Slaying the Mahayana

Within the pitch-black domain of the Human Emperor Banner that blotted out the sun, the gazes of Qingyunzi, Elder Lingqing, and Elder Xuansha locked onto Ye Chuan in unison.

In their eyes, this child, who appeared no older than five or six, was the root cause of this turmoil. As long as they dealt with him first, the remaining Bai Qianshuang would be nothing more than fish on a chopping block, unable to make any waves.

Sensing the three Qingyun Sect patriarchs at the Mahayana realm, Bai Qianshuang's gaze darkened. She no longer held back her strength; an Emperor's Seal slowly emerged on her forehead, and her aura began to climb incessantly.

Having obtained the inheritance of the Luo Xuan Empress, Bai Qianshuang chose to use a secret legacy technique to forcibly elevate her combat power. Her goal was to fight these three Mahayana cultivators to the bitter end.

Today, Qingyun must pay the price!

Ye Chuan saw this scene but did not intervene.

The three Mahayana cultivators could do nothing to him, but for Bai Qianshuang, facing them was incredibly strenuous and difficult. However, Ye Chuan understood that the Qingyun Sect had become the young girl's nightmare and inner demon.

The Yuxu Sect had been slaughtered. Although Qianshuang usually appeared cold and indifferent, showing little interest in anything, she desperately needed an outlet to vent the resentment she had suppressed for so long.

The explosive power she released in that instant even gave her the ability to battle Qingyunzi and Lingqing simultaneously.

However, she was unaware that Ye Chuan had secretly applied enhancement skills to her.

...

"Disrupting the Grand Ceremony. Evil cultivator, you must be executed!"

Elder Xuansha was the first to attack. Veins bulged on his sinister face, and his black robes snapped loudly amidst the dark energy of the domain.

The sword incantations formed by his hands were fast as afterimages. With every flicker of his fingertips, thousands of pitch-black sword shadows materialized from the void. These shadows were wreathed in bone-chilling baleful energy; wherever they passed, even the soul phantoms within the domain were instantly shredded.

"Die!"

As the shout fell, thousands of sword shadows swept forth like a plague of locusts, carrying a sharp whistle that seemed to tear heaven and earth apart, rushing to strangle Ye Chuan in an overwhelming deluge.

The sword shadows wove into an airtight black net, cutting even the light into fragmented pieces!

A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Elder Xuansha's eyes. This "Ten Thousand Baleful Soul-Devouring Sword" was his signature technique. Even cultivators at the early Mahayana realm would have to avoid its edge, let alone a child who appeared to only have the cultivation of the Enlightenment realm.

However, facing this fatal strike, Ye Chuan merely raised his eyes indifferently and lightly spat out a single word from his lips: "Release."

Before his voice had even faded, the Human Emperor Banner in his hand trembled violently. On the banner's surface, the remnant souls of a million demons let out deafening shrieks. Countless pitch-black chains shot out from the banner, piercing toward the sword shadows with a thunderous roar!

The moment the two collided, there was no earth-shattering explosion, only the continuous, crisp sounds of cracking exploding in the air—

Those seemingly fierce sword shadows were like fragile ice spikes hitting a red-hot iron block. They shattered instantly under the impact of the chains, turning into sky-filling baleful energy that was swallowed whole by the Human Emperor Banner!

"What?!" Elder Xuansha's pupils constricted abruptly. He retreated several steps, the sinister look on his face replaced by shock.

He could clearly feel that the power contained within those chains was not simple spiritual energy, but a force he could not comprehend. It had crushed his sword shadows with such ease; this simply exceeded his understanding of cultivation realms!

What made his heart sink even further was that the spiritual energy fluctuations around this child were clearly only at the Enlightenment realm. How could he possess such terrifying means?

"Say, old man, did you really think my Human Emperor Banner, reinforced to +15, was a joke?"

Ye Chuan hovered in mid-air. His small frame exuded an aura that looked down upon the world, and his eyes held a hint of mockery.

"If you can force me to use even ten percent of my strength, I will leave your corpse intact today."

These words were like a needle, stabbing fiercely into Elder Xuansha's heart.

Having lived for so many years as one of the three great Mahayana patriarchs of the Qingyun Sect, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

To be so despised by a child whose cultivation appeared far inferior to his own!

Elder Xuansha's face instantly turned purplish-red. The baleful energy around him surged madly, his hair stood on end, and his eyes were filled with the bloodshot veins of rage.

"Good, very good, you arrogant brat! Today I will let you know the consequences of offending the Qingyun Sect!"

Amidst his roar, Elder Xuansha abruptly pressed his hands to his chest and spat out a mouthful of essence blood. The blood landed on the black spirit sword in front of him and was instantly devoured by the blade.

His natal sword instantly erupted with blinding black light. The patterns on the blade squirmed like living creatures, emitting a shrill sword keen.

"Condense!" Elder Xuansha slammed his hands together. The scattered sword shadows filling the sky rolled back like a tide, converging toward his natal sword.

The moment the sword shadows fused with the natal sword, the spirit sword's size expanded wildly. From a three-foot blade, it transformed into a gigantic black sword a thousand zhang long. Countless phantoms of vengeful souls entwined around the blade, each emitting painful hisses. The concentration of baleful energy was so intense that even the black mist within the domain retreated!

"This is my Dao: Baleful Slaughter!"

The giant black sword hovered in mid-air, its edge pointing straight at Ye Chuan. Elder Xuansha's aura instantly withered slightly; clearly, activating this move had exacted a heavy price.

He stared dead at Ye Chuan, his voice hoarse as a broken gong: "Ten Thousand Baleful Spirits Unite: The One Sword!"

The thousand-zhang giant black sword hung in the canopy of the domain. Where the blade pointed, space itself was corroded by the baleful energy, forming fine, dense cracks.

Elder Xuansha formed seals with his hands, pouring the last shred of his spiritual energy into the sword. The vengeful soul phantoms on the black sword shrieked even more frantically, causing even the chaotic chains within the domain to tremble slightly.

"Slash!"

With Elder Xuansha's hoarse, exhausted roar, the giant black sword crashed down toward Ye Chuan with power enough to destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth!

Before the sword even arrived, the terrifying baleful energy had already solidified the air around Ye Chuan. The cloud-patterned jade tiles on the ground shattered instantly. Countless soul phantoms were torn apart by the sword energy, turning into black gas that merged into the blade, further intensifying the black sword's might!

The surviving cultivators on the viewing platform curled up in the corners, terrified, not daring to even breathe loudly. The power of this strike threatened to wipe the entire Qingyun Mountain Range out of existence!

Yet, facing this earth-shattering sword, Ye Chuan remained composed and leisurely.

He slowly raised his right hand and gently extended his index finger. A faint glimmer of chaotic spiritual light surfaced on his fingertip.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, he tapped lightly toward the descending black sword in an incredibly understated manner.

Ding—

A crisp sound rang out, like jade striking stone.

The next second, a shocking scene unfolded—the thousand-zhang black sword, containing all of Elder Xuansha's cultivation base, shattered inch by inch like glass the moment it touched Ye Chuan's fingertip!

Countless black fragments flew through the air, but before they could land, they were completely devoured by the chaotic power within the domain, leaving not even a trace of baleful energy behind.

"H-How... How is this possible?!" Elder Xuansha felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body shook violently, and he spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood, his face instantly turning as pale as paper.

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at Ye Chuan's finger, his gaze filled with incredulous horror. That was his life-bound ultimate move, activated by burning his essence blood, yet it had been easily shattered by a single finger? Just what kind of monster was this child?!

He finally realized that the seemingly immature child standing before him was far from being a simple Enlightenment Realm cultivator. The boy's true strength likely exceeded his wildest imagination!

Fear instantly seized his heart. He turned to flee, his aura of baleful energy surging wildly as he attempted to tear open the barriers of the domain.

"Hmph, trying to run?" Ye Chuan's voice carried a hint of amusement as his figure vanished from where he stood.

In the next second, Elder Xuansha felt a chill run down his spine as a terrifying force instantly locked onto him.

He whipped his head around, only to find that Ye Chuan had appeared behind him without a sound. The boy's small fist, radiating the spiritual light of chaos and carrying an irresistible might, was already punching toward his heart!

"No—!" Elder Xuansha roared in terror. He tried to summon his defensive artifact, only to discover that his spiritual energy had been completely drained. He didn't even have the strength to lift his hand.

Squelch!

The fist pierced through Elder Xuansha's chest without any resistance, causing fresh blood to spray out wildly!

Ye Chuan's hand gently clenched inside the chest. Feeling the beating heart shatter within his palm, the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

"This won't do. You didn't even force me to use one percent of my strength."

The light in Elder Xuansha's eyes faded rapidly. He struggled to raise his hand, seemingly wanting to say something, but could only produce a gurgling rasp.

Ye Chuan reached out with his other hand and grabbed the Elder's head. The power of chaos surged from his fingertips, forcibly dragging the man's divine soul right out of his body.

"Ahhh!" The agonizing pain of his soul being torn away caused Elder Xuansha to let out a miserable shriek. However, the moment his divine soul left his body, it was firmly crushed within Ye Chuan's grip.

"To have your soul crushed and be denied reincarnation for all eternity... this is the end you deserve." Ye Chuan's tone was flat as he abruptly applied force with his palm.

Crack!

With a crisp snap, Elder Xuansha's divine soul was crushed into fragments. It turned into wisps of black smoke that were entirely absorbed by the Human Emperor Banner.

This Mahayana Patriarch, who had lived for countless years, had died easily at Ye Chuan's hands without even a chance to resist!

Ye Chuan released his grip. Elder Xuansha's corpse fell limply, hitting the ground with a dull thud, where it was instantly devoured by the phantom souls within the domain.