Chapter 2716 - Be Kind to Others, the Kinder the Better

Old friend?’

Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit’s eyes flashed

But just as he was about to say something, the old man in plain cloth robes shook his head and sighed. “We can reminisce after we’ve determined victory and defeat. I’ll take my time to help you regain your memories then.”

With that, he raised his black cane and tapped the air.

Nothing strange happened inside the hall, but a hole formed in the firmament of the Golden Spirit Hidden Realm!

Countless rifts spread from the hole, and within moments, the entire dome of heaven was covered in crisscrossing gashes.

Heaven and earth shook, and the mountains and rivers swayed, as if a dragon were turning beneath the surface of the earth.

The inauspicious spirits throughout the Golden Spirit Hidden Realm set aside whatever they were doing and scampered off in panic.

The inauspicious spirit in bridal garb who’d been feasting on mice took another bite, only to sense something and shoot to her feet, terror written all over her face.

The skies are falling!

The Mountain of Blessings swayed, too. Its formations popped like a stabbed rubber ball, and all of the “double happiness” lanterns went out.

Even Golden Spirit Manor felt the impact. The hall swayed, the tables and chairs collapsed, and plates and cutlery were strewn across the ground.

And all of this was the result of a single tap from the old man’s cane!

Over in the centermost seat, Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit’s handsome face paled, and his brow furrowed.

The inauspicious spirits looked on in astonishment.

“I’ve already shattered the Laws of this hidden realm. Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit has now lost his greatest pillar of support,” said the old man, turning to face the young Daoist, Fire. “Now it’s your turn.”

The young Daoist sheepishly lowered his head. “Thank you for your assistance, Senior.”

He raised his hand and swung it through the air.

A black jade cauldron whooshed forth, stopped outside the hall, then took to the skies, like a rising, dark abyss.

The inauspicious spirits throughout the Golden Spirit Hidden Realm were instantly swept uncontrollably into the cauldron.

The young Daoist’s eyes shone with anticipation. He’d come here for the express purpose of gathering inauspicious spirits to refine into pills!

“Hmph!” Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit raised his hand, and a Daoist Seal took to the skies, rumbling and booming like lightning. It hurtled toward the old man in black.

The seal’s power was extraordinary, and it reflected an ancient lightning city. It was covered in dense lightning inscriptions.

When the seal descended, the hall split, the air shattered, and the electric city came crashing down.

“The Lightning Minister’s seal!” The Confucian of Bluebird Palace visibly lit up.

Then, he watched as the old man in black just stood there, moving only to raise his black cane and tap the air.

Countless streaks of electric light shattered.

The seal then fell into the old man’s hand, like a bird shot from the sky.

Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit coughed up blood, his handsome face deathly pale and translucent.

Everyone else was stunned.

“The Lightning Minister’s Seal is a Heavenly Monarch-level treasure my lord forged with his own two hands. Alas, this precious pearl has been buried in mud, and even its source energies have largely been destroyed. It’s now at most an Immeasurable Realm treasure,” said the old man, holding the seal aloft with a pained look in his eyes.

He tossed the seal to the Confucian from Bluebird Palace. “Hold onto this. I promised it to Bluebird Palace, so I naturally won’t go back on my word.”

The Confucian lit up with delight. “Thank you, Senior!”

Divine Reverence Pavilion had appraised the seal as “seizing fortune, brimming with the charm of electricity, and infused with destructive power.” It was a supreme Heavenly Monarch-level treasure of the Dao of Lightning!

Even damaged and incomplete, it was an extraordinary treasure!

Meanwhile, outside the hall, countless inauspicious spirits were swept into the black jade cauldron.

The hall halfway up the Blessed Mountain had largely been destroyed. The crowd could clearly see the cracks filling the hidden realm’s firmament. It was swaying as if about to fall!

Qin Suqing’s gaze focused.

Luan Yunzhong was ready and waiting for battle.

Both were intimidated by the old man’s display of strength, their hearts heavy.

Su Yi stood silently beside them.

The battle had only just begun, but Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit’s army had collapsed. Su Yi hadn’t anticipated this.

At a critical juncture, an old man in plain cloth robes stood forth, spoke just a few words, then seized the advantage. He was overseeing the whole situation.

It was thus immediately obvious that Bluebird Palace, Fire Dragon Temple, and the Yu Family had come prepared.

And the old man in plain cloth robes was their greatest pillar of support.

“Old friend, if you have any countermeasures left, go ahead and show us. Out of respect for our former bond, I’ll grant you this chance to struggle,” said the old man, gazing at the handsome Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit.

He sounded kind, but his eyes flashed with mockery.

Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit let out a melancholy sigh. “In all the years I’ve watched over this place, I never hurt a cultivator. More than that, I welcomed anyone in the Blue Peak Continent with one of my Blessed Jade Records as a guest, and all of my guests left with a share of treasure.

“I thought I’d be rewarded for my kindness, that if I delighted in doing good, others would be kind to me in turn, and that I could cultivate the compassionate heart of a bodhisattva and become a buddha in my own right.

“But now, it seems my good intentions were entirely one-sided!” Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit’s eyes reddened and shone with bloodthirsty light. His aura was suddenly terrifying to behold.

The crowd’s hearts clenched.

The old man in plain cloth robes suddenly called out, “Do you plan to break the vow you made back then?”

It was just one light, airy sentence, but Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit’s expression shifted. He looked deeply conflicted, as if the decision were agonizing to him.

The old man smiled. “I’m not here to kill you, but to claim a certain treasure. Give it up, and I’ll show mercy and leave you a path to life.”

Ol’ Devil Golden Light took a deep breath, scanned the crowd, and hissed, “I’ll give you one last opportunity to change your mind. Leave immediately, and I won’t kill you. Refuse... and all of you must die!”

Many of the cultivators sneered.

You still think threats can work? What a joke!

Qin Suqing, however, said, “We’re leaving!”

She tugged Su Yi’s sleeve, but just as she and Luan Yunzhong were about to leave, the old man in cloth robes shouted, “Stop! This isn’t over yet, but you already want to go? You’re giving this old man no face at all!”

Qin Suqing’s expression shifted, while Luan Yunzhong said gravely, “What do you mean, Senior?”

“I dislike wasting my breath,” the old man said calmly. “So I’ll be blunt. Leave, and I’ll kill you.”

The young Daoist said hurriedly, “Miss Qin, whatever you do, don’t be impulsive. I’ll be heartbroken if anything happens to you!”

The other cultivators couldn’t help but laugh.

Qin Suqing’s beautiful face was ashen, while Luan Yunzhong’s eyes shone with murderous intent.

They could neither advance nor retreat!

Su Yi had been watching in silence this entire time, but now, he suddenly spoke up. “Miss Qin, let’s just stay here and see how this ends.”

“A clever man!” The young Daoist sighed with approval.

Su Yi just glanced at him and said nothing. The whole interlude ended quickly.

The old man gripped his black cane and looked at Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit. “Old Friend, this will be my last attempt to persuade you. Come quietly if you want to live!”

Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit suddenly threw back his head and laughed uproariously. “Live? I’m already an inauspicious spirit, dammit!”

His long-suppressed aura erupted like a volcano, and his eyes wept tears of blood. Even his robes silently transformed, taking on dense red hues, as if an ocean of blood were undulating within the fabric.

His terrifying aura startled everyone present. Even the old man in plain cloth robes couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

Everyone readied themselves for battle.

“All of you... must die!” Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit’s handsome face was now utterly murderous.

When he stretched out his hand and beckoned, a beam of light flashed through the manor, transformed into a scroll, and unfurled in midair.

It was a masterwork of calligraphy with eight characters written in grass script. It read, “Be kind to others, the kinder the better.”

It was just eight characters, yet they were written in a single brush stroke, with broad, sweeping movements, natural to the extreme.

The cultivators had been prepared to face a powerful foe. When they saw the eight characters, their expressions grew strange. All of them found the calligraphy absurd.

This is a ruler among inauspicious spirits. Is he really trying to be a good person?

Only the old man in plain robes watched the calligraphy intently, gaze heated. He murmured, “It really is the work of that expert!”

Su Yi couldn’t help but be surprised, too. They were about to fight to the death, only for Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit to take out a piece of calligraphy. The situation really did seem absurd.

But when Su Yi sensed the truths of the Grand Dao imbued in those eight characters, he was stunned, and his eyes shone with a strange light.

“It’s not just you. I find it ridiculous, too. Hah! Do good? The more the better? What a joke!” Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit laughed so hard that he wept tears of blood.

Then, without any further hesitation, he stretched out his hand and grabbed.

The calligraphy flew through the air, the eight flowing characters coming to life like a sword. Every line erupted with sword qi, dazzling the nine heavens.

Everyone was astonished, their expressions shifting.

What terrifying sword intent!!

The old man in the plain robes suddenly shifted through the air, extending his cane and swinging it at the calligraphy.

But he was instantly forced back, blood gushing from his lips. Even his cane was almost sent flying from his grip.

“Hurry up and retreat!” shouted the old man. He obviously hadn’t anticipated that the calligraphy would be this terrifying.

Everyone looked stricken. They naturally realized that the situation didn’t bode well, so all of them moved further away.

“It’s too late!” Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit laughed, his blood-red robes fluttering around him. “Killing like a wanton butcher really is the most satisfying of all!”

He gripped the calligraphy as if it were a sword and swung it.

Sword qi swept across the black jade cauldron hovering beneath the firmament. The cauldron came crashing down like a meteor, with cracks all over its surface.

The young man from Fire Dragon Temple coughed up blood and cried out in alarm, “Senior―!”

The old man had a solemn look on his face. “Don’t worry. He can’t control it for long. A wicked creature like him cannot possibly wield that treasure!”

He’d noticed that the hand Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit held the calligraphy with was already starting to melt like a candle. He was obviously suffering a backlash!

“Sure, but I’ll last long enough to kill you all!” Ol’ Devil Golden Spirit laughed uproariously, leaped through the air, and attacked.

Blood-red light blanketed heaven and earth, bringing with it an avalanche of sword intent.

The crowd panicked in the face of that terrifying power. Everyone scampered off with all their might.

Qin Suqing and Luan Yunzhong retreated, too.

But a moment later, Qin Suqing’s expression shifted, because she’d just noticed that “Su Xuanjun” was frozen in place, as if scared out of his wits. He wasn’t moving!