Instead of growing angry, the man pointed at the disciple and shouted even louder. “Look, everyone, look! He’s rattled. He’s rattled! This obviously proves they mean to arrest my junior sister and execute her! Why else would you be so quick to defend yourself?”

He held the woman close, his sharp eyes scanning their surroundings. Several people in the crowd murmured in agreement.

A sect master from one of the other sects stepped forward, frowning. “Don’t jump to conclusions! The only reason we’re still alive is that the Daxia Sword Sect’s cultivators came to help us. Without them, all of us would likely have died at the hands of the Abyssal Demons.”

Many people nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. The Daxia Sword Sect wouldn’t stoop to something like that.”

“Yeah! If they wanted to wipe us out, they could easily do so.”

“The Daxia Sword Sect could have simply stood aside and done nothing.”

Sensing the tide turning against him, the man spoke up quickly. “Where are all the people who were taken away, then? Why hasn’t even one of them come back yet? The way I see it—“

Boom!

Before he could finish, a terrifying pressure crashed down on him.

Bang!

He slammed into the ground. The blue stone tiles shattered.

The man lay face down and coughed up a mouthful of blood. That single blow had injured him more severely than any attack from the Abyssal Demons.

A pair of white boots entered his field of vision.

Every Daxia Sword Sect member on the plaza stopped what they were doing, bowed toward the arriving figure, and called out in unison, “Greetings, Elder Li!”

Li Guanqi nodded calmly, both hands at his sides. He expressionlessly walked toward the man on the ground.

Every trace of the man’s bravado vanished. He trembled as he watched Li Guanqi approach. Blood blurred his vision, and terror filled his eyes.

The unconscious woman had fallen to one side.

Li Guanqi glanced at her and slowly crouched. “You’re afraid we’re killing people?”

The man didn’t dare say a word. He bit his lip, his gaze darting away.

Li Guanqi said nothing further. He simply watched the woman quietly.

The unconscious woman suddenly writhed and convulsed. She contorted grotesquely, sending a chill through everyone watching.

The man looked on, frantic. “Yun Xi! Yun Xi, what’s wrong with you?”

The woman didn’t answer. Strange, rasping howls spilled from her throat. Her eyes flew open, blood-red and churning with black qi. She lunged at a nearby injured cultivator.

She moved so fast that the cultivator could only fire off a streak of spirit light in defense and yell, “Get away! What the hell is this?!”

Bang!

The woman took the blow head-on. She was flung backward, twisting in midair before landing steadily.

Thud!

The moment she hit the ground, threads of bizarre black qi seeped from her body.

Eyes widened all across the plaza.

“Demonic qi! It really is demonic qi after all!”

“Look! Her flesh and blood are quickly draining away!”

“The demonic qi is consuming her blood!”

The woman’s oval face was now withered. Her cheeks were hollow, and clumps of her hair had fallen away

In the span of a single breath, she had become nothing but skin and bones. Yet, her aura kept growing stronger.

A chill ran through everyone watching. The Daxia Sword Sect disciple had been right. The Daxia Sword Sect had hidden nothing.

“Yun Xi! Yun Xi... how did this happen to you? How did you end up like this?! Argh! Damn Abyssal Demons! Give me back my Yun Xi!”

The man thrashed wildly. Even though the demonified woman far surpassed him in strength, he struggled with everything he had to break free of Li Guanqi’s grip, wanting to protect her. But at his level, how could he possibly contend with Li Guanqi?

Li Guanqi extended a hand and lightly tapped the void. Several bolts of lightning converged, forming a three-chi cage around the woman and sealing her inside.

He looked down at the man with contempt and said quietly, “Look at the state she’s in. This is your fault.”

The man looked up and glared at him. “It’s you! It’s all you! If you hadn’t stopped me, I could have saved her!”

Li Guanqi laughed coldly, released his oppressive force, and pointed at the woman. “Go on, then. I won’t stop you. Let me see how you save her.”

The man struggled to his feet and flew to the woman’s side. However, seeing her completely lost in a daze, drooling and howling without end, he had no idea where to start.

Li Guanqi said coldly, “Is this your idea of protecting her? Foolish.”

By now, many of the others had begun checking on the disciples in their care. Anyone who showed the signs practically dropped to their knees, begging the Daxia Sword Sect disciples to take them away.

The man tried every method he could think of, but nothing worked. In fact, things only got worse. The Abyssal Demon devoured every drop of blood essence he offered, growing stronger with each one.

Watching the man slash open his own wrist in a crazed attempt to save the woman, Li Guanqi frowned and waved a hand, sending him flying roughly ten zhang away. If this continued, the woman would truly be beyond saving.

The man stared vacantly at the scene, then pushed himself upright and looked at Li Guanqi. He dropped to his knees, sobbing and wringing his hands. “Esteemed One, I’m sorry... I’m sorry! I was wrong... I was truly wrong! Please, please save Yun Xi.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The man slammed his head against the ground. Each strike landed harder than the last, staining the stone tiles red with blood.

He kowtowed again and again, tears streaming down his face as he begged Li Guanqi to save her.

Li Guanqi sighed. He had originally intended to make an example of the man, but seeing him like this, he couldn’t bring himself to be completely heartless.

Looking at the solemn faces around him, he knew his objective had been achieved. Making them understand the severity of the consequences was enough. Besides... with the Daxia Sword Sect’s current strength and standing, there was no need to resort to underhanded tactics. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Li Guanqi raised a hand and drew out the woman’s soul. Everyone could see the demonic qi overrunning it.

He raised his other hand. Boundless lightning manifested, leaving many of the onlookers dumbstruck.

They gasped. “Is he about to kill that woman?”

Before any of them could think further, the lightning dispersed, and not a single trace of demonic qi remained within the woman’s soul. Her soul returned to her body. Though she was still extremely weak, the hideous snarl on her face was gone.

The man finally exhaled in relief, slumped to the ground, and scrambled on all fours toward the woman. “Thank you... Thank you...”

Ignoring the man still kowtowing at his feet, Li Guanqi turned to the young disciple who had fiercely spoken up earlier.

Li Guanqi smiled. “What’s your name?”

The young man’s face flushed with emotion as he replied, “Elder Li, I am Shen Zhirong, a thirty-seventh generation disciple of the Daxia Sword Sect’s Heavenly Lightning Peak.”

Li Guanqi thought for a moment. Shen Zhirong was already in the early Nascent Soul Realm.

Li Guanqi raised a hand, and a streak of violet spirit light drifted toward Shen Zhirong. “This contains a sword technique I’ve practiced for many years. I give it to you today. I hope you’ll carry this same spirit with you in the future. The glory of the sect shines upon every one of you.”

Every disciple on the plaza, returnee or not, watched with a twinge of envy. It was a sword technique gifted personally by Li Guanqi, after all.

Shen Zhirong felt, more than ever, that he truly belonged to the sect.