The red silk and gauze hanging in the Heaven-Connecting Hall were shredded by the sword energy of “Hundred Flower Kill,” resembling fresh blood splattered across the sky.
Before anyone could react, the two figures flashed past and rushed out of the hall.
Only Wei Zhan Yang’s screams echoed in the great hall: “Save me—”
“Zhan Yang!”
“Hong Zhu!”
True Void and Master Wei moved fastest, intercepting the two on Passing Water Bridge.
The guests erupted in an uproar, rushing out of the hall.
Jade tables were overturned, wine cups trampled and shattered. The solemn and festive hall instantly became a scene of chaos.
People rushed past the crestfallen Immortal Miao Yan, none caring to comfort her, not even noticing her.
Amidst the chaos, Song Qian Ji rose leisurely, swaying slightly.
Ji Chen and Meng He Ze supported him, one on each side.
Song Qian Ji struggled unwillingly: “What are you doing? Do I look drunk?”
Lin Fei Yuan leaned in and asked: “Then do you understand farming?”
Song Qian Ji: “Of course I do!”
Lin Fei Yuan waved her hand: “He’s completely drunk, carry him away!”
Ji Chen: “Certainly!”
When sober, Song Qian Ji would modestly say he only knew the basics, that the skilled farmers in Thousand Channels were his teachers and more proficient than him. Thus, Thousand Channels valued agriculture, and cultivators never looked down on ordinary people.
Now, being carried away, he called back:
“Friend Zi Ye, something’s happening outside. Aren’t you going to have a look?”
Zi Ye Wen Shu said nothing, silently standing up.
The Blue Cliff scholars gave Song Qian Ji grateful, friendly smiles. If their supervisor didn’t want to go, they couldn’t go watch the commotion either.
Most of the guests rushing toward Passing Water Bridge shared this “eager to watch the drama” mentality.
On the betrothal day, the bride draws her sword and chases her fiancé.
This was an extraordinary event not seen in the cultivation world for a thousand years—what complex love and hatred must lie behind it?
The bridge was covered with brocade, like a rainbow.
At the bridge’s end, a peach tree bloomed magnificently in the snow, its petals falling in profusion.
The sea of clouds surged, and wind and mist gathered and dispersed.
Wei Zhan Yang was shielded behind Master Wei, hastily swallowing a blood-stopping spiritual pill.
His crown was lost somewhere, and he’d lost one shoe. His hair was disheveled, one hand pressed tightly against his wound, and his ceremonial robe was covered in blood.
He shouldn’t have been in such a sorry state.
Chen Hong Zhu’s sword strike had been too unexpected, awakening him from a beautiful dream that was about to come true.
Why? They had been reaching an understanding.
True Void also tried to stop Chen Hong Zhu, but she held the sword to her neck, her eyes reddened: “Stay back, all of you!”
“Hong Zhu, what are you doing?!” True Void was furious and anxious, feeling utterly humiliated. “Put down Hundred Flower Kill!”
Chen Hong Zhu remained unmoved, drawing a thin line of blood across her neck with the long sword.
The Hua Wei Sect members were instantly alarmed.
Wei Zhan Yang’s thoughts shifted—since they had already torn open the facade, it was a matter of who could strike first: “Chen Hong Zhu, you want to kill me so you can be with him, right?”
He raised his hand to point. The crowd at the bridgehead was shocked, all afraid of being tainted, scrambling backward like a receding tide.
Song Qian Ji and his group, who remained motionless, were revealed like reef rocks.
Wei Zhan Yang’s finger was pointing directly at Song Qian Ji.
A wave of whispers arose. No one knew what had happened between Chen and Wei in the back hall, but the situation was clearly critical, and anything could happen now.
The matter of Chen Hong Zhu releasing the outer disciples, though suppressed by the Hua Wei Sect, couldn’t stop rumors from spreading.
Li Ying felt inexplicably nervous: “Hey, this is between your Wei family and Hua Wei Sect. Don’t spew blood to implicate others.”
Wei Zhan Yang opportunely coughed up a mouthful of blood, quite fitting the scene.
Song Qian Ji stood beneath the peach tree: “Why is everyone looking at me?”
“Because you’re nice to look at,” Lin Fei Yuan said irritably, thinking he was truly drunk and unafraid that the old scoundrel True Void might become enraged and draw his sword.
Chen Hong Zhu laughed coldly: “It is I who wants to kill you. What does this have to do with anyone else?”
Wei Zhan Yang peered out from behind Master Wei and shouted: “You—you dare say this isn’t for Song Qian Ji?”
Chen Hong Zhu looked around, facing countless suspicious faces.
She laughed to the sky, throwing down the golden crown from her head: “I dare!”
The exquisite golden crown fell to the ground, a thousand pearls scattering.
True Void had never seen his daughter like this, as if she cared for nothing and put nothing in her eyes.
He realized the situation was completely out of control, his face turning from red to white: “Hong Zhu, calm down!”
The Hua Wei Sect members called out one after another:
“Young Lady, stop this nonsense.”
“Let’s talk things through. Put down the sword first, don’t hurt yourself.”
Chen Hong Zhu’s long hair fluttered in the wind. She raised her left hand, and with the sharp sword in her right, sliced across her tender white palm, which instantly gushed with fresh blood:
“I, Chen Hong Zhu, swear by my Dao’s heart, from this day forward I dedicate myself to the Dao, devoting my life to the sect, never to marry!”
Hot blood spilled onto Passing Water Bridge, and the five-colored carp in the sea of clouds quickly gathered.
They fed on flesh and blood, jumping up densely, making a hissing sound like snakes sticking out their tongues in their eagerness, competing to devour her fresh blood.
What was once a beautiful scene now only made people shiver and feel nauseated.
A deathly silence fell over the scene, and no one wanted to watch the spectacle anymore.
“What nonsense are you talking about? This is not a joking matter!” True Void shouted.
Chen Hong Zhu smiled desolately.
“Since you don’t believe me, I dare to swear. In this life, I will not join in marriage with Song Qian Ji, nor will I meet with him in private. Otherwise, may I die a terrible death, my corpse falling into the Cloud Sea Formation, to be devoured by ten thousand carp, not a hair remaining!” The young woman raised her voice: “My words are irrevocable. May all heroes of the world bear witness!”
Echoes resounded across Hua Wei Mountain, and every disciple heard them.
True Void trembled all over, extremely furious.
He wanted to rebuke, to roar, but tears streamed down his face first: “Hong Zhu, ah, Hong Zhu, how can you be so confused…”
He beat his chest and stamped his feet, like a failed father.
Yuan Qing Shi’s voice trembled: “Junior Sister, why go to such lengths?”
“Hundred Flower Kill” had tasted blood today, stained with the blood of two people.
Chen Hong Zhu’s long skirt fluttered like a raging fire, her back straight, her expression resolute.
This was her betrothal feast. She was not a supporting character in someone else’s story.
She was today’s protagonist.
The Hua Wei Sect members wanted to persuade her, but their words were caught in their throats. They turned their heads slightly away, unable to bear the sight.
On Passing Water Bridge, only sighs remained.
Until Master Wei spoke angrily: “If you want to dedicate yourself to the Dao, then do so! But chasing and trying to kill my son—what reason is there? With representatives from all sects in the cultivation world present, your Hua Wei Sect must explain!”
Wei Zhan Yang hadn’t expected Chen Hong Zhu to go to such extremes. Seeing he couldn’t implicate Song Qian Ji, and that the guests were intimidated by Chen Hong Zhu.
He steeled himself, pounding the railing of Passing Water Bridge, tears flowing:
“Hong Zhu, though we haven’t known each other long, I can honestly say I’ve treated you with sincerity. Why are you so heartless?”
His wound was still bleeding, his appearance pitiful, and people vaguely began to feel sorry for him.
“Miss Chen has indeed failed in righteousness this time. With today’s wedding change, where does this leave the elders of both families?”
“Even if she doesn’t want to marry, she shouldn’t draw her sword to kill her fiancé…”
He Qing Qing stepped forward but was pulled back by Meng Zhi, who asked in a low voice:
“Head Senior Sister, what are you doing?”
The female cultivators of the Celestial Sound Sect looked concerned, all shaking their heads slightly at He Qing Qing.
“Head Senior Sister, this matter has nothing to do with you.”
With He Qing Qing’s help earlier, the Celestial Sound Sect had not lost face.
Therefore, they were grateful to He Qing Qing and didn’t want her to wade into these murky waters, becoming tainted.
A cold wind blew across He Qing Qing’s face, bringing a faint smell of blood and a few blood-stained peach petals.
She looked past the many figures, only able to see Chen Hong Zhu’s fluttering skirt.
She felt it was absurd.
What kind of cultivation world was this?
What kind of era?
For a female cultivator to prove she had no private feelings, she had to resort to such a bloody method.
She could only swear to dedicate herself to the Dao, and only then would her father, her senior brothers, and the elders who watched her grow up truly believe her.
He Qing Qing murmured: “I don’t want to live in such a world.”
“What did the Head Senior Sister say?”
He Qing Qing suddenly broke free from Meng Zhi’s hand and strode out from the crowd.
When she spoke, everyone looked at her.
Because she said: “Young Master Wei, that’s not what you said last night.”
Wei Zhan Yang’s face instantly turned deathly pale. Two lines of tears still hung on his face, but his “sincerity” had become a joke, appearing somewhat comical:
“Immor-Immortal Qing Qing!”
“You said you didn’t like her, that you wanted to break off the engagement, and even said you wanted to marry me. Have you forgotten?” He Qing Qing smiled.
The crowd erupted again.
“What’s going on here?”
“The Celestial Sound Sect’s Head Senior Sister is involved too?! Two families have become three!”
Chen Hong Zhu had just made a poisonous vow that she had no connection with Song Qian Ji, so all spearheads turned toward Wei Zhan Yang.
Female cultivators found it particularly intolerable.
Feng Zi Yi coldly snorted: “So it was you who was heartless and unfaithful, still flirting with others the night before your engagement. If it were me, I’d set a tiger on you too.”
Li Ying said: “Miss Chen has a fierce temperament. How could she endure such an insult? Of course, she wanted to kill him!”
The Celestial Sound Sect female cultivators felt embarrassed and unwilling to show their faces, only desperately sending mental messages and making gestures for He Qing Qing to come back.
Chen Hong Zhu looked at He Qing Qing in shock, not expecting her to stand up.
He Qing Qing nodded slightly to her.
Chen Hong Zhu’s nose tingled, almost in tears, but she said loudly: “Everyone, today I didn’t just try to kill him. It was Wei Zhan Yang who betrayed me first. He and I cannot coexist!”
“Good!” Feng Zi Yi shouted, “That’s the Chen Hong Zhu I know!”
Everyone cheered.
He Qing Qing’s smile was radiant, like ice and snow melting, but Wei Zhan Yang felt a chill over his body, looking around in panic: “I, I…”
He quickly transmitted: “Qing Qing, I was lying to her. Please don’t speak now, or we’ll both be in trouble!”
Master Wei drew his sword and shouted: “Enchantress! Stop your bewitching words!”
He Qing Qing continued smiling as if she hadn’t heard the transmission or seen the sword, advancing two steps with ease: “Do you dare swear you never said that? Miss Chen has made a poisonous vow. Why don’t you make one too? Let’s see which of you fulfills it first.”
Wei Zhan Yang retreated step by step: “This… oaths should not be taken lightly.”
“If you don’t dare, I do!” He Qing Qing suddenly turned cold, turning to face the crowd at the bridgehead with a stern voice, “If I deceive you all today, then let me…”
Suddenly, something flew over everyone’s heads, leaving only a shadow.
With a “crack,” three feet behind He Qing Qing, two broken peach branches fell.
The flower branch was broken in half as if cut by a sharp sword.
True Void shouted angrily: “Wei Shi De, do you want to silence witnesses by murder?”
Master Wei snorted coldly: “What does this have to do with me?”
He Qing Qing looked past the crowd, just in time to see Song Qian Ji withdrawing his hand into his sleeve.
Ji Chen exclaimed: “What happened?”
Song Qian Ji: “The ‘Silent Formless Sword’ is Master Wei’s ultimate skill.”
Meng He Ze: “How did Senior Brother Song detect it from so far away?”
Song Qian Ji patted the peach tree: “Because all the flowers on Hua Wei Mountain have bloomed.”
“Is Senior Brother talking nonsense while drunk?” Meng He Ze didn’t understand the connection between these two things. In a moment’s distraction, Song Qian Ji had already walked out from the crowd.
“Ah, where is Senior Brother Song going?”