A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 215 Master Li Emerges from Seclusion

On the ruins of the Xuanlei Sword Sect, the wind carried the stench of black miasma, making one want to vomit.

From the cracks in the black spiritual vein, occasional bursts of black lightning scorched the ground, causing it to hiss and smoke, casting flickering light and shadow on the faces of the six True Lords.

Thirty percent of the silver threads on Master Xuanling's whisk broke off, and the remaining threads also possessed a dark, invading force, constantly struggling against the azure light.

The withered hands of the Zen Master Kujue gripped the Bodhi Zen Staff, its Buddhist patterns obscuring the surface and bearing several chips, also shrouded in a faint, dark power.

True Lord Xingyan, True Lord Yueyao, and others also suffered injuries.

Lei Tianyi's face was deathly pale, but he still held the Thunder King Cauldron tightly and presided over the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Formation.

The two sin-clan venerables surrounded in the center had blood-stained gray robes and crooked skulls on their bone staffs, but there was no fear in their eyes. Instead, they exuded a kind of mad ferocity.

The Venerable of the Sin Clan on the left licked the black blood from the corner of his mouth, his hoarse voice like crushed bone as he cackled, "So what if there are six True Monarchs? If you want to keep us here, you'll have to pay with your lives!"

Before he could finish speaking, Lei Tianyi gripped the Thunder King Cauldron tightly. The purple-gold lightning on the cauldron surged once more, making his eyes bloodshot. He roared, "I'll take your life first!"

A beam of purple-gold lightning as thick as a water bucket shot out from the Thunder King Cauldron, directly targeting the arrogant Sin Clan Venerable!
The lightning contained Lei Tianyi's original lightning power, and wherever it passed, the black miasma was instantly torn to shreds, and even the air was distorted by the heat.

The Venerable of the Sin Clan neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, he laughed wildly and pressed the black flame in his palm against his chest, roaring, "Want to kill me? First, taste my 'Heart-Corroding Flame'!"

Black flames drilled into his dantian and instantly burst forth from his seven orifices, transforming him into a black fire meteor that crashed into the Thunder King Cauldron!
With a deafening roar, the shockwave from the explosion of lightning and black fire sent everything around them flying several feet away. Master Xuanling quickly waved his whisk, and a green light protected him.

The others were also quite disheveled.

It's too cruel.

This is a desperate, all-or-nothing style of play.

When a master at the level of a Celestial True Monarch is willing to risk their life, it is quite terrifying.

Of the six, apart from Lei Tianyi, the other five were clearly not willing to risk their lives.

Upon seeing the cauldron engulfed by black flames, Lei Tian's killing intent intensified. He drew the Xuanlei Ancient Sword from his back with a backhand motion. As the blade sliced ​​through the air, it triggered the remaining thunder pool on the back mountain. A purple pillar of lightning shot out from the bottom of the pool and wrapped around the sword. He roared, "Xuanlei Exterminates Evil!"

The sword light slashed towards the Sin Clan Venerable on the right like a bolt of lightning. The sword wind was wrapped with thunder and fire, which even stirred up the black lightning on the ground, causing it to rush towards the Sin Clan's feet.

But the sinners, who always only knew how to fight head-on, suddenly dodged this time and then smashed their bone staffs hard into the cracks beneath their feet!
"Heh heh, since you insist on keeping me here, then let the Xuanlei Sword Sect be completely destroyed!"

Black miasma surged wildly from the bone staff, flowing down into the ground.

Lei Tianyi's sword strike suddenly halted; he couldn't let the black miasma completely destroy the spiritual vein!

But in that moment of hesitation, another elder of the Sin Clan suddenly withdrew, breaking away from the fight with the others, and his bone staff, carrying unparalleled black light, pierced straight into Lei Tianyi's dantian.

"careful!"

Suddenly, Zen Master Kujue lunged forward, his Bodhi staff held horizontally in front of Lei Tianyi, its Buddhist light surging, blocking the attack of the bone staff.

But the black miasma climbed up the staff, instantly eroding the Buddha patterns and dimming them. Master Kujue groaned and spat a mouthful of black blood onto the Bodhi staff, turning the originally brownish-red staff black.

"You old bald monk! Mind your own business!"

The Venerable Sinner grinned maliciously and thrust his bone staff forward, attempting to pierce through both the staff and the Bitter Enlightenment Zen Master.

Upon seeing this, True Monarch Xingyan and the others immediately launched a coordinated attack.

However, this sinful cultivator neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the four powerful attacks to strike him relentlessly. His eyes were filled with a crazed and violent smile as he roared, "Hehehe! This is the moment I've been waiting for!"

"Go back!"

The old Zen master of Tianji Temple shouted, and the Buddhist beads on his wrist automatically dispersed, forming a protective aura around himself.

The others also took out their most treasured protective items to protect themselves.

Lei Tianyi even held the Thunder King Cauldron in front of him as a shield...

"boom!!"

Like a meteor shower, the enormous explosion was estimated to have reverberated throughout the entire Northern Spirit Domain.

An endless outbreak of black miasma, if allowed to spread, would likely wipe out countless humans, including mortals.

At the same time, countless criminal races will be born...

Therefore, no matter what, the True Lords of the six major sects cannot allow this black miasma to spread.

Although this self-destruction caused them considerable harm again, even though they were right next to each other.

With nowhere left to retreat, the six finally unleashed their strongest power, doing everything in their power to resist and annihilate the black miasma, not even caring about the other sinful cultivator taking the opportunity to escape...

"Amitabha!"

Two hours later, when the black miasma was finally cleared away, Master Kujue chanted a Buddhist prayer and said, "Although this fiend has no name, it has fought and entangled with us for hundreds of years. Today, it has finally been delivered from suffering. This is truly a cause for celebration."

Xuanling Daoist of Xuanyuan Dao Sect flicked his whisk and said, "Although we were unable to achieve complete success, we have still damaged the very foundation of the criminal race in the Northern Spirit Domain."

True Monarch Yueyao put away the Moon Wheel and nodded, saying, "The one who escaped was also seriously injured. Should we take this opportunity to pursue and kill him?"

The Star-Picking True Lord of Xingluo Temple was the first to object, saying, "How can we stop a Celestial Spirit Realm Venerable from escaping?"

In terms of pure strength, in a one-on-one fight, they might not even be a match for that person.

The ferocity and fearlessness of the criminals are truly frightening.

Looking at the devastated sect, Lei Tianyi felt resentful, but he knew he couldn't force others to continue attacking, so he could only say a few polite words and temporarily suppress his desire for revenge.

At this moment, the six True Lords all looked westward simultaneously.

Everyone wants to know what's happening with the Five Elements Sect, the "instigator"...

……

Within the territory of the Five Elements Sect, in stark contrast to the devastation and despair of the Xuanlei Sword Sect and the destruction of Qingshui City, the spiritual light of the Five-Colored Array, though softened, still shimmered with a faint halo at the edge of the territory, beautiful and enchanting, seemingly keeping even the night at bay.

On the stone streets of the tenant area, the complaints of the past have long since disappeared, replaced by bursts of laughter, and even the air is filled with the sweet aroma of Lingmi cake.

The shop assistant at Cui Ling Fang was squatting in front of the stall, carefully arranging the Dew-Gathering Grass in the basket. As he did so, he laughed to the cultivator next to him, "Thanks to Sect Leader Li! If the Sect Leader hadn't activated the formation in advance, we probably wouldn't even have any trace of the spirit herbs left!"

Not far away, Granny Zhang, who sells spiritual food, lifted the lid of her steamer. The aroma of the spiritual rice cakes, carried by the steam, wafted out, attracting several young cultivators to gather around and scramble for them.

She didn't say anything about repentance, but she had already sent Hou Haikun a large basket of spirit rice cakes, asking him to help deliver them to the inner sect.

In the crowd, someone started by howling an ancient ballad.

Surprisingly, perhaps because of the previous repression, quite a few people actually chimed in. Inside the Five Elements Hall of Hunyuan Peak, everyone was present. Xi Mei laughed at Tao Ling'er, "They sang terribly!"

Tao Ling'er mischievously said, "Sing one!"

Xi Mei, following in her brother's footsteps, has truly grown into a poised and confident young woman, showing no stage fright whatsoever. She immediately launched into a verse: "What a beautiful jasmine flower! What a beautiful jasmine flower! Fragrant and beautiful, its branches are full of blossoms, so fragrant and white, everyone praises it!"

After singing, she gestured with one hand to show her face.

Tao Ling'er was completely baffled: "You even composed a little tune for yourself?!"

Xi Mei giggled and said, "Brother sang it for me!"

Well, now all four of them turned their heads and glared at Li Weizhou with sharp, piercing eyes.

Fortunately, just then, a series of urgent shouts came from the direction of the Five Elements Sect's mountain gate, breaking the commotion.

"Open the door! Open the gate quickly! We escaped from Qingshui City!"

Her voice was choked with sobs and intermittent coughing; she sounded very weak.

Li Weizhou waved his hand, revealing a mirror panel that, like a surveillance camera, could show the situation at the mountain gate.

Hou Haikun, who had been making arrangements at the outer branch, had obviously heard the commotion and hurried toward the mountain gate. Outside the array's light barrier, dozens of ragged cultivators were crowded together. Some had blood-stained strips of cloth wrapped around their arms, while others were holding unconscious children in their arms. All of them had dust on their faces and their eyes were filled with fear and urgency.

The leader was none other than Manager Wang of the Cui Ling Fang in Qing Shui City. He was lucky enough to escape.

"Steward Hou! Please, have mercy and do us a favor! We beg the Five Elements Sect to save us!"

Shopkeeper Wang gripped the light screen, his knuckles turning white from the force, and growled, "Qingshui City has fallen! Spirit corpse puppets are everywhere! We still have families and disciples trapped in the city; if we wait any longer, it will be too late!"

The cultivators behind him also began to cry out, their cries truly heart-wrenching. Some even held up their children's blood-stained clothes. The cries drifted on the wind into the Five Elements Sect, instantly silencing the once bustling tenant area. The cultivators who had been singing stopped, their smiles fading, leaving only solemnity.

Just as Hou Haikun was about to speak, a woman's voice suddenly came from the crowd, hoarse: "Sect Leader Li, please show yourself! Please, Five Elements Sect, save the people of Qingshui City!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Su Wan walk out from behind. Her Shuihua Sword was gone, her silver-white Taoist robe was stained with black blood and dust, and her left arm hung limply at her side, clearly indicating that she had suffered a serious injury.

She walked to the light screen, looked at the peaceful scene inside, and then recalled the tragic state of Qingshui City. Tears finally streamed down her face as she said, "From this day forward, there is no more Qingshui City! The survival of Qingshui City is insignificant; it is only those fellow cultivators who are truly innocent! I, Su Wan, am powerless to protect them and have failed their trust. I can only shamelessly beg the Five Elements Sect for help..."

As she spoke, she was about to draw her sword and slit her throat as an apology, but fortunately, she was stopped by the cultivators beside her.

Seeing this, Hou Haikun quickly said, "Lord Su, don't worry! Sect Leader Li is currently in seclusion recuperating. That sword strike earlier also came at a great cost to him. I'll send him a message right away! However, activating the Five Elements Formation is not easy, so please wait a moment!"

He turned to head towards Hunyuan Peak, but then he saw a beam of light fly from the direction of the Five Elements Hall and land in front of him. It was Li Weizhou's flying sword message.

Hou Haikun listened attentively for a moment, his brows gradually relaxing. He looked up at the crowd outside the light screen and said, "The sect leader has ordered that the mountain gate be opened immediately so that everyone can come in and rest! As for the matter of rescuing Qingshui City, the sect leader has his own arrangements!"

The spiritual light of the great array in front of the mountain gate slowly separated, and a passage appeared in front of everyone.

Manager Wang rushed in first, bowed deeply, and loudly proclaimed, "Thank you, Sect Leader Li! Thank you, Five Elements Sect!"

Other cultivators followed suit, and Su Wan also staggered in, looking towards the Five Elements Hall with gratitude and guilt in her eyes.

After all, when the Five Elements Sect was besieged, Qingshui City had no intention of coming to its aid.

The monks in the tenant area also gathered around. They couldn't show their pride and sense of superiority, but they could show goodwill.

Some offered words of comfort and advice, while others even gave medicine to acquaintances.

Granny Zhang held a basket of hot spirit rice cakes and handed it to a woman holding a child, saying, "Eat something first, don't let the child go hungry."

The woman, tears streaming down her face, said, "My husband, to protect us, mother and child, sob sob sob."

Granny Zhang sighed, not knowing what to say.

Inside the Five Elements Hall of Hunyuan Peak, Tian Ru strongly disapproved of Li Weizhou going out, saying, "Within the Five Elements Formation, you can still borrow the power of the Ancestral Master to withstand the immortal spirits. Once you leave the formation, you will be in danger even if you encounter a Spirit God Realm expert."

Although she knew that Qingshui City was the culmination of her best friend Su Wan's life's work, her disciple's life was clearly more important to her.

Li Weizhou chuckled and said, "It's not for Qingshui City, nor for your friend Su Wan. Whether she delivers the message or not, the outcome won't change much. It's just that my Five Elements Sect just issued the Peace and Security Order, and these scruffy birds are already showing such disrespect. Do you think I, a prominent figure in the Northern Spiritual Domain, have no dignity?"

Tian Ru swore she didn't want to laugh, but what this disciple said was just... too funny.

So she started giggling.

Tao Ling'er and others were also laughing together.

Tao Ling'er wanted to pinch her junior brother's cheeks to see just how thick-skinned he was to say such a thing.

Li Weizhou was too lazy to explain and said to Zhou Yueniang and the other three, "You should stay here with your master's wife. If anything changes, use the great formation. The current great formation is even more effective than before."

With the Eastern Emperor Bell present, the problem of obscurity in the transformation of the Five Elements will no longer arise.

Although he couldn't unleash an attack comparable to that of a Celestial Spirit Realm cultivator like Li Weizhou, his defense wasn't a major problem.

Zhou Yueniang still reminded her, "Be careful."

Li Weizhou gave an "OK" sign.

……

Before the night was over and the sun had risen, a figure had already darted out from the top of Hunyuan Peak.

Li Weizhou lightly stepped on the Five Elements Divine Sword, and the five colors of spiritual light—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—flowed along the sword's body, like five lively ribbons of light, supporting him suspended in mid-air.

The protective power emanating from the interwoven spiritual energy of the five elements made him appear like an immortal descending from the clouds.

His robes fluttered in the wind, billowing with spiritual energy. As the hem of his dark outer robe swept across the clouds, it instantly cleansed away the remaining wisps of faint black miasma.

"That is……"

The cultivators at the mountain gate were the first to notice this figure. The sorrowful discussions that had been going on instantly stopped, and everyone's eyes turned to the sky. Even the woman holding her child forgot to wipe away her tears.

Hou Haikun was the first to react, shouting loudly, "The sect leader has come out of seclusion to quell the evil! Victory is assured!"

"Sect Leader Li will win! Sect Leader Li will win!"

Those cultivators whose families had fallen in Qingshui City, or who were still in the rear, began to shout frantically.

Immediately afterwards, wave after wave of people began to process their rental applications.

They no longer care whether Qingshui City can be rebuilt.

Compared to his recognition and appreciation of Su Wan, his own safety and that of his family are the most important things!
……

(End of this chapter)