Extermination (Part 1)

Melodious bells echoed, and the cloud chimes rang out.

Incense mist swirled, and clouds rolled above the Heavenly Secret Hall.

Today was the Ancestor Worship Ceremony of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect. All the disciples of the sect gathered together, led by Xin Ranzi, to pay their respects to the founders of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.

Since ancient times, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect had produced countless mighty figures.

But now, they had fallen into the dust, ultimately becoming nothing more than sacrificial stars above the Heavenly Secret Hall. Points of starlight circled above the hall, forming a sea of stars. Each star represented a mighty figure, converging into a brilliant starry sky above the hall.

There were so many ancestral masters that even calling their names was a luxury.

Xin Ranzi bowed respectfully three times to the void: "The seventy-first generation head of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, Xin Ranzi, leads the disciples in paying respects to all our ancestors! May the ancestors have spirits in heaven and continue to protect our Heavenly Mechanism Sect..."

After the sacrificial prayer was recited, it was the turn of the uncles and the various disciples to pay their respects in rotation.

For the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, this was an annual event, already a ritual, so there was nothing particularly unusual about it.

Feng Buting even nudged Zhao Longguang with his elbow: "Senior brother, yesterday's evening class was too exhausting. Since everyone is gathered for the ceremony today, why don't we skip the evening class?"

Zhao Longguang, however, was stubborn and glared at him: "All you know is how to be lazy. Not allowed."

Feng Buting shut his mouth, feeling aggrieved.

Xin Xiaoye, standing nearby, saw this and chuckled. Her laughter was heard by Xin Ranzi, who glared at his daughter, causing Xin Xiaoye to lower her head obediently.

She stole a glance at Ning Ye and found him frowning, deep in thought.

Xin Xiaoye found it strange and asked Ning Ye quietly: "Hey, what are you doing?"

Ning Ye pinched his fingers to calculate and replied in a low voice: "I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling."

Xin Xiaoye curled her lips: "Don't act like a charlatan. Your Heaven Asking Art is still far from proficient. I'm warning you, don't talk nonsense on such a big day, or else watch out, Senior Sister will beat you!"

When it came to the Heaven Asking Art, Xin Ranzi was naturally the strongest. Since her father hadn't sensed any problems, Xin Xiaoye didn't believe Ning Ye could perceive anything.

However, although Ning Ye's Heaven Asking Art was not yet refined, he possessed the Kunlun Mirror. Using it for calculations allowed him to exert more influence than even Xin Ranzi, a fact Xin Xiaoye was unaware of.

At this moment, Ning Ye calculated repeatedly, but the unease in his heart grew stronger.

By now, all the disciples had paid their respects, and the next step was divination.

The Heavenly Mechanism Sect performed divination during every annual ancestor worship to follow the mandate of heaven and also to seek the protection of their ancestors.

Under the Heaven Asking Art, although the divination was not always clear, it could always point out the general direction, allowing the Heavenly Mechanism Sect to make the right choices in times of crisis by relying on the guidance of the heavens—this was the way to calculate fortune and misfortune and prevent trouble before it happened.

At this moment, Xin Ranzi held the calculation cylinder high, the eighteen Wordless Heaven Divination Sticks inside rattling. As they shook continuously, strange characters began to appear upon them.

Unlike the divination methods of rural sorcerers, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's method of calculation was far more profound. As the sticks rolled, one of them suddenly rose on its own, tumbling in the air. The characters on it grew stronger, actually emitting a red glow.

Ning Ye's sense of crisis surged, and suddenly, he blurted out: "This stick must not fall!"

What?

Everyone turned to look at him at the same time.

Ning Ye continued to shout: "Master, this stick must not fall!"

Xin Ranzi, however, acted as if he hadn't heard him, staring fixedly at the light of the stick and shaking his head: "The will of heaven is set; whether it falls or not makes no difference. Open!"

As he spoke, the divination stick suddenly flew up, tumbled in the air, and descended. It did not touch the ground but hovered in the void, where a large character manifested:

Death!

Crimson as blood!

"Oh no!" everyone in the Heavenly Mechanism Sect shouted at once.

Xin Ranzi's face turned pale: "A great calamity is coming... no, it is not coming, it is already here!"

As he spoke, a wild, thunderous laugh echoed across the sky: "Xin Ranzi, your conspiracy has been exposed. Why don't you hurry up and die!"

Following this roar, boundless flames erupted, instantly setting the entire Heavenly Secret Mountain ablaze.

The crowd looked back in astonishment to see a giant face formed of flames appearing in the sky, grinning down at them. A giant hand of fire descended from the heavens, reaching toward the Heavenly Secret Hall.

"Ancestor Yanrong?" Xin Ranzi exclaimed, raising his Heavenly Secret Staff high. In front of the Heavenly Secret Hall, the two giant stone-carved beasts suddenly moved, simultaneously spewing multicolored divine light toward the sky. The divine light illuminated the air, shielding the entire mountain peak.

These were the guardian mechanical beasts of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, powerful entities equivalent to the Immaculate Realm.

But at this moment, black mist rolled through the air, and from the black energy, a thousand eyes appeared, covering the two mechanical beasts. They were captured, unable to move, while constantly releasing bursts of divine light within the pillars of energy.

"Eyeless Heavenly Demon?" Xin Ranzi was horrified.

It was not just because the opponents were powerful; what was more terrifying was that Ancestor Yanrong and the Eyeless Heavenly Demon belonged to two major immortal sects—the Haotian Sect and the Taiyin Sect—which were the two top immortal sects in the Evergreen Realm.

At this thought, Xin Ranzi knew things were dire.

By now, countless cultivators had flown in from outside the heavens, all wearing ghost masks, their black robes embroidered with patterns of flames and skulls.

This was the standard attire of the Demonic Sect.

The Haotian Sect and the Taiyin Sect were naturally not Demonic Sects; the reason they did this was simply to use the name of the Demonic Sect to carry out their deeds.

Seeing this, Ning Ye realized: "They are here to exterminate the sect!"

There was no need to ask why; Ning Ye knew that the matter of the Thousand Mechanism Hall must have been exposed.

The immortal sects of the Evergreen Realm would never allow the Heavenly Mechanism Sect a chance to rise again.

Xin Ranzi understood this as well, and with a loud shout, he threw out a Wooden Fish.

The moment the Wooden Fish appeared, it emitted a crisp chime, and a wave of Sanskrit sounds resonated, enveloping the immortal sect members charging toward them. Where the Sanskrit sounds fell, those immortal sect members swayed, as fragile as candles in the wind.

Yet, a refined voice rang out at this moment: "Why go to such lengths?"

Accompanying this voice, the world suddenly turned black and white; even the flames turned black, and the lightning transformed into white light.

Within this black and white world, a black chess piece flew over, spinning, and the entire space-time seemed to freeze because of it.

All things fell silent.

The black piece landed on the Wooden Fish, emitting a crisp chime, and then it began to crack piece by piece. As the Wooden Fish shattered, the entire black and white world fractured, transforming into the shape of a chessboard, followed by countless black and white chess pieces flying in...

"Black and White Divine Palace?" Xin Ranzi was horrified.

As expected, had the Black and White Divine Palace come as well?

Of the nine great immortal sects of the Evergreen Realm, three had arrived at once, and the Black and White Divine Palace was arguably the strongest among them. Xin Ranzi knew that there was no escaping this battle.

But like a trapped beast fighting for its life, Xin Ranzi activated all the mechanisms and formations of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.

The next instant, the Heavenly Secret Hall erupted with countless mechanisms. As the restrictions activated and magical power circulated, thousands of visions appeared in the air: cranes, giant rhinoceroses, colorful phoenixes, fierce tigers, snow leopards, and dragon-steeds—all manner of exotic beasts. Ten thousand beasts roared in unison, their power boundless. Furthermore, banners, canopies, giant umbrellas, and jade chimes manifested in the air, spraying colorful light, yet they were stained pitch-black by the black and white world, dimming their brilliance and extinguishing the light of the stars and moon.

Xin Ranzi, however, was struck with fresh alarm.

"How can this be?"

He was alarmed because the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's most important defensive formation had failed to activate.

Xin Ranzi knew things had gone wrong and shouted, "Everyone, get out of here! Run!"

"Still trying to run?" the refined voice in the sky hummed. "This place has been sealed by us. Without my permission, who can escape? Xin Ranzi, hand over the Thousand Mechanism Hall, and the Heavenly Mechanism Sect may yet survive."

The Thousand Mechanism Hall? What was going on? Everyone was bewildered.

Xin Ranzi yelled, "Yue Xinchan, do you think I would believe your nonsense? You came here disguised as a demonic sect, clearly intending to cut the weeds and pull up the roots to wipe out my entire sect!"

It was actually the Hand of the Chess Player, Yue Xinchan?

The crowd was shocked.

This was the head of the Twelve Heavenly Gangs of the Black and White Divine Palace, the City Lord of Chess, a peak-stage Immaculate expert ranked fifth in the Black and White Divine Palace. He alone could wipe out the entire Heavenly Mechanism Sect, not to mention the assistance of Ancestor Yanrong and the Eyeless Heavenly Demon.

Flames surged, revealing a massive flaming head, its mouth opening and closing: "I told you, this approach was completely unnecessary."

It was none other than Ancestor Yanrong.

Yue Xinchan did not appear, but his voice arrived: "We were never trying to fool him. As the righteous path of the world, we must still pay attention to appearances. Whether we successfully fool them or not is unimportant; having a pretext is enough. Since you refuse to hand it over, Xin Ranzi, we will simply kill you and find it ourselves."

"Fight them to the death!" An elder of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect charged out. He was Xin Ranzi's junior brother and one of the sect's elders. Charging out at this moment, he unleashed the strongest divine ability of his life, the Five-Colored Wheel Light surging forth, capable of eclipsing the sun and moon.

However, as the light rotated and flames surged, a torrent of scorching fire erupted. The next moment, that Heavenly Mechanism elder was engulfed in flames, emitting a painful wail.

Xin Ranzi was filled with inexplicable grief and indignation, knowing the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's defeat was sealed. He shouted sharply, "Fight them to the death!"

"Fight them!" Everyone shouted in unison, recklessly charging out of the hall to attack the sky. Even if it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, they would fight to the end.

Ning Ye, however, did not move.

Neither did Qing Lin and Xin Xiaoye—they had been seized by Xin Ranzi.

Xin Ranzi said, "Follow me."

Qing Lin and Xin Xiaoye were both stunned and wanted to say something, but Xin Ranzi had already moved quickly, sealing the two of them and leading them toward the back of the hall. Ning Ye, on the other hand, seemed prepared, following directly. The four of them quickly arrived in front of a side hall.

Xin Ranzi stuffed the Heavenly Secret Staff and a mustard seed bag into Ning Ye's hands: "From now on, you are the Sect Master of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect."

What? Xin Xiaoye looked at Ning Ye in confusion, then at Xin Ranzi: "Father, you..."

"Shut up!" Xin Ranzi pointed to the side hall: "There is an escape route here. Bai Yu knows what to do. Now, the three of you leave from here immediately."

As he spoke, he pushed the three of them into the hall.

"Father!" Xin Xiaoye screamed, but Ning Ye grabbed her, preventing her from moving, and looked at Xin Ranzi without a word.

At that moment, Xin Ranzi and Ning Ye locked eyes, and both master and disciple understood each other's thoughts.

Then, Xin Ranzi smiled miserably: "I finally understand... one cannot establish without breaking; only after breaking can one establish. The future of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect depends on you."

Looking at that face already resigned to death, Ning Ye could no longer hold back, tears streaming down his face.

He knelt down: "Master..."

"Don't let me down." As Xin Ranzi spoke, he slammed the door shut.

He turned back and charged, returning to the Heavenly Secret Hall. Before his eyes, his disciples were being slaughtered.

Xin Ranzi cried out in a loud voice: "Ancestors above, Xin Ranzi is incompetent. I have held the position of Sect Master, yet I lack the power to lead the Heavenly Mechanism Sect back to glory, instead leading it to destruction. However, this disciple has never dared to forget the ambitions of our ancestors. The day of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's rise will surely come again. Today, I forge a path of survival with my blood; one day, the Heavenly Mechanism Sect will surely make a comeback!"

With that, he charged out without a shred of hesitation.