It has been half a month since Yan Fang's death, yet Liu Lei has done nothing but brood. He told his parents that he persuaded Yan Fang to continue her studies, but he could not bring himself to tell them of her passing. He often sat, holding the "Pangu Axe" she had left him, lost in thought. Now, the only thing that captured his interest was studying the "Pangu Axe."
Though two weeks had passed, Liu Lei had only gained a rudimentary understanding of how to wield the axe. The vast, intricate array of celestial spells within it still eluded him. However, given his current cultivation and the unparalleled power of the "Pangu Axe," he believed that even Xuanyuan Xuejian could be defeated — its might rivaling that of a Heavenly Tribulation, a force no one in the cultivation world could resist.
That night, as usual, Liu Lei began his meditation. When the boundless dark energy unfurled, he sank deeply into the sensation. His divine sense spread outward, gradually covering the entire neighborhood as he attempted to gauge how far his reach could extend. His awareness continued to seep outward, like mercury flowing across the land. Just as he pushed further, he sensed six unfriendly forces approaching. They collided violently with his divine sense, and Liu Lei had no time to dodge. His awareness staggered, and a mouthful of blood surged forth. Retracting his divine sense, he stumbled and found himself standing on the rooftop, the six figures rapidly closing in as his perception contracted.
It was Qing Xun's disciples — Liu Lei immediately recognized them. The same attire, the same demeanor; they were obviously his fellow disciples. But he could not tell whether their cultivation surpassed that of Qing Xun.
The six Taoists stood in a line, and one of them spoke first, "I am Ziyi from Mount Emei, and Qing Xun was my inept disciple." He gestured toward the others, introducing them: "This is my third senior brother, Zixing, whose cultivation far exceeds ours, so you'd best be cautious; this is my fifth junior brother, Ziyuan, my sixth junior brother, Ziyan, my seventh junior brother, Zixian, and my eighth junior brother, Ziquan." Only after his introductions did Liu Lei respond, "You are here because of Qing Xun, aren't you?" Ziyi replied, "At first, yes, but after seeing you, it's no longer so simple." Liu Lei nodded, saying, "I understand. You righteous cultivators cannot tolerate me. Let's resolve things one by one. Yes, I killed Qing Xun, but there was a reason."
Liu Lei recounted the events leading to Qing Xun's death. The six exchanged glances, and Ziyi spoke again, "There's nothing more to discuss. We came to avenge Qing Xun. His skills were lacking, unable to uphold the path of righteousness, and he fell into the hands of demons. Now it falls to us old fellows to deal with you. Watch out for my 'Seven Treasures Heavenly Book!'"
A massive scroll unfurled in midair, showering purple light that enveloped Liu Lei. He felt a powerful pull, but with a sharp motion, he broke through the purple light, which shattered into a cascade of sparkling fragments. Ziyi was stunned, astonished that Liu Lei's physical strength could break the magic tool's power. He had brought his senior brothers to avoid a potential loss.
The other five, witnessing Liu Lei easily dispel the "Seven Treasures Heavenly Book," exchanged looks of surprise before quickly forming a circle around him. Ziyi, feeling more assured, retracted the scroll and summoned his "Honor Fire Sword," for all their sect's disciples considered flying swords their most powerful weapon. He performed a spell, sending the glowing sword toward Liu Lei. The others followed suit, unleashing their flying swords. Six beams of light converged from different directions, and Liu Lei cursed, "Shameless cowards, ganging up on one!"
Ziyi and his disciples felt a flicker of shame at the thought of their revered status in the cultivation world, yet they had joined forces to assault a younger cultivator. Hesitating for a moment, they briefly loosened their formation, allowing Liu Lei to break free and leap out of their encirclement.
Furious, the six quickly revived their assault. Six beams of light rushed at Liu Lei, but with a swift motion, he launched six "Heaven-Splitting Golden Seals" that collided with the flying swords. A dazzling golden explosion rained down, forcing the swords back and sending Liu Lei hurtling through the air. However, his vampiric and zombie king's strong physique allowed him to endure the pain and quickly recover. He gathered his focus and began the "Nine Heavens Thunderfire Curse," summoning six heavenly bolts of lightning that crashed toward the six Taoists.
They dodged the bolts with ease, but their chance to overwhelm Liu Lei slipped away. Anger surged within them as they unleashed their full power. Liu Lei, enraged, let his true form emerge: purple bat wings, adorned with golden Five Elements charms, fangs turned golden, and his right side clad in blood-red armor etched with black totems. His spine extended with bone spurs, pointing like antennas toward the sky. He hovered like a demonic god in the night, leaving Ziyi and his disciples stunned into silence, momentarily forgetting to attack.
Biting his tongue, Liu Lei spat blood, invoking the "Blood Refining Technique" to perform a high-level Daoist spell recorded in the "Great River True Solution": the "Heavenly Lord Sword!" Empowered by the "Blood Refining Technique," the sword's speed was doubled. The surrounding spiritual energy surged, gathering around Liu Lei. Unlike ordinary cultivators who could not withstand such immense energy, Liu Lei absorbed it into his body and, aided by his wings and bone spurs, amplified the sword's power threefold before unleashing it.
A golden beam shot up from Liu Lei's body, gradually forming into a massive, nearly ten-meter-wide sword, which then hurtled toward Ziyi and the others. Panicked, the six Taoists released their flying swords and magical tools to intercept the enormous sword, but after several impacts, the blade weakened only slightly, still over five meters in diameter. With no further obstacles, the "Heavenly Lord Sword" shattered the first layer of defense and continued to crash through thirteen defensive arrays, before striking the six Taoists. Five of them were obliterated on the spot, while only Zixing, the most powerful, was left severely injured. He fled toward Mount Emei with a streak of golden light.
Liu Lei stood frozen, shocked by the overwhelming power of his own attack. He had intended only to defeat them, not to kill. Now, with their deaths, his enmity with Mount Emei had deepened irrevocably. Lost in thought for a long while, Liu Lei finally regained his senses and turned to leave, heading back home.
Three months later, in the central hall of the Divine Sect's headquarters, the Sect Leader, Four Generals, Ten Kings of Hell, and Seventeen Elders sat in their respective places. On the table before them lay thirteen jade discs — the official tokens of the leaders of the Thirteen Righteous Sects. The Elder of Massacre stood first, speaking with determination, "What is there to discuss? Of course, we cannot hand over Liu Lei as they say. He belongs to our sect, and no one has the right to take him!" The others fell silent, understanding the gravity of the situation. Xuanyuan Xuejian's gaze remained serious, fixed on the jade discs, deep in thought.
Liu Lei entered the hall. The moment he arrived, everyone sensed his presence. However, there was no time to dwell on who had allowed him in. He walked to the center of the hall, stood firm, and addressed Xuanyuan Xuejian loudly, "Brother Xuejian, release me!"
A murmur of surprise filled the room as Xuanyuan Xuejian turned sharply to face him. After a long pause, he spoke slowly but firmly, "If you remain here, you are as one with us on Mount Cang, and no one can take you away." Liu Lei shook his head, "No, brother, I understand your good intentions. Though I learned the arts of Mount Cang, I am not truly a part of your sect. The conflict between the righteous sects and the demons has persisted for millennia, but that is a battle of ideology. Today, if war breaks out for my sake, it becomes a matter of loyalty. The bloodshed between the two sides would be endless. How can I bear that? Please, allow me to leave. Rest assured, I will not run into death willingly. But please, take care of my parents in the future."
After a long silence, Xuanyuan Xuejian finally agreed, "Very well, we will accompany you."
On a peak of Mount Cang, a group of people stood. In today's world, it was rare to see people dressed in rough, blue robes or Taoist cassocks. Thankfully, the area was remote, or else this strange gathering would have become a spectacle. Leading the group was a man in a blue Taoist robe, his hair white but his face youthful — Bai Shi, the sect leader of Mount Emei, Ziyi's senior uncle and the leader of the Thirteen Righteous Sects.
As the group faced a valley, the air trembled, and the surrounding peaks parted, revealing the hidden peak of the Divine Sect's headquarters. Liu Lei and Xuanyuan Xuejian led their group into view. Before Bai Shi could speak, Liu Lei stepped forward and loudly proclaimed, "Bai Shi, I am Liu Lei. I killed Qing Xun; he brought it upon himself. There's nothing more to say. As for Ziyi and the others, it was an accident, not my intention. But bringing so many here today, are you not worried about the war this may spark between the righteous and the demonic?"
Bai Shi, though concerned, could not ignore the deaths of his seven disciples. He stroked his beard thoughtfully, then said, "Liu Lei, if you fear war, why not surrender, to avoid further bloodshed?"
Liu Lei responded firmly, "It was your disciple Qing Xun who killed my friend first. The fault lies with him, not me. You, too, do not wish for war. I have a solution that will appease you and prevent further conflict. Would you be willing to listen?"
"What solution?" Bai Shi asked.
Liu Lei stood tall, placing his hand on his chest. "I swear, by the honor of the bloodline, that I shall never return to the righteous path without their approval. I will never set foot in China again."
After swearing, Liu Lei turned to Bai Shi and asked, "How does this sound to you?"
Bai Shi pondered deeply, then sighed and gestured for his disciples to follow. "Very well. Let it be so. Let's go."
On the plane, Liu Lei gazed out the window, looking longingly at the mountains, waters, trees, and people below. Back on Mount Cang, he had already discussed his departure with his parents. To resolve the hatred between the righteous and demonic paths, he knew he had to leave. His elderly parents, however, could not bring themselves to leave their homeland. It was only Liu Lei who departed alone.
As the plane ascended, the flying sword "Tianjing," a gift from Master Lianfeng, trembled in his dantian, as though bidding farewell to his homeland.