Chapter 363: Gaining Experience (Bonus Chapter 24 for Average Subscriptions)

"Hmm?" The gaze within the firmament narrowed, fixing upon the conflagration that webbed the sky like a celestial dragnet. The flames roared with terrifying intensity, radiating a searing, catastrophic heat that could be felt even from an immense distance.

Old Daoist Tianxu brought his hands together before his chest, instantly weaving a succession of complex Daoist mudras.

In a flash, the raging fires coalesced in the heavens ahead, forging a brilliant, blinding miniature sun!

The dense swarm of ghouls crawling upon the earth caught fire spontaneously, their bodies self-combusting before they could even draw near the blazing orb.

The light intensified dramatically, its righteous radiance instantly repelling every shred of malevolent, foul energy in the vicinity.

Within the heart of the inferno, a silhouette thrashed frantically, already enveloped entirely in brilliant orange-red fire. Countless wisps of dark miasma evaporated and dissolved violently beneath the horrific heat, turning to ash in mere moments.

Shui Xianyun, who until now had been watching the one-sided slaughter with casual amusement, suffered a sudden and drastic change in countenance. "What is this?!"

A streak of highly condensed, bloody light viciously cleft the conflagration apart. When the interior was revealed, nothing remained but a charred, mangled lump of carbon that no longer resembled a human form.

Old Daoist Tianxu withdrew his spiritual energy and exhaled a long sigh of relief, a look of utter bewilderment washing over his face. "My Yimu True Flame couldn't even breach that old bastard Wang Lingxiao's Nanhua Heavenly Light. Who would have thought Old Fiend Feng, despite his massive surge in cultivation, would be so... utterly fragile?"

Before their eyes, Feng Zhengyi—now virtually a blackened mass of charcoal—was indubitably, irrevocably dead.

Shui Xianyun’s face twitched violently, her eyes burning with murderous intent. "To think Daoist Tianxu was secretly hoarding such a supreme technique. What a masterful calculation!"

"However, this is where it ends!" With a flick of her delicate hand, a boundless crimson mist surged forth like a tidal wave. In the blink of an eye, it engulfed the mountainside, and moments later, it crested the very summit!

Within this terrifying, blood-colored fog, countless silhouettes seemed to loom, accompanied by innumerable malevolent eyes staring fixedly at the Yimu Dao Palace cultivators gathered at the center of the sect.

"The Daoist truly possesses remarkable skill," Shui Xianyun purred with a light laugh. "But when facing them, do you also intend to burn them to cinders?!"

Suddenly, a familiar face flickered within the crimson mist.

"Junior Brother Daoyuan?!"

Old Daoist Tianxu gasped in horror.

"Elder Yin of the Haoran Sect?!"

"Elder Xiao of the Nanhua Sect?!"

"They... how could they be here?!"

The cultivators of the Yimu Dao Palace gasped as they realized the blood mist was filled entirely with well-known elites and even elders from various righteous sects!

Among them were even fellow disciples of their own order!

"Master! Martial Uncle Daoyuan has gone mad! He has already slaughtered several disciples!"

"These cultivators from the Nanhua and Haoran sects have lost their minds as well!"

"Hahaha!" Shui Xianyun threw her head back and laughed maniacally. "Well? How does it feel to slaughter your own kin?"

A sudden jolt of shock struck Tianxu's heart. He was alarmed not only by the current crisis, but by the sudden realization that the woman before him looked intimately familiar. "You...!"

He pointed a trembling finger at the woman in the sky. "You are Elder Shui?! Were you not guarding the forbidden grounds of the Nanhua Sect?! How could you fall into league with this demon?!"

"And what in the world is going on with all these elders and disciples from the various sects?!"

Shui Xianyun’s expression turned icy cold. "Once you are well on your way down the Yellow Springs, I shall tell you!"

Tianxu’s face turned deathly pale with dread. "The ancient records of the sect dictate that during the demonic catastrophe of old, many demon-slaying heroes turned their blades against their own allies, causing catastrophic losses to the cultivation world. Could it be... that those legends were true?!"

"This is merely a trivial spell of mine," the colossal visage hanging from the heavens rumbled as it leaned downward. "However, seeing as a mere ant like you managed to give me a slight surprise, I shall grant you one final choice."

"Consider it carefully. Your grandmaster, that wretch Longmu, exhausted his entire life in bitter cultivation. And what was his end? His body perished and his Dao vanished into nothingness. As for you, his grand-disciples, your fates lie entirely in my hands. If I grant you life, you live; if I decree your death, you die!"

Shui Xianyun added with a cold sneer, "If even your predecessors failed to achieve it, do you unworthy descendants truly wish to make a meaningless sacrifice?"

"What our predecessors failed to do, we shall accomplish!" Just then, a resonant voice echoed from the distant sky. "What our ancestors left unfinished, we shall bring to fruition!"

Simultaneously, a brilliant blue light erupted around all the ensnared elders and disciples. The frantic cultivators who had been savagely attacking Tianxu and his companions suddenly froze within the boundary of the blue light, wandering aimlessly like headless flies!

The Demon-Binding Hex!

"Who goes there?!" Shui Xianyun’s face darkened instantly.

Everyone involuntarily turned their heads toward the source of the voice. In the distant horizon, streaks of silver light leaped forth from the ocean skyline like silver carp. Beneath the dark clouds, the clear gleam of sword-light resembled a shower of silver meteors tearing across the vault of heaven.

The swarm of lightning-fast streaks coalesced into a silver river against the gloomy sky, arriving before them in a mere instant.

Only now could they see clearly that these were rows of cultivators flying forward, treading upon their swords.

"Grand Elder!" Even the habitually stoic Master Xichi glared at the woman before her with eyes full of deep, agonizing disbelief. "How can it be you? To think that even you have been beguiled by this demon..."

"Do not misunderstand, my dear junior sister!" Shui Xianyun sneered. "I do not feel beguiled in the slightest. In fact, I have never felt better! I possess a lifespan several times longer than that of ordinary humans, and a mighty power that you mortal fools cannot even fathom!"

"Right now, I feel grander than I ever have in my entire life!" she mocked. "While you are merely about to follow in the footsteps of those ancient fools!"

"There is no need to waste words on them," the massive face in the sky boomed solemnly. "Once again, you annoying cultivators gather together. This time, I will not be as careless as I was before. The cultivation of you little whelps is truly pitifully low! You don't even possess half the strength of your ancestors!"

It sneered with open mockery and disdain, "What makes you think you can contend with me?! With that pathetic spark of courage that can be blown out with a single breath?!"

"If we are speaking purely in terms of cultivation realm, that may indeed be the case," Master Xichi replied calmly.

"But if you judge overall strength solely by cultivation realm..." Wang Lingxiao added, "has Your Excellency perhaps misunderstood the true nature of our power?"

The hideous visage in the sky grew increasingly ominous. In tandem with its rage, a violent gale howled, as if heaven and earth themselves were roaring in fury!

"There is no need for you to strike, My Lord," Shui Xianyun laughed softly. "If you fools believe that Daoist Tianxu’s half-baked, unmastered new technique is your ultimate trump card, I shall use reality to show you just how naive your thoughts truly are!"

"Very well!" the face rumbled deeply. "You have been by my side for quite some time now. Let these ants witness the true might of our clan!"

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