Chapter 16: The New Captain
Qu Yi quietly scanned the Binary Path inside the Miniature Realm, which was controlled by the Artifact God and remained fixed within the Golden Balance Palace.
When the Artifact God noticed that Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin were about to defeat the Red-Blooded Old Demon, it awakened Qu Yi. Then, Qu Yi handed an Eight-Directions Sword to Phantom Dance Butterfly before stepping out of the Miniature Realm.
Qu Yi, Golden Qilin, and Phantom Dance Butterfly hovered in the air, smiling playfully.
Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin turned to look at Qu Yi and his companions upon hearing his call, shocked by his sudden appearance and the two helpers by his side.
“Li Mu, where have you been? Why are you showing up now?” Yan Zhong, seeing Qu Yi laughing heartily, immediately reprimanded him, still unaware of his own situation.
A murderous intent flashed in Hu Han and Yang Yin’s eyes before disappearing quickly, but it was noticed by Qu Yi.
“You three scumbags from the Guangyuan Gate, stop pretending. I’ve come here to deal with you,” Qu Yi sneered.
Golden Qilin and Phantom Dance Butterfly didn’t wait for Qu Yi’s orders—they immediately drew their magical weapons and attacked Yan Zhong and the others.
Golden Qilin still wielded the mid-tier treasure weapon, the Mountain Smashing Rod, which no longer matched its status as a powerful being in the early stages of fusion. At the very least, it should have had a low-tier spiritual weapon, but Golden Qilin simply preferred the feel of the Mountain Smashing Rod and its formidable attacking power.
Indeed, as the Mountain Smashing Rod swung down, all the spiritual energy in the world converged instantly, creating an immense pressure. Even the Red-Blooded Old Demon in the air couldn’t withstand it and was pulled into this extreme pressure, unable to move.
That earth-shattering pressure swiftly reached Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin.
“How is this possible? Li Mu, how do you have friends at the early stages of fusion?” Yan Zhong was terrified and shouted in panic.
But the pressure wave had already arrived, forcing Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin to brace themselves, rapidly expelling their vital energy to form a protective barrier around them, desperately resisting this destructive pressure.
Boom!
The pressure wave came and went, creating a loud gust of wind.
By then, Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin, after enduring the pressure, had almost no vital energy left, looking utterly exhausted.
Phantom Dance Butterfly smiled gracefully and suddenly pulled out the Eight-Directions Sword. With four quick strikes, four streams of light were emitted, knocking Yan Zhong, Hu Han, Yang Yin, and the Red-Blooded Old Demon unconscious.
After a while, Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin slowly regained consciousness.
“Li Mu, you… you actually dared to ambush us! Do you know who we are? We are from the Enforcement Team of Taiyuan Gate. Aren’t you afraid that the Elders’ Hall of Taiyuan Gate will send people to hunt you down?” Yan Zhong shouted in panic as he woke up.
The Elders’ Hall was where the elders in the merged state lived. If the Enforcement Team of Taiyuan Gate couldn’t handle the situation, elders would be sent to deal with it.
Qu Yi smiled broadly and said, “Yan Zhong, Hu Han, Yang Yin—you three from Guangyuan Gate, do you really think that by joining forces you can kill me? You’re far too arrogant, thinking that aside from Guangyuan Gate and Taiyuan Gate, no one else in this cultivation world can subdue you. It wasn’t me, Li Mu, who killed you—it was the Red-Blooded Old Demon.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin immediately understood and knelt down at the same time, crying out, “Li Mu, no, our ancestor Li Mu, please spare us! We’re willing to become your slaves!”
It turned out that they were afraid that after being killed by Qu Yi, they would be blamed for the crime by the Red-Blooded Old Demon.
Qu Yi remained calm, shook his head, and said with a smile, “Your cultivation is only at the late Diversion stage. To me, you’re already useless. Since you dared to think of killing me, you should also be prepared to die.”
Suddenly, the Golden Qilin flew over to the three of them, grabbed one with each claw, and pulled out their Yuan Ying. Then, Qu Yi snapped his fingers three times, and three flames of pure blue fire flew onto their bodies, burning them to ashes on the spot.
At that moment, the Red-Blooded Old Demon woke up, but his strength was even weaker. It seemed that even a cultivator at the late Yuan Ying stage could defeat him.
“Red-Blooded Old Demon, you actually killed the leader of our Taiyuan Gate’s Enforcement Team! I’ll kill you!” Suddenly, Li Yu flew out of the Dimensional Sphere, accompanied by loud thunder that could be heard from afar.
Before the Red-Blooded Old Demon could even get up, Li Yu swung his sword, unleashing a beam of golden light that shattered him completely.
The Blood Spirit Ring then took shape.
By this time, Qu Yi, the Golden Qilin, and the Illusion Dancing Butterfly had already entered the Dimensional Sphere.
A while later, three figures appeared in the distance—three elders from Jin Heng Gate who had fled.
Li Yu alone picked up the Blood Spirit Ring and also collected the spatial rings and treasures of Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin. Then, he stared coldly at the three elders from Jin Heng Gate.
“I ask you—why was the Red-Blooded Old Demon in your Jin Heng Gate? Why did you flee from the sect?” Li Yu’s eyes gleamed as he stared intently at them.
So, the three elders told Li Yu everything they had seen and heard.
After hearing this, Li Yu’s expression softened, and he said calmly, “Good. I hope all three of you are telling the truth; otherwise, you won’t be able to stay in the cultivation world at all. I’ll wait here for Li Mu to return, and then you go and clean up the battlefield.”
Upon hearing this, the three elders knew their lives were safe, so they didn’t dare say anything more. They immediately set out to chase after the fleeing disciples of the Jin Heng Sect, ordering them to return and rebuild their sect’s headquarters.
Three days later, Qu Yi appeared in the distance in the sky.
“Li Yu, I’m back,” Qu Yi called out happily from the sky.
“Li Mu, you’re back too late! Our team leader, along with Hu Han and Yang Yin, have already been killed by the Red-Blooded Old Demon,” Li Yu cried out in sorrow.
Qu Yi wanted to laugh at Li Yu’s performance, but he still had to continue acting in front of the people of the Jin Heng Sect.
“And where is that Red-Blooded Old Demon? Has he escaped?” Qu Yi asked immediately.
“Li Mu, you’ll never guess— the Red-Blooded Old Demon is actually Real Person Bing Yi! But I’ve already killed him. Now, we must hurry back to Tai Yuan Gate and report what’s happened here,” Li Yu said excitedly.
Qu Yi also grew serious and immediately said, “Alright, let’s go back.”
Soon, Qu Yi and Li Yu left in front of the people of the Jin Heng Sect.
…
Li Yu traveled alone using a space teleportation array, carrying the Dimension Ball, and it took him a month to finally return to Tai Yuan Gate.
Qu Yi, of course, had been scanning the Dual-Path Realm inside the Dimension Ball the whole time.
The head of Tai Yuan Gate’s enforcement team was Li Kui, who was at an advanced stage of fusion cultivation and practiced metal-based cultivation techniques. Usually, Li Kui didn’t come to the Enforcement Hall but instead discussed cultivation matters with the other elders in the Elders’ Hall. He would only go to the Enforcement Hall in case of major incidents.
Today, Li Kui came to the Enforcement Hall.
In a magnificent hall called the “Hall of Clear Hearts,” Li Kui sat on the tiger throne in the center of the hall, while Qu Yi and Li Yu stood there, along with over thirty more team leaders from the enforcement team.
The other team leaders were unable to be present as they were on missions in the cultivation world.
“Commander, the Red-Blooded Old Demon from Flowing Water Star was causing chaos. Commander Yan Zhong, along with Hu Han, Yang Yin, Li Mu, and me, went there together. Unexpectedly, Jin Heng sent the sect leader, True Man Bingyi, who was actually the real Red-Blooded Old Demon. Commander Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin were ambushed by the Red-Blooded Old Demon due to carelessness. After a fierce battle, all three died, though the Red-Blooded Old Demon was also severely injured. I happened to return from South Waterfall Continent and, seeing the Red-Blooded Old Demon weakened, I took action and killed it,” Li Yu said with sorrow in his voice.
Immediately afterward, Li Yu took out the Blood Spirit Ring, as well as the space rings and magical artifacts of Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin.
Upon seeing the three magical artifacts—Dragon-Slaying Sword, Spring-Flowing Spear, and Fiery Blade—those commanders confirmed that Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin were dead.
Li Kui remained completely calm, as if he didn’t care at all about such matters. After all, as someone in the later stages of fusion, his top priority was to break through to the early stage of tribulation and figure out how to survive the thirty-nine days of tribulation.
“Since the Red-Blooded Old Demon is dead, your team’s mission is complete. Regarding Yan Zhong’s death, your Fourth Team should report it, and I will approve it and provide Guangyuan Gate with substantial compensation,” Li Kui said indifferently.
Since Yan Zhong and the other two came from Guangyuan Gate, this compensation was given to Guangyuan Gate as a form of consolation.
“Yes, Commander!” Qu Yi and Li Yu replied simultaneously.
Li Kui seemed somewhat impatient and said lightly, “Since the leader of the Fourth Team is dead, you need to choose a new leader. By tradition, all members of your Fourth Team are eligible to compete in spells, and the strongest one will become the leader.”
As soon as these words were spoken, two of the thirty commanders present spoke up.
“Commander, we can’t just believe these two members’ words about Commander Yan Zhong’s death. There must be some injustice involved.”
“Commander, I know Hu Han and Yang Yin have conflicts with Li Mu and Li Yu. There are many doubts about this mission to Flowing Water Star. I hope the Commander can send someone to investigate.”
Qu Yi immediately turned to look at these two commanders and smiled. It turned out that these two were the same commanders who had stared at him strangely during the elimination ceremony, aside from Yan Zhong. They also came from Guangyuan Gate.
These two commanders were named Meng Zhan and Gui Ning.
Hearing the calls of the two team leaders, Li Yu immediately spoke calmly, “Commander, everything I say is true. If there’s even one lie, I’m willing to sacrifice the lives of all my Li family members.” Upon hearing this, most of the team leaders in the hall believed what Li Yu said. Li Kui immediately glared at Meng Zhan and Gui Ning, then said indifferently, “There’s no need to discuss Yan Zhong any further. I hope we’ll have a result for the competition for the new fourth team leader in three days.” After saying that, Li Kui disappeared, along with the space ring and magical treasures on the ground. Qu Yi and Li Yu walked together effortlessly toward the exit of the hall. Meng Zhan and Gui Ning watched their backs, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent.