Chapter 46: Braving the Separation Heaven Sect!

Li Yunlin made his way forward through the magnificent, jade-adorned pavilions of the sect.

Though he had already broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, he still did not let his joy show on his face. Especially on his handsome, refined features, the calm was as serene as if the past twelve years had never happened; he resembled a gentle, steadfast gentleman's orchid.

"As expected of my descendant, even more composed than Yaozu. This temperament takes after me."

Li Xiang felt immensely gratified. It was he who had originally agreed to let Li Yunlin venture out into the Leaving Heaven Sect, and he had watched Li Yunlin run into walls again and again.

Now, the clouds had finally parted to reveal the bright moon!

[You used the skill 'Love from the Patriarch' on Li Yunlin, consuming 20 points of Incense Value!]

Li Xiang didn't hesitate to use the Level 2 skill.

"Patriarch!"

Receiving the patriarch's grace once more after many years, Li Yunlin, usually so composed, could not help feeling a tightness in his throat. He pulled the ancestral spirit tablet from his bosom, placed it before him, and kowtowed. "After seven years of bitter cultivation, not only did this child break through thanks to my master's spiritual pool, but once I break through to the Golden Core stage, I will be able to find a way to shatter the sect's prohibitions!"

"The Leaving Heaven Scripture, passed down for thousands of years in this Leaving Heaven Sect, will become the property of our Li family!"

Hearing this, Li Xiang's expression grew even gentler.

He remembered when Li Yunlin had stubbornly insisted on joining the Leaving Heaven Sect; Li Yaoqing had worried that Li Yunlin would forget his original aspiration, but Li Yunlin had never changed at all!

It was just that...

"Child, Patriarch has already received the Leaving Heaven Scripture. As for your intentions... you have done well."

Li Xiang bestowed another wave of warmth upon him.

Soon, Li Yunlin was seen rising to his feet.

Borne along by the swift flow of time, Li Yunlin had already arrived outside a resplendent palace.

Here, many people dressed in white disciple robes identical to Li Yunlin's could be seen surrounding a square area. In the center stood a spacious, protruding square arena, with a light barrier stretching straight up into the clouds along its edges.

Inside, eight cultivators were fighting, with an elder presiding as referee nearby.

[The Leaving Heaven Sect is currently holding its once-a-decade Outer Sect Martial Tournament to assess the potential of its disciples and take them on as apprentices!]

"What is he doing coming here?"

Li Xiang frowned. Thinking back on how Li Yunlin's master had met a tragic death away from home, and how Li Yunlin had faced suppression ever since returning to the sect, Li Xiang's cursor quietly moved toward the position of the ancestral tablet.

"After twelve years of refining his heart, even Patrick Star would have had his sharp edges worn smooth. Yunlin shouldn't be reckless."

Looking into Li Yunlin's still-calm eyes, Li Xiang chose to trust his descendant this time.

However, just to be safe, he had to be ready at a moment's notice to use the ancestral tablet.

"Go all out! Your patriarch here is still standing strong!"

......

Li Yunlin stroked the ancestral tablet in his bosom.

In an occasion like this, coupled with what he was planning to do, only the patriarch could soothe his tense emotions.

Immediately afterward.

Li Yunlin glanced around. At this Leaving Heaven Sect martial arts grand ceremony, the Sect Master sat before the main hall's doors, surrounded by elders.

The scene was bustling with life, yet he appeared completely out of place.

He suddenly recalled the day thirteen years ago when his master brought him to the Leaving Heaven Sect. His master had been very good to him, imparting almost everything he knew. Although upon entering the Leaving Heaven Sect, his three-element spiritual root aptitude could only be considered mediocre, his master had said that given his temperament, he was best suited to inherit the Nine Spirits Strange Fire.

A person's aptitude can change, but their true nature is the foundation.

Only now did Li Yunlin understand that perhaps back then, his master already knew that the battle against the Black Tortoise Gate would be a desperate one with ten deaths and no life.

"Master was right."

"I carry the blood of the Li family, so for a day I am a member of the Li family."

"I have received the teachings and grace of my master, so I must guard my master's lineage. Those who seek to destroy my beloved master's heritage—"

"DIE!!!"

His previous words were mere murmurs, until the final shout of "Die!", delivered with a ferocious and distorted expression!

The spiritual-resonance flying sword given to him by his father thirteen years ago was unleashed.

Amidst the sidelong glances of everyone present.

The spiritual-resonance flying sword flew straight toward a cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment who was watching the battle from the edge of the arena.

In that very instant.

Nine palm-sized lotuses of flame emerged around him, their fierce anger roaring and making the air within a ten-meter radius scorching hot.

"What madman is that? Daring to use martial force right in front of the Sect Master and elders—has he gone crazy?!!"

"I recognize him. He's the disciple brought back by Elder Fiery Scale a dozen or so years ago, named Li Yunlin. Hiss~ The person he's targeting seems to be his best friend, as well as an inner sect disciple, Su Cheng. I heard that when Li Yunlin managed to bring back Elder Fiery Scale's remains, it was Su Cheng who provided the information. This is biting the hand that feeds him."

"Hey, where are you going... What? You want to help Su Cheng so you can make a good impression in front of the Sect Master? Wake up! If the Sect Master hadn't intervened in a situation like this, did you really think Li Yunlin could walk ten meters?"

A bizarre scene unfolded.

The Leaving Heaven Sect's immensely important sect competition had been disrupted by Li Yunlin, yet not a single person dared to block his path—a situation that had never occurred in the Leaving Heaven Sect's ten-thousand-year history since its founding!

Li Yunlin and Su Cheng were already engaged in battle.

Su Cheng was quite extraordinary; he had evidently lingered in the early Foundation Establishment stage for many years, and his techniques were dazzling.

This fellow had likely practiced puppet arts, deploying twelve bronze men from his storage ring to form a grand array, and then summoning heavenly lightning using the Leaving Heaven Family's practiced "Thunder-Drawing Golden Scripture: Human Character Formula."

Twelve bolts of heavenly lightning entered the bronze men, channeled from the array to attack Li Yunlin.

That was not all.

A hundred flying swords emerged from his storage ring, gathering above Li Yunlin's head to form a giant sword that plummeted downward, sharp blades aimed directly for the kill.

Su Cheng's every move was a lethal strike, without a single word spoken. He likely knew that Li Yunlin's reckless disregard for consequences must have a reason, meaning this battle was a matter of life and death, and Li Yunlin had to die quickly!

......

"Impressive."

Li Xiang's expression remained calm as he praised Su Cheng for his battle with Li Yunlin.

Within the visual screen.

The heavenly lightning channeled through the twelve-bronze-men array was already crashing toward Li Yunlin. Logically speaking, the power of heavenly lightning should be a tier higher than flame energy, and the game screen reflected this: the flames erupting in all directions from Li Yunlin could not swallow the lightning, and arcs of electricity rushed from the ground array straight toward him.

It appeared to have paralyzed Li Yunlin.

The plunging giant blade was also descending at breakneck speed, leaving Li Yunlin seemingly reduced to a sitting duck.

Yet Su Cheng, who was apparently on the verge of killing Li Yunlin, suddenly widened his eyes as if he had seen the King of Hell!

The heavenly lightning passed straight through Li Yunlin's body, leaving only a streak of flame imprinted upon it. The heavenly blade cleaved down, splitting Li Yunlin in two, yet there was no scene of flying flesh and blood.

The blade shattered into a hundred fragments, weaving and darting through Li Yunlin's body with a flurry of metallic clanging sounds.

The flames on Li Yunlin's body scattered in all directions, only to rapidly coalesce once more to reform his physical form.

At this moment, Li Yunlin was the flame itself!

Until Li Yunlin dashed right up to Su Cheng's side.

Every disciple at the entire sect martial arts tournament watched in terror as Li Yunlin retracted the nine fire lotuses, wielding a sword with his true physical body to give Su Cheng a swift end!

At that moment.

The Leaving Heaven Sect fell into a dead silence!

Yet Li Yunlin was not finished.

Before everyone's gaze.

He unceremoniously picked up the spiritual-resonance sword and the magical artifacts from Su Cheng's body, tossing them into his storage ring. Then, as if nothing had happened at all, he straightened his clothes—his original set having long since been destroyed—and strolled forward.

When he reached the front of the main hall, he calmly bowed in salute to the Sect Master on the steps and the numerous elders.

"Reporting to the Sect Master, disciple Li Yunlin was too eager to purge the sect of a traitor and has startled all you honored lords. I beg the Sect Master's forgiveness!"

"Hmph."

The Leaving Heaven Sect's Master had the appearance of a young man and was known as Daoist Zhenyang. Dressed in white embroidered with cloud patterns, he sat in a bold, wide-legged posture. Though he let out a cold hum, his voice was soft, bearing no trace of genuine anger. "Why did you kill him?"

Only then did Li Yunlin recount the past events one by one.

It turned out that after the death of Li Yunlin's master, Elder Fiery Scale, the Spirit Fire Peak where Li Yunlin resided had been usurped by Su Cheng's master!

Afterwards.

Su Cheng had feigned friendship with Li Yunlin, trying to ferret out the location of Elder Fiery Scale's spiritual treasure, the "Nine Spirits Strange Fire." In the end, Li Yunlin kept his lips sealed, and because all sect disciples bore prohibitions where a rune seal would appear on anyone who murdered a fellow sect member, Su Cheng intentionally leaked the location of Elder Fiery Scale's corpse.

Following that, he attempted to collude with disciples of the Black Tortoise Gate to coerce Li Yunlin into revealing where the "Nine Spirits Strange Fire" was hidden.

Yet unexpectedly, Li Yunlin's master had left behind a wisp of divine sense for him!

And thus led to everything that followed.

"This disciple spent five years refining his heart at the Cliff of Repentance!"

"Seven years of blending into the crowd, while the Nine Spirits Strange Fire quietly entered my dantian, binding with my heart and soul. The Heavenly Pool Spiritual Spring left behind by my master forged my physique, allowing me to achieve the Foundation Establishment realm and a dual spiritual root body before the age of thirty!"

"Now, by slaying this thief Su Cheng, I have not disgraced my master's spirit in heaven, and have eradicated a traitor for our Leaving Heaven Sect."

"I await only the Sect Master's command to accept death and report back to my master!"

With these words spoken, looking upon Li Yunlin's resolute expression, the many elders panicked.

They hurriedly began pleading with Daoist Zhenyang.

"Sect Master, this boy Li Yunlin may have been a bit too bold, but Elder Fiery Scale rendered great service to the sect. How can we execute his closing-door disciple?"

"Well said! Besides, what young man isn't hot-blooded? Yunlin was merely eager to rid the sect of a heinous villain."

"If a disciple as loyal as this is executed, it will chill the hearts of everyone, Sect Master."

Watching the elders of indeterminate ages pleading on the screen.

The corners of Li Xiang's mouth twitched.

"Good, good, good. So you're all putting on a show, are you?"

In truth, he had long since seen through Li Yunlin's intentions, which was why he had remained completely at ease!

Li Yunlin had even deliberately chosen to kill the man during today's sparring tournament.

After all.

Cultivators had lifespans. Even with elixirs, those in the Foundation Establishment stage possessed a lifespan of little more than two hundred years. Golden Core experts lived for five hundred years. And upon reaching Nascent Soul, one lived for two thousand years!

Yet breaking through in cultivation was no simple matter; otherwise, one wouldn't have seen so many fake-core cultivators during the great battles at Silver Iron Forest and Tailin Town.

Therefore.

Whenever a talented prodigy emerged, whether family or sect, they would cherish them like a precious treasure, unable to tolerate even the slightest mishap!

Now, Li Yunlin was not yet thirty years old, yet he had broken through to Foundation Establishment, while also displaying formidable combat prowess and exceptional temperament.

We might ask: how could the elders of the Leaving Heaven Sect, let alone the Sect Master, bear to kill Li Yunlin?

Especially since...

Li Xiang checked the prompts in the event log regarding Li Yunlin's breakthrough.

[Your descendant bathed in the Heavenly Pool Spiritual Spring, achieving Foundation Establishment, leaving only the Gold and Fire spiritual roots!]

[Heavenly Pool Spiritual Spring: Elder Fiery Scale, nearing the end of his lifespan, spent a century gathering spiritual liquid using rare heavenly materials. Upon breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, this spiritual liquid washed the marrow and cleansed the meridians, purging a vast amount of impurities from the dantian and qi sea!]

[Li Yunlin's Gold and Fire spiritual roots have broken through to 85 points!]

A twenty-nine-year-old Foundation Establishment practitioner with a highly complete dual spiritual root—this was already a rare genius, fully capable of breaking through to the Golden Core stage before exhausting his lifespan!

[Your descendant Li Yunlin obtained the spiritual treasure, Nine Spirits Strange Fire, taking it into himself. His body became like a flame. As long as the lotus fire is unextinguished, his physical body will not perish!]

[Nine Spirits Strange Fire: Nine lotus flames, which can be nurtured with true qi and forged with the spirit of the Golden Core.]

This spiritual treasure alone was already comparable to a top-tier magical artifact, and moreover, it was directly symbiotic with Li Yunlin.

Given the opportunity, Li Yunlin might even break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

This was also the trump card that gave Li Yunlin the boldness to act so wildly at the martial arts tournament!

Not only that.

Li Yunlin had deliberately put on a show for everyone in the Leaving Heaven Sect to see, letting them know that he, Li Yunlin, was now the precious darling of the Leaving Heaven Sect!

He was also performing for Su Cheng's master.

Only by executing Su Cheng on the spot would those old codgers, who were dying to cradle Li Yunlin and shower him with affection, become deeply wary of Su Cheng's master!

Never mind whether Su Cheng's master would dare to move against him for his disciple's sake; most likely, if Li Yunlin even tripped and fell while walking down the street, they would suspect Su Cheng's master.

Sure enough.

Amidst the pleas of the numerous elders, Daoist Zhenyang glanced sideways at Su Cheng's master. "Elder Qiuye, what do you say? How about we execute this boy?"

Elder Qiuye had the appearance of a middle-aged man, giving off an honest and simple impression at first glance.

At this moment, he forced a laugh. "Sect Master, absolutely not! Alas, a monstrous scion was born under my lineage, and Nephew Yunlin cleansing the sect portal is actually a good thing for me."

"Hmph, regardless of whatever motives this boy had, killing someone in public is a heinous crime. How could this sect let him off?"

Daoist Zhenyang let out a cold snort, his gaze turning icy as he looked at Li Yunlin.

"However, capital punishment is avoidable, but penal servitude cannot be escaped. The sect sentences you to face the wall at the Cliff of Repentance."

"For five days!"