Hunt

Zhang Lingyue watched as the cultivators who had entered fled the main hall together, scattering into the distance. Yet Jiang Ming was nowhere among them. Curious about what had happened inside, she fixed her beautiful eyes tightly on the hall's entrance.

"Run! The Killing God is coming!"

"What Killing God?"

"Just run first!"

As the high-level Nascent Soul cultivators fled, cultivators from the same factions fled along with them, leaving only some Rogue Cultivators staring at one another in bewilderment.

Not until Jiang Ming, looking utterly harmless, walked out of the main hall did silence fall over the area before it.

The eyebrows of several Rogue Cultivators twitched incessantly.

This doesn't look like a Killing God, does it?

Yeah. He may be strong, but he has nothing to do with a Killing God, right?

Who knows what those people were running from.

"Young Master!" The moment Zhang Lingyue saw Jiang Ming emerge, she hurried forward to greet him.

"Nothing happened outside, right?"

"No..."

Seeing Zhang Lingyue's curiosity, Jiang Ming smiled. "They wanted to kill me. They were just too useless and got scared off by me."

Zhang Lingyue nodded repeatedly. So many people could not defeat him alone—he was far too strong. Her eyes brimmed with admiration as she looked at Jiang Ming.

The stronger Jiang Ming was, the better her chances of revenge. But Young Master was so handsome—his background was mysterious, and his strength was formidable. As she thought about it, her cheeks gradually reddened.

"Why are you blushing? You've been following me for a while now, and you still blush when you see me?" Jiang Ming looked utterly baffled.

"N-No..." Zhang Lingyue even stammered. She did not understand what was happening either. She had never been like this when speaking to men before. In the past, she had thought this person or that person was handsome, but she had never reacted like this.

"Forget it, forget it. I'm going after them." Jiang Ming waved his hand. "The jade pendant I gave you can be activated on your own. Just inject spiritual power into it. Don't get captured and then not know how to use it."

"Mhm, mhm!" Zhang Lingyue nodded with a flushed face. When she raised her head again, Jiang Ming had already vanished from before her. She could only remain where she was and wait for him.

Scarlet wings spread from Jiang Ming's back, while golden light blazed in his eyes. A streak of mingled gold and crimson slashed across the sky, too swift for anyone to see clearly. Like a merciless killing machine, he killed anyone he encountered.

Whether they were the more than twenty high-level Nascent Soul cultivators from within the main hall or the low- and mid-level Nascent Soul cultivators fleeing alongside them, everyone except those before the hall was slaughtered.

It was not that Jiang Ming was particularly bloodthirsty. The main thing was that since they had dared to attack him, they had to be prepared to be killed.

The cultivators fleeing in all directions often did not even catch sight of Jiang Ming before their souls and spirits were destroyed.

Fewer and fewer people remained, and terror grew ever thicker.

"Don't kill me!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Ah! Help! I don't want to die yet! Mom!"

"It was all Wu Di and the others! What's the point of coming after us?!"

Jiang Ming's face was cold and stern, and he did not utter a word. Scorching Sunfire ignited around him. Anyone it touched was reduced to ashes, while even Nascent Souls caught fire and could not escape disaster.

As the slaughter continued,

At the entrance of the main hall,

Helian Jue and the others gathered once more. More than a dozen cultivators at the Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm appeared before the hall, their gazes alert.

"We've fought him before. That Killing God is far beyond what the Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm can withstand. I'm afraid only the Nascent Soul Extremity can deal with him."

"The key is that he has spirit artifacts too. When he fought the Four Symbols Sage, he directly brought out a Saint artifact!"

"Have any of you seen that Saint artifact? It sounded like it was called the Soul-Eating Banner."

"No. I've never even heard of it, but just hearing its name makes it sound like something an evil cultivator would use."

"What use is there in returning here? We've already gone through the Four Symbols Realm once, and there's no exit at all." Helian Jue asked.

"The exit must be within the Saint's main hall. Let's go in and search for it." The Plume Sect's senior sister sighed.

They had never expected that the Saint's Ruins could not be entered and exited at will.

"What if there's still no exit?" a Rogue Cultivator at the Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm asked.

Chen Xuanjia's expression twisted with conflict. At last, he made up his mind. "His maid is still here." After saying that, he fell silent. He only wanted to survive; Jiang Ming had already killed until his eyes ran red.

The others' faces lit up at once.

"Brother Chen, go capture his maid. We'll enter the main hall and search for the exit," Helian Jue said.

Chen Xuanjia nodded. At the very least, he would not harm Zhang Lingyue. He would only use her to threaten Jiang Ming.

"Did you find it?"

"No. We searched everywhere. There's nothing in this main hall!" Wu Di said, somewhat irritably.

The others grew even more anxious upon hearing that.

"Impossible! How could there be no exit?!" Wu Di roared.

They normally could not even come into contact with a Saint Realm cultivator, so how could they know that a Saint's False Spirit Realm could only be opened by its Saint Realm cultivator?

Originally, the Four Symbols Sage could still control the Four Symbols Realm from within it. But now that he had been sealed inside the Soul-Eating Banner, there was no way to contact the Four Symbols Realm at all.

Other than that, a False Spirit Realm could only be broken open through brute force. Unlike a true Spirit Realm, it could not have entrances and exits established within it.

When they emerged from the main hall, they were stunned by the sight before them.

Chen Xuanjia was in as miserable a state as possible, covered in blood. Jiang Ming was crushing his bones bit by bit, yet he could not scream. His tongue had already been severed. No one knew what method Jiang Ming had used to prevent his physical body and Nascent Soul from separating, forcing him to endure the damage together with both.

Helian Jue and the others had no idea what had happened, but seeing Chen Xuanjia no longer looking remotely human, they all swallowed hard.

"Oh! You're out. Long time no see!" Jiang Ming greeted them, but his hands did not stop moving. Chen Xuanjia's limbs had already been completely crushed.

At first, Chen Xuanjia had merely wanted to seize Zhang Lingyue as quickly as possible, and in his haste, he accidentally injured her. Of course, it was not a serious injury—she had only coughed up a mouthful of blood.

But when he tried to continue, Jiang Ming had already arrived. He had no chance to resist. Before he could even see Jiang Ming clearly, Chen Xuanjia was already lying on the ground.

"I hate betrayal. And no one gets to touch my people!" Jiang Ming's voice seemed to come from hell itself, sending chills down one's spine.

What followed was the scene Helian Jue and the others witnessed.

Zhang Lingyue had indeed not suffered any severe injuries, but she did not dare speak from the side. She did not even dare breathe too loudly. Jiang Ming was too terrifying at this moment; she even felt that if she moved even slightly, her head and body would be separated.

"Everyone, there is no way back. I believe you all have trump cards. Don't hide them any longer, or we may very well perish here!" Helian Jue said gravely to the people behind him.

"Finished talking?" Jiang Ming suddenly appeared before Helian Jue and seized his throat.

The others retreated two and a half steps in fright.

"Y-You..." Helian Jue struggled to speak, but Jiang Ming could not be bothered with him. With a slight exertion of his fingers, Helian Jue's neck snapped. Then a purple nine-inch Nascent Soul flew from within his body.

Its face was filled with panic as it swiftly fled away from Jiang Ming.

"Who dares harm my son?!" An enraged roar sounded out. Then Helian Jue's mutilated body began to nurture astonishing power. But how could Jiang Ming let it have its way? Sunfire spread forth, and within a few breaths, Helian Jue's physical body was burned to ashes.

Jiang Ming understood this sort of method as well. Those below the Saint Realm could not project phantom images, so they could only leave certain methods within a physical body. Once activated, they could erupt with power. It was generally a method left behind by Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivators for their descendants.