"Hehe... little one, give up your struggle."
"This Demon-Suppressing Prison formation is not something you can break through."
The formation of the Demon-Suppressing Prison could suppress all evils in the world, but at the same time, it could also suppress sentient beings and living spirits.
What was more, there were three of them here: two of the Third Grade, one of the Second Grade, all providing spiritual power to sustain the array.
And the entire Tower of Civil and Martial Trials itself served as the formation's core.
Whether this little dragon was a sword spirit or an earth vein spirit, it had only one fate, to be suppressed.
Absolutely foolproof.
Lu Mingyuan narrowed his eyes, holding the struggling little dragon in his hand. He stroked his beard, his expression calm and composed, as though everything were under his control.
He believed this plan to be flawless. Even if Gu Fangchen died here today, it would all be blamed on the evil spirits of the prison, it had nothing to do with their academy.
After all, over the years, the Demon-Suppressing Prison had contained countless resentful demons, which had gathered a massive force of malice that eventually broke through its seals.
It just so happened that those malevolent spirits' eruption had affected Gu Fangchen, who was undergoing the tower's trial, leading to his unfortunate death. A tragedy of Heaven envying talent, what did that have to do with them?
Their academy had done everything it could to save Gu Fangchen, even sacrificing the Righteous Qi of the Vast Heavens within the tower and activating the Demon-Suppressing Grand Formation at full power!
For Gu Fangchen's death, the academy would express deep regret, but could only sigh that fate was unkind.
Lu Mingyuan looked down at Gu Fangchen, who seemed completely dumbfounded below, even raising his hands as though surrendering.
Too young, he thought. To encounter such a twist and not even realize who his enemies were, he hadn't even noticed that it was they who struck first.
Forget it. Once the great plan was complete, if there was still a teacher-student connection between them, he could teach the boy properly in the next life.
Lu Mingyuan shook his head with a faint smile and said to the two beside him, "Let's act together. Cast the boy into the Demon-Suppressing Prison and close the formation."
However, he received no reply.
Lu Mingyuan frowned, displeased.
Had these two grown careless in their pride? At this critical moment, how dare they lose focus?
He lifted his head, and in that instant, his pupils contracted sharply, his scalp tingling.
In the air, Liu Wenqing and Dugu Yu were already headless!
Their bodies still floated upright in the air, but their heads had been sent flying, blood spraying from their necks like fountains.
Their severed heads stared wide-eyed, filled with confusion and terror, as if they themselves didn't understand what had happened.
Lu Mingyuan's face changed drastically.
From their necks lingered a faint, mysterious Intent, and within that Intent was a terrifying aura.
That was... Sword Intent!
And not just any Sword Intent, but the supreme Sword Intent that could cut through everything in existence, unstoppable and unyielding!
Lu Mingyuan felt an odd sense of familiarity. Then, in the next moment, realization struck him.
He had once visited the Sword Pavilion, and atop its peak, he had glimpsed the supreme Sword Intent left behind by the Sword Pavilion's founding ancestor.
This Sword Intent before him, was identical!
No... even stronger.
It carried the very same presence as that which resided on Heaven's Gate Mountain!
In other words, this was on the boundary of the First Grade!
A cold dread rose through Lu Mingyuan's heart, an instinctive fear of the unknown.
There should only be one living cultivator of the First Grade in the world, the Saint of Yaoshan!
It was for that reason they had been certain their "Great Harmony World" could be achieved. But if another First Grade existed... everything could change.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in that instant.
Before him, the dismembered bodies of Liu Wenqing and Dugu Yu began to glow, their divine souls emerged, drifting upward.
Both were cultivators of the Divine Path. The destruction of the flesh did not mean true death.
Lu Mingyuan's face twitched as he shouted, "A gentleman reasons with words, not weapons!"
As disciples of the Confucian school, those who reached the Second Grade could wield the rule-like ability of "words following intent," though it came at great cost.
But in such dire circumstances, he had no other choice.
An invisible wave of his Dao Domain rippled outward, spreading across the area and bringing a moment of silence.
While the Dao Domain remained active, no one within could draw a blade or strike in violence.
The divine souls of Liu Wenqing and Dugu Yu floated in the air, both still trembling in fright. Hearing Lu Mingyuan's shout, they exhaled in relief.
Sweat ran down Lu Mingyuan's forehead as he steadied himself and called out respectfully,
"May I ask which senior stands before me? If this junior has offended in any way, might I beg for your instruction?"
The little dragon in his grasp suddenly widened its eyes and struggled violently.
Lu Mingyuan's heart jumped.
Could it be that this was all about the dragon vein?
But they could never, would never, hand it over.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Liu Wenqing and Dugu Yu's divine souls twisted in horror, their expressions shifting as if they had seen a ghost.
They were not looking at him, they were looking behind him.
Lu Mingyuan's pupils shrank. He turned at once.
At that very instant, reflected in the dilated pupils of the other two, a faintly glowing blue flower bloomed.
And then, the same flowers began to blossom across their spectral forms.
Soon, their divine souls were covered in countless glowing blue blossoms.
By the time Lu Mingyuan turned back, the two souls had already been drained dry, completely consumed by those eerie flowers.
The flowers flared brighter, merging into the shape of a woman.
She wore a green dress and her starry eyes shone cold and distant as those of a celestial goddess. The blue petals fell away, swirling into her hand and forming a long sword.
This was Ancestor-Matron in her full strength!
When she had first met Gu Fangchen, she had been "not very bright," her temper rather mild.
But after being toyed with repeatedly, and even deceived into descending into the depths of the Nine Nether, Ancestor-Matron's fury had reached its peak.
Now that she struck, it was a killing blow!
Two Divine Path cultivators, how could their bodies or souls withstand a single strike from the founder of the Sword Pavilion?
By the time their souls had emerged from their corpses, they had already been slain, utterly destroyed from within.
...
Gu Fangchen withdrew his gaze from the scene above.
He didn't know how long the academy's people could last.
Taking a deep breath, he turned toward Xue Xiang, whose expression remained calm.
"Master National Preceptor, the Demon-Suppressing Prison has already opened. With the grand array active, the outside world cannot interfere. Cao Tianzhou is below, you can act freely."
"Xue Xiang", or rather, Xu Fu, nodded slightly.
"In about one stick of incense's time, I can completely sever the karmic line connected to the 'Sixth Division Star Lord' and seal it forever."
Gu Fangchen looked up at the title hovering above him, Night Warden, and grinned.
With Ancestor-Matron's wrath drawn entirely toward the academy, he was now free of all worries.
Yama's Notice, activate!
Target, Gu Yuye!
Gu Yuye, Yama has called your name!
You'd better be ready to answer!