On a side note: if Li Nanting didn't die, there would be no way for him to ascend to the Immortal Realm to cultivate anew. Could he really rely on that aging, decrepit body of his?
A woman clad in a red robe sat with her legs crossed. Her beautiful eyes swept over the surroundings as she sneered, "Wait... what is everyone gathered here today actually trying to do?
"Don't tell me... you think that just with the likes of us, we can go and seize the Great Xia Sword Sect?"
Her tone and demeanor were dripping with contempt, though of course, she included herself among their ranks.
There were a good seven or eight people seated in the room, and the cultivation of every single one of them was at least that of a mid-to-late Body Integration realm expert.
The woman was named Yu Hua, a peak Body Integration realm expert and the Palace Master of Xiaoxiang Palace.
The people around her were likewise masters and figures in power from various ancient clans and sect forces.
A handsome man beside Yu Hua chuckled. "Heh, now that everyone has arrived, shouldn't Hall Master Zhao say whatever he has to say?"
Hearing this, the crowd turned one after another to look toward the man standing beside the host's seat.
The man was clad in a magnificent red-and-gold robe, yet he had not taken a seat.
This man was none other than Zhao Pei, the Hall Master of the ancient sect Blood Blade Hall!
Zhao Pei had a vicious countenance and dark skin. Dressed in such brocade and red robes, he looked rather grotesque and mismatched. Above all, he was exceptionally short.
His facial features were square-set, with a hooked nose and triangular eyes, but even standing straight, he only reached up to Yu Hua's armpit.
Because of this, the glances directed at him by the others bore a faint, well-concealed trace of ridicule.
Yu Hua, on the other hand, had a flicker of wariness in the depths of her beautiful eyes.
Though Zhao Pei looked short with an oversized head, his strength was by no means to be underestimated.
In fact, no more than three people present could even withstand a hundred moves from him!
Standing beside the chair of the host's seat, Zhao Pei was barely half a head taller than the chair itself.
Suddenly!
A man unfamiliar to most of the crowd couldn't help but chuckle aloud at the sight.
In an instant, everyone's eyes snapped onto him!
The atmosphere in the hall abruptly fell into an eerie silence.
The man who had spoken first couldn't resist shooting him a couple of glances, his eyes warning him to apologize immediately.
For this man had been brought along by him, and was a sect master on friendly terms with him.
"Guan Xing! Apologize to Hall Master Zhao this instant!"
The man swallowed hard and was just about to rise—
Boom!!!
A terrifying, blood-red pressure swept through the entire hall in an instant!
Everyone froze instantly, except for Yu Hua, who seemed to have anticipated this long ago.
Intense primal energy fluctuations rippled within three feet of her body as she casually raised her teacup and took a sip.
Glancing sideways at the man, her pearly teeth parted slightly. "Fool."
Shing!!
The man named Guan Xing's expression changed drastically. A longsword materialized in his hand in a flash, sweeping violently behind him!
Clang!!!
Swish!! Pfft!!!
A strangely shaped crescent scimitar instantly knocked the sword flying. With a crazed, bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes, the diminutive Zhao Pei fiercely severed both of the man's arms!
Two flashes of bloody light slashed almost simultaneously, and both arms flew high into the air!
With one hand, Zhao Pei violently clamped onto Guan Xing's neck, three fingers flexing slightly to instantly tear away the flesh of his throat!
Tables and chairs shattered, and with a bang, the bluestone floor cracked and exploded!
Guan Xing's body was hoisted high and slammed ruthlessly against the floor, the blood-red crescent scimitar instantly carving into his mouth.
In an instant, it slit the corners of the man's mouth all the way to his earlobes!
Guan Xing's pupils trembled frantically, his eyes filled with sheer terror.
Stepping onto Guan Xing's chest and crushing his ribs, Zhao Pei sneered, "Like to laugh, do you?"
As he spoke, he reversed the direction of his scimitar and slashed diagonally upward toward the head.
"Wuu!! Wuu-wuu!!"
"Wuu!! Wuu-aaahhh!!!!"
Guan Xing shook his head frantically, his eyes brimming with desperate pleading, praying that the other party would spare him.
Yu Hua knitted her delicate brows and couldn't help saying, "Zhao Pei, don't splatter this room with red and white filth. It's disgusting to look at.
"If you have business, get to the point. If not, I still need to go back and take a bath."
Zhao Pei straightened up and smiled. Raising his hand, the scimitar swept across the man's neck in a flash!
Pfft!!
Blood gushed out like a geyser, splattering everywhere. Zhao Pei stuck out his tongue and licked the blood from the blade, wearing a look of relish.
The man who had spoken first lowered his head, not daring to look at Guan Xing's corpse beside him.
As for the sect forces behind Guan Xing, they would likely have no choice but to swallow their grievances in silence, not daring to confront the Blood Blade Hall!
Zhao Pei returned to the side of the host's seat, reined in his pressure, and swept a sharp gaze across the room.
In a chilling voice, he said, "I called everyone here today to share the meat and drink the broth.
"Presumably you've all heard recently that Li Guanqi of the Great Xia Sword Sect is gravely injured and yet to recover.
"The Red Lotus Sword in his hands, along with the sword coffin, was seized by someone!
"Mad Sword Ye Feng has long been gone, and Cao Yan, Xiao Chen, and the others have disappeared for nearly three years.
"Within the territory of the Great Xia Sword Sect, the seven peaks and Xiu River are all lands of great providence. This has long ceased to be a secret."
The crowd merely listened in silence as Zhao Pei recounted these matters.
The thing was, they already knew all this, yet none dared harbor any designs.
Yu Hua spoke first: "Zhao Pei, don't tell me you called us here today just to attack the Great Xia Sword Sect?
"Heh, after so many years, the Great Xia Sword Sect still stands tall. It's not as though no one has tried before!
"Which of them didn't end up dead or crippled?
"Were the ancient Lu and Zhu clans not strong? Yet in the end, weren't they wiped out just the same?
"If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"
With that, unwilling to waste any more time here, Yu Hua stood up to leave.
Watching the woman rise to leave, Zhao Pei lowered his head and cast his gaze upward at her departing figure, a gleam of greed flashing deep in his eyes.
In an icy voice, he said, "Don't tell me none of you covet anything from the Great Xia Sword Sect!"
Yu Hua turned back and sneered, "Greed requires having the life to enjoy the spoils!
"Li Guanqi clashed head-on against a Mahayana with just one man and one sword. Don't tell me you didn't see the might of that strike.
"Zhao Pei, I know you're strong, but are you confident you could withstand a single strike from Li Guanqi?
"If he had the Red Lotus Sword in hand, that Mahayana clone that day might not even have managed to take the sword coffin!"
The woman's voice was frosty, mocking everyone without the slightest mercy.
In her eyes, even if this entire room of people besieged the Great Xia Sword Sect, they wouldn't be enough for Li Guanqi alone to slaughter!
Yu Hua turned slowly and said in a cold voice, "You all think that now that Li Guanqi has lost his strength, the Great Xia Sword Sect has no one left.
"Yet... who among you dare guarantee that none of the Eight Generals are hidden within the Great Xia Sword Sect?
"Even just the wisp of sword qi that Ye Xuan of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect in the Ethereal Immortal Domain left behind at the Great Xia Sword Sect would be enough to slay all of us!
"Zhao Pei, what do you have to attack the Great Xia Sword Sect with?"
Having said her piece, the woman turned and opened the door without looking back.
Clap, clap, clap!!!
"Splendid. Yu Hua, was it?
"You are very rational."
An unfamiliar voice slowly rang out!
With her back to the door, Yu Hua's entire body went completely rigid.
In her perception, the very instant the man spoke, the entire domain of Blood Blade Hall was abruptly transformed!
Waves of chilling demonic qi rippled outward.
A terrifying pressure bore down, directly rivaling that of the mid-to-late Mahayana realm!
Chapter 1022