Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Song Juming had originally planned to wait until he finished handling his current matters before paying homage to his master’s honored guest. After all, only a handful of people in the world possessed the token of a Guest Elder bearing the title of Azure Cloud Sword Immortal.

But before he could even get started, the shocking disturbance occurred.

In an instant, the spiritual energy of the entire Sword Sect was drained by some unknown force, and a fierce gale swept through, nearly ripping the doors from their hinges of the sect’s grand hall.

Song Juming immediately flew toward the source of the disturbance.

Yet when he looked up and saw the thunderclouds gathering over the Sixth Peak, his heart lurched.

Someone was facing a heavenly tribulation on the Sixth Peak of the Sword Sect.

Had they lost their mind?

Initiating a heavenly tribulation atop the Sword Sect was no different from ripping the roof off someone’s house in broad daylight—how utterly arrogant and reckless!

Without hesitation, Song Juming rushed straight toward the Sixth Peak.

Panic-stricken disciples collided with him as they ran wildly about, crying out, “Sect Master! Disaster strikes! A demon has come to the Sixth Peak—it’s the Supreme Demon Sect Master of the Demon Sect!”

Hearing this, Song Juming’s expression darkened.

A demon summoning a heavenly tribulation upon his Sword Sect?! Did they intend to massacre indiscriminately or bring calamity upon all life?

Song Juming unsheathed his sword, battle-ready, and issued an order: “Order all Sword Sect disciples to evacuate the mountain! Flee—the farther, the better!”

A disciple faltered for a moment. “Sovereign…”

“What are you hesitating for?”

“But… the demon hasn’t killed anyone…” the disciple said nervously. “He only forced everyone out of the Scripture Pavilion on the Sixth Peak. And… it seems only the Supreme Demon Sect Master came alone.”

Song Juming was momentarily puzzled, but the thunderclouds were already coalescing. He had no time to dwell on it and roared, “They must flee regardless! Can’t you see what’s in the sky?! If that lightning strikes, everyone will die! Order all Sword Sect disciples to escape as far as possible! The sect may fall, but the people must survive!”

The disciple immediately straightened. “Understood!”

Brushing past the fleeing crowd, Song Juming sped on his sword toward the Sixth Peak.

By then, the thunderclouds above had nearly fully gathered. Thunder dragons writhed visibly within the black clouds.

What level of tribulation was this…?

As he watched, Song Juming felt his blood run cold.

He had come prepared for a fight to the death.

Yet when he arrived, the sight before him left him stunned.

The Supreme Demon Sect Master, robed in pitch-black yet radiating an overwhelming aura, hovered in midair, surrounded by several spiritual pearls.

The Sixth Peak had been cleared of cultivators.

The normally bustling training grounds were now empty, its disciples scattered into the sky—but none had fled. They were watching the spectacle.

Song Juming pulled up sharply and flew his sword to the front of the crowd.

Cultivators from other sects were present, and upon seeing the Sovereign of the Sword Sect, they showed respect. “Sovereign Song.”

"Master!" Several Sword Sect disciples carrying books hurriedly flew over upon seeing their leader—

"Master, you came!"

"Why haven't you left yet? What are you still doing here!" Song Juming’s face turned stormy. Were they blind to the thunder above?!

"There's a barrier ahead—it’s separating us from the lightning," a disciple blurted.

Song Juming sent a pulse of spiritual energy forward, watching it vanish instantly into the rippling, luminous barrier like a raindrop swallowed by the ocean, leaving only a faint tremor behind.

His face twisted further.

What game was the Supreme Demon Sect Master playing?!

Song Juming sprang to his feet, ready to confront Lu Qi, but a disciple seized his arm. Others nearby looked uneasy too.

"Sovereign… I think the Supreme Demon Sect Master saved our hides," the disciple said, voice trembling as he recalled the chaos.

A spiritual-energy-fueled tempest had almost flattened the scripture pavilion.

The wind had cut like knives, leaving faces streaked with blood.

Before anyone could react, a voice like ice cracked overhead:

*"Scram if you value your lives!"*

With that command laced in soul-searing power, cultivators were sent flying out of the pavilion.

Looking up, they saw the demon lord and scattered like rats in terror.

They didn’t understand why the demon had appeared in the Sword Sect. But one thing was clear—if he wanted them dead, they’d be corpses already.

They escaped on flying swords, only to realize once past the Sixth Peak that the demon hadn’t pursued.

When they turned back, a barrier had encased the peak like a dome.

Gazing upward, they saw a maelstrom of thunderclouds gathering above.

Someone was facing heavenly punishment.

And this barrier seemed meant to shield innocents from the wrath of heaven. Even the demon’s appearance felt like an urgent warning to flee.

Had they stayed, none would have survived.

*‘Did he save us?’* someone wondered.

But he was a demon.

Why would a demon help them?

Confused, yet unable to deny the truth, the cultivators silently acknowledged the demon’s actions might not have been malicious after all.

After listening to his disciple, Song Juming’s fists whitened.

He brought the tribulation to the Sword Sect—yet stepped in to protect lives?

If so, then the one undergoing the trial couldn’t be the Supreme Demon Sect Master.

Song Juming soared forward on his sword.

He finally saw what Lu Qi was truly up to.

The Grand Sect Leader was working furiously, his hands in constant motion. With a flick of his wrist, several spiritual orbs shot out in all directions, embedding themselves at the eight cardinal points around the mountain peak.

Blinding radiance connected the eight orbs, unleashing an immense pressure that rivaled that of a cultivator in the Mahayana realm.

Song Juming recognized this formation immediately—it was achingly familiar. The Sword Sect’s own grand protective array, known as the Eight-Star Array, was designed to shield its master from harm.

This wasn’t a killing formation—it was a defense.

Using spiritual orbs to protect the master.

Why use such a formation…? A realization flashed through Song Juming’s mind. The Grand Sect Leader had set up this array to protect the person undergoing the tribulation! Was he trying to use the Eight-Star Array to withstand heavenly lightning?!

How insane!

Song Juming’s heart pounded.

But… judging by the pressure emanating from the array, resisting the tribulation didn’t seem like pure fantasy.

After years of battling against the Demon Sect, this was the first time Song Juming realized the Grand Sect Leader’s mastery of formations had reached perfection.

Song Juming took a deep breath.

Regardless…

"Grand Sect Leader of the Demon Sect, you should not have drawn this tribulation to the Sword Sect! The feud between orthodoxy and demonic sects must not endanger the countless lives near the Sword Sect!"

A Mahayana-level tribulation wouldn’t just destroy the twelve peaks of the Sword Sect—everything nearby would be wiped off the map.

Lu Qi only looked up when he heard the voice. Instantly, a cocky grin spread across his face. “What a joke. What’s in it for me if I let your broke-ass Sword Sect get blown to bits?”

As he spoke, thunder cracked across the sky, and the first bolt of lightning came crashing down, aimed straight at the Archives Pavilion.

Lu Qi’s expression darkened. “Cheap shot—attacking when my back’s turned!”

With a fierce clench of his palm, the eight spiritual orbs flared violently, their energy coalescing into a colossal barrier above the Sixth Peak.

The tribulation lightning struck—but failed to break through.

First strike—blocked.

That the Grand Sect Leader had stopped the first blow of a Mahayana-level tribulation left more than just Song Juming gobsmacked. Even the cultivators outside the barrier stared in shock.

An array directly blocking tribulation lightning—this was the first time they’d ever seen such a thing.

The first bolt hadn’t harmed anyone inside the Archives Pavilion, which seemed to enrage the thunder dragon.

One after another, tribulation bolts began pouring down like mad.

Second, third, fourth—

Out of nine total strikes, the protective formation had already tanked four.

Lu Qi's face paled slightly, but his tone remained defiant. "Hey, is this the lightning tribulation of the Great Ascension Realm? Pretty weak, don't you think?"

Even as he spoke, his hands kept moving.

He pulled out eight more orbs from his Qiankun Bag.

Once again, the Eight-Star Alignment formed.

"Today, I'm blocking it. Let's see what you can do," Lu Qi said coldly, his expression hardening.

The Thunder Dragon was completely pissed off.

With a sweeping tail, it gathered a bolt of lightning several times thicker than before in the sky, as if aiming to wipe out all twelve peaks of the Sword Sect.

Song Juming went pale at the sight.

But the next moment, the ever-expanding lightning seemed reined in by something, gradually shrinking back to its earlier size.

"It's the barrier! The barrier is holding back the tribulation!" the crowd burst out excitedly. Now that's power—to control the scale of heaven's wrath with one's own strength!

Song Juming looked up.

Above the barrier, a figure hung suspended in midair, flickering in and out of the clouds.

Clad in white robes that billowed in the wind, the figure placed a hand on the barrier stone. "What's with the audience? You folks really aren't afraid of getting fried by lightning."

"That's..."

"The Great Demon! Wen Jue, the Great Demon!"

"Both demons showing up at the Sword Sect?!"

"Wen Jue set up the barrier?!"

Amidst the shock, no one could wrap their heads around why a demon would protect them.

Song Juming was equally stunned. The one who shielded the entire Sword Sect with a barrier was actually Wen Jue.

Wen Jue being here was just as shocking as Lu Qi's appearance.

Though Song Juming couldn't square Wen Jue's appearance with the legendary image of the Sword Sect’s once-revered Chief Disciple recorded in ancient texts, he knew one thing.

A rumor about the Lord of the Heavens.

Rumor had it that the Lord of the Heavens, who served as both adoptive father and master, hadn't just raised one kid. Demons like Wen Jue and the rulers of Immortal-Demon City were all his disciples.

Back when the divide between righteous and demonic paths wasn’t so bad, they used to call each other *shixiong*—cultivation brothers.

Wen Jue’s presence here might tie into those rumors about the Lord of the Heavens showing up again.

If the Lord of the Heavens showed up again, then...

What would happen to the relationship between his master and the Demon Sect?

As Song Juming was lost in thought, the sixth heavenly tribulation struck!

The clash between the divine lightning and the Eight-Star Alignment was ear-splitting.

Just as Song Juming looked up, a figure blasted past him from behind, making a beeline for the barrier.

Right after, the urgent voice of his junior brother Jiang Huan came from behind—

"Lu Xiao, you can't go! That's a Mahayana-stage Heavenly Tribulation—you can't withstand it!"

Song Juming's mind went blank.

Wasn't Junior Brother Jiang Huan in trouble?

When did he return?

Why was he calling the Sect Master's name...

A moment later, Lu Xiao, who had rushed forward, was repelled by the barrier. He jerked his head up. "Uncle Wen!"

"Stay put and stay out of the way," Wen Jue waved dismissively at him.

"My father..." Lu Xiao frowned in worry.

He'd only stepped away with Jiang Huan briefly—what the hell had happened in the Scripture Hall?

Jiang Huan quickly pulled him back. "With the Grand Sect Leader present, Sect Master Lu will be fine! Stop making trouble."

Wen Jue frowned.

"It's not my father who's undergoing the tribulation," Lu Xiao said, calming down as he watched his father's figure within the formation. "He's using the formation to take someone else's tribulation."

But... who could possibly compel his father to intercept a tribulation?

As he spoke, Lu Xiao's expression suddenly changed. "Shit—my father's the one facing the tribulation!"

Jiang Huan: ?

Are you out of your mind?

Wait—

No.

Jiang Huan thought for a second, then nearly jumped. "Oh hell—my master's the one in there facing the tribulation!" Wait, Lu Xiao has two fathers?!

Wen Jue snorted coldly. "Finally catching on? This Heavenly Tribulation wasn't summoned by me or Lu Qi. Blame your so-called 'Azure Cloud Sword Immortal'—couldn't handle a little criticism, pitched a fit, and just decided to ascend right then."

While he knew Lu Er didn't mean to, Wen Jue still had to criticize him.

Always making problems for everyone.

Song Juming was utterly confused. "Junior Brother Jiang Huan, what in the world... are you all talking about?"

Just as Jiang Huan was pondering how to explain these people's complicated relationships to his senior brother, the seventh Heavenly Thunder struck.

Nine Heavenly Strikes, each more brutal than the last.

The Mahayana-stage Heavenly Tribulation, with power enough to split the sky, crashed into the Eight-Star Formation once more.

This time, Lu Qi's Eight-Star Formation couldn't hold.

With a thunderous boom—

All eight spiritual pearls positioned at the formation's eight corners shattered simultaneously.

Lu Qi, standing before the Scripture Pavilion, had clearly become the next target of heavenly lightning.

Wen Jue's expression turned grim. "Heaven’s decree—how dare you!"

"Father!" Lu Xiao also shouted in alarm.

And Wen Jue was not alone—everyone present felt anxious seeing Lu Qi hovering above the Scripture Pavilion.

*Clang!*

A piercing sound rang out.

The terrifying thunder was blocked by a crescent arc of sword light.

The blade, brimming with immense and endless spiritual energy, shattered the celestial lightning.

The floating sword shielded Lu Qi, suspended before him—its tip pointing forward, peerless and unmatched.

Lu Qi’s long hair fluttered under the surge of spiritual energy. Slightly narrowing his eyes at the scene, he burst into wild laughter.

"I told you—you'd find your own path."

From within the Scripture Pavilion, a figure slowly stepped forth.

The effects of the Beauty-Restoring Elixir had faded, revealing a face that naturally commanded admiration.

His gaze was calm, his stance firm as an ancient pine.

The jade sword flew back from beside Lu Qi and settled into his waiting hand.

Man and sword united, his sword intent restored—henceforth, no obstacles would hinder his Dao.

Yet in Lu Er’s glance toward Lu Qi lingered a trace of disagreement. "Even if you could not grasp this Dao, I never wished for you to suffer in my place."

A faint frown crossed his brow, betraying his concern.

His tone echoed their days of tenderness.

Lu Qi’s laughter froze. He turned away, visibly flustered. "Don’t get ahead of yourself."

"You deal with the remaining three strikes yourself." With those words, Lu Qi turned to leave—

But Lu Er hooked an arm around his waist and pulled him back.

Lu Qi stiffened entirely.

"Stay with me through the ordeal," he murmured. "Please… okay?"

Lu Qi’s eyes reddened. Grasping the hand around his waist, his voice trembled slightly. "Stop talking nonsense..."

Onlookers: ???

Huh???

Wen Jue glanced skyward—so bold. Suddenly recalling something, he scanned the crowd, searching for a familiar face.

Almost immediately, his eyes met Qin Zhou’s among the spectators.

Qin Zhou smiled knowingly, his gaze heavy with implication, instantly unsettling Wen Jue.

Wen Jue’s ears flushed.

Not that he was envious… after all, his village chief had returned too.