Dead End

Whew...

The night wind fell with the rain.

A pitch-black figure stood silently in the void, surrounded by pieces of shattered formation fragments, like faint blue light rain. This formation, which was meant to protect the Qingxuan Sect, now seemed to welcome this man’s arrival.

The rain drifted down, yet it could not dampen a single corner of his clothes.

“Patriarch!”

The members of the Soul-Sealing Hall present looked at the figure with delighted surprise. Even though it was only an avatar that had arrived, it brought them an unparalleled sense of security.

“Who is that?”

“Why... why can’t I see his face clearly? My head hurts, ahhh!”

The disciples of the Qingxuan Sect below barely glanced at the figure before their eyes stung painfully, their heads splitting with agony, as if their very souls were being forcibly ripped out.

“Don’t look at him.”

Lin Heming’s voice echoed across the square. Everyone hurriedly lowered their heads, daring not to look again.

“Dad...”

Mo Yu, lying on the ground barely alive, was deeply moved. Truly, only the world had a father’s love; a child with a father was like a treasure.

“Quick... quick, heal me... It hurts so much...”

He cried out tearfully.

But to his surprise, Mo Yuan’s avatar did not even spare him a glance. Instead, it stared directly at Ye Shu, who stood in the void with his hundreds of constellations clones.

“Interesting.”

Mo Yuan commented blandly.

Then, he lightly raised his hand and gathered the void before him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The constellations exploded one after another, brilliant as fireworks, yet fleeting.

“What?!”

Ye Shu’s pupils shrank.

The next second, Mo Yuan slowly turned around, lifted his eyelids, and cast a glance in his direction.

Whoosh—

With just that one look, Ye Shu was frozen in place. A terrifying force surged through his entire body, and he felt as if his soul was gripped by a giant hand, being torn in two.

A fiery red figure was forcibly pulled out from his back.

With a single glance, Danxia’s possession was broken.

Ye Shu’s cultivation instantly plummeted, falling back to the early Nascent Soul stage, even more depleted than before. His over three hundred Nascent Souls had all shattered. Although it had not damaged his foundation, recovery would not be easy.

“Shu’er!”

Danxia exclaimed in alarm, her soul form nearly breaking free from her body.

“Return!”

Ye Shu’s eyes sharpened, and he directly thrust Danxia into the small world within his dantian, thereby preventing her spiritual body from being seized.

“Hmm?”

Failing in one attack, Mo Yuan furrowed his brows faintly.

But it was limited to that.

The target of his journey this time had never been these people. His special focus on Ye Shu was merely because of the latter’s identity as a descendant of the Ye family.

His true goal had always been only one.

Lin Heming.

In the past, it was so, and now it remains the same.

His gaze slowly swept across the entire scene. When it fell on the battlefield of Jian Wuhun, he furrowed his brows slightly and gave a snort.

Rolling thunder descended from the heavens, crashing down with a roar.

Jian Wuhun, who was in the midst of battle, changed his expression and instinctively raised his hand to block.

Boom!

The lightning arrived in an instant, striking fiercely against his broom. The broom snapped in two, and along with it, Jian Wuhun was struck as if by a heavy blow, plummeting from the sky. He smashed a hundred-zhang-deep crater into the ground, unable to rise again.

“Senior Brother!”

Chu Jinghong on the ground was greatly alarmed and rushed over to check his condition. “What happened to you?”

“Uh... cough, cough...”

Jian Wuhun lay in the pit, drenched in blood, his clothes torn, his whole body like a charred piece of wood struck by lightning, exuding a burnt smell.

“I’m in trouble, but I’m not dead yet.”

His voice was hoarse, his throat seeming baked by the thunder, and a hint of despair flickered in his eyes.

“Jinghong, come here. Senior Brother has something to say to you.”

Chu Jinghong quickly leaned in to listen. “Senior Brother, speak. I’m listening.”

“In... in our quarters, under your bed, there’s a hidden compartment. Go down, all the way to the end. There, Master once set up a concealed protective formation, exactly for times like this—to prevent someone from wiping out our Xuantian Sword lineage when he’s absent.”

“Among all of us, you have the best talent.”

“As long as you survive, one day you will attain immortality and avenge us.”

“Go, go alone...”

Jian Wuhun trembled as he raised his hand, grasping Chu Jinghong’s shoulder. “This is Senior Brother’s selfishness. Anyone can die, but you absolutely cannot.”

“You must live.”

“I...”

Chu Jinghong’s lips quivered. “What about Junior Brother? What about Shouzhuo?”

Before he could finish, Jian Wuhun abruptly raised his hand.

A dazzling blue light flashed, and Chu Jinghong’s figure suddenly vanished in place, as if he had never been there.

“That’s how it should be...”

Jian Wuhun sighed, slowly lying back down.

He knew some secrets from years past and understood that no matter what, today he could not escape his fate.

So... sacrifices had to be made.

Meanwhile, Mo Yuan had already withdrawn his gaze, as if it were just an ordinary sweep with no special attention. Yet the heavens and earth seemed to execute his will, clearing all obstacles for him on their own.

Rumble—

Another bolt of heavenly thunder struck down. Medusa, who had just been fiercely battling, shuddered and turned into a small silvery-white snake, falling from the air.

Seeing this, Ye Shu quickly dodged over and caught her.

“Are you all right?”

“Won’t die.”

Medusa mumbled weakly, then slithered back into his sleeve, wrapping around his wrist and rubbing against it, easing the pain in her body.

But naturally, she didn’t tell Ye Shu about it.

Seeing this, Ye Shu also breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn’t care how the child in her belly was; as long as the snake herself was okay, whether the child lived or died didn’t matter.

He raised his head, staring at the avatar in midair.

That opponent was merely an avatar, having yet to exert any means; with just a single glance, the Qingxuan Sect, which had been holding its own moments ago, now had only Lin Heming still standing.

Was this the oppressive pressure of the final antagonist?

At the same time, Lin Heming and the Soul-Sealing Hall Master both stopped at the same time, turning to look at the avatar standing above the void.

“Patriarch.”

The Soul-Sealing Hall Master bowed respectfully.

Mo Yuan did not look at him. His gaze remained fixed on Lin Heming, and he searched around for a moment.

“It’s been a long time. Where is your junior brother?”

Lin Heming stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm: “He has left, but he will return.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Yuan’s lips curled faintly, but he quickly forced it down, resuming his earlier impassive expression.

“Since I am here now.”

“Then let the Qingxuan Sect be destroyed.”