Turned Red

"Get lost! All of you, get lost!"

For the first time, panic appeared on Situ Aoshi's face. He frantically channeled his true qi, desperately trying to shake off the vengeful spirits clinging to his body.

But the power he had just absorbed originated from them in the first place.

The stronger his power grew, the heavier the resentment of these souls became, and the tighter they clung to him.

Lin Mo watched this scene with great interest, even crossing his arms.

"Stop struggling," he reminded him kindly.

"Look, your clansmen miss you so much. They've all come to see you off on your final journey."

"Enjoy this... family reunion."

Pfft!

Situ Aoshi's body swayed violently as he suddenly spat out a mouthful of boiling hot blood.

The blood was not bright red, but carried a bizarre, dark hue. As it hit the ground, it hissed, emitting bursts of white smoke and corroding a small pit into the hard floor.

Unable to hold on any longer, he fell heavily to one knee. The collision of his kneecap against the ground produced a muffled, heavy thud.

It wasn't an external injury.

An indescribable burning sensation violently detonated from deep within his dantian. Like bursting magma, it instantly surged through his limbs and bones!

The blood essence of the Situ family, which he had just refined and was supposed to be his source of power, had now turned into a body-incinerating flame, frantically crashing and burning within his meridians!

"How is it? Tastes pretty good, right?"

Lin Mo's voice drifted over at a leisurely pace, carrying the relaxed tone of someone enjoying a show.

He stepped closer, looking down at the agonizing Situ Aoshi from above.

"You used your own clansmen as fuel to ignite your pathetic ambition. Did you ever think that if the fire burned too brightly, you yourself would become the firewood?"

Lin Mo spread his hands, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather. "I didn't make too many changes to your array. I just added a tiny little price at the final step. Absorbing so much blood essence filled with resentment, you have to pay something in return, right?"

"I originally wanted to design a spectacular explosion for you. What a pity, the power was just a bit lacking. However, watching you slowly burn away by the very power you devoured seems far more entertaining."

"Ho ho..."

A beast-like roar squeezed out of Situ Aoshi's throat. His eyes were as crimson as blood, and he actually tried to struggle and lunge at Lin Mo.

But as soon as he lifted his body, the surrounding air remained piercingly cold.

Countless twisted souls continued to spread. Every single face belonged to the Situ family! They glared venomously at Situ Aoshi. There was no trace of familial love in their eyes, only the endless, bone-deep hatred born from being betrayed by their closest kin.

"You killed us!"

"Patriarch... how cruel of you!"

"Give me back my life!"

The mournful shrieks were enough to pierce eardrums. The souls swarmed forward like a tidal wave, tightly entangling Situ Aoshi and tearing at his flesh with their phantom fingers.

"Get lost!"

Situ Aoshi erupted with his final surge of might, violently shaking the qi around him.

Bang!

The foremost circle of souls was blasted to pieces, but a dark red flame suddenly flared up on his own body!

Situ Aoshi caught on fire.

He caught on fire in the truest sense of the word.

The flame was no ordinary fire, but karmic hellfire ignited by blood essence. It burned directly from the depths of his flesh, carrying the foul stench of roasting meat.

More souls rushed in wave after wave. No matter how he struggled, they clung onto him like a vice, as if trying to drag him down into the infinite hell alongside them.

Lin Mo stood with his hands behind his back, watching quietly.

Watching Situ Aoshi's flesh sizzle in the flames, gradually turning charred and melting away to reveal the ghastly white bones beneath.

The blood essence that could once allow him to regenerate severed limbs had now become a deadly poison, only destroying, never healing.

Situ Aoshi's movements grew slower and slower. He looked at Lin Mo from afar, the madness in his eyes finally replaced by the terror of death.

"Save me! I am willing to be your slave, your servant, please save me!" he screamed with the last ounce of his strength, his voice hoarse and desperate.

Hearing this, Lin Mo actually chuckled softly, then shook his head.

"I'm not an idiot. Why would I save someone who wants to kill me?"

"I just want to watch you die."

These two light, airy sentences acted like the sharpest of knives, thoroughly shattering Situ Aoshi's final hope.

"You!!! You will die a horrible death!" Situ Aoshi spat out his final curse.

Lin Mo acted as if he had heard a joke, even picking his ear with a look of utter indifference.

"Sorry, but I won't die, so I guess what you're saying is technically correct."

As his voice fell, Lin Mo's patience also ran out.

He could clearly see, within that burnt and ruined chest, a heart that was still beating stubbornly.

He casually grabbed the Void-Rending Arrow nearby. Without using any spiritual energy, relying purely on his physical strength, his arm muscles tightened, and he violently hurled it forward!

Swish!

The Void-Rending Arrow turned into a streak of black light, tearing through the air with a sharp whistle, and flawlessly pierced right through Situ Aoshi's heart.

"Pfft!"

The heart burst upon impact. All of Situ Aoshi's sounds came to an abrupt halt, the light in his eyes completely extinguished. His massive body crashed heavily to the ground, and in an instant, he was burned into a charred skeleton by the karmic hellfire.

With his death, the sky full of souls let out a chorus of relieved wails.

However, they were not meant to be freed just yet.

Because Lin Mo raised the Human Emperor's Banner, and in the next second, all the souls were swept away by it.

What a joke. Lin Mo had absolutely no intention of letting the people of the Situ family go.

A person has to be environmentally friendly! One cannot be wasteful.

That included souls.

At this very moment, a dark red soul emerged from Situ Aoshi's corpse.

But in the very next second, it was pulled into the Human Emperor's Banner.

"Oh, it even dropped a red item. Looks like you successfully became a slave and servant after all."

The Third Elder's soul was also collected, though there was nothing special about it; it was just slightly more solid, nowhere near as unique as Situ Aoshi's.

Putting away the Void-Rending Arrow and the Human Emperor's Banner.

Lin Mo didn't bother with the surviving outsiders with different surnames. Whatever their outcome would be, leaving it to the people of Yanhuang Awakening was fine.

His upcoming trip to Tianjing probably wouldn't have too many minor troubles anymore.

Thinking of this, Lin Mo had already started looting.

As for heavenly materials and earthly treasures, although Lin Mo didn't know much about them, he had all the souls of the Situ family.

Who had treasures, what kind of treasures they were, and what their functions were, he could know it all.

Even what secrets each family held, Lin Mo could know crystal clear.

Alex Mercer (Brother A) was nothing more than this.

After all, once the dungeon boss is defeated, it's time to loot.

Otherwise, how could he claim to be a disciple of Li Sanguang.

Having done all this, Lin Mo tore open a spatial channel and stepped through.

After passing through, he saw Liu Zheng and Old Bai sitting on the side, playing on their phones.

There were corpses all over the ground, yet they were still eating peanuts and drinking beer.

Seeing Lin Mo walk out completely intact, Liu Zheng stood up abruptly.

"That fast?!"

Liu Zheng and Old Bai had already prepared themselves to wait until morning.

But for Lin Mo to come out so quickly was truly surprising.