Clouds, heavy and grey as hammered lead, scraped against the jagged peaks guarding Mount Longhu. Zhao Rui's black cloak whipped around him, the coarse fabric blending with the shadows pooled at the base of the sacred mountain. Beside him, Dun Che adjusted his own hood, grumbling about the restrictive feel. Sun Xiaolan, her face concealed beneath a simple embroidered veil attached to her hood, moved with unnerving silence. The air thrummed, not with serene spiritual energy, but with the raw, chaotic buzz of thousands – a din more suited to a bustling frontier bazaar than the doorstep of the illustrious Celestial Master Sect.
"Thousand demons chew gravel!" Dun Che muttered, his bovine eyes wide as he took in the swarming throng. Spiritual lights flitted like drunken fireflies; hawkers cried rare reagents; clustered groups argued fiercely – it was a roiling sea of cultivators stretching up the slopes. "Zhang Songli's roar summons a tidal wave! Wouldn't have believed it!"
Zhao Rui's response was a low murmur beneath his mask. "He wields the weight of the first mountain. Fear gnaws at every sect's foundations – Lingfeng vanished, Heavenly Sound silenced. Who else holds the banner against the Shadow Demon Sect?" His hidden gaze swept the frantic crowds. "And fear makes eager followers." He noted several other figures similarly shrouded in anonymity – cloaks, illusory veils, spirit beasts perched as masks. Their own disguise was merely part of the current fashion born of distrust.
As they ascended, the disciplined grandeur of Celestial Master enclaves emerged – tiered complexes of polished red wood and glazed golden tiles clinging precariously to sheer cliffs, radiating ancient authority. Their destination lay halfway up: a vast plaza carved directly into the mountain face, a natural amphitheater choked with bodies. Thousands were packed shoulder-to-shoulder on mats, cushions, or simply standing. The air vibrated with speculation, seasoned with incense and the scent of damp stone.
Despite the crowd, one faction commanded immediate attention. Near the front, upon cushions of shimmering spirit-silk, sat the contingent from Shushan. They formed a disciplined island amidst the chaos, radiating an aura of contained power, yet underpinned by a palpable tension. At their apex, seated on a cushioned dais slightly higher than the rest, was Li Jingyan. Resplendent in Shushan's sapphire-blue sect robes, embroidered now with subtle, thrumming sigils of authority, he surveyed the masses. His posture was regal, but Zhao Rui, with his predatory focus, caught the almost imperceptible tightening around his eyes, the faint rigidity in his neck. Power ill-gotten, Zhao Rui thought, icy fury warring with grim observation. He wears it like borrowed armor, worried it will crack.
Around them, conversations swirled like windborne leaves:
"...Zhang Songli means war! The Shadow Demons finally kicked the hornet's nest too hard..."
"...overconfidence! The Shadow Demon Emperor has weathered storms for ten thousand years! Who can truly touch him?"
"...rumors whisper Zhang Songli cultivates the Dragon-Tiger Reversal of Heaven Art! If perfected..."
"Nonsense! No art could stand against three Paramount cultivators united! It's wishful thunder..."
Then, the currents shifted. Whispers began to circle the Shushan group, eyes lingering on the young leader.
"...that boy? Leading Shushan? After Lingfeng? Insanity..."
"Looks barely old enough to manage a small village sect..."
"Do not underestimate," countered a grey-bearded elder nearby. "The Shushan Elders aren't fools. He must possess hidden depths... or connections." Doubt laced his tone.
He possesses murder, Zhao Rui thought coldly, his hand unconsciously resting near the hilt of the concealed Heavenly Dao Blade within his cloak. Sun Xiaolan flinched almost imperceptibly beside him as Li Jingyan's name drifted past.
A ripple of deference spread through the crowd as five figures descended the final steps from the highest temples. Clad in the deep, imperial yellow robes signifying the Celestial Masters' Inner Council – Zhang Songli's five most formidable junior brothers. An expectant hush fell over sections of the plaza. They moved with effortless grace, power radiating from them like heat from stones.
They went directly to the Shushan contingent. The leader, a man with a waterfall of silver beard and eyes like chips of obsidian, clasped his hands. "Sect Leader Li," his voice resonated clearly, carrying over the murmurs. "Shushan Sword Sect gracing this humble peak in such force brings immense prestige. The unity against the darkness heartens us all."
Li Jingyan stood, performing a perfect, formal Shushan bow. "Master Lingfeng devoted his life to combating the Shadow Demon Sect," he replied, his voice ringing with convincing gravitas. "Though fate has veiled his path for now, Shushan will never falter in its duty. His will remains our command." The words 'fate veiled his path' tasted like ash in Zhao Rui's mouth. Sun Xiaolan's knuckles tightened on her sleeve.
The Elders exchanged satisfied nods. This pledge was precisely what Zhang Songli needed – Shushan's prestige bolstering his alliance. Pleasantries exchanged, they turned to greet other powerful figures scattered around the plaza's edge.
"Elders! Honored Elders! A moment, please!" The shout sliced through the retreating cordiality. It came from within the Shushan ranks. A burly disciple, face weathered by time and cultivation, beard thick and streaked with grey, pushed forward. Li Lu Yun. An old guard, nearing the Soul Harmony stage – a solid senior disciple, not known for rashness.
Li Jingyan's head snapped around. Fury, sharp and sudden, flared in his eyes, quickly veiled. "Li Lu Yun! Mind your place! Return to your position!" The command cracked like a whip.
Li Lu Yun ignored him. He strode into the open space before the dais, turned, and swept a deep, respectful bow encompassing the entire assembly and the astonished Celestial Master Elders. "This lowly one," his voice, deep and resonant, carried effortlessly, "Li Lu Yun of Shushan Sword Sect, implores the indulgence of the Esteemed Elders of the Celestial Masters, and all gathered Patriarchs and fellow cultivators, to hear words heavy as mountain stones!"
Silence, deeper than before, descended. Every eye fixed on the lone Shushan disciple challenging his own newly-minted leader. Anticipation crackled in the air.
Li Lu Yun pivoted, his gaze locking onto Li Jingyan, burning with accusation. "Li Jingyan!" His voice thundered, echoing off the cliff faces. "You wolf-hearted serpent! How dare you invoke the Master's name? How dare you sit where he sat?" He pointed a trembling finger, righteous fury pouring from him. "He raised you! Cared for you! Imparted every secret, every technique! And you? You repaid millennia of devotion with venom! Poisoned his trust! Poisoned his tea! Drained his lifeblood cultivation!" He spat the words. "Regicide! Master-slayer! Does Heaven's Retribution not terrify your blackened soul?"
The effect was instantaneous, devastating. A collective gasp swept the plaza, a physical shockwave rocking the seated masses. Disbelief warred with horrified fascination. Poisoned? Drained? The words conjured images too terrible, too taboo to immediately accept, yet... The disappearance was unnatural. Lingfeng wouldn't have abandoned them without word. The logic, cold and brutal, began to crystallize – only utter trust betrayed could fell a Paramount cultivator. Eyes swiveled from Li Lu Yun's passionate fury to Li Jingyan's suddenly pale face, searching for cracks.
Li Jingyan's mask of control trembled. He forced a harsh, disbelieving laugh, but it sounded brittle. "Madness!" he declared, injecting righteous indignation into his voice. "Sheer, envious madness! Elders," he appealed to the nearest Shushan Council members, his gaze sweeping the crowd, "do you give creedence to the ravings of a bitter junior bypassed for leadership? Who among you can testify against me?" He stood straighter, throwing his shoulders back. "By the Heavenly Dao, the Jade Emperor, and the stars themselves, I swear! If I committed this atrocity, may Celestial Fire consume me where I stand!" He leveled a finger back at Li Lu Yun, his voice sharp as shattered ice. "Slander without proof is wind! Produce your evidence, Li Lu Yun, if you possess any shred beyond the venom in your tongue!"
His performance was masterful – the aggrieved heir, the victim of a smear campaign. Hesitation flickered through the crowd again. Accusations without evidence? A senior disciple passed over?
Li Lu Yun's weathered face held no fear, only grim resolution. "The serpent hides its venom," he countered, his voice dropping lower, charged with bitter certainty. "He acted in deepest shadows. Yet," his gaze swept the watching masses, "even shadows can be pierced. I witnessed it. I saw him bind the husk of our Master." Murmurs rose again, louder. "I remained silent out of fear! Fear of his power! Fear of his allies! But here, now, beneath the eyes of ten thousand cultivators, beneath the gaze of Heaven itself?" He drew a ragged breath, pointing directly at Li Jingyan. "The evidence stands not just in my words, but in a prison! Master Lingfeng is not dead! His emptied shell rots in chains, trapped within the Penance Peak Caverns of Shushan! Li Jingyan covets the secret of our Sect's Divine Sword – the Fury of Tai E – a prize he tortures from our Lord's broken silence!" His voice rose to a roar. "DOUBT ME? THEN LET US RETURN TO SHUSHAN! UNSEAL THE CAVERN! WITNESS THE TRUTH YOURSELVES!"
The dam broke. Silence shattered into a roar of collective outrage. The sheer, horrifying specificity struck like lightning. A place named? The Fury of Tai E? Master Lingfeng alive, a tortured prisoner? It could no longer be gossip or envy. This was testimony.
The Shushan Elders closest to Li Jingyan surged to their feet, faces ashen with shock and burgeoning fury. "Li Jingyan!" The lead Councilor's voice trembled, not with age, but with volcanic rage. "IS THIS TRUE?!"
The accusations battered against Li Jingyan like physical blows. His aura flared defensively, an involuntary reaction. His hands clenched at his sides, knuckles stark white against the rich blue fabric. The careful facade cracked, revealing a heartbeat of pure, unadulterated panic in his wide, darting eyes. The sheer weight of ten thousand condemning stares threatened to crush him.
Away from the epicenter, cloaked deep in shadows at the plaza's edge, Zhao Rui remained motionless. Only his eyes, dark pits within the mask's depths, tracked the unfolding storm. The air around him felt charged, thick with impending violence and ancient taboos shattered. Beside him, he felt the tremor run through Sun Xiaolan – a shudder of horror and vindication. Dun Che emitted a low, dangerous rumble deep in his chest, like a gathering avalanche beneath the mountain's skin. The stage was set. The crime laid bare. Li Jingyan was cornered. Now, only the reckoning remained. The ancient plaza held its breath.