The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

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"It's not my fault! It's not my fault! I only heard the rumors from someone else!"

At the foot of a mountain within the ruins, a rogue cultivator, covered in wounds, trembled with fear. His face was pale as he stared at Wang Liyuan and his three companions, whose icy gazes seemed to pierce straight through him. His heart pounded in terror.

"Who said it?"

Wang Liyuan looked down at the quaking rogue cultivator, his tone calm and detached, yet it carried a weight that crushed all resistance.

"It… it was Xu Yan. Xu Yan and his group were the ones spreading the rumors!"

"Please, I beg you, don't kill me! Don't kill me! I have no grudge against the Wang family! I just heard what Xu Yan and the others were saying and carelessly mentioned it to someone else. Who would've thought the rumors would spread so widely, causing you three to be relentlessly hunted by rogue cultivators and family heirs?"

The rogue cultivator spilled the truth, trembling under Wang Liyuan's oppressive aura. He pleaded for his life, hoping that his cooperation would earn him mercy.

"Draw portraits of Xu Yan and his group."

Wang Liyuan's voice was cold, devoid of sympathy.

"Yes! Yes! I studied painting before I entered the path of cultivation. I'll draw them right away!"

With shaking hands, the rogue cultivator pulled out ink and paper, carefully sketching the faces of Xu Yan and the four others under the watchful gazes of Wang Liyuan's group.

"Immortal, here… here are the portraits."

Hands trembling, the rogue cultivator handed the completed sketches to Wang Liyuan.

Wang Liyuan took the portraits and studied them closely. Without hesitation, his sword flashed, severing the rogue cultivator's throat in one clean motion.

"Let's go. We'll deal with these five first and find out who instructed them. Once this matter is resolved, we'll hunt down the two heirs of the Yun Cang Yun family."

Wang Liyuan turned and disappeared in a blur, his companions following close behind.

Within a hidden cave, bursts of laughter echoed off the stone walls.

"We've made quite the haul these past few days!"

"It's all thanks to Daoist Wu's brilliant plan. Without it, we could never have gained these cultivation resources so easily!"

"Indeed, indeed. Daoist Wu is a benefactor to us all!"

"From now on, if Daoist Wu needs anything, I'd gladly risk life and limb to help!"

Xu Yan and his four companions were beaming with joy as they marveled at their spoils—treasures looted from the bodies of dead rogue cultivators and family heirs.

Spirit stones, elixirs, talismans, techniques, Daoist arts, spiritual tools, and rare seeds—their haul was a treasure trove beyond anything they had ever seen since stepping onto the path of cultivation.

They believed that once they left the ruins of the Dan Ding Sect, these resources would allow them to establish their own family or faction within the Yue Kingdom. No longer would they have to live as rogues, constantly on edge, surviving by the edge of their blades.

Seated on a large stone, Yun Yanshui watched them with a faint smile but said nothing.

"Daoist Wu, what's our next move?" Xu Yan asked, his mood turning uneasy after securing his share of the loot. "I've heard that Wang Liyuan isn't dead. He's probably already planning to come after us for revenge."

His words plunged the jubilant atmosphere into an eerie silence. The other four glanced nervously at Yun Yanshui, hoping for a solution to avoid the inevitable vengeance of Wang Liyuan.

"You're right. If Wang Liyuan finds us, we'll be in trouble," Yun Yanshui said, nodding in agreement.

As he spoke, he flicked his wrist, sending a spiritual short blade slicing through the air. It pierced one of the rogue cultivators' heads with lethal precision, splattering blood and brain matter across the cave walls.

The sudden violence froze Xu Yan and the others in place, their expressions twisting in shock and terror.

"Daoist Wu, what are you doing?!" Xu Yan stammered, his voice trembling as he stared at the corpse of his fallen companion.

"Didn't you all say you'd risk life and limb for me? Now, I'm simply asking you to die," Yun Yanshui said with a serene smile.

Without waiting for a reply, he lunged forward, the short blade flashing like a hungry predator. One by one, heads rolled as the cold light of his blade ended their lives.

Thud. Thud.

The bodies of Xu Yan and his companions collapsed into pools of blood. Their fingers twitched briefly before growing still.

Squatting down, Yun Yanshui calmly gathered the cultivation resources Xu Yan's group had looted over the past few days, stuffing them into a storage pouch.

Yun Yanshui dusted himself off and left the cave without looking back.

It wasn't cruelty for cruelty's sake; it was simply the brutal reality of the cultivation world.

Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.

The law of the jungle—only the strong survive.

If Yun Yanshui himself were to fall to a stronger foe one day, he wouldn't harbor resentment. He would only blame his lack of skill.

Besides, Xu Yan and his group had outlived their usefulness.

If left alive, they would undoubtedly reveal his existence to Wang Liyuan when confronted. Dealing with Wang Liyuan's pursuit, while not impossible, would still be a nuisance.

Though Yun Yanshui had no fear of Wang Liyuan given his current cultivation level, he wasn't one to take unnecessary risks. Wang Liyuan was no ordinary cultivator—he was a Wang family prodigy who had comprehended sword intent. Moreover, the celestial fortune Wang Liyuan obtained last year in the ruins remained a mystery. What power did it hold?

Yun Yanshui wasn't entirely sure, and that uncertainty warranted caution.

Eliminating witnesses and hiding in the shadows was the best way to maintain an advantage.

Additionally, with the three great families' heirs, the six clans' heirs, and countless rogue cultivators all coveting Wang Liyuan, why should Yun Yanshui dirty his hands?

Half an hour after Yun Yanshui left the cave, Wang Liyuan and his companions tracked the clues to Xu Yan and his group's hiding place.

"Brother Yuan, the information checks out. Xu Yan and his group were indeed hiding here. But…"

Wang Lilong emerged from the cave after a quick reconnaissance, his expression grave.

"What is it?" Wang Liyuan asked.

"They're all dead."

Wang Lilong reported the grim discovery, his voice heavy.

"The one behind this is a meticulous schemer," Wang Liyuan muttered. "They predicted I would come, anticipated that I would trace my revenge back to Xu Yan and his group, and eliminated them preemptively."

Seeing the freshly killed bodies of Xu Yan's group still warm, Wang Liyuan's eyes flickered. He couldn't help but admire the cunning of the person pulling the strings.

But who was it?

"Brother Yuan, should we keep investigating?" Wang Lilong asked cautiously.

"They're dead. The trail ends here. How do we investigate further?"

"This person is thorough and wouldn't leave any clues for us to trace back to them."

"So… are we giving up?"

"We have no choice. This time, I, Wang Liyuan, must admit defeat," he said reluctantly, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

With a flick of his wrist, Wang Liyuan's sword shot out like a streak of light, slicing through the shadows of the forest.

Thud!

The head of a rogue cultivator lurking nearby was severed cleanly, rolling to the ground.

Startled by the sudden execution, other hidden rogue cultivators revealed themselves from the shadows. They formed a loose encirclement around Wang Liyuan and his companions, their wary gazes fixed on the four figures.

"If we can't find that person, our only option now is to endure. We need to survive long enough to escape the Dan Ding Sect ruins," Wang Liyuan declared coldly, his sword gleaming ominously in his hand.

His icy demeanor and sharp gaze sent a chill through the gathered rogue cultivators. They had trailed Wang Liyuan, waiting for an opportunity to strike, but his deadly precision had forced them into the open.

Without hesitation, Wang Liyuan charged toward the rogue cultivators, sword flashing.

Their pursuit of celestial fortune had turned into a bloody obstacle. With these relentless foes—and the heirs of various families—standing in the way, the Wang family's chances of claiming any treasure seemed slim.

At this point, Wang Liyuan's only goal was to endure until the protective formations at the ruins' outskirts reactivated, allowing him to escape with his siblings safely.

As for avenging himself against Yun Yantian and Yun Yanshuang, that had become a distant priority. Survival was all that mattered now.

On a distant mountain peak, Lu Shanglin stood watching the battle below.

"Interesting. Truly fascinating!" he said, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

"For days, Wang Liyuan and his companions have been on the run, barely finding any time to recover. Yet he still has the skill to hold his own against so many enemies," he remarked, his tone laced with amusement.

"And this time, the rogue cultivators besieging them seem much stronger than the earlier waves, don't they?"

"Look closely," Ye Xiaolin interjected, his eyes gleaming. "Among those fighting Wang Liyuan now, you'll notice many rogue cultivators tied to the Six Clans."

A knowing smile spread across Ye Xiaolin's face.

"Ha! Brilliant! Simply brilliant! It seems even the Six Clans covet Wang Liyuan's celestial fortune. Especially the Tongshan Xia family!"