Chapter 71: Lu Kaishan is Dead
Lu Kaishan's hand weakly loosened, the fiery red long sword slipping from his grip. His body swayed before collapsing to his knees in front of Xu Yang. He was dead.
In an instant, both the soldiers below and the disciples of Tianlan Sect were stunned.
The dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators exchanged confused glances, their faces filled with disbelief. For a moment, they didn't know how to react.
"What… what's happening here?" one of the Nascent Soul cultivators muttered, still in shock.
"Did Lord Lu Kaishan… did he die?" another Nascent Soul cultivator asked, equally unable to believe it.
Lu Kaishan was a formidable expert at the Cave Heaven Realm, an invincible force on the battlefield. But today, he had mysteriously died in this remote and impoverished Qi State.
It felt as if they were trapped in a nightmare.
"Should we go up and avenge Lord Lu Kaishan?" At this moment, one of the Nascent Soul cultivators asked, his expression still bewildered.
"Are you out of your mind? Lu Kaishan was a Cave Heaven cultivator. If he couldn't defeat him, what chance do we have? Going up there is just courting death!" another Nascent Soul cultivator snapped.
After a brief discussion, they exchanged glances and fled in a hurry.
It was really just a lot of noise with little substance. Just minutes ago, they surrounded Tianlan Sect with overwhelming momentum. But now, their commander, Lu Kaishan, was dead, and they were running for their lives like stray dogs.
Xu Yang turned his gaze to the Tianlan Sect, engulfed in flames.
Fortunately, Xu Yang had spared some of his spiritual energy to protect the Tianlan Sect disciples. Though the losses appeared substantial, at least none of the Tianlan Sect disciples were killed or severely injured.
With a wave of his hand, a surge of blue spiritual energy shot into the sky, crackling like lightning.
Boom… The spiritual energy exploded in mid-air, sending out a white shockwave that spread like ripples.
The surrounding clouds were torn apart the moment they came into contact with the shockwave.
In no time, a torrential downpour began, extinguishing the raging fire.
However, by this point, Tianlan Sect had been reduced to ashes, with only broken walls and ruins remaining.
Xu Yang's face darkened. He had been careless, allowing Lu Kaishan to cause such destruction to Tianlan Sect.
Looking at the fleeing soldiers, Xu Yang leapt into the air and landed in front of them. His large hands waved, sending out violent spiritual energy that shattered a group of cultivators.
"You think you can just leave after all this?" Xu Yang's calm voice echoed.
His eyes swept across the crowd, landing on the dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators.
Without hesitation, Xu Yang appeared in front of them and spoke coldly, "If you don't give me an explanation today, none of you will leave."
The Nascent Soul cultivators were frozen in place, nearly terrified to death.
Just moments ago, Xu Yang had killed Lu Kaishan, a Cave Heaven cultivator, with a single punch. This left a lasting impression in their minds. Xu Yang had obliterated Lu Kaishan with ease, so they knew he could do the same to them.
"Stop right there!" Xu Yang's voice rang out again, this time with a deadly undertone. "If any of you try to run, I'll send you straight to the underworld!"
Though Xu Yang's voice was not loud, everyone heard it clearly, especially the Nascent Soul cultivators who were directly under his menacing gaze. How could they dare move?
"My lord, this is all a misunderstanding! We came here not by our own will but under Lu Kaishan's command!" one of the Nascent Soul cultivators quickly said, panic evident in his voice.
"That's right! The Emperor ordered us to return to the imperial city, but Lu Kaishan forced us to come here! We couldn't defy him!" another one added in a similar tone.
The Nascent Soul cultivators were quick to shift the blame onto Lu Kaishan.
Xu Yang listened silently. After hearing their words, he spoke coldly, "Is that all? If you've finished, then go fix the damage you caused."
The Nascent Soul cultivators stood dumbfounded, not understanding what Xu Yang meant.
Xu Yang pointed toward the ruined Tianlan Sect and said, "You caused this destruction, and now you think you can just leave? Do you think it's that simple? If you can't fix it, then you don't get to leave."
Xu Yang's eyes glinted with amusement as he smiled at them.
In fact, the old Tianlan Sect had already been quite dilapidated due to the passage of time. The fire had cleaned it out, and now it could be rebuilt even better.
Besides, the destruction wasn't in vain. With over ten thousand people available to help rebuild, the work would be done in no time.
Upon hearing this, the Nascent Soul cultivators breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as their lives were spared, they were more than willing to do anything else.
…
The Nascent Soul cultivators, under Xu Yang's threat, began to pressure the Golden Core cultivators below them.
The Golden Core cultivators, in turn, rallied the ordinary soldiers.
Soon, over ten thousand soldiers worked feverishly to rebuild Tianlan Sect.
Though these soldiers were ordinary, even the lowest among them had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. With several hundred Golden Core cultivators and dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators assisting, the reconstruction progressed quickly.
By the end of the first day, the rough outline of the sect had been restored.
By the second day, everything was completely rebuilt.
Tianlan Sect was now completely renewed.
As for the Nascent Soul cultivators, Xu Yang believed they were right in their claims. They were simply brought here by Lu Kaishan, and the destruction wasn't entirely their fault.
Thus, Xu Yang let them go.
Of course, before releasing them, Xu Yang made sure to loot them first, gaining an impressive amount of treasure.
Looking at the pile of valuables, Xu Yang couldn't help but chuckle.
Lu Kaishan really was a generous man. Not only did he send his head from miles away, but he also brought so many treasures...
Xu Yang couldn't help but shake his head and laugh at the absurdity of it.
Just then, Xu Yang's eyes caught a faint black shadow flickering quickly across a corner.
His gaze sharpened. "Didn't expect you to be so good at hiding!"
With that, Xu Yang chased after the shadow.
The shadow, as if sensing danger, darted toward a specific direction.
"Just as I thought. You're skilled in the dark arts, almost got away from me," Xu Yang said, increasing his speed to catch up.
This faint black shadow was the fragment of Lu Kaishan's divine sense that had escaped.
When a cultivator reaches the Golden Core stage, their physical body can die, but their Golden Core can escape, allowing them to reincarnate. Once they reach the Nascent Soul stage, even if their physical body is destroyed, the Nascent Soul can escape, allowing for rebirth with most of their previous power intact.