! You… How can you go back on your word?!”

     In the next moment, his face was full of sorrow.

     This was truly frightening. Li Wuxin had always been a cultivator who cared a lot about his reputation. He was also the head of the manor. He had never shown such a face in front of others before…

     He didn’t look like a Sect Leader, or a cultivator.

     He didn’t even look like a man.

     He salivated, his face contorted in grief, as if he was trying to stuff his dignity into the wrinkles that covered his face. He begged, “Eight billion gold is really too much. That secret sword scroll originally belonged to Bitan Manor, and was given to my Shizun. Sect Leader… I beg you, just a little less…”

     The crowd listened and looked at each other in dismay.

     Eight billion gold?

     Secret sword scroll?

     Then, someone suddenly recalled that the former Sect Leader of Bitan Manor had a strong temperament. He was so righteous and outspoken that he straightforwardly provoked many sects in the cultivation world.

     After the incident, Bitan Manor declined rapidly. They couldn’t even allocate enough money to support their disciples for three years.

     Then, for some reason, they suddenly became rich again. But inexplicably, after that generation, the Water Breaking Sword Technique of Bitan Manor, which originally shook the entire nine regions, had fallen into disrepair. The future disciples of the sect were never able to use it to its full potential again.

     For this reason, there were always people in the cultivation world who ridiculed Li Wuxin, saying that it was all because of his poor teaching that Bitan Manor fell to the bottom of the upper cultivation world.

     But now, everyone was shocked to realize that things may not be as simple as they thought… Could it be that Bitan Manor survived the great disaster by selling their secret sword technique scroll?

     This kind of treacherous profiteer, who took advantage of the situation… Some people immediately thought of Guyue’ye, and many gazes secretly swept over to Jiang Xi.

      “Could it be Guyue’ye…”

     “It could be Sect Leader Jiang’s ancestor…”

     Li Wuxin was still writhing painfully on the ground. Zhen Congming couldn’t even support him anymore. He cried and screamed, then got up and started kowtowing in every direction to the people around him, blood and snot flowing down.

     “Give it back to me. I’ve been collecting for most of my life, and only have five 5.1 billion gold.” Li Wuxin wailed, “It’s only 5.1 billion gold… I’ve tried my best, but I don’t have that much money. I can’t just kill, rob, or do other bad things for money, can I?! Your sect earns tens of thousands of gold coins a day, but Bitan Manor really doesn’t have that much money… I beg you…”

     Upon hearing that their sect earned tens of thousands of gold coins a day, those who weren’t already looking over at Jiang Xi began to shift their gazes towards him. Jiang Xi’s Xuanyuan Pavilion was the largest black market in the cultivation world. Who else could it be if not him?

     The young disciples of Bitan Manor were furious, their eyes bloodshot as they shouted and Jiang Xi, “Sect Leader Jiang! So, the three most important scrolls of our Bitan Manor’s Water Breaking Sword Technique are actually in Guyue’ye’s hands?! And you want to ask for eight billion gold? You… how can you be so shameless?!”

     Before Jiang Xi could speak, someone on the left said hoarsely, “The truth hasn’t been revealed yet. How dare you accuse Sect Leader Jiang?”

     The person who spoke was Huang Xiaoyue, who was struggling for breath. The old man’s hands were trembling as he held his hands to the boundary. He still wanted to speak up for Jiang Xi to show his loyalty? Just what was he planning? His intentions were clear as day.

     A disciple from Bitan Manor was so angry that he rushed forward to scold Huang Xiaoyue, but he was firmly stopped by his fellow disciples. They warned, “Zhen Fu, don’t provoke them.”

     Hearing this name, Mo Ran was stunned.

     In the past, he might have thought that a name like “True Wisdom” was laughable, but now that he looked at the old man kowtowing and kneeling in the mud, he suddenly felt very bitter.

     He couldn’t laugh at all.

     “If five billion isn’t enough… then… then what about 5.5 billion gold?” Li Wuxin was crying, wiping his tears with his sleeves, “5.5 billion gold. I’ll go to Yizhou’s Chang Clan and sell some magic artifacts and spiritual stones. I can get 5.5 billion gold… Sect Leader, please do me a favor and be merciful… Just return the sword scroll to me…”

     He bent over and kowtowed. In the end, he even cut open his forehead, causing blood to flow.

     “The Water Breaking Sword Technique is the spirit of Bitan Manor…” he cried. “Before my late Shizun passed away, his only wish was for me to reclaim the sword scroll. I’ve tried my best all my life… from black hair to white. I’ve also begged your father, and now you… I’ve even begged Luo Fenghua…”

     “Ah!” Everyone suddenly paled.

     Luo Fenghua?!

     Li Wuxin begged Luo Fenghua?!

     It wasn’t Guyue’ye… It was… it was…

     They all turned their heads. No one moved, but their gazes all focused a direct path. Almost all the people from the various sects were turning their heads to look at Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi.

     “It’s Rufeng Sect!”

     This time, there was no need to wonder. Someone had shouted.

     “How shameless!”

     “It’s true that Rufeng Sect’s swordsmanship suddenly improved so much in the past few decades. There’s even the legacy of a sword saint! Such beasts!”

     “Back then, at the Spiritual Mountain Competition, they even got Nangong Si to third place! Stolen sword techniques are worth nothing at all!”

     “How disgusting!”

     Nangong Si stood in place with a blank expression. Of course, he didn’t know about the evil scandals of Rufeng Sect. The evil that his father and ancestors committed should have fallen on the heads of the seventy-two cities of Rufeng Sect. Now, he had to bear it all alone. He did not flee, nor did he utter a word, his face ashen and defeated as he stood there in silence.

     Ye Wangxi tried to shake his hand, but Nangong Si quietly pulled away and stood in front of her.

     “He actually has the face to…”

     “His father is such a beast. What kind of good do you think the son can be?”

     The people from Bitan Manor were the most outraged, and shouted at them, “Get lost! Why are you guys still here?!”

     “Rufeng Sect is no longer one of the great ten sects! What are you standing here for?! Scram!”

     “Shameless!”

     The surrounding crowd was filled with impassioned voices. They were cursing and spitting, their faces filled with clear hatred.

     Suddenly, someone rushed over. It was a disciple of Bitan Manor. That person grabbed Nangong Si by the collar, and Ye Wangxi immediately shouted, “A-Si!”

     Nangong Si, however, only pushed her away in a flash, before being pinned to the ground by the Bitan Manor disciple, as fists rained down on his face, chest, and abdomen. Despite not using spiritual energy, each punch was heavy and fierce, almost frenzied.

     At that moment, there was a deep, cold voice that said sternly, “Stop.”

     A heavy punch landed on Nangong Si’s handsome face. Before he managed to recover from the blow, he coughed out a mouthful of blood. His hair was disheveled, and he lay on the ground covered in mud.

     The angry disciple wanted to raise his fist again, but his arm was suddenly grabbed by someone.

     He looked back angrily and howled, “Bastard! I don’t want you—” He stopped speaking.

     The man before him was the world’s greatest zongshi.

     Chu Wanning.

     “Stop.”

     Chu Wanning’s eyes were like cold spring water as he looked down at him with an indiscernible expression. It seemed as if there were many emotions on his face, yet nothing at all.

     He just held the youth’s arm and pursed his lips. After a while, he said, “Stop fighting.”

     Nangong Si coughed up another mouthful of blood on the ground, and Ye Wangxi hurriedly went over to help him, but he waved her away, “Don’t worry about me. I should take responsibility for Rufeng Sect on behalf of my father.”

     The Bitan Manor disciple became even angrier, struggling to break free from Chu Wanning’s grasp, so he could fight again.

     Chu Wanning knitted his sword-like brows, “Stop fighting!”

     “This doesn’t concern you! You’re from Sisheng Peak, it’s none of your business!” The youth went mad, and roared at Chu Wanning, “What right do they have to treat my master like this?! Why?! Why are they treating Bitan Manor like this?! How many years has Bitan Manor been acting like an ox for Rufeng Sect?! Why… why?!”

     He began to wail.

     Behind him, Li Wuxin was groaning and pleading.

     He still begged Nangong Liu, who wasn’t even here at all, “Luo Fenghua said he was willing to exchange the sword scroll… But he didn’t know where it had been placed… You promised me Sect Leader… you promised me…”

     He began to wail, “I am seventy-nine years old this year. I don’t have many years left to live. My cultivation truly isn’t high enough in this life, so I may not be able to become an immortal and see my master… but I can’t fail to do the one thing he entrusted me to do.” Li Wuxin’s every word was like blood that had been dug out of his throat, “I can’t do it, Sect Leader… Give it back to me… Give back what you have taken from Bitan Manor… to this old man…

     “I beg of you…”

     The disciples of Bitan Manor were trembling, as were Chu Wanning’s hands.

     The youth’s eyes were filled with tears, as hatred and confusion flashed across his face. But he couldn’t break free, and finally spat on Chu Wanning’s face and said angrily, “What zongshi? They’re all beasts.”

     “Shizun!”

     “Mo Ran, stand there and don’t move. Don’t come any closer.”

     Chu Wanning let go of the youth’s hand. Once he was free, he immediately went to beat up Nangong Si, who was already injured and covered in bruises. But unexpectedly, a ray of golden light descended from the sky, and a haitang-patterned barrier opened, firmly protecting Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi.

     Chu Wanning was originally half-kneeling on the ground. At this moment, he slowly stood up and looked at the blurry faces who were watching the commotion.

     At one end of the crowd was himself, and at the other was Li Wuxin, who was covered in blood and tears.

     Li Wuxin’s old voice was like a winter branch that pierced the heavens, “Is 5.5 billion not enough…?”

     In his dream, the old man was still trying to bargain with Nangong Liu.

     He was lowly and humble.

     Extremely lowly.

     So lowly that his old face turned to mud and sand.

     “5.8 billion?” His voice was trembling.

     Chu Wanning closed his eyes.

     His hands were also curled and trembling under his wide sleeves.

     But still, word by word, he said, “Nangong Si, son of my late friend Rong Yan, Madam Rong.”

     In front of the massive Mount Huang, over a thousand people were so quiet that the only sound that could be heard was Li Wuxin’s howling and Chu Wanning’s cold, stern voice.

     At one end, Li Wuxin said, “5.8 billion should be enough right…? It’s only three sword manuals…”

     At the other end, Chu Wanning said, “When I left the mountain, I did not have any silver, and I didn’t know how to ask for it. It was Madam Rong who gave me a meal and allowed me to stay in Rufeng Sect for a while.”

     He paused, and only the sound of Li Wuxin’s sobbing could be heard.

     “Madam Rong once asked me to accept her son, Nangong Si, as my disciple, but I didn’t agree. I was afraid I was too young, and wouldn’t be able to fulfill the task. But that year…”

     Chu Wanning slightly turned his head to look at Nangong Si, who had fallen to the ground. He finally unveiled the truth that Nangong Si did not remember, word for word.

     “That year, Madam Rong brought her young son and kowtowed to me three times in front of the ancestral temple. She said that Nangong Si had completed his master’s rites, and that if I was willing to stay in Rufeng Sect from then on, Nangong Si would treat me as his Shizun.”

     Chu Wanning raised his eyes.

     “Nangong Si is my disciple.”

     Hearing this, Xue Meng’s face instantly turned ashen.

     Mo Ran and Shi Mei didn’t look too good either, but they didn’t say a word as they looked at Chu Wanning.

     “If it is true that a son should repay his father’s debt, then a Shizun for a day, is a father for a lifetime. Since I’ve already received three kowtows from Nangong Si, he can call me Shizun.” Chu Wanning said, “His Shizun is still here. Therefore, whether you want to seek revenge or beat me… I am here, and will not resist.”

     “Shizun!”

     Mo Ran, Xue Meng, and Shi Mei all fell to their knees together. Nangong Si struggled to get up from the ground, the blood from his mouth still flowing, as he muttered, “No… I didn’t… I never kowtowed… I don’t have a Shizun… There is no Shizun…”

     However, at this time, Li Wuxin suddenly let out a long howl. He raised his head towards the sky, his hair fluttering like snow. His eyes were wide open, with blood flowing from his sockets.

     He howled loudly, crying and choking.

     “5.9 billion, that should be enough, right? Sect Leader Nangong… 5.9 billion… Just take the extra pity on this old man, and leave me some money for the coffin… Okay, okay?”

     He raised his neck, as if he was about to be killed. Finally, he hissed, his veins bulging.

     “Okay?”

     After saying “okay” three times in a row, Li Wuxin suddenly spat out another mouthful of blood. The crimson blood spurted wildly. Then, there was a deathly silence.

     He fell to the ground with a thud.

     This was the Sect Leader of the most inferior sect in the upper cultivation world. This old man, who had been trying to curry favor with every sect he could possibly befriend, was like a helpless fool—a great joke who had spent most of his life and still couldn’t even reclaim three sword manuals.

     A good-for-nothing piece of trash.

     Just like that, with his eyes open, he collapsed into the dust.

     Dead.

     The wind whistled. Everyone had different expressions on their faces, but no one said a word.

     Only Mo Ran suddenly remembered that Mount Jiao had a treasure trove that was enough to revive the sect. This was something that even Jiangdong Hall knew. Since Bitan Manor and Rufeng Sect were so close, there was no way they wouldn’t understand what this meant.

     After Nangong Liu’s death, many large and small sects had chased after Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi, wanting to capture them alive. They said it was for revenge, but in their hearts, it was all because of that mountain of gold and silver.

     But Bitan Manor didn’t.

     Bitan Manor just clumsily thought of getting on good terms with Sisheng Peak and Guyue’ye, hoping that they would be able to support and look after each other in the future.

     Li Wuxin didn’t even think about Rufeng Sect’s gold and silver treasures. He was clearly the one who had been oppressed and humiliated by Rufeng Sect all his life. Perhaps, it was because he had been bullied for so long that this old man understood in his heart that he could take money, but not injustice.

     Mo Ran looked at Li Wuxin’s dirty old face in the dust, dirty to the point that it was somewhat laughable. He suddenly understood why on that day of Rufeng Sect’s calamity, when everyone was running for their lives, this old man wanted to escape, but cowered and did not go.

     He clearly didn’t have much ability, but he had forced himself to stay in the sea of fire. A single imperial sword had saved dozens of lives that had nothing to do with him.

     It was said that Bitan Manor’s first master had a set of sword techniques that could break the flow of water, as well as the heavens. He was known as the sword saint.

     Li Wuxin lacked those three manuals, so he couldn’t learn this amazing sword technique, nor could he become a sword saint. In the end, the only thing he could do was use an expanded imperial sword and send those people he didn’t know, even some disciples of Rufeng Sect, out of the sea and fire and back into the world one by one.