Inside the grand hall.
Only two people were present.
It felt rather empty.
Ning Qi was quietly observing the silver-haired old man in front of him. The man was tall and had a slight smile at the corner of his lips. He looked like an ordinary, kindly grandpa from next door. His aura was calm and unassuming, but that made Ning Qi even more wary.
"He must be someone on Blade Demon's level," he guessed inwardly. While he was confident he could win, taking him down easily wouldn't be so simple—he'd need the right opportunity.
The Grand Elder smiled and gestured to the seat beside him.
"Tianming, have a seat. It's just the two of us here. No need to be so formal."
Ning Qi wasn't surprised.
Qu Tianming was Ghostmask's real name, but very few in the Demonic Sect knew that. Most people called him Ghostmask because of his habit of wearing a bronze mask.
"Was the trip smooth?" The Grand Elder got straight to the point.
Ning Qi cupped his hands and replied,
"Grand Elder, there were some surprises."
The Grand Elder took a sip of tea, raised his brows, and said,
"Qin Yun intervened to save Jiang Baishan, didn't he?"
Ning Qi said,
"You're as sharp as ever, Grand Elder. But I've already captured them. They're being held at another branch. Please advise me on how to deal with them."
This was the excuse he had prepared in advance. Now that the Grand Elder brought it up himself, Ning Qi naturally went along with it.
The Grand Elder stood up and sighed lightly.
"What a pity."
As he spoke, he walked out of the hall. Ning Qi followed behind. In just a few steps, the two of them arrived at a garden behind the hall. It was full of blooming flowers and exotic plants.
The Grand Elder continued,
"Qin Yun still can't let go of his past. Such a shame. He has excellent talent and an exceptional disposition. If only he could serve our Sacred Sect, he might achieve great things in the future."
There was visible regret in his eyes.
He truly thought highly of Qin Yun. In fact, the reason Ghostmask had treated Qin Yun so well was largely because of the Grand Elder.
A subtle look of confusion appeared in Ning Qi's eyes, just the right amount.
The Grand Elder glanced at him but didn't say anything.
The two strolled further into the back of the compound. Unexpectedly, what appeared before them was not some ornate building, but a shabby little courtyard with an earthen house. There were small vegetable plots in the yard, and a few farming tools were arranged nearby. It looked just like the home of an ordinary farmer.
They stepped into the courtyard.
The Grand Elder took off his outer robe and started turning the soil with a hoe in his hand.
There was a note of emotion in his voice,
"People shouldn't forget their roots."
Ning Qi asked the question that had been on his mind,
"Why are you so fond of Qin Yun?"
This was something Ghostmask had never understood. And in this setting, Ning Qi felt it was a good moment to ask out of genuine curiosity.
The Grand Elder answered with a question instead,
"Don't you think the Sacred Sect has changed? It's full of scheming and infighting now, obsessed with power, rotting from the inside. How many people still remember why it was founded? Generational inheritance has its advantages, but after a thousand years, the downsides are even greater."
"Qin Yun… his greatest asset is that he didn't grow up within the Sacred Sect. He has no attachments. If he's given a blade, he might be able to cut away some of the rot."
Ning Qi was slightly shaken and deep in thought.
So the Demonic Sect was aware of its own problems and had been trying to fix them, but the various factions within constantly fought and intertwined. It was impossible to eliminate the corruption at its root.
"I found you back then and helped you rise to the position of Vice-Leader. That's worked out quite well. These past years, you've done a good job balancing Xiang Tianxing and Lin Xueshuang. Now that Lin Xueshuang's faction has been suppressed, once you become the Grand Elder, you can carry on my legacy."
"And if Qin Yun can become the Holy Son and eventually take over as Sect Master, the two of you working together could bring glory back to our Sacred Sect!"
There was expectation and fervor in his voice.
Ning Qi bowed respectfully at the right moment,
"Tianming will follow all of Grand Elder's arrangements."
The Grand Elder waved a hand,
"Such a shame though. A talent like Qin Yun just won't cooperate. But if he had really killed Jiang Baishan, I'd probably think less of him."
Ning Qi asked,
"So, Grand Elder wishes to leave Qin Yun be for now?"
The Grand Elder slowly nodded,
"Give him one more chance. Keep him under house arrest. Once we destroy the Zhenwu Sect and the Sect Master comes out of seclusion, we'll have him undergo another cleansing ritual. Once he's severed from his attachments, he'll naturally come around."
He seemed to have expected Qin Yun to intervene for Jiang Baishan and wasn't surprised at all. In fact, he looked quite satisfied.
Ning Qi suddenly understood.
This whole thing was a test for Qin Yun. If he had truly killed Jiang Baishan, he might have disappointed the Grand Elder instead. But what the Grand Elder didn't know was that Qin Yun had burned all of his remaining lifespan just to stop Ghostmask.
"I understand," Ning Qi nodded slowly.
He had been observing for a while and had gradually moved closer to the Grand Elder. He was looking for an opening to strike. But he knew very well—this kindly old man in front of him could explode with full force in an instant. Now was not the right time to act.
The Grand Elder smiled and patted his old waist, casually handing the hoe to Ning Qi.
"When you're old, you tend to reminisce. Long ago, I spent some of the best days of my life in a place just like this. Sometimes when I'm here, I feel quite at peace."
Ning Qi gripped the hoe and reflected on his state of mind, faintly gaining some insight.
The Grand Elder lay back in a rattan chair.
He slowly closed his eyes, and a faint voice rang out,
"Tianming, go fetch me a rain cloak from the house."
Ning Qi's eyes flickered. He put the hoe down and walked slowly toward the earthen house. This might be a good chance. A ripple stirred in his heart, but on the surface, he remained calm and composed.
One step.
Two steps.
...
Ning Qi stopped at the doorway of the house but didn't go in. The small, low house in front of him felt like it was hiding some kind of monster within.
A cold voice came from behind,
"Why aren't you going in?"
Ning Qi turned around, and his expression was no longer respectful,
"When did you figure it out?"
He knew he'd been exposed. Though he didn't know exactly where he slipped up, there was a faint sense of danger coming from that house. If he stepped inside, he'd be in trouble.
Under the All-Seeing Golden Eyes, all disguises were stripped away. That wasn't a simple house at all—it was a kill formation!
At some point, the Grand Elder had opened his eyes, and a divine light radiated from within them. He stared sharply at Ning Qi and finally sighed,
"You really have some skill… you even saw through that. Where is the real Tianming?"
Everything earlier had been a performance.
He had laid his heart bare, even revealed some secrets of the Demonic Sect, hoping to lure the man in front of him into the trap. Yet it had all failed. The Grand Elder's inner shock was immense.
He knew the man before him was no ordinary figure. This was the first time an outsider had silently entered the underground headquarters—and had even impersonated a Vice-Leader. This was no trivial matter. Unless he uncovered the man's origins, he wouldn't be able to rest easy.
Ning Qi said,
"You haven't answered my question."
The Grand Elder slowly stood up. The power of the world began to gather around him.
"Your disguise technique is unmatched. Even if the real Tianming were standing beside you, I wouldn't be able to tell you apart. But our Sacred Sect has a secret treasure—Tianming has a drop of blood connected to it. I knew the truth from the moment you entered."
He spoke openly, surprising Ning Qi.
"Are you with the court? Since you're so familiar with Tianming, I assume he's already in your hands. So Jiang Baishan and Lin Ruhua were just bait in your trap?" The Grand Elder sighed, as if chatting with an old friend.
Ning Qi studied the Grand Elder again. He sensed a peculiar aura, a subtle threat.
Now he realized—all those seemingly good chances to strike before weren't real. The Grand Elder had been on guard the whole time. Even this casual conversation was just a tactic to stall for time.
Thankfully—
Ning Qi wasn't a fool.
He had set up a sword formation yesterday, and it needed time to connect. He silently rejoiced that he had been cautious enough.
Both men had their own calculations. In a way, they had reached a silent agreement.
Ning Qi said calmly,
"That's right. Ghostmask is in our hands."
The Grand Elder sighed,
"So it is. How about this—I'll let you leave, and you return Tianming to us?"
Ning Qi chuckled,
"With someone like me lurking in the shadows, you really think you could sleep soundly? You dare let me leave?"
The Grand Elder fell silent. After a few breaths, he smiled.
"In that case, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to stay as our guest."
As his voice fell—
Ripples of energy spread from all directions. The power of heaven and earth surged into a vortex. In an instant, powerful figures appeared in Skyward Hall. The Grand Elder had somehow summoned all the Heaven-Man Realm cultivators of the Demonic Sect.
Ning Qi looked up.
Everyone he sensed yesterday was there, and even a few he hadn't noticed.
He counted—over forty of them.
The aura of forty Heaven-Man Realm cultivators gathered—unimaginably terrifying.
The entire underground palace trembled.
The crowd assembled, watching Ning Qi face off with the Grand Elder. Their expressions changed. No one knew what was happening. They had just heard that Vice-Leader Ghostmask had been summoned to the Grand Elder's private residence. But now, seeing this scene—could it be that Ghostmask harbored treacherous intentions?
The next moment.
The Grand Elder's words sent everyone into shock.
"This man is not Ghostmask! Capture him with me!" The Grand Elder's silver hair flew wildly like a lion's mane. His eyes shone with divine light, and he released his full aura. He was unmistakably a top-tier Martial Sage.
Jiang Tianlong and Ye Qin exchanged a glance, both seeing terror in each other's eyes.
Just yesterday, they had entered the headquarters with this imposter. If he had ill intent, they might've already fallen into a trap. It felt like they had walked through the gates of hell.
An uproar broke out among the crowd.
All those murderous gazes turned to Ning Qi.
An outsider stepping into their headquarters—this was an unprecedented upheaval.
If they couldn't identify the root of it, it might shake the very foundation of the Sacred Sect, or even lead to its complete destruction!
With that thought, no one could stay calm.
"You cur, show your true face now!"
"Kneel down and surrender. Maybe we'll leave your corpse whole!"
The Grand Elder stared at Ning Qi. Only now did he finally let out a small breath of relief.
Ever since he realized this wasn't the real Ghostmask, he'd been on edge.
He couldn't see through this man in front of him—not at all.
Even now, he remained tense.
The man was simply too calm.
Ning Qi looked at the twisted faces surrounding him and laughed.
"Perfect. Everyone's here, saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."
Since trickery was off the table, brute force was the only option left.
After all the time stalling with the Grand Elder, the sword seeds he had planted last night had finally connected—no more time needed.
He slowly rose into the air, and an unparalleled sword intent burst forth.
In the void, endless sword energy formed, making people's skin crawl.
In recent days, Ning Qi's sword intent had grown stronger once again.
Since he had already decided to leave no one alive, he had no reason to hide his identity—he unleashed his strongest sword intent directly.
Someone recognized him.
"The Heavenly Sword! You're the Heavenly Sword!"
Another Vice-Leader, Xiang Tianxing, was utterly horrified as something clicked in his mind.
"You're the one who destroyed the Qingzhou outpost in the Southern Alliance!"
People from the Southern Alliance had speculated that Qingzhou's outpost was taken out by someone skilled in disguise.
And now all the dots connected.
The crowd erupted in both shock and fury.
Power of heaven and earth came crashing down—fists, palms, and sword energy flew at him.
Everyone was going all-out. No one held back.
The name alone carried weight—the Heavenly Sword's power was well-known.
The Grand Elder's face had never looked so serious.
Ning Qi didn't reply.
He raised a finger.
Heavenly Swords formed instantly. An unmatched sword intent exploded.
Surging waves of power burst through the underground world.
This wasn't the Zhenwu Sect—he had no need to hold back.
Unleashing his full power, he shattered sections of the lavish underground palace.
Even servants in the distance turned toward the explosion in terror.
"Boom!!"
The Heavenly Sword clashed with the many Heaven-Man Realm attacks.
A thunderous boom echoed underground.
Then the whole world seemed to fall silent.
The earth trembled.
'Stars' fell from the sky.
Heaven-Man experts flew backward in all directions, terror written on their faces.
They couldn't believe it.
More than forty Heaven-Man Realm cultivators joined forces—
And they were still losing!
If the Grand Elder, Xiang Tianxing, and a few others hadn't taken on most of the pressure,
That burst of Heavenly Sword energy could've directly killed some of them on the spot.
Though they were all in the Heaven-Man Realm, Ning Qi's level was far, far beyond theirs.
The vast power left everyone dumbfounded.
"He really is that terrifying!"
The Grand Elder was shaken.
He had heard tales of the Heavenly Sword's fight with Blade Demon.
He figured he might not be as good, but it wouldn't be a crushing defeat.
Now, it was clear—
The Heavenly Sword had already risen to a different level.
"Could he really be stepping into the Martial Sage Realm?"
Had he felt even the faintest trace of Martial Sage power, the Grand Elder would've already started thinking about saving a legacy seed.
Even without it, the Heavenly Sword's strength far surpassed expectations.
Even forty Heaven-Man experts couldn't suppress him.
Just as this thought emerged—
Ning Qi had already formed another Heavenly Sword.
Even under siege from so many Heaven-Man cultivators, he was rapidly generating sword energy.
One sword after another.
More and more.
The sharpness became overwhelming.
Ning Qi laughed loudly, feeling more exhilarated than ever.
This was the first time he had unleashed himself so recklessly.
"Thousand Star Sword Formation!"
The many sword seeds he planted last night were now fully activated.
Infused with the power of heaven and earth, they turned into Heavenly Swords in an instant.
They filled the underground palace.
Sword light hung in the air.
Anyone who tried to get close would be instantly shredded to dust.
The Thousand Star Sword Formation was Ning Qi's limit.
Without last night's sword seeds, forming it under siege from forty-plus Heaven-Man cultivators would've been nearly impossible.
But now—
Things were different.
Catching them off guard,
A thousand swords filled the sky, twinkling like stars,
Radiating terrifying energy,
Enveloping the Heaven-Man experts.
Each of them felt doom closing in—panic rising in their hearts.
It all changed too fast.
A moment ago they were just losing ground. At least they could fight back.
But now, in just a few breaths, everything had flipped.
Sword energy shot up from underground, fusing with heaven and earth.
The number of Heavenly Swords multiplied exponentially.
The pressure intensified.
A scream rang out.
One of the weaker Heaven-Man cultivators finally couldn't withstand the onslaught.
He was ripped from the group's defenses and torn into a mist of blood by the swords.
His gruesome death left everyone stunned.
Even more terrifying—
Those swords had now sealed off every exit.
The meaning was crystal clear—
He intended to wipe them all out at the root.
The Grand Elder's expression grew even grimmer.
He realized—this was the decisive moment.
"Activate the Blood Demon Formation!"
His eyes sharpened.
Before the Thousand Star Sword Formation could fully take shape, he gave the command.
Immediately, over a dozen elderly white-haired cultivators stepped forward.
They were aged members of the Demonic Sect with little life left.
But at the Grand Elder's word,
They didn't hesitate for even a moment.
They self-detonated instantly.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
One muffled blast after another—
Over a dozen Heaven-Man experts perished.
Yet, their exploded flesh and blood didn't disperse.
Instead, it gathered strangely into one place.
A powerful energy surged forth.
The remaining twenty-plus Heaven-Man cultivators were filled with rage.
They wanted nothing more than to tear Ning Qi apart.
He had invaded their headquarters alone—
And pushed them this far,
Forcing a dozen elders to sacrifice themselves.
A chorus of furious roars erupted.
Everyone poured their strength into the lingering blood mist.
A strange force began circulating.
In a flash—
The blood mist froze,
Then started twisting and pulsing rapidly,
As if it had come to life!
"Roar!!"
A deep, hellish growl echoed.
The blood mist expanded and contorted.
It finally morphed into a monstrous beast!
The creature was blood-red,
Dozens of meters tall,
With three heads and six arms—
Yet each head had no face.
Its entire body radiated an aura of slaughter and savagery.
Sword energy rained down like starlight—
But the blood monster caught it in its hands and devoured it all.
Ning Qi narrowed his eyes.
So the Demonic Sect did have some tricks up its sleeve.