Sect Leader Is Under Great Pressure CH 126 One Sword Against Ten Thousand, All Returns To Dust
The Golden Crow floated atop the clouds, idly preening its feathers. Its plumage shimmered like gold, radiant and dazzling. Lowering its gaze, it noticed a small crow, painted gold, staring up at it with awe and admiration.
The Golden Crow vaguely remembered seeing this little crow during its last visit to Kun-Lai but hadn’t expected it to cultivate so quickly.
Kun-Lai really was full of treasures. In a few decades, it would be time for another expedition, likely targeting its territory this time. It figured it was wise to start preparing early.
"Ancestor, you’ve arrived?" Several fire eagle spirit demons flew up from various parts of Kun-Lai Mountain, greeting the ancestor respectfully. Carefully, they lit some premium tobacco, placed it in a pipe, and handed it to the elder.
"Hmm, I’m here," the Golden Crow Great Sage took a deep puff and nodded, its voice harsh and grating, like the clash of rusted metal, causing a painful ringing in the ears.
"Didn’t we send you tobacco and spiritual rice just last year? You finished it all already?" One fire eagle, looking slightly aggrieved, muttered, "Ancestor, earning spiritual stones isn’t easy for us. Please use them sparingly."
"Insolent! What’s wrong with using your resources?" The leading fire eagle smacked the complainer’s head with its wing. "Speak like that again, and you won’t be coming back!"
"Enough with the theatrics," the Golden Crow exhaled smoke, waving dismissively. "This visit isn’t about these little luxuries. I’m here on official business."
"What official business?" The lead fire eagle stretched its neck, eager to gather information it could sell later for profit.
"None of your concern. Leave the offerings and go!" the Golden Crow commanded with a wave.
The fire eagles retreated sheepishly, leaving the Golden Crow to ponder as it hovered above the clouds.
Its reason for being here was straightforward: it was acting as a mediator. After all, its relationship with Kun-Lai wasn’t bad.
Back when Kun-Lai was first established, Ji Yunlai had organized its initial expedition. Lacking experience and unfamiliar with the terrain, the Xing Dao Master personally ventured into the Outlands to gather information about the area. Along the way, he naturally wiped out numerous great spirit demons, including one fateful clash with the Golden Crow itself.
It had lost miserably—nearly reduced to a bald crow.
Immediately, it had submitted, claiming it was all a misunderstanding. It even sent a few of its younger descendants to assist in scouting the surroundings. Realizing Ji Yunlai had a keen interest in rare resources, the Golden Crow enthusiastically pointed him to its nemesis's territory, extolling the abundant resources there. It even suggested capturing some cloud turtles for their many uses. "They’re magnificent for display," it had said, "and if you can’t afford to keep them, their meat is highly nutritious."
It also offered up his descendants as guardians for the household. "Just take good care of them. If you can't manage, just return them to me."
The Xing Dao Master did end up roasting the Dragon Turtle Great Sage from that territory, though it narrowly escaped death by surrendering in time. Still, the humiliation was enough for the Golden Crow to laugh about it for centuries.
Since then, the Golden Crow had taken a liking to this Human Immortal, often visiting Kun-Lai with invitations to explore dangerous places like the Outer Heavens, the Abyssal Chasm, and the Blood Sea Nether Pool…
Initially, Ji Yunlai had gone along a few times and gained some treasures. But later, he declined, claiming he was busy. A pity.
As the Golden Crow mused, a figure suddenly stepped out of the void before it. Compared to its massive form, the figure was minuscule, but the chilling aura radiating from him was as oppressive as the breath of a northern sea Candle Dragon. The Golden Crow felt pinned in place, wondering if it had unintentionally provoked him.
Ji Yunlai’s expression was cold, and sword energy slowly gathered between his fingers.
"Disturbing Kun-Lai’s peaks—your reason better be sufficient."
"It should be," the Golden Crow retreated a step, its expression shifting. "Don’t tell me I interrupted something important? I stayed far away, you could’ve just ignored me."
Just like before, it could attract the people of Kun-Lai to watch the spectacle. The fire eagles would come to collect viewing fees, even offering a chance to touch a golden feather for an additional charge. By the end of the day, the earnings would reach hundreds of thousands, enough to reward its descendants generously.
It was better if it hadn’t mentioned this. As soon as those words were spoken, Ji Yunlai cast a faint glance in its direction and casually swung his sword.
Compared to the Golden Crow, he was as insignificant as a mouse before an elephant.
However, the moment the Golden Crow saw the sword swing, it immediately transformed into a strikingly beautiful woman with golden hair and golden eyes, exclaiming, “Don’t attack! I have legitimate business!”
Even in human form, her voice remained the same, a grating, terrifying sound like rusty metal scraping together.
She hurriedly explained that a few days ago, some human cultivators had come to her bearing a significant gift. They had asked her to approach the Lord of Kun-Lai and plead for the release of a disciple from the Taiqing Sect. They promised a generous reward if the mission succeeded.
Although she hadn’t initially planned to come, the gift was too enticing to refuse. Besides, it had been a century since she last visited Kun-Lai or saw the Demon Qing, so she decided to drop by for a look.
"By the way, where’s Demon Qing? Isn’t it always clinging to you?" she asked, peering around.
"You’re surprisingly well-informed," Ji Yunlai replied icily.
"At our level, who doesn’t know everyone else's business?" she said smugly. "Living for tens of thousands of years, it’d be disgraceful not to know a few things. If someone bothers you, just unleash Demon Qing. The two of you together—who could possibly resist?"
Actually there didn’t seem to be many people who could resist him alone… maybe none at all. Honestly, it’s a mystery how he’s trained to this point.
“They just wanted you to say that?”
“And that if I help them get the person back from you, they’d offer me better rewards… But none of them want to deal with you, caw caw.” The Golden Crow let out two chuckles. “After all, a century ago in the Yuntian Domain, you almost dragged them all down with you.”
For beings like them—Great Sages or Human Immortals—staying alive was always the top priority. Orthodoxy or bloodline lineage? As long as they were alive, those could always continue. But the Xing Dao Master was different. He was the type to take everyone down with him at the slightest disagreement. To say those Human Immortals weren’t scared of him—she wouldn’t believe it.
As the human saying goes, “Don’t lean against a collapsing wall.” Why would they risk appearing in front of Ji Yunlai so easily?
Ji Yunlai nodded, though he didn’t agree to hand over the person. Luo Chi had some strange aspects that needed further observation. Once he had more time, he’d take a closer look.
“Alright, then, you do your thing. I’m going to take a stroll,” the Golden Crow said with a wave of her hand. “It’s been ages since I last visited Kun-Lai, and I want to have some fun before I head back. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my boundaries.”
Kun-Lai always had plenty of things for her to buy. Her grandchildren had already prepared a stash of savings for her to splurge.
She’d lived for tens of thousands of years and had only this one indulgence.
Ji Yunlai coldly replied, “Leave. For the next three days, Kun-Lai will not receive any outside visitors.”
“Caw? What did you say? That’s too—caw, don’t take out your sword, alright! I’ll leave now, I promise!”
*
The next day, Kun-Lai’s main hall.
The grand hall exuded a solemn and ancient atmosphere. Elders and managers from the various peaks and branches stood silently in their places. At the center of the hall, the seat of the Sect Leader remained empty.
When Qiu Yuansheng was brought up, the main seat was still empty—as expected, he wasn’t important enough to keep the Sect Leader waiting.
Once everyone was present, the main seat was already occupied by someone sitting quietly.
From the elders to the disciples, none of them noticed when or how the person arrived.
Qiu Yuansheng respectfully greeted his elders and peers, then knelt calmly in the great hall.
Yan Zhao, with a stern face, read out the charges against him: colluding with external enemies, framing fellow disciples, and plotting further disruptions on the flying peak. The accusations caused a stir among the uninformed disciples and managers present.
Qiu Yuansheng openly admitted to all the charges, even adding further details. He clearly explained how he orchestrated the chaos back then, implicating several Human Immortals and Great Sages. Of course, it had been done with the help of the High Priest, but he had indeed been the one in charge. The High Priest trusted him, so he had worked hard to repay that trust.
As for the Kun-Lai elders who also trusted him deeply—well, he offered his apologies.
The surrounding disciples were outraged. Some even questioned why he showed no remorse or mercy.
Qiu Yuansheng merely expressed regret, stating that a cold-hearted person naturally had no mercy to spare.
Finally, he admitted that he had deliberately taught the beast blood cultivation method to the peak master of Qingdi Peak, Bai Liu, to intensify his inner demons and eliminate the last person connected to the events of that year. If not for a series of coincidences, no one would have ever uncovered his actions.
Naturally, he was sentenced to the ultimate punishment. An Xian, the Peak Master of Sword Peak, personally begged the Sect Leader to let her execute the sentence herself to avenge her late husband.
The Sect Leader agreed.
*
"Why let him die so easily instead of condemning him to eternal torment?" Ji Mingyu asked her father afterward.
"And let some protagonist release the sealed monster a thousand years later? That would be far too troublesome," her father replied casually.
"Protagonist?" Ji Mingyu asked curiously, while Feng Qingxiu, listening nearby, perked up with interest.
Ji Yunlai casually shared some typical protagonist tropes: for instance, protagonists who discover sealed villains and, despite all warnings, can’t resist releasing them "just to see," thus creating chapters upon chapters of drama for the author. Or protagonists who have a habit of rescuing people, sometimes sympathizing with a tortured villain and providing water and medicine, only to have the villain either become their lover or turn around and slaughter their entire family, sect, and friends—leaving the protagonist guilt-ridden. Whether the protagonist was male or female, he noted, depended on whether it was a romance novel or a webnovel-style story.
"No wonder," Ji Mingyu nodded. "Hearing you say that, I don’t even feel like following my roommate’s story anymore. I’ll just help her print a few copies."
Ji Yunlai raised an eyebrow. "What story?"
"She’s recently been writing a new book. I think it’s called “‘The Return of the Condor Heroes’?" Ji Mingyu shrugged. "She even wrote a romance between a master and apprentice. Word spread, and after half a month, it caused such a commotion that she got called in for a day-long scolding by the teachers yesterday."