Heaven rewards diligence, but there are always fairies plotting against me.

The Divine Sword Sect is located in the vast mountains of the far east of the Great Yuan Dynasty.

The seventy-two main peaks are like giant blue stone swords piercing the sky, constantly emitting thick spiritual mist.

Before the mountain gate, ten thousand sword energies transformed into rainbow light, crisscrossing and faintly outlining the "Nine Heavens Imperial Sword Formation" that has protected the sect for thousands of years.

On this day, the sky was overcast, and muffled thunder roared in the rolling dark clouds, as if foreshadowing a storm that was about to sweep across this ancient holy land of cultivation.

Suddenly, the void outside the Divine Sword Sect's mountain gate rippled slightly, and two figures, one after the other, stepped out from the rolling sea of ​​clouds.

Walking in front was a young man with a cold expression and flowing black hair.

He stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly taking each step very slowly.

But beneath his feet, the earth shrank to an inch, and golden runes and chaotic true essence faintly appeared around him.

Half a step behind him was a middle-aged man wearing a dark gold sect leader's robe, with a refined face but empty eyes. He was none other than Lin Wuwen, the sect leader of the Divine Sword Sect.

"Who goes there? This is sacred ground of our sect! Trespassers will be killed!"

Sensing the fluctuations in the void, the two core disciples at the Golden Core stage guarding the mountain instantly summoned their flying swords and shouted sharply in mid-air.

However, when their gazes fell upon Lin Wuwen, their expressions changed drastically. They hurriedly retracted their flying swords and knelt on the ground in fear: "Disciple kowtows to the Sect Master! We were unaware of the Sect Master's arrival and deserve to die!"

Lin Wuwen remained expressionless, not even lifting his eyelids, as if the two figures standing before him were merely stone sculptures.

He simply followed stiffly behind Chu Chang, his posture resembling that of a subservient follower.

The two disciples guarding the mountain secretly raised their heads and exchanged a horrified look.

How could the sect leader be half a step behind that young man? Moreover, the man's attire suggests that he is just an insignificant outer disciple within the sect?

Chu Chang ignored the astonished and suspicious gazes of the disciples guarding the mountain. He looked up at the main peak that pierced the sky and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Lin Wuwen, issue the order. Have all the elders and disciples of the Divine Sword Sect gather at the main peak's sword platform within half an incense stick's time. Tell them... there is a matter of great importance concerning the sect's survival that needs to be announced," Chu Chang said calmly.

"Yes, Master." Lin Wuwen's voice was stiff and hoarse.

The next moment, Lin Wuwen took a deep breath, and his mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivation suddenly erupted.

A powerful, oppressive crimson sword intent surged into the sky, transforming into a massive sound wave that instantly spread to every corner of the Divine Sword Sect.

"Divine Sword Sect, heed my command! All elders, true disciples, inner and outer disciples, assemble at the main peak's sword platform within half an incense stick's time! Anyone arriving more than a hundred breaths late will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the sect!"

The sect leader's decree, like rolling thunder, resounded endlessly.

In an instant, all seventy-two main peaks trembled simultaneously, and countless sword lights shot into the sky, converging densely towards the sword platform on the main peak.

The main peak sword platform was carved from a single massive piece of black steel stone. It was a thousand feet wide, and thousands of broken swords belonging to fallen elders from past generations were stuck along its edges, exuding a chilling aura.

With the sect leader's decree issued, the sword platform was soon filled with a dense crowd.

"What's wrong with the Sect Master today? He's actually using his imperial authority to issue orders. Could it be that there's an invasion from outside?"

"Judging from their tone, they were filled with murderous intent. Could it be that an elder was secretly colluding with external enemies, and the sect leader discovered it?"

"Look! Who's that person standing next to the Sect Master? How come he's wearing outer disciple's robes, yet he's standing shoulder to shoulder with the Sect Master?"

Countless disciples whispered among themselves, pointing and gossiping.

At the very front of the sword platform, a dozen or so sect elders, each with a profound aura and at least at the late Golden Core stage, with three even reaching the early Purple Mansion stage, were looking solemnly at the two people on the platform.

"Senior Brother Lin, what is the purpose of summoning the entire sect today?"

The speaker was Elder Zhao Wuji, a powerful expert at the early stage of the Purple Mansion Realm.

He was dressed in a white robe, his white hair flowing, exuding an air of otherworldly grace, but in his shrewd little eyes, a barely perceptible hint of surprise and panic flickered.

He noticed that Lin Wuwen seemed a bit off today.

Not only was his breathing somewhat stiff, but it also faintly exuded a deathly aura that made him feel oppressed.

More importantly, Lin Wuwen was actually standing behind that outer disciple named Chu Chang!

Chu Chang glanced around at the sea of ​​sect disciples below, as well as the dozen or so elders with varying expressions, his face showing no fear.

"Elder Zhao, there's no need to rush."

Chu Chang took a step forward, put his hands behind his back, and his voice, amplified by the Chaos True Essence, clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

"I have gathered everyone here today for one purpose only: to purge the traitors and revitalize the Divine Sword Sect!"

These words caused an uproar throughout the room!

"How dare you! You mere outer disciple, how dare you spout such nonsense on the sword platform!"

An elder in the Golden Core stage, unable to contain himself any longer, pointed at Chu Chang and shouted sternly, "With the sect leader here, how dare you, a mere child, spout nonsense? Deacons, seize this madman!"

Several law enforcement officers dressed in black immediately stepped forward, their true energy surging, ready to make their move.

"Step back."

Lin Wuwen, who had been standing woodenly behind Chu Chang, suddenly spoke, his voice icy cold and devoid of any warmth.

The deacons froze, standing motionless, exchanging bewildered glances.

Upon seeing this, Elder Zhao Wuji frowned even more deeply. He looked at Lin Wuwen and said in a deep voice, "Senior Brother Lin, what do you mean by this? This boy is merely an outer disciple who is disrupting the sect's order and slandering the elders. Why are you still protecting him? Could it be that you have been kidnapped by this fiend?"

Zhao Wuji's words were a test.

But he never imagined that the Lin Wuwen in front of him was no longer a living person, but a walking corpse that was completely obedient to Chu Chang.

Chu Chang sneered, took out the blood-red secret letters he had previously searched from Lin Wuwen's storage bag from his bosom, and casually tossed them aside.

Splash!

The secret letter was shattered by the true essence in the void, turning into countless huge golden light screens that clearly projected every word and every seal on the letter onto the sky above the sword platform!

"Everyone, watch carefully."

Chu Chang pointed at the light screen in the void, his words piercingly scathing: "This is the mess your usually aloof and ethereal elders have made!"

A deathly silence fell over the sword platform.

All the disciples raised their heads and stared intently at the light screen in the void, looking at the shocking words on it.

"...Send forth five hundred high-quality blood offerings...and divide the resulting souls and blood essence fifty-fifty..."

"The Xiao family... the Iron Sword Sect... the Zhao family..."

As the text on the screen continued to flash, the disciple's expression changed from confusion to shock, and then from shock to anger and fear!

"This...how is this possible? Aren't the Xiao family and the Zhao family affiliated with our sect as powerful cultivation families? How could they...colluded with others to hunt down our sect's disciples and rogue cultivators?"

"Heavens! My younger brother disappeared three years ago in the forbidden area outside the city. The sect said he died at the hands of a demonic beast. Could it be... could it be...?"

"Look at that seal! That's Elder Zhao's personal seal! And the signatures of the Second Elder and Fourth Elder!"

boom!

The entire sword platform erupted in chaos.

At this moment, the emotions of tens of thousands of disciples completely spiraled out of control. Waves of anger rose higher and higher, and countless pairs of bloodshot eyes were fixed on the Grand Elder Zhao Wuji in the front row, as well as several other pale-faced elders.

"Elder Zhao! Give us an explanation!"

"Are the disciples of my sect merely livestock for you to cultivate demonic arts and exchange for your blood essence?!"

Some disciples who had lost loved ones in the forbidden area drew their flying swords and roared, their bodies trembling.

The elders standing in the front row were completely panicked. The Fourth Elder's legs were even trembling slightly, and he looked to the First Elder, Zhao Wuji, for help.

Zhao Wuji's face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

He stared intently at the projection in the void, then glanced at Lin Wuwen, who stood behind Chu Chang with an expressionless face, frantically searching for a solution in his mind.

"Lin Wuwen is a madman! How could he entrust these secret letters to this kid? Does he want to die with us? No... Lin Wuwen doesn't seem sane at all, could it be..."

Zhao Wuji was also a ruthless person. Seeing that things had been exposed, he decided to go all the way.

"Ridiculous! Utter nonsense!"

Zhao Wuji took a sudden step forward, and the terrifying pressure of the Purple Mansion Realm pressed down on the entire scene like a mountain, forcibly suppressing the noise of the ten thousand disciples.

He pointed at Chu Chang and roared, turning the tables on his disciples, "Disciples, do not listen to this fiend's slander! These secret letters are clearly forged by this boy using illusion magic, a scheme to sow discord within our Divine Sword Sect! As for the Sect Master... I see that the Sect Master's eyes are lifeless; he must have fallen under some kind of divine soul technique of this fiend, and his mind has been controlled by him!"

Zhao Wuji turned around and whispered to the two other Purple Mansion Realm elders behind him, "Junior brothers, things have come to this point. If we let this brat continue talking, we'll all die without a burial place! Come with me and grind this brat to dust, then snatch back the sect leader!"

The other two elders were also covered in cold sweat. Since their lives were at stake, they didn't hesitate and nodded in unison. Their true energy began to circulate wildly, ready to launch a fatal attack at any moment.

"If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext."

Chu Chang looked at Zhao Wuji and the others, who were desperate and resorting to desperate measures, and his mocking expression deepened.

"Zhao Wuji, do you think you can still hide your actions from the public now? You want evidence? Then I'll show you the most irrefutable evidence!"

Chu Chang turned his head and softly uttered a single word to Lin Wuwen behind him:

"kneel."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lin Wuwen, the usually incomparably dignified sect leader who held absolute power in the Divine Sword Sect, did not hesitate at all upon hearing the name Chu Chang. He knelt down at Chu Chang's feet in front of tens of thousands of disciples!

This kneeling shattered the last illusions of Zhao Wuji and the others.

"This... the sect leader is really being controlled?!"

"No, if he was hit by a secret technique, how could the sect leader, with his mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivation, not even show any signs of struggling?"

"Lin Wuwen, tell everyone, is the letter on the light screen real?" Chu Chang looked down at the puppet at his feet.

Lin Wuwen mechanically raised his head, his stitched-up face looking somewhat eerie in the sunlight. His voice, stiff and strained, echoed throughout the room: "The letter is genuine. I conspired with the First Elder Zhao Wuji, the Second Elder, the Fourth Elder, the Xiao family, the Iron Sword Sect, and other forces to devour the forbidden area, refine demonic puppets, and kill 1,200 sect disciples and over 3,000 rogue cultivators."

Wow!

Lin Wuwen's personal admission was like a divine thunderbolt from the heavens exploding on the sword platform.

Those disciples who were still hesitant and doubtful were now completely consumed by anger.

"You beasts! You bunch of beasts!"

"Kill them! Avenge our fallen brothers!"

"The Divine Sword Sect has actually been ruled by these evil heretics for so long!"

Countless disciples, their eyes red, surged frantically toward the front of the stage.

"Damn it! Lin Wuwen is a madman!"

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Zhao Wuji could no longer suppress his killing intent. He grinned maliciously, his white robes fluttering wildly, and a blue flying sword exuding a chilling aura instantly shot out, transforming into a hundred-foot-long blue sword light, carrying the full force of a Purple Mansion Realm expert, heading straight for Chu Chang's throat!

"You little beast, even if you possess extraordinary abilities, you will die here today!"

"kill!"

The other two Purple Mansion Realm elders also made their move simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right. Two terrifying beams of magical light transformed into two enormous firebirds, blocking all of Chu Chang's escape routes.

The combined attack of the three Purple Mansion Realm experts was so powerful that it shook the protective array around the sword platform violently.

Faced with this devastating attack, Chu Chang simply stood still, not even moving an inch. He watched the rapidly approaching blue sword light, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Lin Wuwen, you raise an army for a thousand days, but use it for only one."

"Tear them apart for me."

hum!

Lin Wuwen, who was kneeling on the ground, vanished from his spot in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was already blocking Chu Chang's path. The "Heavenly Demon Reincarnation Puppet" body, which had undergone the tempering of demonic fire and the reshaping of the Heavenly Demon Secret Technique, erupted with a terrifying demonic power that was suffocating at this moment.

"roar!"

A low, inhuman growl escaped from Lin Wuwen's throat. He neither dodged nor evaded, nor even summoned any magical treasures, but directly stretched out his dark golden hands and boldly grabbed at the hundred-foot-long blue sword light!

clang!

A loud clang of metal colliding.

To everyone's astonishment, Zhao Wuji's natal flying sword, which he had been activating with all his might, was actually caught in mid-air by Lin Wuwen's bare hands!

"This...this is impossible!"

Zhao Wuji's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. That was his natal flying sword, forged from top-grade cold iron, possessing boundless power. How could it have been caught by someone's bare hands, without even a scratch?!

"Give it to me, smash it."

Lin Wuwen's voice was hoarse as he forcefully twisted his hands together.

Click!

The blue flying sword, under the kneading of Lin Wuwen's palm, which was comparable to a top-grade magic weapon, was as fragile as mud and was directly broken into three pieces!

puff!

With his natal magic weapon destroyed, Zhao Wuji was severely injured, spitting out a mouthful of blood and collapsing into a slump.

Lin Wuwen's movements did not pause at all. He swayed and instantly rushed in front of the two huge firebirds, throwing out both fists at once.

Boom! Boom!

With two muffled thuds, the two terrifying firebirds, which were enough to severely injure an ordinary early-stage Purple Mansion Realm cultivator, were directly blasted into sparks flying everywhere under Lin Wuwen's fists.

"Now, it's your turn."

Chu Chang stood at the back, coldly watching Zhao Wuji and the others whose faces were filled with despair.

He raised his right hand, forming a sword shape with his fingers, and pointed it at Zhao Wuji, whose face was deathly pale.

"Kill without mercy."

A strange, blood-red light suddenly blazed in Lin Wuwen's empty eyes. Like a tiger descending a mountain, he charged fiercely towards the few sect traitors who were already terrified.

On the main peak's sword platform, a long-planned bloody purge finally began.