Chapter 42: Dispatching Troops to Suppress the Rebellion (Part 2)

With the execution of Hong Xiaotian, the entire Sword Sect lost its backbone. The remaining elders and disciples saw no possibility of victory, and consequently, they either abandoned their resistance or were effortlessly cut down. Although Jiang Qian had previously instructed her sect disciples to show no mercy, seeing so many members of the Sword Sect surrender and give up fighting, they spared their lives and instead sealed everyone's cultivation bases.

High up in the void, the Nine-Spirited Great Sage observed the impressive performances of both Jiang Qian and Li Yuanyuan, and could not help nodding in approval.

"That girl Jiang Qian excels in formation arts. Although the First Elder of the Sword Sect possesses the cultivation base of the early Saint Realm, under the suppression of the Heavenly Dao Formation, he could only unleash half of his combat strength. On the contrary, Jiang Qian can utilize her formation for augmentation, driving her combat power directly up to the fifth heaven of the Saint Realm. Such defying combat prowess is simply beyond the reach of ordinary sect disciples."

"Li Yuanyuan's Glazed Saint Body is also quite remarkable. Although she has not yet mastered the 'Mystical Arts of the Heavenly Dao' taught to her by the master, judging from her ability to casually mimic her opponents' attack strengths, this girl has likely reached the minor accomplishment stage of the technique. Only two months have passed, and her Glazed Saint Body is truly terrifying."

Meanwhile, Li Yuanyuan was witnessing a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life. Under Jiang Qian's leadership, the disciples of the Morning Light Sect began dismantling and carrying away the Sword Sect's buildings and properties. Previously, she had only heard rumors that the Morning Light Sect operated like a band of hardened bandits, but seeing it now, the reputation was entirely well-deserved. No matter what, she had once been the Empress of the Dayong Dynasty; asking her now to strip away every brick and tile of the Sword Sect was something she genuinely found difficult to bring herself to do.

Seeing Li Yuanyuan standing unmoved, Jiang Qian kindly reminded her, "Junior Sister Yuanyuan, what are you standing there daydreaming for? This is the sect's rule! If you don't take anything with you, you won't receive any rewards when we return to the sect. Our sect has a rule: whenever we go out on an expedition, we must bring things back along the way. The more you bring back, the more contribution points you earn, and the more treasures you can redeem. Don't think that just because you are the Master's personal disciple, you can get whatever you want from the sect without contribution points right now. Once your one-year novice protection period expires, redeeming treasures from the sect will require a massive amount of points."

"Senior Sister, why didn't you tell me earlier!" Only then did Li Yuanyuan understand why all the sect disciples were busy hammering, prying, and carrying off everything portable from the Sword Sect. She shot Jiang Qian a slightly reproachful glance before immediately diving into the work herself.

Seeing that Li Yuanyuan had finally caught on, Jiang Qian smiled faintly and resumed her own tasks. The onlookers on the sidelines reacted as if this were an entirely ordinary sight—had not the Shura Sect been completely dismantled and carried away in the exact same manner?

Meanwhile, at the Heavenly Yuan Sect.

Qin Tian led the sect disciples directly to the Heavenly Yuan Sect and brazenly demanded that Shi Yigong come out and meet his doom. Shi Yigong never expected that the one coming to cause trouble today would merely be a little brat under ten years of age with the cultivation base of the peak Emperor Realm. He was so infuriated that he laughed out loud.

"Stinking brat, you are still wet behind the ears! Where do you get the audacity to come and shout challenges at my Heavenly Yuan Sect? I advise you to hurry back and drink your mother's milk; otherwise, if I end up beating you until you cry, our Heavenly Yuan Sect has no milk to feed you!" Considering Qin Tian to be nothing more than an ignorant child who knew nothing of the immensity of heaven and earth, Shi Yigong did not deign to argue with him further.

The members of the Heavenly Yuan Sect were amused by their sect master's words and burst into loud laughter directed at Qin Tian. Hearing them dare to mock him, Qin Tian said coldly, "Laugh, go ahead and laugh all you want! You won't be laughing much longer!"

"Disciples of the Morning Light Sect, obey my command! Follow me to conquer the Heavenly Yuan Sect!"

"Understood, Senior Brother Qin Tian!" The disciples acknowledged the order, drew their treasured swords, and closely followed Qin Tian's footsteps to assault the Heavenly Yuan Sect.

The Heavenly Yuan Sect hurriedly activated its grand protective barrier, but such a formation was simply incapable of withstanding the top-tier divine artifact in Qin Tian's possession—the Exquisite Array Pagoda. As he channeled the pagoda, wave after wave of array-based attacks bombarded the sect's protective barrier with ferocious intensity. Initially, Shi Yigong thought their defensive barrier could hold out for a while, but suddenly a cry for help arrived from the Sword Sect. By then, he was like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river, barely able to save himself, and he flat out rejected the request.

Next, Qin Tian produced another nine top-tier Exquisite Array Pagodas. Once the sect disciples infused the pagodas with spiritual energy, they functioned akin to nine massive cannons unleashing a frantic bombardment upon the Heavenly Yuan Sect. In less than an hour, cracks began to form on the enemy's protective barrier. This shocked the members of the Heavenly Yuan Sect into a frenzy. They resisted with all their might, but the array attacks from the Morning Light Sect's pagodas were far too formidable. After yet another hour, the Heavenly Yuan Sect's grand barrier finally failed to hold, shattering amidst a violent, thunderous explosion.

At that moment, Qin Tian took the lead, wielding the quasi-imperial-grade Demon-Subduing Sword to launch a fierce assault on Shi Yigong. Although his opponent was an expert in the third heaven of the Saint Realm, Qin Tian was a grandmaster of the Sword Dao and wielded a quasi-imperial weapon. This particular Demon-Subduing Sword differed from ordinary ones because Liao Chen, wishing to augment Qin Tian's combat power, had gifted him one sixth-grade mighty stone, two sixth-grade five-elements stones, and one sixth-grade wind-walking stone—a total of seven sixth-grade gemstones inlaid into the blade, more than doubling its might.

Shi Yigong had originally believed that relying on his sect's quasi-imperial-grade Wind-Thunder Fan, he could steadily suppress his opponent. Yet the moment their weapons clashed, his Wind-Thunder Fan was sent flying by a single strike from the Demon-Subduing Sword. Shi Yigong fared no better; a tremendous shockwave traveled up his arm, and he suddenly heard a crisp "crack" as his entire arm lost all sensation.

"How is this possible! My arm has been shattered!" A terrified Shi Yigong stared at the little brat Qin Tian, no longer daring to look down upon him in the slightest.

Qin Tian was in no rush to finish him off. He sneered, "Shi Yigong, why aren't you laughing anymore? Weren't you laughing quite happily just a moment ago? Go on, give your young master another laugh!"

This was a blatant, unadulterated provocation, yet Shi Yigong found himself completely unable to laugh. At that moment, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a live fly. His opponent was not even ten years old, while he was an old monster who had lived for over a millennium; yet after a single exchange, one of his arms had been crippled. How was he ever supposed to face others in the future? Facts were facts, however. Facing such an unmatched prodigy, he quickly discarded his contempt and retrieved a healing medicinal pill to rapidly repair his injuries.

Like a cat toying with a mouse, Qin Tian showed no haste in continuing his attack. Seeing that his opponent's injuries had recovered, he leisurely spoke, "Shi Yigong, have your wounds healed? Hurry up and fight your young master for another three hundred rounds!"

High above the clouds, the Demonic Ape and the Golden Roc, both Great Sages, expressed immense admiration for Qin Tian's arrogance. Even when they were in the Emperor Realm, they would never have dared to provoke a third-heaven Saint Realm expert in such a manner, yet Qin Tian had pulled it off with utter ease. Only then did the two Great Sages understand why Qin Tian had insisted on leading the assault on the Heavenly Yuan Sect entirely on his own—the boy's foundation and confidence were simply too formidable, and his future achievements would undoubtedly surpass those of ordinary mortals.

As for Shi Yigong, although his injuries were healed, he no longer dared to fight to the death in the face of Qin Tian's provocations. In the ensuing clash, Qin Tian completely suppressed him, beating him until he had not a shred of fighting spirit left. Before long, Shi Yigong was injured once more. By then, his spiritual energy was entirely exhausted, and recovering would take time. Receiving word that the Sword Sect had already been successfully conquered, Qin Tian decided to show no further mercy to Shi Yigong, ending the fellow's life with a single sword strike.

Seeing their second senior brother display such unmatched valor, the rest of the Morning Light Sect disciples had their fighting spirit ignited to the utmost. They threw themselves fearlessly into a fierce onslaught against the elders and disciples of the Heavenly Yuan Sect. Although the Morning Light Sect disciples sustained some injuries, they were well-supplied with healing pills, resulting in zero casualties. The Heavenly Yuan Sect, however, was thoroughly doomed. As the saying goes, when an army collapses, it is like a landslide; facing the overwhelming offensive of the Morning Light Sect, they suffered heavy casualties. In less than two hours, the Heavenly Yuan Sect surrendered unconditionally.

Faced with this situation, Qin Tian did not issue an order for a total massacre; after all, once these people had lost their will to fight, executing them would serve no purpose. After sealing the cultivation bases of everyone from the Heavenly Yuan Sect, they were all escorted to the mineral veins administered by the Morning Light Sect to serve as miners. To such an outcome, the remnants of the Heavenly Yuan Sect offered not a single trace of resistance.