There was no trace of weakness in Lu Li’s voice. The overwhelming pressure radiating from him nearly made it impossible for Meng Xuan to breathe.
This left Meng Xuan even more incredulous. His face darkened further.
“You’re not injured!”
“Did I disappoint you, junior brother?”
The moment Lu Li spoke, the pressure around them intensified, nearly knocking Meng Xuan off his feet.
But after a brief moment of shock, Meng Xuan laughed arrogantly.
“Hahaha! So what if you’re not injured? You’re still not leaving this place alive!”
With that, he immediately looked toward the nearby forest.
“Come out!”
No sooner had he spoken than the forest rustled, and a figure emerged.
It was the demon lord whom Lu Li had been chasing earlier.
“You didn’t expect this, did you, Senior Brother Lu? I found Young Master Lu before you did. He’s already agreed to help me get rid of you.”
Meng Xuan slowly retreated behind the demon lord, a smug look on his face.
“A mere ant, and I have to deal with you myself. Consider yourself lucky.”
The demon lord’s gaze at Lu Li was full of disdain. As he spoke, another wave of intense pressure surged forward.
Under the force of that pressure, Ye Ran struggled to breathe. She looked at Lu Li with worry.
“Senior brother, what do we do now?”
Legend had it that this demon lord had once been invincible in the cultivation world. Even if his power was now greatly diminished, Lu Li probably couldn’t defeat him.
Just as Ye Ran was considering whether to flee with Lu Li, he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a counterfeit.”
At these words, everyone present froze.
The demon lord across from them looked at Lu Li in disbelief.
“How did you know—”
Before he could finish, Lu Li’s figure suddenly appeared before him. In an instant, his sword pierced the demon lord’s chest.
The demon lord looked down at the blade in disbelief. When his gaze met Lu Li’s again, it had grown fervent.
“Finally, I’ve found you! Our lord—”
Lu Li didn’t give him a chance to continue. With a slight turn of his sword, the figure dissolved into a wisp of demonic energy and vanished.
“Impossible! That’s impossible!”
Having witnessed everything, Meng Xuan couldn’t accept it.
“How could you kill him so easily? The entire Lu family couldn’t defeat him back then. How could he lose to you?”
As if possessed, Meng Xuan stared fixedly at the sword in Lu Li’s hand, his eyes turning bloodshot.
The next moment, he lunged at Lu Li with his own sword, slashing wildly. But Lu Li only raised his hand in a light parry, and Meng Xuan’s sword shattered in two.
Before Meng Xuan could react, Lu Li used his sword to sever his meridians.
Meng Xuan’s body swayed and collapsed.
“Junior brother is truly naive to have believed the words of a demon.”
Lu Li used his sword to lift Meng Xuan’s chin.
This made Meng Xuan’s pupils dilate slightly. His emotions grew even more agitated.
“Lu Li! Don’t get cocky! Your glory is only temporary. When you meet the real demon lord, you— mmph—”
“So noisy.”
Before Meng Xuan could finish, Lu Li withdrew his sword, conjured a rope, and bound him tightly, gagging him as well.
“Senior brother, what’s going on? Why would the demons disguise themselves as the demon lord?”
Ye Ran was thoroughly confused by the situation.
Last time, when they entered the illusion, the demons had been holding the demon lord’s jade pendant, seemingly performing some ritual. Now, they had impersonated the demon lord again.
What exactly were the demons trying to do?
“They’re just trying to lure out the real demon lord.”
Lu Li’s voice answered Ye Ran’s unspoken question.
But soon, another worry arose. “What if the real demon lord really shows up? We should leave quickly.”
Lu Li was still injured. If the true demon lord appeared, they might be in grave danger.
“He won’t appear.”
Lu Li’s tone was utterly certain.
Though Ye Ran didn’t know why Lu Li was so certain that the real demon lord wouldn’t appear, she instinctively chose to believe him.
The weight lifted from her heart. She turned to look at Meng Xuan, now bound like a dumpling.
“In that case, let me settle things with Senior Brother Meng first.”
After all, Meng Xuan was the sect leader’s disciple. Once they got out, she wouldn’t have a chance to take revenge herself. So now was her opportunity.
“Use this, junior sister.”
Just as Ye Ran was about to approach Meng Xuan, Lu Li handed her a black vine.
It was the same kind of vine that had attacked them earlier.
This particular vine wasn’t aggressive, but its surface was covered in sharp barbs, each radiating a dark aura—clearly highly toxic.
“This will do nicely.”
Ye Ran took the vine and nodded approvingly. She then walked toward Meng Xuan.
The rope binding Meng Xuan transformed into an invisible strand of spiritual energy, making it even easier for Ye Ran to swing.
“Junior sister! I was wrong! Please, spare me!”
As Ye Ran drew closer, Meng Xuan writhed on the ground like a silkworm cocoon.
He knew better than anyone how potent the vine’s poison was. The slightest contact would cause unbearable agony, and he didn’t have Lu Li’s tolerance for pain.
“You’re not sorry. You’re just afraid.”
Ye Ran felt no pity. With that, she lashed the vine at Meng Xuan.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream, a red welt appearing on his white robes.
“Don’t you like being hit? Then today, I’ll satisfy you.”
Thinking of the disgusting things he had written, Ye Ran swung harder and harder.
She wasn’t just venting her own anger—she was also avenging the original female lead. In the novel, meeting Meng Xuan was the beginning of the female lead’s tragedy.
Meng Xuan and the side characters had never treated the female lead as a person, but as a tool for release and cultivation.
What was most infuriating was that a few of the side characters had genuinely cared for the female lead at first. But under Meng Xuan’s influence, they began tormenting her during dual cultivation, even enthusiastically engaging in group activities with him.
Meng Xuan was truly the root of all evil.
Ever since receiving the story, Ye Ran had wanted nothing more than to beat Meng Xuan senseless. Now, she finally had her chance.
She swung relentlessly until her arm grew sore. Only then did she stop.
Meng Xuan writhed in agony on the ground, his screams bloodcurdling.
It made Ye Ran think of Lu Li’s wound.
His injury had cut deep enough to expose bone. The poison had seeped into his marrow—far worse than the superficial wounds Meng Xuan now suffered.
Yet Lu Li had shown no sign of pain from beginning to end.
At that thought, Ye Ran looked at Lu Li, an unexpected pang of sympathy in her eyes.
He happened to look back at her at that moment. Meeting her gaze, he froze.
The last time he had seen that expression was centuries ago, when he had just fought a great battle and was severely wounded. He had had no will to live. But then, Ye Ran had appeared.
Small as she was, she had crouched beside him and asked, “Does it hurt?” Her clear eyes had been full of concern.
That was the first time anyone had ever asked him if he was in pain.
Lu Li walked over to Ye Ran and brushed his fingers across her brow. He was about to say that it didn’t hurt when Meng Xuan’s screams suddenly grew louder.
The moment shattered. Lu Li’s expression turned cold.
“So noisy.”
With a wave of his hand, Meng Xuan could no longer make a sound. He could only twist more violently to ease his suffering.
When Lu Li looked back at Ye Ran, his expression softened again.
“Is junior sister tired of swinging?”
“A little.”
Ye Ran flexed her sore hand. The next moment, Lu Li took her hand and gently massaged it.
“Then rest a while and continue.”
At these words, Meng Xuan’s eyes bulged like copper bells. He immediately tried to squirm away.
But an unseen force held him fast, leaving him completely immobile and at their mercy.
“Never mind. I’ve vented enough. Let’s just take him back.”
Ye Ran tossed aside the vine, done with teaching Meng Xuan a lesson.
Conspiring with demons was a grave crime. Even the sect leader couldn’t protect him. Once they brought him back, he would face even worse.
“Whatever junior sister says.”
With that, Lu Li waved his hand, and a crack split open in the void before them.
He tossed Meng Xuan through it first, then took Ye Ran’s hand and stepped inside.
The moment they emerged, Ye Ran and Lu Li were back where the disciples had been attacked by the vines.
The group of disciples, who had been contacting the sect leader for help, were startled by Meng Xuan’s sudden appearance—bound hand and foot—followed closely by Lu Li and Ye Ran.
“Senior Brother Lu!”
The lead disciple rushed excitedly to Lu Li, but upon seeing the pitiful state of Meng Xuan on the ground, he hesitated.
“What happened to Senior Brother Meng…”
“Li’er, what is the meaning of this?”
Just then, Lingxu’s projection spoke.
“To report to Master, Junior Brother secretly conspired with demons. The demon we encountered was an impostor sent to wipe us out.”
Lu Li’s words made the sect leader’s expression shift.
The disciples had just reported that the demon lord had appeared in the illusion and that Lu Li and Meng Xuan had gone missing while pursuing him.
He had been pleased by the demon lord’s appearance.
But it turned out that everything had been orchestrated by his own worthless disciple.
Lingxu was livid. His gaze at Meng Xuan burned with fury.
“Bring this traitor back first.”
Forcing down his rage, Lingxu left only those words before his projection vanished.
Lu Li immediately led all the disciples out of the illusion and rushed back to Wanxian Sect without stopping.
When they arrived, Lingxu and the leaders of the other sects were already waiting in the main hall.
The moment Lu Li handed Meng Xuan over, he produced a memory pearl and projected clear footage of Meng Xuan conspiring with the demons before everyone.
With the evidence undeniable, Meng Xuan had no way to argue, and Lingxu could find no grounds to shield him.
“Lord Ling has truly raised a fine disciple. All our sects mobilized for nothing, only to be toyed with by your disciple.”
As the projection faded, Shen Zuihuan was the first to speak, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
No sooner had he finished than the other sect leaders grew restless, demanding that Lingxu provide an explanation.
Though Lingxu’s expression was thunderous, he had no choice but to deal with Meng Xuan first to appease the crowd.
“Meng Xuan conspired with demons with the intent to harm his fellow disciples—an unforgivable crime. He is to be sent to the Lightning Platform, subjected to a hundred bolts of lightning, and then expelled from the sect.”
Lingxu looked at Meng Xuan with deep disappointment.
Panic finally set in. Meng Xuan struggled and lunged toward Lingxu.
“Master! You can’t do this to me! Everything I did was to become stronger—to help you—”
“Enough!”
Before Meng Xuan could finish, Lingxu waved his hand and sealed his mouth, preventing him from continuing.
“Your crimes are beyond excuse. After you are punished, you will no longer be a disciple of Wanxian Sect.”
With that, Lingxu waved dismissively. “Take him away.”
“Yes.”
The disciples standing by immediately stepped forward and dragged Meng Xuan out of the hall. He stared at Lingxu with the eyes of a dead man.
After a hundred lightning strikes, he would essentially become a cripple. Expelled from the sect and stripped of protection, his future would be worse than death.
Only after Meng Xuan was dragged out did Lingxu turn back to Lu Li.
He studied him for a moment, his gaze finally landing on Lu Li’s shoulder, stained with blood.
“Li’er, you’ve worked hard. You’re injured as well—go back and rest.”
“Thank you, Master. This disciple takes his leave.”
Lu Li bowed to Lingxu, then turned and walked out of the hall.
“Senior Brother Lu!”
Ye Ran had been waiting outside the hall. The moment she saw Lu Li emerge, she rushed over.
But as she drew close, she noticed that Lu Li’s face had grown even paler.
A pang of sympathy welled up in her eyes again. “Senior Brother Lu, does your wound still hurt?”
“Yes.”
Lu Li’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His gaze at Ye Ran carried a hint of pleading.
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