"Huh?"
Hong Lei was stunned, noticing that the people on the mountain showed no signs of surprise.
After days of surrounding the mountain, had the demon hunters already uncovered the true nature of this swordsman?
Even Zhang Hengzhou had admitted to being a demon.
So... why hadn't they acted yet?
This time, even Shen Yi was confused, let alone Hong Lei.
He could only look toward the old general at the front with a puzzled expression.
Chen Qiankun remained calm, his brows not even twitching as he faced Zhang Hengzhou's venomous glare.
He spoke slowly, "I too once hesitated. Could there truly be demons who sincerely wish to integrate into the mortal world? But then I thought about it. Over the past hundred years, you've had no fewer than three hundred women by your side, if not five hundred."
"They were drawn to my reputation as a hero and came willingly," Zhang Hengzhou gasped for breath, his injuries threatening to reopen.
"That's not what I meant," Chen Qiankun waved his hand, sighing.
"I just suddenly remembered that every time one of them became pregnant with your child, they were abducted by demons. Nine out of ten never returned. The few who were rescued added to your reputation as a gallant hero, only to die quietly a few years later. As mortals, bearing the offspring of a demon, how tragic it must have been for them to see what they had given birth to."
"Every time they were about to give birth, demons would come to abduct them. When they were hungry, demons would attack the villagers. It was always so timely, spanning hundreds or even thousands of miles."
"What sin have the demons of Qingzhou committed to encounter a family of heroes like yours?"
"How many children must the people of Linjiang County bear each year to sustain a hero like you?"
In the cold tone of his voice, the figure clad in black armor slowly stood up.
The old man gripped his iron halberd and looked over indifferently.
"I, Chen Qiankun, am but a sinner. How could I dare to give you a chance?"
Under that icy gaze, Zhang Hengzhou's face tightened, and he took several heavy steps back.
Until a pair of weathered hands rested on his shoulders.
He turned to look, breathing heavily.
"Master."
The sect leader, dressed in a flowing green robe with disheveled hair, seemed to have not slept for a long time.
His face was weathered, but he gently patted Zhang Hengzhou's shoulder.
"I know you've been wronged. If he won't give you a chance, I will."
At these words, the sword cultivators kneeling quietly on either side of the grand altar, their expressions desolate, suddenly showed a hint of despair.
Many of the Demon-Suppression Division officers' eyes filled with anger.
A hot-tempered deputy general stepped forward, shouting, "After all this time, you're still so confused! He's a demon! What chance are you giving him?!"
The Green Peak Sect leader ignored him, standing in front of his disciple and then looking toward Chen Qiankun.
"Brother Chen," he suddenly smiled, his expression nostalgic, with a hint of pleading.
He gestured with his hands, "When I first found him, he was only this big."
Another deputy general sneered, "When he was that small, he was older than your grandfather!"
The Green Peak Sect leader continued as if he hadn't heard, staring at Chen Qiankun, his words coming out in a hurried murmur.
"Brother Chen, you know I was born with a defect. The Green Peak Sect is the Green Peak Sect of the Zhang lineage. It can't end with me... When I picked him up from the river, I named him Hengzhou, taught him swordsmanship, made sure he ate, secretly protected him as he went out to slay demons..."
He seemed to have so much more to say.
"But he's a dragon," Chen Qiankun said calmly.
"But I've raised him to be like this! I even prepared the Sword Pool for his tempering! I prepared the position of sect leader for him!"
"It was that wretched woman who came to give birth in front of people that turned him into a dragon!"
The Green Peak Sect leader's aged face suddenly twisted into a snarl, his voice hoarse!
Seeing Chen Qiankun's expression remain unchanged, he suddenly turned around.
With his disheveled hair, he went from being a dignified sect leader to a furious madman.
"Green Peak disciples, form the formation! Form the formation!!"
On the grand altar, whether they were elders, deacons, or disciples, all averted their gazes.
"..."
Seeing this, the Green Peak Sect leader seemed to have expected it.
He let out a deranged laugh and pulled out a sword pill the size of a baby's fist from his robe.
He released his hand.
The sword pill actually emitted a faint glow, hovering in mid-air.
"I've said it before, this is the Green Peak Sect of the Zhang lineage."
Drops of blood essence fell into the Sword Pool, paying homage not to the Green Peak Sect, but to the Zhang lineage!
Under the gaze of everyone, he suddenly knelt down and then slammed his head against the ground, shouting, "Ancestral Sword, grant punishment!"
As the white stone tiles cracked under his forehead—
The pill known as the Ancestral Sword instantly emitted a hum.
Along with it, the swords at the waists of every disciple began to tremble.
Along with the trembling of their swords, a strange flush appeared on their cheeks.
The sect leader kowtowed again.
Immediately, someone spat out a mouthful of blood.
"..."
Shen Yi stood in the distance, the scene before him somewhat beyond his comprehension.
"Hold them down!"
Hong Lei roared.
The disciples they had brought, who had been as docile as sheep, were now under some strange torment, their hands involuntarily reaching for the hilts of their swords.
The officers rushed forward, restraining them in advance.
On the grand altar, the sound of countless swords being drawn echoed continuously.
Only by gripping their sword hilts could they slightly alleviate the "ancestral" punishment.
One by one, sharp swords slowly turned toward the Demon-Suppression Division members.
At the front of the hall, the elders who had been sitting cross-legged reluctantly closed their eyes, their powerful auras converging forward.
"Damn it, even if they were worried about demons sneaking away, they shouldn't have sent them up the mountain. What is Old General Chen thinking?"
Even Hong Lei couldn't help but voice his doubts.
The Green Peak Sect leader had such methods; there was no way Chen Qiankun didn't know.
The auras of thousands of disciples converged, forming the Ten Thousand Swords Demon-Slaying Formation, which included the Green Peak Sect leader and two other elders at the Core Formation stage.
Threads of invisible sword intent quickly enveloped Chen Qiankun, radiating a dangerous cold light.
"With this formation, keeping Brother Chen here for half a month shouldn't be too much to ask."
The Green Peak Sect leader prostrated on the ground, no longer furious, and turned back with a desolate expression.
"You should have a place to hide. Go."
Zhang Hengzhou's face lit up with joy.
He glanced one last time at the young man with the black saber at his waist in the distance, then without hesitation, he flipped into the air and fled!
"..."
Shen Yi grabbed the wrist of a young disciple, whose face was filled with despair.
The disciple, unable to control himself, tried to stab at the Demon-Suppression Division officer.
The consequences of attacking an officer were something they understood better than anyone.
But Shen Yi's attention wasn't on him.
He looked up at the figure fleeing into the sky, his heart sinking to the bottom.
His guess was correct.
The dragon demon could indeed sense his presence.
And now, it was about to escape.
At that moment, Chen Qiankun, enveloped by the countless sword lights, slowly closed his eyes.
Under the sect leader's horrified gaze.
The iron halberd in his hand seemed to be taken by an invisible figure.
The man remained in place, but the weapon suddenly shot up.
With boundless power, as if held by an invisible hand, it slashed toward Zhang Hengzhou's fleeing figure with the force to split heaven and earth!
"Roar—"
Amidst the sharp dragon's roar, the entire grand altar turned dark.
Above the Green Peak Mountain hall, a nearly hundred-zhang-long evil dragon blotted out the sky, its black, cylindrical body struggling fiercely.
The sharp horn on its forehead was more menacing than any divine weapon.
But in just an instant.
The halberd came down, and a rain of demon blood poured from the sky.
Half of the dragon's body fell from the heavens.
The ferocious dragon, now only half its original size, fled in panic, its blood and entrails raining down like dew.
In the blink of an eye, it was gone.
As the halberd returned to his hand, Chen Qiankun opened his eyes again, his expression still calm.
He looked indifferently at the sect leader on the ground.
"Half a month is too long. I'll give you the time it takes an incense stick to burn to say your last words."
"You... you've broken through?"
"Halfway," Chen Qiankun said quietly, looking at the sword pill in the air.
"Senior, you've kept me waiting for a long time."
All this time, his bones had truly grown stiff from sitting.
"No!"
Seeing Chen Qiankun about to close his eyes again, the Green Peak Sect leader let out a scream and reached for the sword pill.
But the Ancestral Sword trembled and hummed, darting into his embrace before he could grab it.
In an instant, the swords in the hands of the thousands of Green Peak disciples returned to normal, and the countless sword lights dissipated in a breath.
"I told you all to stop panicking. Old General Chen wouldn't harm you."
Hong Lei released the disciple he was holding and pushed him away in annoyance.
"Tsk! Guarding the mountain was to prevent demons from escaping. Trapping the dragon was to force out the Ancestral Sword. The old man had already guessed the Green Peak Sect leader would seek revenge. Rather than wait for him to cause trouble in secret, it was better to cut him off completely. And that dragon demon won't escape either..."
Hong Lei turned excitedly, wanting to boast to Shen Yi about how he had once served under the old general.
But before he could finish, he suddenly froze.
Where was he?
This chapter wasn't about the protagonist.
It was mainly to describe the specific branches of the upcoming realm.
(End of Chapter)