“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! This place isn’t called the Precious Tree Sect anymore. It’s now the Tree Spirit Sect. Teams of wandering cultivators squat in this area and have established a sect. The sectmaster and several elders come from the strongest team. Ever since the Tree Spirit Sect took over, many wandering cultivators have come for shelter, spreading the sect’s fame.”
This bald fellow looked tall and brawny, but he was a sheep in wolf’s clothing. Dan Fei’s threat was enough to make him pee his pants, so he obediently spilled the beans and told her everything.
“A bunch of good-for-nothing ragtags!” Dan Fei’s black brows knit slightly together. An ad hoc sect with a stolen territory, founded by wandering cultivators, and home to outlaws didn’t have much cohesiveness to speak of, no loyalty nor sincerity. Bluntly put, they’d gathered together for mere temporary interest.
“What about the members of the original Precious Tree Sect?” Dan Fei asked, her tone impa.s.sive.
“O-original?” the bald fellow stuttered. “I don’t think there was anyone here before! The Precious Tree Sect was empty by the time we came here. I heard the members of the Precious Tree Sect all vanished in a single night before Great Scarlet invaded Myriad Domain. Who knows where they went? No one’s spotted a glimpse of them since then.”
“Are you certain?”
“I-it’s just something I heard.” Under the oppression of Dan Fei’s icy aura, the bald man stumbled over his words, his face deathly pale. “I-I came here later. I only heard about what happened before that from others.”
“Tree Spirit Sect?” Anger flickered in Dan Fei’s heart. “You steal someone else’s home and even dare change the name of the sect? This Tree Spirit sect head, who is he and where does he come from?”
“H-he’s a wandering cultivator from Upper Eight Regions. He’s a sage realm senior, his cultivation is far above ours.” The bald fellow trembled from head to toe when he felt Dan Fei’s murderous ire.
“Sage realm? What’s his name?”
“Celestial maiden, everyone calls him Sectmaster Qin. His nickname in the wandering cultivator world is apparently Qin Thirteen.”
“Qin Thirteen? Never heard of him.” Dan Fei shook her head slightly.
“My lady, I’ve told you everything I know, so please let go of my worthless self,” the bald man implored piteously.
A cold light flashed in Dan Fei’s eyes. She responded frostily, “In that case, cut off your tongue and get lost!”
“Ah? G.o.ddess, please spare me!” The prospect of cutting off his own tongue frightened the man to no end.
However, he stole a glance up and noticed Dan Fei’s icy expression. His heart s.h.i.+vered and he realized his life would be forfeit if he didn’t obey. He clenched his teeth, thrust a dagger inside his mouth, and cut off half his tongue. Cold sweat trailed down on his forehead from the pain. He grabbed the lower half of his tongue and turned on his heels, making good his escape. How would he dare tarry a second longer?
His tongue could be reattached if he sought immediate treatment, but if he tarried and the frosty maiden regretted her decision, then it would be his head at stake.
For Dan Fei, killing an insignificant character didn’t alleviate her anger. Without sparing a glance for the bald fellow, she gazed at the Precious Tree Sect’s main doors with a slight frown.
“The old master used to live in seclusion inside Skylaurel, but he yearned day and night to return to the Precious Tree Sect. His heart belongs there. He would be distressed if knew his sect had fallen into the hands of a bunch of ragtags.”
At this thought, added to the recent frustration of her fruitless search, the bottled-up frustration in her heart instantly erupted.
“For the old master’s sake, for his sake, I can’t allow the Precious Tree Sect to be seized by these savage brutes. What if they came back one day?”
Her arresting figure turned into a pale blue stream of light. She shot inside the sect in the blink of an eye.
Dan Fei hadn’t come very often to the Precious Tree Sect, and the few times she did come, it was to accompany the old master. Hence, she held no deep feelings for this place.
However, when she pa.s.sed through the mountain gates, she beheld a decadent sight poles apart from what was once one of the four great sects. Wandering cultivators idled along everywhere to the eye. Some drank liquor and ate meat, others sought leisure, and some indulged in debauchery.
……
Standing somewhere high above, Dan Fei overlooked the sect, her heart about to explode in anger at the scenes she was witnessing. Her ears p.r.i.c.ked as she caught faint voices from a residence at the rear of the mountains, as well as wicked laughter from a group of men drifting in and out.
Lifting her brows, Dan Fei aimed her piercing gaze in that direction.
She saw a group of completely naked girls being chased by a group of men, like sheep being hunted by hyenas. The girls randomly shrieked in terror and fright. They were mindless with fear, their virtue the last thing on their minds. Each of the men held a whip and cracked it in the air.
The scene was reminiscent of humans herding livestock.
Most of these girls were very young, but all of them were attractive with a superb figure to match. Strips of b.l.o.o.d.y bruises marked their white, tender bodies. It was easy to tell they were being held captive, targets for these brutes to vent their feelings on.
The men lashed their whips in the air. Whenever a strip of leather wrapped around a woman, they would subject her to all kinds of depraved actions, like the men were animals.
Seeing the obscene chaos, Dan Fei’s eyebrows rose in anger.
“These beasts!” As a woman, she fumed at the sight of the savages defiling these women. Her figure blurring, Dan Fei hurled herself downward.
“Hm? What’s going on?” These men were clearly veterans, and their cultivation wasn’t weak, but all they saw was a blur. Had someone appeared inside the yard?
Some paid no attention to her as they continued chasing after the women, caught in their l.u.s.t amidst chuckles and laughter.
Dan Fei’s exquisite figure flew past them, the short blade in her hand cutting across the wind.
Pfft, pfft!
Two clear sounds swept past the necks of the two cultivators running at the front, suddenly halting their forward momentum. In the next moment, geysers of blood spurted from their throats. Their necks tilted as a pair of ma.s.sive heads tumbled onto the ground.
“Ah?” Behind the two, the men who were running a little slower paused at this sudden change. They rubbed their eyes, took another look, and saw a young woman as stunning as a G.o.ddess riding the wind in their direction, fixing them with a stare as cold as winter.
“Eh? Where’s this chick come from?”
“Be careful, everyone. This wench has extraordinary skill!”
“Hurry up, let the sectmaster know enemies have invaded the sect!”
Dan Fei’s face remained expressionless, but an intense desire to kill was the only thing on her mind. She wanted to slaughter these swine in human skin down to the last and repay them for the humiliation they’d inflicted on these women!
Her silhouette blurring again, Dan Fei accelerated even faster.
The cultivators in the rear were about to escape the courtyard, but Dan Fei reached the exit before them. She was like the wind, her figure as fast as lightning.
Swish swish swish. As if reaping wheat, the short blade in her hand slashed without reprieve, each strike felling a wandering cultivator as they rushed to the doorway.
There were a dozen men in this group. Dan Fei had chopped down five of them in the s.p.a.ce of a few blinks. The rest of them looked at her with dread in their eyes. Seeing her ravis.h.i.+ng appearance, the first thought to cross their minds was an evil one. But soon, only terror was left in their hearts.
“This girl is ruthless. Everybody attack together, let’s kill her!”
“I agree. We can’t escape since none of us can match her speed. Attacking her together is our only chance of getting out of it alive.”
“Die!” These men were decisive desperados. It was in for a penny, in for a pound. Since they knew they couldn’t escape, they steeled themselves and charged together at Dan Fei.
From beginning to end, no emotion could be seen on Dan Fei’s face. But a murderous glint suddenly sparkled in her cold eyes. Her short blade slashed like the gale. White light burst forth like fish jumping out the surface of a river.
When the white light vanished an instant later, something seemed to be strangling the men’s necks. They threw down their weapons, hands scrabbling at their throats, deathly afraid they might lose their heads otherwise.
But they did indeed lose them. Their hands drooped weakly down in midair. Thump thump thump. Skulls fell in quick succession.
Dan Fei had beheaded all nine cultivators in the s.p.a.ce of a single move. Simply killing these beasts didn’t ease her anger. With a leap upward, she flew into the air and raised her voice. “Qin Thirteen, get the h.e.l.l out here!”
Her shout wasn’t as resounding as Jiang Chen’s dragon roar art, but it carried an astounding momentum with it, engulfing the entire Precious Tree Sect like a raging flood. Floating high in the air, she spread her consciousness to its limits and fixated her phoenix-shaped eyes on the entire Precious Tree Sect’s domain.
A figure flashed out of a secret residence like a bolt of lightning. “Which honored senior has come to my Tree Spirit Sect? Is there anything we can do for you?”
This man was dressed in sumptuous clothes. He was quite good looking with his thick eyebrows and didn’t give off the image of an evildoer. However, a book couldn’t be judged by its cover.
“You’re Qin Thirteen?” Dan Fei stared at him with cold eyes.
“Indeed, this humble one is Qin Thirteen. And my lady, you are?” Seeing Dan Fei’s extraordinary demeanor, Qin Thirteen decided to remain until he could sound her out.
However, he was a sage realm cultivator and immediately sensed the gore exuding from below. Glancing sidelong, he saw a dozen sect members lying on the ground at sixes and sevens, their heads separated from their bodies.
With a quiet hiss, Qin Thirteen asked in a grave tone, “Young lady, who might you be? Don’t you think it’s a bit much to crash the gates of my Tree Spirit Sect without any advance warning?”
Dan Fei’s smile was cold. “Is there a need for advance warning when killing someone?”
Qin Thirteen froze. “You mean you’re the one who killed these men?”
“These men were guilty of perpetrating atrocities. I presume you must also be an accomplice of theirs as the so-called sectmaster. Don’t worry, you’re going to keep them company soon.” Her voice was indifferent. She had no desire to waste words with Qin Thirteen. “How many of you are there in total? Summon them all.”
Qin Thirteen gasped audibly. This girl as beautiful as a celestial maiden seemed more and more inscrutable. His intuition told him she possessed remarkable strength!