So This Is a Traitor's Nest

The moment the black-robed man’s palm was about to land on the crown of his head, his fingertips had already grazed the scalp.

Just then, a hand reached out from the void.

“Want to die? Did I agree to that?” Qin Wuya’s voice came from behind the black-robed man, unhurried.

The black-robed man froze. He tried to channel the remaining spiritual power within his body and detonate his soul.

But he found that a force as vast as a galaxy had already flowed along his captured wrist into the meridians throughout his body.

It firmly suppressed every trace of his spiritual power, not even allowing the thought of self-detonation to arise.

Qin Wuya wasted no words. Slowly raising one hand, he spread his five fingers and pressed them directly onto the black-robed man’s crown.

“No——!!!”

The black-robed man’s pupils shrank. He struggled desperately, but the palm Qin Wuya pressed on his crown weighed down like an ancient divine mountain pressing from above.

Every bone and muscle in his body was pinned in place—he couldn’t even blink.

“Soul Search!”

Qin Wuya barked the command. The black-robed man’s eyes bulged wide as golden light clashed violently with deep blue radiance within his pupils.

His body began to tremble violently, and a series of indistinct roars escaped his mouth.

After about ten breaths, the light in the black-robed man’s eyes completely faded. His entire body sagged as if all strength had been drained, his limbs hanging limp.

Qin Wuya gave him only a cold glance, then raised his hand and erased him from this world.

Seeing this, Qin Hao quickly stepped forward and asked:

“Father, which faction is behind this man? Why did they want to destroy the Chen family?”

With his lips pressed together, Qin Wuya said, “He was from the Netherworld Hall. As for why they wanted to destroy the Chen family, even he didn’t know—he was only following orders.”

At the mention of the Netherworld Hall, Qin Hao frowned slightly:

“The Netherworld Hall? What kind of faction is that? I’ve never heard of it.”

Chen Xiaoyun was even more puzzled: “What Netherworld Hall? Our Chen family has never had any conflict with them.”

Qin Wuya glanced at the two of them and began to explain:

“The Netherworld Hall has declined now, but back in the Immortal Ancient era, it was a holy land that was by no means inferior to the primeval aristocratic families.”

“The Immortal Ancient War wiped out all the foundation of that faction. Afterward, the sect sealed itself off and retired, never active in the Three Realms and Nine Heavens.”

He paused and sneered coldly:

“Since they chose to retire, they should have stayed hidden properly and not stuck their heads out.”

“And to stick their heads out and provoke my Qin family on top of that… Since that’s the case, I’ll just make sure they disappear completely.”

With that, Qin Wuya snapped his fingers:

“Ancestral elders of the Qin family, heed my command! Set out immediately for Emperor Que Heaven in the Middle Three Heavens.”

...

Middle Three Heavens·Emperor Que Heaven

The sky split open without warning.

First, an extremely fine golden crack appeared at the very center of the firmament.

Then the crack spread like wild vines, expanding madly until it covered the entire dome of Emperor Que Heaven within a few breaths.

Immediately after, over a hundred figures stepped out of these cracks, their bodies radiating an oppressive pressure that suffocated all who felt it.

The cultivators of Emperor Que Heaven first looked up—then everyone froze in astonishment.

Cultivators from various factions hastily summoned their magical treasures for protection.

Some even fell to their knees, muttering prayers, mistaking this for the great tribulation of the end of the world.

Deep within the Netherworld Hall, an elderly man who had been meditating suddenly opened his eyes, a look of sheer terror on his face.

“The thing I feared most has come to pass.”

Several figures flew hastily out of the Netherworld Hall. The Netherworld Hall Lord at their lead bowed to Qin Wuya and the others:

“Elders of the Qin family, our Netherworld Hall has long sealed its mountains and withdrawn from the world, meddling in no affairs of men. We know not how we have offended the Qin family, to warrant a personal visit from you distinguished elders...”

Qin Wuya’s figure stepped through the void and landed above the Netherworld Hall.

“You ask knowingly. Today marks the day of your Netherworld Hall’s annihilation!”

As he spoke, Qin Wuya summoned the Nine Calamities Sword.

“Void Sword Art—Return to Nothing!”

A translucent sword aura poured forth from the tip of the blade.

That sword aura, unlike ordinary sword techniques that were sharp and aggressive, carried a serene, all-consuming aura of extinction, as if returning everything to primordial void.

Yet, when such a terrifying sword aura fell upon the seemingly thin, translucent light barrier above the Netherworld Hall, it was slowly devoured, dissolved, and absorbed by that gray film of light.

“What! This fallen sect can actually block Wuya’s strike?”

The Qin elders all showed expressions of shock.

Qin Hao, however, found this normal. The Netherworld Hall was certainly not simple; otherwise, it could not have shielded the heavens’ secrets from Qin Wuya.

Qin Wuya’s pupils constricted.

He recognized the aura of the formation — it was very similar to a formation deployed by a faction known as the Heavenly Yan Sect from the Netherworld of the Ten Directions.

“Ha! So that’s how it is. You Netherworld Hall has defected to the foreign realm! When did this happen?”

Having been exposed by Qin Wuya, the Netherworld Hall Lord dropped the pretense:

“Hmph, since you’ve discovered it, there’s no need to keep up the act. I’ll tell you plainly: during the Immortal Ancient Era, our Netherworld Hall already defected to the foreign realm!”

“Ha, you mere Primordial Qin family—others fear you, but the Netherworld Hall does not! When our Netherworld Hall shook the entire Three Realms and Nine Heavens, the first ancestor of your Qin family was still playing in the mud somewhere!”

With that, the Netherworld Hall Lord bowed toward the hall behind him:

“Powerful enemies have arrived. We ask the ancestors to emerge from seclusion!”

As his words fell, hundreds of figures rose into the air.

Upon sensing their auras, Qin Wuya’s expression drastically changed—they were all grandmasters at the Immortal King and Immortal Emperor levels.

Moreover, many of them carried the lingering aura of the Immortal Ancient Era.

This meant that these people had all survived from that era.

Qin Wuya swept his gaze across them and understood—these people were all traitors of that era.

“So it’s a nest of turncoats! Ha! If that’s the case, then what more is there to say? There is only war!”

Before his words had faded, Qin Wuya and the other Qin elders jointly activated their formation.

The Qin family’s formation could channel the power of all its elders into a single person, and they could freely switch which person carried that power.

“Follow me! Kill these treacherous beasts of ingratitude!”

Soon, the two sides clashed. Although Qin Wuya’s side had fewer numbers, he wielded a supreme Dao artifact.

For a time, the battle was evenly matched.

Seeing this, Qin Hao immediately hurled his other supreme Dao artifact—the Time Expanse Blade—toward Qin Wuya.

“Father, take this!”

Qin Wuya’s lips curled into a slight smile. He had long coveted Qin Hao’s other supreme Dao artifact and had secretly learned several blade techniques behind his back.

Now, he finally had the chance to use them.

After tossing the Time Expanse Blade to Qin Wuya, Qin Hao immediately contacted Liu Ruyan and apprised her of the situation.

But Liu Ruyan only replied indifferently,

“I know, but now isn’t the time for me to step in. No rush—though they outnumber us, the ancestor of the Qin Family won’t lose.”

“When that big fish behind them shows up, that’ll be my moment to act.”

Hearing Liu Ruyan’s words, Qin Hao breathed a sigh of relief. If Ruyan said so, then things couldn’t be too serious.

Qin Hao took Chen Xiaoyun’s hand. “Let’s move farther away. Even a tiny shockwave from a fight of this level could kill us.”

Chen Xiaoyun nodded and followed Qin Hao as they left.

Just then, a figure blocked Qin Hao’s path.

“So you’re the Imperial Son of the Qin Family, Qin Hao?”

Qin Hao looked the man up and down, then sneered,

“I’m your granddaddy. Which grandson are you? I don’t recognize you. Move aside, scum, and don’t block your grandpa’s way.”