406 Mount Li in Chaos

Today in the dwelling at the peak of Mount Li, several more unconscious peoplewere lying between Qiushan Jun and Qi Jian. Those wounds which had been verysimply bandaged were still oozing blood, and the scene seemed rather bloody. Outside the dwelling stood several dozen Mount Li disciples. Bai Cai stood atthe very front, one hand supporting the Sect Master while the other held hissword. His face was somewhat pale, both because he was sick from the sight ofblood and because his emotions were rather agitated. Of course, this agitationwas not out of fear, even if he was sick from seeing blood, or else hedefinitely wouldn't be the real Bai Cai. This youth with the bizarre name was a disciple of the Mount Li Sword Sect'sinner sect, sixth law of the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws, in the later level ofMeditation. The emotion currently agitating his chest was called anger. (TN:Bai Cai's name is literally 'cabbage' in Chinese.) The Mount Li Sword Sect's Master had a very dignified expression, but his bodywas very weak. This supreme expert whose might once shook the south today foundit quite the task to even stand up straight. Only with the assistance of ayoung disciple could he stand steady. The stone plaza and the mountain pathoutside the dwelling were both covered in blood and sword slashes. It was veryobvious that an extremely bitter battle had just occurred. In the early morning, several elders suddenly brought their disciples withthem to the main peak and requested that Qi Jian be turned over to theDiscipline Hall for questioning. When the Mount Li Sword Sect Master rejectedtheir proposal, a battle suddenly erupted. Those unconscious and heavilywounded people in the dwelling, as well as the bloodstains and shattered swordsoutside of it, were the bitter results of this battle. "Absolutely shameless!" Bai Cai looked at Elder Xiao Songgong who stood at thehead of the crowd. His grief and anger mixed with his rebuke. "You wouldactually dare conspire to harm the Sect Master! Could it be that you want tobetray Mount Li!?" At the moment, Gou Hanshi, Liang Banhu, and Guan Feibai were still at thecapital in the Mausoleum of Books, comprehending the Dao. Qiushan Jun and QiJian were still heavily injured and in comas. Of the Divine Kingdom's SevenLaws, only Bai Cai remained. The several second-generation martial uncles hadall been imprisoned in the belly of the mountain, so it was he who stood in thefront. Although he was a junior disciple highly treasured and supported by the MountLi Sword Sect, possessing a very special status, if this were any other time,he would definitely be extremely respectful and courteous to an elder like XiaoSonggong. He would not have dared to say such words as he had. However, he wastruly extremely furious at the moment. If the Sect Master had not suffered aninternal injury from the Garden of Zhou affair, then even if Xiao Songgong hadlaunched a sneak attack, how could he have possibly dealt such a heavy injury?If those martial uncles had not been imprisoned by some secret technique in thesword array in the belly of the mountain by Xiao Songgong, these people wouldnot have dared to bully their way to the peak. The mountain breeze caressed Xiao Songgong’s white eyebrows. The morning lightshone upon his emotionless face. The normally transcendent feeling he gave offhad been completely supplanted by a grim toughness. He sternly shouted back,"Just who is it really that is betraying Mount Li? We are just requesting thatthe Sect Master, in accordance with the iron law of Mount Li, turn over QiJian, the disciple suspected of colluding with the demons, to the DisciplineHall for questioning. Why do you not agree?" Xiao Songgong stared at the pale face of the Mount Li Sect Master and saidwith hint of severity, "Can you tell us a reason?" The Mount Li Sect Master looked back, his slightly dark eyes filled with anindifference and sadness that came from understanding everything. "Then canSenior Brother tell us a reason? Why did you use the secret technique leftbehind by Master to trap our fellow senior and junior brothers in the belly ofthe mountain just as they were preparing to use the sword array to travel northto save Junior Martial Uncle? Why is it that behind you stand our fellowDaoists from the Longevity Sect as well as…the clan head of the Qiushan clan?And also…why did you previously have to strike me with that palm?" As he said these words, there was suddenly the sound of swords whistlingthrough the air in the morning sun. Several dozen flying swords began to circlethe summit where the dwelling was. As they flew speedily around, they drew outline after line of metallic light. This was a portion of Mount Li's MyriadSword Array. At the sight of these flying swords, all the people that had followed XiaoSonggong up the mountain grew very grave. This included the upper level StarCondensation elder from the Longevity Sect as well as the venerable servant ofthe Qiushan clan whose strength was unfathomable. Only the head of the Qiushanclan acted like he had not noticed it. Just how profound was the Mount Li Sect Master's cultivation! Even when he washeavily injured and unable to battle, his sword heart still existed. His wordswere like sharp swords, directly remonstrating others and leaving thempowerless to respond. The two elders from the Discipline Hall that had alwaysbeen standing behind Xiao Songgong suddenly looked ashamed. Even XiaoSonggong's expression went through several transformations before he finallyturned to that elder from the Longevity Sect. Just after Xiao Songgong had successfully launched his sneak attack, the SectMaster had consumed the last of his sword intent to summon a portion of theMyriad Sword Array. It protected the dwelling and simultaneously cut off thispeak from all the other mountains of the Mount Li Sword Sect. The several StarCondensation second generation experts had all been imprisoned by XiaoSonggong's secret technique in the belly of the mountain. The Sect Master didnot want the disciples of the other sects to come and attempt to save them onlyto be injured by Xiao Songgong's group. However, he had also activated theMyriad Sword Array's Thundercry sound amplification magic, so everything thatwas said on this peak could be heard by the rest of Mount Li. If he could, Xiao Songgong would definitely have preferred to not answer theSect Master's questions. However, in his current situation, if he wanted tosmoothly grasp the authority of Mount Li and convince the masses, he wouldabsolutely have to give a convincing answer. The Longevity Sect elder expressionlessly replied, "Why? Because we suspectthat you are colluding with the demons!" At these words, the Mount Li disciples standing at the Sect Master's sideerupted in rage and couldn't hold back their curses. Bai Cai was even so angrythat his entire face turned red. Even the hand gripping his sword began totremble. It seemed like the sounds of cursing could even be heard from thenearby mountains. The Mount Li Sect Master was noble and highly respected. He had a reputationfor treating all his disciples fairly, and he was even famed in the entiresouth for his compassion. For this Longevity Sect elder to denounce him ascolluding with demons, just how could the people stand this? The ten-odd mountain peaks all flared up. Yet the only people on these peakswere some third-generation disciples as well as some outer sect disciples whohad even lower cultivations. It was simply impossible for them to break throughthe Myriad Sword Array, so they could only incessantly curse. That Longevity Sect elder's skin truly was extremely thick. His expressionunchanging, he said, "Before Mount Li disciple Liang Xiaoxiao died, he accusedQi Jian of colluding with the demons, Wofu Zhexiu, and Chen Changsheng ininstigating a mass slaughter in the Garden of Zhou. It was for this reason thatQiushan Jun has fallen into a coma. As Qiushan Jun's greatly respected teacher,just why have you procrastinated for so long, not even willing to give Qi Jianover to the Discipline Hall for questioning? Just what are you trying to hide?Just how could anyone not suspect you of colluding with the demons?" "Since when were the matters of my Mount Li the concern of the LongevitySect?" The Mount Li Sect Master gazed at the Longevity Sect elder and said,"Don't say some nonsense like ‘the Longevity Sect is the representative of allthe sects and kingdoms of the south.’ When Junior Martial Uncle killed offevery last one of your Longevity Sect elders, did you still believe that myMount Li would listen to you? Truly hopelessly naive." With this statement, the ten-odd peaks of Mount Li resounded with thunderouslaughter, and there were even more disciples who admired the Sect Master forhis incisive commentary. Bai Cai and his fellow disciples roared in laughter.When paired with the ground covered in blood and swords, a heroic airspontaneously arose. Xiao Songgong took notice that those disciples that were loyal to him and thetwo other elders looked rather uneasy. He couldn't help but inwardly feel someregret. He thought to himself,I was only thinking that Mount Li was asubordinate of the Longevity Sect, which is why I agreed to the Longevity Sectelder accompanying us. But I forgot that because of that incident ten-odd yearsago, because of Su Li, the disciples of Mount Li completely lost any respectthey had for the Longevity Sect. On the contrary, all they have is hostility. "Regardless, Elder Jiang is still an elder of the same faction. Juniorbrother, you should still show some respect." Xiao Songgong looked at the Sect Master and said coldly, "If you don't wantpeople to think that you are colluding with the demons, then bring Qi Jian out.When the time comes, I will personally come to you to offer my deepestapologies, and then cut off my own arm and seclude myself in the back mountainsfor five hundred years!" These words were extremely unyielding, actually causing the laughter andcurses from the surrounding peaks to completely come to a halt. The Sect Mastercalmly gazed at Xiao Songgong and then sighed. He thought to himself,if youweren't already certain that I couldn't bring Qi Jian out, you wouldn't dare toswear such a fierce oath. "Is it just this matter?" He looked into Xiao Songgong's eyes as he asked.  Xiao Songgong did not concede a single inch. Staring back into his eyes, hehatefully said, "Of course, you also have to hand over the Relic Sword! Inaddition, you also must hand over the Myriad Sword Array!" The Sect Master calmly replied, "I must hand over everything, then presumablyI must also hand over my position as Sect Master." Xiao Songgong said nothing, this being his silent acknowledgment. Bai Cai furiously said, "Just for what reason do you think Junior Brother iscollaborating with the demons, that he would conspire with the Demon race?" A Discipline Hall elder that had remained silent from the beginning suddenlyopened his mouth. "The person who identified Qi Jian as colluding with thedemons was not us, but rather your deceased third brother." This Discipline Hall elder had an extremely prestigious reputation. Henormally executed the law very strictly and was the most just and fair. All thedisciples, without exception, admired him. At his words, even Bai Cai couldfind no words to respond. This being the case, the disciples of every peak werealso silenced. The Discipline Hall elder turned towards the Sect Master and sighed, "Just whydo you insist on not allowing the Discipline Hall to question her?" The Sect Master calmly answered, "Because I don't believe that Qi Jian wouldever do something evil." The Discipline Hall elder retorted, "Even when your other disciple LiangXiaoxiao personally indicated it? In addition, he's already dead." The Mount Li Sect Master grew quiet, and then replied, "Yes." The Discipline Hall elder asked, "Since you don't believe it, why won't youallow the Discipline Hall to investigate?" The Mount Li Sect Master looked back at him and said nothing for a very longtime. Finally, he said, "Because I do not trust the Discipline Hall." A small clamor stirred within the mountains. Bai Cai and his fellow discipleshad fought bravely and shed blood in order to protect the dwelling, but whenthey heard the Sect Master's words, even they dared not believe it. It must beknown that the Discipline Hall of Mount Li was the most just. It had never doneanything improper. The Discipline Hall elder's eyebrows slightly trembled. It was obvious that hewas very angry. He asked, "Might the venerable Sect Master instruct us, in thelast hundred years, what has the Discipline Hall done that has been unjust. Ifthere is none, then why do you not trust it?" "Because you do not believe in Junior Martial Uncle," the Sect Master declared to the two Discipline Hall elders. The Discipline Hall elder asked, "Why do you think this way?" The Sect Master answered, "Back then when you two entered the Mausoleum ofBooks and swore blood oaths to become Monolith Guardians, Junior Martial Unclewas greatly enraged at this news. He burst into the Mausoleum of Books andforcefully dragged you away. Whenever the common people discuss this matter,they will always praise my Mount Li by saying that it acts like soothing windor bright moon. But I know very well that you two have always felt that youmissed out on the opportunity to enter the Divine Domain because Junior MartialUncle brought you out of the Mausoleum of Books. You have always felt thatJunior Martial Uncle was being unfair to you." This was an extremely famous event from the past. But it was only this morningthat many Mount Li disciples learned that the two disciples that had beenforcefully taken out of the Mausoleum of Books by the Martial Granduncle wereactually these two iron-faced and selfless elders of the Discipline Hall. The other Discipline Hall elder that had not spoken suddenly said in a hoarsevoice, "Could it be that Junior Martial Uncle was not being unfair to us?"