Sword Rises with the Five Elements Chapter 110: Playing Along

Su Ye sheathed the Taichu Sword, the image of the Sword Demon’s lingering soul roaring in his mind still flashing before his eyes. In that roar, there was a hint of bitterness from being betrayed, yet not a shred of regret. To live is to live; to die is to die—both faced with equal composure. Setting aside the divide between good and evil, Su Ye felt a sincere, deep-seated respect for this senior master of the sword’s forthright nature.

Nan Lian and Qi Zheng stood still for a long time, also lost in silence. Suddenly, the portrait of the Demon Ancestor hanging on the northern cliff wall ignited with crimson flames, burning from the bottom up.

Su Ye snapped back to reality and said softly, "Seniors, the portrait is on fire."

Qi Zheng looked up at the portrait, his eyes flickering as he remained silent. Nan Lian glanced at it briefly before looking away. "Mr. Su, how were you originally planning to eradicate our sect’s teachings?"

"Something much like this," Su Ye replied vaguely, attempting to gloss over the question.

"Before the Jingzhe gathering began, you did not know that Zhu Zan was the possessed dharma body of the Demon Ancestor," Nan Lian pierced through Su Ye’s facade. "Even with your near-demonic intellect, you could not have foreseen this."

"I had set up an array in advance, intending to use incantations to summon tribulation lightning while Zhu Zan was preaching, hoping to strike him down publicly on the altar," Su Ye admitted, recounting his original plan. "I simply did not expect him to be the possessed dharma body of the Sword Demon. I adapted to the circumstances, and this is the result we have now."

Qi Zheng withdrew his gaze and smiled faintly. "Your plan was truly ruthless—to know that the Demon Ancestor had been struck down by the Nine Heavens Profound Lightning, and yet to attempt the exact same method at the Demon Sect’s sacred altar... does your conscience not prick you?"

Su Ye looked at Qi Zheng. "Leader Qi, you can be honest. In your heart of hearts, do you truly wish for the Sword Demon to return to this world?"

Qi Zheng gently stroked the scars left by the Sword Demon’s past punishments. They no longer pained him physically, but the psychological shadow remained vivid in his mind. The fear activated by the appearance of the possessed dharma body outweighed all other emotions.

"Silence is the most definitive answer," Su Ye said softly. "Deep down, none of you wish for the Sword Demon to return to the mortal realm. Since that is the case, erasing every trace left by him... is of nothing but benefit to you."

Nan Lian watched Su Ye from the side, her eyes filled with approval. She smiled faintly, "Let us follow Mr. Su’s plan and hold the Jingzhe sacrifice once more."

"The dharma body is already dead; why go to such lengths?" Su Ye had only just begun to develop his own divine kingdom cultivation and did not wish to reveal it before everyone unless absolutely necessary.

Qi Zheng said, "Mr. Su’s ruthless plan is truly meant to save those who have fallen into the demonic path. If we do not let them witness the destruction of their faith with their own eyes, how can we achieve our goal?"

After a long silence, Su Ye sighed. "But the Sword Demon self-destructed and perished, annihilating Zhu Zan’s physical body..."

Nan Lian raised her fair hand, and black mist swirled around her fingertips. She pulled forth thousands of threads, which condensed into a human shape a foot away. Formed by an external avatar and transformation techniques, the figure was identical to the Sword Demon’s dharma body.

"Su Ye, did you really think I would simply vanish?" The fake Sword Demon’s voice was convincing enough to pass for the real thing.

Su Ye’s heart skipped a beat. Once he realized what was happening, he cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"Mr. Su, please proceed with your plan," Nan Lian said softly.

Su Ye retreated to the left of the stone chair, and the fake Sword Demon sat down. Nan Lian raised her right hand, and the black mist drifted out from the foreheads of the sect members, dissipating instantly. The members, waking as if from a dream, stood up one by one and returned to their original positions according to their rank.

The woman sacrificed on the Blood Demon Pillar realized she was about to be offered to the Sword Demon. Her tongue was bound by magic, preventing her from making a sound. Large tears rolled down, soaking her bodice.

The three commoners reacted differently. Zhang Qiang looked at the high platform, his thick brows furrowed. Zhou An, terrified by the Sword Demon, dared not look up, staring instead at his worn-out straw sandals. Ma Hu saw eight people—double the terror. The two Sword Demons standing up made him involuntarily step back. His heel kicked a stone at the base of the cliff, causing a sharp pain, and he quickly clamped his mouth shut to avoid making a sound, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

The fake Sword Demon walked to the front of the altar, surveyed the bowing sect members, and spoke in a clear, resonant voice: "From the very inception of the Demon Sect, I have held the noble ideal of building a new world. To turn the base, inferior people into nothing more than bait... where the strong and the demonic coexist, no longer dying in vain through mutual strife. Today, the heaven-sent opportunity has finally arrived!"

There was dead silence; only the fake Sword Demon’s booming voice echoed in the cave.

"Brother Zhou, are we the inferior people, or the strong ones?" Ma Hu whispered to Zhou An.

Zhou An, pale as a sheet, whispered back, his voice as thin as a mosquito’s: "Listen quietly, don't speak."

Ma Hu quickly shut his mouth and hung his head, mimicking Zhou An.

"...With the passing of the sixty-year cycle, the Three Thousand Worlds are about to enter an era of chaotic, demonic disorder never before seen. The spiritual veins are dim, and evil energy runs rampant. As long as we accumulate sufficient power, we can strike a fatal blow when the Great Qian, which supports human civilization, is at its weakest. At that moment, a brand-new world will rise from the ruins of the most powerful human nation!"

White smoke rose from the dark green pool, resembling clouds and mist.

Ma Hu exclaimed, "The Demon Ancestor is manifesting his holiness; he has turned the altar into a fairyland!"

Zhou An broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to move. The punishment he expected did not come. Instead, hearty laughter rang out from the altar.

"Though this man is foolish, what he says is quite reasonable. As long as you all dedicate yourselves to building toward the Demon Sect’s ultimate ideal, one day, you too can turn the mortal world into a fairyland."

"Long live the Sect Leader!" The Saintess raised her fair arms and shouted loudly. Qi Zheng followed suit.

"Long live the Sect Leader!" the members echoed blindly. After a few breaths, Ma Hu raised his arm as well. "Long live the Sect Leader!"

The Sword Demon still did not reprimand anyone. Zhou An, curious, stole a glance at the high platform and noticed the swirling mist above the cave wall. Su Ye stood beside the Sword Demon, listening silently to his sermon. The woman offered to the dharma body remained bound in place. Everything seemed normal, yet something felt wrong. Zhou An forgot his fear for a moment and stared at the altar.

"...Those base people were never meant to survive in this world... their only value is to become material for demon pills, helping the strong become even stronger..."

Su Ye, who had always been known for his hatred of evil, still said nothing. When things are abnormal, there must be a hidden motive. Zhou An stared intensely at Su Ye. He saw Su Ye’s lowered right hand rise subtly, his index and middle fingers pressed together, and then he slashed downwards sharply.

A lightning bolt like a giant python suddenly erupted from the cave wall.

The tribulation lightning struck instantly!

"Ah!" The Sword Demon’s dharma body let out a scream, and the body condensed from soul energy began to turn into smoke and drift away.

The sect members looked up, witnessing the legendary heavenly punishment with their own eyes. Even the Demon Ancestor’s dharma body was not tolerated by heaven and earth. A feeling of near-despairing terror welled up in their hearts.

"Could it be... that Heaven truly intends to annihilate us?" Nan Lian’s shrill voice intensified the fear in the altar.

There was a deathly silence. The sound of stone bricks shifting stung every nerve. Eight inscribed stone bricks entered Su Ye’s consciousness, resonating with his mind: "The Sword covers the Immortals, the Demon Sect shall rise!"