The Death of Ye Shu

“What have I done?”

Ye Jingfeng stared at the Ye Shu before him, blood still gushing from the wound, his eyes wide with fury. “I want to ask this madman what the hell he thinks he’s doing!”

He had rammed into him for no reason!

What was he trying to accomplish?

Just as Ye Jingfeng was racking his brain in bewilderment, Ye Shu suddenly raised the formation plate and activated it.

Hum!

An intangible wave spread across heaven and earth.

A crimson light shot into the sky, dyeing the entire night like a vast ocean of blood. But! The center of the blood formation was not that small city, but the valley beneath their feet.

A blood-colored barrier instantly enveloped everyone.

At the same time, strands of blood energy, like threads pulled from a red wool sweater, were extracted from every demonic disciple present and merged into Ye Shu’s body.

“Aaah!!!”

The disciples maintaining the formation let out agonized wails.

As the formation’s eyes, they not only had to endure the backlash but also had their qi and blood drained, like a thousand needles piercing their bones. The pain was unbearable, and they were powerless to turn the tide.

“Senior Brother, save me...”

“Ye Shu! What have you done!”

Seeing his weakened disciples, Ye Jingfeng’s eyes burned with rage. These were his trusted men, his foundation!

“Are you betraying the demonic path?”

“Hmph!”

Ye Shu, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, pressed a hand over the blood-drenched hole in his chest and coldly stared at Ye Jingfeng. “You were the one who attacked me first. I’m only doing this to save my own life.”

“Save your fucking life!”

Feeling his qi and blood drain, Ye Jingfeng couldn’t help but curse. “You bastard rammed into me on purpose, and now you’re spouting slander!”

“Slander?”

Ye Shu gave a faint smile, pointing to the bloody hole in his chest. “You gave me this wound. Everyone here saw it.”

“You!”

Ye Jingfeng’s face shifted between pale and green.

He suddenly realized that this bastard had done it deliberately—gotten himself injured on purpose. That strange look earlier, the inexplicable anger he had felt—it was all this guy’s doing.

This scoundrel had been scheming from the very beginning.

He was just looking for an excuse, an excuse to strike at him!

The moment this thought hit him, Ye Jingfeng snapped awake.

“Do you think a cripple like you, even with the blood formation’s boost, can do anything to me?” He suddenly sneered. “I am a mighty Nascent Soul cultivator!”

“Is that so?”

Ye Shu’s expression remained unchanged. “Then let’s give it a try.”

His left shoulder suddenly materialized a blood-colored lotus platform. The lotus bloomed with three leaves, and atop it sat a tiny figure, surrounded by demonic energy and bound by countless chains.

In the next moment, the tiny figure’s eyes snapped open.

Swoosh—

Ye Jingfeng met the figure’s gaze and felt a chill shoot straight to his crown. The tiny figure had no pupils, only a vast sea of blood. And within that sea, things kept crawling out—countless figures he had killed, each reaching out with bloody hands to claw at him.

At the same time.

Whoosh!

A ball of blood-red flames suddenly ignited on Ye Jingfeng’s body, scorching him in unbearable agony.

“Aaah!!!”

Ye Jingfeng wailed in pain. Countless lives flashed before his eyes—every single one he had slain with his own hands.

Karmic sin naturally invited Red Lotus Karmic Fire.

The deeper the sinner’s crimes, the more ferocious and agonizing the karmic flame.

But—the Red Lotus figure had only bloomed three leaves.

So the Nascent Soul cultivator Ye Jingfeng was only tormented by the flames, not fatally wounded.

After just a moment, Ye Jingfeng snapped out of the illusion.

“A bunch of dead men, trying to drag me to hell?”

Gasping heavily while enduring the karmic fire, he coldly stared at Ye Shu. “Your tricks are decent enough, but failing to grasp the gap in strength will only leave you...” Thud!

His words cut off abruptly.

A withered hand suddenly pierced through Ye Jingfeng’s chest from behind, ripping his heart out of his ribcage and exposing it to the chill air.

“Ugh!”

Ye Jingfeng spat out a mouthful of blood, dumbly staring at the heart now exposed outside his body. It was still beating, still radiating warmth.

Then—Bang!

That withered hand clenched hard, pulverizing the heart. Blood splattered everywhere.

Ye Jingfeng’s body stiffened.

He twisted his neck stiffly, turning to look at the person who had ambushed him from behind.

A thin figure stood right behind him.

Aqi calmly withdrew his hand, scraps of heart tissue still clinging to his fingers.

“You dare betray our demonic path...”

Ye Jingfeng’s eyes bulged wide, then he suddenly burst into laughter. “Haha! Hahaha! Liu Ruyi, oh Liu Ruyi... Hahahahahahaha!”

Still laughing, his head drooped, and he died completely.

“Brother Ye!”

The remaining disciples stared, wide-eyed, as Ye Jingfeng’s corpse hit the ground.

But Aqi didn’t even spare it a glance.

He slowly stepped forward, walked up to Ye Shu, then abruptly knelt on one knee and said respectfully, “Wordless Pavilion, Group C, Number Seven, pays respects to the Vice Pavilion Master.”

“Rise.”

Ye Shu’s face was calm as he spoke flatly.

“Yes.”

Aqi raised his head, and the look in his eyes was no longer hollow but blazing with fanatical fervor like sunlight.

Yes, he was the one Ye Shu had once handed a copper coin.

To many, you might forget a favor you casually gave. But to the recipient, even a small kindness can change their fate.

Of course, Ye Shu remembered exactly how many bread rolls he would eat.

So he also remembered Aqi.

He had planned for this day from the very beginning.

Yes, he couldn’t leave the demonic path on his own—that would implicate Liu Ruyi. But if Ye Shu died, and died at the hands of other demonic disciples, that was a different story.

Ye Shu glanced down at Ye Jingfeng’s corpse, raised his right hand.

Two strands of pure essence—one red, one gold—flew out from the corpse and landed beneath the lotus platforms on his shoulders. The golden figure’s lotus bloomed into three leaves at once, while the blood-colored figure opened another petal.

“This guy sure has a lot of karmic sin.”

Ye Shu clicked his tongue in amazement, then turned his gaze to the surviving demonic disciples.

“Master, shall I kill them?”

Aqi made a slashing gesture.

“No need.”

Ye Shu shook his head and said calmly, “If only you survive, it would be too hard to explain to the demonic path and too easy to see through.”

With that, he lightly raised his right hand.

Crack, crack—

Half of the dozen or so demonic disciples instantly died, turning into beams of blood-red and golden light that vanished into Ye Shu’s body.

Then, Ye Shu looked at the remaining disciples, walked slowly up to them, and gently placed his right hand on their heads. Closing his eyes, he murmured, “From now on, you will remember that it was Ye Jingfeng, the disciple of the demonic path’s Grand Elder, who, out of jealousy over Ye Shu’s position as Saint Son, tried to kill him during this blood sacrifice. Ye Shu discovered the plot, used the blood formation’s power to resist, and unfortunately, both perished together. Do you understand?”

The surviving disciples stared blankly and nodded.

“Good.”

Ye Shu nodded in satisfaction. He glanced once at the distant city, then casually smashed the formation plate in his hand into pieces.

With stars beneath his feet, he drifted away.

“From this day on, Ye Shu no longer exists in this world.”