However, this mantra was sometimes expressed in another form; for instance, the Immortal Liu Ci, his personal disciple Zhuo Rusui and the current Jing Jiu all liked uttering a faint "hmm" to express the same thing.

He b.u.mu was an elder of s.h.i.+yue Peak and had a collected and mild temperament because he had been dealing with plants and magic pills a long time. As such, he had altered the phrase a bit when he said it, making it sound a lot more courteous; at the very least, he didn't offer the option of wis.h.i.+ng not to die.

Yet, everybody knew that any alteration of the phrase was unnecessary. No matter how mildly Elder He spoke, what he said was nevertheless forceful and intimidating to the extreme extent.

At a critical moment, Green Mountain would only allow others to choose one of two options: submission or death.

If an internal conflict had happened at the Hanging-Bell Sect and the Sect Master Chen and Sese had had a mishap, the Green Mountain Sect, as the guardian of the order in the southern Cultivation circle, would definitely take some action.

In other words, this middle-aged man, De Yuanquan, would die for sure, regardless of whether he would have successfully inherited the position of the sect master or not.

Many Cultivation pract.i.tioners had heard of this famous mantra of the Green Mountain Sect, but few of them had actually heard it in person.

There was an uproar in the hall.

Many of them thought that the Green Mountain Sect would keep a low profile while they awaited the "spring rain" to fall; they didn't expect that a seemingly mild elder of their sect had forced the Grandmaster of the Hanging-Bell Sect and De Yuanquan to a corner. Would the Green Mountain Sect kill people in public today?

The expression on the Grandmaster's face hadn't changed at all; the wrinkles on her face looked like something carved with a knife, unwavering.

"This is a family matter of our Hanging-Bell Sect. Even though your Green Mountain Sect is a leader of the orthodox sects, you still can't interfere with our internal affairs."

She moved forward two steps with the aid of a cane and demanded while staring at He b.u.mu expressionlessly, "Do you want to command the whole world? Does the Green Mountain Sect wish to follow the steps of the b.l.o.o.d.y Demon Church?"

This was a forcible and sensible rebuke, and it was hard to reply to. Moreover, He b.u.mu, like many other Cultivation pract.i.tioners on Green Mountain, was not good at arguing and debating. Why were most of the Cultivation pract.i.tioners on Green Mountain not good at debating? It was because the Green Mountain Sect usually had no need for arguing with anybody.

"It seems that Cloud-Dream Mountain has promised something to the Grandmaster."

He b.u.mu had gotten to the essence of the matter right away, "I don't want to know those arrangements, but I'd like to see the Sect Master and the Young Master tomorrow. Otherwise, this person…"

"De Yuanquan," Lin Yingliang, a disciple of s.h.i.+yue Peak, reminded by his side.

He b.u.mu went on, "…Yeah, this Mister De Yuanquan has no choice but to die."

Having said that, he led Lin Yingliang and few other disciples of Green Mountain walking toward the outside of the hall, giving no opportunity for the Grandmaster to speak again.

Hundreds of Cultivation pract.i.tioners in the hall fell silent, a depressing and anxious atmosphere filling the entirety of the hall.

They could sense clearly that Elder He and those disciples of Green Mountain were all in a bad mood, and agitated.

It was obvious that these people of Green Mountain didn't want to strike casually and be criticized by the Cultivation circle later, so they opted to leave on their own first and let the Hanging-Bell Sect think it through overnight.

As for who would win the fight, it was not the concern of these Cultivation pract.i.tioners.

Though He b.u.mu was a regular elder and those disciples were regular as well, they were nonetheless the elder and disciples of Green Mountain.

Even if they were not powerful enough to deal with the Hanging-Bell Sect, Green Mountain could send some more people over later on.

Undoubtedly, n.o.body would forget in two hundred years the fact that the West Ocean Sword Sect had been wiped out by the Green Mountain Sect.

All the gazes were fixed on the Grandmaster. They all wanted to know what her option was.

If the Sect Master Chen and De Sese had a mishap, the war would definitely ensue. However, according to the action style of the Grandmaster, she shouldn't have done such a brutal thing in the first place.

The expression on her face remained the same, showing no hesitation or submission.

The crowd remembered what Elder He had said, thinking that the Center Sect had, as expected, gotten involved in this matter…But, didn't the Center Sect seal off their mountains?

…

…

Returning to the small, quiet courtyard, the three monks took off their conical hats.

The old monk sighed while looking at Jing Jiu, "That elder of your sect was a bit too hot-tempered."

For the Buddhist monks, it was truly hard for them to accept the statements like "Do you wish to die?" or "You have no choice but to die."

"He b.u.mu has to manufacture magic pills in addition to taking care of the plants; it's inevitable that he'd have a heated temperament," said Jing Jiu.

Jing Jiu and the old monk spoke of two different things.

It indicated that Jing Jiu didn't care about how He b.u.mu expressed himself.

Because of that matter, the Green Mountain Sect was reticent at the moment, though that didn't mean that they would always keep a low profile, and more often than not, it meant that a force was acc.u.mulating during this silent period.

Everybody on Green Mountain, including Jing Jiu, Yuan Qijing, He b.u.mu, Lin Yingliang and these young disciples, were going through something emotional now; a heated temperament was inevitable.

Worst of all, the Grandmaster of the Hanging-Bell Sect had collaborated with the Center Sect at this very moment, which meant the Green Mountain Sect would have to give a forcible response on instinct.

The young monk couldn't understand the conversation between his Master and Jing Jiu, asking worriedly, "Are Sect Master Chen and the Young Master safe?"

Jing Jiu looked at the sky outside the courtyard, seemingly listening to something. He said a moment later, "They're fine."

"Are you going to take some action here?" the old monk asked him.

Jing Jiu uttered "hmm".

…

…

The water of Morning Lake was quite green. A ball of white hair was floating up and down in the lake water; it was unclear if it was the willow quills blown into the lake by the wind or a white goose looking for fish with its head under the water.

The ball of white hair sunk toward the bottom of the lake with a swoos.h.i.+ng sound. It was sinking at a faster and faster pace, until it turned into a white line. It was noiseless, and didn't arouse anybody's notice.

The bells hanging on the tree branches by the lake didn't give off any alarm.

It didn't take long before a white and wet cat appeared on a remote and small island. The breeze ruffled its long hair. It didn't look so long and messy back when the cat was on Shenmo Peak being combed smooth by Zhao Layue and Cold Cicada every day; but the white cat looked terrible now as he soaked wet with his hair in locks.

The white cat lowered his head and tried his hardest to lick clean his chest, but he found it was a useless effort. He shook his head angrily and jumped into a patch of forest several thousand feet away.

The Hanging-Bell Sect was guarding their territory very tightly, especially this island, where the formations and mechanisms were everywhere.

Though these formations and mechanisms couldn't harm the cat, it would be troublesome if he triggered the alarm system.

Similarly, that Little Grandmaster was not his equal, but it would be rather troublesome if she employed the guardian magic treasure of the Hanging-Bell Sect to fight against him at all costs.

The white cat was fond of three things in his life: sleeping, sleeping on Jing Jiu's head, and sleeping in Zhao Layue's bosom; it's trouble that he disliked most

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As such, he was very careful, making sure no footprint would remain on the sandy beach, nor would he pee under the trees. Yet, it was a troublesome thing itself to walk so carefully. An indignant expression shown in his eyes as the cat wondered why he had to come here if Jing Jiu could turn himself into a soundless human stone.

It was then that he heard of a weak voice coming out from the inside of the stone wall.

"You're in trouble because of me…"

"Mom, don't say that…Grandma is an evil person…I don't like her anyway."

"Don't talk about your senior like this. If you hadn't hurt her feelings so much, she wouldn't make such a choice."

"Humph. She doesn't allow me to be with my beloved Zhan. I'm not going to obey her. What's wrong with being a monk? Do monks eat the rice of our family?"

Hearing the conversation, the white cat was certain that this was the place he was looking for, and the prisoners inside the stone wall were the mother and daughter he was seeking.

He raised his head and meowed once toward the sky.

…

…

As the Master Guard of the Green Mountain Sect, Liu Ada had the prowess of the initial state of the Heavenly Arrival. Unfortunately, it was rather embarra.s.sing for him whenever he went out with Jing Jiu. The opponents he encountered were either more powerful than him or someone he didn't dare to fight against, like the Old Dragon, the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect, or the Immortal Taiping…Yet, he felt much more relaxed at the Hanging-Bell Sect. Even though he didn't wish to encounter those problems, the worst thing that would happen to him was that he'd engage in a fight that he couldn't lose.

After he found out that he couldn't open the stone wall himself, the cat headed to the central section of the Hanging-Bell Sect, hiding amid the green leaves in the mountain, and looked at a building in the distance.

The building was Near-Star Building of the Hanging-Bell Sect, with a tasteless name; but it could be seen by people in the surrounding states and counties.

The Grandmaster of the Hanging-Bell Sect sat in a chair; De Yuanquan stood before her, showing a deferential expression.

"I knew that we should have waited two more years, at least until the Center Sect finishes sealing off their mountains…"

The Grandmaster continued while looking at him, "But I won't live to see next year; so I have to take the risk."

De Yuanquan lifted up his front lapel and knelt down on the ground before her, saying, "Mother, your son is at fault for making you worry so much."

The Grandmaster said, "It doesn't matter whether you call me 'mother' or 'aunt'. I haven't expected the adopted son to be the same as my own, nor have I expected you to pa.s.s the position sect master to that girl Sese after my death. No matter what, you have at least one merit, which is that your family name is De. You can't change this."

"It's all thanks to mother's support," said De Yuanquan, bowing to the ground.

The Grandmaster said, "To settle the matter, the woman Chen has to die. You'll take care of it tonight."

De Yuanquan felt surprised, thinking that she allowed the woman Chen to live a few days ago because that girl Sese threatened to commit suicide and decided to let Chen die slowly of illness…but she suddenly decided to employ such a drastic method when the people of the Green Mountain Sect had come here today. Didn't she fear that the Green Mountain Sect would strike back?

"Threatening by committing suicide seems to be simple enough, but it's not," the Grandmaster said. "You at least need to let the others know you're not afraid of dying and you dare to kill others. I intend to use the death of the woman Chen to win the trust from Green Mountain, and then use Sese to force them to back off for the time being. As long as we can hold on for another year, all will be meaningless after that event happens."

"I'll comply with my mother's command," said De Yuanquan.

The Grandmaster glanced at him once before saying, "Remember, we can threaten to kill others, and others can also kill us."

Thinking of the mantra the elder of Green Mountain directed at him, De Yuanquan said icily, "He b.u.mu entered the Broken Sea State not that long ago; he is not my match."

The Hanging-Bell Sect was a major Cultivation sect, protected by the Great Formation of the mountain gate. Even if Green Mountain wanted to take down their sect, they had to pay a steep price, and it would take a long while to do so.

On the other hand, it would take him a moment to kill that little girl De Sese simply by flicking his fingers.

As long as n.o.body could threaten him by Morning Lake, the Hanging-Bell Sect would be able to sustain the status quo for a prolonged period.

The Grandmaster was in her late years, and felt tired after speaking for a short while.

De Yuanquan helped her get into the bed and served her meticulously for a while, and then left Near-Star Building.

On his way to his residence after coming out from Near-Star Building, he suddenly sensed something was out of place. He wheeled around to look in the direction of the mountain, but he detected nothing.

…

…

As the white cat returned to the small courtyard, he found that Jing Jiu was cultivating on a futon with his eyes closed.

When he cultivated on Shenmo Peak, he usually lay down or sat casually on the ground; it was rarely seen that he cultivated in such a formal and ritualistic manner.

A band of fog came out from his head, as if it had countless tiny crystals inside, which were the materialized sword wills.

The Sword of the Universe and the First Child Sword rotated against each other slowly in the patch of fog.

There were a great many methods of practicing sword work, but n.o.body knew about sword work more than Jing Jiu in the world. He was practicing the method of sharpening sword that day.

The two swords faced each other and were connected by the wills; and they were sharpened by the purest and sharpest sword wills in heaven and earth. As a result, the connection between these two swords would grow tighter and firmer.

The longer they floated in that patch of fog, the energy of the Sword of the Universe would grow more desolate, and the energy of the First Child Sword would grow lighter.

The marks of blood left by Nan Qü and Xiw.a.n.g Sun a thousand years apart had almost been wiped out.

The white cat transmitted all he had seen earlier to Jing Jiu through his spiritual awareness, including the position of the small island, the number of bells and arrangement, the weakness of the formation, and De Yuanquan's manor cave.

These were all requested by Jing Jiu. The cat thought that Jing Jiu would go to rescue those two first and then do other things.

Yet, Jing Jiu didn't open his eyes; it was unclear if he had heard what the cat told him or not.

The fog coming out from his head grew increasingly lighter, and the energies of the Sword of the Universe and the First Child Sword grew lighter as well.

The white cat had guessed what was going on, his pupils shrinking a bit. The cat then backed up two steps, making a path from the small courtyard to the sky for him.

…

…

Morning Lake was actually quite big.

Near-Star Building was about seven miles away from the residences where the guests of various sects stayed.

The windy bells on the eaves rang out all of a sudden.

The Grandmaster opened her eyes and stood up to look at a spot, her face turning pale.

The bells rang out wildly in a nearby building.

A flash of sword light pa.s.sed through the bells and arrived at the deep part of the building.

De Yuanquan lifted up his eyelids and waved his hand emotionlessly; the bell on his wrist flew up, heading toward the flash of sword light.

He had been trained by the Grandmaster for many years in secret, and so his Cultivation state was indeed profound. The flying sword was clamped by the bell!

De Yuanquan felt a powerful and heavy force among his fingers. He grunted once and staggered back a little. A red spot appeared between his eyebrows, as if the blood would seep out from it.

The energy of the flying sword looked desolate, but it was quite broad; it seemed to be rather inharmonious.

De Yuanquan guessed whom this flying sword belonged to, the expression on his face changing significantly

Along with a faint breeze, Jing Jiu had come before him, his right hand piercing toward his brow's center.

It was indeed him!

De Yuanquan turned his palms inward to squeeze Jing Jiu's right hand.

He ignored the excruciating pain in his hands and the blood seeping out from his hands. He stared at Jing Jiu's face, his eyes full of anger and bewilderment.

You even dared to kill me for the sake of that wicked girl De Sese!

Even though you are an extraordinary talent in sword work at the Green Mountain Sect and entered the Free Travel State at a young age, you think you can kill me?!

Do you even know what Cultivation state I'm in right now?

It's preposterous!

Though he thought it was preposterous and felt furious, De Yuanquan didn't intend to kill Jing Jiu.

The reason was simple; he didn't dare to do .

The bells in the building rang out ferociously.

The bell clamping the Sword of the Universe also began to quiver noiselessly.

No matter how powerful a Cultivation pract.i.tioner was, it would be still easy for their Dao Hearts to be shattered by the ringing of these bells; as a result, their zhenyuan would be exhausted, and they would have no choice but to surrender helplessly.

Jing Jiu maintained the same countenance, as his right hand suddenly emitted a flash of light.

It was not a flash of light generated by Dao magic, nor was it the glow emitted by the magic treasure. It was something coming directly from his hand.

The light was a bit chilly, looking like the s.h.i.+ning glow off a metal.

Crack!!!

Jing Jiu's right hand pa.s.sed through De Yuanquan's head.

Not a drop of blood dripped.

Not a bit of brain spilled.

The sound of bells stopped.

The wind whipped up again.

Jing Jiu disappeared.

So did the Sword of the Universe.

The wind rose in the small courtyard seven miles away.

The old monk and the young monk were both in a low Cultivation state; they only sensed vaguely that something seemed to have happened.

They looked at the inside of the room reflexively, and found that Jing Jiu was still sitting on the futon; it seemed that he hadn't moved at all.

Looking at Jing Jiu on the futon, the white cat was aghast with an opened mouth, but he couldn't manage a meow.