Chu Binghuan had seen many battles and wasn't about to be frightened by a severed head.

He steadied himself, placing the tray on the table with a serious expression, and probed with his true essence, confirming that the head had been freshly severed while its owner was still alive.

The soul had already dissipated, leaving no remnants of consciousness.

Tao Ranli was shocked, Xie Wanting was stunned and took a while to react.

Hua Che jumped up in alarm, quickly approaching the head to examine it closely. The blood was dripping, with sunken, dried-up eyeballs and a grotesquely elongated purple-black tongue, presenting a truly horrifying sight.

"It's... Xiao Pang..." Hua Che glanced back at Xie Wanting. Xie Wanting shuddered, and Tao Ranli caught him just in time to prevent him from fainting. Xie Wanting took a deep breath, his voice hoarse like a rusty sword. "He... he was supposed to guard the mountain gate and welcome guests from all directions. How... how could he be suddenly killed? Who did this?!"

Chu Binghuan turned to look at Mei Cailian. "Mother?"

Mei Cailian was already stunned by this incident. It took Chu Binghuan calling her name three times in a row before she came back to her senses, staring in disbelief at the tragically deceased disciple of Xie Wanting. "What's going on? It was supposed to be a konghou. How did it turn into this...?"

Chu Binghuan asked, "Mother, have you been guarding the congratulatory gift all along? Didn't you let anyone else touch it?"

"How could I let anyone else touch it?" Mei Cailian anxiously replied. "The Water Jade Purple Mist is the treasure of Yuntian Shuijing. I have been personally guarding it since it left Yuntian Shuijing until it was presented to Xie Wanting. I have been watching it closely at all times. It couldn't have been tampered with!"

Tao Ranli said, "No matter what, Madam Mei, the congratulatory gift you sent has turned into the head of our junior disciple. You owe us an explanation."

Mei Cailian felt extremely wronged. She herself was bewildered. Why should the Yeyou Mansion blame her for this mistake? Who knows who could have done this to the person named Xiao Pang? Where should they start investigating?

Chu Binghuan recalled calmly, "When I arrived with my master, we were received by this fellow daoist. He was alive at that time."

"Yes," Hua Che continued, "To replace the congratulatory gift, one must have approached the group from Yuntian Shuijing, right? All the way here, no one else came near you, Madam? Maids, stewards, or even servants, none were left out?"

Mei Cailian's mind was in chaos. She carefully recalled and shook her head firmly, "This congratulatory gift is of utmost importance. How could I have allowed anyone else the chance to approach it? It's impossible that someone could have replaced the gift while I wasn't paying attention!"

Hua Che pondered silently, glancing instinctively at the seven disciples of Yuntian Shuijing following Mei Cailian. He held back a few words and instead looked at Chu Binghuan with an ambiguous expression.

Chu Binghuan understood from Hua Che's eyes what was implied, pursing his lips, hesitating to speak.

Mei Cailian's expression turned cold as she looked at Hua Che. "What do you want to say? Do you suspect Yuntian Shuijing?"

Hua Che raised his hands innocently. "That's exactly what I was thinking, Madam. Why say it out loud?"

Mei Cailian was infuriated. "Yuntian Shuijing prides itself on integrity and each disciple upholds righteousness and propriety. How could such a heinous act occur? Our sect rules benefit all living beings, and we abhor violence. We have no grievances with the Yeyou Mansion. We don't even know who this junior is. Why kill him?"

Chu Binghuan stepped forward. "Mother, please calm down. Hua Che didn't mean to slander Yuntian Shuijing. He's just concerned that someone with malicious intentions might manipulate your disciples."

Mei Cailian asked sharply, "Why?"

Mu Rongsa, who had been observing for a while, chimed in, "To provoke conflict between Yuntian Shuijing and the Yeyou Mansion?"

"Or to stir up chaos?" Lin Yan, who had been absent-minded until now, unexpectedly showed some insight. "Especially to present his junior disciple to Master Xie in front of everyone, was this aimed at Master Xie?"

Hua Che immediately gave Lin Yan an approving look.

Just then, a wild laughter rang from outside the door, causing everyone to look in that direction. Before the person arrived, their voice preceded them: "Did Master Xie find my congratulatory gift satisfactory?"

Xie Wanting's expression changed upon hearing this. He strode out of the hall and saw Yin Wu hui standing solemnly on the roof opposite.

Hua Che's brows furrowed slightly, and his face paled.

Chu Binghuan could sense Hua Che's emotions. Acting as if no one else was present, Chu Binghuan took Hua Che's hand. Hua Che was surprised and looked at him in astonishment, only to see Chu Binghuan staring ahead calmly, his expression serene but the grip on his hand tightened.

Miraculously, Hua Che's heart settled.

For a moment, he even forgot to pull his hand away from Chu Binghuan.

Xie Wanting's gaze was as sharp as an ice sword. "Yin Wuhui, it was you!"

Yin Wuhui wore a black robe with embroidered golden dragons that billowed in the wind. "I'm tired of all your speculations and blame games, so I've generously revealed my identity. It saves you from suspecting each other."

If it were anyone else, perhaps they could ask for a reason. But as the murderer was the Supreme Demon Emperor, Yin Wuhui, there was no need for reasons—he often killed people just for fun.

Xie Wanting didn't waste words. Drawing his sword, he leaped into the air towards Yin Wuhui.

Mu Qiniang also couldn't stand idly by. It was everyone's duty to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path. Zhuang Tian instructed Wen Yuan to watch over his junior disciples and joined the battle against the Demon Emperor.

The clash of swords and blades combined with Zhuang Tian summoning a colourful fierce tiger turned the hall and its surroundings into chaos.

Despite Lin Yan's low cultivation level, his understanding was profound. Driven by his belief in vanquishing demons for the sake of all beings, he disregarded Mu Rongsa’s attempts to stop him and insisted on summoning the Chongming Bird for help. Finally, Hua Che grabbed him by the collar and forcibly pulled him back, handing him over to Wen Yuan.

Hua Che didn't hesitate to strike at Lin Yan: "With your level of cultivation, you're not even enough to be a minor inconvenience to Yin Wuhui."

As a medical cultivator, Chu Binghuan usually stood at the back during such battles, ready to treat severely injured cultivators.

With Xie Wanting and Mu Qiniang present, and Zhuang Tian providing assistance from the sidelines, there was really no need for Hua Che and his juniors to intervene. Moreover, given Hua Che's current level of cultivation, he would only be a hindrance.

More surprising to Hua Che than Yin Wuhui was Zhuang Tian. He had been Zhuang Tian's disciple for two years, and apart from dealing with Lu Mingfeng previously, this was the first time he had seen Zhuang Tian take action.

When a beast tamer fights, it's a true "fight to the death and spill blood." At the slightest disagreement, they cut themselves, and with a second word, they stab themselves, making for a grim and bloody scene.

Zhuang Tian consecutively summoned two spirit beasts: a nine-tailed demon fox and a three-tailed cat demon.

"It's actually a demon fox, not a celestial fox?" Zhuang Tian expressed particular disappointment, but with the battle imminent, he reluctantly accepted it.

Hua Che couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Celestial foxes were fox immortals, while demon foxes were evil beasts; their statuses were naturally different. However, foxes were already precious and rare creatures. Three tails were common, six tails were rare, and nine tails...

Hua Che couldn't help but marvel. Zhuang Tian seemed slow and unfocused, but in terms of beast taming talent, he was absolutely outstanding.

Suddenly, a sound of a zither pierced through the air, reaching Hua Che's ears and penetrating deep into the hall.

Hua Che's heart skipped a beat. This zither sound wasn't unpleasant, nor was it threatening. At least, its target wasn't him. Instead, it shook the soul, leaving him feeling disoriented as if lost in time.

Hua Che reluctantly steadied his mind and looked towards the source of the zither sound.

Sure enough, it was Xie Wanting.

His spiritual weapon, named "Jiuyou," was a seven-string ancient zither, the Yeyou Mansion's guardian treasure and a symbol passed down through generations of sect leaders.

With a pluck of a string, the tones scattered, causing plants and trees to stir and birds to take flight.

Initially confident, Yin Wuhui frowned, avoiding Mu Qiniang's sword while retreating four steps, glaring fiercely at Xie Wanting.

After enduring it for a while, Mu Rongsa used one hand to cover his ear and said to Hua Che, "What deep-seated grudge do these two have? Look at the way Yin Wuhui is staring at Master Xie; if you didn't know better, you'd think Master Xie drowned his son in a well!"

Hua Che: "..."

In battles among immortal cultivators, there were fixed roles. Sword cultivators were the strongest, so they usually took the lead in demon-slaying battles.

Music cultivators came next, standing just behind sword cultivators in prominence. Following them were beast tamers who specialized in summoning spirit beasts and controlling them with blood soul techniques, engaging in long-range combat from the rear. Last but not least were the medical cultivators.

Of course, Chu Binghuan was an exception among them. In critical moments of manpower shortage, he could stand at the forefront alongside sword cultivators. In situations with sufficient manpower, he could return to his role as a healer, saving lives. One Chu Binghuan could substitute for a cartload of people.

However, the Demon Lord was still the Demon Lord. Despite being disturbed by Xie Wanting's zither music, he remained adept, effortlessly breaking free from Mu Qiniang's flawed formations and charging directly towards Xie Wanting!

Disciples of the Yeyou Mansion immediately formed an array, playing ten major musical instruments together, their grand and magnificent momentum striking at the heart.

Yin Wuhui's movements suddenly froze as if he had seen something terrifying. His eyes turned blood-red, filled with murderous intent.

Seizing the opportunity, Xie Wanting's fingers danced, transforming the zither music into sharp blades that pierced directly into Yin Wuhui's inner courtyard.

However, Yin Wuhui managed to swallow back his blood and laughed ferociously, glancing at the disciples of the Yeyou Mansion.

Suddenly, a scream rang out.

A disciple of Yuntian Shuijing, wielding a sword in one hand, viciously pierced through the body of a Yeyou Mansion disciple playing a bamboo flute. Blood gushed out, catching everyone off guard. The disciple of Yuntian Shuijing moved with incredible speed, swiftly slashing the necks of two Yeyou Mansion disciples in succession, interrupting their music. Yin Wuhui gripped the "Merciless Sword" and thrust it towards Xie Wanting's heart!

As quick as lightning, a red figure flashed and solidly blocked in front of Xie Wanting.

Xie Wanting exclaimed in shock, " Junior Hua!"

Hua Che's phoenix-like eyes were as dark as two cold ponds. He placed Hanxue to his lips, blowing gently. The musical notes turned into thousands of layers of barriers, staunchly resisting Yin Wuhui's sword edge.

The sound of clear and distinct cracking came from Hua Che's side. Under the relentless attack of the Merciless Sword, the barrier shattered one after another.

Yin Wuhui withdrew his sword, his eyes filled with fierceness. "Hua Che!"

Down below, Chu Binghuan was furious. Before he could reprimand Hua Che properly, Yin Wuhui gnashed his teeth and cursed, "You really are a good son of mine, turning your elbow out to help these miscellaneous immortals against your father!!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

 

Translator: DarNan