“You never asked?” Ba Yue asked in surprise.

Lu Yin looked at the man on the ground. “No.”

Ba Yue’s brows furrowed. Just how arrogant was this man, that he took action without asking even a single question? Did he have absolutely no fear for whatever powerhouse was backing City Lord Wei?

There were both strong and weak experts among Crimson Starshade’s Immortals; did he truly not care?

There was also another possibility. Lu Yin may have lashed out in retaliation and was refusing to ask who had supported the deaths of his people because he did not want to completely offend the one in the shadows.

Ba Yue said, “City Lord Wei, tell him who your master is.”

City Lord Wei clenched his teeth and raised his head to stare at Lu Yin. The man’s eyes radiated pure venom. “My master is Bing Xu.”

Ba Yue stared at Lu Yin. Bing Xu was an Immortal. Previously, Lu Yin had avoided directly fighting against He Xiao in the Sect of Dispassion. The Immortal had pushed for a fight three separate times, but Lu Yin had not responded even once. If not for the fact that Sect Master Jiu Wen had driven He Xiao back, a fight would have been unavoidable.

It seemed that Lu Yin had not been confident enough to face He Xiao, but Bing Xu was also an Immortal.

What was this man’s true strength? The sect master had said that Ba Yua was not Lu Yin’s match, but was that really true?

All the nearby members of the Sect of Dispassion looked at Lu Yin, some sneering. Bing Xu was an Immortal.

They were all aware that Lu Yin had refused to fight He Xiao head-on and that he had even relied on Sect Master Jiu Wen to drive the man away. To them, he was clearly no match for any Immortal and was unworthy of being a Sevenfold Crimson.

In contrast, Chu Songyun had truly cultivated the Path of Dispassion to seven folds, and he deserved the title of Sevenfold Crimson far more.

This Lu Yin was likely not any better than Chu Songyun. To the public, his earlier choice of not asking for the name of who supported City Lord Wei had merely been an attempt to avoid making an enemy for life. Now that Lu Yin knew the truth, he should back down.

After obtaining the name he wanted, Lu Yin turned back around. As everyone stared in a daze, he raised a foot and stomped it down on City Lord Wei’s back, crushing him to death.

Ba Yue’s brow twitched. This had just become a battle to the death. Earlier, Lu Yin had not known that City Lord Wei was Bing Xu’s disciple, so everyone had assumed the man feared offending an Immortal beyond repair. But now?

Ba Yue exhaled. Does he truly not care who it is?

The Sect of Dispassion disciples who were watching were also dumbfounded. How did Lu Yin still dare to crush City Lord Wei to death? He was asking to die.

Lu Yin looked up, took one step, and vanished. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Bing Xu? To cultivate a method of extreme pain, he had first used his own relatives as test subjects, torturing them with pathological cruelty. He was one of the Immortals whom Lu Yin absolutely despised.

Of the four Immortals standing guard in the four directions of the Crimson Starshade Megaverse, Lu Yin would only feel any burden from killing Xi Shangfeng. He had no sympathy for any of the other three.

Bing Xu was likely waiting for him even now.

Lu Yin's expression was ice cold.

Seeing Lu Yin leave, Ba Yue was certain that he had gone to find Bing Xu. As her eyes turned back to the Sect of Dispassion, Jiu Wen slowly stepped out. “Let’s go. We’ll take a look.”

“You’re not stopping him?” Ba Yue asked in confusion.

Jiu Wen took a sip of wine. “Some things need to change.”

With that, he walked off in a specific direction.

Ba Yue did not understand what Jiu Wen meant. As far as she was concerned, this commotion had been caused by the people from Canglan Valley spreading their influence too far. Jiu Wen should be upset, which was why he had not stopped Bing Xu from acting. Perhaps the sect master even wanted to use Bing Xu to give Lu Yin a warning. However, that line of thinking did not feel quite right.

Unable to make sense of the situation, Ba Yua stopped thinking about it and also headed for where Bing Xu stood guard.

The other members of the Sect of Dispassion exchanged glances. Word soon spread that Lu Yin of Canglan Valley had gone to confront Immortal Bing Xu and that there might be a great battle. After all, City Lord Wei had been crushed to death. Even if Lu Yin did nothing else, Bing Xu would never let things go.

By the time Lu Yin found Bing Xu, the Immortal was already aware that City Lord Wei had been stomped to death.

His gaze was bone-chillingly cold. He had not expected Lu Yin to be so vicious as to blatantly crush City Lord Wei.

The man had been an obedient disciple who was well liked by his master. Lu Yin crushing the man to death meant that he had also trampled Bing Xu’s dignity underfoot. This brat could not be allowed to live.

“Was it you who ordered the killing of my people from Canglan Valley?” The moment Lu Yin saw Bing Xu, he immediately asked that question. There was no emotion in his voice; it was unnervingly calm.

Bing Xu’s gaze was equally somber and cold, but compared to Lu Yin’s, the Immortal’s eyes held an indescribable chill. They were like knives carving a body apart slice by slice. Ordinary Dukkhans cultivators could not endure his gaze. It was something that Bing Xu had forged through his method of extreme pain. “You crushed Little Wei to death.”

“I asked if you ordered him to kill my people from Canglan Valley,” Lu Yin repeated.

It was at this moment that Jiu Wen and Ba Yue arrived. Neither interrupted and simply watched the two from far away.

Bing Xu suddenly smiled, but his eyes never changed. The smile on his face was chilling. “Little brat, I underestimated your nerve. So tell me, who gave you the courage to question me? Who gave you the courage to crush Little Wei to death? And who gave you the courage to oppose the Path of Dispassion?”

Lu Yin’s expression remained calm. “It seems that you can’t understand plain speech. I guess I’ll have to ask in another way.”

Bing Xu let out a loud laugh. The sound was harsh and grating on the ears. He turned to look at Jiu Wen and Ba Yue. “Has this kid given you the location of his megaverse yet?”

Ba Yue glanced at Lu Yin. “Not yet.”

Bing Xu nodded. “Alright, then I’ll try not to kill him. I’ll leave him with just enough breath to talk. Sect master, you have no objections, right?”

Jiu Wen took a sip of wine, saying nothing at all.

Bing Xu sneered at Lu Yin. “Brat, you have two choices: First, kneel, accept me as your master, replace Little Wei, and dissolve your Canglan Valley. From this day on, I will be your master. Here, you will obey only my orders and cultivate the Path of Dispassion. I can raise you up to the Immortal realm.

“Second, you can keep your mouth so that you can still speak, but everything else will disappear.

“Choose.”

Ba Yue could not help but say, “Bing Xu, don’t go too far. Lu Yin is, at the very least, a Sevenfold Crimson acknowledged by our Sect of Dispassion.”

Bing Xu sneered. “Since when has the Path of Dispassion cared about human feelings?”

Ba Yue frowned. She wanted to say more, but Lu Yin spoke up at this moment. “Then I’ll give you two choices as well.”

Bing Xu raised a brow, looking at Lu Yin with interest. “You are giving me choices?”

Lu Yin spoke evenly, “First, kneel before Canglan Valley and apologize. Enter my Champions’ Stage, and I will help you live your life over again.

“Second, I will leave you completely crippled with nothing but a shell so that you can feel the malice of this world.”

Ba Yue stared at Lu Yin in a daze and then looked at Jiu Wen. This brat truly did not fear death. Could he really be that confident even against an Immortal?

Though unwilling to admit it, Ba Yue knew that she was the weakest of Crimson Starshade’s Immortals. The fact that Jiu Wen had said that she was weaker than Lu Yin meant that he was an Aberrant, but an Aberrant was not a true Immortal and could not necessarily contend with all Immortals.

Bing Xu had become an Immortal even earlier than He Xiao and Ba Yue.

“Hahahaha!” Bing Xu laughed loudly. “Interesting! I knew that this would be interesting, but I didn’t expect it to be this interesting!”

As he spoke, his grin turned feral. “It appears that I should let you experience what ‘extreme pain’ truly means.”

He raised a hand and pointed at Lu Yin from afar. Tiny strands of sword intent swirled around his fingertip as Lifeforce and Immortal matter continuously empowered them. “Brat, I always keep my word. Enjoy this last battle of your life.”

Lu Yin arched a brow. Sword intent from a fingertip? He also lifted a hand and pointed his index finger at Bing Xu. “You should prepare to enjoy the last battle of your life as well.”

Finger-sword technique.

Killing intent flashed in Bing Xu’s eyes. How arrogant!

The two fingers pointed at each other, and the two opposing sword intents collided. There was a thunderous boom as countless razor-sharp strands of sword intent scattered in all directions. Lifeforce and Immortal matter swept out in every possible direction from the point of impact, shattering multiple layers of the void.

Ba Yue was astonished. The sword intent released from Bing Xu’s fingertip was terrifyingly strong as he specialized in cultivating sword dao. That seemingly ordinary finger attack actually contained all of his understanding of sword intent. Even she would struggle to block this attack, so how was Lu Yin actually facing it directly?

Bing Xu was also surprised. Was this brat actually capable of taking his fingertip sword intent? Did he also specialize in sword dao? “It seems that your attainments in sword dao are quite high.”

The more that someone looked down on others and believed their own victory was certain, the more they would talk. Against such a person, the greatest torment was to shatter their dignity step by step.

Lu Yin spoke slowly, “I didn’t expect you to actually have something. Your mastery of the sword dao is not bad.”

Bing Xu’s expression grew even colder. Courting death!

Bing Xu’s gaze grew even colder. Courting death. He stepped forward, his palm moving in tandem with the sword as a torrent of sword intent flowed out: Eightfold Edge.

Again, Lu Yin met sword with sword. His sword intent came from the Sword Sect, from every sword expert he had crossed blades with, from the sword-dao insights Wu Tian had given him, and from years of his own mastery.

Even if he had not cultivated for a very long time, his mastery of the sword was extremely impressive.

In the Tianyuan, the sword dao blossomed in myriad forms, and the Spirit Nidus and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse also possessed formidable sword techniques. Lu Yin had fused the strengths of many sword techniques to bridge the gaps that a lack of time and self mastery should have created. This was how he could directly clash with an Immortal sword expert without falling behind.

As for Lifeforce and Immortal matter, Lu Yin was also not inferior to Bing Xu in regards to either. Even if he was a bit lacking, his monstrous physical strength was enough to compensate for any possible difference. Bing Xu was not strong enough to force Lu Yin to compensate for his lacking sword mastery with other advantages.

Jiu Wen and Ba Yue continued to watch from a great distance.

The clashing sword intents grew more and more intense. The damage was no longer confined to the vicinity immediately surrounding the battle, as it had started to spread out into the Aevum Inch. The constantly flashing sword light and the shattered void drew the attention of many top experts across Crimson Starshade. One after another, they all turned to look. With every moment, more and more people gathered to watch.

The Immortals guarding the other three directions also looked over.

Elder Qiu and Chu Songyun both raised their heads to watch, deeply curious as to just what the limits of Lu Yin’s strength might be.

Xie Man stepped out of her city and stood atop a flower petal to watch. Was Lu Yin really fighting Bing Xu, an Immortal? Others might not know, but she had personally felt the despair of Lu Yin. Before his battle against Bing Xu, and aside from Jiu Wen, Xie Man was the one who had the best understanding of Lu Yin’s strength.

That suffocating pressure and that irresistible power surpassed even her master’s presence.

Clang, clang, clang...

Countless strands of sword intent crisscrossed and collided. No matter how Bing Xu attacked, he could not break through Lu Yin’s sword intent, and Lu Yin’s occasional counters even made the Immortal wary.

He had not expected Lu Yin to actually be able to keep pace with the power of his own sword intent, nor was he seeing any sign of Lu Yin’s Lifeforce or Immortal matter weakening.

Left with no choice, Bing Xu summoned his red umbrella into his hand. With a light tap of his fingertip, the red sword let out a clear hum and slashed straight at Lu Yin.

A red blade formed an umbrella rib, while dispassionate sorrow forged a sword!

This was the Path of Dispassion that all cultivators of Crimson Starshade entrusted to their red swords. In Bing Xu’s hands, this sword intent became even more intense.

Lu Yin retreated step by step. This red sword no longer carried just Bing Xu’s sword intent, but also the Path of Dispassion’s. Bing Xu was an Eightfold Crimson, which meant that he had achieved mastery of eight parts of the Path of Dispassion.

He had wanted to completely suppress Lu Yin with just the sword, but the Path of Dispassion was Bing Xu’s original power.

Lu Yin raised his hand and tapped a finger on the void. From behind, one strand after another of his Tri-Azure Sword Intent appeared, and they all sliced towards the red sword.

It was still a contest of swords.