Chapter 1218: Why Spare a Single Battle?

However, Yan Buji's "My Desire" path is bizarre and unfathomable; it stirs the desire that already exists in living beings' hearts, not a pure energy attack. The Return-to-Null field can weaken its effect, but cannot eradicate it! Especially for cultivators whose mind‑body cultivation is weaker, the effect is minimal!

"Hehe… Return-to-Null? Indeed subtle, can erase energy, but can it erase the 'desire' innate to all beings?" Yan Buji's cold laugh rang out, with a hint of cat‑catching‑mouse teasing.

Immediately, that divine thought shifted again, and a more direct, more domineering devouring force materialized out of thin air!

It does not target the flesh, but the cultivation and vitality!

"Snake devours elephant—steal!"

Buzz!

In the void, it seemed as if an invisible, formless yet truly existent huge mouth opened! All cultivators driven by desire and whose mind had faltered felt their spiritual power, life force, even their comprehension of Dao techniques uncontrollably leave their bodies, turning into streams of light that the invisible giant mouth greedily devoured!

"My cultivation! No!"

"Help! Senior Han, save me!"

The screams grew even more mournful! Those being devoured shrank and aged at a visible speed, eventually turning into dry bones that drifted with the wind! Within a few breaths, more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators and two early‑stage Elders of the Refining Void were seized!

This was not direct killing, but a more cruel "harvest"! Yan Buji even used the opportunity to replenish the consumption from previously suppressing the Swallow Desire Pot's backlash!

"Cheat!" Xiao Ran's eyes widened to the brink of bursting, disregarding his own injuries; man and sword merged, becoming a dazzling sword rainbow that rose against the heavens, slashing toward the core of that oppressive pressure! He would use his sword to cut through the demon's will!

"Mayfly shakes the tree."

A cold assessment rang out. Xiao Ran's sword rainbow, still a hundred zhang from the pressure core, collided with an invisible wall of sighs and shattered with a boom! He himself was struck as if by a heavy blow, blood spraying wildly, flipping back from the air, his breath instantly waning!

Han Wuxian's gaze hardened; he knew he could no longer let Yan Buji run rampant!

"Return-to-Null—Silence Extinction Domain!"

He let out a low roar, driving his own Harmonizing Dao stage cultivation and his understanding of the Return-to-Null Dao to the limit! Centered on him, a denser, larger gray domain suddenly unfolded! Within the domain, all things withered, laws fell silent, even the invisible desire‑driven devouring force was forcibly suppressed and delayed!

However, employing this "Silence Extinction Domain" drained Han Wuxian greatly; his complexion turned slightly pallid, and he could only barely protect the dozens of core people nearby, unable to cover the entire Broken Soul Cliff!

"Oh? Interesting." Yan Buji's divine thought showed a hint of surprise, then turned into deeper coldness, "But is that all?"

The invisible devouring force suddenly intensified, even beginning to erode Han Wuxian's "Silence Extinction Domain"! The gray domain's edges kept wavering, emitting a strained buzzing!

Han Wuxian let out a muffled hum, a strand of fresh blood spilling from his mouth corner. He was still newly entered the Harmonizing Dao stage; facing Yan Buji, a demon who had immersed in the Great Vehicle realm for years and had just broken through the "My Desire" realm, even a mere wisp of divine thought striking from afar pressed heavily upon him!

He could fend off the desire‑driven pull, he could fend off the cultivation devouring, but he could not fully protect everyone, nor could he completely dispel that wisp of divine thought!

"Han Wuxian, I acknowledge, you are a worthy opponent," Yan Buji's voice rang again, with a hint of condescending "admiration," "Unfortunately, your time of growth is too short. Today, I shall first collect some interest."

As soon as the words fell, that divine thought abruptly contracted, turning into an ultra‑condensed gray filament, ignoring the "Silence Extinction Domain" defenses and instantly stabbing toward Han Wuxian's brow‑centered Sea of Consciousness! This was a pure, "My Desire"‑infused divine soul attack! He intended to grievously damage Han Wuxian's foundation!

"Master, watch out!" Qing Lin shouted, trying to stand before Han Wuxian, but was knocked aside by the aftershock of that divine soul attack!

Han Wuxian's pupils contracted sharply, the Core of the Source Star in his Sea of Consciousness spun wildly, and chaotic Return-to-Null Qi erected layered defenses around the divine soul!

Boom!

The gray filament pierced the Sea of Consciousness with force!

Han Wuxian's body convulsed violently, his complexion turning instantly paper‑gold, as if tens of thousands of steel needles churned in his Sea of Consciousness, the divine soul sending tearing pain! The "My Desire" will was like a maggot attached to bone, crazily corroding his mind, attempting to warp his self!

He clung to the last sliver of clarity in his spirit platform, as chaotic Return-to-Null Qi fiercely battled and annihilated the invading will!

In the end, the gray filament's power was exhausted and slowly dissipated. Yet Han Wuxian also paid a price; his divine soul was severely wounded, his breath erratic, and he would be unable to regain his peak for a short time.

Within Broken Soul Cliff, after this rampage, corpses littered the ground, survivors were fewer than half of the original number, each bearing wounds and faces of terror. The morale that had just been mustered suffered a devastating blow.

"Hehe… enjoy this despair fully. When my true body descends, it will be the time of your complete Silence Extinction."

Yan Buji's divine thought left a final cold sentence, receding like the tide, vanishing without a trace.

In the stone forest, a dead silence.

Only the wind's whimper and the suppressed breaths and sobs of the survivors.

Han Wuxian slowly wiped the blood from his mouth corner; though his chaotic eyes bore fatigue and pain, more than that was a resolve chilled to the extreme.

This time, he truly could not hold back, paying a grievous price.

But he recorded this blood debt.

The dead silence of Broken Soul Cliff seemed able to devour souls.

The remaining people stared at the ground strewn with dry bones and wreckage, their eyes filled with post‑catastrophe bewilderment and bone‑deep fear. The flame of resistance that had just ignited was almost entirely extinguished. Yan Buji, with merely a wisp of divine thought, had caused them massive losses, even the strongest Han Wuxian was wounded. If his true self were to appear… no one dares imagine that scene.

Despair, like a cold poisonous snake, coiled around everyone's heart.

"Cough…" Han Wuxian suppressed the divine soul's searing pain and surging blood, slowly straightening his body. His complexion remained pale, but the light in his chaotic eyes was like tempered cold iron, becoming sharper and more resolute. He scanned the survivors, taking in all their fear and helplessness.

"Did everyone see?" Han Wuxian's voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly in each ear, carrying a cold penetrating force, "This is the enemy we are about to face. He shows no mercy, no leniency, regards all beings as provisions, feeding on the desires of ten thousand spirits. Escape? Surrender? The outcome will be just like them."

He pointed at the dry bones on the ground, his voice cutting like a sword: "Turn to ash, become his stepping stones to higher realms!"

The crowd's bodies shivered, and as they looked at the tragic state of their comrades, the fear in their eyes gradually gave way to a deeper grief and resolve.

"Comrade Han is right!" Xiao Ran struggled to stand, his robe stained with blood, his breath weak, but his sword heart seemed to have been baptized in the recent setback, becoming more refined, "Today's humiliation, today's blood, only retaliation tooth for tooth, blood for blood! We cultivators, why cherish a single battle!"