Striking a Blow
"It's been more than half a year. I wonder if their trial will be over this time?"
All the elders couldn't help but feel excited. After taking such a great risk and waiting for so long near the God Burying Abyss, the time to reap the rewards had finally come.
The opportunities within the Empress Secret Realm are extraordinary. They don't expect their younger generation to truly gain the Empress Secret Realm's recognition and obtain the final inheritance. In fact, even obtaining just a little bit would likely be of great benefit to their Lineage.
In this situation, many people would harbor some wishful thinking, after all, their juniors had stayed in the secret realm for so long, even if they didn't get the best opportunity, their gains wouldn't be too bad.
"I wonder if Tian'er will come out this time..."
On the Shentu Family's side, a large-framed old man opened his eyes, which had been closed for rest, and looked towards the entrance of the Empress Secret Realm.
He is Shentu Jue, the supreme elder of the Shentu Family.
In this trial, the Shentu Family sent Lineage most outstanding talents, among whom Shentu Nantian, as Lineage genius that appears only once in a thousand years, naturally attracted the most attention and anticipation.
Their Shentu Family in the Empress Secret Realm depend on Shentu Nantian.
Beside the Supreme Elder of the Shentu Family, Granny Thousand Hands' old face was full of a smug smile. Shentu Nantian was Granny Thousand Hands' direct descendant. In this world, many people think that their children are the best in the world, and Granny Thousand Hands was one of them. Moreover, Shentu Nantian was indeed outstanding. In Granny Thousand Hands' mind, no one in the younger generation of the Tianyuan Realm could compare to Shentu Nantian.
Granny Thousand Hands said, "If this batch of juniors is the last one to come out, then Tian'er will naturally come out. If it's not the last batch, then Tian'er will definitely continue to train in the Empress Secret Realm until the very last moment. With Tian'er's strength, although he may not be able to obtain the final Empress Inheritance, among all the trainees who went in, the opportunities Tian'er received should be among the best."
"Once Tian'er emerges, the future of my Shentu Family in the Tianyuan Realm will be even more secure. They can only envy us!" As Granny Thousand Hands spoke, she glanced at the elders of the surrounding forces, her eyes filled with an undeniable sense of superiority.
She especially hated the Lin family. This time, when she entered the Empress Secret Realm, she knew that Shentu Nantian was secretly planning to wipe out all the Lin family disciples. Lin Ping, who was killed earlier, was just an appetizer.
Sensing Granny Thousand Hands' gaze, the Lin Family Old Matriarch's face darkened, and when their eyes met, it seemed as if their vital energies collided.
"Get ready to collect the corpses of your Lineage's scions and that little beast Yi Yun!" Granny Thousand Hands said coldly. The conflict had already reached this point, so she didn't even bother with telepathic communication.
Granny Thousand Hands' words caused a cold glint to flash in Old Madam Lin's eyes. "Don't think that my Lin family wouldn't dare to do anything to your Shentu Family. If you truly cross my bottom line, I will make sure your Shentu Family sheds rivers of blood!"
Old Madam Lin's words were sharp, and she was now on high alert. For the past ten months, she had been worried about Lin Xin Tong and Yi Yun.
Shentu Nantian will definitely target Yi Yun in the secret realm. Yi Yun's cultivation is only at the Origin Foundation Realm. Not to mention Shentu Nantian, there are several other juniors in the Shentu Family who could pose a life-threatening threat to Yi Yun.
"Be careful, they might launch a sneak attack at the last minute!"
Fire Pattern Elder and Heaven Punishment Elder secretly communicated, revealing that the Lin family had always maintained a distance from the Shentu Family in a corner outside the God Burying Abyss. The two sides remained constantly on guard against each other.
Just then, the energy fluctuations at the entrance to the Empress Secret Realm became increasingly intense. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and a figure was ejected from it.
He was dressed in a blue robe with a mark embroidered on the back, which was the Shentu Family crest.
He is a member of the Shentu Family!
"They're out!"
An elder of the Shentu Family, dressed in green, had his eyes light up. He had already channeled his inner energy to isolate himself from the terrifying storm of the Eternal Vortex. He was about to step forward to catch this member of the Shentu Family, but as he moved, he suddenly stopped, his expression completely frozen.
Not only the old man in green, but also all the important figures from the surrounding major powers were stunned. Their eyesight was extraordinary, and they had already seen the figure's appearance the moment it appeared. He looked like a tattered sack that had been tossed about. Although the elders of the Shentu Family had shielded him from the storm, the seawater was still flowing rapidly, yet this figure did not struggle or move at all in the sea.
Dead!?
The people immediately realized that the person who had been ejected was a dead body!
"Tianyue!"
The old man in green stood frozen, holding a lifeless corpse.
The deceased was named Shentu Tianyue. He was extremely talented among the younger generation of the Shentu Family. Although he was not as talented as Shentu Nantian, he was still highly regarded by several of the Lineage's elders. Shentu Tianyue should have made great achievements during this trip to the Empress Secret Realm. Even if he did not gain anything, he should not have died in the Secret Realm.
A promising young talent has died just like that...
How so?
The old man in green was momentarily speechless with shock, and Granny Thousand Hands' face was also extremely grim. The smile on her face vanished, and she said in a somber voice, "Don't be hasty. Danger lurks everywhere in the secret realm, and everyone makes mistakes. Tianyue's death must have been an accident. My Shentu Family sent out many talented individuals this time, and the others should have gained quite a bit. If Tianyue knew this in the afterlife, he would rest in peace."
Granny Thousand Hands shook her head, signaling one of the guardians of the Shentu Family to use a coffin to collect Shentu Tianyue's body. Just then, the entrance to the Empress Secret Realm flashed with light again.
A second figure popped out.
This person was still wearing the clan robes of the Shentu Family. As soon as he appeared, the members of the Shentu Family tensed up. They immediately used their senses to probe his aura, and upon probing, their expressions changed drastically.
The second member of the Shentu Family to emerge was also a corpse!
"What's going on?!"
Amidst the crowd, Shentu Jue's eyes seemed to blaze with fire. Two people suddenly sprang out, both members of the Shentu Family, and both were corpses—this was utterly extraordinary!
"I'll come and see!"
Shentu Jue moved swiftly, arriving beside the two deceased Lineage members. After a brief examination, his face darkened. "Arrow wounds!!"
Both men were killed by arrows.
Their wounds still retained traces of vital energy and the fluctuations of laws, making it seem as if they were killed by the secret realm's mechanisms rather than by the trial participants.
The trial of the bow and arrow...
Shentu Jue was trying to recall who was most likely to have killed a member of his Shentu Family. Before he could figure it out, two more figures popped out from the entrance to the secret realm. These two were still corpses!
So far, not a single person has been ejected alive!
One of the two people this time is from the Shentu Family, and the other is from the Lihuo Sect, a Dao Seed Realm prodigy from the Lihuo Sect.
The elders of the Lihuo Sect immediately turned grim. Cultivating a genius to the Dao Seed Realm requires a tremendous price, and the loss of even one is a great loss to the Lihuo Sect.
"No wounds... how did they die?"
The elders of the Lihuo Sect were all well-informed and experienced, but they couldn't immediately figure out how their disciple had died.
This Dao Seed Realm genius of the Lihuo Sect died at the hands of Lin Xin Tong, and the moves Lin Xin Tong used were derived from the <Empress Heart Sutra>. Such profound techniques far exceeded the knowledge of the elders of the Lihuo Sect.
Lin Xin Tong kills with her sword, yet leaves no wound; she uses the pure Yin law to extinguish life with a single strike!
Four corpses appeared in succession, and then a person popped out of the secret realm, which completely enraged the elders of the Shentu Family. It was a emaciated corpse with a sallow face. It was Shentu Ya, who was second only to Shentu Nantian in status among the younger generation of the Shentu Family!
"Even teeth are dead?"
Shentu Jue's old face, full of protruding bones, became ferocious.
Shentu Ya's strength is beyond doubt, and he is decisive and ruthless in his killings; Shentu Ya is the one who will die.
Now it's very clear that someone is specifically targeting the Shentu Family!
All the Shentu Family members who died were killed with a single blow!
Apart from Shentu Ya, all the wounds were from arrows.
Among the many trial participants who entered the Empress Secret Realm, not many used bows and arrows; Shentu Jue recall a handful.
As for the residual law fluctuations from these corpses...
Shentu Jue examined it carefully, his wrinkles seeming to well up with tears.
When a martial artist is killed, residual energy laws remain near the wound, which can last for a very short time. People with high attainments in the laws can not only deduce the type of law the murderer cultivated, but also the level of the murderer's understanding of the laws, and even ultimately find the real culprit based on this.
However, faced with these corpses, Shentu Jue momentarily unsure of what to do.
The person who left these wounds possessed a terrifying understanding of the laws. With just one strike, the energy of the laws invaded the dantian, penetrated the internal organs, and destroyed all the meridians and acupoints! Even Shentu Jue couldn't understand how such a technique was accomplished.
"That's amazing!"
Elders from other factions also used their senses to investigate the condition of several corpses from a distance. Since the dead were not disciples of their faction, most people just watched the spectacle with amusement and didn't care to make a few sarcastic remarks.
"This murderer is truly formidable. In my opinion, the killer's strength has far surpassed the level of these juniors. These people were likely killed simultaneously. Tsk tsk! A single, decisive blow; they barely put up any resistance. The difference in strength is simply too great."
Many people were gossiping and gloating, Shentu Jue heard it all. At this moment, he was like a volcano that was about to erupt!
...(To be continued~^~)