“This is improper!”

The moment Ye Guxing finished speaking, the three Golden Core cultivators from the Spirit Beast Sect, Mystic One Sect, and Little Sky Net Sect objected in unison.

If they followed this course of action, wouldn’t Wanchun Valley be completely exonerated? Even if they purged those practicing the Demon Blood Sect’s techniques, Wanchun Valley would still occupy the spiritual vein. Their objective would remain unfulfilled!

Ke Yuan quickly added, “Indeed, it is inappropriate. Senior Brother, why are you punishing me?”

Li Tonghai interjected, “Master, I have more to say!”

“Did you receive the Sword Talisman I sent?”

“Ke Yuan claimed you received it, but that the message was fragmented. That is why you supposedly dispatched him to find me.”

“Yet on the way, he conspired with the other three sects to ambush the Supreme Elder of Wanchun Valley, forcing the Elder to self-destruct his Golden Core…”

“Nonsense! Clearly, you were the one bewitched by Wanchun Valley—”

Before Ke Yuan could finish his denial, Ye Guxing’s hand had already closed around the hilt of his round-handled black sword.

“Senior Brother?”

Ye Guxing spoke coldly. “Now I understand.”

“No wonder your Sword Heart is tarnished. No wonder your sword resonance is impure, carrying a mere trace of my own. I thought you intended to reform and learn the sword from me. It turns out you intercepted the Sword Talisman between my disciple and me!”

“Senior Brother… I… Senior Brother, spare me this once! I was just momentarily confused!”

Surprisingly, Ke Yuan offered no further rebuttal. He dropped to his knees in mid-air, trembling as he begged for mercy before Ye Guxing.

Ye Guxing turned his back to him, speaking slowly. “After all these years, you still haven’t improved.”

“When I first brought you into the sect, standing before the Trial Sword Stele, I asked about your Sword Heart. You said you were oppressed by a landlord. You said that once you grew up and learned skills, you wanted to sleep with the landlord’s daughter and eat all his fine food.”

“Later, I asked you: if you have grievances, seek revenge; if you have enmity, settle it. Why didn’t you think of killing the landlord first? You couldn’t answer.”

“At that time, I knew: you appear wild and unrestrained, but in reality, you bully the weak and fear the strong. Your temperament is incompatible with the Sword Heart.”

Ye Guxing’s voice remained flat, carrying no emotion.

“But the principles of this world do not dictate that only those compatible with the Sword Heart cultivate quickly. Among my disciples, there are those with Four Spirit Roots and those with Five Spirit Roots. Their cultivation may not be high, but their willpower is decent.”

“As for you… although incompatible with the Sword Heart and persistently difficult to correct, your Spirit Root is superior. In terms of cultivation speed alone, you are indeed fast. You even managed to form a Golden Core.”

Behind him, Ke Yuan slowly clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.

Golden Core realm Sword Qi began to coalesce around him.

Sword Heart, Sword Heart, always the Sword Heart!

I’ll show you my power right now!

“Master!” Li Tonghai couldn’t help but shout a warning. “Ke Yuan is—”

Ye Guxing raised a hand dismissively, keeping his back to the traitor. “If he dares to make a move, I will think slightly higher of him.”

“Talking to him about the Sword Heart is pointless. His pathetic Sword Qi is as transparent as his killing intent. The moment I saw through him, he lost any chance.”

“I’ve had enough of you!”

Ke Yuan suddenly looked up and roared, unleashing a torrent of Sword Qi toward Ye Guxing.

Even without a flying sword, the Sword Qi of a Golden Core cultivator from the Spirit Sword Sect was formidable, spanning dozens of zhang. Disciples with lower cultivation, like Li Tonghai, felt a stinging pain in their eyes, as if pricked by needles.

The three Golden Core cultivators from the Spirit Beast Sect, Mystic One Sect, and Little Sky Net Sect watched nervously, ready to act. If Ke Yuan had even a sliver of a chance to win, they would swarm forward and kill both Ye Guxing and Sect Leader Qi!

Sect Leader Qi was even more anxious than they were.

The offensive power of a sword cultivator was terrifyingly sharp! Even without a physical blade, Ke Yuan’s full-power strike would likely require several Green Wood Thunder Pills to neutralize. If he had used a flying sword to build momentum, the power would be unimaginable.

He prayed Ye Guxing wouldn’t suffer any mishap because of this.

Under everyone’s intense gaze, Ye Guxing’s long hair drifted slightly in the wind.

A streak of sword light, like a startled swan spreading its wings, shot from the black sword. It slashed diagonally upward in a profound, mysterious arc.

In that instant, the air seemed to freeze.

It was like a hot knife cutting through snow—effortlessly swift.

Natural. Peerlessly sharp.

It cleaved through every shred of Ke Yuan’s Sword Qi.

Ke Yuan let out a miserable shriek as he was blasted backward. A long, deep sword wound stretched across his chest and abdomen, blood spraying into the air.

Two Spirit Sword Sect Elders immediately flew forward, seizing him from the left and right to prevent his escape.

Ye Guxing said indifferently, “You’ve lost your sword, and your heart is filthy. What use is there in keeping you?”

“Don’t kill me!”

Hearing the finality in his tone, Ke Yuan’s eyes widened in terror.

“Shall I give you a sword and let you try again?” Ye Guxing asked.

Ke Yuan shook his head frantically, screaming, “Senior Brother, don’t kill me!”

“You shouldn’t have colluded with outsiders to harm my disciple.”

Seeing that Ke Yuan lacked the courage to even fight for his life, a faint ripple of disappointment passed through Ye Guxing’s eyes.

He raised the black sword.

A beam of sword light shot directly into the Niwan Palace between Ke Yuan’s eyebrows.

Ke Yuan instantly fell silent, his eyes turning dull and gray.

A Golden Core slowly floated out from his dantian.

Ye Guxing raised his hand, enveloping the Golden Core in Sword Qi. He gazed at it quietly, ultimately refraining from shattering it.

“Send it to the Sword Washing Pool.”

“His skills came from the Spirit Sword Sect. In the end, they shall return to the Spirit Sword Sect.”

A Spirit Sword Sect Elder stepped forward, respectfully cupped Ke Yuan’s Golden Core in his hands, and slowly retreated. Though he remained silent, his hands trembled.

A Golden Core cultivator… dead, just like that?!

The horror was not limited to the three enemies from the Spirit Beast, Mystic One, and Little Sky Net sects; even Sect Leader Qi felt his scalp go numb.

He knew Ye Guxing was strong, but he never imagined he was this strong. Killing a Golden Core cultivator was as simple as slaughtering a chicken!

To what level had this man nurtured his Sword Heart? What realm had his cultivation reached?

At that moment, Ye Guxing turned his gaze to the three conspirators.

“You bewitched my junior brother and hunted my disciple,” he said coldly. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”

“If your three sects had merely united to attack Wanchun Valley, I might not have dealt with you harshly—at most, I would have advised against it. But you dared to drag the Demon Sect into this and ensnare my Spirit Sword Sect. Your intentions are malicious. How can I let you off lightly?”

The round-handled black sword swept out.

A beam of sword light, shaped like a crescent moon, slashed toward the Mystic One Sect Daoist.

The Daoist’s figure stiffened slightly as the light cleaved through him.

Crack.

It was a puppet.

“In fifty years, I shall return to seek instruction!”

The puppet uttered these words before splitting in two and falling silent.

A hundred miles away, beneath a green pine tree on a mountainside, the real Mystic One Sect Daoist staggered violently. He barely managed to steady himself against the tree trunk, his eyes filled with terror.

What a formidable sword!

Without bothering to wait for the others, he quietly and swiftly fled.

Ye Guxing narrowed his eyes. The sword light flashed again, slashing toward the gaunt cultivator from the Little Sky Net Sect.

The gaunt cultivator instantly wrapped himself in a cocoon of silvery-white threads.

When the sword light sheared through the threads, only a broken silver spindle remained. The cultivator had vanished without a trace.

“Wanchun Valley lingers on with its last breath, but for how many more years? Heaven’s decree will destroy you!”

The faint echo lingered around the broken spindle. This cultivator had also prepared a substitute item in advance, his true body escaping to parts unknown.

Ye Guxing looked toward the Spirit Beast Sect cultivator, who had already fled a hundred miles away on his two-winged black bear.

“Go!”

The round-handled black sword transformed into a meteor, tearing through the air with a piercing sonic boom.

A few breaths later, the sword returned, stained with blood.

“Mr. Ye, did you kill him?” Sect Leader Qi cautiously inquired.

“He escaped too quickly. I only had time for one strike. The bear is likely dead.”

Ye Guxing’s expression showed no joy; his brows remained slightly furrowed.

Sect Leader Qi felt a pang of disappointment. However, considering Ye Guxing had intervened and the situation was infinitely better than before, his spirits lifted.

“Thank you, Mr. Ye, for your assistance. Wanchun Valley finally has a chance to survive. We are endlessly grateful!”

“No need. They bewitched a member of the Spirit Sword Sect and intended to harm my disciple. They should have expected to face the edge of my sword.”

Ye Guxing sheathed his blade. “After dawn, I will go to Wanchun Valley.”

Sect Leader Qi’s face lit up. “Will Mr. Ye protect Wanchun Valley? We are willing to form an alliance with the Spirit Sword Sect! Whatever conditions you have, please state them!”

Ye Guxing slowly shook his head.

“No. First, I need to investigate whether you have truly colluded with Demonic Cultivators.”

Sect Leader Qi was taken aback, then replied frankly, “Please investigate as you see fit, Mr. Ye!”

Ye Guxing stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

A thousand miles away.

Under the night sky, the scent of blood permeated the air.

The burly Spirit Beast Sect cultivator lowered his head, burying his face in the corpse of the two-winged black bear. He drank deeply, gorging on the essence blood of his deceased spirit beast.

On his back, a terrifying sword wound began to heal visibly.

Blood-red hair sprouted from his skin, and his eyes turned a glowing crimson. His expression was ferocious and savage.

Ye Guxing! Wanchun Valley!

You’ve ruined my grand plan to dominate the Southern Region…

There was a small mercy amidst the misfortune: Wanchun Valley still didn’t know the true reason behind the three-sect alliance. The Mystic One Sect and Little Sky Net Sect merely thought the Spirit Beast Sect was after the promise of breaking the Golden Core to form an Infant Soul.

That Mystic One Sect Daoist boasting about facing Ye Guxing in fifty years… he was just planning to offer up Wanchun Valley’s spiritual vein within thirty years to obtain the secret method for Nascent Soul formation. He dreamed of becoming the first Nascent Soul in the Southern Region in half a century.

He thinks too highly of himself!

And that fortune-teller from the Little Sky Net Sect, always prattling on about “Heaven’s decree”—he clearly had his own schemes.

Regardless of their plans, the situation was still salvageable. As long as he enhanced his strength first, anything was possible.

When the time came, the Spirit Beast Sect might very well rule the Southern Region as the supreme hegemon!

Suddenly, he recalled the sword light that had spanned a hundred miles to wound him. The burly cultivator shuddered involuntarily.

That stubborn, foul-mouthed sword cultivator!

It seems the Blood Refining Art needs more disciples to master it!