Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate
Chapter 416 - 416: No Smoke Without Fire

A lot of people nodded along, quickly deciding that Lu Yi was just made up—nothing more than some wild rumor.

But not everyone was convinced. Some figured the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace wouldn't throw around baseless accusations, so they stayed cautious, unsure what to believe.

In response, the City Lord and the disciples of the Purple Crest Immortal Sect publicly announced that anyone who still had doubts was welcome to keep searching for Lu Yi.

That was enough to sway another group. More people dropped the issue and accepted the explanation.

The disciples of the Purple Crest Immortal Sect left soon after, smug smiles on their faces.

Inside Burning Sun City, tension was rising. Cultivators who sided with the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace and those loyal to the Purple Crest Immortal Sect started clashing, stirring up chaos in the city.

But all of that was just the surface.

The real fight was only beginning.

Jiang Chen swept the area with his divine sense. There they are—the four Nirvana Peering realm enforcers from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect.

He spotted them slipping quietly into Burning Sun City, each one entering from a different direction. All four were in the Nirvana Peering realm, and the strongest of them, Wu Jiaxun, was at the peak—on par with Zhong Yushan.

Once inside, they each took out a strange-looking lamp and lit it.

Whoosh!

Flames burst to life, casting an orange glow.

Then, the part of each flame pointing toward Lu Yi's location started to shift in color.

Wu Jiaxun and the others froze. Their expressions changed instantly.

Those lamps weren't ordinary. They were crafted by the Purple Crest Immortal Sect to track anyone carrying Lu Tingyun's bloodline.

If the flames stayed the same, it would mean Lu Yi was nowhere nearby—probably not even within tens of thousands of miles. That alone would've been enough to shut down the claims from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace.

But now, part of the flame had changed color.

Which meant at least one thing was true—someone with Lu Tingyun's bloodline was definitely in Burning Sun City.

And if that was real, then the rest of the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace's story suddenly didn't seem so far-fetched either.

Even if Lu Yi was just an illegitimate child, it wouldn't have done much to tarnish Lu Tingyun's name. He'd still count as one of the top second-generation elites on Prosperous Stone Immortal Star.

But Lu Tingyun had gone out of her way to keep Lu Yi hidden, like she didn't want anyone to know the kid existed.

The very fact that someone like Lu Tingyun—a powerhouse at the Nirvana Cleansing realm—had gone out of her way to hide Lu Yi meant things were way more complicated than they looked.

"This is bad! If this gets confirmed, it'll hit the Purple Crest Immortal Sect hard," Wu Jiaxun said, his face tight with worry.

"We need to report this to the Sect Master and the Supreme Elders right away," one of the others added.

The last two enforcers looked pale, clearly shaken. None of them argued.

They wasted no time, immediately sending word about the change in the flame to You Shaojun, Sun Xiangyuan, Lu Tingze, Sun Anming, Sun Ancheng, and Lu Tingguang.

...

By then, the six had already split into two groups—one at Giant Spirit Ghost Mountain, the other at Dragon Roar Thousand-Mile Waterfall.

"What!" Lu Tingguang's eyes widened. "There really is someone with Lu Tingyun's bloodline?"

"If she went this far to hide her own child, something's definitely off," Lu Tingze said, frowning.

"Looks like the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace may have found our biggest weakness," Sun Xiangyuan added, his expression darkening.

"No matter what's going on," Sect Master You Shaojun said coldly, "we need to end this. If they're holding something over us, we'll crush it before it becomes a threat."

They were just about to settle on killing Lu Yi—quick and clean—when Lu Tingguang suddenly stepped in.

"What if there's more to this?" he said. "What if we're wrong, and we end up killing him for nothing?"

Lu Yi was Lu Tingyun's only known bloodline. That alone was reason enough to be careful—at the very least, they should double-check before doing anything drastic.

But this time, even Lu Tingze pushed back against Lu Tingguang's hesitation.

For one, the chances that Lu Tingyun had hidden Lu Yi for some innocent reason were slim.

And more importantly, even Nirvana Peering realm cultivators couldn't confirm whether or not Lu Yi had demon blood.

So while they didn't have solid proof yet, the risk was too high. Playing it safe meant getting rid of him before things got out of hand.

In the end, Lu Tingguang gave in, letting go of the idea of sparing Lu Yi's life.

...

Back at Dragon Roar Thousand-Mile Waterfall, four streaks of light suddenly tore across the distant sky with a sharp whoosh, heading straight for Burning Sun City.

"They're from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace!" Sun Xiangyuan snapped. Without waiting, he shot into the air, rage boiling over as he shouted, "Liang Youwen! You dare barge into our Purple Crest Immortal Sect's territory? What are you trying to pull? Stop right there!"

You Shaojun and Sun Anming didn't waste a second—they followed right behind.

The three of them had been ready. In moments, they blocked Liang Youwen and his group from going any farther.

At the same time, over at Giant Spirit Ghost Mountain, Lu Tingguang, Lu Tingze, and Sun Ancheng moved out and managed to intercept the other three Nirvana Cleansing realm powerhouses from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace.

...

At Dragon Roar Thousand-Mile Waterfall, water thundered down cliffs that stretched for tens of thousands of miles. Thick mist rose into the sky, forming a cloud layer that hung like a veil over the landscape.

Above those clouds, You Shaojun, Sun Xiangyuan, and Sun Anming had just cut off Liang Youwen and his group.

But instead of backing down, Liang Youwen and the others just let out cold laughs.

"Hmph. We're here for the human-demon hybrid—Lu Tingyun's son."

"Sun Xiangyuan, how dare you speak in the name of the Purple Crest Immortal Sect? You've disgraced your ancestors!"

"For a sect to commit something this twisted—mixing human and demon blood—it's beyond disgusting."

"If Lu Tingyun really went that far, then maybe your whole sect's already crawling with demons."

"Funny how you were so quick to label Jiang Chen a demon spy," one of them said. "More likely, he found out about your secret ties to demons and took out Sun Tianlin and the others because of it. But since he was alone and had no backing, he couldn't fight your side of the story and kept quiet."

"That's right. We're here to clear Jiang Chen's name. He's not the demon spy—your Purple Crest Immortal Sect is."

Liang Youwen and his group had clearly decided to use Jiang Chen's case to hit the Purple Crest Immortal Sect where it hurt.

The three Nirvana Cleansing realm powerhouses from the Purple Crest Immortal Sect were furious, their faces flushed with anger.

"Ridiculous! Supreme Elder Lu Tingyun has lived a clean, solitary life. She's never married. The idea that she has a child—let alone a half-demon—is absurd!"

"All this nonsense from the Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace is nothing but wild rumors and lies!"

"Liang Youwen, you've slandered Daoist Lu Tingyun and dragged our Purple Crest Immortal Sect through the mud. And now you have the nerve to barge into our territory? You've really lost all sense of shame!"

"Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace—how low can you go? While the Profound Jade Immortal Alliance is still out there fighting on the front lines, you're here making a mess and turning allies against each other."

"Whatever you're planning, we won't let you get away with it!"

You Shaojun, Sun Xiangyuan, and Sun Anming stood firm, ready to fight to the death if it came to that.

But Liang Youwen and his group didn't flinch. They just smiled, calm and mocking.

"Heh. Still so stubborn."

"If all we're doing is spreading rumors, then why not let us into Burning Sun City to check for ourselves? What's the problem? Scared we'll find something?"

"Whether you like it or not, the truth's going to come out. And when it does, everyone will see your sect for what it really is."

"Take our advice—admit what you've done and start fixing it now. You might still save a shred of your reputation. But if you keep this up… I'm looking forward to watching you crash and burn."