Sword Rising: The Five Elements, Chapter 106: The Awakening of Insects Gathering
Awakening of Insects.
The first spring thunder arrives, rousing the dormant insects beneath the earth.
The climate warms, and the rains increase.
Farmers who endured the winter shed their cotton-padded coats, stretch their limbs, and prepare for the year’s new labors.
In Youruo City, people burn mugwort, fumigating the four corners of their homes to drive away snakes, insects, rats, ants, and mold, praying, “Evil spirits begone, malevolent forces stay away.”
Silent hopes awaken throughout the city.
The great Qian, a slumbering dragon, bursts forth with vibrant life.
The scholar Zhu Zan, after punishing and rewarding his students on the evening before the Awakening of Insects, announced a longstanding, unchanging good news:
No school on this day.
The students cheered with joy.
Zhu Zan bathed and changed clothes, reminded his wife to care for his elderly mother’s meals and daily needs, donned a crisp cloth headscarf, and held a paper folding fan inscribed with the “Ode to Immortals.”
After bidding farewell, he left his private residence.
His form shifted, arriving at the altar where the cultists of the Demon Sect gathered.
Within the Demon Sect, this altar was also known as the Sacred Platform.
Su Ye stood amid the crowd wearing a long white robe, resembling a wealthy young nobleman.
Zhu Zan approached Su Ye, holding out the antidote to the demonic pill in his palm:
“A seven-dose quantity.”
Su Ye smiled, accepting the antidote pouch with a respectful bow:
“Many thanks, Lord Zhu, for your mercy.”
Zhu Zan took a few steps forward, then stopped and turned back to look at Su Ye.
In the end, there were no words.
Su Ye divided the antidote into three portions: two for the three comrades, and one for himself.
Zhang Qiang felt uneasy: “We three brothers have more than you; I’m afraid that’s not right.”
Zhou An softly said, “If you don’t want it, you can give it to me.”
Zhang Qiang hurriedly stored the antidote pouch inside a jade gourd.
Ma Hu swallowed a portion carelessly.
He immediately spat out bile.
Su Ye took out the last pouch and handed it to Ma Hu, who had wasted a dose.
Ma Hu wiped the filth from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and smiled foolishly:
“Thanks, Big Brother Su.”
Zhou An lightly tapped Ma Hu on the back of the head:
“You’re a disgrace to our village!”
“Big Brother Su didn’t say anything at all,” Ma Hu rubbed his hair, looking aggrieved.
Black mist drifted as a towering figure materialized.
Qi Zheng, the head of the Youruo City branch of the Demon Sect, appeared out of nowhere on the high platform.
The chaotic noises instantly vanished.
“Today is the Awakening of Insects… a day when all things come alive and vitality returns,” Qi Zheng’s sonorous voice echoed through the Sacred Platform. “Looking back on the journey, how many still remember their original resolve?”
No one answered.
Su Ye stood quietly with hands behind his back, watching Qi Zheng.
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Watching how he commands the heart.
“…How much has your cultivation advanced… have you mastered new techniques… ask yourselves honestly if you have given your utmost?”
Some eyes brightened, filled with hope as they looked up at the branch leader standing above.
Others bowed their heads, shame evident on their faces.
“The vision that the Sacred Demon Ancestor Master established for a new world requires every follower—from the sect leader to each disciple—to devote themselves fully,” Qi Zheng turned to the portrait of the Sword Demon carved on the northern cliff, “Only then can the great Demon Ancestor bestow blessings.”
The disciples uniformly clasped their fists and bowed.
Thousands of voices joined together:
“Willing to face fire and water for the Sacred Demon Ancestor Master, willing to die a thousand deaths without complaint!”
The mighty sound waves floated through the vast cave.
Within the overlapping echoes, Su Ye distinctly heard infinite devotion.
Right or wrong, those within the Demon Sect never doubted the righteousness of their cause.
Ma Hu’s blood boiled with fervor.
As the crowd quieted, they clasped fists and bowed again, voices loud and clear:
“…Willing to die a thousand deaths without complaint!”
Zhu Zan glanced at Ma Hu, frowning slightly.
The other cultists seemed not to hear, showing no sign of movement.
Su Ye held his breath, suppressing a smile.
Zhou An’s cheeks turned purple with suppressed laughter, his body trembling uncontrollably.
His hand inside his sleeve pinched his thigh fiercely, forcing the laughter into a joyous pain.
Qi Zheng turned to face the crowd and noticed Zhou An’s restless demeanor, as if desperate to use the latrine.
He withdrew his gaze, feigning ignorance.
“Last year, the Youruo City branch paid the most silver to the headquarters,” Qi Zheng announced loudly, “This year’s Awakening of Insects gathering is graced by an important guest who has come to Youruo City to join you all in celebration…”
Silence fell.
Even as an outsider, Su Ye could not help but admire the Demon Sect’s skill in controlling its followers.
Qi Zheng stepped back two paces to the right, clasped his fists, bowed, and raised his voice suddenly:
“Let us welcome the Holy Maiden!”
A tall high-backed stone chair appeared out of thin air atop the platform, its crest pulsing with fiery energy.
Through the swirling mist, a graceful woman emerged.
She wore a black silk gown embroidered with flame patterns, a light veil covered her face, and a jade hairpin held her hair up, radiating a sacred aura.
Everyone knelt on one knee, respectfully greeting:
“Welcome, Holy Maiden!”
Su Ye mirrored their actions, silently waiting for the Holy Maiden Nan Lian to speak.
“Rise.”
The cultists stood in unison, straightening their backs and slightly bowing their heads to show reverence to the Demon Sect’s Holy Maiden.
Nan Lian sat in the high-backed chair, resting her jade hand on her cheek, and lazily said:
“Branch Leader Qi, do you have a list of traitors or spies?”
Qi Zheng raised his right hand, and black mist condensed into a scroll.
Some cultists subtly shifted their bodies.
Nan Lian took the scroll, untied the black cords binding it, and slowly unrolled it.
Several streams of black smoke flew from the scroll, directly toward the bowed cultists.
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Terrified cultists turned hastily, attempting to flee death’s grasp.
Nearby disciples unleashed spells, decisively imprisoning them.
The black smoke entered their bodies, triggering a demonic poison.
They bled from their seven orifices and died.
Su Ye silently observed the fallen cultivators.
His heart was filled with complex emotions.
Along the path to great achievement, some would inevitably fall away.
To reach the end, one must not be swayed by mercy.
Gritting his teeth, he remained calm.
“These ungrateful villains have infiltrated the Sacred Sect, defiling the honor of the Sacred Demon Ancestor Master,” Nan Lian declared loudly, “I have no choice but to quell the Demon Ancestor’s wrath with the blood of enemies.”
The disciples echoed in one voice:
“The Holy Maiden is wise!”
Nan Lian’s right hand burst into a ball of black flames, consuming the scroll inscribed with the traitors’ names.
Zhang Qiang’s face turned pale.
Zhou An lowered his head, not daring to look at Nan Lian.
Ma Hu was no better, his legs trembling like sifted chaff.
The three lost souls who had joined the Demon Sect for various reasons were all terrified by the deaths unfolding before their eyes.
Nan Lian’s eyelids drooped as she lazily turned to Zhu Zan:
“Those who spread the doctrine may ascend the Sacred Demon Ancestor Platform.”
Zhu Zan bowed and stepped forward.
Crossing the stone bridge, he ascended the stairs carved with four ancient ferocious beasts.
Bowing respectfully, he stood at Nan Lian’s left-front.
“The prestige of the Sacred Demon Ancestor Master will not diminish with death,” the Holy Maiden’s delicate voice resonated in everyone’s hearts, “Never forget this, no matter the time!”
“Obediently following the Holy Maiden’s sacred edict!” the disciples responded in unison.
Among the newly initiated, few answered.
“I see lively, fresh blood… unrefined by the Demon God’s trials, not yet seeing through their true hearts,” Nan Lian looked down upon the gathered crowd by the pool.
“I am guilty!”
At that moment, Zhu Zan summoned from the jade gourd a dagger entirely blackened.
Swiftly, he plunged it into his own heart.
Clenching both fists, he howled toward the heavens.
The roar carried pain and fury.
The dagger greedily drew on his bloodline.
Zhu Zan’s hair instantly turned white and grew wildly down to his waist.
His cloth headscarf fell to the ground.
Su Ye stared in shock at the drastically transformed Zhu Zan atop the platform, their eyes—now wild and crimson—meeting by chance.
He involuntarily drew a sharp breath.
The refined scholar-teacher had become the arrogant and sovereign Ouyang Zhi!