597: Chapter 597 Today I'll let everyone know that bullying my disciples is unacceptable.

Everyone in the Weaponry Workshop sprang into action.

No one asked a single question, nor did anyone hesitate for even a second.

The sounds of footsteps, carrying, the clicking of checking firearms, and the clatter of Energy Crystals being slotted into gun bodies filled the Weaponry Workshop.

Every sound was hurried, yet no one was in a panic.

Xu Ruyu walked over to the Grand Elder and said in a low voice, "Grand Elder, you are injured; don't go this time. Stay and guard the Sect."

The Grand Elder shook his head and thumped his cane onto the ground.

"This old man's body is still fine. Fairy Lu Yao was taken by them only because she was protecting me."

"If I don't go, I won't be able to live with myself for the rest of my life."

"These old bones can still fight, and even if they couldn't, I must bring her back."

Xu Ruyu looked at the bloodstains still on the corner of his mouth and the stubbornness in his eyes that couldn't be suppressed, and he didn't try to persuade him further.

Half an hour later, three hundred Disciples were lined up in the plaza in front of the Hehuan Sect mountain gate.

Everyone was wearing Source Energy Armor, holding a qi-breaking gun or a Chuanyang Gun in their hands, and had Energy Crystals tucked into their waists.

Zhou Daniu's qi-breaking gun was polished until it shone, and Zhao Yan's City-Breaker Cannon had already been mounted on the Spirit Beast carriage, its barrel glinting with a cold, silvery light in the sun.

Zhao Tiezhu stood on the edge of the Formation, carrying his Thunder Roar Cannon, with a blade of grass in his mouth, squinting as he looked toward the direction of the Taixu Sect.

Sun Xiaohua stood at the back of the Formation with a large bundle full of Medicinal Pills on her back, with Zhou Xiaolian by her side.

Zhou Xiaolian held her silver needles in her hand—the ones soaked in anesthetic; although they weren't lethal, a single prick could numb a person for half a day, and Xu Ruyu had said it was fine to bring them.

Leng Ningshuang stood in front of the Formation; her voice was not loud, but every word was clear.

"This time, going to the Taixu Sect, there is only one goal—to bring Senior Sister Lu Yao back. She is a member of the Hehuan Sect now; anyone who dares to touch her is going against the Hehuan Sect."

"No unauthorized actions on the road; obey the Sect Master's arrangements in everything."

"Do you all understand?"

"Understood!"

The voices of the three hundred people were uniform, shaking the leaves in front of the mountain gate until they rustled.

Xu Ruyu walked to the front of the Formation. He wasn't wearing battle armor, just his old outer robe, with charcoal ash from the Weaponry Workshop still on his cuffs.

He glanced at the Disciples in front of him, the people who had stood guard alongside him at Tianyin Mountain and fought battles with him in the Taihu Clan.

Some of their Faces were young, some old; some still had a childish air, while others already bore wrinkles.

But their eyes were all the same—bright, burning, like blades drawn from their sheaths.

"Do you all know?" he asked.

"We know!" everyone replied in unison.

"The Taixu Sect has captured our person."

Xu Ruyu's voice wasn't heavy, but every word sounded like it was striking iron.

"What did they call her? A traitor? Self-degrading? An enchantress? They dragged her back from Luoxing Ferry to punish her according to their Sect rules."

"What are the Sect rules of the Taixu Sect? Abolish Cultivation and expel from the mountain gate—oh wait, she had already been expelled by the Taixu Sect."

"So, the person the Taixu Sect dragged back is a member of our Hehuan Sect."

"I have said it before: any Disciple of my Hehuan Sect, no matter who they are—even if it is just a blade of grass within my Hehuan Sect—cannot be trampled upon by others at will."

"Let alone a living, breathing person?"

"They have captured Fairy Lu Yao, who sought refuge with us. Perhaps they will abolish her Cultivation, or perhaps that isn't enough, and they will use other, crueler methods to abuse her."

"After all, those so-called Righteous Path Sects have plenty of methods to deal with a 'traitor'."

Someone in the Formation tightened their grip on their gun.

"But, I tell you, Lu Yao is not a traitor; she was driven out by them."

"Why driven out? Because she came to our Hehuan Sect to redeem someone, because she almost sold herself to me."

"She saved the lives of the Taixu Sect Head and Elders, yet they deemed her dirty."

"Such people, such a Sect—do they even deserve to be called the Righteous Path?"

Xu Ruyu laughed and continued, "Last time, out of respect for Lu Yao, I waived twenty thousand Spirit Stones for them."

"And they, in turn, actually bullied someone who had saved them."

"This time, I will let them know that anyone who attempts to bully my Hehuan Sect will be on the receiving end of a big cannon shot."

He turned around and looked toward the direction of the Taixu Sect.

"Set off."

Three hundred Disciples took flight on their swords simultaneously, the sword light spreading across the sky like a long, silver river.

Zhao Yan drove the Spirit Beast carriage, the barrel of the City-Breaker Cannon swaying gently on the carriage body, the Array Soul shimmering with a faint silver light under the sun.

Zhao Tiezhu carried the Thunder Roar Cannon, Li Ergou carried his Chuanyang Gun on his back, and Zhou Daniu held the qi-breaking gun; the Array Pattern on the gun body were already lit—that was because he had gripped it too tightly and activated it unconsciously.

Qingyan followed Xu Ruyu on her sword, her Butterfly Short Blades tucked at her waist, the blue light on the blades flickering as if anticipating something.

Xiao Nianyin flew at the very front, her white clothes like snow, her long hair dancing in the wind. There was not a shred of spiritual power fluctuation around her, but everyone knew that the most terrifying existence in the Hehuan Sect was right there.

She did not fly fast, maintaining the same speed as the Formation behind her, like a sword not yet fully drawn from its sheath; the cold light at the mouth of the sheath alone was enough to make one tremble.

The Grand Elder stood at the bow of the Spirit Boat; although he was injured, his back was straight.

He gazed at the mountains drawing closer, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart.

He had been to many places and fought many battles in his life, but never once had it been like today—not for self-preservation, not to flee for his life, not for negotiations, but to bring someone home.

Xu Ruyu flew in the middle of the Formation, holding a sketch he had temporarily drawn just now. On the map was the structure of the Taixu Sect and the location of the Formation Eye of the Mountain Protection Array—

Before coming, he had reviewed the few words Lu Yao had mentioned in casual conversation while she was imprisoned in the Grand Array, along with the scattered intelligence the Grand Elder had collected from the Loose Cultivator markets, piecing together a rough structural map.

The Taixu Sect mountain gate was built against the mountain, with a heavy stone gate in front and cliffs on both sides.

Above the mountain gate was the Mountain Protection Array, with the Formation Eye located in the Main Hall behind the gate.

With the power of the City-Breaker Cannon, blasting open the mountain gate from the front was not a problem.

Although the Formation's defense was strong, after many tests, Xu Ruyu had already figured out the penetration effect of the City-Breaker Cannon against defensive Formations—the Mountain Protection Array of a small Sect like the Taixu Sect could not withstand more than three shots.

Of course, this was in theory.

There might be variables in actual combat.

Therefore, Xu Ruyu brought Xiao Nianyin as a backup—in case the City-Breaker Cannon wasn't enough, one palm strike from Xiao Nianyin would likely be able to blast the mountain gate open as well.

Xu Ruyu folded the sketch and tucked it into his sleeve.

He squinted his eyes, watching the direction of the Taixu Sect appear and disappear in the gaps of the clouds.

Those mountains, those gates, those people—they drove Lu Yao out, and now they had dragged her back to punish her according to their Sect rules.

They felt they were very righteous, felt they were cleaning house, felt that everything they were doing was only right and proper.

Then today, he would let them know what "right and proper" truly meant—if you touch my person, I will blast your mountain gate.

It is only natural, fair and square.

"Sect Master, we are almost there."

Zhou Daniu's voice came from the side; he pointed to a mountain ahead, where the mountain gate of the Taixu Sect could be vaguely seen on the mountainside.

Xu Ruyu's lips curled up slightly.

The smile was faint, but there was something in his eyes that was cold to the bone.

His hand pressed against the handle of the gun at his waist; he rarely used that gun, but today he had specifically brought it, along with two extra Energy Crystals.

"We are here."

In the distance, the Taixu Sect mountain gate stood quietly in the sun, completely unaware of the coming storm.