"There are fifteen more. Two of them are Peak Masters," Jiang Taichu said.
"Kill them all, but leave the bodies behind," Chen Wen said blandly.
"Alright." Jiang Taichu did not hesitate and struck directly.
In an instant, the aura of the Heavenly King Realm pressed down once more, its terrifying power enveloping everyone.
What was going on?
Ji Youyue and the others' expressions changed drastically.
The sudden turn of events left them at a complete loss.
At that moment, Jiang Taichu moved. One hand reached toward an elder, terrifying power coiling around his fingers and tearing through layers of space.
"No..." The elder's face changed drastically, and he cried out in terror on instinct.
Die!
Crack!
With a single tremor of Jiang Taichu's hand, the elder's head was crushed in his grasp. Blood splashed across Ji Youyue's face.
In an instant, the entire place fell deathly silent.
Both elders and disciples grew deeply uneasy.
Fighting Spirit even surged in some of their eyes.
Ji Youyue's pupils trembled violently. She first shouted down at the elders and disciples below, "Do not move recklessly. Let this Saintess handle everything."
Only after the crowd had barely calmed down did Ji Youyue turn to Chen Wen. "Young Master Ye, we have not offended you, have we?"
"You have not offended me, but they have. Continue killing," Chen Wen said indifferently, his voice devoid of the slightest emotion.
"No, you cannot do this."
Ji Youyue immediately became agitated and tried to struggle to her feet.
Seeing this, Jiang Taichu pressed a hand against Ji Youyue's forehead. "Do you want to die too?"
Ji Youyue's face instantly turned deathly pale.
Yet after only a moment, she still gathered her courage. "As the Saintess of the holy land, even if I must brave the world's condemnation, I cannot stand by and watch the elders beside me die."
"This is my responsibility. I ask that Hall Master Jiang give me an answer for the sake of this."
Jiang Taichu said nothing and instead looked toward Chen Wen.
It was as if he were asking, Young Master, what do you say?
Chen Wen glanced at Ji Youyue. "I am not an unreasonable man. Since Saintess Ji wants an answer, give her one."
"Alright." Jiang Taichu answered, then tossed Ji Youyue a Spirit Scroll listing the names of all fifteen people and every deed they had committed.
This immediately drew everyone's attention. Every one of them stared fixedly at the Spirit Scroll.
Ji Youyue said nothing. Her body trembling, she sent her divine sense into the Spirit Scroll.
At once, fifteen names came into view.
Two Peak Masters were among them.
The moment she saw this, Ji Youyue's pupils abruptly contracted.
Originally, she had merely wanted to ask why Jiang Taichu had killed Elder Zhao.
Yet upon seeing this list, she realized that Jiang Taichu intended to kill fifteen people.
This shattered her entire worldview and pushed the limits of what she could accept.
However, she was no greenhorn. She quickly suppressed the shock in her heart and read through every piece of information.
By the time she reached the end, she had gone numb.
Every single one of these fifteen people had turned their backs on their own side, using the holy land's resources to seek benefits for that Emperor's Son.
Some of them had committed every wicked deed imaginable. Quite a few disciples of the holy land had died at their hands.
The matters recorded within were horrifying enough to make one's hair stand on end.
Of course, if the holy land had truly handled these people themselves, it would have been difficult to deal with them.
First, they could not possibly risk offending the Emperor's Son merely to uphold the holy land's ironclad rules.
It was no exaggeration to say that if this matter were brought before the Council of Elders, quite a few Grand Elders would likely support such a decision.
Because in their eyes, this was also a way to curry favor with the Emperor's Son.
Second, how many cultivators were truly good people? Did they not all stop at nothing to achieve their goals?
Thus, the evil deeds these people had committed truly counted for nothing.
But in Young Master Ye's eyes, it was different.
Since they had already offended the Emperor's Son, why not pull up the weeds by the roots while they had the chance and weaken the other side's strength as much as possible?
She could not protect these people.
At this thought, Ji Youyue dropped to the ground, her eyes filled with both dazed emptiness and helplessness.
"You understand now, then? Do you still have any objections?" Jiang Taichu asked coldly.
Ji Youyue's vacant eyes held not the slightest ripple of emotion. "No."
What did she mean, no?
What exactly was in there?
Could it be that Elder Zhao had truly offended this Young Master Ye?
Everyone watched in shock, hardly daring to believe what was happening before them.
Jiang Taichu gave Ji Youyue an indifferent glance, then struck again.
"No..."
Crack! Bang!
Another elder was killed by a single palm strike. His entire body exploded, blood spraying in all directions.
Die!
After killing one elder, Jiang Taichu did not pause. He continued attacking, and his strikes only grew faster.
"You cannot touch me! I-I-I belong to the Emperor's Son!"
"Saintess, save me! Save me..."
"..."
Before long, miserable screams rang throughout the scene, turning the faces of all who heard them pale.
The elders and disciples present had already gone numb. Other than fear, there was only fear on their faces.
Under the vast and mighty kingly pressure, let alone saving anyone, they could not even move a finger.
Only after several dozen breaths did Jiang Taichu's slaughter finally cease.
There were sixteen corpses at the scene, lying scattered every which way before the crowd, each of their deaths gruesome beyond compare.
No one had appeared even after this. It seemed this Chu Tianlong was either a turtle hiding its head in its shell, or he was not in the holy land.
Chen Wen confirmed his guess once again.
But it made sense when he thought about it.
If Chu Tianlong had truly been in the holy land, Chen Wen would likely have been silenced before he ever arrived.
"Young Master, everyone has been killed. The corpses have been kept intact," Jiang Taichu said blandly.
"Do you see that sacred stele? Nail them to it for me, so everyone can see them," Chen Wen said indifferently.
Jiang Taichu immediately understood Chen Wen's intent. He intended to humiliate Chu Tianlong.
What did Chu Tianlong care about most? Nothing more than his reputation and his public image.
His subordinates had been killed, then humiliated in such a manner.
Even if only to preserve his own reputation, he would absolutely not let Chen Wen go.
Would that not accomplish their goal?
"Understood. I will handle it at once," Jiang Taichu immediately replied.
When the crowd saw Jiang Taichu raise corpse after corpse, their expressions changed again.
What was he doing? Could it be that even after all this, he still did not intend to spare them?
Under everyone's disbelieving gazes, Jiang Taichu nailed the corpses one by one onto the distant sacred stele through the air.
Fresh blood streamed down the stone stele, and the sight stabbed painfully into the eyes of everyone present.
At the same time, it added a chilling, murderous air to the already deathly silent scene.
At last, Ji Youyue could not hold back any longer. "Young Master Ye, is this not a little excessive?"
Chen Wen's indifferent gaze settled on Ji Youyue.
Ji Youyue immediately felt cold from head to toe.
Chen Wen spoke coldly, "I gave you face earlier because you received us with due solemnity."
"But that is by no means a reason for you to push your luck. Do you understand?"
At that, Chen Wen's tone shifted. "If you truly wish to die, I do not mind granting your wish."
As his words fell, Killing Intent burst forth.
Ji Youyue's expression changed.
At that instant, she felt as though a blade were pressed against her throat.
Terrifying—truly terrifying.
At this moment, her impression of Chen Wen gained another layer.
Ji Youyue took a deep breath before speaking. "Understood, understood. I was too presumptuous."
Only after nailing everyone to the sacred stele did Jiang Taichu return to Chen Wen's side. "They have all been nailed up."
"Mm, well done." Chen Wen nodded.
Jiang Taichu did not claim any credit, merely standing silently at one side.
Everyone present had their eyes fixed on Chen Wen, their gazes brimming with fear.
If before, they had lowered their heads because Chen Wen's identity forced them to do so,
then now, they feared him entirely because of his ruthless mercilessness.
"I heard your Saintess is known as the greatest beauty in Qingzhou. I wonder which one she is?"
Chen Wen looked at Ji Youyue and spoke leisurely.
Before you continue