It must be said that under Su Yao's management, the strength of Qiong Hua Sect was nowhere near what it had been nineteen years ago. Back then, the sect had Taiqing Zhenren, as well as powerful elders like Zong Lian, Qingyang, and Chongguang. Even among the disciples, there were figures like Xuan Xiao, Xuan Zhen, Su Yu, and Su Xi, who were no weaker than Murong Ziying is now.
But now? Among the younger generation, only Murong Ziying stands out. The elders of the Xuan and Xu generations are even weaker than Murong Ziying.
It must be said that the generational titles in Qiong Hua Sect are quite chaotic. Disciples of Murong Ziying's generation include the Yuan and Xu generations, with some of the Xu generation even becoming elders. This isn't too surprising, as although Murong Ziying is young, his master's status is high, so his seniority naturally follows suit.
If we were to calculate seniority based on age, Murong Ziying would likely be on par with disciples like Huai Shuo and Xuan Ji.
Under Su Yao's rule, not only has Qiong Hua Sect's strength declined significantly, but its backbone has also weakened. If this were Shu Mountain Sect, even if they couldn't defeat someone like Daniel Davis, they wouldn't just stand by and watch. They would attack fiercely. Although Daniel Davis finds some of Shu Mountain Sect's practices and rules disagreeable, he has to admit that their disciples adhere to their sect's regulations quite well.
Fortunately, Qiong Hua Sect still has Xuan Xiao. Otherwise, given the sect's current strength, they might not even be able to defeat the Illusory Realm, which has also suffered significant losses.
Daniel Davis naturally has no patience for these arrogant individuals who usually look down on everyone. Given the current situation, there's no need to hold back. When Daniel Davis, Yun Tianhe, and the others were at Qiong Hua Sect, these people often mocked them, likely due to Su Yao's attitude.
Of course, another reason for his ruthless actions is that the Qiong Hua Sect disciples he got along with aren't here. Not all Qiong Hua Sect disciples are unreasonable. Even in the game, many sect members disagreed with Xuan Xiao and Su Yao's ideals and left the sect, let alone now.
"It seems Qiong Hua Sect is beyond saving. No matter, things here are finally coming to an end, and I can take a good look around this world. I can find an opportunity to visit Shu Mountain Sect, and I can also visit Juchao Country several times."
Coming to the world of Sword and Fairy and not seeing Shu Mountain Sect would be a regret. As for Juchao Country, while visiting Shu Mountain Sect is more of a personal dream for Daniel Davis, Juchao Country is far more important.
As a gathering place for demons, it's undoubtedly a hub of demon-related knowledge. Perhaps he can obtain the Five Spirit Pearls there. Additionally, he might be able to acquire the Sword Control Technique of Shu Mountain Sect.
Rejoining Shu Mountain Sect would take too much time, so it's better to obtain their Sword Control Technique through other means, such as from Dao Zhen's younger brother.
Although the younger brother's strength doesn't seem impressive, given his older brother's abilities, his status in Shu Mountain Sect must be quite high. He's likely already inherited the sect's Sword Control Technique, and perhaps even knowledge from other cultivation sects. After all, compared to humans, demons have much longer lifespans.
If Daniel Davis hadn't been with Murong Ziying when they encountered Shu Mountain Sect disciples, he might have already found a way to obtain their Sword Control Technique.
"At this point, they still want to reason with Qiong Hua Sect's disciples. But that's just Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha for you."
After glancing at Murong Ziying, Daniel Davis immediately passed through the demon realm entrance at Cloudy Platform and entered the demon realm. As soon as he entered, he saw Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha confronting seven or eight Qiong Hua Sect disciples. From the marks on Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha's bodies, it was clear that they had already fought, and the situation was now at a standstill.
Yun Tianhe stood in front of Han Lingsha, holding the Tianhe Sword to protect her, while the Qiong Hua Sect disciples were aggressive, ignoring whatever Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha were saying.
Daniel Davis quickly understood why this had happened. Given Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha's personalities, they would never go all out against Qiong Hua Sect disciples. Even if Yun Tianhe would fight to protect Han Lingsha, he wouldn't resort to extreme measures.
Although Daniel Davis was annoyed that the two were wasting time, he also understood that this was entirely in character for them. If they weren't like this, Daniel Davis wouldn't have followed them all this way, watching Yun Tianhe obtain the Zhulong's power.
It's like Han Fei. Daniel Davis was willing to communicate with him, and even though Han had to be destroyed, he tried to preserve Han Fei's life. If Han Fei had been like Yan Dan or Changping Jun, Daniel Davis would never have bothered with him. Even if he had been like Ying Zheng, he wouldn't have gathered so many like-minded people around him.
"Where is Xuan Xiao? Mengli's aura is also there." Daniel Davis temporarily ignored Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha and used his Observation Haki to sense the situation in the demon realm. As soon as he activated it, he detected an overwhelmingly powerful aura deep within the demon realm. It had to be Xuan Xiao, as he was currently the strongest in Qiong Hua Sect.
Mengli's aura was also in the same direction as Xuan Xiao's.
The Illusory Realm was quite vast, roughly the size of a large island, with plains, mountains, and rivers. Aside from a few scattered battles in the distance, most of the area was occupied by Qiong Hua Sect disciples.
Some of these disciples were mining Purple Crystals, while others were searching for traces of the Illusory Realm's demons.
"Why are you wasting time here? Mengli and Xuan Xiao are in that direction." Daniel Davis immediately appeared beside Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha. As he spoke, he swiftly kicked the Qiong Hua Sect disciples in front of them, sending them flying.
"Brother, Mengli." Yun Tianhe was about to say something, but upon hearing Daniel Davis mention Xuan Xiao and Mengli's location, he immediately flew off on his sword in the direction Daniel Davis pointed.
"Tianhe." Han Lingsha quickly followed.
"Outrageous! They're siding with demons! Fellow disciples, show no mercy!" Seeing Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha flying on their swords, other Qiong Hua Sect disciples who were searching for demons immediately charged at them, preparing to attack with their Sword Control Techniques.
"Get down from there!" Daniel Davis naturally wouldn't let them interfere with Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha. Dozens of sword shadows shot from his palms toward the disciples preparing to attack.
Screams filled the air as the Qiong Hua Sect disciples fell from the sky, some injured in the shoulders, others with their swords destroyed.
"This is getting tiresome."
After these disciples were injured, other Qiong Hua Sect disciples in the distance saw what was happening and immediately flew over.
"It's you! How dare you help the demon realm! As expected, all the disciples taught by Ziying are traitors!" A thin-faced man in his thirties flew to the front of the group, looking down at Daniel Davis with a cold sneer.
Daniel Davis naturally recognized him. He was Yuan Yue, a senior disciple of the Yuan generation and Murong Ziying's senior brother. He was one of the main figures who often mocked Daniel Davis and the others, always surrounded by a group of Qiong Hua Sect disciples.
"Stop acting so high and mighty. Get down here!" Before Yuan Yue could continue, Daniel Davis flew up to him and kicked him down from the sky. Yuan Yue landed headfirst, crashing into the ground and creating a large crater. His face was instantly disfigured.
"I'll kill you! What are you all staring at? Attack!" Yuan Yue crawled out of the crater and immediately shouted at the surrounding Qiong Hua Sect disciples.
Some disciples attacked Daniel Davis with flying swords and basic immortal techniques, while others charged at him with swords, attempting close combat.
"Get lost!" Daniel Davis swung his right hand in a circular motion, unleashing a powerful wave of energy that sent the flying swords, immortal techniques, and charging disciples flying.
Then, with a turn, Daniel Davis caught a flying sword that had been shot at him from the side. He coldly glared at Yuan Yue, who had tried to sneak attack him while he was dealing with the others.
"What, trying to run?"
When Yuan Yue saw Daniel Davis catch his flying sword and glare at him, he immediately tried to flee. But in the next moment, Daniel Davis appeared beside him, using Yuan Yue's own sword to cut off his right arm, then kicked him hard in the dantian, sending him flying over ten meters away.
Yuan Yue was the person Daniel Davis disliked the most in Qiong Hua Sect, even more than Su Yao. He was the typical petty thug of the martial world. Back when Daniel Davis was at Qiong Hua Sect, he had almost lost his temper several times due to Yuan Yue's mockery.
This time, since they had crossed paths, Daniel Davis had originally planned to just teach him a lesson. But since Yuan Yue tried to sneak attack him, Daniel Davis decided to be ruthless. Out of respect for Murong Ziying, he wouldn't kill Yuan Yue, but that kick had destroyed the meridians in Yuan Yue's body. Unless he found a treasure like the Red Snow Flowing Pearl Pill, he would never recover.
If Daniel Davis had known that Yuan Yue was the one who had sneak-killed Huai Shuo in the original story, he would have killed him outright, even if it made Murong Ziying unhappy.
Daniel Davis's ruthlessness intimidated the other Qiong Hua Sect disciples, who no longer dared to attack him casually. Seizing the opportunity, Daniel Davis left the battlefield and headed toward the area where he had sensed Xuan Xiao.
"It seems I arrived just in time. At least Liu Mengli is safe."
When Daniel Davis caught up with Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha, Yun Tianhe was confronting Xuan Xiao, Su Yao, and their group. Not far behind them, Liu Mengli and a group of Illusory Realm demons were within a protective barrier. Nearby lay the bodies of numerous demons.
Among them, two bodies were clearly different from the rest of the Meng Mo tribe. They were likely high-ranking members of the Meng Mo tribe. What Daniel Davis didn't know was that these two bodies were the last of the Illusory Realm's six demon generals.
The Illusory Realm was led by Queen Chan You and six demon generals. In the great battle nineteen years ago, four of the demon generals fought to the death and were killed by Qiong Hua Sect. However, they didn't die in vain. Xuan Zhen, the senior disciple of the Xuan generation, was killed by one of the demon generals in a mutual strike.
"Brother, why are you doing this? Didn't Qingyang and Chongguang tell you?" Yun Tianhe looked at the numerous bodies around him and then at Xuan Xiao and his group, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Qingyang and Chongguang? Are you talking about how the Heavenly Realm will stop Qiong Hua Sect from ascending? How ridiculous. Why would the Heavenly Realm stop Qiong Hua Sect from ascending? Even if they did, so what? Qiong Hua Sect's ascension is inevitable."
As Xuan Xiao spoke, he looked up at the sky, his expression resolute.
"So that's how it is." Daniel Davis, standing to the side, shook his head slightly upon hearing Xuan Xiao's words.
He wasn't entirely unaware of Xuan Xiao's choice. In modern terms, it's what's known as the sunk cost fallacy. Qiong Hua Sect had invested too much in the plan for the entire sect to ascend, especially Xuan Xiao. From the moment he was brought into Qiong Hua Sect, he had been indoctrinated with this idea.
His Yihe Sword was forged for this very purpose. If Qiong Hua Sect's ascension plan failed, not only would the sect's invested resources be wasted, but Xuan Xiao himself would never accept it. For Xuan Xiao, who had merged with the Yihe Sword, there was no turning back.
In other situations, if one took the wrong path, they could simply start over. With Xuan Xiao's talent, he could have had a chance to rebuild. But for Xuan Xiao, who had merged with the Yihe Sword, even that option was gone.
Now, Xuan Xiao only had two paths before him: continue with Qiong Hua Sect's ascension plan, or let the Yihe Sword's blazing flames consume him.
This wasn't something that could be changed by the Three Cold Artifacts. Not even the Six Cold Artifacts could suppress the yang flames within Xuan Xiao now.
"Tianhe, you've returned just in time. Qiong Hua Sect's ascension is imminent. Join me, and we'll ascend to immortality together." Xuan Xiao seemed genuinely happy to see Yun Tianhe, even though Yun Tianhe had earlier tried to stop him from attacking the barrier protecting Liu Mengli and the others.
"Xuan Xiao, what do you mean? Yun Tianhe and the others have been expelled from Qiong Hua Sect. How dare you—" Su Yao, standing behind Xuan Xiao, immediately protested.
"Silence, Su Yao! What I do is none of your concern." Xuan Xiao coldly rebuked her.
"Xuan Xiao, you—"
Facing Xuan Xiao's scolding, Su Yao looked indignant and wanted to say more, but upon meeting Xuan Xiao's icy gaze, she immediately fell silent. Su Yao knew Xuan Xiao well and understood that if she continued, he would definitely take action.
In a way, Su Yao's position as sect leader was quite pitiful. Her support for Xuan Xiao's ascension plan was similar to his situation—the sunk cost forced her to gamble.
Initially, Su Yao had hesitated after hearing Qingyang and Chongguang's warnings, but she was ultimately persuaded by Xuan Xiao. Or rather, she was persuaded by her own sense of hope.
Aside from this, another important reason Su Yao supported Xuan Xiao was that the ascension plan was entirely in Xuan Xiao's hands. As sect leader, she could only support the plan and had no power to alter or sabotage it.
It must be said that Xuan Xiao was a genius. During his nineteen years of being sealed in ice, he not only created the Ningbing Technique to suppress the yang flames within him but also discovered another use for it—allowing him to wield cold energy. This meant that Xuan Xiao could, to some extent, also use the Wangshu Sword.
Wielding both swords was something Xuan Xiao had realized during his nineteen years of being sealed.
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