"What? Do you still wish to duel with me?" Yun Zimo arched an eyebrow and sneered. "I am not like Senior Brother Four, who restrains his cultivation. When dealing with a conceited and overbearing fellow like you who bullies fellow cultivators, I won't feel the slightest shame in overwhelming you with my superior realm!"
Yun Zimo, like Zhang Hanshao, was at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. However, he possessed more valuable items than Zhang. While Zhang would immediately spend any spirit stones he earned, Yun preferred to save them. Coupled with his knowledge of weapon refinement and array formation, he was a formidable opponent even for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"Senior Brother Three, are you intimidated?" Fang Qingzhi gazed steadily at Yun Zimo.
"Do not try to provoke me; I will not fall for your tricks," Yun Zimo retorted. He retrieved his flying sword from his storage bag, his eyes falling on the Plain String Sword. He continued, "Your sword is quite impressive, but unlike Senior Brother Four, I will not underestimate you. I have numerous flying swords at my disposal!"
Fang Qingzhi ignored his words and instead bowed to Sect Leader Wu Duan Tian, speaking aloud, "Sect Leader Wu, Qingyun Sect advocates 'Goodness must not be falsely accused, and evil must not be allowed to grow.' Slandering others and colluding to frame fellow disciples are grave offenses. Is this not so?"
Wu Duan Tian, preoccupied with thoughts of the pill to restore the Dantian, was taken aback by Fang Qingzhi's sudden question. After a brief moment of bewilderment, he replied, "Indeed, it is."
"Fang Qingzhi, what are you implying?! I have not slandered you in any way!" A flicker of panic momentarily crossed Yun Zimo's eyes.
He reasoned that as long as he denied the accusations, there was no evidence Fang Qingzhi could present. Confident in his ability to evade accountability, he steeled himself against her allegations.
Fang Qingzhi glanced at Yun Zimo and turned back to Wu Duan Tian. "What punishment befits such crimes?"
Wu Duan Tian narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard. "For slander and defamation, a minor offense may warrant a verbal warning from the Enforcement Hall. Repeat offenders may be exiled to Reflection Cliff. For collusion and harm to fellow disciples, if the charges are severe and confirmed, the punishment includes tongue extraction, eye gouging, and having iron water poured into the ears. No healing for a month, as a stern warning!"
For cultivators, these penalties were not irreversible, but the agony was intense. Being deprived of sight, speech, and hearing for a month, confined in darkness and silence, was a severe ordeal.
Upon hearing this, Fang Qingzhi bowed again. "The third direct disciple of Chixiao Peak, Yun Zimo, has conspired with an outer sect elder to slander and persecute a fellow disciple. Surely, Qingyun Sect, a prestigious sect, will not turn a blind eye to such deeds?"
Her words caused a stir among those present. Though she did not specify details, the implications were clear.
Yun Zimo feigned outrage, but his clenched fists betrayed his nerves. Outer sect elder Wang Chuan, implicated in the plot, glared at Fang Qingzhi with venomous intent. Several outer sect disciples shifted uneasily, retreating behind others.
"How dare you! Have you committed such atrocities?!" Qingxuan Taoist slammed the table, drawing his sword and pointing it at Yun Zimo. His eyes blazed with fury, his half-white hair billowing from the aura of power surrounding him, resembling a enraged lion.
*Tsk, I command you to stand down!* A spiritual awareness swept through the void, brooking no defiance.
Qingxuan Taoist gritted his teeth and took several deep breaths before sheathing his sword. The mysterious cultivator aiding Fang Qingzhi must have been the one to refine the divine pill. Such a figure was likely at least of the Unity with the Dao stage, someone he could not afford to provoke. Combined with the elders present, they could not withstand such power unless the Qingyun Patriarch himself intervened...
But the Qingyun Patriarch was in closed-door cultivation to break through a bottleneck; disturbing him was out of the question.
He had no choice but to endure.
Qingxuan Taoist struggled to suppress his rage.
Wu Duan Tian's expression turned grave. As the saying goes, "No complaint, no investigation." Had Fang Qingzhi not spoken, he would have remained oblivious. But now that she had raised the issue, the severity of the matter could not be ignored.
Under normal circumstances, considering Qingxuan Taoist's standing, he might have played mediator or settled the matter privately. However, today, Fang Qingzhi was backed by an enigmatic powerhouse whose exact location remained unknown.
Dared he smooth things over?
Moreover, this affair was ultimately a headache for Chixiao Peak and Qingxuan Taoist.
Usually, Qingxuan Taoist did not hold the sect leader in high regard.
Today, this provided an opportunity to reprimand Qingxuan Taoist while extending an olive branch to the mysterious figure behind Fang Qingzhi.
He was also contemplating aiding his direct disciple, Zhao Lingtian, in restoring his Dantian.
"Wu Duan Tian coldly fixed Yun Zimo with his gaze, his late-stage Soul Transformation aura locking onto him. 'Yun Zimo, is what Fang Qingzhi claims true?'
Faced with that probing gaze, Yun Zimo felt a chill run down his spine. He knew the consequences of the truth coming to light. Yet, clinging to the belief that Fang Qingzhi lacked evidence, he retorted stubbornly, 'I beg the Sect Leader to discern the truth. I have never committed such acts; it is Fang Qingzhi who slanders me!'
Wu Duan Tian, observing Yun Zimo's facade of defiance masking inner weakness, had already pieced together the truth. He then turned to Fang Qingzhi, 'As the Sect Leader of Qingyun Sect, if you were expelled over this matter, I would certainly seek justice for you. However, evidence is paramount. Do you possess any proof?'
Justice?
Fang Qingzhi found the notion laughable.
Was the justice Wu Duan Tian spoke of intended for her? No, it was for the senior behind her.
Without that senior's protection, she would gain nothing today.
'I naturally have evidence. Before I was expelled and packed my belongings, I sought out a disciple involved and paid him a thousand lower-grade spirit stones to expose the mastermind. Convinced that I would soon no longer be part of Qingyun Sect and enticed by the spirit stones, he divulged everything. The disciple even made me swear by the heavens never to reveal the matter, or else...'
Fang Qingzhi's gaze sharpened as she looked directly at Wu Duan Tian and the others from Chixiao Peak.
In reality, she could have exposed Yun Zimo before her expulsion. But she had harbored a faint hope—a hope in camaraderie, a hope for reconciliation and a return to Chixiao Peak. It wasn't until Zhang Hanshao cast her into the dilapidated hut that she realized the people of Chixiao Peak were no longer worth her expectations.
[Senior, Qingzhi will not disappoint you!]
Her eyes darkened slightly as she murmured to herself.
The pain of the past was now pouring out with every word: "...Otherwise, I shall suffer the torment of ten thousand swords piercing my heart!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than a phantom sword pierced her from behind, transfixing her.
Fang Qingzhi's face drained of color, and a trickle of blood escaped her lips, dripping to the ground.
Her trembling hand rose, pressing through the phantom blade to clutch her chest, her body teetering precariously, only kept upright by her sword.
More and more swords descended from the void, embedding themselves in her body.
Excruciating agony, like countless insects tearing at her nerves, overwhelmed her.
"Guh...!"
Gushes of blood erupted from her mouth and seeped from her orifices, staining the bricks beneath in shocking red.
Yet she uttered not a sound.
A deathly silence enveloped the Qingyun Sect's main square.
All present stared agape at the spectacle, their hearts shaken.
In the span of less than two breaths, countless phantom swords had pierced Fang Qingzhi, transforming her into a veritable hedgehog of blades. The weight of the swords seemed to press her down, her once jet-black hair now matted with blood on the ground. Only by kneeling on one knee could she barely keep her slender frame from collapsing.
Profound daoist scriptures encircled the swords.
Ten Thousand Swords Piercing the Heart.
Her grand vow, witnessed by all, had come to pass.