Chapter 477: Blood-Stained Peach Blossoms (5K5)

Rustle.

Shen Yi heard the wind in his ears as a fleeting scene flashed before his eyes.

Demons with ferocious faces rushed forward, piercing his chest with their claws.

Familiar faces filled with terror were torn apart by chaotic blades, blood splattering everywhere.

A great demon carrying a tide of crimson red swept across the sky, causing the city below to collapse and crumble, while the wails of wronged souls never ceased.

"..."

Shen Yi lightly flicked his sleeve, and that utterly fake illusionary realm instantly shattered.

He had cultivated the Spirit Soul Art during the Soul Transformation Realm, and after reaching the Void Return stage, his Spirit Soul surged again while practicing spiritual arrays.

Such crude illusions could hardly produce any effect on him anymore.

Shen Yi raised his gaze to look ahead.

Beyond the teleportation array lay a massive pit; the rough stone walls surrounding it stood a thousand zhang high, and every three feet, a hole was chiseled out, just large enough for one person to sit cross-legged.

Inside each cave sat a figure.

Among them were cultivators and mortals alike.

Their expressions were numb, eyes closed; they appeared as steady as a seated bell, with no external wounds on their bodies, yet their life force was dim, resembling a lamp running out of oil.

"Huff."

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze, finding it hard to calculate how many people were in the mountain wall.

He finally understood why Taoyuan Villa had the audacity to set its sights on the sacred land of the Xian Sect.

In a place as fraught with danger as Yu Nanhong, aside from the Dao-Integration sacred lands, nowhere else could likely provide such a terrifying number of living beings to fill this abyssal stone wall that stretched beyond sight.

As for the purpose.

One could roughly infer it from the illusion that had just invaded.

It did not harm the skin, only tormented the heart.

They experienced their innermost fears at all times until their minds collapsed.

The resentment reaching the sky nearly dyed the desolate sky above the pit gray.

And in the center of that gray expanse.

A pitch-black bead was absorbing the curling gray smoke.

With every wisp of gray smoke rising into the air, a seated figure in the stone wall would wobble and fall downward, dropping into the stinking mountain of white bones.

Soon, disciples of Taoyuan Villa would walk along the narrow stone steps, leading another living being to replace the fallen one.

The entire process flowed smoothly, requiring no commands from start to finish.

"Heh."

The Qingxi Great Demon's gaze turned solemn as it looked toward the area below the bead, where a black mist connected the bead with the withered figure atop the mountain of white bones.

"A life-extending method that takes a different path?"

"This old bastard really knows how to cherish his life."

Although the Qingxi Great Demon had only been a sixth-layer Void Return demon in life, it possessed some knowledge and immediately saw what Taoyuan Villa was doing.

Using resentful souls to obscure the Heavenly Dao, taking the breath of living beings to extend life.

Killing two birds with one stone.

Just then, a group of water creatures clad in fish-scale armor strode over boldly: "Why are you so late? Three hundred and twenty-seven thousand mortals; round off the remainder and hurry up."

They reached out toward the young man in black robes, looking impatient.

Shen Yi silently stared at this group of demons before him.

He had seen the Long Gong's fish-scale armor more than once before.

It seemed the price for buying life was not only sent to the shore; the waters had their share too.

Just then, dozens of figures surged in together.

Upon seeing the nearly twenty figures at the front wearing Nanyang Executive robes, more than a dozen Long Gong water soldiers suddenly changed color, sensing something amiss.

They knew Taoyuan Villa was making deals with Xian Sect executives.

But for cultivators to do such things was a grave crime if it became public; how could they possibly contact so many executives from the same sect at once?

"..."

Zhong Guangde, having barely escaped the madman's pursuit, stumbled into the pit and immediately signaled the Long Gong water soldiers with a glance.

The Long Gong water soldiers reacted, immediately taking out conch shells to send a message.

"Shen Zongzhu."

The executives of Nanyang Sect with the highest cultivation quickly broke free from the illusion array.

They rapidly moved closer to Shen Yi.

Arrays that disturb the mind, if constructed large enough to cover so many people, would cost so much that even the Xian Sect would feel the pain; thus, they settled for less, making it effective only on those with little cultivation.

They looked around with apprehension.

Clearly, the Zhu Sect was inspecting its vassals, yet now they were like birds in a cage, trapped with no way to escape.

Indeed, as the Dragon water soldiers lowered their conch shells.

Among the mountain of white bones, a towering Green-Scale Dragon General casually smashed a wine jar and cursed, "Making some extra money on the side is so troublesome; the price this time must be doubled."

As it rose, the terrifying aura of the ninth layer of the Void Return stage instantly spread.

At the same time, the withered figure on the mountain of white bones suddenly opened its eyes, and endless resentful souls seemed to surge within its cloudy gaze.

Before him, even that Green-Scale Dragon General appeared strangely insignificant.

A cultivator who had truly crossed that watershed!

Even though so many years had passed and he failed to breakthrough successfully, that mighty aura was still one that only a Void Return Perfection cultivator could possess.

The Lord of Taoyuan did not urge or plead as Zhong Guangde had.

Perhaps Nanyang Sect had already crossed his bottom line, or perhaps, in his quest to extend his life, he had absorbed too many wronged souls and lost his reason.

He rose into the air, and a dark Dao palace ten stories tall dominated the horizon, radiating overwhelming might.

Among it, spiritual light flickered, already bearing the scent of a candle guttering in the wind.

But in its place surged even more ferocious, thickened yin winds and blood qi.

"Have you seen what you came to see? Can you now rest in peace?"

Zhong Guangde rose into the air with a sinister chuckle, blocking everyone's escape.

The Nanyang Sect's senior officers were all tensed, their gazes fixed collectively on Shen Yi.

They had never imagined that Taoyuan Manor would dare commit such an act against heaven's will.

Zhong Guangde was right—once Nanyang Sect stepped in, there was no room for negotiation left.

To be honest… this time they'd played a little too big.

"…"

Shen Yi lowered his gaze to his palms, his fingertips twitching lightly.

The others were all uncertain and wary, but Nie Jun had guessed something.

The instant that thought flashed through his mind.

Even Nie Jun, famed as the Killing Embryo, felt his heartbeat quicken.

As Shen Yi's fingertips ceased their twitching.

The formation he had laid while seated in the great hall suddenly emerged across the entire Taoyuan Mountain.

The Five Element Precious Lotus Formation! Sixteen of them! Instantly engulfing Taoyuan Manor entirely.

This overwhelming momentum seemed to form four great characters.

Leave not a chicken or dog alive.

The moment Shen Yi's palm descended.

His black robe had been replaced by the white robe of the Sect Master, and between the brilliant sun emblem, golden flames erupted wildly.

With the Sect Master's robe enhancing him.

The golden flames burned away the gray mist, making the lifeless sky suddenly blindingly bright.

Blood sea churned, purple qi rose from the east.

Like the rising sun, it illuminated the entire deep pit with radiant glory, and even the malevolent aura swirling around the white bone mountain vanished swiftly.

The Wuliang Demon Emperor Palace, only five stories tall, now faintly rivaled the ten-story Dao palace.

"…"

Even the Lord of Taoyuan, in his clouded eyes, now flickered a trace of astonishment.

As a fully cultivated Reversing Void expert, though he could not join the true prodigies' struggle, over the years he had seen no few magnificent Dao palaces.

He had seen true heavenly palaces.

But Shen Yi's Wuliang Demon Emperor Palace contained a Hongmeng purple qi far surpassing that of any prodigy at the same realm!

Could it be… that heaven and earth were unjust?

Why would someone receive such a lavish gift?

The formation stirred again.

The silver-armored youth stepped forward slowly, each hand holding a corpse, which he casually tossed to the ground, blocking all escape routes.

"Are you all terribly afraid?"

He lifted his head, his flesh-torn face splitting into a grin, revealing blood-stained, bone-white teeth.

"Wretched thing."

The Qinglin Jiao General, clad in even finer fish-scale armor, waved his hand, and a long-handled great blade fell into his grasp.

He gave a signal to the dozen water soldiers.

Then he leapt into the air and slashed viciously toward the front of the formation at General Dao Hai!

Such a bizarre cultivator's palace was of grave importance—it must be reported to the Long Gong!

As for the matter of Taoyuan Manor, what did it have to do with him?

No one in the world dared default on the Long Gong's debt, even if they were only out here for a private job.

Swish—

The great blade sliced through the sky; its edge was so sharp that nearly everyone present instinctively recoiled.

Only the silver-armored youth slightly lifted his blank face, then raised his hand and caught the blade's edge with the tiger's mouth of his palm—cracks spiderwebbed from his palm, up his arm, and across his entire body.

He had barely managed to block that blow.

It revealed the vast gap in cultivation between them.

Yet just as the Qinglin Jiao General prepared to swing again, he met General Dao Hai's eyes—wild with terror and madness.

He froze for an instant.

The next moment, a shattered palm had slammed onto his face.

Boom—

The Qinglin Jiao General was blasted backward, shattering the white bone mountain.

Crack… crack…

General Dao Hai trudged slowly forward, his body broken, his steps unsteady, yet somehow radiating a wild, defiant aura.

Though he had never truly trained in Xiang Tianyan Si Jiu, after thirty thousand years of silent meditation, the overwhelming insights that shattered the mind had gradually seeped into his movements.

The Qingsi Great Demon also laughed wildly as he strode toward the Jiao General.

Two Return-to-Void Layer Eight cultivators, standing before the Long Gong demons of Return-to-Void Layer Nine, displayed an arrogance that was difficult for anyone to comprehend.

Just as all gazes converged upon this spot.

As the one with the highest cultivation within the deep pit.

The Master of Peach Blossom Manor stared fixedly at that robe of white from Nanyang.

Compared to those two strange Shi Gui, what truly made him feel something was amiss was that young Shen Zongzhu of Nanyang.

Watching the surging sea of golden flames and fire ripple with purple light.

he suddenly raised both palms.

Within the dark Dao Palace, a towering thousand-faced statue suddenly rose up.

Its body like a mountain range, its face like a fierce ghost.

Countless faces, some wailing in agony, some grinning savagely, some filled with venom, appeared and disappeared within the thick gray mist.

In an instant, the body of that thousand-faced evil ghost suddenly tilted forward, as if a fierce deity looked down upon the human world.

"Receive my bow!"

On the withered, skin-and-bone face of the Master of Peach Blossom Manor, his mouth opened and closed, emitting a hoarse and shrill sound.

That thousand-faced evil ghost suddenly knelt and bowed its head.

Resentful energy, condensed into solid form, swept outward, finally drawing everyone's thoughts away from the Shi Gui; in their hearts, it was as if heavy drums struck, the booming bang-bang-bang causing their faces to flush red, nearly dripping with blood.

Even those elders of the Shuiyueshang Alliance at Return-to-Void Layer Seven were now mentally unstable, as if they were about to be drowned by waves formed from the wails of aggrieved souls.

They were merely cultivators, not true immortals or gods.

How could they withstand the terrifying resentment condensed after countless living beings suffered torture?

And as for the existence facing this bow directly.

that magnificent white robe was instantly covered by the gray mist.

But it did not last long.

A sea of purple-gold flames surged forth, as if a heavenly phoenix circled, sweeping away demons and evil spirits.

Seeing the situation was unfavorable, the Master of Peach Blossom Manor once again formed a hand seal.

The massive thousand-faced evil ghost statue bowed straight down! Like a terrifying mountain range collapsing!

Countless faces smashed into the gray mist, with ear-piercing wails echoing within the deep pit.

When the gray mist finally dispersed.

countless faces shattered, adding a touch of desolation to their ferocity.

Before this massive kneeling thousand-faced statue, Shen Yi stood with hands hanging by his sides; the hem of his white robe swayed slightly, dispersing the thick resentment.

Purple-gold flames leaped upon the white robe.

Like purple dawn reflecting the great sun.

The terrifying statue knelt before that slender figure.

Shen Yi took a light step, stepping onto its head, following its spine, and calmly walked toward the withered old man in the sky.

For a giant of the Dao-Integration Realm, this was merely a casual robe.

But at this moment, with the support of this magical robe, the towering sea of purple-gold fire seemed capable of melting the entire Peach Blossom Manor.

As he stepped forward, a sharp bracer suddenly appeared on the arm beneath his sleeve.

It was also gray, but compared to the resentment-filled gray mist filling the dark Dao Palace, the gray of this armor was more like void, the end of all things.

Hongmeng Chen Ziqi enveloped his body, and the Gui Xu Immortal Armor protected him.

Shen Yi walked slowly to the front of the Master of Peach Blossom Manor.

Everything within the entire deep pit seemed to freeze at this moment.

General Dao Hai and the Green Scale Serpent General fought endlessly, their bodies nearly shattered; the Green Rhinoceros Great Demon was equally gruesome, but it merely grinned savagely, raising its broad palms above its head, clasping its fists to form a hammer, and struck down from the sky, smashing heavily onto the head of the serpent demon.

Boom!

General Dao Hai, who should have seized the opportunity to strike, now had fear in his eyes that was several times more intense.

He reached out to hold the serpent demon's head, forcing the other to look up, and whispered, "Look."

The serpent demon punched and shattered its right shoulder, yet saw that General Dao Hai showed not the slightest reaction, merely continuing to look upward, so it roared in furious rage:

"What are you looking at?!"

"Look... at the true sky..."

The fear in General Dao Hai's eyes turned into fanaticism.

Causing the serpent demon to instinctively raise its gaze; in the next moment, under the gaze of countless purple-gold eyes filling the sky, it felt its entire body grow cold.

In the vision of nearly everyone, a white robe appeared.

That Bai Xi and handsome face slowly turned to look back; within the purple-gold eyes, it seemed as if all laws of heaven and earth were contained.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Continuous explosions resounded throughout the deep pit; countless bursts of blood bloomed simultaneously, more vibrant than the peach blossoms covering Manshan!

Figures shattered instantly.

The deep pit immediately turned into a churning sea of blood.

Standing atop the thousand-faced evil ghost statue, Shen Yi's Bai Xi, jade-like fingertips were spotless; he held a Xuanji Cone and drove it into the old man's brow.

Only when the intense pain struck.

did the Master of Peach Blossom Manor snap out of that confusion; instinctively he tried to form a Dao technique, but the connection with the Dao Palace had suddenly become much sluggish.

It was just this momentary stagnation of a single breath.

that ten Xuanji Cords had already appeared on his body, sealing his brow, mouth, nose, four limbs, heart, and abdomen.

Within the dark Dao Palace, the second Dao technique began to gather once more.

But it was much slower than before.

The Peach Garden Lord watched helplessly as the young man rolled up his sleeves; his handsome face remained expressionless, yet now carried a hint of savagery.

In an instant, ferocious fists descended from all directions.

The perfected Tianyan Sijiu was unleashed once more with full force.

Under the combined influence of the Zongzhu's ceremonial robe, the gift from Xuan Qing, the two spiritual techniques, and the Xuanji Rope.

To fight from mid-Killed Fanxu to full cultivation, leaping across two major thresholds—this utterly unreasonable feat unfolded before the eyes of the Nanyang Sect's members.

Dark Dao Palace's gray mist surged violently, and cruel Dao techniques rained down upon the ground below.

Yet it was hard to keep up with that elusive figure.

The white robe surged through the air; each appearance shattered the withered elder's body.

From the sky to the ground.

It lasted no more than a dozen breaths.

The Peach Garden Lord felt as if years had passed—he felt like a lump of iron, hammered and forged a thousand times, yet never transformed.

For the one wielding the hammer had never intended to forge fine iron; he was merely venting his rage.

At the moment the withered elder hit the ground.

Five fingers tore through his body.

He violently shattered the elder's Dao Infant and internal organs.

Scorching golden flames burned him to ashes.

Shen Yi stood upon a sea of blood, watching the dark Dao Palace collapse layer by layer, finally exhaling a long, foul breath.

"Hu."

Behind him, within the deep pit, besides the shadow on the stone wall, only the Nanyang Sect's officials and two shattered Shi Gui remained.

The brilliant blood blossoms that had exploded in the air had now sunk into the earth; the dark red, stinking soil dimmed the bone mountain.

Shen Yi adjusted his breathing slightly, then turned and walked toward the formation, softly saying:

"Leave none alive."

At these words, the Qingxi Giant Beast and General Dao Hai leapt forward together, rushing toward the formation!

Without the protection of their masters, the remaining Peach Garden disciples could hardly resist the slaughter of two Killed Fanxu eighth-layer Zhen Shi.

Puch—

On the tender peach blossoms, blood suddenly stained them, making them appear even more vivid.

Countless screams echoed through the mountains and forests.

The entire process was not overly long.

Soon, within the former grand hall, only three trembling figures remained.

"Shen Zongzhu, do not harm us! We only came to admire the peach blossoms!"

"We are from the Meng Sect! Qingyue Sect… Qingyue Sect has helped you many times—have you forgotten?"

The Tianjian Sect's outer sect elder forced a smile; the Qingyue Sect official hurried to curry favor, while the Wushuang Sect official turned deathly pale and collapsed to the ground.

The layered Wu Xing Bao Lian Formation had trapped them all within the Peach Garden Manor.

Upon the main seat.

Shen Yi quietly flipped through the scrolls retrieved by the Nanyang Sect officials.

Behind each payment for life, those few simple characters represented a vast number of lives.

It was horrifying to behold.

The Nanyang Sect officials stared blankly.

They had indeed seen Shen Yi's ruthlessness before, but almost always against demons and monsters—this seemed to be the first time against cultivators…

A few of them recalled Li Qingfeng's earlier warning: Shen Zongzhu is not merely skilled at slaying demons.

Even after the Peach Garden Manor had no living souls left, the matter still did not seem over.

The Zongzhu… surely he wouldn't interfere with the Meng Sect's affairs.

At that moment.

Shen Yi finally came across several familiar names.

He slightly lifted his gaze, sweeping over the men before him.

"Don't you dare act rashly! I am an outer sect elder of the Tianjian Sect!" Xie Chaoyu stepped back, face contorted, shouting: "The Seven Sons Assembly has not yet been convened—you are not yet Zongzhu! Even if you were Zongzhu, you have no authority over the Tianjian Sect!"

The Qingyue Sect official's spirit shattered; he and the Wushuang Sect official collapsed together onto the floor.

As an official from the Meng Sect, the closest ally to Nanyang, he had heard rumors of this Zongzhu's nature…

"…."

Shen Yi gently placed the scroll upon the table.

His white robe did not stir.

Only three muffled thuds sounded below.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three skulls exploded simultaneously, adding more blood to the hall.

Nie Jun stood with sword in hand beneath the dais, staring blankly at the scene before him, suddenly feeling a strange unease—whether himself or the senior officials, they had all overcomplicated this matter.

Perhaps in Shen Zongzhu's eyes, there were no such convoluted schemes.

He was truly a very pure… killer.

(End of Chapter)