Chapter 130: Where Are the Disciples of Li Mountain?
As soon as these words were spoken, the peaks fell silent.
Autumn Mountain Lord looked at the crowd and said, "What kind of person is the Grandmaster? Even if he once had an affair with that demon princess, so what if he married her into Li Mountain?"
Little Pine Palace was furious, thinking this was utterly absurd. Even the Li Mountain disciples felt that their beloved senior brother's words were completely unreasonable.
Autumn Mountain Lord could naturally sense the atmosphere before the cave dwelling and said, "If the Grandmaster marries a demon princess, would it harm the interests of humanity? If there is no impact at all, then what crime is this? In my view, it is instead a great advantage for humanity."
Someone among the peaks shouted indignantly, "Humans and demons cannot coexist; how can they marry?"
Little Pine Palace's face was also ashen as he said, "This is utterly ridiculous!"
"What is called ridiculous is merely what ordinary people dare not do, dare not pursue." Autumn Mountain Lord looked at Little Pine Palace expressionlessly and said, "From our founding patriarch to the Grandmaster, Li Mountain Sword Sect has always dared to do what no one else in the world dares, and thus achieved what no one else could. If that is ridiculous, then ridiculous is wonderful!"
Then he looked toward the Li Mountain disciples among the peaks and shouted sternly, "The Grandmaster dared to kill the demon emperor and dared to marry the demon princess—this is the spirit and essence of Li Mountain! As disciples of Li Mountain, you should feel proud, yet you hang your heads in dejection, your sword hearts unstable. How can you be worthy of Li Mountain's style? You have deeply disappointed me!"
His words were like swords, striking the cliffs and stirring the wind. Through the transmission formation of the Ten Thousand Sword Array, his voice resounded across the peaks and landed in the hearts of all Li Mountain disciples, like the tolling of a bell, awakening them.
The world says that swords come from Li Mountain, and a sword is all about sharpness. Li Mountain's spirit and essence, Li Mountain's style, lie in that very sharpness. When the blade is bared, before the cold sword, what rules are there? What principles matter? Who cares what is ridiculous? Li Mountain speaks of the righteous path of the sword, never bound by those decaying frameworks!
White Cabbage was extremely excited, thinking that the senior brother was indeed the senior brother. Awakening at last, he had reawakened all of Li Mountain. Countless disciples, reflecting on their earlier hesitation and even thoughts of compromise, felt deeply ashamed, even sweating profusely.
The head of the Autumn Mountain family watched his son, who had calmed and rallied Li Mountain with just a few words, and saw the sword lights flashing across his pale face. His emotions were extremely complex, his expression growing colder, and he glanced at the attendant beside him. He did not know what Autumn Mountain Lord planned to do or why he was doing it, but he needed to make preparations. Little Pine Palace and the others felt their hearts grow heavy and had to begin preparing for the upcoming negotiations. Yet the pace of events exceeded everyone's imagination, because Autumn Mountain Lord had no intention of negotiating with them at all.
Autumn Mountain Lord raised his left hand and lightly tapped among the dozens of sword lights outside the cave dwelling. With a crisp snap, a sword intent sprang from his fingertip and struck a small, antique sword among the sword lights. That small sword suddenly left the sword light and flew toward the azure sky above the peak of Li Mountain.
By now, everyone knew that the Li Mountain Sect Leader had secretly passed the Ten Thousand Sword Array to Autumn Mountain Lord. In light of this, Little Pine Palace and the others' earlier accusations that the Sect Leader intended to pass the position to Seven Intervals instead of Autumn Mountain Lord had become a joke. Yet they still hadn't expected that Autumn Mountain Lord could control that antique small sword!
"The Sect Leader's Command Sword!" Little Pine Palace's expression changed drastically as he shouted, drawing the long sword at his waist, trying to stop the small sword from leaving the peak.
But Autumn Mountain Lord was prepared. With a light flutter of his robes, dozens of sword lights shot from the cave dwelling straight at Little Pine Palace. These dozens of sword lights were part of Li Mountain's most powerful Ten Thousand Sword Array, their power unimaginably terrifying. Little Pine Palace's courage failed him; he no longer cared about stopping the small sword and hastily withdrew his sword to meet the attack.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A dense series of sword clashes rang out.
The dozens of sword lights flew back before the cave dwelling.
Several sword marks appeared on Little Pine Palace's robes, blood seeping out, and his face was extremely ugly. Even though he was the most senior elder of Li Mountain, his cultivation realm already at the upper stage of Star Gathering, and in the capital palace back then he was only slightly inferior to legendary demon generals like Golden Jade Law, he was still no match for Li Mountain's Ten Thousand Sword Array. If not for the fact that most of the array's power was being used in the mountain's sword formation to send Li Mountain's elites north to rescue Su Li, leaving only these dozens of sword lights, Little Pine Palace would have died on the spot!
The small sword had already flown high into the sky. Some sharp-eyed Li Mountain disciples saw clearly that at the last moment, the small sword split into three, flying toward three different places.
The Discipline Hall elder surnamed Hong roared in anger, "Autumn Mountain, how dare you draw your sword against an elder! This is treason!"
Autumn Mountain Lord stared at him and shouted, "Hong Zhizhou, how dare you bring outsiders to assault the main peak and plot against the Sect Leader! This is treason!"
His words were still like swords—firm, upright, and bright as polished steel. Although his cultivation was far inferior to these Li Mountain elders, whether in rhetoric or combat, he did not fall behind at all, and his momentum was even stronger.
That Discipline Hall elder was choked and didn't know how to respond.
Autumn Mountain Lord stepped forward and declared clearly, "Little Pine Palace and two others have trespassed on the main peak, plotted against the Sect Leader, colluded with outsiders, and committed acts tantamount to rebellion. By the Sect Leader's command, I hold the Ten Thousand Sword Array and temporarily exercise the authority of the Sect Leader. According to Li Mountain's sect rules, I expel these three from Li Mountain and will send word to Holy Maiden Peak, Eternal Life Sect, and the Li Palace, announcing today's events to the world!"
Hearing these words, the crowd was stunned into silence. No one had expected Autumn Mountain Lord to act so decisively and ruthlessly, giving the other side no chance to negotiate, directly expelling three elders from Li Mountain. The Sect Leader's Command Sword had already flown toward the three holy lands, and this matter could no longer be changed, cutting off all possibility of compromise!
The face of the Autumn Mountain family head turned extremely ugly. Until now, he still didn't know what his son planned to do, but Autumn Mountain Lord had twice mentioned the word "outsider," and the implication was clear—whether it was the nominal ancestral court of Eternal Life Sect or his true birthplace, the Autumn Mountain family, on Li Mountain they were all outsiders, and thus could also be enemies.
Autumn Mountain Lord looked around at the peaks and asked, "Where are the disciples of Li Mountain? Follow me and drive these traitors and enemies out of Li Mountain!"
This, too, was a sword—a sword of utmost clarity! Autumn Mountain Lord didn't need his fellow disciples to think; he only needed them to make a decision. And this perfectly matched the sword hearts of the Li Mountain disciples. How could they not respond? Even the hundred or so disciples who had followed Little Pine Palace and the other two elders in storming the peak couldn't help but show hesitation or even shame on their faces.
Where are the disciples of Li Mountain? Among the peaks, between the peaks, came the answering sound—the sound of swords!
Countless swords left their sheaths, sword aura surged, and shot straight into the sky!
(I have some personal matters to attend to these past two days. My wife just left Hubei a few days ago and flew back again. I'll probably be busy for two or three days. If there's no update tomorrow, I'll let everyone know.)