Chapter 79: Loyalty—Part One

The Nightless City Massacre, according to legend, was a bloody battle in which the YiLing Patriarch, Wei WuXian, slaughtered over three thousand people on the night of the pledge conference alone.

Some say there were as many as five thousand. Whether three or five, one thing was certain—that night, the ruins of Nightless City turned into a bloody hell at Wei WuXian’s hands.

And the killer, despite being attacked by everyone, managed to return to the Burial Mound unharmed. No one knows exactly how he did it.

The result of this battle was a severe blow to the cultivation world. Thus, after nearly three months of conserving energy and planning, the Four Great Sects finally succeeded in encircling the demonic nest, Burial Mound, returning the word ‘slaughter’ to the remnants of the Wen Sect and the furious YiLing Patriarch.

Wei WuXian stared at the cultivators in front of the Demon-Slaying Cave. Their expressions were exactly the same as those of the cultivators on the night of the pledge conference, pouring their wine onto the ground while vowing to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect and himself. Some were survivors of that night, others were descendants of those cultivators, but even more were ‘upholders of justice’ who shared their beliefs.

Yi WeiChun, the middle-aged cultivator who claimed to have had his leg amputated by him and had to wear a wooden prosthetic ever since, spoke again, “The blood debt you owe to three thousand people will never be repaid, even if you die a million times!”

Wei WuXian interrupted, “Three thousand people? There were indeed three thousand cultivators present that night in Nightless City, as well as the sect leaders and many of their elites. With all of them present, could I really have killed all three thousand people? Are you overestimating me, or are you underestimating them?”

He was simply stating a simple fact calmly, but the cultivator felt as if he had been mocked, and grumbled, “What do you think we’re talking about here? How can there be any bargaining over blood debts?”

Wei WuXian, “It’s not that I want to haggle over it, but I don’t want my demands to be doubled just because of someone else’s words. I won’t bear the brunt of what I didn’t do.”

Someone said, “What didn’t you do? What didn’t you do?”

Wei WuXian, “For example, I wasn’t the one who dismembered ChiFeng-Zun. I wasn’t the one who forced Madam Jin to commit suicide at Koi Tower. I wasn’t the one who controlled all the corpses you encountered as you hurried up the mountain.”

Su She smiled, “Patriarch YiLing, I’ve always heard you were arrogant, but now you’re so humble. If it weren’t for you, I really can’t imagine anyone in this world being able to control so many ferocious corpses, and fight so fiercely with us.”

Wei WuXian, “You really can’t think of anyone? Anyone could do it if they had a Tiger Seal.”

Su She, “Isn’t the Tiger Seal one of your weapons?”

Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask who really values ​​him so much. Like Wen Ning. Back then, certain sects were extremely afraid of the Ghost General. They said they would kill him on the surface, but behind the scenes they hid it for over ten years. How strange. Who said his ashes had been scattered back then?”

Simultaneously, everyone looked at the LanlingJin Sect disciples present. After all, it was the LanlingJin Sect leader who took full responsibility for this matter, solemnly declaring that the two leaders of the Wen Sect’s remnants had been burned, and even scattered their ashes in Nightless City. 

Su She immediately replied, “You actually don’t need to make up stories.”

Suddenly, strange rustling and rumbling sounds were heard again in the middle of the forest.

Lan QiShen, “Be careful everyone! The second wave of corpses has arrived!”

Hearing that, half of the group stepped forward to confront them, while the other half still pointed their swords warily at the ‘horde’ in front of the Demon-Slaying Cave. 

Wei WuXian, “I told you, these corpses aren’t under my control. If you have time to see me, you might as well go see them.”

Several renowned cultivators were present, as were several sect leaders and seniors. Dealing with a group of ferocious corpses wasn’t difficult. With the sound of the guqin and the glare of swords flying everywhere, no one had the leisure to care about what was happening there. 

With a wave of his whip, Jiang Cheng slashed three corpses to pieces before turning to Jin Ling, “Jin Ling! Do you want your legs or not?!”

He meant that he would break Jin Ling’s legs if he refused to return. However, Jin Ling had heard such threats many times before. He had never actually acted on them. So, he glanced at Jiang Cheng, but remained unmoved. Jiang Cheng cursed, grabbing Zidian by the wrist with a twist, as if to wrap her around Jin Ling and pull her back by force. However, the purple light shining on Zidian’s body suddenly dimmed. A moment later, it went out.

Instantly, the long whip transformed into a silver ring and wrapped around his ring finger. Jiang Cheng was stunned. He had never been in a situation where Zidian transformed back on its own. He was still staring at his palm when two drops of blood splashed in the center.

Jiang Cheng raised his hand and wiped it, seeing a handful of red. Jin Ling exclaimed, “Uncle!”

Several cries of shock rang out from the crowd, also battling the corpses. There, most of the sword intent had faded, and two streaks of blood hung across more than half of the people’s faces. Nosebleeds. For some, blood was dripping from their noses and mouths!

One of the sword cultivators exclaimed, “What happened?!”

“My spiritual power is gone!”

“Shixiong, help me out a minute! Something’s going on here!”

Bichen was unsheathed, killing the corpse that was chasing the cultivator as he cried for help. However, the cries of pain grew louder and louder. The crowd slowly gathered, retreating toward the Demon-Slaying Cave.

At this moment, the cultivators preparing for the great battle at Burial Mound suddenly lost their spiritual power. Not only did the sword intent disappear and the talismans ceased to function, but even the melodies of the GusuLan Sect and MolingSu Sect disciples became ordinary sounds, losing their ability to exorcise demons.

The situation is reversed!

Lan WangJi removed the guqin from his back. The vibrations of its strings echoed through the sky. However, no matter how skillfully he played  the Sound of Vanquish  , he was still alone. Wen Ning jumped out of the cave and helped him chase away the corpses, while silently enduring the kicks and punches from the cultivators. Fortunately, he felt no pain, so he was unaffected. 

Amidst the chaos, Lan SiZhui suddenly rushed out and shouted, “Everyone, come here, enter the Demon-Slaying Cave. There’s a large array at the bottom of the cave. Some parts are missing, but it should work if repaired. It should still work for a while!”

Some cultivators, already in a killing frenzy, wanted to rush in upon hearing this. However, Su She shouted even louder, “Don’t let anyone in! There must be a trap! There must be greater danger waiting for us inside!”

Hearing his shout, the people suddenly came to their senses, hesitating whether to leave or not. With a wave of his hand, Wei WuXian sent down a rain of talismans, “Death outside is death, death inside is also death. You’re going to die anyway, and you can at least delay it a bit if you go inside. Why are you in such a hurry to make all these people die faster?”

Although his words were quite reasonable, because he was the one saying them, people were even more afraid to enter. Still hesitant, they continued their fierce battle against the ferocious corpses. The others were able to hold on for a while because their spiritual power had been stripped away, but not Nie HuaiSang. Everyone knew that he was timid and untalented. He was also unambitious, and had not worked hard as a cultivator. He was shocked by the sudden change of events and remained unharmed except for the protection of his personal guards. 

Seeing the corpses growing ever more numerous and endless, he hurried, “Are you all going in or not? If not, I’ll go in first. I’m sorry. Quick, quick, quick—everyone, come in!”

Before he could finish speaking, Nie HuaiSang led the QingheNie Sect disciples into the Demon-Slaying Cave swiftly and decisively. He was as anxious as a dog that had lost its owner, as terrified as a fish that had escaped the net. The others were immediately stunned by his straightforwardness. 

At this time, OuYang ZiZhen also shouted, “Father, stop killing them! Trust me, come in! We just entered the cave a while ago. There are no traps inside!”

Some of the other boys shouted, “Yes, there is a big line on the ground!”

Jin Ling, “Uncle, come in!”

Jiang Cheng lunged at Sandu who had also lost his gaze, threatening, “You can shut up!”

However, after her scream, blood began to drip from her mouth and nose again. Jin Ling rushed down the stairs and began dragging her into the cave. 

At this point, after losing his spiritual power and spending half a day fighting, Jiang Cheng was exhausted and was somehow pulled into the cave by Jin Ling. The Jiang Sect cultivators hurried to follow their leader. 

At the same time, Nie HuaiSang’s beaming voice echoed from within the empty cave, “Everyone, come in! It’s quite big inside! Can a senior come in and help fix the array on the ground? I can’t! I don’t know how to fix it!”

Hearing his last sentence, three big words came to everyone’s mind, “Useless!”

Lan WangJi’s fingers didn’t leave the strings of his guqin as he looked up, “Uncle!”

At first, Lan QiRen didn’t want to enter the Cave. He would have preferred to fight out there until his very last moments. However, he wasn’t alone now. He was responsible for the many Lan Sect and Jin Sect cultivators who had been entrusted to him. He wasn’t the main force in this battle either. He didn’t want to abandon the lives of these disciples; he wanted to grasp a glimmer of hope. 

He didn’t look at Lan WangJi, raised his sword and gave the order, “Proceed carefully!”

By this time, the LanlingJin Sect, GusuLan Sect, QingheNie Sect, and YunmengJiang Sect had all entered. With them at the forefront, the rest of the people immediately decided not to continue resisting. If there were indeed beasts or demons inside the cave, there were four tall pillars blocking them. They rushed in. In the end, only the MolingSu Sect people remained unmoved. 

Wei WuXian, “Huh? Sect Leader Su, you don’t want to go in? Alright, then you can stay outside. But everyone’s already exhausted their spiritual power, right? If you stay outside, aren’t you courting your own death? That’s commendable courage.”

Su She glanced at Wei WuXian. Although his grim face twitched uncontrollably, he led his disciples inside.

The Demon-Slaying Cave could accommodate over a thousand people. The gasps and whispers of these people echoed incessantly throughout the main area of ​​the cave. Lan QiRen approached Nie HuaiSang as soon as he entered and examined the stained formation fragments on the ground under his expectant and hopeful gaze. The formation was indeed quite old. He immediately sliced ​​open his palm and repaired it with his blood. Wen Ning guarded the stairs, discarding the nearby corpses. Once the formation was repaired, the corpses seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, temporarily preventing them from entering.

Wei WuXian waited until Lan WangJi put away his guqin before walking into the cave with him. The cultivators, who had just breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the two descend the stairs, one in black and the other in white, felt a sense of worry again.

No one expected this to happen. They were supposed to be here to join the siege against the YiLing Patriarch, but now it seemed like they were the ones facing the siege. They even had to hide in the YiLing Patriarch’s cave to survive a little longer. Lan QiRen finished repairing the array on the ground and stood in front of the crowd, blocking the two of them. He raised his chin high, almost wanting to block them with his hand, as if he would fight Wei WuXian to the death if he dared to move.

Lan WangJi, “…Paman.”

The disappointment still lingered in Lan QiRen’s heart. He was still reluctant to look at the disciple he was so proud of, the one who had taught him for so many years. He simply stared at Wei WuXian and said coldly, “What exactly do you want to do?”

Wei WuXian sat down on the stairs, “Nothing. But since you’re here, why not just chat…”

Yi WeiChun shouted, “We have nothing to talk to you about!”

Wei WuXian, “How could there be nothing to talk about? I don’t believe it—don’t you want to know how you suddenly lost your spiritual power? From the bottom of my heart, I’m not strong enough to do anything to all of you without anyone noticing.”

Just as Yi WeiChun spat, he heard Nie HuaiSang reply, “Yes, I think he makes a lot of sense.”

Everyone glared at him.

Wei WuXian continued, “I’m guessing that before you came here for the siege, you didn’t have time to gather and eat together, so you shouldn’t be under the influence of any poison.”

Lan SiZhui, “It’s definitely not poison. I’ve never heard of a poison that can suddenly dissolve a person’s spiritual power. Otherwise, many cultivators would demand it at a high price, and rumors would spread.”

Many medical personnel were among the cultivators who arrived. They grabbed several people and groped them. People asked, “How? How? Is the loss of our spiritual power temporary or permanent?!”

The question immediately attracted the attention of many people. They had no free time left to guard against Wei WuXian. After all, if their spiritual power disappeared forever, they would be more or less useless. That would definitely be a more painful end than dying here. 

The medical staff discussed the situation for a moment before speaking, “Everyone, your golden cores are unharmed. Don’t worry! This is only temporary.”

Hearing that it was only temporary, Jiang Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took the handkerchief Jin Ling had given him and wiped the blood off his face. He began to ask, “Temporary? How long is it temporary? When will we recover?”

One of the medics said, “… I’m afraid… at least four hours.”

Jiang Cheng’s face darkened, “Four hours?!”

Everyone looked up, glancing at the horrific mass of corpses that surrounded the cave so tightly that not even a drop of water could penetrate. There were no fewer of them than the living people who had come today. Everyone stared straight into the cave, where human heads swayed and Yang energy churned. They refused to take even a step, writhing back and forth, shoulder to shoulder outside, as if they might enter at any moment. The stench of rotting flesh was overwhelming.

Their spiritual power would only recover in at least four hours? They didn’t even know if the fragmented array on the ground, which hadn’t been used for years and was being temporarily patched up, could last another four hours!

After all, the YiLing Patriarch was in the same place as them right now. Although they didn’t know why he hadn’t acted yet, he would probably finish them off like a cat catching a mouse after he finished scaring and toying with them. However, no one knew if Wei WuXian would suddenly fly into a rage.

Their gazes fell back on Wei WuXian. Wei WuXian, “I told you not to stare at me. In this cave, there are only two groups of people who still possess spiritual power. HanGuang-Jun and I form one group; the children who were brought up the mountain a few days ago form the other group. It wouldn’t be wrong if I described the rest of them as completely helpless, would it? If I wanted to do something to you, would those children be able to stop me?”

Su She snorted, “Cut the crap. If you want to kill us, go ahead. Anyone who makes even the slightest sound doesn’t deserve to be called a hero. Don’t expect anyone to beg for mercy either.”

Hearing his words, many people began to hesitate. Among the thousand people, only about twenty had come for revenge. The rest had simply participated without thinking when they heard there would be a siege. You could say they were merely spectators of justice, only here out of their own morals. They simply wanted to follow the flow of the main group leading the way. Being able to kill a few of Wei WuXian’s corpse dogs would be quite a prestigious act. But if they were truly asked to pay the price, not many would be willing to join.

Wei WuXian glanced at him, “Excuse me, but I have to ask—who are you?”

He had called Su She’s name when they were outside the cave, but now he was asking again. It was clearly intentional. The veins on Su She’s forehead bulged slightly. He was about to speak when Lan JingYi interrupted in a loud voice, “So? It’s not poison, then?”

Wei WuXian immediately forgot about Su She, “So, people don’t lose their spiritual power for no reason. There must be a method and a specific timing. Before you climbed Burial Mound or on your way here, there must have been something you all came into contact with or did. The children were brought here a few days ago, so the timing wasn’t right, and HanGuang-Jun and I didn’t use the same mountain path as you, so the location wasn’t right either. Does anyone care to think about what you all did?”

Amidst the deafening silence, someone replied helplessly, “What were we all doing? When we climbed Burial Mound, we all drank water, right? I don’t remember, I don’t know.”

Who would respond to Wei WuXian in such a disrespectful manner, doing whatever he said and thinking whatever he said? The only person who would respond to him was the ‘head-shaker’, Nie HuaiSang. Someone couldn’t help but remark, “No one drank anything on our way up the mountain! Who would dare drink water atop a pile of corpses?!”

Nie HuaiSang guessed again, “Then, did we all inhale the mist in the mountains?”

If there was something strange about the fog, the explanation would certainly be plausible. Someone immediately agreed, “It could be!” 

However, Jin Ling immediately replied, “Impossible. The fog is indeed thicker at the top of the mountain, but we’ve been trapped there for two whole days. Our spiritual power is still there, right?”

Su She looked as if he really couldn’t take it anymore, “Enough, huh? So you’ve actually started talking to her. Was it fun, getting so carried away by her? She…”

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically. His words stopped mid-sentence. Wei WuXian, “Continue. Why aren’t you continuing?”

All the MolingSu Sect disciples stood up, “Sect Leader!” 

“Sect Leader, what’s wrong?!”

Su She shooed away the disciple who came to his aid. He raised his hand. First, he pointed at Wei WuXian, then at Lan WangJi. The disciple closest to him growled, “Wei WuXian, what curse have you cast this time?!”

Lan SiZhui, “It’s not a curse! It’s… It’s…”

Lan WangJi, who was sitting neatly and politely to the side, placed the fingers of his right hand on the guqin, stopping the vibrations of the seven strings. The disciples who had been chattering happily suddenly turned into ducks with their necks grabbed, their voices abruptly stopping.

Everyone from the Lan Sect present commented silently—this was the GusuLan Sect’s silencing spell…