Inside the Blood Spirit Sect.
Screams of agony rang out without end, making it feel as though they had been plunged into the depths of hell.
High above the sect,
powerful figures kept arriving, surrounding the entire area so completely that not even a drop of water could pass through.
Yan Shan and the others emerged from the sect gate, their faces stricken with shock as they looked up.
Their hearts sank.
The Black Bird Guard of the Liyue Immortal Dynasty, Liu Piaopiao of the Jade Pool Holy Land, the Eighth Elder of the Primordial Holy Land, and the Pei Clan's Little Sword Saint.
With all these forces gathered, wouldn't dealing with their tiny Blood Spirit Sect be as easy as lifting a hand?
How could they possibly resist?
The most powerful people in the Blood Spirit Sect were its sect master, Yan Shan, and an elder emeritus. Both were only in the early stage of Body Integration.
But among those who had come today, Zhao Shanhe and the others were all in the Mahayana Realm!
How could they fight that?
Apart from these top-tier forces, the other sects in Qing Province were also arriving one after another.
Yan Shan's face turned ashen. His expression shifted repeatedly before he exhaled and cried, "Heaven means to destroy me! Heaven means to destroy me!"
At that moment, everything had turned to smoke.
The Blood Spirit Sect was doomed to be utterly wiped out, let alone kill Yan Changkong.
Seeing the scene before them, the Blood Spirit Sect's elders saw things differently. The way they looked at Yan Shan had changed.
They cursed him inwardly. If not for Yan Shan, why would the Blood Spirit Sect have suffered this calamity?
Yan Shan drew a deep breath, murderous light flaring in his eyes. "Raise the formation! We'll fight them to the death!"
His gaze shifted, sweeping over the elders with chilling intent. He took in every expression before saying, "Honored elders, do you really think these people will spare you now?"
"If you want to wait for death, then keep standing by!"
"If you want to fight for a sliver of survival, then join me!"
Yan Shan's words fell like a heavy hammer, striking the hearts of everyone present.
They came to their senses.
That was right!
No matter what, if the Blood Spirit Sect still failed to unite now, then death would be their only road.
If they fought, they might still have a chance to survive.
After all, Yan Shan was their primary target. In the chaos of battle, it would also be easier to escape.
One after another, auras burst forth from within the Blood Spirit Sect, with no one holding back.
Spiritual energy surged, and the earth trembled.
Formation lights flared among the mountains, linking together to form the Blood Spirit Sect's Sect Protection Array.
At last, the Sect Protection Array became a shell-like barrier, sealing the Blood Spirit Sect inside.
Cultivators below Body Integration who dared to force their way through would be subjected to immense suppression.
High above the sect,
Zhao Shanhe stood atop a Black Bird, his eyes glinting coldly. He gave a cold snort. "Obstinate fools. Kill them!"
As his voice fell, he casually swung his hand. The long saber in his grasp came down, and a blade beam thousands of zhang long instantly gathered.
A tremendously sharp saber intent erupted, cleaving down as if to tear apart the heavens and split the earth.
Where it passed, space collapsed and shattered like a mirror, transforming into the elements of earth, water, wind, and fire, which burst apart one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The blade beam struck the Sect Protection Array. It halted for only a moment before a series of explosions rang out.
Crack—
The array shattered with a thunderous roar. Countless Blood Spirit Sect disciples suffered a backlash, staggering backward and spitting blood.
"Pfft—"
One disciple after another crashed to the ground, their life force extinguished.
Yan Shan and the elders also staggered back dozens of steps, their faces pale.
When they looked up at the sky again, despair filled their faces!
Was this the terror of the Mahayana Realm?
One strike!
It had broken their Sect Protection Array outright.
Zhao Shanhe swept his gaze across the scene, then fixed it precisely on Yan Shan. In a deep voice, he said:
"His Majesty ordered that your body be sliced to pieces and your soul refined in true fire, until you died in agony!"
Yan Shan roared, "Which emperor? What grudge does he have against me, Yan?"
Zhao Shanhe replied coolly, "Does our emperor need a grudge to kill you?"
In the next instant, Zhao Shanhe's figure flashed and vanished from atop the Black Bird. He reached out with one hand and seized Yan Shan.
"You can't escape!"
The Black Bird Guard attacked as well, each unleashing spells and divine abilities that fell like raindrops.
The Black Birds spat true fire, turning the Blood Spirit Sect into a sea of flames.
These Black Birds carried a trace of the ancient great demon Phoenix's bloodline. The flames they spat were no ordinary fire.
They were even more terrifying than cultivators' true fire.
They could burn away a cultivator's body, soul, and magical power, leaving not a trace behind.
At the same time,
the people from the Jade Pool Holy Land and the other forces saw that the battle had begun and refused to lag behind.
They joined the fight as well.
They feared that if they were even a moment too late, the Black Bird Guard would kill everyone and leave them nothing.
This was an utterly lopsided battle. From the very beginning, the Blood Spirit Sect had been completely outmatched.
They could not even defend themselves, let alone fight back.
Lives were reaped one after another. Corpses carpeted the earth, and blood flowed like a river.
This was the cruelty of the Cultivation World.
A sect might be fine one moment, only to be wiped out the next. Such things happened all too often.
The Black Bird Guard were experts at torturing cultivators.
Yan Shan fell into Zhao Shanhe's hands and endured every kind of torment before he was finally killed.
Several hours later...
The great battle gradually drew to a close. After the one-sided massacre, there were practically no Blood Spirit Sect survivors left.
Perhaps only the disciples who had gone out to train had been lucky enough to escape.
But the Blood Spirit Sect had certainly been wiped out.
The sect that had ruled this part of the Southern Region of Qing Province for tens of thousands of years had vanished.
However—
What happened next made everyone present wish they could kill Yan Shan and the others all over again!
They were all gnashing their teeth in hatred.
While the battlefield was being searched, someone discovered countless children's bones in a cellar within the Blood Spirit Sect.
There were even some mortal children and underage youths still being held inside, whom the sect hadn't had time to kill.
The surviving mortals were sent out of the Blood Spirit Sect.
"Damn it!"
"This cellar is a secret alchemy chamber. The Blood Spirit Sect actually used these mortals to refine some kind of pill!"
"No wonder children and young girls kept disappearing from the cities within a thousand li."
"How many people did they kill to pile up all these bones?"
"Even if we killed every last person in the Blood Spirit Sect, it still wouldn't repay the debt they owe to the dead!"
Most cultivators viewed life with a certain indifference.
In the Cultivation World, killing for treasure happened all the time.
But most cultivators believed in cause and effect. Without a grievance, they wouldn't slaughter mortals.
Some of those present were ruthless, decisive killers themselves, yet even they felt their blood boil at the sight before them.
The Blood Spirit Sect's actions could only be described as utterly depraved.
Some had been reluctant to kill so many ordinary Blood Spirit Sect disciples.
Now they felt they hadn't killed enough.
If a sect like this wasn't wiped out completely, it would remain a scourge to all living things!
Yan Changkong was also so furious his teeth ground together. In the end, he took his anger out on the heavenly treasures...
He instructed the Great Elder, Chen Xiu, "Tell our disciples to take everything of value from the Blood Spirit Sect that they can carry!"
"Actually, even the palaces they can't carry should be sawed apart and hauled away in batches!"
Chen Xiu was taken aback. "Wouldn't that make us seem too greedy?"
Yan Changkong's face hardened.
"Would you rather leave it all to go to waste? Ever heard of plucking a goose bare as it flies overhead? The sect is growing rapidly right now. We have to put every resource to use!"
"Bring back the prettier mountain peaks, too!"
Chen Xiu: "..."
Though he felt the sect master's behavior was rather stingy, overall, he was still doing it for the good of the sect!
Chen Xiu didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately turned to give the disciples their orders.
They weren't the only ones searching the battlefield and counting the spoils. Many other sects and rogue cultivators were doing the same.
Of course, top-tier forces like the Liyue Immortal Dynasty and the Jade Pool Holy Land disdained taking anything.
They left as soon as the battle was over.
They were going back to read the Diary.
There were still two entries in the Diary they hadn't finished reading.
But after this incident, many sect masters couldn't help feeling afraid.
They wondered whether their sects had ever offended the Immortal Great Emperor.
They prayed that no blind fool in their ranks had made an enemy of him.
Otherwise, a casual mention in the Diary—
and they would meet the same fate as the Blood Spirit Sect today, a prospect that made their hearts tremble.