Chapter 254: Cripple Him!

"Hahaha!" The Spirit Void Sect Elder burst into laughter. He was so amused, that his frame shook uncontrollably. The surrounding disciples of the Spirit Void Sect joined in on the laughter.

The gatekeeping disciple looked stunned.

The Spirit Void Sect elder’s laughter ceased after a few moments, and he looked calmly at the gatekeeping disciple.

"Do you know where this is?"

"The Spirit Void Sect...." replied the disciple.

The Spirit Void Sect smiled gently, as if imparting a valuable lesson to the disciple. "And how does the Spirit Void Sect rank in the Flame Empire?" he asked again.

"Spirit Void Sect naturally ranks among the top factions in the Flame Empire. Even if the Spirit Void Citylord were to come, he would have to be polite and he wouldn’t dare to act out of line," replied the disciple promptly.

By now, his mind had cleared, and most of his panic had disappeared. He found himself to have been quite silly just now, and he quickly apologized, "I was blinded for a moment. Please forgive me, Elder."

The elder chuckled softly. "That's right. This is the Spirit Void Sect. Who would dare to act out of line here?" he said. "Follow me to the entrance. Let's see who dared to brazenly claim they will take over the sect."

At that moment, another gray-robed elder walked over. "Senior Brother, what just happened?" he asked.

He was relatively slender, with a goatee, and was accompanied by several disciples, all of whom had strong auras.

The elder laughed. "Second Junior Brother, someone said they want to take over our Spirit Void Sect. The disciples panicked for a moment, but it's nothing serious."

The Second Elder was momentarily stunned, and then a strange smile appeared on his face. "Someone wants to take over our Spirit Void Sect? Hahaha, who dares to say such conceited words? Where is the sect master? Let's ask her to come along."

"The sect master has gone to the Concealed Moon Hermitage. We here are enough to deal with this. Even if the visitor is at the Foundation Building Realm, so what? Let's see if they dare to act recklessly in our Spirit Void Sect," said the elder with a chuckle.

Another elder arrived, descending from the air. He was at the 12th stage of Qi Refining, judging by his aura. "How could I miss out on such an event?"

When the disciples saw the Third Elder, their eyes shone with awe. The Third Elder was known for his obsession with swordsmanship. Though not a true sword cultivator, his sword had defeated numerous peers at the same level. Neither the First nor Second Elder could match him in a one-on-one battle.

The combined strength of the three highest-ranking elders of the sect was even higher than the sect master herself. If not for the rarity of Foundation Building Pills, all three of them would have likely reached the Foundation Building Realm by now!

Shortly after the third elder arrived, some stewards hurried over. Together with the Spirit Void Sect disciples, about forty to fifty cultivators gathered at the entrance of the Spirit Void Sect.

Watching the arrival of such a formidable lineup, the guards—who had been quivering with fright—suddenly froze.

"

Heh.

Martial artists are martial artists at the end of the day. They can't keep their composure in the face of minor incidents," remarked the elder with a glance at the Heaven Profound Stage martial artists, his tone cold.

The guards felt ashamed, but at the same time, they were no longer panicked. With the three elders present, no matter who those two individuals were, they couldn't possibly pose a threat to the Spirit Void Sect.

"The cultivator who claimed to want to take over our Spirit Void Sect, where are they now?" asked the eldest elder calmly.

"They... seem to still be climbing the mountain, but they're moving very slowly. It’s like... they are having a stroll through their own garden or something," whispered one of the Heaven Profound Stage guards.

"How audacious," murmured the Third Elder with a faint hint of coldness in his eyes. The next moment, a flying sword slowly emerged from his forehead.

This was a Destiny Spiritual Treasure!

The surrounding cultivators looked on with endless envy. A Destiny Spiritual Treasure could easily take down cultivators at the same level, it could even fly through the air. Even the eldest and second elders felt a twinge of jealousy, but the Third Elder's Destiny Spiritual Treasure was not something he had obtained from the Spirit Void Sect, so they couldn't ask him to share the refining technique with them.

The flying sword emitted a faint blue light and was about a foot long.

The Third Elder chuckled lightly. "This sword hasn't tasted blood in a while. Today, it shall feast!"

"Third Junior Brother, don't kill them too quickly. We need to find out what's going on," said the oldest Elder with a faint smile.

"I understand, Senior Brother," nodded the Third Elder.

Suddenly, everyone saw two figures slowly approaching from a distance. It was a young man and a nun.

"This is Qing He from the Concealed Moon Hermitage. She is Abbess Zhu Yue’s disciple." The oldest Elder frowned. "I've seen that girl a few times. Did those guards misunderstand her? The Concealed Moon Hermitage has no grudge against us, and their relationship with our sect master is quite good. Why would they come here to attack our sect?"

There was uncertainty among the crowd, but the Third Elder spoke calmly. "There's no such thing as a lifelong friendship. At times, raising your blade against your most trusted acquaintances is the only way to survive in the cultivation world."

His words made everyone fall into silence.

By now, Fang Chen and Qing He had already arrived at the entrance, just a few dozen feet away from the crowd.

The oldest Elder was the first to open his mouth. "Qing He, do you still remember me?"

Glancing at him, Qing He nodded quickly, then turned to Fang Chen. "Lord Fang, this is the master of the Spirit Void Sect Master, and he’s also the Grand Elder of the sect. He's at the 12th stage of the Qi Refining Realm,” she said, then after a moment, she added, “My master said he's rather insidious, so you should be careful."

"..."

Did she just say that the Grand Elder is insidious right to his face?

The Spirit Void Sect cultivators were initially speechless, but soon they became furious!

The Second Elder’s eyes narrowed. "Looks like the visitors are really not here on friendly terms. This must have something to do with Abbess Zhu Yue."

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Throughout their exchange, the Third Elder never once looked at Fang Chen and Qing He. His eyes remained fixed on the flying sword in his hand, his features gentle and serene.

The Grand Elder’s lips curled slightly. "Is it true that you're here to take over our sect?"

"Why else would we come all this way?" Fang Chen smiled. "Is this everyone in your sect?"

"You're just a junior but you dare speak so arrogantly. Which sect are you from?" The Grand Elder frowned. He turned his attention toward Qing He. "Is the Concealed Moon Hermitage planning to join hands with others to fight us?"

"Your sect started the hostilities. You planned to attack my Concealed Moon Hermitage first. Master said that this is merely our retaliation," replied Qing He.

Huh?

Everyone was puzzled.

All of a sudden, the Third Elder spoke up. "No need for all this chit-chat. Let's cripple him first. You can then interrogate him as much as you like, Senior Brother.” His flying sword suddenly turned into a lightning bolt, aimed directly at Fang Chen. However, he still didn't lift his head, his gaze lingering elsewhere.

Fang Chen could sense Little Sword’s excitement.

"Eat it, eat it!"

"No worries. You can feast to your heart's content today." Fang Chen chuckled inwardly, then reached out and grabbed the lightning-fast flying sword.

With a grasp, he clutched the sword by its blade. The sword buzzed and trembled in his hand, letting out fierce sword intent, but as much as it tried, it couldn't even cut through Fang Chen's skin.

The faces of the three elders fell at that scene, and their eyes turned solemn. Only the Third Elder was still oblivious. He was staring into the distance, so focused, as if he was peeking at some celestial maidens bathing.

Finally, after a few moments, he seemed to have realized that something was off, as there was strangely no sound or movement around. Looking up at Fang Chen, his face began turning green.