Chapter 599: Their Crimes Don’t Warrant Death?

A bellow echoed throughout the night sky.

Down on the battlefield, the coarsely-dressed young man’s expression shifted dramatically. He immediately put away his little red cauldron, turned, and ran.

Boom!

A streak of sword light came slashing down, quick as lightning.

The young man dodged, and the sword light missed him by a hair, cleaving a hundred-foot rift into the ground and scattering mud.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The young man still wanted to flee, but several figures had already appeared on the battlefield, blocking off his escape route.

“So, it’s a tiny little heretical cultivator,” said the leader, an imposing, ornately-dressed middle-aged man with a willowy beard.

The others’ eyes flashed like lightning as they locked onto the young man in coarse cloth.

In the face of that terrifying pressure, the coarsely-dressed young man’s expression changed dramatically. “Seniors, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not a heretical cultivator.”

“If you’re not a heretical cultivator, why are you here gathering remnant souls?” said a woman in purple with a cold laugh.

The young man explained, “If I don’t gather these ghosts and lead them away, they’ll mature into something stronger and bring devastation to the populace.”

“Hah? What a sharp-tongued little thing you are! Do you really think we can’t tell that your treasures and secret arts are heretical and wicked? Even now, you’re trying to talk your way out of this?” Their leader, a middle-aged man in ornate robes, snorted coldly.

“Senior Apprentice Brother, there’s no need to waste words with a little devil like him. Just kill him!” said the woman in purple. She raised her hand and hurled lightning at him.

Boom!

Electricity arced gracefully through the air, intimidating and overbearing.

The young man’s expression changed dramatically, and he immediately used the blood-red cauldron to protect himself.

Clang!

Amidst a deafening blast, both the young man and his cauldron were sent flying through the air, and they fell several dozen feet away.

The young man coughed up blood, his face pallid. It was obvious that he’d been injured.

“Ee? This wicked treasure isn’t simple,” exclaimed the woman in purple.

Given her Gathering Stars Realm cultivation, killing the young man, a Grain Avoidance cultivator, should have been no more difficult than squishing an ant.

However, he used his little red cauldron to defend himself!

The woman’s companions all gazed at the little cauldron, a bit surprised.

The young man’s cultivation base was as ordinary as could be, and they weren’t the least bit concerned about him. However, the little cauldron he carried drew their attention.

The young man crawled to his feet, wiped the blood from his lips, and shouted, “I might cultivate heretical techniques, but my conduct is forthright and proper, and I think only of how to save the world from calamity. And you? You only just saw me, yet you’re already screaming, fighting, and trying to kill me. You refuse to listen to my explanations. How are you any different from the heretical and demonic cultivators you hate?”

His heart burned with fury, and his words made that readily apparent.

“Little bastard! How dare you slander us? Kneel!” a man in gray snorted coldly, then swung his palm and struck from afar.

Boom!

A hundred-foot black palm flew through the sky, enveloping the young man.

“Activate!” the young man bellowed, his blood and qi surging.

The little blood-colored cauldron burst with radiant light, and dazzling, misty radiance flowed out of it. Shockingly, it blocked the enormous black palm head-on.

However, the young man’s cultivation was ultimately too low. The impact sent him staggering back, and his knees thudded to the ground. Blood flowed from all seven apertures of his face, and he was as pale as a sheet of paper.

The ornately-dressed middle-aged man and his companions were now even more surprised than before.

The young man obviously wasn’t very strong at all, yet he’d repeatedly used his little cauldron to avert calamity. That was unquestionably unbelievable!

The young man struggled to his feet and shouted, “You people have cultivation bases supporting you, and the populace honors you as earthly immortals, but your mannerisms and behavior are as despicable and lowly as heretics and demons. I might well die here today, but I look down on you nonetheless!”

His injuries were heavy, and he struggled to stay upright, but there was no sign of fear in his expression. He emanated an indomitable will.

The ornately-dressed middle-aged man and his companions’ expressions turned a bit unsightly.

“Bastard! You’re obviously just a little devil, yet you dare shout so brazenly? We’ll kill you for the good of the world!” The woman in purple waved her sleeves, and dazzling lightning descended from the heavens. It crashed down on the young man, bringing with it an aura of destruction.

The young man tried to activate his blood-colored cauldron, but his injuries were too heavy; he couldn’t do it.

He grimaced.

He wasn’t afraid of death.

However, dying for being mistaken for an evildoer left him feeling stifled.

“This… perhaps, this is the true face of the world of cultivation. There is no good and evil, no black and white, just the strong eating the weak. There’s no… reason or principle to speak of.”

The young man shut his eyes.

Bang!

An explosion rang out, followed by a series of exclamations.

The young man opened his eyes in confusion, then saw a tall, stalwart man standing in front of him. He was huge, like a miniature mountain, and he seemed utterly unmovable.

“You okay, little fellow?” The man turned and flashed the young man a simple, honest grin.

He was none other than Yuan Heng.

The young man in coarse cloth said in a daze, “Senior, why did you save me? Aren’t you afraid that I’m a heretical cultivator?”

Yuan Heng looked a bit ashamed, and he sighed, “Earlier, I almost misunderstood you, but how could I think that now?”

“Who are you? Why are you interfering in the Profound Unity Sect’s affairs?”

The ornately-dressed middle-aged man and his companions frowned as they gazed upon their uninvited guest.

“I couldn’t bear to watch your behavior, so I decided to lend my young friend a hand,” said Yuan Heng calmly. He swept his gaze across the group.

“Ludicrous. Don’t tell me you can’t tell the little whelp practices a heretical cultivation technique?” the woman in purple said coldly.

“If that’s enough to determine good and evil, wouldn’t that make me, a yao cultivator, an irredeemable villain too?” Yuan Heng said gravely.

The ornately-dressed middle-aged man and his companions’ pupils constricted.?This guy’s a yao cultivator!?

The woman in purple furrowed her brow. “It seems you’re dead set on acting against us?”

Yuan Heng said expressionlessly, “So long as you kneel and apologize to my young friend, I can let your earlier transgressions slide.”

The ornately-dressed middle-aged man and his companions looked at each other. They couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

A single Gathering Stars Realm yao cultivator actually dares threaten us like that?

.

He really doesn't know the meaning of the word death!

“I’d actually like to see just whether or not you’re qualified to intervene in our affairs!” A man in gray shot forward, activating a flying sword, which he swung at Yuan Heng.

Crunch!

Yuan Heng swung his fist, shattering the flying sword in a single attack. Fragments of metal flew through the air.

The man in gray suffered a backlash and coughed up blood. His expression filled with astonishment.

“This…” The ornately-dressed middle-aged man and the others were stunned. All of their expressions changed.

The young man’s eyes widened.?He’s so strong!

“Am I qualified now?” Yuan Heng asked expressionlessly.

“Everyone, attack together! Smite that wicked creature!” The ornately-dressed middle-aged man bellowed and led the charge.

He drew a silver longsword and slashed through the air. Sword light glinted like snow, illuminating the night sky.

The others all took action as well.

Seven cultivators, three in the Gathering Stars Realm and four in the Origin Palace Realm, called upon their secret arts and treasures. They had Yuan Heng surrounded, and they attacked from all sides.

When he saw this, the coarsely-dressed young man cried out in alarm. “Senior, don’t worry about me! Hurry up and run!”

However, Yuan Heng merely grinned. “What a good lad!”

As soon as the words rang out, he attacked without reservation.

Boom!

His stalwart frame suddenly surged with monstrous yao qi, giving him the imposing majesty of the Xuanwu, a primordial divine beast. Even the wind and clouds shifted in response.

Rumble! Bang!

The treasures and secret arts slammed toward him, but they couldn’t even break Yuan Heng’s defenses. He blocked them all while they were still a foot away from him.

This scene astonished everyone present.

It was then that Yuan Heng took action and unleashed the Xuanwu Overlord Seal. When he waved his hand, it was like a divine mountain hurtling through the air. He struck with the force of a barbarian god!

Bang bang bang!

Miserable cries rang out, one after another. The ornately-dressed man and his companions were like sandbags. Some were suppressed, some were ripped open, some?broke?bones, some coughed blood, and some slammed into the earth, creating an enormous crater…

In the blink of an eye, seven cultivators of the Profound Unity Sect had been thoroughly suppressed!

That unstoppable momentum left the young man tongue-tied and dumbstruck. His heart swelled, and he felt as if he’d just witnessed a deity in action.

In the time it took to snap his fingers, he swept everything around him!

“Sir, we were blind! We didn’t recognize the expert before us. Please, spare us!” the ornately-dressed middle-aged man cried out in panic.

The others’ faces were ashen, and they quivered in fright.

They’d finally realized that this time, they’d kicked an iron board!

Yuan Heng looked at the coarsely-dressed young man. “Young friend, how do you think we should punish them?”

One sentence, and the ornately-dressed middle-aged man and his companions all looked at the young man. They realized that his answer would determine their life and death!

Their expressions were pleading, and all of them begged for mercy.

“Little friend, we were wrong earlier. Please, leave us a path to life. To make up for our mistakes, we’re willing to give you every treasure we have on us!”

“Please, my young friend, be merciful!”

“I beg of you!”

….The formerly lofty and superior experts, who’d treated him like an ant just moments prior, were now panicked, kneeling, and begging for their lives.

The young man almost dared not believe his eyes.

After a while, he asked a question that caught them completely off guard. “You… Are you that afraid to die?”

It was just one simple question, but it left them at a loss for words.

When he saw this, Yuan Heng was inwardly rueful.?It’s obvious that this young man has never experienced anything like this before. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly ask such a question.

Or perhaps it’s because he himself isn’t afraid of death… Is that why he doesn’t understand?

The young man looked at Yuan Heng. “Senior, I’m unqualified to punish them. I ask that you decide.”

Yuan Heng asked again. “Then do you think they deserve to die?”

The young man fell silent, then whispered, “It’s because they mistook me for a heretic or an evildoer that they tried to kill me. They were wrong, but… their crimes don’t warrant death.”

He paused, then said bitterly, “Ultimately, I was too weak. If I’d been strong enough, they… naturally wouldn't have dared treat me like that.”

The ornately-dressed middle-aged man and his companions sighed in relief. The young man’s words gave them new hope!

It was then that a calm voice rang out from over the horizon.

“Their crimes don’t warrant death? You’re mistaken. You absolutely cannot show your enemies even the slightest mercy. Don’t forget: if not for us, you’d already be dead, kid!”

As this voice echoed through the air, a tall, lean figure appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

Beneath the light of the moon, his blue robes fluttered around him. He was like a banished immortal wandering the human world.