Beheading

Night falls on the peak of Azure Sword Mountain.

Moonlight like frost cascades over the mountain peaks, shrouding the entire range in a silvery white.

Yet, amidst this silvery white, a banquet table is eerily placed in the open clearing.

The table is not large, just an ordinary Eight Immortals table, filled with food and wine, complete with cups, bowls, and chopsticks.

But the location of this feast is incredibly bizarre.

Not inside a hall, not in a pavilion, not in any place sheltered from the wind and rain.

It is right in the open.

Surrounded by towering mountains, sheer cliffs, and howling mountain winds.

The wind blows past, causing the wine in the cups to ripple slightly and the dishes on the table to gradually grow cold.

However, the few people sitting around the table turn a blind eye to it.

Their gazes are all fixed on the hall building not far away.

That hall stands at the peak of the mountains. At this moment, its doors and windows are tightly shut, and candlelight seeps through the carved window lattices, appearing exceptionally warm in the night.

But this warmth has nothing to do with them.

They are merely waiting.

Waiting patiently.

Waiting for that door to open, waiting for that person to come out.

Besides Jiang Qingshan, there are five others beside the banquet table.

All are managing elders of the Azure Sword Sect, all at the grand perfection of the Foundation Establishment realm.

Aside from this table of food and wine, and the six people sitting around it, there is no one else on the entire mountain peak.

No attendants, no disciples, no idle personnel whatsoever.

An unknown amount of time passes.

Perhaps fifteen minutes, perhaps half an hour.

Suddenly.

The main doors of the hall open.

Gu Chengyin steps out.

His pace is unhurried, his expression relaxed, looking nothing like someone who has just emerged from a hall.

Instead, he looks like someone who has just had a good sleep and is coming out for a refreshing stroll.

Lin Qingyan is not by his side.

It is only Gu Chengyin alone.

Treading the moonlight, he walks straight toward the Eight Immortals table.

Including Jiang Qingshan, the five managing elders stand up simultaneously.

No matter what, Gu Chengyin's identity is right there, his status is right there, and his bloodline suppression is right there.

If they do not make a show of respect now, what if Gu Chengyin uses it as an excuse to cause trouble for them?

So they stand up, greet him, and force respectful smiles onto their faces.

But Gu Chengyin does not even spare them a glance.

He walks straight to the banquet table, toward the empty seat of honor.

And then, he sits down grandly.

His posture is so natural, as if he is the true master of this place.

After sitting down, Gu Chengyin looks up at the managing elders who are still standing.

A look of surprise appears on his face.

Why is everyone standing?

Sit down, do not be polite, and do not be so constrained.

Just treat the Azure Sword Sect as your own home.

As soon as these words are spoken, the expressions of the managing elders immediately become colorful.

Treat the Azure Sword Sect as your own home?

The way he says this...

He does not sound at all like the leader of a sect inspection team from afar.

Instead, he sounds like the true ruler of the Azure Sword Sect.

The managing elders exchange glances, all seeing complex meanings in each other's eyes.

Anyone can see it now.

Gu Chengyin's ambitions are massive, and he is not hiding them in the slightest.

There is no need to even guess; it is laid bare right on the table.

But exactly because of this, it is even more terrifying.

There are only two types of people who dare to reveal their intentions so blatantly.

One is a fool.

The other is someone with absolute backing and confidence.

Gu Chengyin is clearly no fool.

The managing elders calculate in their hearts, but dare not show it on their faces, merely chuckling awkwardly as they take their seats.

After sitting down, the atmosphere at the table becomes somewhat subtle.

The mountain wind howls, the moonlight is cold.

The food and wine have already gone cold, yet no one dares to mention it.

The six people sit around the table, each holding a wine cup, but their gazes all invariably fall upon Gu Chengyin.

Gu Chengyin is in no rush. He picks up his wine cup, takes a gentle sip, and then sets it down.

His gaze sweeps over everyone present, pausing for a moment on each face, like a casual appraisal.

But those swept by that gaze all feel their hearts inexplicably tighten.

Because Gu Chengyin is too calm.

The managing elders grow increasingly uneasy.

To be able to serve as elders in the Azure Sword Sect, to dare encroach upon a Golden Core realm expert like Jiang Qingshan.

To hold the actual power of this massive sect, they naturally all have their own backers.

Some are noble clans, some are larger cultivation sects, and some are big shots in the Divine Capital.

And just during the day, they had almost simultaneously done the same thing.

Contacted the backers behind them.

Either to inquire about Gu Chengyin's background, or to request reinforcements.

But the results were unanimously the same.

All fell through.

Some did not reply at all.

Some replied, but with ambiguous words that left people thoroughly confused.

This leaves the elders who control the actual power of the Azure Sword Sect filled with anxious speculation.

The Azure Sword Sect is not weak.

A Golden Core realm Sect Master, Foundation Establishment grand perfection elders, thousands of disciples, and hundreds of years of heritage.

In the Great Luo cultivation world, it is indeed a renowned and ranked sect.

But the Azure Sword Sect is not that strong either.

Because in the Golden Core realm, there is only Jiang Qingshan.

This is also why he is still the Sect Master after so many years.

Not because he is incredibly powerful, but because only Jiang Qingshan is at the Golden Core realm.

The Azure Sword Sect needs a Golden Core realm expert to keep up appearances.

So even though Jiang Qingshan has been stripped of real power, he remains the Sect Master.

But now, facing Gu Chengyin, facing the terrifying sect inspection team behind him, and facing that Lin Qingyan who has yet to appear.

The purported strength of the Azure Sword Sect suddenly seems so powerless.

Although the elders wear accompanying smiles on their faces, those smiles are uglier than crying.

Gu Chengyin takes in everyone's expressions, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

He puts down his wine cup and speaks with a beaming smile:

Everyone seated here is a pillar of the Azure Sword Sect.

As soon as these words are spoken, the elders are just about to offer a few words of modesty, only to hear Gu Chengyin continue:

As for me, I am quite tired today, so I will skip the pleasantries.

The five of you, step down.

A light and airy sentence.

Like commenting that the scenery is nice, or that the food has gone cold.

But falling into the ears of the five elders, it sounds like a clap of thunder.

They had imagined many possibilities.

They thought Gu Chengyin would divide them, rope them in, use a mix of grace and might, or defeat them one by one.

But they never expected him to be so ruthless.

Asking five Foundation Establishment grand perfection elders to all step down?

Immediately, one elder can no longer hold back.

He slams a palm onto the table and stands up abruptly.

The force is so great that it makes the wine cups on the table jump, spilling wine all over.

Gu Chengyin!

This elder shouts in anger, his face ashen: You are pushing us too far! We have been elders of the Azure Sword Sect for so many years.

How can we step down just because you say so! If we leave, what use will an empty shell be to you!

As soon as this is said, the other elders also nod repeatedly, their faces extremely ugly.

Jiang Qingshan, sitting to the side, cannot help but frown.

He knows this elder is telling the truth.

From top to bottom in the Azure Sword Sect, from the hall masters to the outer sect deacons, from the storehouse managers to the disciple instructors, almost all of them are the subordinates of these five elders.

Having managed things for many years, they have long since infiltrated the entire sect until it is airtight.

As long as they leave, the entire Azure Sword Sect can be said to be instantly emptied out.

The disciples would still be there, but no one would manage them.

The industries would still be there, but no one would run them.

The cultivation methods would still be there, but no one would practice them.

What use is such an Azure Sword Sect?

Jiang Qingshan looks at Gu Chengyin, wanting to see how he will respond.

Then, he saw Gu Chengyin smile.

Gu Chengyin did not reply immediately.

He merely raised a hand, gently brushing his sleeve where a few drops of wine had splashed.

His movements were unhurried and composed, as if the furious table-slapping shout from moments ago was nothing more than the annoying buzz of a mosquito.

Then, he lifted his gaze to the elder who had slammed the table and risen to his feet.

"Are you deaf?"

Gu Chengyin dropped his previously casual demeanor.

He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table and interlacing his fingers to prop up his chin.

His posture was relaxed, tinged with a hint of languor, and beneath that languor lay a hint of...

Danger.

"What I said was..."

"The. Five. Of. You."

Gu Chengyin paused between each syllable, ensuring the words drifted with absolute clarity into the ears of everyone present.

At this, everyone's expressions changed.

Gu Chengyin wasn't intending to turn the Azure Sword Sect into an empty shell.

Instead, only the five managing elders were to leave.

As for the people under them, not a single one was permitted to walk away.

The hall masters, the deacons, the instructors, the disciples, and all the rest.

Every last one of them had to stay.