“Death is at your doorstep, and you still dare to boast so shamelessly?”
“Shen Lian, don’t blame us. We’re only doing this because the President ordered it.”
The old man and young man showed no concern for the killing intent in Shen Lian’s tone. They simply assumed he was bluffing in the face of inevitable death, trying to put on a show before the end.
“Jiang Hansheng, Gu Qingshan!” Shen Lian lightly flicked open his folding fan and called out their names. Then, he slowly raised one finger. “You each get one move. After that…”
With a flick, he closed the fan, and the surrounding atmosphere changed instantly.
“Go perish in the Yellow Springs!”
“Arrogant fool!” The old man Jiang Hansheng was enraged. Being provoked by someone he considered trash was the last thing he could tolerate. He immediately activated his full true essence, gathering wind and thunder into his palm.
Beside him, Gu Qingshan stomped down, condensing a crescent-shaped sword mark in front of him.
“Lightning Snatching Palm, Crescent Sword Intent—worthless and incomplete techniques like these, and you still dare to show off in front of me?”
Shen Lian kept his hands behind his back, watching with a cold, indifferent gaze. Facing two early-stage Void Refining Realm cultivators, he didn’t even feel the urge to make a move.
“Though the President told us to bring you back alive, she never said we had to bring you back breathing!”
“Shen Lian, you could’ve lived a little longer, but your attitude truly pissed us off!”
With that, both attacked simultaneously. The spiritual spring behind them exploded, and shockwaves rippled across hundreds of kilometers.
Their energies merged into a terrifying beam of light, crashing toward Shen Lian.
They were convinced that even a 6th stage Void Refining Realm cultivator would struggle to survive their combined strike—let alone Shen Lian, who, according to old intel, was still only at the Spirit Transformation Realm.
No one could have imagined that Shen Lian had risen from 1st stage Qi Gathering Realm to the Peak of Void Refining Realm in just one day.
Yet Shen Lian stood unmoved, completely ignoring the overwhelming force headed his way.
Boom—
A thunderous blast reduced the mountains and rocks to rubble.
But what appeared before their eyes was a shocking scene.
Shen Lian… was completely unharmed.
He hadn’t even taken a single step.
“How… how is this possible?” Jiang Hansheng and Gu Qingshan were stunned. Shen Lian calmly brushed off the dust on his shoulder and asked disdainfully, “That’s the best you can do?”
“Now, it’s my turn!”
“Run!” The two of them made a split-second decision and turned to flee, transforming into light streaks.
But…
“Did I say you could leave?”
A deep shout rang out, and even after fleeing more than ten kilometers, both men felt an immense pulling force behind them. Their bodies were instantly yanked backward.
In moments, Shen Lian had each of their heads firmly gripped in his palms, completely immobilizing them.
“Shen Lian, you—”
“I told you, just one move… and you’d die with regret.”
“No! You can’t kill me! If you do, the President—”
Before they could finish, two muffled explosions rang out.
Their skulls were instantly pulverized into powder. Two headless corpses collapsed amidst the shattered forest.
“Trash like you—where did you find the courage to provoke the dignity of a king? To die by my hand… consider it an honor. After all, not everyone is worthy of death at Shen Lian’s hands. Hahahaha…”
His familiar manic laughter echoed through the wilderness. Shen Lian spun his fan leisurely, strolling forward.
A few steps later, his figure turned into a stream of Yin-Yang light, flying off into the distance, leaving behind the two headless bodies to be devoured by wild beasts.
…
Inside Heavenly Feather Sect, Su Yuheng, who was tending to Ye Fan, suddenly felt a faint cracking sound from the storage ring on her finger.
Crack… crack…
Hearing it, she instinctively furrowed her brows and sent her Divine Sense into the ring.
When she saw what had happened, her frown deepened.
“Jiang Hansheng and Gu Qingshan’s Soul Tokens… shattered? How is that possible?”
She couldn’t believe it. Those two were Void Refining Realm cultivators—powerhouses that no one would dare provoke lightly.
And yet, they were sent merely to capture Shen Lian, and within less than two hours, they were dead?
Could it be Shen Lian who killed them?
“No, it must’ve been an accident.”
She tried to convince herself.
“Shen Lian had only just recovered to the Spirit Transformation Realm. There’s no way he could kill them. He must’ve encountered a high-level demonic cultivator along the way.”
After all, even the deaths of Dongfang Lie and Yu Wen Tianzhao, she had attributed to Shen Lian using some kind of underhanded trick.
“Something’s wrong, Senior Sister Su!”
Just then, a flustered outer sect disciple burst into Ye Fan’s room.
Before he could say more, Su Yuheng instantly released her pressure, forcing him to his knees.
“Insolence! My Junior Brother is still recovering. How dare you cause a disturbance!”
Unable to withstand the pressure, the disciple spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Please forgive me, Senior Sister Su! I came with urgent news… that’s why I lost my manners…”
“What is it? Speak!”
Returning to the sect had already brought one surprise after another. Her mood was already terrible.
But what came next nearly shocked Su Yuheng senseless.
“Senior Sister Su, the sect’s spiritual vein has collapsed and withered… the Earth Qi it nourished was destroyed along with it…”
“What did you just say?! Repeat that!”
Su Yuheng could hardly believe her ears.
Ten breaths later, her figure reappeared.
But now, her face was pale, her eyes filled with disbelief.
“The spiritual vein really has collapsed… even the Earth Qi is gone…”
She had gone to the site to check and saw devastation everywhere.
What had once been a land of fortune, brimming with Spiritual Energy, had turned into a barren wasteland. The rich Spiritual Energy beneath had been completely stripped away by some mysterious power.
“Can you tell who did this?” she asked again.
“Replying to Senior Sister Su… I couldn’t get a clear look, but judging from the figure… it seemed like… it seemed like…”
The disciple glanced at Su Yuheng’s grim expression and dared not continue.
“Speak! Who was it?”
“It… seemed like Shen Lian.”
Once he said it, he immediately lowered his head, not daring to meet her eyes.
“Shen Lian?”
Su Yuheng’s brows furrowed.
“Impossible. I know him too well. He wouldn’t do something like this. He’s the one who discovered this spiritual vein and offered it to the sect. Why would he destroy it?”
The disciple quickly added, “Senior Sister Su, Shen Lian really has gone mad! He nearly slaughtered everyone in the sect!”
That sentence made Su Yuheng snap back to reality.
“Could it be… Shen Lian has really gone mad? But just a few days ago, he was still…”
She suddenly recalled the pitiful look on Shen Lian’s face as he knelt before her just days prior.
His voice still echoed in her ears.
“Third Senior Sister, please believe me. I really didn’t harm Junior Brother Ye. I swear I didn’t.”
“Senior Sister, I know you don’t like me, but I just want to make you happy. Please don’t be angry at me…”
“As long as you’re willing to forgive me, I’ll do anything.”
“If swallowing this Heart-Devouring Pill will make you forgive me, then fine. As long as it makes you happy, I’ll take it.”
At that moment, a strange guilt suddenly surged in Su Yuheng’s heart.
Had she gone too far with Shen Lian and pushed him to become what he is now?
After all, everything she had today… came from him.
But the thought was quickly tossed aside.
“Why would I sympathize with that kind of trash? Everything I have today was earned through my own hard work.
Yes, he helped me once, but that’s all in the past. What’s the point of remembering it?
Hmph. Whether or not this was his doing, I won’t let him off this time.
Shen Lian, if you still care about our bond as fellow disciples, then you should obediently die… and let Ye Fan have his peace!”
Just then, Tan Beihuan and Ai Buli arrived at the sect.