The End

"It's your turn."

Li Yuan's voice was not loud, yet it struck Li Yuanhong's heart like a death knell. He stood on the White Bone Altar, his Dark Crimson Gold blood energy already retracted, but the molten glow in his eyes was more chilling than any blade.

Li Yuanhong's hand trembled violently as he gripped the Azure Thin Sword, its tip tracing erratic arcs in the air. He looked at the Molten Ground below the altar, which had just devoured dozens of lives and still faintly glowed red, then at the Netherworld Cult Bishop slumped like mud at the edge of the platform, barely breathing, and finally his gaze returned to Li Yuan.

Fear, like a cold viper, coiled around his heart.

He didn't want to die! He was a powerful elder of the Li Family, enjoying wealth and glory, with many years left!

"Li... Li Yuan!" Li Yuanhong's voice twisted into a sharp, distorted shriek from sheer terror, "You can't kill me! I'm a family elder! If you kill me, the family will never let you go! The Third Elder will never let you go!"

"Family? Third Elder?" Li Yuan let out a sneer, the laughter dripping with undisguised mockery and coldness, "From the moment you tied me to this altar, there has been only enmity between me and the Li Family, no grace."

He stepped off the White Bone Altar, landing on the still-warm Molten Ground, his pace steady as if walking through his own courtyard. He didn't activate the Crimson Sun Battle Body, nor did he deliberately release his aura, but the oppressive weight of having just controlled the Furnace Domain and smelted half a Sacred Spirit Origin made it hard for Li Yuanhong to even breathe.

"As for Li Qian Xiong..." Li Yuan walked step by step toward the platform, each footfall landing on Li Yuanhong's heart, "Don't worry, soon enough, I'll personally send him down to keep you company."

"No! Don't come near me!" Li Yuanhong completely broke down, swinging his thin sword like a madman, "I'll fight you to the death!"

His blood energy burned wildly as he unleashed the Li Family's ultimate sword technique—Shadow Splitting Light Sword! His figure flickered, splitting into three indistinguishable afterimages, lunging from different angles with shrill air-tearing sounds and bone-piercing cold, aimed at Li Yuan's vital points! The sword light was azure, like a viper's tongue, swift and treacherous!

This strike was his all-out effort, even at the cost of his own origin, just to force Li Yuan back and find a sliver of escape!

Facing this treacherous sword art that would leave any same-realm martial artist flustered, Li Yuan didn't even blink.

He simply raised his right hand, index and middle fingers together, a flash of Dark Crimson Gold light flickering across them.

Then, he casually pointed at the center of the three incoming sword shadows.

Crimson Sun True Scripture—Molten Gold Finger!

No grand display, only a condensed, searing finger wind imbued with smelting properties, striking faster than the eye could follow, landing precisely at the convergence point of the three sword shadows—where Li Yuanhong's true body was!

"Ding—!"

A crisp sound, like metal striking jade!

Li Yuanhong felt an indescribable heat and immense force transmit instantly through the sword! The yin-cold blood energy he had infused into the blade dissolved like ice before a nemesis!

"Crack!"

The Azure Thin Sword, Tempered a Thousand Times and coated with deadly poison, shattered inch by inch from the tip! Before the fragments could fall, they were melted into red-hot iron droplets by the finger wind's heat, sizzling as they hit the ground!

The finger wind pressed on, gently tapping Li Yuanhong's brow.

His forward charge froze abruptly, the madness and terror on his face solidifying in an instant. In his wide eyes, there was only utter disbelief and the horror of death.

A dark red mark appeared on his brow, spreading rapidly outward.

"Uh..." A vague sound escaped his throat, as if he wanted to speak, but no words came.

The next moment.

"Boom!"

A burst of Dark Crimson Gold flame erupted from within him, consuming his entire body in an instant!

No scream, only a faint "puff" as flesh vaporized instantly. In the blink of an eye, Li Yuanhong vanished completely, not even a trace of ash left behind, as if he had never existed.

Only the faint, lingering smell of scorched air proved that a Li Family elder had fallen.

Li Yuan slowly withdrew his finger, not sparing a glance at where Li Yuanhong had disappeared, as if he had casually crushed an annoying fly.

He turned his gaze to the edge of the platform, where the Netherworld Cult Bishop lay limp, his breath faint.

The bishop met his eyes, his gray-white pupils filled only with the ash of despair. He opened his mouth, as if to beg or curse, but no sound came out.

Li Yuan gave him no chance.

From a distance, a single punch.

A condensed Dark Crimson Gold Fist Force, like a red-hot meteor, pierced through the bishop's chest, leaving a gaping hole with charred edges, front to back.

The bishop's corpse twitched once, then fell still.

Only then did Li Yuan Turn Around, his gaze falling on the corner of the platform, where the Yin Sha Body Girl, still bound by black chains, cowered in fear.

She felt his eyes and trembled violently, burying her head lower like a frightened ostrich.

Li Yuan walked up to her and crouched down. The girl let out a sharp scream, squeezing her eyes shut.

He said nothing, simply reaching out to grab the cold black chains. A faint Dark Crimson Gold light flickered at his fingertips.

"Crack... crack..."

The specially made chains, enough to trap an ordinary martial artist, snapped like brittle hemp in his hands, falling away as scrap metal.

The chains fell, but the girl still dared not move, hugging her knees and shivering.

Li Yuan looked at her, seeing a fate similar to his own past. A flicker of complex emotion passed through his eyes, but soon returned to calm.

"Leave," he said, standing up, his voice flat. "Get out of here. Don't go back to the Li Family."

With that, he didn't linger, turning and walking toward the Cavern's exit.

Only then did the girl lift her head slightly, watching the retreating, dark red Back View—not particularly tall, yet seeming to hold up the entire sky—as Tears blurred her vision.

Li Yuan did not look back.

Inside the cavern, the stench of blood hung thick in the air, corpses strewn everywhere. The blood pool at the center had ceased its churning, and the White Bone Altar had lost its luster.

A meticulously orchestrated "Sacred Sacrifice" had ended with the deaths of all its orchestrators and the theft of its core.

He walked out of the Netherworld Path, leaving behind that abandoned ancient ruin, and emerged once more onto the surface of Black Mountain Forest.

Outside, the sky was faintly lit with dawn. Morning light pierced through the forest's mist, scattering dappled specks of brightness.

He took a deep breath of the cold, crisp air, tinged with the scent of grass and trees, feeling the steady, powerful pulse of the Dark Crimson Gold sun within his body, as well as the profound Crimson Sun True Scripture in his mind.

The karma of the Li Family was, for now, partially settled.

But the shadow of the Netherworld Cult, and the vast world beyond this land, still lay ahead.

He lifted his head, looking towards Black Mountain City, his eyes as sharp as ever.

Time to go back.

There were some debts that were finally due for a full reckoning.