The Cult Leader Smiles

The scorching flames soared six or seven zhang high. Under the great bird’s single peck, Qing Wen’s entire body had turned into a massive human torch, plummeting straight down from the air. He only managed two screams before he reduced to a pile of white ash on the ground—not even a shred of resistance was possible.

Just as Han Li’s shock peaked, the flaming great bird let out a sharp cry, twisted its head, and pounced fiercely toward the two light cocoons. A towering pillar of fire erupted between them, instantly engulfing the two Blood Servants whose transformations were nearly complete.

Han Li saw it clearly. The blood light of the two cocoons held out only a moment against the blazing inferno before dissolving without a trace. The two blurry human figures exposed within shook a few times, then were purified entirely.

The flames, which looked no different from ordinary fire, possessed such terrifying power that Han Li was utterly stunned. He gained a fresh, brutal understanding of the might of a Core Formation cultivator’s true treasure.

Song Meng and the others, while sharing Han Li’s shock, wore faces marked far more by surprise and elation.

“This true treasure is too powerful!” “With Senior Brother Liu here, wiping out this evil cult will be easy!”

One after another, the others spoke with wild excitement.

In their eyes, once the Blood Servants were eliminated, the still-secluded Black Fiend Cult Leader would be easy prey. After all, with so many Foundation Establishment cultivators, they had no reason to fail against a single sect head.

Liu Jing watched the flames from the firebird gradually fade below, his heart aching with regret at the waste. But hearing the praise, he felt a surge of renewed spirit.

“Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time here. Let’s enter and finish off the Black Fiend Cult Leader.” Liu Jing waved his hand, suddenly filled with ambition.

The others nodded in agreement and flew down.

Han Li smiled faintly and started to follow. But as he swept his gaze sideways, he noticed that Senior Brother Wang was staring blankly at something below with an odd expression.

This gave Han Li pause. He followed Wang’s line of sight, but aside from the white ash of Qing Wen’s demonic form and a fellow sect brother sorrowfully gathering the remains of his dao partner, there was nothing noteworthy.

“Senior Brother Wang, did you find something?” Han Li couldn’t help but ask, a hint of suspicion on his face.

“No… nothing at all. You’re overthinking things, Junior Han.” At Han Li’s question, Wang immediately pulled his gaze back, his eyes evasive.

Han Li understood instantly. This man had certainly made some important discovery, but didn’t want the others to know.

It was vexing, but Han Li only gave a faint, expressionless smile and said in a calm tone:

“If nothing’s wrong, let’s head down quickly. Senior Brother Liu is already going in.” He pointed toward the entrance of the Cold Palace, then unceremoniously flew down on his tool, leaving Wang alone in the air with a shifting expression. After a moment, Wang stamped his foot and followed helplessly.

But just as Han Li touched the ground, a female voice called out from above.

“Senior Brother Liu! Junior Brother Han! Wait for us!”

Startled, Han Li slowly turned. Liu Jing and the others stopped as well, looking up with pleased expressions.

In the soft moonlight, Zhong Weiniang, Chen Qiaoqian, and a pale-faced middle-aged man descended slowly from the sky.

The middle-aged man wore golden robes and looked utterly terrified. Zhong Weiniang was practically dragging him by the collar like a sack, dangling him from her flying tool. When he saw Han Li, Liu Jing, and the large group, his panic deepened.

Seeing this, Liu Jing smiled faintly and stepped forward.

“It looks like your mission went smoothly, junior sisters. Is this the Yue Emperor?” After the two female cultivators landed, Liu Jing’s eyes swept over the middle-aged man briefly before dismissing him.

“Yes! We found him receiving some officials in some hall. My senior sister and I knocked the others out and grabbed him. Two Qi Condensation Black Fiend disciples tried to stop us, but we dealt with them easily. Senior Brother Liu, I’m so glad you’re alright!”

Zhong Weiniang seemed overjoyed to see Liu Jing unharmed. She chattered endlessly, her concern for him obvious. Liu Jing looked slightly embarrassed under everyone’s gaze, which Han Li found quietly amusing.

“Junior Sister Chen, you’re safe too!” Chen Qiaoqian’s two senior brothers stepped forward to ask with feigned warmth.

Chen Qiaoqian responded briefly with a flat tone, then swept her gaze over the crowd. When her eyes landed on Han Li, they lingered only a moment before flickering away with a complex expression.

“Where is Senior Sister Xuehong?” Chen Qiaoqian frowned, sensing something wrong.

At her question, the faces of those nearby darkened with grief.

“Xuehong has already passed into liberation,” said the dao partner of that Senior Sister Xuehong, barely holding back his sorrow.

Hearing this, Chen Qiaoqian and Zhong Weiniang’s faces turned ashen.

Zhong Weiniang’s face flushed with anger.

“How could you all…”

But her accusation was cut short by a sudden, miserable scream.

Startled, the group turned to look.

Not far from them, a figure in blue robes had appeared from nowhere. His arm, glowing red-hot, was being pulled out of Senior Brother Wang’s chest. Wang’s body crumpled straight to the ground, utterly lifeless.

“I hadn’t planned on killing him first, but this child really shouldn’t have taken something that didn’t belong to him,” the blue-robed man said with a genial smile. He looked about forty, with a clean-shaven face, a few crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, and an expression of profound kindness.

With that, he casually bent down and picked up a thumb-sized green bead from one of Wang’s hands. His smile deepened.

At the sight of this man, Liu Jing and Han Li’s expressions both darkened, their faces instantly turning wary.

“You are the Black Fiend Cult Leader,” Liu Jing said, testing him with a thoughtful look.

“Heh, very clever. I am indeed the founder of the Black Fiend Cult. You must be their leader,” the old man replied with an composed smile.

The moment they heard that this man was the supposedly secluded Black Fiend Cult Leader, even Han Li’s expression shifted. The other Yellow Maple Valley cultivators were no different, all holding their magic tools at the ready as if facing a deadly threat.

Liu Jing’s face tightened, but he took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

Then, secretly making a cautionary gesture to the others, he asked coldly:

“Correct. I am Liu Jing, leader of this mission to eradicate your Black Fiend Cult. Now that you’re alone, you still dare to commit murder. You have some nerve.”

Liu Jing’s voice was righteous and fearless. Even he felt satisfied with his performance—his momentum seemed to grow with every word.

If he could just eliminate this cult leader, his reputation among the Seven Sects would surely reach new heights. The others would admire him all the more.

At this thought, Liu Jing’s heart burned like fine liquor. He flipped his hands, revealing a pair of silver hooks and a metal ring.

But before he could call for a coordinated attack, the Black Fiend Cult Leader across from him gave a strange smile.

Then Liu Jing heard a soft voice:

“Then you can die.”

At the same moment, a sharp pain shot through Liu Jing’s chest. Before he could understand what was happening, a bloody arm burst out from his chest. Five crimson fingers gripped a faintly writhing round object.

“What is that?” Liu Jing thought dully. Perhaps he understood, but he didn’t want to know.

Then the world spun. His vision darkened. In his ears, he heard screams—Zhong Weiniang’s crying, the voice of the one who had loved him so stubbornly. But it sounded so distant. So foreign.

“Ah, this girl is still such a crybaby,” Liu Jing thought bitterly as he slipped into the long, dark sleep.

Han Li’s face was grim. Before they had even begun to fight the Black Fiend Cult Leader, an unexpected traitor had struck down two mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators. Liu Jing, their mission leader, had fallen like this.

The attacker, his arms still impaling Liu Jing and one of Chen Qiaoqian’s senior brothers, flashed to the Black Fiend Cult Leader’s side in an instant. Then he turned and grinned savagely at Han Li and the others. Han Li hadn’t even had time to stop him.

Zhong Weiniang let out a few heart-rending screams at the moment of Liu Jing’s death, then went completely still, lost in shock. Chen Qiaoqian quickly pulled her behind her, shielding her carefully, and stared at their ambusher with a face full of fury and regret.