Chapter 590: A Sudden Turn

"Heh."

The scent of dragon blood quickly spread, flooding into everyone's nostrils, reminding them just how real the scene before their eyes truly was.

Even without its head, and with its upper body split down the middle, this Yellow Fiend Poison Dragon that once ruled over Nanhong's waters and lands still had not died. It simply had no will to fight left, its towering form staggering as it fled forward.

West Hong was just ahead — if it could cross that line, perhaps there was still hope.

Yet the youth in ink-black robes, golden-veined profound blade in hand, followed behind unhurriedly, and with every swing of his blade another horrifying gash appeared on the Crown Prince of the Ke family's mangled body.

Slisha! Slisha! Slisha!

Scarlet blood splattered without cease, and the Crown Prince of the Ke family's already stumbling steps grew slower and slower, as if he might collapse entirely at any moment, until his whole body was stained a dark crimson. Then, as Shen Yi raised his arm once more, the long blade finally drove viciously into his shoulder, sinking all the way to his chest and abdomen before stopping.

"Huu."

Shen Yi slowly loosened his grip — even the gaps between his fingers were coated in sticky, scalding blood. He lifted his gaze slightly, watching the mangled body before him seem to lose all its strength, totter to a halt, and then lifeless tumble forward.

He stored the Crown Prince of the Ke family's corpse into his thumb-ring, then slowly turned to look.

"..."

The instant that gaze swept over him, Cheng Xiaoyuan instinctively shivered. He truly could not imagine that anyone could wield a blade with such ruthless savagery while wearing such an indifferent expression, hacking a Heavenly-realm dragon yao to death right there on the water.

"What are you gawking at!"

Huang Wenfa's low bark jolted Cheng Xiaoyuan back to his senses, reminding him of Shen Zongzhu's earlier instructions.

The two shot forward in unison, activating the Town Yue Formation, transforming into a massive barrier that swept ahead, containing the roiling aura within the bounds of Nanhong.

"So that's what the heavenly phenomenon was."

Cheng Xiaoyuan's face was a mix of terror and something oddly bemused; while pouring everything into his art, he couldn't help but glance sideways at Huang Wenfa.

No wonder the other man had reacted so violently when the jade slip brought the news — he must have long known Shen Zongzhu's way of doing things.

Truly, when he said he'd kill, he killed; when he said not one left alive, not one was left alive — no room for negotiation whatsoever.

"My thanks for your trouble."

With these two Sect Masters of the Banshan Sect lending a hand, Shen Yi was spared considerable trouble.

His gaze fell upon the great nether mansion, and with a casual step he was before it. He waved a hand to dismiss the divine art, revealing within it a figure curled up like a snake, trembling.

From its initial frenzied rage to now burying its head within its own body—

Where was even a shred of the bearing of the eldest son of the Heavenly-realm West Long Gong in Qi Zhaoyi now?

Hearing the movement beside it, it dazedly raised its head. The spirit in those eyes had long since scattered; only the last wisp of soul remained to sustain life, and even that last wisp was like a candle in the wind, seeming as though it might extinguish at any moment.

Even so, upon seeing that damp figure in ink-black robes hovering before it, its pupils still instinctively contracted, and its mountain-like great head swiftly shrank back.

That was fear etched into its very bones!

Shen Yi reached out a hand, his slender five fingers gently resting upon its brow. The disparity in their sizes was already that of a mountain range to an ant — as if soothing a startled kitten.

Beneath that palm, the fear in Qi Zhaoyi's eyes finally receded somewhat, and it slowly closed its eyes.

Its soul, broken to the extreme, could no longer support even the memory of the identity of the person before it.

But in an instant, the instinct for crisis etched into its bones still made its whole body shudder violently. The blue heavens churned, the surrounding heaven-and-earth qi was instantly drained, converging upon that Bai Xi bloodstained palm.

Crack—

Qi Zhaoyi desperately tried to flee from that terrifying figure reeking of blood, but in its current state it could no longer control this dragon body, let alone resist the fully unleashed Divine Mountain Presses the Blue Heavens. It could only despairingly feel its skull splitting open, unable to even produce a roar.

Beneath the crushing weight of that vast force, the massive dragon head gradually deformed, cracks spreading like a spider's web, until it finally exploded apart!

Amid the sky-filling rain of blood, Shen Yi slowly withdrew his hand.

Two mid-Heavenly-realm dragon yao falling nearly simultaneously sent the aura of this stretch of heaven and earth into utter upheaval; the thick scent of blood spread through that aura across all of Nanhong!

The rolling clouds and mist took on a faint crimson flush.

As if a great sun were setting, plunging this entire stretch of water and land into the embrace of dusk — only this dusk carried an undispellable scent of slaughter, making the heart grow cold at the sight.

"..."

Baohua Zongzhu stared fixedly at Shen Zongzhu in the sky. Even now, not a single drop of his own blood stained that dark-red long robe.

Single-handedly slaying two dragon yao — and utterly unscathed!

Across all of Nanhong, the only one who could accomplish this, upon reflection, was probably the South Long Wang alone.

This young Sect Master, in but a short span of time, had already become an existence on par with the Long Wang. Though perhaps still a touch short, it was already impossible to imagine just how astonishing his future would become!

Baohua Zongzhu had previously felt it rather a pity that her own disciple, while at General Nanyang Sect, had never had the chance to properly catch up with this Shen Zongzhu and ease the longing in her heart.

After all, not everything in this world demands an outcome.

Now, however, her thoughts suddenly shifted.

Judging by Shen Zongzhu's performance, if her disciple truly had the chance to come into closer contact with him and then fall for him, the consequences would likely be countless times more tragic than her own as the master.

For those existences one can gaze upon but never reach, the best choice is... not to gaze at all.

"Shen Yi still has matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

Storing away the corpse of the Jade-Horned Silver Dragon, Shen Yi cupped his hands in farewell to Baohua Zongzhu, then summoned forth black clouds and vanished into the horizon.

After all, when he had left earlier he hadn't explained things clearly enough to Senior Deng. The fall of a Heavenly-realm being would also produce an aura fluctuation impossible to conceal, and he didn't wish for the Sect Masters of the several Meng Sect to worry too much — better to return sooner rather than later.

"Please rest assured, Shen Zongzhu — we shall certainly not let this news spread beyond Nanhong."

The three cupped their hands in return, watching Shen Yi depart.

Then, exchanging glances, each saw the complexity in the others' eyes. The shock had been too great, reaching a point of numbness; they wanted to say something, but didn't know where to begin.

But one thing was certain.

Nanhong — from this day forth, the heavens were about to change.

Nanhongqi Sect.

Under the gaze of her fellow disciples, Deng Xiangjun lowered her head, her face full of shame.

The so-called "ask three questions, know not a single one."

Where did Shen Zongzhu go, what did he go do, and when will he be back?

Faced with these questions, he opened his mouth, but couldn't get a single word out.

"I told you to go find Shen Yi, and you brought his Dao tablet back instead?"

Ye Jiu's eye twitched several times, a breath stuck in his chest, nearly choking him to death with fury.

"You can't really blame Zhu Shixiong Deng for this. Shen Zongzhu just does things this way—he has his own ideas."

Ji Jingxi was worried too, but after all, she had gone to West Hong with Shen Yi before, so she had some understanding of this young sect leader.

"I couldn't make him stay, and I can't catch up to him either, I... I..."

Seeing that someone finally understood her, Deng Xiangjun finally showed a hint of grievance.

"Am I blaming him?"

Ye Jiu waved his sleeve irritably: "Those few mudfish aren't here right now. Who knows if they've gone to ambush Shen Yi? We don't even have a direction to look for him!"

They had also heard the South Long Wang's long howl earlier; the old mudfish's emotions were clearly not normal.

Ye Jiu didn't actually doubt Shen Yi's strength, but...

"Now that the facade has been torn off, what dirty tricks wouldn't they resort to?"

"Shh."

Qi Yansheng suddenly raised his head, raising a hand to stop the others' conversation.

He frowned, staring at the horizon, watching the red glow that rapidly unfurled like a line connecting heaven and earth, dyeing the entire sky a faint red.

Seeing this, the few of them all fell silent.

As sect leaders of the South Hong Seven Sons, there was nothing they hadn't seen. A sight like this, they could identify at a glance.

But precisely because they recognized it, they stood frozen in place.

The aura of a Heavenly Realm expert was too dense; their fall would cause that aura to return to heaven and earth, triggering all kinds of strange phenomena. Even across all of Hongze, such a scene was rarely seen once in tens of thousands of years.

Yet here in this remote corner of South Hong, in just these few days, they had witnessed it twice.

In this stretch of water and land, the people who could fight a Heavenly Realm expert were only a handful.

And there was one existence who, every time a strange phenomenon occurred, had "coincidentally" gone out on business.

Ye Jiu turned his head, sweeping a somewhat numb gaze over his fellow disciples: "Him again?"

Before the others could respond.

He continued asking: "Who died this time?"

Ji Jingxi pressed her lips together. The answer was already obvious. If the South Long Wang had fallen, the commotion would have been far greater than this. So the remaining possibilities were either the Ke Family Crown Prince or Qi Zhaoyi... or perhaps both had died together.

When that final thought surfaced in her mind.

Even Ji Jingxi herself was startled. It seemed that as long as it involved Shen Yi, she felt anything was possible—even the absurd notion of him single-handedly slaying two mid-Heavenly Realm dragon demons...

"Follow me!"

Ye Jiu summoned his Flowing Light treasured sword, his body shooting forth.

"Where to?" Deng Xiangjun asked instinctively.

But she saw him turn back, roll his eyes at her, and say through gritted teeth: "To greet our great Shen Sect leader."

Ye Jiu truly couldn't figure it out. In Shen Yi's eyes, what exactly were they to him?

He was the Sword of the Seven Sons. This kind of thing was what he, the sword, should be doing. What the other man needed to do was hold down the rear, take charge of the big picture, and be the reassuring presence in everyone's heart.

He was the trump card of the South Hong Seven Sons—an existence that absolutely could not have anything happen to it!

Unless Shen Yi never considered himself part of the Seven Sects to begin with, or, deep down, never took them seriously, treating them merely as usable pawns.

"..."

Ji Jingxi saw Ye Jiu's displeasure, but didn't try to dissuade him. Right now she only wanted to find Shen Yi as quickly as possible, to know how he was doing.

All six sect leaders set out together, sweeping grandly toward the front.

But before they had gone far from the sect, Ye Jiu stopped his sword-riding, gazing into the distance.

He saw, above the waters, a blood-soaked figure standing with arms at his sides, quietly staring down at the water below. His gaze carried an intense penetrating power, as if it could pierce through the endless azure waves and look straight toward the dragon lair at the deepest part of South Hong.

Perhaps their temperaments really were similar.

In just one glance, Ye Jiu read Shen Yi's thoughts.

This kid... had indeed slain the Ke Family Crown Prince. He was now mulling over whether the South Long Wang, enraged by the fall of his eldest legitimate son, would act impulsively for once and leave that dragon lair to fight to the death.

Sure enough, after sensing the approach of many auras, Shen Yi finally withdrew his gaze, a trace of barely perceptible disappointment flashing through his eyes.

The entire stretch of water was silent as a graveyard.

Even the death of his own son couldn't make that old dragon lose his reason. Shen Yi truly couldn't think of any other way to provoke him.

If he couldn't slay this old dragon, then his plan would be shelved right here.

South Hong, which seemed to have weathered its crisis, had actually fallen into a death-bound situation.

The reason was simple.

No matter how mysterious the Wan Yao Dian was, with powerful forces like the Liangdaohuang Sect and the Yue Family, and the West Long Gong still waiting in vain for Qi Zhaoyi to return—once they reacted and began joining forces to investigate with full force, they could absolutely trace the clues back to South Hong.

Only Shen Yi knew that he had no astonishing talent to speak of.

If he really stayed in some treasure land and entered seclusion, perhaps until his lifespan ran out and the day he sat down to pass away, his cultivation and strength wouldn't change much.

Beneath his leaping-like growth lay countless buried demon bones.

It was by climbing this staircase of white bones that the "boundless future" Shen Zongzhu of today had come to be.

Take breaking through to the Heavenly Realm, for instance—he needed a massive amount of Harmonization Realm demon suppression stones. Once cornered and trapped in South Hong, it meant his path forward was severed.

Of course, Shen Yi could send the many demon suppression stones out to hunt, but that would only heighten the risk of being targeted by the many forces of North Hong. Without cultivation that towered above all others, what would he use to contend against so many forces?

He very much needed a territory of his own.

At the very least, he needed to occupy the lands of both Hongs before he had the confidence to wrestle with an immortal.

And how much time he still had depended on how quickly those factions gathered information.

To place hope in others…

"Huh."

Shen Yi slowly exhaled, turned, and walked toward the several Zongzhu: "Let's return first."

No matter what, he must not let his own ranks fall into chaos first.

"…"

The several looked at Shen Yi, paused in thought, heard his vague reply, and then headed toward the Qi Sect, exchanging glances.

It was as if his claim of going to handle matters was nothing more than a casual stroll.

Ye Jiao could no longer hold back; he sighed and asked: "Can you tell me how many He Dao–stage demonic beasts came from Xi Hong?"

"Hm?"

Shen Yi turned back with slight confusion and replied offhand: "Twelve."

Hearing such certainty, and such an exact number.

Not just the other Zongzhu, even Ji Jingxi couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

Though she didn't know how Shen Yi had done it, she now seemed to understand why Nan Hong had suddenly fallen quiet these past days.

Ye Jiao closed his eyes, fell silent for a moment, then asked: "And what of this celestial anomaly?"

"Two Long Zhangzi."

Shen Yi finally understood—he was used to traveling alone, and had overlooked how these elders had protected Nan Hong for years, their goodwill and concern for the cultivators and living beings.

Now that most of the matter was resolved, there was no longer need to worry about affecting the Meng Sect; except for the matter of Wan Yao Dian, little else needed concealment.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Though he had suspected before, now that he finally heard the confirmed answer.

All the Zongzhu's faces showed unmistakable shock.

Especially Deng Xiangjun, who now gained a truer understanding of what Shen Zongzhu meant by "handling matters."

"Ye Xie thanks you on behalf of Nan Hong. Your great kindness will be remembered forever."

As the shock slowly faded, Ye Jiao bowed deeply and murmured:

"I never imagined anyone could eliminate such a great disaster single-handedly, without a trace."

"Even I cannot do it now."

But soon, he unclenched his palms, a complex expression forming on his lips: "So… do you still need me?"

As Lord of Tianjian Sect, the humiliation he had endured these days—he had endured it, because he still held a sliver of hope: that on the day General General Nanyang rose again, there would still be a use for his rusted, broken sword.

But now it seemed this new General General Nanyang Zongzhu had never once counted him in his plans.

Hearing these strange words.

Shen Yi fell silent.

Not because he didn't know how to respond, but because Qinghua had sent new news: the immortal stationed in Hong Ze could no longer hold back—he had used Bai Xi's artifact to initiate contact with her.

"…"

Shen Yi's silence caused Ye Jiao's complex expression to slowly turn to self-mockery.

The other Zongzhu, including Ji Jingxi, stood silently in place; if even Ye Jiao failed to catch Shen Zongzhu's attention, then they had even less chance.

Perhaps to such a prodigy, the title of General General Nanyang Zongzhu was merely a trivial episode on his cultivation path.

As for the hopes they had pinned on him, it was inherently unreasonable—neither the immortal nor Bei Hong had any grudge against him.

Shen Zongzhu had no reason to do so much for a faction he had only recently met.

To lend a helping hand was already a great favor.

But they had no other choice; having glimpsed even a sliver of hope, they could only numb themselves, soothing the heart that longed for revenge yet trembled with fear.

(End of Chapter)