Just as Ming Tian approached Master Bai Yun, Ling Xiao sprang into action.
At the same moment, Black Rope moved as well.
Black Rope had been watching Ling Xiao closely. His master, the Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign, had a clear rule: if you can’t claim something, destroy it. Since Ling Xiao refused to join him, he had to be killed to eliminate any future threat.
But in the next instant, Black Rope lost track of Ling Xiao.
Even for a Mortal Realm martial artist, finding someone who had completely erased their presence and figure was incredibly difficult. In that fleeting moment, he hadn’t anticipated this outcome.
This brief pause gave Ling Xiao the perfect opportunity to rescue Bai Yun.
“You dare leave, kid, and I’ll kill everyone here!”
Unable to see or sense Ling Xiao, Black Rope could still hold the others hostage. To him, anyone outside the Moon Blossom Sect was expendable, and he wouldn’t hesitate to kill.
Ling Xiao didn’t dare leave just yet.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
“You bastard, you forced my hand!”
In that instant, he communicated with Bai Yun, discussing a plan. Then, he knocked Bai Yun unconscious and sent him into the Mountain and River World.
Bai Yun was so weakened that Ling Xiao could manage this; otherwise, knocking out a Mortal Realm martial artist would have been impossible for him.
He knocked Bai Yun out to keep the secret of the Mountain and River World hidden.
“Don’t make a move. I’ll show myself.”
Ling Xiao’s voice echoed through the void, its source impossible to pinpoint. Even Black Rope struggled to locate him by sound alone.
“You’d better hurry, or I’ll start killing.”
Black Rope didn’t care much about the others’ lives. His primary concern was Ling Xiao.
This kid was too cunning, too slippery. If left unchecked, he’d become a major threat. He had to be eliminated.
“Fine, I’m here.”
Ling Xiao appeared.
In that instant, Black Rope lunged, determined not to let him escape.
But as he charged, a black object was hurled toward him. Thinking it was a hidden weapon, he casually blocked it without a second thought.
That block was a grave mistake.
Boom!
A terrifying explosion tore through Black Rope’s arm and half his body, leaving them a mangled, bloody mess. The ground cratered, and a thick, acrid stench filled the air.
“Damn, that’s some power!”
Ling Xiao stuck out his tongue in surprise. He had suddenly remembered the “Void Strike” he’d taken from the Blue-Eye Clan. When loaded with enough low-grade spirit stones, it could kill a Seventh Layer Martial Master from a distance.
By now, it wasn’t much use to him. He’d planned to leave it with the Divine Sword Sect when he returned.
But Black Rope’s aggression had sparked an idea.
He recalled reading in the Hall of Transmission about an accident during a “Void Strike” experiment. Someone had loaded it with a large number of high-grade spirit stones, causing it to explode and kill the experimenter—a Martial Vein Ninth Layer Peak Martial Master.
Though he wasn’t sure if such an explosion would affect a Mortal Realm martial artist, Ling Xiao figured it was worth a shot. He was far from capable of facing a Mortal Realm opponent head-on, so he had to rely on unorthodox methods.
The high-grade spirit stones came from Bai Yun.
Ling Xiao had expected the explosion to injure Black Rope at best. He hadn’t anticipated its devastating power. Black Rope was now gravely wounded, possibly in worse shape than Bai Yun.
“Ahh!”
Black Rope’s earlier calm vanished, replaced by a guttural scream, like a pig being slaughtered.
“Ling Xiao, you’re dead!”
Ming Tian, now fully committed to the Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign, saw this and immediately moved to attack Ling Xiao.
“Let me handle it!”
Despite his mangled body, Black Rope’s injuries were external, not internal. If he went all out, killing Ling Xiao was still within his grasp.
In his rage, he no longer cared about restraint.
“As an outsider, I advise you to get treatment quickly. Otherwise, even as a Mortal Realm martial artist, your body will be crippled.”
Suddenly, a cold voice rang out.
A stranger appeared—a woman in a purple dress, her face veiled, her features hidden. But her eyes were strikingly clear and bright.
“Soul Clan!”
Black Rope froze mid-charge. He turned to Ming Tian and shouted, “Take me away! We’re returning to the Moon Blossom Sect!”
Ming Tian didn’t know who the purple-clad woman was, but if Black Rope feared her, she was clearly not to be trifled with. He nodded quickly, supporting Black Rope as they fled into the distance.
“Ling Xiao! I, Black Rope, will have my revenge for today, whether you join the Moon Blossom Sect or not. I’ll kill you!”
“Oh, and tell old man Bai Yun he can forget about ever returning to the sect. He’s just a discarded piece of trash. Also, my master will take good care of his daughter, hahaha!”
Though Black Rope was gone, his voice lingered.
The first part was clear to everyone. Black Rope, a stronger Mortal Realm martial artist, had been severely injured by Ling Xiao. If he didn’t avenge this, it would haunt him forever.
The second part was less clear, but it hinted at something deeper. It seemed the Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign and Bai Yun shared a profound, irreconcilable grudge.
Ling Xiao, however, knew exactly what had happened.
In the Hall of Transmission, he had found Bai Yun’s diary, sealed with a special method. His Mountain and River Martial Soul easily broke the seal.
The diary’s contents were simple but tragic.
Bai Yun and the Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign were cousins.
From childhood until joining the Moon Blossom Sect, Bai Yun’s talent had surpassed his cousin’s, thanks to a Wisdom Bone in his body. This bone was said to grant far greater potential than ordinary martial artists.
But the night before they entered the sect, Bai Yun was knocked unconscious, his skull cut open, and the Wisdom Bone removed and implanted into the Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign.
Though their family later learned of this, the deed was done. Bai Yun’s parents held low status, so the matter was brushed aside. They healed his injuries and sent him to the Moon Blossom Sect as planned.
But the Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign showed no pity. His personality shifted, and he became obsessed with keeping Bai Yun beneath him.
Bai Yun’s tragedy didn’t end there.
Later, in the Moon Blossom Sect, he married and had a daughter. But on the night his wife gave birth, a worse nightmare struck. His wife was killed, and his daughter was taken, her whereabouts unknown ever since.
—
The purple-clad woman turned to Ling Xiao, her piercing eyes studying him. “You’ve made a powerful enemy today. The Moon Blossom Sect won’t forget this.”
Ling Xiao met her gaze, unflinching. “Let them come. I’ll carve my own path, no matter who stands in my way.”
She nodded slightly, as if in approval, then vanished as swiftly as she’d appeared.
The Cliff of Life and Death was quiet now, the other disciples shaken by the events. Dai Yuling tended to Shi Lei’s injuries, having dragged him to safety. The remaining disciples, from both Tianren Academy and Hidden Dragon Camp, stood in stunned silence, their faith in Bai Yun shattered.
Ling Xiao’s thoughts turned to Bai Yun, safe in the Mountain and River World, and the deep grudge between him and the Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign. Black Rope’s parting words about Bai Yun’s daughter lingered, a cruel taunt that hinted at further tragedy.
His eyes narrowed. The Soul Clan woman’s intervention had saved him, but her identity raised new questions. Black Rope’s vendetta, the Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign’s influence, and the mysteries of the Moon Blossom Sect loomed large. Yet Ling Xiao felt no fear.
With his Mountain and River Martial Soul, Blood Shadow Martial Soul, and unyielding resolve, he would face whatever came next. The path ahead was perilous, but he would forge it himself, no matter the cost.
