The two clashed so swiftly that the already injured cultivators below were caught completely off guard. Though they scrambled to summon their magical treasures and prop up protective barriers, many were still sent flying by the powerful aftershocks.
Song Yao was sent rolling across the ground a few times by the blast before crawling back to the edge of the crater to lie down comfortably. She tried to strike up a bargain with Moqi. “How about we bet on something else? If I win, you have to give this crater to me. I don't even have a grave to my name yet.”
Moqi: “...”
Wait.
Why did this girl always say the most bizarre things?
She showed no fear of life or death. Instead of thinking of a way to escape, she was already planning her own burial.
He frowned. “Suit yourself.”
Within just a few breaths, Feng He's golden spiritual energy surged like the brilliant majesty of the heavens, pressing down layer by layer and forcing the black mist into a steady retreat.
She stood suspended in midair, her white hair fluttering in the howling wind. The golden light in her palms grew increasingly brilliant. Each of her strikes carried the weight of a mountain, forcing Ye Chongguang to fall back repeatedly as the black mist surrounding him thinned by several layers.
Moqi sneered. “The battle is as good as decided. Ye Chongguang is no match for our Supreme Elder. If you lose—”
Song Yao raised an eyebrow and cut him off. “Feng He is going to lose. Something is wrong with Ye Chongguang.”
Moqi: “How is that possible?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Ye Chongguang suddenly let out a chilling sneer.
Deep within the black mist, dark red patterns suddenly rippled outward. A sinister, violent spiritual energy exploded, and an aura several times more powerful than before swept across the sky, blanketing the entire area.
Feng He's expression changed. She hurriedly channeled all her spiritual energy to defend, but with a sharp crack, her golden barrier shattered instantly.
The colossal force crashed down on her like an avalanche, slamming her violently into the mountain behind her.
All of Yunxue Valley shook violently.
Debris and boulders cascaded down the peak like a torrential rain. Web-like cracks spread rapidly from the point of impact, and half of the mountain collapsed with a deafening roar. Dust and shattered rock shot into the air, plunging the valley into an even deeper darkness.
The dust slowly began to settle.
Yunxue Valley fell into a long, deathly silence. The only sound left was the soft rustle of gravel sliding down the collapsed slope, echoing sharply in the quiet valley.
Many of the onlookers stood frozen in sheer disbelief.
Feng He had lost?
She had already reached the Deity Transformation Realm when she went into seclusion a century ago. After a hundred years of dedicated cultivation, her strength should have been unfathomable. How could she be defeated so easily?
Down in the crater, Moqi murmured in a low, trembling voice, unable to hide his shock. “What kind of cultivation method is that? How could his spiritual energy be...”
How could it be so overwhelmingly dominant and tyrannical?
The sheer pressure and aura carried within that dark purple mist far exceeded anything he had ever known.
It was understandable that Sect Master Feng had lost, as she had only recently broken through to the Deity Transformation Realm and her foundation was still unstable. But there was no logical reason why even their Supreme Elder was no match for him.
Within the entire Tianshu Realm, was there anyone left who could stand against him?
Song Yao coughed twice. She stared at Ye Chongguang, her brow furrowing slightly as a strange sense of familiarity washed over her.
In the eerie silence, everyone stared up at the figure shrouded in purple mist, subconsciously holding their breath.
This was a level of power completely beyond their comprehension.
Ye Chongguang could easily crush everyone here with a single hand.
Provoking him now was clearly a terrible idea.
Several streaks of sword light pierced through the lingering dust as several Taiqing Pavilion elders led a group of disciples to land on their flying swords. They bowed in unison. “Pavilion Master.”
A cold, mechanical voice drifted down from the purple mist, carrying an immense, crushing weight. “Bring every living member of the Nine Saints Hall here. Even those who just escaped. Do not leave a single one behind.”
“Yes, Pavilion Master!” the cultivators shouted in unison. Their spiritual energy surged as they scattered in all directions to begin the hunt.
...
Before long, the disciples and cultivators who had been scattered across the Nine Saints Hall were rounded up and brought to the ruined Yunxue Valley. Even most of those who had managed to slip past the barrier had been dragged back, forming a dense, silent crowd on the valley floor.
The entire valley was dead silent; no one dared to make a sound.
The Ninth Elder glanced at the Second Elder out of the corner of his eye, his knuckles tightening inside his sleeves.
The Second Elder kept his eyes lowered and shook his head almost imperceptibly. A voice as thin as a thread of silk drifted into the Ninth Elder's ear via sound transmission. “Wait a little longer.”
The purple mist churned in midair as Ye Chongguang looked down on the crowd. His sharp gaze swept over the sea of people like a cold blade, his brow furrowing deeper. “Is this all of them?”
A Taiqing Pavilion cultivator quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully. “Replying to the Pavilion Master, almost everyone from the Nine Saints Hall is here. However, a few fled at extreme speeds, and the elders are currently pursuing them with everything they have.”
A faint streak of golden light shot out from the direction of the Fuguang Platform, cutting through the dusty air.
Feng Qing arrived, half-supported and half-carried by a disciple. Blood was still seeping from the wound on her shoulder, and her face was a translucent pale. Compared to her usual proud, regal demeanor, she looked incredibly disheveled and weak.
She had clearly sustained severe injuries in the previous clash.
Ye Chongguang had not expected her to be able to stand, and his brow furrowed even deeper.
Before he could raise a hand, she stumbled a step forward, her voice trembling but rushed. “Pavilion Master Ye, I... I am here to pledge my allegiance!”
Ye Chongguang's eyes turned cold. “Allegiance? Sect Master Feng, you aren't plotting another scheme, are you?”
Feng Qing shook her head frantically. The sudden movement caused her wound to tear open, and dark red blood instantly soaked through her robes. She humbled herself completely, though a flicker of viciousness quickly crossed her eyes. “How could I dare play tricks? No one in the Tianshu Realm is your match anymore. I only beg for your mercy, Pavilion Master. Please spare the Beiyao Sect.”
Ye Chongguang gave her a frigid look. “Then tell me, what do you have to offer in exchange for your allegiance?”
Feng Qing's gaze swept over the dense crowd below. The hearts of the Nine Saints Hall elders sank, a terrible premonition seizing their chests.
Sure enough, Feng Qing raised her voice in a frantic screech. “The Nine Saints Hall has far more people than this! All of their pill, medicine, and medical cultivators, as well as everyone who needs protection, are hidden away in their secret realm!”
The Second Elder and Ninth Elder cursed inwardly, knowing this was disastrous.
Ye Chongguang's expression sharpened. He made a grasping motion with his hand, sending a blast of freezing spiritual energy down to seize the Second Elder. “Where is the secret realm?!”
A wave of suppressed gasps rippled through the disciples below as they watched the Second Elder get yanked into the air by an invisible force, suspended helplessly in midair.
Yet, the Second Elder showed no fear whatsoever. He glared coldly at the figure hovering above. “I once believed Pavilion Master Ye to be a man of the righteous path. To think you, too, covet the pill formulas and sword techniques of our Nine Saints Hall's secret realm, stooping so low as to commit outright robbery.”
Ye Chongguang's brow furrowed, clearly incensed by the accusation.
With a slight squeeze of his fingers, the spiritual energy tightened around the Second Elder, choking the breath from his lungs.
“My cultivation methods and techniques have already reached great perfection. Do you honestly think I care about a few paltry pill formulas and sword manuals?”
The Second Elder let out a muffled cough, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth, but he refused to back down. “If you don't care, why go to such lengths to hunt down our secret realm??”
“Trying to bait me?”
Ye Chongguang sneered, his tone dripping with disdain. “You are hardly qualified to interrogate me. But then again, I have no reason to hide anything from you lot.”
He looked down at the crowd filling the valley, his voice echoing with absolute authority. “I came here today for one reason only: to find someone.”
The Second Elder was taken aback for a moment before letting out a cold laugh. “If you came looking for our Hall Master, then you've come to the—”
Ye Chongguang cut him off, sounding genuinely baffled. “Who said I was looking for your Hall Master?”
Rate on N.U.
