Massacre

The crowd was startled by the young man's description.

Was there really such a heaven-defying prodigy in this world? Someone worthy of ascending to immortality!

And they had just tried to gang up on him?

"Kya! He's a master!"

"Everyone, retreat!!! Move it!!!"

No one knew who shouted first, but it set off a mad scramble as everyone turned and fled, as if sprouting eight legs apiece, bolting in every direction possible.

The scene descended into utter chaos.

"Hmph! Trying to run?"

Ye Shu raised his eyes slightly and let out a cold snort. "You came when you pleased, and now you think you can just leave? The world doesn't work that way."

He gave a slight shake of his body, instinctively trying to release the constellations of the starry heavens — but instead, only two figures materialized beside him: one crimson and one gold. One radiated a bloody glare, wreathed in baleful energy; the other shone with Buddha's light, solemn and compassionate.

The two figures flanked him on left and right, standing close at his sides.

"..."

Ye Shu's mouth twitched. Only then did he remember that his current cultivation path was the latter-day Merits of Virtue Dharma.

"Fine, fine. Two will do."

He sighed, then turned his gaze toward Yan Lie standing before him, and the other scions of hidden aristocratic families behind him, offering them a gentle, amiable smile.

"So, everyone — have you decided how you want to die?"

"Arrogant!"

Yan Lie's face darkened, but he gritted his teeth and held his ground. The pride of an ancient immortal lineage forbade him from bowing his head or showing weakness.

"I don't believe you can kill all of us—"

Before the words even finished.

Bang!

A blood-red figure appeared before him like a phantom, palm striking downward in a single motion. Yan Lie couldn't even react before his head was slammed straight into his chest cavity. Blood flooded back into his body as he collapsed rigidly to the ground.

"Not a bad last words, if a little short."

The Demon Body let out a sinister chuckle as it casually withdrew its hand.

Dead silence fell over the entire field.

A true heir of a hidden family, one of the foremost young talents of the generation — just killed like that.

"Run! RUN!"

At that moment, even those who had merely been watching from the sidelines could no longer stay put.

Ye Shu clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze cold and detached.

"I said it before — everyone here dies today."

The moment the words left his mouth, the Demon Body and the Buddha Body moved simultaneously, turning into two streaks of light — one crimson as blood, one golden as the sun — like interweaving arcs chasing after the fleeing crowd.

A punch. A palm strike.

Blood mist filled the air.

From the sky, an endless, fine drizzle of blood rained down, as if welcoming the avenger returned from hell.

Mu Xi sat on a wooden stump, staring blankly at the scene.

This spectacle... how familiar it was.

She looked at Ye Shu's back, her eyes filled with a complexity beyond words — hatred or love, or perhaps both at once.

"Wha—What the hell!"

Meanwhile, deeper in the forest, Mo Yu, hidden among the tree crowns, watched Ye Shu unleash his devastating power, his pupils shrinking, his eyes brimming with terror.

That fighting style, that face... too familiar.

Too familiar!

It was him!

He's back!

This realization made Mo Yu's heart tremble violently, his mind spinning as he had no idea what to do.

"Young Master, what should we do?"

The disciple of the Mo family beside him asked in a hushed voice.

"Leave! Now!"

Without a second thought, Mo Yu made the call and quietly prepared to retreat with the remaining Mo family disciples.

But the moment he turned his head —

A demonic face was right there, hovering before his eyes!

Ye Shu gave a gentle smile and asked softly,

"And where might Young Master Mo be off to?"

Mo Yu's pupils dilated to their absolute limit.

At this moment, the will to live surged to its peak, and he suddenly let out a loud shout: "Gah! System, save me, ahhh!"

[Ding! At your service.]

A flash of white light, and Mo Yu's figure vanished without a trace.

Only a group of stunned, bewildered Mo family disciples remained.

"Th...that..."

Those quick to react forced smiles uglier than tears.

"Ugh... can we call a truce?"

"At this moment?"

Ye Shu tilted his head, revealing a smile that could only be described as cruel: "You must be joking."

A half-immortal returns, and his might speaks for itself—blood stains half the sky of the relic grounds.

......

"The relic is about to close, and I wonder how our young master fared in there." An old man in a white robe with flame-patterned embroidery at the hem stared at the empty relic entrance, his eyes full of worry.

"Heh heh, why worry?"

A green-robed old man chuckled.

"That boy of yours joined forces with the heirs of our other great families long ago to explore the relic together. With their strength and means, what could possibly go wrong?"

Even if they just bulldozed their way through, it wouldn't matter!"

The words were arrogant, yet few present cared to refute them.

For these were the eight mightiest families of the age.

The true immortal descendants.

They had every right to speak such words.

However, no sooner had the words left his mouth—

Than a white light suddenly flashed at the relic entrance. Mo Yu stumbled out of the light, pale and panic-stricken, looking bedraggled. He ran forward while glancing back, muttering under his breath.

"He's back, he's back..."

Before anyone could react, he had turned into a streak of light and vanished completely from the relic entrance.

And right after he left, a shocking piece of news exploded.

The soul-lamps of nearly all who had entered the relic—

Shattered to pieces, not a single survivor!