Chapter 246: The End

Watching Hun Miesheng and his companion leave, Xiao Han did not continue the pursuit; it was a fruitless endeavor, so why waste the energy?

He turned his gaze instead toward the pale and despairing Qingming Shengzhe and his companion, his expression carrying a chilling, bone-piercing cold.

"The two of you, are there any other reinforcements you can show this Saint?"

……

Ten minutes later.

A spear tip glinting with cold pierced through Wuyue Laoren's long blade, pinning him dead into this ten-thousand-foot mountain range.

Ignoring the ground that had sunk several hundred feet all around, Wuyue Laoren widened his eyes, staring fixedly at Xiao Han, until slowly, the light faded from his eyes.

"Well, choose a way to die!" Xiao Han said with "compassion," "You are an elder, after all; I should at least show you that basic respect."

After finishing, Xiao Han specifically added: "But... dying of old age is not among the options!"

Qingming Shengzhe's aura was withered at this moment, his body bathed in blood, and one arm was missing, yet his voice remained as full of vigor as ever. He suddenly looked at Xiao Han:

"Don't you want to know why Hun Miesheng and the others appeared here?"

"You know?" Xiao Han raised an eyebrow, and the movement of his hand stalled.

"Spare that batch of Qingjin Sect disciples who left the Central Plains," Qingming Shengzhe requested.

He did not believe Langya Pavilion would completely let the Qingjin Sect go, but he only wanted to preserve a glimmer of hope.

In fact, this group of people stationed at the Qingjin Sect was meant to be abandoned from the start, which was why they knew almost nothing.

The few Sect Masters and the small number of Elders who knew the truth had all volunteered to stay behind and sacrifice themselves.

"Hmm..." Xiao Han lowered his head in thought for a long while, then replied: "Very well, but this Saint can only guarantee that my Langya Pavilion will not strike at those people."

As for the Qingjin Sect being besieged by other small sects along the way, that was no business of his, the Ice Saint.

"Good!"

Qingming Shengzhe also revealed a look of joy. Although the strongest among those relocated disciples were only Dou Zongs, if they gathered together, ordinary Dou Zun experts would not be able to trouble them. In this way... they could settle down outside the Central Plains and establish a foothold.

Developing steadily, one day, their Qingjin Sect would return to the Central Plains.

"Many thanks, Pavilion Master Su!" This gratitude was sincere; at the very least, the legacy had been preserved for the time being.

"Now you can speak," Xiao Han said coldly.

"No problem." Qingming Shengzhe nodded, but the truth he spoke made Xiao Han want to kill him.

"Hun Miesheng and the others have been lying in wait here for a month, specifically waiting for you, Ice Saint."

"What do you mean?"

Lying in wait? How did Hun Miesheng know he was coming to the Qingjin Sect?

As if knowing what Xiao Han was thinking, Qingming Shengzhe explained:

"The Ice Saint's nature of never letting a grudge go unavenged has spread throughout the Central Plains. Hun Miesheng concluded that once you left seclusion, you would definitely attack our Qingjin Sect and the Tianyue Sect within a short time."

"So he came here personally to lie in wait."

Xiao Han felt somewhat helpless; this Hun Miesheng really had calculated him quite clearly. Once he was free, he had indeed headed straight for these two sects.

Then, a thought occurred to him: "Then what if I had gone to the Tianyue Sect? Or what if I hadn't come at all?"

Although he asked this, Xiao Han was also quite fortunate; if anyone else had come, they likely would have lost their life here.

Qingming Shengzhe said with some bitterness:

"The personnel at the Tianyue Sect's station were also abandoned pawns, and besides, Wuyue Laoren's speed is much faster than our Qingjin Sect's."

"After returning from the Space Trading Fair, he personally took action to relocate a group of people and a large amount of the sect's wealth; no one knows the whereabouts of those things at all."

"If you hadn't gained anything, you naturally would have turned to our Qingjin Sect."

"The reason Wuyue Laoren came to participate in the siege against you was simply because he knew you would never let him go."

The more Qingming Shengzhe thought about it, the more he regretted it. Why had he been so blinded by greed back then? If they hadn't stirred up trouble, even if the sect's power had shrunk, they could have survived. Now...

Everything was gone!

He had originally thought that joining forces with the Soul Hall could repel or even kill the Ice Saint, but the other party had been useless!

"This Wuyue Laoren thought things through quite clearly!" The corners of Xiao Han's mouth seemed to be smiling.

"Then..." Xiao Han said slowly: "Elder, please go to your death!"

The next instant, the corpse of a Dou Saint appeared on the continent.

Xiao Han flashed, appearing on the battlefield where Langya Pavilion was fighting the alliance of the Qingjin Sect and the Tianyue Sect. Under the reverent gazes of the Langya Pavilion members and the fearful gazes of the Qingjin Sect crowd, a brilliant ice blade pierced through the bodies of one expert after another...

Two hours later.

"Reporting to Pavilion Master, everything has been handled; there are no survivors!"

The Elder responsible for the report took out a corpse with wide-open eyes: "This is the corpse of the Qingjin Sect Master, Qing Yunlie. Please take a look, Pavilion Master."

"Hmm." Xiao Han first confirmed there were no issues, then quickly frowned, "What about the Tianyue Sect Master's?"

The Elder was somewhat puzzled but still replied: "The Tianyue Sect Master did not appear on the battlefield."

"Interesting." Xiao Han narrowed his eyes. The elite of the Tianyue Sect had come to support the Qingjin Sect, and even the Supreme Elder had died here, yet the Sect Master was not present.

This Tianyue Sect was much shrewder than the Qingjin Sect!

Xiao Han did not dwell too much on this question. He observed the surroundings and said to no one in particular: "The spectacle for today is about over; everyone, please disperse!"

"This vast territory of the Qingjin Sect cannot be left without someone to guard it!"

Prompted by Xiao Han, those experts hiding in the shadows suddenly realized. The Qingjin Sect had been destroyed; although its sect wealth would fall entirely into the hands of Langya Pavilion, this territory would not be moved!

Moreover, listening to the Ice Saint's implication, their Langya Pavilion did not want these places, so they should hurry back to gather their teams and take over the territory.

Xiao Han's words were like a switch; suddenly, everyone began to return and get busy.

Finally...

Looking at the joyful crowd before him, Xiao Han knew that each of them had made a tidy profit. But he did not do anything about it.

In this situation, as long as they handed over what was obtained from the Qingjin Sect's treasury, the spoils from killing enemies were all personal property, and there had to be corresponding rewards; otherwise, who would still risk their lives for the sect?

Looking down at the Qingjin Mountain Range below, Xiao Han took a deep breath; ever since the Qingjin Sect had risen to prominence, the other party had stopped mining and selling Qingjin stone, believing it would damage the sect's fortune, but now it had become their gain.

Xiao Han's hands moved in rapid succession, forming a series of strange hand seals, followed by a low shout: "Rise!"

After a bout of earth-shaking tremors, the massive mountain range soared into the air, gradually shrinking under Xiao Han's control until it finally became an object in his palm.

"Return to the pavilion!" Looking eagerly at the small sculpture in his hand, Xiao Han could not help but smile.

Compared to the fruitful harvest of Xiao Han's party at the Qingjin Sect, Thunder Spirit was currently looking gloomily at the corpses and the mountain gate below.

Damn it, he had finally come out for a trip, only to find nothing; although the number of people in the Tianyue Sect was not small, looking around, let alone that Dou Sheng Ancestor, the Half-Saint Sect Master and the vast majority of the Dou Zun powerhouses were all nowhere to be found.

After searching for a long time, they only found a storehouse that had been almost completely emptied; the others were also full of displeasure, but upon seeing Lei Zhanglao's gaze, they instantly became cautious.

"Thunder Fall!"

Dark, oppressive thunderclouds, under the control of Thunder Spirit, hung over the sky above the Tianyue Sect, and countless pale golden lightning snakes bombarded the Tianyue Sect's base; in less than ten minutes, it was a scene of broken walls and ruins.

Even so, Thunder Spirit still did not feel relieved, continuing to bombard it wildly for nearly half an hour, even shaving off thousands of feet from the Tianyue Sect's mountain peaks, forcibly turning the mountain range into low hills.

"Hmph!" Thunder Spirit flicked his sleeves and said coldly: "Let's go!"

"Yes!"