So What If You Belong to an Emperor Clan? Stripping Away the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body's Essence!

[Ding! Blinded the Heaven-Destined Protagonist Shenkong Ye. Gained 10,000 Villain Points!]

"Aaaargh!!"

Shenkong Ye curled up on the floor, his hands clamped over his eye sockets as golden blood poured between his fingers.

The golden markings of his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body flickered wildly amid the agonizing pain, each flash making his entire body convulse even harder.

"Divine Son!?"

"Shenkong Ye!!"

Everyone around them watched with varying expressions.

"A mere nobody dared speak so arrogantly to our Su Family's Divine Son."

"He never realized that beyond every mountain stood a higher mountain, and beyond every heaven lay another heaven."

"Now the Divine Son has simply taught him a little lesson."

The Su Family elders sneered. Their patriarch, Shenyue Su, held his teacup and calmly glanced at Shenkong Ye writhing on the floor, his expression betraying nothing.

Miao Yin Yun lay nearby, her delicate body trembling violently.

Blood had splattered across her cheeks.

She was barely three feet from Shenkong Ye. Those two streaks of sword light had practically brushed past her face!

She could distinctly sense the aura of destruction within that Dark Gold Sword Intent!

Miao Yin Yun stared in terror at Shenkong Ye rolling in agony beside her, a chill rising from deep within her heart.

"Divine Son of the Su Family..."

"What you've done..."

Su Linxian spoke indifferently.

"Next time, I won't take just your eyes."

"Quiet him down."

"If you can't, I'll help him myself."

His voice was quiet, yet it was like a basin of ice water poured over Miao Yin Yun and the Yun Family elder.

The elder beside Miao Yin Yun abruptly came to his senses.

He scrambled to Shenkong Ye's side and struck the back of his neck with his palm, knocking him unconscious!

Thud!

Shenkong Ye went limp and lay motionless on the floor, golden blood still slowly seeping from his eye sockets.

The hall finally fell silent.

Only then did Su Linxian turn to Miao Yin Yun, his gaze as tranquil as still water.

"I'll give you two hours."

"Have your grandfather haul himself to the Su Family and explain himself in person."

"Otherwise, today I'll strip your bones and drain your blood in his stead."

What?!

Miao Yin Yun shuddered, her face instantly turning deathly pale!

[Ding! The Heaven-Destined Heroine Miao Yin Yun is utterly terrified. Congratulations on gaining 10,000 Villain Points!]

Miao Yin Yun opened her mouth, her lips trembling.

The Yun Family elder beside her scrambled upright on his knees and immediately spoke.

"Divine Son! I'll go right away! I'll notify the seventh elder at once!"

"Two hours! He'll definitely arrive within two hours!"

With that, he burned his essence and transformed into a streak of azure light that shot into the sky!

Su Linxian turned and returned to his seat, picking up his teacup again.

The great hall was terrifyingly quiet.

A fresh stick of incense was lit in the burner, wisps of smoke curling upward.

Yu Yao asked, "Master, do you think that seventh elder of the Yun Family can arrive within two hours?"

"Isn't two hours too short for a round trip?"

As far as she knew, the great Emperor Clans were separated by vast stretches of the heavens, with billions of Dao domains lying between them.

In that little time, they might not even make it beyond their own territory.

Su Linxian waved a dismissive hand.

"If he can't arrive, someone will pay in his place."

Grinning, Yu Yao ran over to Miao Yin Yun and looked her over.

"That's true."

"Wouldn't you agree, little girl?"

Miao Yin Yun remained kneeling where she was, trembling all over, not daring to say a word.

Her knees had long since gone numb, but the terror in her heart was harder to endure than her physical pain. She gazed at the white-robed figure seated to one side of the hall, leisurely sipping tea, her mind in turmoil.

Two hours...

Could her grandfather... really make it?

When she had set out from the Yun Family's Emperor Clan, even traveling day and night had taken several months!

Shenyue Su sat in the seat of honor, his fine brows slightly knitted. After a moment's hesitation, he finally spoke softly.

"Divine Son, might this... be a little inappropriate?"

"After all, we're both Emperor Clans. If relations sour too badly..."

Su Linxian set down his teacup and said evenly, "There's no need to worry, Patriarch."

Shenyue Su nodded.

He said nothing more.

Time ticked steadily away.

The slender incense stick slowly burned down, sections of ash breaking off and falling into the burner with faint sounds.

Miao Yin Yun had bitten her lip bloody, and her breathing grew increasingly labored.

An hour passed...

At last, she could not help looking toward the hall's entrance.

But it stood empty. There was nothing there.

Most of another two hours passed.

Only a tiny stub of incense remained in the burner.

Overwhelming terror flooded her heart.

Miao Yin Yun raised her head toward Su Linxian, her lips quivering as she spoke hoarsely.

"D-Divine Son!"

"What is it?"

"Please show mercy, Divine Son. The marriage... I agree to it!"

Su Linxian paused at her words, then could not help snickering.

"Pfft."

"You think the Su Family's Emperor Clan cares so much about this marriage?"

Ultimately, it was merely a matter of face.

The Yun Family had broken its promise first. If they simply let it go, would people really think the Su Family's Emperor Clan was so easy to push around?

Miao Yin Yun said, "Then what else..."

Su Linxian looked toward the incense, which had reached its end.

The final wisp of smoke rose and dissipated beneath the vaulted ceiling.

The ash broke off and fell into the burner.

Su Linxian set down his teacup and stood.

He walked over to Miao Yin Yun and looked down at her.

"Time's up."

Su Linxian's eyes were indifferent, devoid of any emotion.

"It seems your grandfather..."

"Doesn't care that much about you either."

Miao Yin Yun shook violently and jerked her head up, her eyes filled with terror.

"Divine Son of the Su Family!"

"I belong to the Yun Family's Emperor Clan!"

"D-Don't come any closer!"

Su Linxian raised his hand, a dark golden light gathering in his palm.

Just then!

"Divine Son of the Su Family! Please show mercy!"

An aged, urgent voice came from outside the hall. Immediately afterward, two figures tore through the void and appeared abruptly outside the entrance!

The one in front was an elderly man with an aged face, white hair and beard, and a stooped frame, yet dense imperial might swirled around him.

Behind him followed a young man whose face bore a strong resemblance to Miao Yin Yun's, his expression filled with anxiety.

Yun Ya and Yun Qi of the Yun Family's Emperor Clan.

"Oh?"

"That old fellow really made it?"

The Su Family elders raised their brows, looking particularly astonished.

Crossing billions of Dao domains within two hours must have come at a considerable price!

Yun Ya and Yun Qi strode into the hall.

Their gazes immediately fell upon Miao Yin Yun kneeling on the floor.

Joy lit up Miao Yin Yun's face!

"Great Ancestor! Brother!"

Su Linxian glanced toward the entrance, then lowered his gaze to Miao Yin Yun before him and shook his head.

"You..."

"Are late."

As his words fell,

a flash of golden light shot from his hand and sank into Miao Yin Yun's Dantian with unerring precision.

"Pfft—!"

Miao Yin Yun's entire body abruptly doubled over, and she spat out a great mouthful of blood.

Under that palm strike, her Dantian shattered inch by inch. The cultivation she had accumulated throughout her life poured out like a tide, becoming specks of light that scattered into the void!

Her aura plummeted from the Jijie Realm through the Fengwang Realm... finally stopping at the level of an ordinary mortal who could no longer even be considered a cultivator!

[Ding! Master has crippled the cultivation of the Heaven-Destined Heroine Miao Yin Yun. Gained 100,000 Villain Points!]

"Little sister!!!"

At the sight, Yun Qi's eyes nearly split with rage.

He rushed forward and gathered Miao Yin Yun into his arms.

"B-Brother..." Miao Yin Yun lay utterly limp, blood continuously spilling from the corners of her mouth, her face as pale as paper.

Tears rolled from her eyes, yet she no longer even had the strength to cry.

Her cultivation...

The cultivation she had built over hundreds of years!

That single palm strike had reduced it all to nothing!

Yun Ya stood rooted to the spot, his entire body rigid.

As he looked at his descendant's wretched condition, pain flashed through his cloudy old eyes, but he forcibly restrained himself from lashing out.

He drew a deep breath and bowed slightly to Su Linxian.

"I am... Yun Ya. My respects, Your Highness."

Shenyue Su spoke at an appropriate moment.

"Divine Son, this is Yun Ya, the Yun Family's seventh elder. Beside him is Miao Yin Yun's elder brother, Yun Qi, the Yun Family's peerless prodigy of this generation."

One was at the seventh level of the Emperor Realm, the other at the peak of the Saint Realm.

Su Linxian gave a slight nod.

"Divine Son of the Su Family!!"

Holding Miao Yin Yun, Yun Qi suddenly raised his head and glared at Su Linxian with bloodshot eyes.

"You belong to an Emperor Clan too, yet you act with such ruthlessness!"

"Aren't you afraid that our Yun Family's Emperor Clan will sever all ties with your Su Family forever over this!?"

Su Linxian looked at him calmly, his voice utterly unruffled.

"Had you arrived a little earlier, she wouldn't have suffered this."

"I keep my word."

"Leaving her alive was already a concession to your Yun Family."

Yun Qi gritted his teeth, his Saint Realm cultivation surging wildly. His fists clenched, and veins bulged across his forehead.

An eldest brother stood in a father's place. Seeing his little sister in such agony, Yun Qi abruptly rose, ready to lash out.

Su Linxian merely glanced at him.

The instant that gaze fell upon him, an unimaginably terrifying pressure poured forth like a raging flood and a savage beast.

Rumble!!

Emperor Realm cultivation surged like rivers and seas bursting their banks!

Yun Qi froze with a thunderous jolt, the blood throughout his body turning ice-cold!

Under that crushing pressure, the Saint Realm cultivation circulating within him seemed to freeze. He could not move even a finger.

"What?!"

Yun Qi's eyes widened, his pupils trembling violently.

This Divine Son of the Su Family...

...just what cultivation did he possess?!

Yun Ya felt that pressure too. His expression changed drastically, and the Emperor Power throughout his body began circulating instinctively to resist it.

But the pressure was terrifying, as though the entire sky had collapsed upon him. Before that power, his Emperor Realm cultivation was nothing more than a mantis raising its arms against a chariot.

The Emperor Realm?!

The Divine Son of the Su Family had actually reached the Emperor Realm?!

The strength of this pressure...

was even more terrifying than his own, despite his million years of cultivation as an established Great Emperor!

How was that possible?!

Yun Ya's heart churned like an upended sea.

He had only heard that the Su Family had recovered its Divine Son. Never had he imagined that the Divine Son's cultivation had already reached such a terrifying level!

An Emperor Realm cultivator so young, yet stronger than him—this shattered every convention since ancient times!

Su Linxian spoke with a faint smile.

"If you want to fight, I can oblige."

"A contest of the Dao between peers—I doubt the Emperor Clans behind us would have much to say about that."

Yun Ya shouted, "Come back!"

"Yun Qi, do not be disrespectful before the Su Family's Divine Son!"

His great-grandson was only in the Saint Realm, a world apart from the Emperor Realm.

Between the two of them, the Su Family's Divine Son could kill him instantly with a mere glance!

Yun Ya drew a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and spoke respectfully. "Your Highness, Divine Son, in this matter... our Yun Family was indeed at fault first."

"I am willing to offer half our accumulated resources as compensation to the Su Family. I ask only that Your Highness show leniency out of consideration for the Yun Family's standing as an Emperor Clan."

Compensation?

Su Linxian narrowed his eyes.

"What compensation?"

Yun Ya hurriedly took a Storage Ring from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"These are a few tokens I prepared before coming: an Emperor Weapon, three million-year-old Saint Medicines, three Emperor Essence Pills, and an Emperor-Grade Cultivation Technique..."

An Emperor Weapon.

Back when he was in the Ziwei Domain, a single Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon had drawn numerous Great Emperors of the Ziwei Domain into action.

Members of Emperor Clans truly were wealthy.

Su Linxian glanced at it and spoke.

"Not enough."

Holding Miao Yin Yun, Yun Qi gritted his teeth and spoke coldly.

"Divine Son of the Su Family!"

"We have already shown ample sincerity. What more do you want?"

"The value of a single Emperor Weapon is enough to drive people across all the heavens mad!"

Su Linxian's gaze passed over Yun Qi and settled on Shenkong Ye, who lay unconscious in a corner of the hall.

His eyes flickered, and an inscrutable smile appeared.

"I also want that fellow's Desolate Ancient Sacred Body."

"Why don't you extract his physique and hand it over to me?"

What?!

The color drained from Miao Yin Yun's beautiful face.

Though her cultivation had been crippled and her whole body was wracked with pain, she could not help struggling to speak when she heard that.

"No!"

"Shenkong Ye is someone I brought here, so our Yun Family must take responsibility for him. Besides, a physique is born of heaven and earth. It cannot be extracted or stripped away. You..."

Su Linxian interrupted her.

"I have my own method."

"Just tell me whether you agree or not."

Yun Qi's eyes flickered. He lowered his head to glance at the terribly weakened Miao Yin Yun in his arms and asked gravely, "Little sister, what is this man's background?"

Miao Yin Yun replied softly.

"A rogue cultivator... with no school or sect..."

A rogue cultivator?

Yun Qi said coldly, "Since the Su Family's Divine Son wants it, give it to him!"

"Compared to Grandfather's life, we would only be sacrificing this man's sacred body! Our Yun Family will naturally compensate him afterward!"

Miao Yin Yun gazed at the unconscious Shenkong Ye cradled in her arms.

Golden blood still seeped from beneath his tightly closed eyelids, and a wave of tangled emotions rose in her heart.

In the end, however, she closed her eyes and nodded gently.

Yun Qi raised his head to look at Su Linxian.

"Our Yun Family agrees."

Su Linxian's lips curved. "Good."

System, buy that thing for me.

[Ding!]

[300,000 villain points consumed!]

[Congratulations, Master, on purchasing Body-Stripping Crystal ×1!]

Su Linxian raised his hand. Light flashed in his palm, and a crystal appeared, transparent throughout, with strange patterns flowing within it.

He casually tossed it toward Yun Qi.

"This is...?" Yun Qi caught the crystal and looked down at it.

"Just aim it at the center of his brow," Su Linxian said with a smile.

Yun Qi nodded, rose with it in hand, and walked toward the unconscious Shenkong Ye.

"Wait."

Yun Qi halted and turned to glare at Su Linxian. "What else do you want?"

Su Linxian pointed at Miao Yin Yun. "I want her to extract the essence of his physique."

Stripping away the physique was the main goal.

He could also harvest some villain points along the way to make up for the expense of purchasing the Body-Stripping Crystal.

Me?

Miao Yin Yun felt as though lightning had struck her.

She went rigid where she stood.

He wants me to do it?

Yun Qi fell silent for a moment, then pressed the crystal into Miao Yin Yun's hand.

"Little sister, you know how important this is."

"We cannot afford to offend the Su Family's Divine Son."

Though they belonged to an Emperor Clan, compared with the son of a Divine Emperor, their standings were as far apart as heaven and earth.

Miao Yin Yun held the icy crystal, her fingers trembling violently.

"..."

"I understand."

Miao Yin Yun clenched her teeth and stepped forward, gripping the crystal.

The instant the crystal touched Shenkong Ye's body—

Hum!

A strange suction surged from it, beginning to strip away the innate essence of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body within Shenkong Ye!

Golden patterns surfaced on Shenkong Ye's skin, as though something were forcibly pulling them out of his flesh and blood, separating them from his body inch by inch.

"Aaaah!!!"

Shenkong Ye jolted awake in agony and let out a heart-rending scream.

He could see nothing. All he could feel was the most precious thing within his body being forcibly stripped away!

That pain pierced deep into his marrow, a hundred times worse than when his eyes had been stabbed blind!

Miao Yin Yun's face was deathly pale as she spoke in a weak voice.

"Shenkong, I'm sorry... I... I have no choice either... our Yun Family will compensate you..."

"We only want the essence of your physique."

Shenkong Ye roared, his entire body thrashing wildly.

"Stop! Stop it! Aaaah!"

Yun Qi stepped forward and pressed a palm against his chest. His Saint Realm cultivation poured forth, pinning him firmly to the floor, unable to move.

Feeling the essence of his sacred body being stripped away bit by bit, Shenkong Ye bellowed.

"Miao Yin Yun! The Yun Family!"

"I treated you with nothing but sincerity! How dare you..."