Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 1 The Deadly Sword
Qingyun Gate, Tongtian Peak, Yuqing Hall.

Inside the Jade Purity Hall, on seven thrones, Dao Xuan Zhenren, the head of the Qingyun Sect, sat in the center, with Tian Buyi, Cangsong, and the other five chief disciples seated on either side of him. The only missing member was Master Shuiyue, the chief disciple of Xiaozhu Peak.

On the table in front of Dao Xuan Zhenren, a strange longsword with a predominantly dark red color lay quietly.

The longsword's blade and guard were both dark red, while the body was a deep blue. It was engraved with some ancient and mysterious inscriptions. The most peculiar feature was the guard, which was shaped like a phoenix's head.

Although the strange longsword did not exude any aura, the people present were all experts from the Qingyun Sect with profound magical power. They could all sense the terrifying and incomparably malevolent aura contained within the longsword. If that power were to be fully unleashed, even Dao Xuan Zhenren knew that he would find it difficult to cope.

"Sect Leader, since Senior Sister Shuiyue is unwilling to come, why don't we begin?"

Shang Zhengliang, the chief of Chaoyang Peak, spoke, his words inevitably carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.

But as soon as Shang Zhengliang finished speaking, the door of Yuqing Hall was pushed open, and Master Shuiyue, dressed in a plain-colored Taoist robe, walked in with a cold face. She glanced at Shang Zhengliang with her cold gaze and spoke indifferently.

"Since Junior Brother Shang is already impatient, let's begin."

Upon hearing this, Shang Zhengliang's face showed a slight hint of anger, but he ultimately held back. That old Taoist nun had always had a bad temper, and there was no need to bother with her.

However, just as Master Shuiyue took his seat at the end of the right side, Master Cangsong, who was sitting at the head of the right side, suddenly spoke up with a sarcastic remark.

"Junior Sister Shuiyue has quite the clout; it took Senior Brother Headmaster two invitations before she would agree to come."

Upon hearing this, Master Shuiyue raised her eyebrows and was about to speak when she saw Dao Xuan Zhenren, who was sitting at the head of the table, frown and silence her.

"Alright, now that you're here, Song Daren, you were the first to discover the matter of Caomiao Village, so tell me about the situation at that time."

"Yes, Master!"

Standing behind Tian Buyi, the chief of the last peak of Dazhu Peak on the left, Song Daren stepped forward in response. After bowing to Dao Xuan Zhenren and the other chiefs, he spoke in a loud voice.

“This morning, I was returning from some business with several fellow disciples when we passed through Caomiao Village. Suddenly, we saw a rainbow of light streak across the sky and fall directly into Caomiao Village below.”

"The rainbow light was filled with malevolent energy. I was worried that there were demons from the Demonic Sect causing trouble, so I went to check with my fellow disciples. Before we even landed, we looked down and saw more than two hundred corpses piled up in Grass Temple Village. It was a gruesome sight."

"Later, the disciples and others found two children behind the village. This sword was found next to Zhang Xiaofan at that time."

After recounting the whole story in one breath, Song Daren returned to Tian Buyi's side.

Inside the Jade Purity Hall, all the chief disciples of the Qingyun Sect remained silent, their faces grave. Grass Temple Village, located at the foot of Qingyun Mountain, had always been protected by the Qingyun Sect, but now that Grass Temple Village had been robbed, it was tantamount to slapping the Qingyun Sect in the face.

"Sect Leader, we absolutely cannot let these evil heretics get away with it! We must investigate this thoroughly!"

"Zeng Shuchang, the head of Feng Huifeng, said in a deep voice, his face full of anger. Tian Buyi echoed his words."

“Brother Zeng is absolutely right. However, finding the murderer is not something that can be done overnight. Right now, we should think about how to deal with the two orphans in Caomiao Village.”

Dao Xuan Zhenren pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the first person on his left, Cangsong Daoren, the head of Dragon Head Peak, and asked.

"Junior Brother Cangsong, what do you think?"

“The villagers of Caomiao Village have always been simple and honest. We can’t just ignore their orphans. I think we should take Lin Jingyu under our wing.”

The tall and solemn-faced Taoist Cangsong responded in a deep voice, then changed the subject.

"As for Zhang Xiaofan..." After a pause, Daoist Cangsong's expression unconsciously became solemn and stern, and a murderous aura rose from his body.

"This boy is most likely connected to the demonic sect. In my opinion, we should get rid of him as soon as possible to avoid causing a great disaster in the future!"

Upon hearing Cangsong Daoist's words, the expressions of all the Qingyun Sect experts in the Jade Purity Hall changed, and they looked at Cangsong Daoist in disbelief.

Tian Buyi was the first to jump out and refute, and the short, fat Taoist slammed his fat hand on the table and shouted sternly.

"Brother Cangsong, isn't your statement a bit too extreme? The villagers of Caomiao are simple and honest. That child grew up in Caomiao Village and has now suffered such a calamity. How innocent is he?"

"These innocent children have become demonic cult members just because of a mere sword that glows red? My junior brother's sword also glows red, does that mean I'm also involved with the demonic cult?"

Although Tian Buyi looked down on Zhang Xiaofan, he was also clear about right and wrong in his heart.

"A mere sword? Junior Brother Tian, ​​this sword is incredibly vicious, perhaps even surpassing the Bloodthirsty Pearl, the supreme treasure of the Demonic Sect. Perhaps the murderer who slaughtered Grass Temple Village is the innocent child in your eyes. Such a scourge should be killed rather than let go!"

As soon as Daoist Cangsong's expression hardened and a hint of murderous intent was revealed, Daoist Xuan, who was sitting in the middle, changed his expression and shouted.

"Enough, Junior Brother Cangsong, do you want to listen to what you're saying? 'Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free'—how is this any different from the demonic cultists?"

Dao Xuan Zhenren stared at Cangsong Daoren with a serious expression. Under Dao Xuan Zhenren's piercing gaze, Cangsong Daoren took a deep breath and admitted his mistake in a low voice.

"Sect Leader is right, Junior Brother was too attached to appearances!"

"Although this sword is exceptionally ferocious, according to the reports from Song Daren and his disciples, it is not the weapon used to massacre Caomiao Village. Neither the time of its appearance nor the wounds match."

After seeing that Daoist Cangsong admitted his mistake, Daoist Master Daoxuan did not pursue the matter further. He simply looked down at the strange longsword and said softly.

"In addition, apart from Junior Sister Shuiyue, we all tried to activate this sword, but none of us could. It seems that only the child can use it, which is quite similar to the blood-forged items of the Demonic Sect."

Those present were all experts from the Qingyun Sect, so they naturally knew that the blood-refined item was made by incorporating a person's own blood essence into the forging process. This kind of strange and dangerous technique was difficult even for demonic sect members to refine.

"But the child has no magical power and his body is full of blood essence. How could he have refined this blood-forged item? Moreover, I sensed another pure energy in the child's body, which seems to be incompatible with this evil energy."

Dao Xuan Zhenren spoke softly, causing the others to be slightly startled.

All six of them had just examined the strange longsword that had suddenly appeared, as well as Zhang Xiaofan, but they hadn't noticed anything. This showed that Dao Xuan Zhenren's strength was probably far beyond theirs.

"What the sect leader said reminds me of some records in ancient books, which say that for any highly poisonous substance, there is often an antidote within a hundred paces. This is the principle of mutual generation and restraint among all things."

After Zeng Shuchang finished speaking, Dao Xuan Zhenren nodded thoughtfully and then gave his final conclusion.

"That makes some sense. The vast land of China is full of wonders. We are but frogs in a well. Perhaps this sword and that child are like the yin and yang of all things, united as one."

“Zhang Xiaofan has suffered such a great calamity and possesses pure energy. He also has a connection with our Daoist sect. Our Qingyun Sect cannot ignore him. In that case, let Junior Brother Tian teach him well. As for Lin Jingyu, let Junior Brother Cangsong take charge of him.”

Dao Xuan Zhenren spoke up, directly extinguishing Zeng Shuchang and the others' idea of ​​snatching people. Even Tian Buyi, upon hearing this, although somewhat regretful that he couldn't take Lin Jingyu in as well, showed no dissatisfaction.

"Yes, Senior Brother Sect Leader!"

(End of this chapter)