Martial Cultivator

Before leaving the Divine Capital, Chen Chao had already told him the details of this plan. The most crucial prerequisite was that as soon as he returned to the Infatuation Daoist Temple, news of the Chief Enforcer being severely injured would inevitably spread to lure him into action.

At the time, he had asked Chen Chao, ”What if I make a move and the Chief Enforcer takes the opportunity to kill me?”

Back then, Chen Chao had merely smiled faintly and said to himself, ”Yinli took the position of temple master, but he has never been able to sit securely. You, Yun Jianyue, have considerable prestige within the Infatuation Daoist Temple. He naturally won’t kill you, because while it may seem reasonable in the moment, it would be highly detrimental to his position as temple master. At most, he would imprison you, using it to showcase his magnanimity and to make the other disciples remember this incident, ensuring they would no longer oppose him.”

Yun Jianyue had remained silent at the time and did not answer.

So Chen Chao continued, ”Although my plan ensures that nothing will happen to you, you’re still staking your life on this. If you’re afraid, you can simply choose not to go through with it.”

Indeed, in this world, no plan is ever foolproof. No one can say for certain whether some flaw might arise within a scheme. Even the greatest strategists in history have never lived a life without a single failure.

”If that’s truly the case, then it’s all within your plan. Why should I fear?”

That was Yun Jianyue’s response at the time. Now, having returned to the temple, things unfolded just as Chen Chao had predicted. After thinking it over, Yun Jianyue returned to his cave residence and began meditating.

In the blink of an eye, midnight arrived.

Yun Jianyue slowly opened his eyes and stepped out of his cave residence.

He glanced at the night sky - the moon was bright tonight.

Very bright.

By common sense, a dark and stormy night was the best time for killing.

Going to kill someone tonight would likely not lead to a good outcome.

But he was not concerned about that.

He quickly left his cave residence.

Heading toward the rear mountain.

……

……

The secluded cultivation site of Daoist Yinli was beneath an ancient pine tree in the rear mountain. There was nothing particularly special about this place, but on ordinary days, no disciples of the temple would appear here.

The secluded cultivation of the Temple Master, how could ordinary people dare to disturb him?

Perhaps it was because of his absolute confidence in his own cultivation, or perhaps because in Infatuation Daoist Temple, no one would expect anyone to do anything here, so along the way, there were no guards.

Yun Jianyue arrived there very naturally, spotting the ancient pine tree from a distance.

Beneath the ancient pine, a lone figure sat cross-legged.

Looking at the figure, it should be Daoist Yinli.

Yun Jianyue took a deep breath and walked forward.

Daoist Yinli quickly noticed him, turning around to look at Yun Jianyue and asking, ”Yun Jianyue, what are you doing here?”

Yun Jianyue did not speak. He just gazed at Daoist Yinli’s somewhat pale face under the moonlight.

After taking another deep breath, Yun Jianyue finally said slowly, ”I heard Chief Enforcer is injured, so this disciple came to see.”

It was to see, not to pay a visit.

And he still addressed him as Chief Enforcer.

Daoist Yinli discerned the meaning in Yun Jianyue’s words, yet he did not display any emotion. He simply said indifferently, ”Even now, you still don’t acknowledge me as the temple master.”

Yun Jianyue did not conceal his thoughts, replying bluntly, ”I believe that even if the Temple Master were to pass the position to you before his death, the prerequisite would be that he was not harmed by you. Otherwise, why would he have passed it to Chief Enforcer?”

”You think Senior Brother was harmed by me? We were fellow disciples, we entered the sect at nearly the same time, we had the same master, why would I have harmed him?”

Daoist Yinli’s expression was ugly, a hint of anger in his voice.

Yun Jianyue shook his head. ”Chief Enforcer isn’t that kind of person. Chief Enforcer and Temple Master were always at odds, disputes running deep. I’ve heard much about it from Temple Master himself.”

Daoist Yinli let out a cold snort. ”How shameless of him, telling such things to a junior.”

”The way I see it, Chief Enforcer is someone willing to do anything for the position of temple master. So, Chief Enforcer, it’s entirely possible that you killed Temple Master.”

Yun Jianyue laid out his thoughts succinctly.

Daoist Yinli looked at Yun Jianyue very calmly and asked, ”And how can you be so sure he didn’t deceive you?”

Yun Jianyue shook his head.

He did not want to answer.

Daoist Yinli chuckled. ”You went to the Divine Capital, you must have been hoodwinked by that young martial artist. You’re not a fool, so how could you not see that Infatuation Daoist Temple stands opposed to Great Liang? He fabricated lies to deceive you, all to bring about our Infatuation Daoist Temple’s decline.” ”For fellow disciples to turn on each other is truly laughable. Moreover, I am your elder.”

Yun Jianyue said, ”You killed the Temple Master, so you deserve to die. I’ll avenge the Temple Master.”

Daoist Yinli said indifferently, ”I never did such a thing. You have been deceived, but there’s still time to turn back.”

Yun Jianyue did not respond. He had already begun operating his daoist technique, and thunder rumbled within the sea of clouds.

He was the most skilled in lightning techniques among his generation. Now that he had stepped into the Nepenthe Realm, his lightning techniques were even more formidable.

Daoist Yinli looked at the faintly discernible lightning in the sky with a hint of admiration. ”Among this generation of disciples, there’s indeed no second person whose attainments surpass yours.”

Yun Jianyue did not speak. He simply swung his arm, drawing upon the lightning within the sea of clouds. In an instant, a massive bolt of heavenly lightning descended.

The heavenly lightning’s power was immense and berserk. Even before it landed, its force had already caused the ancient pine to tremble violently, sending a shower of pine needles falling like rain.

Yet, standing amidst the lightning, Daoist Yinli merely looked at the bolt of lightning calmly. As the lightning bolt fell, he swept his daoist robe, and from within his wide sleeve erupted a powerful suction force. He actually directly absorbed the lightning into his sleeve.

Such a supreme daoist offensive technique had, at this moment, failed to harm Daoist Yinli in the slightest.

Yun Jianyue furrowed his brows slightly, puzzled. ”You’re not injured?”

Daoist Yinli remained silent. With a swift movement, he arrived in front of Yun Jianyue. Forming intricate hand seals with both hands, a surge of the purest daoist aura burst forth from his palms, striking directly toward Yun Jianyue’s chest.

Yun Jianyue’s expression changed slightly. His daoist robe rippled as the force spread across its surface before he swiftly retreated, narrowly evading Daoist Yinli’s killing move by several yards.

Daoist Yinli remained indifferent. With a mere flick of his sleeve, another powerful and terrifying aura surged toward Yun Jianyue.

As a great daoist sage at the end of Nepenthe, Daoist Yinli’s cultivation had long reached an unfathomable level. Every movement carried the power of heaven and earth. If he were truly injured, Yun Jianyue might still have had a chance. But since he was not injured at all, how could Yun Jianyue possibly be his match?

A deafening explosion erupted.

Yun Jianyue was struck in the chest by a surge of qi and was sent hurtling through the air in agony.

Yun Jianyue coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood but quickly rose to his feet. Countless radiant light seeped from his fingertips, tracing a long streak before him.

A talisman appeared in front of him at this moment.

A terrifying aura emanated from the talisman, profound and vast.

One glance was enough to tell that it was the work of a great daoist sage.

Daoist Yinli sensed a familiar yet foreign aura from it and murmured, ”Senior Brother?”

This talisman was indeed the handiwork of Daoist Wuyang.

It was something Daoist Wuyang had left for Yun Jianyue back then.

Now that Yun Jianyue had taken it out, he had no illusions about killing Daoist Yinli here, it was just to protect himself.

But soon, he realized that he had overestimated the talisman’s power. When Daoist Wuyang had left it behind, he had not infused much of his qi into it. As a result, when facing a powerhouse at the end of Nepenthe like Daoist Yinli, the talisman was of little use.

Daoist Yinli pulled a dazzling thread of light from his fingertips, sending it surging into the sea of clouds. With a casual tug, an enormous bolt of heavenly lightning crashed down.

”Let me teach you how to use lightning techniques.”

Daoist Yinli let out a cold laugh. With a sweep of his sleeve, a bolt of lightning as thick as a century-old tree descended with overwhelming force.

Before Yun Jianyue’s talisman could even unfurl, it was instantly shattered by the impact.

Spurt...

Yun Jianyue coughed up another mouthful of blood, his entire body sent flying like a broken kite. He crashed to the ground and struggled for a moment, trying to stand, but ultimately failed to get up.

In the end, he could only manage to sit up with difficulty. Looking at the Daoist Yinli before him, his eyes were very calm, devoid of any plea for mercy.

Daoist Yinli found himself inexplicably repulsed by the look in his eyes.

A wave of irritation washed over him, and for a moment, he even considered changing his mind, and simply kill Yun Jianyue then and there.

Fortunately, at that moment, the sound of a bell rang through the mountains.

The deep chime echoed far and wide.

Daoist Yinli snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Yun Jianyue.

Yun Jianyue asked indifferently, ”Is Chief Enforcer not planning to kill me?”

Daoist Yinli did not speak.

______