Chapter 180: Chapter 95: Be Discreet When Cursing the Old Nun

Liao Jing and her group weren’t faring much better. They didn’t recognize Zhao Rui.

After all, he had either been held captive or tossed on the ground—how were they to know his role in all this?

They only knew that the Demon had been hauling him along when he leaped from the cliff.

’Was he the Demon’s disciple, or someone else?’

“Young man, this person is a terrifying Demon. If we fail to eliminate him, the whole of Hua Country will suffer the consequences. Young man, go on, run him through with your sword.”

The old man who had been wielding the Dragon Head Saber, his hair and beard bristling, roared.

His voice boomed like a great bell, resonating with undeniable power.

The fury in his words was just as potent.

Hearing the old man, the youth sneered. “I am the Profound Sound Saint Envoy of the Heavenly Demon Sect. If you lend me your aid, when the Holy Sect descends in the future, I will name you an Apostle, and you shall enjoy boundless blessings.”

“At that time, money, women, power, Martial Arts, eternal life—it will all be yours!”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense.”

Just then, the old man who had betrayed the youth suddenly shouted, “He’s running on fumes! His only option is Nirvana, so he’s powerless to promise you anything! Young man, you must not believe him.”

“You old wretch! When the Holy Sect descends, the very first thing I’ll do is flay you alive and grind your bones to dust!”

“Assuming you live that long, Lord High Envoy!”

The old man snorted.

“Why give up these boundless blessings? Why betray the Holy Sect?” the youth asked, his expression grim.

“To hell with the Holy Sect! I am a Sect Leader in my own right. After the Spiritual Qi Revival, I’ll fight my way back to Heavenly Demon Cliff and taste what it’s like to be the supreme master of my own sect.”

The old man declared, his voice filled with a surprising amount of pride.

It was a stark contrast to the pathetic figure who had launched the sneak attack moments before.

“Good, good…!”

SHLICK…

“Aargh!”

Zhao Rui steadied the youth’s body with one hand and, with a gentle push, brought his forehead into intimate contact with the Qiushui Sword.

“What’s with all the chatter? Trying to stall for time again!”

Zhao Rui released his hand and retreated swiftly, leaping like an ape to a distant spot on the cliff face.

Liao Jing and the others stared, stunned by what had just happened.

They only snapped out of their stupor when a black mist began to emanate from the youth’s body. They hastily activated the Divine Sword and Buddha Beads, which unleashed a boundless light that held back the black aura of his Nirvana.

A few dozen breaths later,

Liao Jing picked up the now pitch-black Divine Sword from the ground, her expression pained.

She shook her head, thinking, ’Without several years of purification by the Buddha’s Voice, I fear the Divine Sword will not recover.’

At the same time, another nun stepped forward to collect the scattered Buddha Beads.

As for the Demon, he had vanished without a trace. His body dissolved into nothingness, and it was impossible to tell if he had been sealed within the Divine Sword or utterly annihilated.

“Amitabha Buddha!”

Liao Jing silently chanted a scripture, then rose to her feet and leaped from the cliff wall, heading out of the canyon.

The others followed her lead, leaping into the air after her.

“Hey!”

Zhao Rui was dumbfounded. ’Is there something wrong with these people?’

’I’m the one who did them the huge favor, and they just ignore me.’

’Come to think of it, even though the Demon meant me no good, at least he bothered to carry me the whole way. He really went above and beyond!’

“Kid, a word of advice. If you’re going to curse that old nun, do it behind her back. She holds a grudge.”

Just then, a laughing voice suddenly echoed from a corner at the bottom of the cliff.

“Uh…”

Zhao Rui’s gaze sharpened, and he watched warily as an old man slowly walked out.

It was the very same Demon Sect’s Sect Leader who had betrayed the Upper Envoy.

“No need to be nervous. I mean you no harm. I never expected that by a strange twist of fate, you, kid, would end up being an unexpected trump card.”

“Haha.”

The old man let out two laughs, then said in a sinister tone, “Seeing as you did me a huge favor, I’ll tell you a secret that Liao Jing and her group don’t know!”

Hearing this, alarm bells went off in Zhao Rui’s head. His Dantian Power surged as he remained on high alert for a sudden move from the old man.

Seeing how guarded he was, the old man simply shook his head, then leaped into the air and flew toward the top of the cliff on the opposite side.

At the same time, a hushed, secret message drifted over to him.

“You killed the Profound Sound Envoy, so now you bear an invisible mark. If the Demon Sect invades in the future, you’ll be a living beacon for them. Haha, you’re on your own now.”

“We’ll meet again!”

The rustling of leaves in the canyon seemed to echo ominously, causing Zhao Rui’s brow to furrow even deeper.

’This bunch of bastards. Not a single one of them is any good!’

Zhao Rui sneered inwardly. ’A living beacon?’

’Sounds more like a free delivery service to me.’

Zhao Rui’s eyes shifted, a divine light flickering within them. He then opened his mouth and unleashed a clear, resonant note, which instantly snapped a distant, verdant pine tree in two.

…

「Emei Mountain.」

The grand exchange was already underway.

Ye Jingqiu and Captain Gu were anxiously waiting for Zhao Rui to appear. Between the two of them, they had called his phone dozens of times.

But he never picked up.

Eventually, as more and more time passed, they had no choice but to inform the event organizers and ask them to send out a search party.

The local Government Office took the matter seriously and immediately dispatched personnel to search the area. At the same time, the Emei Sect also sent disciples to investigate some of the more secluded locations.

But nearly a full day passed, and there was still no word.

A Guest Monk did mention seeing Zhao Rui leave the mountain gate that morning, apparently heading toward the opposite Golden Summit Peak.

Upon hearing this, the search team went to check the Golden Summit Peak in the tourist area, but they found nothing.

Ye Jingqiu and Captain Gu were sick with worry.

They had no choice but to call and inform the school’s Martial Arts Team.

When Wang Zhanshan heard the news, he felt like his head was going to explode.

’Does this five-person team of yours have some kind of vendetta against mountains?’

Last year, Zhang Kui snuck off to Taishan and has been missing ever since.

Now Zhao Rui gets invited to an exchange on Emei Mountain, and he ends up disappearing too.

He felt like he was going to lose his mind. The fallout from Zhang Kui’s disappearance had already affected him deeply.

If the same thing happened with Zhao Rui…

Panting, Wang Zhanshan immediately gathered the other two coaches, delegated his duties, and booked a flight straight to Emei Mountain.

By the time Wang Zhanshan arrived at the Emei Base, it was already pitch-dark.

“You two have gravely disappointed me!”

Wang Zhanshan said, panting as he harshly reprimanded Ye Jingqiu and Captain Gu.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep