Chapter 61

How could Sun Zhuo Er possibly admit it? He looked at Yue Fu Tu not far away in panic, feeling that this path was no longer viable. Then he quickly turned towards Li Qing’s direction, but the disciple he had raised for many years just stood there coldly watching him.

Sun Zhuo Er suddenly realized he had nowhere to go.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about, witch,” he stammered in denial while rapidly trying to think of a way out of this desperate situation.

“What? You want to pretend you didn’t say those things to my face last time?” Dong Xia sneered, “Over the years, I don’t know how many of your accomplices I’ve hunted down, or how many children I’ve rescued from your hands. But I never imagined that the esteemed Sect Leader of Wen Tian Men, Sun Zhuo Er, would be part of it.”

Sun Zhuo Er gritted his teeth: “What evidence do you have?”

“Have you gone senile? When have I ever needed evidence to kill people from your Immortal Realm?” Dong Xia’s lips curled as if she had heard a joke. “It’s enough that I’ve determined you’re guilty. However… if you can reveal the names of your accomplices, I’ll let you die a bit quicker today.”

Seeing no way out, Sun Zhuo Er had to try another approach. His eyes darted around: “Whether I talk or not, I’ll die either way. Why should I tell you?”

As soon as he said this, the jade shuttle floating up and down beside Dong Xia shook violently.

Li Qing glanced at it, his brows slightly furrowed.

The jade shuttle still carried Yin Fu Guang’s aura. Was he eavesdropping?

Dong Xia also noticed the shuttle’s movement, but she only glanced at it briefly before turning her attention back to Sun Zhuo Er, smiling slightly: “The Demon Realm may not have much, but I know many tortures. Since you’re unwilling to confess, I’ll take you back to the Demon Realm and question you slowly. You’ll confess eventually.”

Sun Zhuo Er was shocked. His face went through a colorful range of expressions before his knees suddenly gave way and he fell to the ground. He kowtowed to Li Qing in remorse, tears streaming down his face: “Li Qing, your master knows his actions are deeply sinful and have brought shame to Wen Tian Men. Today I will atone with my death to console the innocent souls who died because of me— But I am still a person of the Immortal Realm, this matter cannot be handled by the Demon Realm. Otherwise, what face would Wen Tian Men have left! Li Qing, you must think this through carefully!!”

Dong Xia’s fingertips twitched slightly as she turned her unusually calm gaze to Li Qing.

Even though time was running out, she was a bit curious about what choice Li Qing would make.

Sun Zhuo Er poured out his emotions, kowtowing one after another until his face was covered in blood, but he didn’t stop: “Master… I, Sun Zhuo Er, know I was wrong! I was bewitched, I’m not human, I deserve to die! But everything I did was for Wen Tian Men! Eighty percent of the money I earned went into building Wen Tian Men, benefiting the entire sect! The connections I secretly gained through this business are also one of the pillars of Wen Tian Men’s current dominant position!”

He started out stuttering, but as he went on, he seemed to feel more justified and became increasingly fluent.

“And my cultivation! How could the First Sect Leader have low cultivation? My current cultivation level, approaching the Hua Shen stage, isn’t it also to bring glory to Wen Tian Men and secure its position as the number one sect?!”

Dong Xia picked at her ear.

“Everything I’ve done was for Wen—!!” Sun Zhuo Er’s impassioned speech was cut off by a sword qi that landed in front of him.

That sword qi was all too familiar to him.

Sun Zhuo Er watched as this sword qi, from its birth, quickly surpassed him, surpassed Yue Fu Tu, until it reached the current pinnacle of the Immortal Realm.

He hated that his senior brother was a heavenly gifted talent, and hated even more that he was so easily surpassed by his disciple. He hated that when everyone mentioned Wen Tian Men, they thought of the names Yue Fu Tu and Li Qing, not “Sun Zhuo Er”.

“If Wen Tian Men has fallen to the point of needing such methods to prosper, it might as well be removed from the Immortal Realm,” Li Qing said.

The Yu Xu sword in his hand, which had just emitted a blade of sword qi, seemed to agree as it let out a faint hum.

“Trai—” Sun Zhuo Er, enraged to the point of confusion, had only uttered one word when Dong Xia slapped him with a plant.

She didn’t have much time left, so she didn’t waste words with Sun Zhuo Er. With a wave of her hand, several vine-like branches shot towards Sun Zhuo Er and bound him up completely.

Originally, Sun Zhuo Er had been hoping to buy time, but Dong Xia was completely unreasonable. He could only kick futilely in the air and shout: “Witch! If you capture me, the Immortal Realm will fight you to the death! Aren’t you afraid the Immortal Realm’s army will attack your Demon Realm homeland?”

“Army?” Dong Xia rubbed her chin, then pointed at Li Qing beside her and said maliciously, “Without Li Qing, how could a bunch of rabble like you hope to fight me? I managed to capture you despite your sect’s barrier that specifically counters demon cultivators. Why would I fear you coming to my territory to oppose me?”

Sun Zhuo Er’s face turned red with anger, but he truly couldn’t find a word to retort.

A thousand words became one: “Traitorous disciple!!”

“It’s time to go,” Li Qing reminded softly.

Dong Xia mumbled a response, then curiously looked back the way she had come, feeling a bit strange.

They had delayed so long in the square, why hadn’t any pursuers from the Immortal Realm appeared?

Dong Xia’s question was soon answered. As she returned along her original path with the cocoon-bound Sun Zhuo Er, she encountered a group of immortal cultivators forming a line nearly a hundred meters long. Their expressions were so complex it was as if they had just eaten something bad but had to hold it in. There was none of the hatred and hostility they had shown towards her earlier…

No, about fifty to sixty percent of the hatred and hostility remained, but most of it was now directed at Sun Zhuo Er.

“Sect Leader Sun… Sun Zhuo Er, as the leader of Wen Tian Men, you actually secretly sold furnaces?! Do you know this is a heinous crime deserving of death by a thousand cuts?!”