165: Chapter 165 Post-War Order

Li Changsheng's heart ached.

He crouched down and spoke softly.

"Don't be afraid. We're here to save you."

The woman lifted her head and looked at him.

Her eyes were filled with fear and distrust.

Li Changsheng did not move, merely watched her quietly.

After a long while, the woman finally couldn't hold back and burst into loud sobs.

Li Changsheng gently patted her shoulder, saying nothing.

Behind him, Zhao Qian and Wang Hai were doing the same.

They opened the prison cells one by one, helping the survivors out one by one.

Some could still walk; others could not. They carried those out on their backs.

An hour later, all survivors had been rescued.

Li Changsheng stood at the prison entrance, gazing at these people who had narrowly escaped death, a complex emotion welling up in his heart.

They were Cultivators, they were Mortals, they were the old, they were children, they were men, they were women.

But in the eyes of the Blood Fiend Sect, they were all the same—all Materials for Cultivation, lambs to be slaughtered at will.

He clenched his fist.

The Blood Fiend Sect deserved to die.

On the seventh day of clearing the Blood Fiend Sect's mountain gate, Li Changsheng encountered a special situation.

In a remote corner, he discovered a trembling figure.

It was a youth of fifteen or sixteen, wearing Blood Fiend Sect attire, curled up in a corner, his face full of terror.

Seeing Li Changsheng, he kowtowed desperately, pleading incoherently:

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I... I wasn't here willingly! I was captured!"

"I don't Cultivate Demonic Techniques! I'm just a menial servant! Please, don't kill me!"

Li Changsheng stopped and looked at him.

In the youth's eyes, there was none of the madness or greed of an evil Cultivator, only fear and despair.

He hesitated for a moment.

Beside him, a Disciple of the Qinglan Sword Sect said.

"Senior Brother Li, don't believe him! Everyone from the Blood Fiend Sect deserves to die!"

Another Disciple also said.

"Right! Uproot the weeds! Keeping him is asking for trouble!"

Li Changsheng said nothing.

He just looked at that youth, at those eyes full of fear.

Then, he crouched down to meet the youth's gaze at eye level.

"What is your name?"

The youth was stunned, stammering.

"Lin... Lin Xiaosi..."

"Lin Xiaosi,"

Li Changsheng said.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Lin Xiaosi shook his head frantically.

"No, no! I'm just a menial servant, chopping firewood and carrying water for the kitchen! I've never even held a knife!"

Li Changsheng remained silent for a moment, then stood up.

"Go."

He said.

Those several Disciples were stunned.

"Senior Brother Li? Let him go?"

Li Changsheng nodded.

"He was captured, not here willingly."

"Killing him, what difference is there from killing those innocent people?"

Those several Disciples exchanged glances and ultimately said nothing more.

Lin Xiaosi knelt on the ground, kowtowing desperately. "Thank you, benefactor! Thank you, benefactor!"

Li Changsheng did not look back.

He merely said indifferently.

"Be a good person from now on."

Then, he continued forward.

Behind him, those several Disciples murmured among themselves, but Li Changsheng could no longer hear them.

He knew some would think him soft-hearted, some would think him foolish.

But he didn't care.

He only wanted to hold onto his own bottom line.

Indiscriminate killing of the innocent, what difference was there from the Blood Fiend Sect?

Half a month later, the Blood Fiend Sect's mountain gate was completely leveled.

Those remnants who had narrowly escaped scattered and fled, their whereabouts unknown.

The Demonic Cult Alliance suffered heavy losses in this great battle, gained no benefits, and could only temporarily withdraw from Yunzhou.

The righteous alliance had finally achieved victory.

But Li Changsheng knew the true crisis was not yet resolved.

That evening, he stood on the ruins of the Blood Fiend Sect's mountain gate, gazing at the gradually darkening sky in the distance.

In the sky, a faint wisp of black mist was vaguely drifting into the distance.

That was the aura of the Spirit Devourer.

During this great battle, it had been hiding in the shadows, silently absorbing the Devilish Qi and Evil Qi permeating the battlefield.

While the righteous alliance and the Blood Fiend Sect fought to the death, it grew stronger in secret.

Now, its strength had recovered partially.

Li Changsheng clenched his fist.

He knew, one day, he would face that thing again.

But not now.

Now, he needed to return, to consolidate his Foundation Establishment cultivation and improve his strength.

When that day came, he needed to have enough strength to face it.

He turned and walked down the mountain.

Behind him, a raging fire ignited on the ruins, reducing all the sins of the Blood Fiend Sect to ashes.

Ahead, Su Qianxue of the Qingxin Pavilion was waiting for him, Disciples of the Medicine King Valley were treating the wounded, and survivors of the Jinyang Sect were helping each other leave.

And he was just one among them.

An ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

A Cultivator with a bottom line.

A Cultivator who wanted to live.

That was enough.

On the ruins of the Blood Fiend Sect's mountain gate, the fire burned for seven days and seven nights.

Those buildings stained with countless vengeful spirits, those altars soaked with the blood of the innocent, those stone pillars carved with evil runes—all ultimately turned to ashes, scattering with the wind.

Li Changsheng stood in the distance, gazing at the soaring flames, unmoving for a long time.

The war was over.

But was it truly over?

He didn't know.

On the tenth day after the war, the righteous alliance held a post-war council meeting in Qinglan City, jointly administered by several Sects.

The Sect Masters of the four Sects gathered, and the Golden Core Elders and Foundation Establishment elites of each Sect were also present.

This was the largest gathering in the Yunzhou Immortal Realm in nearly a century, and a critical moment determining the post-war landscape.

Li Changsheng, as a meritorious Disciple, was permitted to stand guard outside the hall.

He, Zhao Qian, Wang Hai, and others stood at the entrance of the great hall, backs ramrod straight, gazes fixed ahead.

The hall doors were closed, but the sounds of argument inside faintly drifted out.

"...Under the Blood Fiend Sect's rule, there are thirty-seven cities, nineteen million six hundred thousand Mortals, thirteen Spirit Stone veins, and five Spirit Medicine production sites."

That was the voice of the Sect Master of Qinglan Sword Sect, steady and imposing.

"How to distribute them requires careful deliberation."

The voice of the Elderly Sect Master of Jinyang Sect sounded.

"Careful deliberation? I see nothing to deliberate. Whoever conquered it, keeps it."

Although the Elder Matriarch Pavilion Master of Qingxin Pavilion had already fallen, a new Pavilion Master had been appointed.

The new Pavilion Master was a middle-aged woman, with Early Stage Nascent Soul cultivation.

Her voice was cool as she interjected.

"Jinyang Sect's statement is mistaken."

"The Blood Fiend Sect was destroyed by the combined efforts of the four Sects. How can it become 'whoever conquered it, keeps it'?"

The voice of the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley was gentle, yet carried a hint of helplessness.

"Fellow Daoists, let's not argue first. Let's sit down and discuss this slowly..."

"Discuss what?"

The Elderly Sect Master of Jinyang Sect interrupted him.

"My Jinyang Sect lost two thousand four hundred Disciples, over three thousand were injured, and even the Sect Master's hall was half-collapsed. Who will compensate for these losses?"

The Sect Master of Qinglan Sword Sect suddenly laughed.

"I heard that your Jinyang Sect had a traitor within, that Sect members fought and schemed against each other, causing such great losses."

The Elderly Sect Master of Jinyang Sect snorted coldly.

"My Jinyang Sect's internal affairs will be handled by ourselves. Outsiders have no right to interfere."

The Sect Master of Qinglan Sword Sect coughed twice.

"Speaking of losses, everyone suffered losses."

"But what we need to discuss now is how to distribute, not who suffered more gets more."

The Elderly Sect Master of Jinyang Sect sneered.

"Distribute? How does your Qinglan Sword Sect propose to distribute?"

"Do you intend to have all those cities under your control?"

The Sect Master of Qinglan Sword Sect fell silent for a moment, then slowly said.

"This Sect has a proposal."

The hall fell quiet.

The Sect Master of Qinglan Sword Sect continued.

"Post-war reconstruction, everything lies in ruins."

"If those cities, mineral veins, and production sites are managed separately, chaos is inevitable."

"It would be better... to have unified control."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall immediately erupted in an uproar.