"Little Dot, watch out!"
Shi Linhu was horrified and wanted to rush over to save him, but the wind blade was too fast. There was no time.
Little Shi Hao had just unleashed his ultimate move, and his strength was spent before he could gather more. Facing a strike from someone in the Cave Heaven Realm, his little face turned deathly pale.
At the critical moment.
A calm voice rang out amid the storm.
"You dare lay a hand on my little brother right in front of me?"
"Who gave you the guts, you mangy mutt?"
Ye Xuan moved. His hands were clasped behind his back, his clothes snapping in the gale.
He didn't take a step or raise a hand.
He merely opened his eyes, which had been narrowed all this time.
Boom!
It was as if an ancient bell had tolled between heaven and earth.
In Ye Xuan's eyes, the overlapping pupils split apart, then merged again. The gray Chaos Qi was no longer restrained; it poured forth like a flood bursting through a dam.
Chaos Heavy Pupils, activated!
Two beams of gray light shot from his eyes.
They weren't dazzling—if anything, they were rather dim.
Yet wherever they passed, both the gale and the razor-sharp wind blades froze in place.
Space and time were frozen at that moment.
The wind blades, powerful enough to slice through metal and jade, met the gray gaze like snow beneath the blazing sun. They silently melted away, disintegrating until they returned to their most basic particles of spiritual energy.
"W-what kind of Pupil Art is this?!"
Old Bei, who had been so arrogant and domineering, looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Every hair on his body stood on end.
He saw something utterly terrifying in those eyes.
Destruction. Decay. The final fate of all things.
"Run!"
Old Bei had lived for many years, and his instincts were razor-sharp.
He couldn't even bring himself to think of resisting. He turned and bolted toward the depths of the mountains.
"Too late."
Ye Xuan remained where he was, his gaze fixed on the fleeing figure.
"Disintegrate."
He softly uttered two words.
His words became law.
The two gray beams caught up with Old Bei.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor was there a gruesome scene of flesh and blood flying everywhere.
As everyone watched in utter horror,
the enormous Old Bei, a Sacrificial Spirit of the Cave Heaven Realm, suddenly froze in midair.
Then,
his fur began to fall away, his flesh began to vanish, and his bones began to crumble.
It was like a pencil sketch being erased by a rubber.
He didn't even have time to scream.
From tail to head, he disintegrated inch by inch.
In less than three breaths,
the once-invincible Sacrificial Spirit vanished into thin air.
Only a thick cloud of blood mist remained, slowly dispersing in the air, proof that he had ever existed.
One glance.
A Cave Heaven Realm expert, killed instantly!
The whole world seemed to fall silent.
The people of Bei Village gaped like ducks with their throats squeezed shut, unable to make a sound.
The men of Stone Village were just as dumbfounded, staring at the young man standing before them, his back like that of a god or demon.
Was this the Young Immortal Master's true strength?
That was terrifying!
"Gulp."
Shi Linhu swallowed, feeling as if everything he knew had been turned upside down.
He'd always known Ye Xuan was powerful, but he hadn't realized those eyes were his true weapon!
Ye Xuan slowly closed his eyes, concealing the Chaos Qi within them.
The first time he had fully activated the "Disintegration" law of his Double Pupils, it had taken a toll on his body. The corners of his eyes felt a little sore.
But he was pleased with the results.
After all, this was merely practice for his Pupil Art.
Then, Ye Xuan looked at the stunned remnants of Bei Village.
"Old Bei is dead."
Ye Xuan's voice was cold and merciless.
"Leave none alive."
Those words were like a sentence handed down by the god of death.
"Kill!"
"Let's avenge Fei Jiao and the others!"
"Wipe out those bastards!"
The people of Stone Village finally snapped out of it, and their pent-up fury burst forth.
Time to kick them while they're down!
Dozens of fierce men from Stone Village charged forward, swinging bone clubs and broadswords.
The people of Bei Village had already been scared out of their wits by what they'd just witnessed. They had no courage to fight back and could only flee with their heads in their hands.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
Half an hour later.
The battle was over.
Bei Village, a blight that had terrorized the edge of the Great Wilderness for years, had become a thing of the past.
"Young Immortal Master! Look what we found!"
Shi Linhu came running over excitedly, carrying several fragrant Spiritual Grasses and a few chunks of rare iron ore.
"The treasury in Bei Village is full of good stuff! They had dozens of these Blood-Nourishing Grasses alone!"
Ye Xuan glanced at them and nodded.
"Good. Pack it all up and take it with us."
"Don't leave them so much as a single stone."
The setting sun cast its afterglow over the road in Stone Village.
When the Green Scaled Eagle's enormous figure cut through the sky and slowly landed in the open space at the village entrance,
Shi Yunfeng and the villagers who had stayed behind, waiting anxiously, finally felt their hearts settle.
"They're back! They're all back!"
Leaning on his cane, Shi Yunfeng tottered toward them.
When he saw that Shi Linhu and the others were covered in blood but looked energized, with all their limbs intact, the old patriarch's eyes grew moist.
"Patriarch, we've done what we set out to do!"
Shi Linhu jumped down from the eagle's back and tossed several bulging animal-hide bags onto the ground.
"Bei Village is gone."
"These are all their possessions. They belong to Stone Village now!"
The villagers burst into cheers.
They weren't just celebrating the spoils. The blight that had oppressed them for years had finally been uprooted.
Night fell.
An enormous bonfire blazed in the central square of Stone Village, grander than any they'd ever held before.
The flames soared into the sky, driving away the chill of the Great Wilderness night.
Golden, glistening beast meat roasted on the racks, while a large cauldron simmered with Spiritual Herbs and meat soup seized from Bei Village. The aroma carried for miles.
The men ate great mouthfuls of meat and drank bowl after bowl of wine, boasting about the day's battle.
The women smiled nearby, while the children darted through the crowd, laughing and playing.
Ye Xuan sat quietly on a bluestone beneath the Willow Tree, holding a bowl of wine as he watched the lively scene before him.
There was none of the constant dread of being swallowed by a great demon at any moment, nor the suffocating oppression of Sages scheming against all living things.
The village was poor, and life was dangerous, but it had a warmth and peace in it that felt utterly genuine.
"This feeling is really wonderful."
Ye Xuan smiled and took a small sip of wine.
Just then, a burst of laughter came from behind the cauldron.
"Caught you! Caught you!"
"Little Dot's sneaking milk again!"
Pi Hou and Shi Dazhuang were grinning as they circled around from behind and dragged Little Shi Hao out from where he'd been hiding behind a rock.
Little Shi Hao clutched the familiar Pottery Jar to his chest, a ring of white milk still around his mouth.
"I... I wasn't!"
Little Shi Hao's face turned red. He desperately tried to hide the Pottery Jar behind his back, blinking his big eyes as he attempted to make excuses.
"This... this is 'milk tea' Big Brother made for me! It's for my cultivation!"
"Bleh! Shame, shame! You're three and still drinking milk!"
Pi Hou pulled a face, making the adults nearby roar with laughter.
Little Shi Hao was so embarrassed he wanted the ground to swallow him up. In the end, he could only look to Ye Xuan for help.
Who could have imagined that the mighty boy who'd struck Bei Feng with lightning could look so wronged?
Watching this, Ye Xuan couldn't help laughing.
This was the future Desolate Heaven Emperor.
Who would have guessed that the man who would stand alone through the ages had such a laughable "dark history" in his childhood?
The night breeze swept past.
The charred Willow Tree at the village entrance swayed gently.
Hundreds of new, emerald-green branches glowed softly in the night, like a tender net sheltering all of Stone Village.
Willow Deity said nothing, but the pulsing light seemed to dance along with the villagers' laughter.
Peaceful days.
Perhaps this was what it meant to protect someone.
Before you continue