126: Professional team, certified to work

Severe Punishment Heaven's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

His eagle-like eyes, which had seen thousands of years of wind and frost and countless life-and-death battles, now had pupils contracted to the size of pinpoints.

Fear.

A pure fear, never felt before, originating from biological instinct, gripped his Divine Soul.

Two fingers.

The opponent had used only two fingers to crush the Young Lord's wrathful strike and even shattered a High Grade Immortal Artifact.

What kind of concept was this?

This meant that the strength of the two sides was simply not in the same dimension.

It wasn't a difference between strong and weak, but a difference between a Dragon and an ant.

"Next month's rent—will you pay it, or not?"

The young man's voice was still calm, still carrying a hint of laziness, as if he were asking "How's the weather today?".

But this calm voice, in Severe Punishment Heaven's ears, was heavier than the judgment of the Heavenly Dao.

Pay?

When had the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, the uncrowned king of these Hundred Thousand Barren Mountains, ever paid rent to anyone?

If word got out, the ten-thousand-year prestige of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion would become the laughingstock of the entire Eastern Region!

Not pay?

Severe Punishment Heaven glanced at the precious saber on the ground, its blade cracked and its spiritual light dimmed, then looked at the Young Lord, who was struggling to crawl up, his eyes filled with resentment and terror.

He had no doubt that as long as he uttered the word "no"...

In the next second, the entire Heavenly Saber Pavilion team, including himself, the Great Perfection Profound Immortal Chief Elder, would be completely erased from this world.

"Your Excellency... isn't this a bit too overbearing?"

Severe Punishment Heaven took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the trembling in his heart, his voice hoarse.

"My Heavenly Saber Pavilion is a subordinate force of the Eastern Region's overlord, the 'Purple Cloud Sacred Land'! If Your Excellency makes things difficult for my Heavenly Saber Pavilion today, you will be making an enemy of the Purple Cloud Sacred Land!"

He brought up his greatest backer.

This was also his final trump card.

Purple Cloud Sacred Land!

That was a true behemoth, with an Immortal King presiding over it, ruling over hundreds of millions of miles of mountains and rivers!

He didn't believe that the mysterious young man before him would dare to openly make an enemy of a Sacred Land!

"Oh? Purple Cloud Sacred Land?"

Chu Xuanjin's Clone raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, an interested expression appearing on his face.

"Is it very powerful?"

Severe Punishment Heaven felt a surge of joy, thinking the other party was afraid, and hurriedly said in a deep voice, "The Purple Cloud Sacred Land is one of the three great Sacred Lands of our Eastern Region. It has an Immortal King Old Ancestor presiding over it, dozens of Immortal Lord powerhouses, and its subordinate Immortal Realms are vast and boundless! Although Your Excellency's strength is great, before the Sacred Land, it is but..."

"Alright, alright."

Chu Xuanjin's Clone waved his hand impatiently, interrupting him.

"Don't give me all that nonsense."

"I'm just asking you, do they pay rent?"

Severe Punishment Heaven: "..."

Dao Wuji: "..."

Mu Changqing, Wang Tianlong, and the others were already completely numb.

They felt that their brains could no longer comprehend this man's way of thinking.

This was no longer just being audacious.

This was simply not taking the so-called Sacred Land seriously at all!

"You... you are simply unreasonable!"

Severe Punishment Heaven was choked up for a long time, unable to say a word. In the end, he could only squeeze out such a pale and powerless sentence.

" It seems， They couldn't reach an agreement.."

Chu Xuanjin's Clone sighed, a disappointed expression appearing on his face.

" I originally wanted to persuade them with reason.."

" What can be done?， You always force me to take action.."

As his voice fell, he stopped looking at Severe Punishment Heaven and turned his gaze to Dao Wuji, who had crawled up from the ruins and was staring at him with a resentful gaze.

"You seem quite unconvinced?"

Dao Wuji's body trembled, but the pride in his bones made him force himself not to lower his head.

"I am the Young Lord of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion! I..."

"Noisy."

Chu Xuanjin's Clone once again extended two fingers.

This time, he didn't go to catch any saber light.

Instead, he flicked lightly toward Dao Wuji from a distance.

"Buzz—!"

A thread of invisible fluctuation instantly crossed the distance of space.

Dao Wuji's pupils suddenly contracted!

He wanted to dodge, wanted to defend.

But his body, his Immortal Essence, and his Divine Soul seemed to be frozen at this moment!

He could only watch helplessly as that thread of fluctuation imprinted itself on his chest.

"Pfft!"

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

Dao Wuji's body was intact.

But when he opened his mouth, what he spat out was not blood.

It was an illusory small saber, composed of countless fine bits of Saber Intent, already covered in cracks.

That was his Life-bound Saber Soul!

It was the Foundation of his Saber Dao, which he had cultivated for thousands of years!

At this moment, this Saber Soul was forcibly flicked out of his body by that finger!

And it shattered on the spot!

"Ah—!"

A shrill scream that didn't sound human came from Dao Wuji's mouth!

His aura plummeted at an avalanche-like speed!

Great Perfection True Immortal... Late True Immortal stage... Middle Stage True Immortal... finally, it dropped directly to the Earth Immortal Realm!

His entire cultivation and the Saber Dao insights he was so proud of were ninety percent destroyed by this one finger!

This was more painful to him than killing him!

"Young Lord!"

Severe Punishment Heaven's eyes nearly split from rage. He let out a startled cry and blurred, wanting to rush over.

"Did I let you move?"

Chu Xuanjin's Clone gave him a faint glance.

Severe Punishment Heaven's body instantly froze in place.

He felt a will as vast as a sea of stars and as heavy as the Heavenly Dao lock onto him.

He had no doubt that if he dared to move again, his end would definitely be a hundred times more miserable than Dao Wuji's!

"Now, can we have a good talk?"

Chu Xuanjin's Clone turned his gaze back to Severe Punishment Heaven.

His face still carried a warm smile.

But this smile, in Severe Punishment Heaven's eyes, was more terrifying than an abyss demon.

"Thud."

Severe Punishment Heaven, this Great Perfection Profound Immortal powerhouse and Chief Elder of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, finally laid down all his dignity and pride at this moment.

His knees buckled, and he slowly knelt down toward the young man in green.

"Se... Senior..."

His voice was dry, hoarse, and filled with endless bitterness and fear.

"My Heavenly Saber Pavilion... is willing to surrender."

Behind him, the few Heavenly Saber Pavilion Disciples who were already scared witless also hurriedly followed suit, kneeling on the ground and shaking like sieves.

"Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier?"

Chu Xuanjin's Clone nodded with satisfaction.

"You just had to waste everyone's time."

With his hands behind his back, he walked up to Severe Punishment Heaven and looked down at him.

"I'm a person who doesn't like trouble."

"So, these Hundred Thousand Barren Mountains will still be managed by your Heavenly Saber Pavilion in the future."

Upon hearing this, Severe Punishment Heaven suddenly looked up, a flash of unbelievable joy in his eyes.

The other party... didn't plan to exterminate them all?

But Chu Xuanjin's next sentence made him feel like he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"However, it will be a subordinate relationship."

"From today on, your Heavenly Saber Pavilion is the exclusive agent of my Myriad Dao Divine Sect in these Hundred Thousand Barren Mountains."

"Your task is very simple."

"First, maintain order here and don't let any random riffraff disturb this seat's quiet cultivation."

"Second, within this region, all Sects and all forces, including your Heavenly Saber Pavilion, will hand over ninety percent of your monthly earnings to me as a 'management fee'."

"Do you understand?"

Severe Punishment Heaven's heart was bleeding.

Ninety percent!

This was no longer collecting rent!

This was stripping them of their skin and bone!

But did he dare to say "no"?

"Junior... understands." He squeezed these words out from between his teeth.

"Very good." Chu Xuanjin's Clone was very gratified.

"A teachable student indeed."

He flicked his finger, and two streaks of light entered the bodies of Severe Punishment Heaven and the already unconscious Dao Wuji, respectively.

"This is a Divine Soul mark from this seat."

"Don't think about playing any tricks."

"As long as even a single improper thought arises, this mark will let you experience what it means to truly wish you were dead."

Severe Punishment Heaven's body trembled violently, his face turning even paler.

"This is a communication token."

Chu Xuanjin threw out another black token.

"On the first of every month, bring the tribute to the Qingming Mountain Range to find me."

"Do well, and perhaps in the future, your Heavenly Saber Pavilion can step out of these Hundred Thousand Barren Mountains."

"Do poorly..."

He didn't continue, only smiled.

But Severe Punishment Heaven understood the meaning behind that smile.

"Go on."

Chu Xuanjin's Clone waved his hand.

"Clean up this place; don't ruin my mood."

"Yes... yes! Junior obeys!"

As if granted a grand amnesty, Severe Punishment Heaven hurriedly supported the unconscious Dao Wuji and, with the few soul-shaken Disciples, climbed onto the Heaven-Patrolling Warship in a disheveled state, turning into a streak of light and fleeing in panic.

Watching the departing back of the warship, Chu Xuanjin's Clone then turned around and looked at Ye Chenfeng and the others.

"Did you see that?"

"This is called being professional."

"Let professional people do professional things."

"We just need to lie back and collect the money."

Ye Chenfeng and the others: "..."

"Alright, today's on-site teaching ends here."

Chu Xuanjin's Clone clapped his hands.

"You guys should also go back to class."

He waved his hand casually.

"In the future, you will Cultivate within the Divine Mountain."

Chu Xuanjin's Clone explained.

"This isn't the Lower Realm. Although the Spiritual Qi is sufficient, the Laws are also heavy and full of dangers; it's not suitable for low-level characters like you to grind levels."

"The Divine Mountain is absolutely safe."

"You can continue to Cultivate inside, guide those Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, or come out to obtain resources from the Immortal Realm."

Hearing this, everyone was first stunned, and then expressions of wild joy appeared on their faces!

Their biggest worry was that after Ascension, they would completely lose contact with the Sect and those Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters.

They hadn't expected that Revered Master's Divine Ability had reached such a heaven-reaching level!

He could actually open up a Sect-exclusive passage connecting the two realms by himself!

"Disciples obey!"

Ye Chenfeng and the others bowed in unison, their voices filled with excitement and reverence.

"Go on."

Chu Xuanjin's Clone waved his hand.

Ye Chenfeng, Su Linger, Zhao Wuyou... the group of over ten people, carrying infinite longing for the future, each used their tokens to teleport back to the Divine Mountain.

"Done."

Chu Xuanjin's Clone stretched and then turned into a streak of light, merging into the main body in the distant valley, which had never risen from the rocking chair.

In the valley, Chu Xuanjin slowly opened his eyes.

He sensed the information brought back by the Clone regarding the Heavenly Saber Pavilion and the Purple Cloud Sacred Land, the corners of his mouth curling into a barely perceptible arc.

"Purple Cloud Sacred Land... Immortal King?"

"It seems this Immortal Realm isn't that boring after all."

He rolled over and adjusted to a more comfortable position.

"But since things are settled, I'll go back to sleep first."

A breeze brushed through the valley, blowing the rocking chair and making a rhythmic "creak, creak" sound.

Like a lullaby that induces sleep.