Using Tang San to intimidate me? Shen Yichen: What does he amount to!

The moment the golden light flicked from Shen Yichen's fingertip, Ma Hongjun didn't even see what it was.

He only saw a blinding array of runes explode before his eyes. In the next instant, dozens of golden runes emerged from the void on their own, like thin, cold Daoist talismans, and directly adhered to his wrists, ankles, neck, and chest.

"What is that?!"

Ma Hongjun's expression changed drastically. The Evil Fire Phoenix suddenly pounced from behind, its fiery wings about to disperse the talismans.

But as soon as he activated his Soul Power, the first talisman lit up.

With a hum, the golden patterns pressed down along his meridians, as if they had calculated all the routes of his exertion in advance, forcefully locking down all the nodes of the flow of Evil Fire.

Ma Hongjun froze on the spot, his fat face twitched twice, and then he let out a heart-wrenching roar.

"Open it!"

He struggled desperately, his arms jerking out, and Evil Fire erupted from his skin as he tried to burn the talismans with flames.

As soon as the fire burst forth, another talisman descended, the golden light dimmed, and the Evil Fire was forced back.

Ma Hongjun's face immediately turned a deep liver color.

He didn't believe it.

How could he possibly be trapped by something that looks like a piece of paper?

But reality was even worse than he imagined.

The more he channeled his Soul Power, the tighter the talismans tightened, the golden threads constricting along his limbs and bones like living things, causing his bones to crack and pop.

"Let me go!"

Ma Hongjun roared through gritted teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

"You can't kill me! I'm one of the Shrek Seven Devils! I'm Tang San's brother! He's the Sea God now, he won't let you get away with this!"

When he shouted those words, he could hear the faint, weak confidence in them.

But he had no choice.

He was truly terrified.

Shen Yichen stood still, not even moving his sleeves, just looking at him indifferently, as if he were looking at a dirty thing.

"Tang San?"

He repeated it softly, a faint hint of coldness tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Who does he think he is? Even if he comes, I will kill him without hesitation."

The color drained from Ma Hongjun's face instantly.

He had just tried to use Tang San to intimidate others, but now that those words had been spoken, he truly realized that the person he had brought up wasn't a powerful backer, but a joke.

Shen Yichen didn't take Tang San seriously at all.

That kind of disregard is more chilling than direct insults.

Bai Chenxiang stood to the side, her back tensing slightly.

She had prepared herself for Shen Yichen to intervene, but she hadn't expected him to be so direct.

This person didn't even want to waste a word, as if he never took Ma Hongjun seriously.

But seeing Ma Hongjun struggling so hard he was about to break down, she felt a pang of sadness.

No matter what, it's still a life.

No matter what, Ma Hongjun's crimes were heinous, and he shouldn't have been sentenced to death so directly.

Her lips moved, and she finally spoke.

"Master Celestial Master"

Her voice was a little strained; even she felt it was inappropriate to speak at this moment, but she couldn't help it.

"He may have made a mistake, but it doesn't warrant death. Please forgive him this time."

After speaking, Bai Chenxiang lowered her head first.

She wasn't pleading for Ma Hongjun.

She just felt that even if the person was rotten, killing them outright would be too quick and too cruel.

She grew up in the Speed Clan and was used to seeing her clansmen being bullied, but she had never seen a scene where someone was being held down to death right from the start.

She knew very well that Ma Hongjun's words had completely blocked her way out.

But she still wanted to try.

What if?

What if the Celestial Master was just trying to scare him? What if he could still save his life?

Shen Yichen slowly turned his head and glanced at her.

His gaze was indifferent.

It was as faint as a pebble dropped into spring water, barely causing a ripple.

But Bai Chenxiang felt a pressure on her heart from that glance, and even her breath hitched.

"The crime doesn't warrant death?"

He repeated it, his tone almost excessively calm.

"He attempted to take advantage of Lingling, and after being caught, he tried to kill her to cover it up. If I had arrived a moment later, Lingling would already be a corpse. Tell me, does he not deserve to die?"

Bai Chenxiang froze completely.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but not a single word came out.

Because she herself knew that she couldn't respond to that sentence.

She only saw Ma Hongjun committing the crime and Ye Lingling being trapped in the fire, but she didn't have time to think any deeper.

Now that Shen Yichen's words had revealed the whole story, she belatedly realized how insincere her plea for mercy had been.

If Shen Yichen hadn't arrived quickly, Ye Lingling would really be gone now.

Ma Hongjun, who was just laughing about burning people to death, turned around and gambled his own life on pity.

Her face flushed, and she lowered her head, her ears turning red.

"I..."

Bai Chenxiang leaves a dry, astringent feeling in the throat.

"I wasn't trying to excuse him, I just..."

She couldn't continue.

Because she discovered that she couldn't even say "just what".

I just felt he shouldn't have died?

Is it just that the methods were too harsh?

But these words seem as insignificant as paper compared to the fact that Ye Lingling was almost killed.

She suddenly felt a little ashamed.

It's not that I'm ashamed of pleading for mercy, it's that I'm ashamed of almost taking the victim's life to save face for the perpetrator.

Ye Lingling stood behind, still clutching the Nine-Heart Begonia in her hand, her eyes already red.

She had been trembling with fear, but hearing these words, her resolve gradually hardened.

She felt a tightness in her chest when she thought about being trapped in the ring of fire, Ma Hongjun's disgusting face, and the vulgar words he uttered.

She is not a magnanimous person.

She is no saint either.

If someone wants her dead, why should she plead for their life?

Ye Lingling gritted her teeth, her voice turning cold.

"Miss Bai, there's no need to speak up for him."

Bai Chenxiang paused for a moment, then looked up at her.

Ye Lingling's eyes were still wet with tears, but those tears could no longer suppress her hatred.

"He tried to touch me just now."

She spoke slowly and deliberately.

"He even tried to kill me to silence me. He's not just innocent; he deserves to die."

These words left Bai Chenxiang even more speechless.

Looking at Ye Lingling's reddened eyes, she suddenly realized that her plea for mercy just now was ridiculously stupid.

Shen Yichen did not look at Bai Chenxiang again.

He looked at Ma Hongjun again, his eyes now devoid of any emotion.

"Did you hear that?"

Ma Hongjun was breathing heavily inside the talisman; his lips were trembling.

He wanted to curse again, threaten again, and bring up Tang San again, but the words wouldn't come out.

He could feel his Soul Power being gradually worn away by those Golden Talisman.

It's not just Soul Power.

Even the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul was emitting a faint mournful cry.

That feeling was terrifying.

It felt like my whole being was being held in a transparent hand, my life was being squeezed.

You can't...

Ma Hongjun managed to squeeze out a few broken syllables from his throat.

"I was wrong... I know I was wrong... I'll never do it again..."

At this point, he finally remembered to beg for mercy.

It's too late.

Shen Yichen didn't even frown; he simply raised a finger.

It's too late.

The two words fell as lightly as the wind.

Ma Hongjun trembled all over, all hope gone.

He's really going to die.

Bai Chenxiang watched this scene, and the short blade in her hand slowly lowered.

She did not speak again.

I couldn't bring myself to speak.

Because she knew that the person couldn't be saved.

It wasn't that Shen Yichen wouldn't give him a chance; it was that he himself had pushed himself to the brink.

Shen Yichen gently pinched with his fingertips.

The golden talisman instantly shone at its brightest.

In that instant, the entire forest clearing was illuminated, and the Evil Fire, withered leaves, and scorched earth were all suppressed by the golden light.

Before Ma Hongjun could even let out a complete scream, his entire body was as if he had been simultaneously shredded by countless Dao patterns. His Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul exploded first, scattering black and red flames, which were then instantly smoothed out by the talisman light.

In the next instant, his body, Martial Soul, and even the trace of soul fluctuations within them all turned to dust.

Nothing was left on the ground.

There wasn't a single trace of blood.

Bai Chenxiang stood still, staring unblinkingly at the empty ground. Her fingers, gripping the short blade, trembled slightly, and the tip of the blade clattered to the ground.