The elder was clearly terrified, having never dreamed that Chu Mo could be so domineering. This was the Ancient Sword Sect's ultimate formation!

Many people knew that the Ancient Sword Sect was very powerful, holding a heritage that spanned several epochs, and it was incredibly ancient. They also knew that the disciples of the Ancient Sword Sect who walked the world in every generation were powerful and extraordinarily talented. However, very few people knew that the sword formations of the Ancient Sword Sect were also unrivaled!

Because they rarely quarreled with others, by today, the number of people in the Heavenly Realm who knew the might of the Ancient Sword Sect's sword formations had dwindled.

Of course, Chu Mo wouldn't know.

But he did feel the power of their sword formations, so when Chu Mo made his move, it was incredibly fierce.

This slash was originally aimed at the elder's head.

At the moment the blade fell, Chu Mo hesitated, redirecting what could have been a head-splitting slash toward the elder's shoulder.

Crack!

The elder's arm broke off with a snap, eliciting a cry of pain before the man fell from the skies.

Although Chu Mo did not kill him, this slash was still unbearable for the Ancient Sword Sect elder. Chu Mo's blade technique contained the powerful laws of Heaven and Earth, embodying Chu Mo's Dao. So this slash did not merely sever his arm.

An Emperor Realm practitioner could regenerate a severed arm, but an arm cut off by Chu Mo's blade would need many years to heal, even if it could regenerate.

But this was already the most merciful outcome Chu Mo could offer. Otherwise, with that slash, the elder would have undoubtedly died, his primordial spirit slashed to pieces!

The seven-man sword formation, now missing one person, had its lethal arrangement broken, and its power instantly diminished countless times.

With just a few more slashes, Chu Mo dispatched the remaining six Emperor Realm practitioners to the dust. He didn't kill them, but these six, like the elder before, were all gravely injured.

"You little beast, you're so ruthless!" the authoritative elder roared with unrestrained fury.

"Am I supposed to stand there and let your sword formation kill me?" Chu Mo looked at the authoritative elder and said calmly, "I came to your Ancient Sword Sect not to kill. Even less did I come to flaunt my power. Right now, I'm curious about two things. First, the Ancient Sword Sect has passed down through the ages, not meddling in worldly affairs, so why do you have such a big reaction to seeing me? I have not offended you. Is it so difficult to meet with the Windwalker to verify something? Why do you obstruct me at every turn? Second, despite such a commotion, Windwalker is not an elder in your sect, so why has he not shown himself? Is he guilty? Or is he not in the Ancient Sword Sect at all?"

The authoritative elder took a deep breath, his anger gradually subsiding as he looked at Chu Mo with icy eyes: "You claimed that the Windwalker could be possessed by demons, do you have evidence?"

Chu Mo shook his head, "No."

The authoritative elder scolded, "Without evidence, what right do you have to make such accusations?"

Chu Mo sighed, "Perhaps to you, Windwalker is your family, and you cannot accept the fact that he may be demon-possessed. I completely understand. If someone suddenly showed up and said that someone close to me has been possessed and become a blood slave of the Demon Clan, I would also be furious, and I would also ask for evidence."

"So you know too?" the authoritative elder said grumpily.

Chu Mo said, "I received information earlier. I have a list, and this place was not my first choice."

A glint flashed in the authoritative elder's eyes as he looked at Chu Mo: "What do you mean?"

Chu Mo nodded.

Their conversation was much like a riddle, yet both understood each other's meaning.

Especially the authoritative elder, who covered his forehead with his hand and then let out a long sigh, "I knew it... I just knew it... Damn it!"

By the end, the authoritative elder's voice began to choke up.

Those who were injured had all been sent back for treatment, leaving only about a dozen people here. The young man who had neutralized the lethal attack with one move was also still there; he looked at the elder and said loudly, "Junior Master Windwalker could never be the kind of person he's describing, he's talking nonsense!"

The authoritative elder let out a dejected sigh and waved his hand, "You all go down."

"Elder!" The young man seemed to want to say more.

The imposing elder said in a deep voice, "Do none of you understand me?"

"Yes," the young man replied reluctantly, and, together with the others, he left, constantly looking back after every few steps.

Now, only the once domineering elder, now dispirited, and Chu Mo were left.

The elder looked at Chu Mo, his face filled with bitterness, "In truth, I harbored this suspicion many years ago. But, I refused to believe it could be true. He is my disciple."

Chu Mo remained silent, observing the elder.

The elder recalled, "He was an orphan from childhood, and his talent was nothing extraordinary. Among his peers, he was nowhere close to being the finest. In our Ancient Sword Sect, it is always the most excellent disciple of each generation who traverses the world. So, Windwalker... originally, he had no chance to leave the Ancient Sword Sect."

Continuing, the elder murmured, "It's all my fault. If I had not let him go back then, the subsequent events would never have happened."

"You bent the rules... letting him go out to gain experience?" Chu Mo pinpointed the crux of the issue and asked the elder.

The elder sighed, "Indeed, I bent the rules and let him take the place of the person who was supposed to go out... I am the Great Elder of the Ancient Sword Sect, and our sect doesn't always have a Sect Leader. In the times without a Sect Leader, the Great Elder... becomes the most powerful. Alas... He begged pitifully, expressing a desire to see the outside world and not wanting to end his days in loneliness within the Ancient Sword Sect. Though we were master and disciple, we were as close as father and son; he respected me greatly and was very filial. My heart softened at that time, and I made that foolish decision."

An orphan, who had lost his parents at a young age, with average talent, was taken in by the Great Elder of the Ancient Sword Sect. Nurtured little by little with abundant resources, he grew up, and as his thoughts became more sophisticated, he yearned to see the bustling world outside. And so, in a moment of folly, the Great Elder of the Ancient Sword Sect made a mistake. He let his disciple go.

To tell the truth, such things, once exposed, are not so grave. Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. Even some of the sect's rules seem quite peculiar to Chu Mo.

For example, the Ancient Sword Sect's rule that from each generation of disciples, only one may go out to travel the world while the others cannot leave the sphere of the sect's influence. They must stay here for life. Chu Mo wasn't even sure why such a rule had been established in the first place.

And so, the Great Elder's favoritism did not seem so terrible to Chu Mo.

Speaking of which, Windwalker did not disgrace the Ancient Sword Sect; after going out into the world, he quickly forged a significant reputation for himself, surviving many battles, large and small, without a single defeat. After returning to the sect, his realm had improved, and he eventually surpassed the Emperor Realm, stepping into the ranks of the Quasi-Supreme, a top-tier power.

As the elder recounted his story, the image of Windwalker began to take shape in Chu Mo's mind.

Windwalker was quite arrogant, yet he was also incredibly hardworking.

He had once been of only average talent and had taken someone else's place to leave the sect and wander the world. The person he had replaced, though not voicing any objections, must have felt extremely displeased.

The grand reputation that Windwalker had established seemed to be a rebuke to that peer from the Ancient Sword Sect, as if saying: Even though I took your place, I did better than you could have!

"Later, upon his return to the sect, he was already nearing the Quasi-Supreme level. At the time, I was pleased, but I also harbored some doubts," the elder sighed. "With his talent, it seemed highly unlikely he could achieve such greatness. Even if he found some extraordinary opportunities or an immense stroke of fortune, it still felt unbelievable. Eventually, we had a big argument, during which he accused me of not believing in him, and even... He accused me of being jealous of him..."

As the elder reached this part of his story, he tried to laugh, but his eyes reddened. He looked at Chu Mo, "Have you ever seen someone who is jealous of their own child? Though he is not my flesh and blood, I have lived this life without a partner, without children. I regard him as my own. Would I be jealous of him?"

Chu Mo thought about his own master, the Demon Lord, and the affection he felt for him; that warmth spread from the depths of Chu Mo's heart. At this moment, he seemed to understand why the somewhat pitiable old man before him had reacted so strongly at first.

The elder looked up at Chu Mo, speaking softly, "Now do you understand why I despise you so much? Because you are Chu Mo! Because in these past days... you have been slaughtering the people of the Qin family! And the Qin family, they're part of the Demon Clan! And you, coming here to see Windwalker, is... that is the last thing I wanted to happen."

"He is not here anymore, right?" Chu Mo said.

"Yes, after our big argument, he left, vowing that one day he would prove his worth to me, to show me how remarkable he is. He also declared that should the sect face any danger one day, he would surely return and protect us," the elder sighed. "He also said many other inexplicable things. At the time, although I doubted that with his talent he could have advanced so far, I did not really consider the possibility of his association with the Demon Clan. Only recently have I begun to feel more and more that something is off, finding his transformation too strange."

"After he left, has he returned?" Chu Mo asked.

The elder nodded, "He has come back many times, often to offer guidance to the younger generation, so those kids respect him greatly."

"When was the last time he returned? Can you find his exact location?" Chu Mo queried the elder.

A struggle appeared on the elder's face.

Chu Mo spoke earnestly, "This matter relates to the qi movement of the entire Human Clan's cultivators. If you don't want to truly cause his death, or watch him kill countless others, it would be best to find him and then... seal him away."

"You... you don't want to kill him?" the elder suddenly looked up at Chu Mo, hope flashing in his eyes.

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