Zhan Tian's terror

So many people from the Heaven-Severing Church, including numerous experts at Spirit Transformation and above, had all been killed with a single breath. It was simply terrifying. When everyone finally recovered their senses, they exclaimed, "Ah! He's from our own sect! The threat of our sect's destruction was resolved just like that!"

"Wonderful! We're saved!"

"Ah! Thank you, Senior!"

"This is wonderful! Thank you, Senior!"

The entire Righteous Qi Sect erupted with excitement! Many wept tears of joy. It was so good to be alive!

Even Zhou Yong, the sect master, was stunned by his senior brother's mighty, domineering breath. His senior brother was simply too formidable. Zhou Yong had fought for his life and suffered grievous injuries, yet his senior brother had settled everything with a breath. It seemed his senior brother's strength had grown even greater. Even Zhan Tian, leader of the Heaven-Severing Church, would be unable to stir up any waves before him. Now they could rest easy!

Meanwhile, in the Attendants' Hall of the Heaven-Severing Church on an eastern island, the disciple on duty was cleaning when he suddenly heard a string of explosive cracks inside the hall. At first, there were only one or two. Before he could react, the cracks came one after another, growing so violent that they frightened him senseless. When he straightened up and looked toward the shelves holding the disciples' soul tablets, his face drained of all color, and he collapsed to the floor. Large numbers of soul tablets lining one wall had already shattered. Each tablet represented a disciple, and so many shattering meant that a large number of disciples had died at the same time.

In the Cultivation World, every faction or lineage would have each disciple leave a wisp of their soul's aura in a specially made tablet. When they died and their soul dissipated, the soul aura within the tablet would dissipate as well, causing the tablet to shatter. Cultivators often entered secluded cultivation or went out in search of opportunities, remaining away for decades, centuries, or even millennia. Thus, an intact soul tablet meant its owner was still alive and merely had yet to return, while a shattered tablet meant they had died.

The church had countless disciples, and deaths outside were normal. But this was the first time the disciple on duty had seen so many die almost simultaneously, and it frightened him senseless.

The sky has fallen! Something terrible has happened! the disciple on duty thought. He had to report to the church leader immediately.

He struggled to his feet and immediately flew toward the Church Master's Hall, no longer caring about the rule forbidding ordinary disciples from flying freely within the church. As he flew, he began searching for Zhan Tian with his divine sense. He soon discovered that the church master was still inside the Church Master's Hall and had not gone out.

Upon reaching the Church Master's Hall, he immediately rushed inside, dropped to his knees before Zhan Tian, and bowed his head as he sobbed. "Church Leader, something terrible has happened! A large number of soul tablets just shattered in the Attendants' Hall!"

"What? What did you say? A large number of soul tablets shattered?" Zhan Tian could scarcely believe his ears. So many had shattered? It was simply inconceivable!

Zhan Tian reached toward the disciple kneeling on the floor, drawing him into his grasp, then asked, "Is what you said true? A large number of soul tablets shattered at the same time?"

"Church Leader, this disciple would never dare deceive you. Since I began serving in the Attendants' Hall, I've never seen anything like this. How could I dare lie to you?" the disciple on duty said through his tears.

"Come. Let's take a look." Before he had even finished speaking, Zhan Tian flashed away with the disciple in his grasp and appeared inside the Attendants' Hall in an instant. When he saw the rows of shattered soul tablets scattered across the shelves, his eyes turned blood-red, his temples began to throb, and his heart felt as though knives were twisting through it. These had all been pillars of the Heaven-Severing Church! So many had died just like that.

Then his fury blazed three feet high. "Who did this? I'll grind his bones to dust and scatter his ashes to quench the hatred in my heart!"

"Find out which disciples they were, right now! Hurry!" Zhan Tian roared at the disciple on duty.

"Yes... Church Leader..." the disciple on duty hastily answered, immediately scrambling away on his hands and knees to check the shattered soul tablets.

"Reporting to the Church Leader... they were... the guardians and elders led by Deputy Church Leader Jingbian Shihuang..." the disciple on duty told Zhan Tian, trembling with fear.

"I'm furious! Who? Who was it? Who severed one of my arms? I'll destroy him!" Zhan Tian roared through gritted teeth. After venting his rage, he moved his feet and shot straight into the sky. He found his bearings and was just about to set off when he suddenly discovered an immense aura locking onto him. Its pressure made even his soul tremble. With a shudder, Zhan Tian immediately abandoned any thought of fleeing and went on full alert.

Yet no matter how hard he searched with his divine sense, he could not discover where the aura locking onto him came from. Just as he was trembling with dread, a calm voice reached him. "Stop searching. I'm the one you're looking for, the man who severed your arm."

"What? He's come knocking already?" Zhan Tian was startled, and his fear surged.

"Weren't you looking for me? Now that I'm here, you needn't come deliver yourself to me. This ends here!"

"Senior! Please don't misunderstand! How could I dare cause you trouble, Senior?" Zhan Tian hurriedly called out.

"You have some nerve, sending people to the Righteous Qi Sect to flaunt their might, even daring to boast that they would destroy it!"

"No, Senior, please hear me out! My subordinates acted on their own. That was never my intention. Senior, please don't misunderstand!" Faced with this mysterious, unfathomable, and incomparably powerful enemy, Zhan Tian could not muster the slightest will to resist. Merely being locked onto by a single aura had crushed all his resistance. This person's strength exceeded his own by far too much.

"Senior, Jingbian Shihuang is already dead. I'm willing to obey your instructions, and I would never dare trouble the Righteous Qi Sect again. Please believe me and spare me this once!" With that, Zhan Tian hurriedly bowed to the empty air.

"Hmph. It seems you no longer have the nerve anyway. If you dare go to the Righteous Qi Sect again, I'll wipe out your entire church."

"Yes... Senior, I understand! From now on, I'll obey every command and follow the Righteous Qi Sect's instructions!" Seeing that the mysterious senior's tone had softened, Zhan Tian's eyes shifted, and he immediately replied submissively.

"No need. The Righteous Qi Sect has no use for that! If you commit evil again, beware-I'll flay your skin!"

"I wouldn't dare... I wouldn't dare..." Seeing his little scheme fall through, Zhan Tian did not dare object and could only reply in a small voice.

"Mind how you conduct yourself! I won't punish you today!"

"Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Senior!" Upon hearing that the mysterious man would spare him today, Zhan Tian hurriedly bowed as he answered.

He stood in midair, not daring to move as he waited for the mysterious senior's response. Only after a long time passed without any reply did he quietly breathe a sigh of relief. Only then did he realize that his back and entire body were drenched in sweat. Good heavens! That was terrifying! Even with my late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivation, I couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance. How horrifying!

The mysterious man was none other than Li Dalong. After blowing Jingbian Shihuang and the other members of the Heaven-Severing Church to death with a single breath, Li Dalong had felt that unless he dealt with the church once and for all, it would become an endless nuisance. After all, having his sect besieged every so often would disrupt his cultivation. He might as well settle the Heaven-Severing Church completely and, at the same time, issue a warning to those brimming with ambition!