The instant Si Chen finished speaking, the enormous Corpse Flood Dragon stirred up a reeking gale and lunged without hesitation at Lü Ci, Elder Mo, and the others!
"Damn it!"
Lü Ci's expression changed drastically. Si Chen had never intended to reconcile-he wanted to slaughter them all!
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Save Fang Heng? Join forces with Elder Mo? No! It was too late for any of that!
He could no longer afford to wade through these muddy waters!
As the Corpse Flood Dragon bore down with crushing force, a ruthless gleam flashed in his eyes, and he made a move that nearly split Elder Mo's eyes with rage.
Instead of defending himself, he violently shoved Fang Heng, whom he was holding, toward the oncoming Corpse Flood Dragon! Using the recoil, he fled toward the cave entrance in the opposite direction!
The Young Master of the Fang Household? Future retaliation? All of it was bullshit in the face of life and death!
Fang Heng? You're on your own!
"Lü Ci! You!"
Already gravely wounded, Fang Heng staggered toward the Corpse Flood Dragon's gaping, bloody maw after being flung away, his face filled with disbelief and venomous hatred.
He had never imagined that Lü Ci, who had just saved him, could turn him into a stepping stone in the blink of an eye!
"You old bastard! Are you a fucking loach?! You're staying right here with Lord Bear!"
Black Mountain reacted swiftly, roaring as he swatted at Lü Ci's streak of fleeing light.
He was simple-minded, but never hesitant in a fight. Had this sneaky old bastard asked his permission to flee?
Red Wind moved without a sound, turning into a crimson shadow and sealing off his retreat.
With two third-tier demon beasts blocking him with all their strength, Lü Ci could not advance a single step.
"Damn it!"
Lü Ci's face darkened, shock and fury churning within him.
He was beginning to regret it-not attacking Si Chen, but failing to erase him completely at any cost the instant they encountered him outside!
During the brief moment Lü Ci was held up, Elder Mo made an entirely different choice.
Seeing the young master thrown toward the Corpse Flood Dragon, his eyes nearly split with rage. Completely disregarding his own injuries, he fiercely burned his essence blood!
A surge of violent spiritual energy far beyond his usual strength erupted from his withered body. His speed soared instantly, and he narrowly snatched Fang Heng back before the Corpse Flood Dragon's enormous jaws closed.
"Young master, go!"
Elder Mo roared hoarsely. Ignoring the tearing agony in his meridians, he carried Fang Heng toward the entrance he had sealed himself.
How ironic! The escape route he had blocked to silence them now became his greatest stumbling block.
"Break open!"
Gathering all the power he had gained by burning his essence blood, Elder Mo slammed both palms into the boulder blocking the entrance.
Boom!
The boulder shattered, revealing the narrow passage behind it. He shoved Fang Heng out, his voice urgent and resolute. "Go! Leave the Mountain of Ten Thousand Silences and return to the lineage! Don't look back!"
Fang Heng stumbled from the shove and glanced back at Elder Mo, who was drenched in blood, his aura flickering like a dying candle in the wind. His lips moved, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and slipped through the entrance without another look back.
Seeing Fang Heng escape, Elder Mo felt a little relief. Once the young master was outside, beyond the flight-restricting seal, his chances of escaping would be much greater!
It was not that he could not leave. But if he fled too, who would hold back Si Chen, the two demon beasts, and that utterly terrifying Flood Dragon Corpse?
It would only be a matter of time before both he and the young master were caught!
He abruptly turned toward Lü Ci, who was fighting Black Mountain and Red Wind, and shouted in despair, "Lü Ci! Stop thinking you can save yourself alone! If we don't join forces, we'll both die here today!"
He hated Lü Ci to the bone for what he had just done, but now, one more person meant one more measure of hope that the young master could escape farther.
At those words, Lü Ci's expression shifted rapidly.
Join forces? Easy for you to say!
That Flood Dragon Corpse clearly obeyed Si Chen, and its strength far exceeded an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator's. Joining forces would only delay death for a moment!
The old bastard clearly wanted to drag him into the grave so that Fang brat could escape!
Only one thought remained in his mind: Get out! Whether Elder Mo and Fang Heng lived or died was none of his fucking business!
Elder Mo caught the flicker in Lü Ci's eyes, and his heart sank completely. He knew this old fox could not be trusted.
Si Chen watched the scene quietly, finding it rather interesting.
Some people could betray others in an instant to survive.
Others were willing to sacrifice themselves to protect their master.
Human behavior was indeed complex and difficult to fathom.
But interesting or not, they still had to die.
He waved a hand, and the Corpse Flood Dragon let out a low roar before lunging at Elder Mo again!
"Get away!"
Lü Ci's sword light blazed as he tried to force Black Mountain and Red Wind back, but the two demon beasts were determined to keep him there, their attacks growing fiercer with every wave.
Meanwhile, the Corpse Flood Dragon forced Elder Mo back again and again. Blood kept spilling from his mouth and nose, yet he fought on desperately, refusing to let anyone approach the entrance.
"Old ghost Mo! Are you determined to drag me down with you?!"
Lü Ci cursed furiously. Several times, he tried to break away and flee toward the entrance, but Elder Mo seemed to have anticipated his intentions. His movements always seemingly happened to block Lü Ci's path, forcing him to shoulder some of the Flood Dragon Corpse's attacks.
"Hmph!" Elder Mo ignored him entirely.
At this point, he had already cast life and death aside. His only thought was to buy the young master a little more time.
Lü Ci wanted to leave? He would have to step over his corpse first!
Lü Ci began cursing like a madman, spewing utterly filthy insults.
Elder Mo remained unmoved, merely exhausting his last strength to block the entrance.
Both men were weaker than the Flood Dragon Corpse to begin with, and with each harboring his own intentions, they could not coordinate effectively at all.
Lü Ci wanted to escape but could not, while Elder Mo wanted to stall but could not hold up the sky alone.
"Pfft-"
Elder Mo was the first to give out. The backlash from burning his essence blood erupted in full, and the Corpse Flood Dragon's tail struck his chest, sending him flying into the rock wall before he slid limply down.
The light in his eyes rapidly dimmed. He glanced toward the entrance one last time, as though hoping to confirm that the young master had escaped far enough, then collapsed limply, without another breath.
"Old ghost Mo!" Lü Ci cried out, his heart turning cold. With Elder Mo dead, all the pressure fell on him!
Black Mountain's bear paws, Red Wind's wind blades, and the Corpse Flood Dragon's brutally overwhelming charges left him scrambling to fend them off.
Thump!
A single lapse allowed the Corpse Flood Dragon's tail to clip Lü Ci. His protective spiritual energy shattered instantly, and he slammed into the ground like a kite with its string cut, spraying blood wildly.
As he watched the Corpse Flood Dragon and the demon beasts close in, utter terror finally appeared on his face.
He struggled to look toward Si Chen and screamed with the last of his strength, "N-no... don't kill me! Si Chen! I'll serve you as my master! You can have the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect too! I know plenty of secrets..."
Si Chen did not even blink.
The Corpse Flood Dragon's enormous head plunged down, and its bloody maw snapped shut.
Crack!
Lü Ci's pleas stopped abruptly.
Silence settled over the cave, broken only by the demon race's heavy breathing.
The demons looked at Si Chen with eyes full of awe. Their little brother's methods could practically reach the heavens!
Yet Si Chen felt somewhat puzzled as he looked at their corpses.
He sensed that although Elder Mo's and Lü Ci's bodies had indeed died, two peculiar masses of energy were quietly lying dormant within their corpses.
They resembled souls, yet were more condensed.
As a star that had once looked down upon all living beings, he was extraordinarily sensitive to this kind of energy.
Just then,
"Whoosh-whoosh-"
With two barely perceptible sounds, two egg-sized balls of light darted from Elder Mo's and Lü Ci's corpses and shot toward the entrance! Their speed far exceeded what they had managed in life!
"Oh?"
Mildly surprised, Si Chen extended a hand and gently grasped at empty space.
The two fleeing points of light seemed to strike an invisible wall, freezing in midair before flying backward uncontrollably into Si Chen's open palm.
The points of light struggled in his hand, radiating fear and despair.
Si Chen lowered his gaze. The two points of light vaguely resembled infants, their features indistinct. Lü Ci's was so faint it was almost invisible, while Elder Mo's was considerably clearer.
"Are these... Nascent Souls?"
Si Chen recalled accounts he had read in certain texts. Once cultivators entered the Nascent Soul Realm, their souls condensed into this form, giving them a second life.
"Y-you... what kind of monster are you?!"
Lü Ci's Nascent Soul emitted faint mental fluctuations filled with incredulous horror!
Without their bodies, they had almost no ability to resist. But Nascent Souls were shapeless and immaterial, nearly impossible to capture through ordinary means, much less hold so casually in one's hand!
Elder Mo's Nascent Soul was silent for a moment before releasing a weary sigh. "The victor becomes king; the defeated becomes an outlaw. I have nothing to say. I only ask that you make it quick."
He understood clearly that begging was useless. Better to preserve his last scrap of dignity.
Si Chen nodded.
Now that he understood what they were, he lost interest.
"Chirp!"
Red Bean, who had been perched quietly on his shoulder, suddenly chirped.
Its obsidian-like eyes fixed on the two Nascent Souls in Si Chen's hand, and its little head stretched eagerly forward.
Sensing its emotions, Si Chen tilted his head and asked, "You want to eat these?"
Red Bean immediately nodded its little head vigorously, its gaze growing even more fervent.
Si Chen considered it. These things were useless to him, so if Red Bean wanted them, he might as well give them to it.
He casually held Lü Ci's Nascent Soul, which was still shrieking and cursing, up to Red Bean's beak.
"No-!!!" Lü Ci's Nascent Soul let out one final, desperate scream.
Without hesitation, Red Bean opened its little beak and swallowed the fading ball of light whole.
"Chirp~"
It chirped contentedly and even burped. The crimson feathers covering its body seemed to grow a shade brighter.
Then it settled down comfortably and nuzzled Si Chen's cheek.
Si Chen could sense that the fiery power within Red Bean seemed to have grown a little stronger.
His gaze shifted to the sole remaining Nascent Soul in his palm, Elder Mo's.
This Nascent Soul was much quieter, simply waiting in silence for the final outcome.
Si Chen recalled how he had protected his master earlier, and how calmly he had now asked for a quick death.
Compared with Lü Ci, this enemy had at least retained one last thing worthy of praise.
Si Chen nodded, respecting his choice.
"As you wish."
His fingers gently closed.
"Pfft."
With a soft sound, Elder Mo's Nascent Soul dissolved into motes of pure spiritual light in his palm, scattering completely between heaven and earth.
His soul had truly scattered to oblivion.
Only, the process held a little less torment and a little more finality.
Before you continue