Chapter 417: Another Soul Gathering Card Acquired

The sacrifice was interrupted.

But the massive tumor, having lost the precise guidance of the Soul Devouring Master's spirit, did not immediately cease its swelling and agitation; instead, due to the sudden chaos in energy input, it became even more unstable.

"Thump~" "Thump~" "Thump~"

Its pulsations pounded like war drums; cracks widened, and within, countless things seemed to thrash wildly, desperate to burst free.

The aura of destruction continued to climb.

"The Holy Embryo is going out of control!"

Jin Ao's face turned pale; he could feel that if the energy within the tumor erupted fully, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"…"

Chen Mu, having picked up the card, looked up at the tumor like a womb birthing a demon, his gaze icy.

He took a deep breath, channeling all remaining true qi from his body, while his spiritual essence in the mind sea blazed brightly, pushing the Triple Heaven Sword Intent to its peak and pouring it all into the Sunken Dragon Sword!

The blade's surface glowed again, but this time, within the radiance, faint shadows of the Five Elements swirled and faded, finally resolving into a strange hue like the primordial dawn of yin and yang.

Chen Mu condensed all his strength, all his will, into this single strike.

He crouched slightly, then sprang up like a drawn bowstring releasing its full power.

He and the sword became one—a brilliant streak of light that tore through space, surging upward to pierce the very core of the pulsing, swelling evil tumor.

The strongest technique of the True Martial Annihilating Demon Sword Art!

This strike embodied Chen Mu's deeper understanding of power, sword dao, and yin-yang since his breakthrough to the See-Spirit-Invulnerable realm.

"Break—!!!"

In his roar, the sword light collided violently with the tumor.

There was no deafening explosion.

Only a deep, muffled crack, as if originating from the depths of the soul.

The brilliant sword light, like the first ray of light splitting heaven and earth, plunged into the tumor's core of chaos and darkness!

The tumor's swelling halted abruptly.

From its surface cracks, what spewed forth was no longer foul sludge, but ash and pure energy streams, purified and annihilated by the sword light.

The heart-stopping pulsations rapidly weakened and vanished.

The entire tumor, from within, was slowly disintegrated and dissolved by the sword light imbued with purification and annihilation, inch by inch.

Like snow melting under the sun, or filth cleansed by a holy ritual.

Within mere breaths, the massive tumor—over three zhang in diameter, radiating terrifying evil energy—was utterly reduced to countless drifting specks and dust, devoid of any evil aura, gently falling like snow.

The sludge in the blood pool, as if deprived of its core support, ceased boiling swiftly, its color dimming, the thick stench greatly diminished.

The cave stopped shaking.

All fell silent.

Only Chen Mu, hovering midair with sword in hand, breathing lightly, and below, by the blood pool, Jin Ao's stunned gaze remained.

Silence lasted for several breaths.

Jin Ao exhaled a long, heavy breath, as if expelling all his shock and dread from his chest.

He walked to the corpse of the Soul Devouring Master, confirmed he was truly dead, then looked up at Chen Mu as he slowly landed, his eyes filled with complex emotion.

That single sword strike, purifying the evil embryo, had surpassed his understanding of a Ground Altar cultivator.

This man's strength and methods were far beyond those of an ordinary free cultivator—perhaps even stronger than he, the Lord of Li Huo Sect and No. 28 on the Master Rankings!

Chen Mu landed, sheathed the Sunken Dragon Sword, and adjusted his breath slightly.

That strike had consumed much, but the result satisfied him.

"Today, thanks to Brother Qin!"

Jin Ao took a deep breath, clasped his fists, and said, "Had it not been for Brother Qin's heroic intervention, slaying the old demon and purifying the evil embryo, not only would the vengeance of my Li Huo Sect's disciples remain unfulfilled, but Wu Long Prefecture and even Shannan Dao might have faced a catastrophe! Jin Mou, on behalf of the Li Huo Sect and the people of Wu Long Prefecture, thanks you for your great grace!"

His posture was humble, his gratitude and reverence genuine.

"Lord Jin, you overstate it."

Chen Mu waved his hand. "Eliminating the Mo Sect and protecting the realm is every cultivator's duty. Lord Jin braved peril to investigate the Shishen Sect, and your disciples gave their lives for it—truly admirable. Alas, I could not save your three esteemed disciples."

At the mention of the dead disciples, Jin Ao's eyes flickered with pain again, but it quickly hardened into resolve. "They died fighting demons—died as they should. All of Li Huo Sect will remember this vengeance; we will exterminate every last remnant of the Shishen Sect!"

He paused, glanced at the ruined cave, especially the blood pool—though calmed, still filthy—and frowned. "Brother Qin, though we've destroyed this place, residual evil energy or hidden dangers may still linger in the blood pool and cavern. It must be fully dealt with."

"Also, the Shishen Sect has operated here for a long time; there may be other hidden agents or backdoors. We must swiftly report this to the Wu Long Prefecture Office and inform the Ju Ling Sect for a thorough investigation."

"Lord Jin speaks wisely."

Chen Mu nodded. "The aftermath here, and the full-prefecture manhunt for remnants, must be coordinated by Lord Jin with the local Town Martial Office and Prefecture Office."

Jin Ao immediately understood. "Brother Qin, rest assured."

The two briefly discussed further arrangements.

Jin Ao pulled out a Li Huo Sect emergency communication device, briefly reported the situation, and activated it for aid.

Chen Mu rechecked the cave, confirming no other hidden chambers remained.

About half an hour later, distant sounds of air-splitting approached; the chief of Wu Long Prefecture's Town Martial Office, the Prefecture's Chief Constable, and several senior elders of Li Huo Sect arrived together.

When the group saw the scene inside the cave—especially the corpse of the Soul Devouring Master and the purified remains of the evil embryo—they were all utterly stunned.

Jin Ao gave no details of the battle, only saying he had teamed up with a passing righteous expert, endured a grueling fight, and barely won.

Though curious about the whereabouts of the "righteous expert," none dared press further upon seeing Jin Ao's reluctance; they assumed it was some reclusive master unwilling to reveal himself.

Under the joint cleanup by Li Huo Sect and official experts, the blood pool was completely buried and burned, and every tunnel in the cavern was inspected and sealed.

Residual evil energy in the cave was repeatedly burned and purified by Jin Ao's Li Huo True Qi.

When the group finally left Hei Feng Ao and returned to Wu Long Prefecture, the eastern horizon had begun to lighten with dawn.

A new day was about to begin.

Chen Mu did not return to Huicheng with Jin Ao and the others.

At mid-journey, he silently vanished, just as he had come, returning soundlessly to his rented courtyard.

After entering the house, he examined the cards he had collected: besides True Qi cards and Skill cards, there was also a Concentration card!

"Not a bad haul."

……

The rising sun dispelled the last traces of gloom over Wulong Prefecture, carrying away the blood and corruption of the night at Heifeng Pass.

Though the townsfolk had sensed the great battle outside the city and the earth-shaking tremors of the previous night, the prefecture office promptly issued a notice stating "a landslide occurred outside the city, and authorities were organizing rescue efforts"; combined with the ongoing curfew and widespread fear, no major unrest arose.

Only a few well-informed or directly involved cultivators knew what had truly happened that night.

Chen Mu's life returned to calm.

For the next half-month, he trained in the morning and went to Hero Hall in the afternoon.

That morning, as usual, he activated the Duan Tianhe Scripture to sense the surroundings.

Suddenly, he linked to a sharp, piercing aura.

"Tianzong Yun Jian?!"