Seven days, for the Luochen Sword Palace, which has inherited ancient traditions, are just a fleeting moment.

Even for cultivators who live for hundreds of years, seven days can be as brief as a blink of an eye.

However, these seven days have made everyone in Luochen Sword Palace feel like years have passed.

Yes, like years have passed.

Because... lately, the Elders have been behaving a bit strangely.

Exactly how strange everyone couldn't say, but it's definitely abnormal.

Yes, very abnormal.

The cultivators of the Sword Palace naturally are all sword cultivators. Except for the Third Elder, who has comprehended the Realm of Desolation, most should be full of enthusiasm.

Even the Third Elder, within the bitter realm, naturally harbors a vitality that flows continuously from heel to crown.

But...

In recent days, the high-order cultivators of the Sword Palace have seemed gloomy, with words and actions tinged with fear, as if a great change had occurred.

It's frightening.

A Sword Palace disciple, adept at observing aura, noticed the Elders' abnormalities and began to inquire. However, such inquiries did not receive direct answers.

Thus, panic spread silently.

"Have you heard? Our Sword Palace might have gotten into big trouble..."

"Big trouble?" Some scoffed, "Our Luochen Sword Palace is currently guarded by four Divine Separation Stage Cultivators. It would be hard for a common sect to wipe us out in haste, right?"

"Hard to say... Wasn't it just the other day that Elder Lian defected, and the Emperor was furious? If it's the Emperor's will, what difference could we have from a nest of ants?"

Everyone was spreading such rumors.

Of course, the upper echelons of the Sword Palace would deny such "rumors."

But later on, even the ordinary elders at the Nascent Soul Stage began to waver.

Transmitting Technique Elder Ye Tianye tried to inquire about the truth from those people. However, he was detained by those eerie Elders for a day and night.

When he came out, he was panic-stricken, fleeing back to his residence without looking back.

This inevitably led people to suspect he might have been subjected to some extremely inhumane treatment.

Panic began to ferment at this time.

As the Elders became more unfamiliar and strange one after another, the disciples of Luochen Sword Palace started to harbor thoughts of "escape."

But... the frenzied Elders of Luochen Sword Palace went so far as to seal the Sword Palace.

This happened on the fifth day.

On that day, strands of sword qi descended from the Tai Chu Sword God Array, like a curtain of pearls, like jewels. This should have been a protective sect sword formation guarding all the Sword Palace disciples, but it turned into a life-taking sword formation, cutting off the disciples' last route of retreat.

Even cultivators from other sects, who were sent to investigate, were turned away by those strange Elders.

The Underground City of Spirit Phoenix Island has limited space, and it is difficult to do anything without attracting attention. Luochen Sword Palace abruptly activating the sect protection array would naturally draw attention.

However, the reasons given by those Sword Palace Elders were also straightforward.

"In response to the Holy Emperor Venerable's strategy of 'Qionghua Meeting, selecting talents', our Luochen Sword Palace is conducting a grand trial and grand combat to cultivate talents internally!"

Spirit Phoenix Island is not like the Shenzhou Continent, with its lack of land and dense population. Sometimes, sects have to open their stations or even crucial places to their disciples for trials. Otherwise, those disciples would have to either go outside to fight endlessly against Sea Demons and the powerful Dragon Clan or go to the mainland to struggle against the Modern Heretics.

That would be pure suicide.

So, from the perspective of those Ancient Method Practitioners, this reason seemed plausible.

The sword palace disciples, trapped inexplicably within the sword palace, soon split into several factions. Some advocated for fighting their way out, others for staying and waiting for help, and still others for probing into the truth about the Elders.

Perhaps it was the panic that clouded their judgment. In any case, before breaking out, they fought among themselves.

The images of their combat were not wasted, collected by Wang Qi as material, made into videos, and placed into his Virtual Divine Country.

This was, of course, a façade for the Holy Emperor Venerable.

If he saw the sword formations of Luochen Sword Palace fully deployed while the Divine Country perception remained serene, anyone would know something was wrong.

"What's really going on?"

"Why is this happening?"

By the seventh day, the Sword Palace was already in chaos. Virtually everyone had participated in the great turmoil.

The Sword Qi and Sword Light crisscrossed, and Flying Swords flew in all directions. The originally orderly garden scenery had already been half destroyed by these disciples themselves.

Amidst this chaos, Lian Xinjie and Lian Xingling protected Su—or followed her—dodging back and forth in the melee.

"What on earth is happening now?" Lian Xinjie asked in a low voice.

Lian Xingling was almost crying: "This is absolutely not normal!"

Without the suppression of high-level cultivators, the Ancient Method Immortal Sect turned out to be like this!

The higher the level of the cultivator, the more self-centered they become, the harder it is for them to obey others or cooperate. The "social nature" of the Human Clan is acquired later, not an innate attribute. Cultivators can detach from this attribute. Their social structure is built on the absolute violence of high-level cultivators. This is the truth of the cultivator society.

If high-level cultivators are isolated, and only a group of cultivators with roughly equal combat power is placed in an enclosed environment, then it is really easy for them to start fighting.

Su didn't have much dislike for the Lian siblings. She gently took out two bracelets from her bosom and said to them: "Put these on."

Though the Lian siblings were somewhat puzzled, they still put them on. This Supreme Demon had an unclear attitude, and it was best not to defy her intentions.

"What's the use of this?" Lian Xinjie asked.

"Wang Qi is going to cast a spell in a moment. That spell is harmless to Modern Cultivators and will identify and spare 'special beings like me.' However, it is almost unsolvable for the Ancient Method Practitioners." Su said, "Wearing this bracelet, you will be temporarily protected."

The restriction of the Heart Demon Curse by Feng Luoyi was actually simple. He logged the main characteristics of Modern Cultivators into the Heart Demon Mysterious Net, allowing the Heart Demon Curse to sense these traits and immediately avoid them. This is akin to an identification code. As long as one possesses this code, the Heart Demon Curse will not cause harm.

For those who understand, temporarily creating one or two new identification codes is not a particularly difficult task. Su is Feng Luoyi's assistant, with jurisdiction in the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm second only to the Carefree Practitioners, and she also knows about the Heart Demon Mysterious Net. Opening a temporary identification code for these two siblings was a trivial task.

"This is..."

"Don't speak..." Su raised her small face, filled with seriousness. She looked at the air as if seeing something that needed cautious handling: "It's here..."

Lian Xinjie was still somewhat terrified: "What's here..."

Amidst the confusion of the Lian siblings, power even more demonic than the Heavenly Demon swept through all directions.

Luochen Sword Palace was officially annihilated, completely becoming history.

Silently and without a trace, the Sword Palace changed its banners.

Seven days, just seven days.

This was the last scene Luochen Sword Palace experienced before despair.

Inside the grand hall, Wang Qi sat at the main seat, satisfied as he looked at all the Nascent Soul Stage and Divine Separation Stage cultivators within Luochen Sword Palace.

That position had traditionally been occupied only by Mei Sicheng. But now, no one dared to challenge this small Golden Core's insolent act.

Even the Great Elder himself had submitted to this small Golden Core, so who else would dare to speak?

Wang Qi nodded, seemingly pleased that no foolish actions were taken. The "Ancient Method Practitioners" as a unique experimental material were non-renewable resources, and large-scale synthesis was also not allowed. Therefore, this batch in front of him might be the last batch of Ancient Method Practitioners on this planet.

Should they decide to defy him in a "better be shattered jade than intact tile" manner... for the sake of self-preservation, he might have to kill a few.

That would be a tremendous unplanned loss.

He looked at these Ancient Method Practitioners and said, "Oh, greetings, my Daoist Fellows from the Overseas Immortal Sect!"

"I believe you have already heard from your three elders who I am. I presume that you are also quite clear about my objectives."

"Indeed, from my perspective, I am here to 'exterminate pests.' The cycle of heaven and earth, all things flourish unceasingly. This heaven and earth is like a plot of farmland. Aside from growing crops every year, you need to put the straw and leaves back as fertilizer so that it will last long. However, in this field, there is a group of 'locusts.' Each one of them aims to consume everything clean, and when they are full and grow strong wings, they intend to fly to another larger plot."

"Those who consume everything clean are still relatively decent. The truly terrible ones are those who become strong locust spirits. They don't just plan to eat well once, but aim to eat enough for a lifetime."

"This matter, originally, isn't such a big deal. Locusts are part of the life beings of heaven and earth! However, here..." Wang Qi pointed at himself: "There just happens to be a group of farmers intending to live long term in this plot."

"We currently can't deal with the strong locust spirits. But by dealing with the small locusts first, accumulating experience, and then eliminating them at the source... I think that's great."

"This is my objective, 'pest extermination.'

"Over on the Great Road, this is the attitude towards you. There is still hope for transformation among the low-level cultivators, so try to kill less—though it doesn't mean you can't kill."

"Nascent Souls and above must be killed."

At this statement, the air in the grand hall almost solidified.

The weakest among these cultivators were also Nascent Soul Stage. Even a single breath of their unstable emotions would be unbearable.

Not to mention, there were nearly a hundred Nascent Soul Stage cultivators here!

However, Wang Qi, this Core Formation Stage cultivator, stood firm without moving under the pressure of all these Nascent Souls.

He smiled and said, "However, I am benevolent, the Wan Family's Buddha is me. Therefore, I pondered for a long time, and came up with a plan, a way for you to survive."

"If you are not Ancient Method Practitioners, wouldn't you not need to die?" Palace finished.