Fleeing One After Another

Mo Tianxiao's voice echoed throughout the entire royal city. It was loud and fearless, but in the eyes of others, it seemed somewhat desolate.

A mere rogue cultivator facing a behemoth like the Zi family of the Immortal City was like a grasshopper trying to stop a chariot.

However, Mo Tianxiao's unyielding backbone moved countless cultivators who had retreated outside the royal city. Even if he was just a grasshopper, he was one that dared to raise its head and straighten its spine.

In the distance, Yan Zhen, the emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty, watched with blazing eyes. He actually felt some admiration. In the young man, he saw his past self, feeling both regret and nostalgia.

He recalled how he too used to be young, frivolous, and fearless. But as his cultivation base and status grew higher, he recognized reality.

No matter how powerful you were, there were always countless massive mountains above your head that could casually crush you—mountains that individual strength could never oppose.

Zi Ling'er's tear-filled eyes were somewhat dazed. Senior is a sword cultivator?

She had been by his side for five years, so how come she had never seen him use a sword?

But in the next second, she stopped overthinking. Senior was about to die, and it was all because she implicated him.

Her life had been saved by Senior, and not only had she failed to repay this kindness, but she had also dragged him to his death. She feared she could never repay what she owed him in this lifetime; she could only serve him as a beast of burden in her next life to repay him.

"Boy, although I am not the strongest sword cultivator, I will grant this request of yours!"

Zi Heng looked calmly at Mo Tianxiao ahead, then took out a longsword from his spatial ring. "This sword is called Jinghong. It is a True-grade mid-tier spirit sword. Next, I will use my strongest sword move to send you on your way."

The Jinghong Sword was the highest-grade spirit sword on him. Above True-grade weapons were Void-grade, Dao-grade, Saint-grade...

A True-grade mid-tier spirit sword was already considered a rare weapon for a Void Refinement cultivator.

"Boom!"

A thick, majestic aura suddenly erupted from Zi Heng. He raised the Jinghong Sword high, and fierce sword qi rose like a churning tsunami. The howling, ruthless sword cry echoed throughout the royal city, and the intense coercion made even the cultivators far outside the city feel a fatal threat.

This sword strike was enough to make a peak Void Refinement cultivator spill blood!

"Sun-Extinguishing Sword Art, Final Stance—Sun-Extinguishing Strike!"

The terrifying sword qi condensed, resembling a ferocious, angry dragon with the might to swallow the sky and devour the sun.

The Sun-Extinguishing Sword Art, a True-grade mid-tier sword art, paired with a late-stage Void Refinement cultivation base and a True-grade mid-tier spirit sword, possessed utterly terrifying power!

Facing this despair-inducing sword strike, Zi Ling'er slowly closed her eyes. A clear tear slid from the corner of her eye across her snow-white skin, eventually falling to the ground without any suspense, unable to stir up even a ripple.

It was she who had doomed Senior...

"Fuck your mother, I told you to kill me and you actually dare to!"

Mo Tianxiao's mouth curled into a ferocious grin. His eyes held absolutely no fear, only the exhilaration of a successful scheme.

"What bullshit Zi family, just a tiny little clan, and you're acting all high and mighty!"

A dark, slender sword appeared in his hand. The blade was covered in crimson veins, exuding an incredibly ferocious aura. Just one glance at it made people feel a terrifying malice.

The Nine Tribulations Saint Sword was raised high, and the Immortal Dao Secret Art: Empty Hand was activated!

His peak Profound Comprehension cultivation base erupted completely, and all his spiritual energy was poured into the Saint Sword. In the next second, four crisp shattering sounds came from the blade, and four of the nine seals within the sword were instantly unlocked.

The originally dark red veins seemed to awaken, bursting with dazzling golden light engraved on the blade. With four seals unlocked, a majestic saintly might—like a chained fierce beast suddenly liberated—soared straight into the clouds like a volcanic eruption, intimidating all!

"Sun-Extinguishing Strike!"

These words were roared out of Mo Tianxiao's mouth, and all the phenomena generated by Zi Heng's Sun-Extinguishing Sword Art abruptly vanished at this moment.

Before Zi Heng and the other two could figure out what had happened, they saw the heaven and earth phenomena displayed by Mo Tianxiao's Sun-Extinguishing Strike. That majestic saintly might almost filled the entire sky, and an incredibly terrifying coercion struck them like Mount Tai pressing down!

The trio's pupils sharply contracted, their hairs stood on end, and their minds were deeply shaken!

"How is this possible!??"

Their eyes were filled with confusion and despair. Such terrifying saintly might, such a horrifying sword strike—what exactly had the other party done??

"Rumble!!"

The Sun-Extinguishing Strike, wrapped in saintly might, crashed down without the slightest pause.

Carrying their final doubts in their heads, the three vanished beneath this invincible sword light.

"Boom! Boom!!"

The sword qi that had pierced the clouds fell. What disappeared were not only Zi Heng and his two companions but also half of the royal city!

A chasm like a heavenly moat appeared in the royal city. Within the abyss, intense saintly might and fierce sword qi drifted, unable to dissipate for a long time.

Countless cultivators who saw this scene froze in place, as if struck by lightning, plunging into an ice cave, goosebumps involuntarily breaking out all over them.

If they hadn't retreated from the royal city earlier, who knows how many people would have died from this strike!

Yan Zhen stood dumbfounded in midair, looking at a royal city that was missing nearly a third of its mass. His heart felt as though it were being sliced by a knife, and overcome with absolute grief, he screamed hoarsely, "My royal city!!"

To say he wasn't heartbroken would be a lie, but alongside the heartbreak, he also felt a tiny trace of relief—relief that at least he hadn't died.

By the time he recovered his senses, the person who caused all this had already disappeared, and the three from the Zi family had long since had their souls completely destroyed!

Saintly might—that was something he had never seen in his entire life. He never expected it to appear so abruptly before his eyes, leaving him completely defenseless and helpless.

The Zi family was someone he couldn't afford to provoke, and that rogue cultivator youth, such a ruthless person, was even more beyond his ability to offend.

The guy had directly killed the people from the Zi family; did he dare go look for trouble with him?

"What an unexpected disaster..."

After grieving for a moment, Yan Zhen decisively gathered his trusted aides and left the place with a large group of subordinates. To avoid the Zi family blaming him, he decided to hide in a remote place first and lay low for a few hundred years before coming out.

After changing his identity, with his strength, he could easily build another dynasty.

Meanwhile, at the Zi family in the Immortal City.

"Crack!"

A row of cyan jade tablets hung on the wall. Without any warning, one of them shattered, sending broken jade shooting in all directions and scattering across the floor.

"Hmm?"

A man with an imposing, furious bearing glanced at the row of jade stones on the wall. His brows instantly furrowed tightly, and his voice sounded like muffled thunder, "The Ninth Elder is dead!"

"Men!"

In no time, several figures arrived one after another, respectfully cupping their hands toward the man in front of them. "Patriarch!"

Zi Tianyang, the current Patriarch of the Zi family, had a cultivation base only one step away from the Saint Realm, but he had stalled there.

Huangfu Yunteng had taken a liking to Zi Ling'er, which gave him a glimmer of hope to break through to the Saint Realm—and that was by clinging to the great tree that was the Huangfu family.

As long as he became a loyal dog of the Huangfu family, they would give him the opportunity to step into the Saint Realm.

It was said that beneath the Great Emperors, all were ants.

In this era where Great Emperors did not reveal themselves, beneath the Saint Realm, all were also ants!

He was unwilling to stall here; he wanted to rely on the Huangfu family's foundation to charge at the Saint Realm.

The so-called Zi Ling'er was merely a stepping stone. With this stepping stone, his Zi family could tie themselves to the Huangfu family, earning the qualifications to be their dog.

"Send men to the Great Yan Dynasty. I want to know everything that is happening there. Also, bring Zi Ling'er back safe and sound."

"Understood!"