Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 224: Fourth Martial Aunt, Master Ordered No One to Enter

“What is going on? Why is the formation still fluctuating?”

“Is she really safe in there?”

“Should we… should we go in and check?”

“Maybe something went wrong. Shouldn’t we at least ask the Peak Master for a status update?”

Whispers of anxiety rippled through the crowd of disciples gathered at the foot of Spirit Beast Peak.

The Blood Refining Grand Formation had been active for days. Previously, it had been stable, with only occasional tremors. But now, the fluctuations were violent and chaotic, sustained for hours on end. It felt as if something—or someone—was desperately trying to batter the formation down from the inside.

It was terrifying.

Even the senior managers were unsettled. They exchanged nervous glances, their confidence wavering.

“Let’s… let’s wait a bit longer,” one manager said, though his voice lacked conviction. “Maybe this is part of the breakthrough process?”

“If we rashly open the formation and interrupt her, the Peak Master will be furious.”

“Exactly. Who here dares to take responsibility if Master decides to punish us?”

Silence fell. No one moved.

It wasn’t that they were unconcerned. It was fear.

Among the Supreme’s disciples, Lu Qingyao was infamous for her vile temper. Crossing her could mean imprisonment at the Reflection Cliff or, in severe cases, execution and soul extraction. Her authority was absolute; no one dared to test it.

Even a fool could see that this Nascent Soul breakthrough was unorthodox. She had sealed the peak for a reason. Peeking inside might reveal secrets that would cost them their lives.

So, they waited.

One hour passed. Then two. Then three.

The violent tremors did not stop. If anything, they intensified.

The atmosphere grew suffocating.

“This isn’t right,” a disciple muttered. “This really isn’t right.”

Even the managers couldn’t pretend anymore. They looked at each other, silently pleading for someone else to make the first move. But the stakes were too high. No one dared to be the hero.

Fortunately, this was the Azure Mystic Sacred Land. Such a prolonged, high-energy disturbance could not go unnoticed forever.

Whoosh!

A figure descended from the sky, landing lightly before the formation.

“What are you all doing standing here? What has happened to Spirit Beast Peak?”

The voice was cool and clear, cutting through the murmurs like a blade. The disciples looked up and breathed a collective sigh of relief.

It was Shi Siling.

The Fourth Disciple of the Supreme. The woman widely recognized as the strongest cultivator in the sect below the Supreme herself.

“Fourth Martial Aunt!” a manager hurried forward, bowing low. “My Master is breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm. She established this formation and strictly ordered us to guard the perimeter. No one is allowed to enter.”

“Breaking through?”

Shi Siling frowned, looking at the violently shaking barrier. “Are you blind? Can’t you see the formation is under attack? There is clearly something inside trying to break out!”

“This…” The managers sweated. “We suspected as much… but Master’s orders were absolute. She forbade entry under any circumstances.”

“She said no matter what noise we heard, we were not to intrude.”

They spilled their excuses rapidly, desperate to shift the burden of decision. They wouldn’t dare disobey Lu Qingyao, but if Shi Siling gave the order, they were covered.

Shi Siling’s expression darkened. She was known for her cold, decisive nature. Hearing that the disciples had felt a ghostly chill earlier, she didn’t hesitate.

“There is an external invasion, and you are all just standing here?”

“Open the formation immediately! I need to inspect the situation!”

She sensed danger. Just as she had saved Qin Meran before, she would save Lu Qingyao now. Her Junior Sister might have secrets, she might be using unspeakable methods, but if her life was at risk, Shi Siling would not stand idly by.

As a Senior Sister, protecting her own came first. Consequences could be dealt with later.

Seeing the managers still hesitating, Shi Siling’s eyes flashed with cold light.

“I said, open it!”

The command struck them like a whip. The managers scrambled to obey, ordering the disciples to clear a path. However, none of them dared to actually dissolve the barrier. They left the path open for Shi Siling to do it herself.

Shi Siling ignored their cowardice. She strode to the edge of the blood-red barrier. She raised her right hand, pressing her index and middle fingers together into a Sword Finger.

She didn’t use brute force. She simply pointed.

Zzzzt!

A golden light flared at her fingertip.

When it touched the violent, churning energy of the formation, it didn’t explode. Instead, it sliced through like a hot knife through lard, silently melting a hole in the barrier.

The disciples gasped.

“Is that the Source Path?”

“They say Fourth Martial Aunt can see the essence of all things. No formation can hide its flaws from her eyes.”

“It’s terrifyingly strong. The Source Path is one of the Six Paths, yet almost no one cultivates it. It’s said to be as mysterious as the Heavenly Secrets Path…”

While the disciples whispered in awe, Shi Siling peered through the hole she had created.

One glance was enough to make her blood run cold.

Inside, the peak was a slaughterhouse. Thousands of beasts were being drained alive, their blood and souls funneled toward the center.

She is using the blood of ten thousand demons… to cultivate herself!

“Not good!” a disciple shouted, catching a glimpse over her shoulder. “Fourth Martial Aunt, close it! Close it now!”

Shi Siling frowned. “Why?”

“The Demon Race!” the disciple stammered, his face pale. “They despise humans using their bloodlines for cultivation! Master’s ritual… if this leaks out, the Great Demons will sense it! We can’t let the aura escape!”

He was too late.

BOOM!

A pillar of crimson bloodline energy erupted through the hole Shi Siling had made, shooting straight into the clouds. The stench of slaughtered beasts and forbidden magic spread instantly across the sky.

Any Great Demon within a thousand miles would sense it.

Shi Siling cursed under her breath. But before she could act, a voice drifted out from the formation.

“Is that Fourth Senior Sister?”

“Junior Sister is fine. Senior Sister need not worry.”

The voice was calm. Relaxed, even. Lu Qingyao sounded completely at ease, as if she were sipping tea rather than sitting in the eye of a storm.

Hearing this, Shi Siling leaned closer to the hole, straining her eyes.

She saw it.

An army of Resentful Spirits—boundless, comprised of thousands of screaming phantoms—was swarming the center of the formation. They threw themselves at Lu Qingyao with suicidal fury.

But… they were just spirits.

Against the power of the formation and Lu Qingyao’s bloodline suppression, they were powerless. They crashed against her defenses and disintegrated, doing nothing but causing the barrier to tremble.

“I am at a critical moment in my cultivation,” Lu Qingyao’s voice floated out again, tinged with amusement. “These spirits came from nowhere, trying to attack me. But I am no paper tiger. These worthless ghosts cannot harm me.”

“They are merely moths flying into a flame. They cannot affect me in the slightest. Their impacts are just shaking the walls a bit.”

“Fourth Senior Sister, please rest assured.”

Her tone was flat, confident, and utterly dismissive.

The disciples and managers exhaled in relief. Thank the heavens. She’s in control.

But Shi Siling hesitated.

She watched the spirits attacking with mindless, terrifying hate. She saw the intelligence gleaming in the eyes of the leaders—the silver wolf, the python, the hawk.

“Junior Sister,” Shi Siling called out, “These spirits are exceptionally fierce. Some have developed sentience. Are you absolutely certain you don’t need help?”

“Naturally,” Lu Qingyao laughed, her voice ringing with arrogance.

“This time, I am destined to be invincible under the heavens.”

“Fourth Senior Sister, please relax.”

“I, too… wish to prove myself!”