Reincarnation Immortal Venerable: Starting from the Ninety-Nineth Incarnation

The stench of blood in the woods was so thick it was almost unbearable, clinging to the tip of the nose and making one's chest feel tight.

Shi Dazhuang stood amidst the mangled limbs and flesh, his body covered in blood, even his hair dripping with red and white substances. His once round eyes were now only a scarlet red, devoid of any of his former innocent and honest nature, only a raging fury consumed by rage.

Li Yanzhou leaned against the tree trunk, barely managing to stand upright. The antidote pill had only just begun to take effect, his spiritual energy was still sluggish, and the sharp pain in his chest was still lingering.

His heart clenched as he looked at Shi Dazhuang, who was completely out of control.

This wasn't the big, goofy guy he knew who would eagerly do the heavy work and be happy for half a day over a string of candied hawthorns. At this moment, he was more like a ferocious beast that had been completely enraged and lost its mind.

"Dazhuang," Li Yanzhou said tentatively, his voice still a little hoarse, deliberately softening it so as not to upset him further, "It's alright, we're alright."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Dazhuang turned his head sharply, his scarlet eyes fixed on Li Yanzhou. There was no familiarity in his eyes, only pure killing intent and rage, as if the person in front of him was not the one he was trying his best to protect, but another enemy.

He let out a low growl, arched his body like a wild beast, his muscles tensed even more, and his blood-stained hands clenched into fists, making him look even more ferocious.

"Watch out!" Su Qingyao exclaimed.

Shi Dazhuang roared and stomped his feet hard, burying himself in the ground. He charged forward with a gust of foul wind, his fist carrying the savage power of a Transcendent Realm expert, aimed straight at Li Yanzhou's face.

He charged towards the two like an arrow released from a bow, his fists whistling through the air, carrying a thick stench of blood and brute force, aimed straight at Li Yanzhou's face.

His speed was astonishing, even faster than when he had brutally killed Zhao Feng and the others. He was clearly in a bloodthirsty frenzy and couldn't even recognize people he knew.

Li Yanzhou's heart tightened, and he subconsciously tried to dodge to the side, but his spiritual power was insufficient, and his movements were a beat too slow.

Just as the blood-stained fist was about to smash into his face, a clear and melodious flute melody suddenly came from the depths of the forest. It was light and airy, yet carried an inexplicable calming power, penetrating the heavy stench of blood and echoing clearly throughout the entire forest.

The flute music wasn't loud, but it was like a clear spring, instantly extinguishing the violent and aggressive aura surrounding Shi Dazhuang.

Shi Dazhuang, who was rushing halfway, suddenly froze. His fist stopped less than an inch from Li Yanzhou's face. His scarlet eyes gradually became dazed, and the roar in his throat slowly subsided. His muscles were no longer tense, and his taut fist slowly loosened, his blood-stained fingers trembling slightly.

The flute music continued, clear and melodious, as if soothing a runaway beast.

Shi Dazhuang stood there, his eyes gradually losing their crimson color, his confusion slowly dissipating, and he finally regained his former bewilderment, clearly seeing Li Yanzhou and Su Qingyao in front of him.

But the violent exertion he had just unleashed had already exhausted all his strength, and the feeling of exhaustion that followed the fading of his killing intent swept over him.

He swayed, like a withered tree ravaged by a storm, and fell straight down, completely unconscious.

The flute music stopped abruptly, and the woods returned to deathly silence, save for the panting of Li Yanzhou and Su Qingyao, and the rustling of the wind through the leaves, carrying the scent of blood.

Li Yanzhou quickly stepped forward and carefully helped Shi Dazhuang up. He checked Shi Dazhuang's breathing and found that although it was weak, it was steady. He had just fainted from exhaustion.

"Excuse me, which senior is it?" Li Yanzhou looked up, his gaze following the direction from which the flute sound came. The night was still dark, with only the faint moonlight shining through the forest, barely enough to make out the outlines in the distance.

Not far away, a figure in white stood quietly among the branches of an old locust tree. His clothes fluttered in the wind, his long hair swayed in the breeze, and his figure was slender and upright, making him appear extremely handsome.

The light was too dim to see his full features clearly. By the moonlight, I could only vaguely glimpse half of his face with its smooth lines, a clear jawline, and gentle eyes and brows.

As if sensing Li Yanzhou's gaze, the man in white turned his head slightly, smiled kindly at him, his eyebrows curving upwards with a hint of gentleness that was barely perceptible, but he did not speak or approach.

Before Li Yanzhou could take a closer look, he turned around, lightly touched a branch with his toes, and moved as gracefully as a butterfly, quickly leaving along the forest path. His white-clad figure soon disappeared into the depths of the night, leaving only a faint, fleeting, and refreshing aura.

Li Yanzhou frowned, repeatedly recalling the scene in his mind, but he still couldn't remember knowing such a man in white.

He had seen many cultivators, but he had never seen anyone with such a slender temperament and flute music that could soothe a violent person.

Su Qingyao also leaned closer and asked softly, "Yanzhou, do you know him?"

Li Yanzhou slowly shook his head, his tone tinged with doubt: "I don't know him, I've never seen him before, but since he helped us, he probably didn't mean any harm."

Now is clearly not the time to ponder the white-robed man's identity. The forest is littered with severed limbs and reeks of blood. If it attracts other demonic cultivators or idle cultivators, it will only cause more trouble.

Li Yanzhou stopped thinking about it, took out a communication talisman from his storage bag, gathered the last bit of spiritual power, and gently squeezed it. The communication talisman instantly ignited with a pale blue flame, turned into a stream of light, and flew towards the Qiyun Sect.

This communication talisman is standard equipment for sect disciples and can summon disciples on duty nearby to come and provide support.

After sending the message talisman, the two stayed by Shi Dazhuang's side, not daring to move easily.

Su Qingyao knelt down and gently wiped the blood from Shi Dazhuang's face, her eyes filled with heartache: "He really scared me just now. Luckily, the flute music came just in time, otherwise..."

She stopped halfway through her sentence, still feeling lingering fear as she recalled Shi Dazhuang's violent outburst.

Li Yanzhou patted her shoulder and gently comforted her, "It's alright, it's all over. Dazhuang was just angered. When he wakes up, he'll still be himself."

Before long, several figures hurried over with rapid footsteps. They were outer disciples of the Qiyun Sect on duty nearby, led by Lin Feng, the squad leader.

As soon as they entered the woods, they were horrified by the scattered limbs and flesh and the strong smell of blood. Some even covered their mouths and noses on the spot, almost vomiting, and their steps instinctively stopped.

"Senior Brother Li? Senior Sister Su?" Lin Feng suppressed his discomfort and quickly stepped forward. When he saw Li Yanzhou and Su Qingyao covered in blood, and Shi Dazhuang lying unconscious on the ground covered in blood, his expression changed drastically. "Senior Brother and Senior Sister, what happened to you? What... what's with all these corpses on the ground?"

Li Yanzhou simply said, "We were ambushed," and then gestured for Lin Feng to look at the severed heads and limbs not far away: "Take a close look. Are those people dressed like members of the Luoshui Sect?"

Lin Feng hurriedly stepped forward, suppressing his discomfort, and carefully examined the clothing on the severed limbs. His expression grew increasingly grave, and his tone was tinged with shock: "It's from the Luoshui Sect! This clothing is the style of an inner disciple of the Luoshui Sect, and this..."

He pointed to a relatively intact corpse, "This is Xie Yunfan from the Luoshui Sect! I heard he's the personal disciple of the sect leader, and his cultivation has already reached the early stage of the Opening Mansion Realm! And this one seems to be Zhao Feng, the only son of Elder Zhao of the Luoshui Sect!"

Upon hearing this, the accompanying disciples were all startled. A disciple of the Luoshui Sect had died near the Qiyun Sect, and in such a gruesome manner. If the Luoshui Sect were to investigate, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Senior brother, what should we do? If people from the Luoshui Sect die here, they will definitely come looking for trouble!" a disciple said in a panic.

Lin Feng took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "What's the panic! First, lift Shi Dazhuang up and escort Senior Brother Li and Senior Sister Su back to the sect. This matter is of great importance and must be reported to the elders immediately for their decision!"

After saying that, he waved his hand, and two disciples rushed forward to carefully help Shi Dazhuang up, carrying him on their shoulders. They arranged for the other disciples to cover up the body, clean up the bloody scene, and escort Li Yanzhou and Su Qingyao, hurrying towards Qiyun Sect.

Upon returning to Qiyun Sect, Lin Feng dared not delay and immediately went to report to the sect elders.

Before long, several outer sect elders, including Chaohua and Ruoxue, rushed over. When they saw Li Yanzhou and the other two covered in blood and heard that the Luoshui Sect disciples had died tragically in the forest, their expressions became extremely solemn. They immediately decided to convene an emergency elders meeting to discuss the matter.

The atmosphere inside the Elders' Hall was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Several elders sat together with solemn expressions, while Lin Feng stood aside and reported the scene in the woods in detail.

Elder Chaohua looked at Li Yanzhou, her tone serious: "Yanzhou, tell me in detail what exactly happened? Why did the people from the Luoshui Sect ambush you?"

Li Yanzhou composed himself and recounted the entire story, from when he, Su Qingyao, and Shi Dazhuang descended the mountain and encountered an ambush set by Zhao Feng and Xie Yunfan, who then used a dispersing agent to inflict damage, to Shi Dazhuang's enraged rampage and massacre of everyone, to the sound of a flute that brought Shi Dazhuang back to his senses, causing him to lose consciousness from exhaustion, and finally, to the sight of a blurry white-clad man. He didn't miss a single detail.

When Li Yanzhou said, "A clear, cold flute melody came and calmed the raging Shi Dazhuang," Elders Chaohua and Ruoxue both stiffened at the same time. They subconsciously exchanged a glance, a hint of doubt flashing in their eyes. Their lips moved slightly, and they murmured, "Could it be him?" Their voices were not loud, but they were heard by the elders around them.

An elder asked in confusion, "Elder Chaohua, Elder Ruoxue, who is this 'he' you're talking about?" Chaohua and Ruoxue exchanged a glance, but did not explain further. They simply shook their heads, signaling Li Yanzhou to continue.

After Li Yanzhou finished speaking, the Elder Hall fell into a deathly silence.

After a moment, an elder with a serious expression spoke first, his tone tinged with worry: "This matter is of utmost importance. Xie Yunfan of the Luoshui Sect was the sect leader's personal disciple, and Zhao Feng was Zhao Hanshan's only son. Now that both of them have died tragically, given how much Zhao Hanshan dotes on his only son, the Luoshui Sect will certainly not let this go easily. In my opinion, it would be better to hand over Li Yanzhou and the other two to appease the Luoshui Sect's anger. Otherwise, the Qiyun Sect may face disaster!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another elder immediately objected, his tone firm: "Absolutely not! It was clearly the disciples of the Luoshui Sect who first ambushed our disciples. If we hand over Yanzhou and the others, wouldn't it make our Qiyun Sect appear cowardly and afraid of trouble? In the future, other sects will only despise us more and bully us even more! In my opinion, we should keep Li Yanzhou and the other two safe and well, and at the same time send someone to the Luoshui Sect to negotiate and explain the truth. If the Luoshui Sect is unreasonable, we don't need to be afraid of them!"

The two elders argued back and forth, and the other elders also expressed their opinions. Some agreed to hand over the three people to avoid trouble, while others advocated keeping the three people to maintain the sect's reputation. The argument in the elders' hall grew louder and louder, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

At this point, someone suggested that the matter should be reported to the sect leader so that he could make a decision.

Elders Chaohua and Ruoxue remained silent, their brows furrowed and their expressions grave, clearly weighing the pros and cons. At the same time, the doubts in their eyes had not yet dissipated. Was the flute music that Li Yanzhou had mentioned earlier, and the "he" they were thinking of, the same person?

Li Yanzhou and Su Qingyao stood silently to the side, both knowing that the outcome of this argument would directly affect the fate of the three of them.

The debate inside the Elders' Hall continued, the night remained deep, and the mountain breeze carried a chill, rustling the leaves outside the hall.

Looking at the elders arguing endlessly in the hall, and recalling the mysterious man in white and the clear, cold sound of the flute, Li Yanzhou became increasingly puzzled. It seemed that none of this was a coincidence.

His fate, along with that of Su Qingyao and Shi Dazhuang, became increasingly unpredictable during this debate, leaving them uncertain about whether to stay or leave.

Unexpectedly, while they were discussing, a hand tremblingly reached out from the soil covering the body, weakly but persistently digging at the surface soil, and forcefully broke through the thick soil.