Chương 1225: Chapter 16: Total Victory

"Old Ghost Ming Diao... he has actually been slain!"

"Just what level has Martial Uncle Reyn's cultivation reached? To be able to extinguish a Golden Core expert... it defies all logic!"

"There can be no mistake. Why else would Martial Uncle Reyn dare to swear such a heavy oath upon his Dao Heart? The backlash of a false oath would shatter his soul."

"Indeed. With Martial Uncle Reyn's current strength and status, if he truly wished to deal with Elder Mo Yu, he would have a thousand subtle methods at his disposal. There would be no need for such a public, grandiose spectacle." On the periphery of the battlefield, the rogue cultivators who had been lingering with the hope of scavenging treasures or fishing in troubled waters felt a collective chill.

Hearing the confirmation of a Golden Core's fall, they subconsciously shrunk their necks, their eyes filled with sheer terror as they looked toward Reyn. Every lingering thought of greed was instantly extinguished. Exchanging frantic glances, they fled in small groups, desperately chasing after the retreating Qingyan Sect disciples, hoping to at least pick up some scraps from the fleeing army rather than face the monster before them.

"What! Ancestor Ming Diao actually died by his hand?!" Mo Yu's eyes were instantly flooded with horror. His face turned a deathly, translucent white. Realizing that Ancestor Ming Diao had failed to appear even during such a dire crisis, a profound sense of despair took root in his heart.

"I have cultivated for nearly a century, wading through rivers of blood and mountains of corpses to reach the Late Foundation Establishment stage. I was so close to condensing my Core, so close to becoming a Sect Ancestor and enjoying five hundred years of lifespan! To let me die like this... I am not reconciled!"

"Flee! I must flee! I must live!" A savage, predatory roar erupted within Mo Yu's mind. His pupils turned a violent, blood-red hue as the spiritual energy of a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator erupted from his body. In his desperation, his aura surged frantically, even beginning to touch the threshold of the Great Circle Pseudo-Core realm.

"Get out of my way! Anyone who blocks me dies!" Cold light flickered in Reyn's eyes. This man had repeatedly plotted to send him to his grave; he was a cancer that could not be left alive.

"Overestimating your own capabilities!" Reyn let out a cold snort. Without making a single physical movement, Mo Yu's charging figure suddenly jerked and went rigid. The elder clutched his head with both hands, letting out a blood-curdling, agonizing shriek that echoed across the peaks. Soul-Piercing Awl—the supreme divine sense attack technique recorded within the Hunyuan True Scripture! During his daily meditations, Reyn had never neglected the refinement of this art.

His divine sense was already far more concentrated and resilient than that of any ordinary cultivator. Furthermore, after the life-and-death crisis of slaying Ancestor Ming Diao, his cultivation had broken through once more, reaching the unprecedented 17th Level of Qi Condensation. Not only had his True Essence surged to the Peak of Late Foundation Establishment, but his Primordial Spirit's strength was now comparable to an Early Golden Core expert.

When he unleashed the Soul-Piercing Awl now, even the Three Xuan Elders—who were protected by their Linked Breath Scripture—would find their bodies paralyzed. Against a lone, panicked Mo Yu, the effect was absolute. Amidst his cold snort, a flash of azure light enveloped Reyn's body. He executed the Demon Flash, appearing before the paralyzed elder in a blur. His hand reached out like a Great Talon, seizing Mo Yu instantly. With a swift turn, he flickered back to stand before Qingxiaozi and Dan Chenzi.

"With the Sect Master's profound divine sense, you are more than capable of performing the Soul-Searching Great Art on Mo Yu without causing him permanent damage. Whether my words are true or false, the Sect Master will know with a single glance." After speaking, Reyn tossed the restrained Mo Yu onto the ground like a sack of waste. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Qingxiaozi nodded slowly, his expression showing deep approval of Reyn's conduct.

By doing this, Reyn had completely cleared himself of any suspicion of framing a fellow sect member. The Sect Master's gaze fell upon Mo Yu's terrified, despair-ridden face. He let out a silent sigh; even before acting, certain truths had already crystallized in his mind. He placed his hand atop Mo Yu's head. After a long moment, Qingxiaozi withdrew his hand, his expression turning somber and dark.

He hesitated for a breath before saying, "There are matters within this man's memories that I find difficult to adjudicate. Junior Brother, see for yourself." Reyn's brow furrowed slightly as he watched Dan Chenzi's face darken. His heart stirred with realization as he glanced at the nearby Duan Zhonghua, whose face was ashen and whose eyes were devoid of light.

Reyn understood the situation immediately, yet he kept his expression neutral, silently waiting to see how Dan Chenzi would decide the fate of his own disciple. A moment later, Dan Chenzi retracted his hand and took a deep, shuddering breath. His voice was like ice.

"Narrow-minded and petty... to betray a fellow disciple for the sake of a personal grudge. Such a degenerate cannot be tolerated. He must die!" As the words left his lips, and before Mo Yu's trembling eyes could even plead, Dan Chenzi's palm slammed down onto the elder's forehead. A violent explosion of True Essence erupted. Under that crushing force, Mo Yu's body was instantly pulverized into fine dust. Not even a fragment of his Primordial Spirit managed to escape; he was utterly erased from existence.

Dan Chenzi had struck with ruthless finality, showing no mercy to his former peer. This display of cold lethality caused the surrounding Xuanxiao Sect cultivators to shiver inwardly.

"If any cultivator of my Xuanxiao Sect behaves as Mo Yu did, no matter who they are, they shall receive no leniency!" Dan Chenzi's calm yet bone-chilling voice drifted through the air like a frigid wind. He slowly turned his head, his gaze locking onto Duan Zhonghua. He barked, "Vile creature! Are you not going to come here, or must I personally come over and seize you?" Hearing this, the last shred of hope in Duan Zhonghua's heart collapsed. He collapsed to his knees, wailing and crawling forward.

"Disciple was momentarily possessed by a ghost! I was foolish and blind! Master, please spare my life! Master, spare me!"

"How old were you when you entered my tutelage?" Dan Chenzi's eyes flickered with a deeply hidden sorrow, though his voice remained level.

"My parents died when I was young, leaving me with no one to rely on. On a snowy night when I was seven, as I lay dying, Master saved me and brought me back to the sect. At seventeen, I officially became your disciple." Duan Zhonghua seemed to realize the gravity of his situation; the panic on his face intensified, and his eyes were filled with desperate pleading.

"It has been over a decade," Dan Chenzi sighed softly, his hand clenching as if trying to banish a painful emotion from his heart. He whispered, "Sect Master Brother, I leave this matter to your discretion. I have no objections to any punishment." After saying this, he seemed to age years in an instant, his eyes growing dull.

"Master, save me! I don't want to die!" Duan Zhonghua lunged forward, hugging Dan Chenzi's leg and begging piteously.

"If you knew this day would come, why did you act so? When you plotted to trap Reyn, did you ever consider his life or safety?" Dan Chenzi closed his eyes, a cold sharpness returning to his features. He said hoarsely, "Heaven may forgive the sins of nature, but the sins of man's own making offer no path of survival!"

"Today, I shall personally end you. I will treat it as if the child I saw on that snowy night was merely a corpse!"

"Master, if I may, please hear me out," Reyn suddenly spoke, his voice sincere.

"When I first entered the Xuanxiao Sect, Senior Brother Duan and I had many disagreements. The friction between us was significant. This time, Senior Brother Duan indeed tried to use a borrowed blade to kill me. To say I feel no resentment would be a lie. However, I still wish to plead for him today. Could we perhaps consider that this is his first offense and that it did not result in a fatal outcome? Could we spare his life?"

"Disciple Reyn, he wanted you dead. Are you truly pleading for him?"

"I am not pleading for him," Reyn lowered his head, his tone earnest.

"I simply do not wish for Master to develop a heart-knot because of this, which might impede your future cultivation. I have no other motive." A flash of relief and gratitude crossed Dan Chenzi's eyes. He looked down at the complex expression on Duan Zhonghua's face. In the end, he could not harden his heart enough to kill the boy he raised. He spoke in a heavy voice, "Today, for Reyn's sake, I shall spare your life.

But while the death penalty is waived, I shall personally reclaim every bit of the cultivation I gave you!" Duan Zhonghua's face twisted in horror, but before he could utter a word, Dan Chenzi's hand struck the crown of his head. Duan's eyes rolled back as he slumped to the ground. Within breaths, the spiritual fluctuations of a cultivator vanished from his body entirely, leaving him a mere mortal once more.