Author: Dog God
Our Discord: https://discord[dot]gg/WfKqjeXN {replace [dot] with '.'}
Taixuan Heaven.
A world evolved, developed and modernised with the flow of time. During ancient times the cultivators practising Dao and immortality ruled the skies and demons practising demonic arts and origin laws of survival ruled the vast earth.
But with time, the world modernised. The cultivator who once rode a hovering sword replaced the flying swords with 'Soaring Seals' and the bare robes and primal armours with just some enhancements and raw metal mixed and refined—they were replaced by improvised spirit tech armours capable of protecting from attacks as small as a needle's edge to something as heavy as a giant's hammer.
The world changed for the better with many convenient factors which could never be imagined in the ancient world, but peace never came without a price.
Modern Era, Year 3025.
It's as if the world was finding a way to fill the empty space reserved for chaos in the world, which has become too peaceful; rifts suddenly started to emerge, creating a pathway which connected Taixuan Heaven with the dimensions forgotten in the era filled with mindless monsters carving for bad blood and thirst for chaos.
Witnessing those creatures, modern masters labelled them with the name 'Rakshas'.
These mindless creatures invaded through the rifts—cracks which emerged in space randomly and spawned rakshas everywhere if the core of the rift was not destroyed within 3 days.
These creatures thirsted for blood, chaos and madness. Truly mindless creatures born from pure instincts of ruins.
But Taixuan Heaven wasn't quite lacking; the experts cultivating immortality and Dao were still experts. No matter the time or space, they were more than capable of fighting against the invaders.
The forgotten flags of sects and dynasties once again rose high in the skies, and the realm united to clash against them.
One such major clan was the Shen Clan of Heaven's Mandate. And the day when all 12 Core Elders of the Clan and the Patriarch himself had gathered inside 'Azure Hollow Cave'
A gigantic cave with its roof collapsed, the sunlight reached directly inside, and with years of mystic energy gathering here, even the grass growing on the ground has mutated to bright blue in colour.
At the centre of the cave was 'Heaven's Judgement Cedar', a tree which was neither big nor small enough to be mistaken for an overgrown plant. The tree had pitch-black bark and bright purple leaves spreading wide in all directions with a beautiful crimson sphere rooted right at its centre.
And finally the silence was broken by Shen Wuyou, the Patriarch of the Shen Clan—a man with long black hair with a white strand hanging from the left corner of his forehead; he was dressed in an extraordinary black suit with eyes set on a pair of twin boys.
"Are you twins prepared?" he questioned.
The two twins—completely identical to one another with no way to differentiate but with their clothes— the elder one, Shen Mo, who wore a black shirt, and the younger one, Shen Jue, who wore a plain white shirt.
Both had dark hair and similar pale skin and sapphire-like eyes, mirroring one another's appearance.
Both nodded.
"Very well" Shen Wuyou nodded with a grin, and pointing towards the blue grass field with the strange mystic tree at its centre, he remarked, "Then let the Spirit Awakening Rite commence."
The elders standing behind nodded with excited grins, and finally the steward standing behind the patriarch announced while fixing his glasses.
"Shen Mo."
"Good luck, brother." Shen Jue, the younger one, encouraged his brother with a smile; Shen Mo, on the other hand, remained unfazed and headed ahead with just a nod.
The sensation of feet touching the grass was like skin wrapping with water and unwrapping with each next step; it was the strange yet relaxing effect of mystic blue grass to stimulate the energy within Shen Mo.
Finally, he reached in front of the tree—Heaven's Judgement Cedar—and stretched his arms, placing them over the bright crimson sphere attached to the centre of the tree.
"Fuuu~" Shen Mo sighed and installed a trace of his spiritual energy inside the sphere; in an instant all the purple leaves of the tree lit up as if they were alive.
"Great!!!" The Shen Patriarch couldn't hold his excitement and joy as he witnessed this phenomenon.
"All leaves glowing means the body has no impurities!"
"This is the best condition to go through with the Spirit Awakening Rite!"
"Shen Mo worked hard!"
"Clan's resources weren't a waste after all!"
The elders remarked with proud smirks, and the next instant, 9 leaves from Heaven's Judgement Cedar detached themself from the tree and covered Shen Mo's head.
"Tier 9 Talent! The Eldest of Shen's new generation has been blessed with talent in the realm of grand geniuses!!!" the steward yelled with a bright grin.
"Hahaha! As expected!"
"This talent surpasses even the Patriarch!"
"Shen Clan will rule the new generation!"
"Amazing child!"
The faces of all present in the cave—all lit up with bright smiles. Shen Mo quickly absorbed the leaves inside him and returned with satisfaction.
"Not bad..." he mumbled without much joy in his eyes.
"Brother! You were amazing!!!" Shen Jue, on the other hand, seemed very excited and joyous, praising his brother while jumping around like a bunny.
Shen Mo said nothing, just watched the sparkling eyes of his brother with a little proud smirk at the corner of his face.
"Shen Jue!"
Next it was Shen Jue's turn, but unlike with Shen Mo, the people didn't look excited nor very hopeful; their eyes remained fixated on Shen Mo.
'As expected of a brother! To have taken in the realm of great geniuses, I don't think even other heirs of great clans are on that scale; at the very least, I should gain Tier 5 Talent!' Shen Jue nodded nervously and placed his arm over the crimson sphere.
"Ohhh..." a surprised gasp was heard from Shen Patriarch, "The kid wasn't slacking off either!!!" he remarked with joy as he once again saw all the leaves of the purple tree lit up.
"Not bad!" Shen Mo, usually reserved, let out an excited remark, but next what happened left even him stunned, not to mention the elders who were just there watching in awe.
12 leaves of purple mystic energy... All blessed Shen Jue stood beneath with closed eyes.
"T-tier 12 Talent! Shen Jue... Shen Jue has been blessed with talent in the realm of Gods!!!" The steward almost fell off as he made the announcement.
"Ha... Hahaha!" Shen Patriarch let out a dazed laugh.
'Realm of Gods...' Shen Mo himself had his eyes wide open before the daze was burst out by loud remarks and laughter of elders nearby.
"Hahaha! Shen Clan has birthed a deity!!!"
"Oh my God! What is this?!"
"I can't believe it..."
"Shen Jue! What a hidden monster!!!"
The once-silent cave was bursting with loud laughter and celebrations. And with that, it became the day that changed the fates of everyone and everything.
"Shen Mo", Shen Wuyou called out his name, signalling him to follow after. Being understanding, Shen Mo nodded and walked up behind him, away from the elders who had surrounded Shen Jue in joy.
"You know about the Dao Baptism Ceremony of our clan, right?" Shen Wuyou questioned while glancing towards Shen Mo.
"I... do." Shen Mo nodded, a bit prepared for the conversation yet to come. 'Our Clan's core treasure, Millennium Elixir Pagoda, produces 1 drop of Ancestral Essence every 100 years, and consuming just one drop gives decades worth of cultivation and enlightenment, so only the heir of the clan can have it in every generation...'
"It's good that you are wise." Shen Wuyou nodded and explained, "Given our condition now, only Shen Jue is worthy to be the clan's heir, but given his temperament, he will never accept this condition if you are by his side."
"... Yes," Shen Mo remarked, taking a deep breath.
"Given the tough conditions with the clan, what do you think about accepting the position of head of the Severed Vein Sect?"
'Severed Vein Sect head, huh... Severed Vein Sect is a hidden sect made of elites comparable to the main forces of our clan. This hidden sect works in the dark for the Shen Clan's goodwill, and as its head, the resources I will get will be almost on the same level as the heir...' Shen Mo grumbled with a little frown, but glancing back at Shen Jue's joyous face, all his doubts vanished.
Shen Mo clasped his fist and with a bow remarked, "I humbly accept the position."
"I knew I could always count on you!" Shen Wuyou's face lit up in joy as he praised Shen Mo, even thumping his back with a smile.
"Don't worry; I will take care of the rest!!!" With that said, Shen Wuyou left—moving towards Shen Jue with a smile—while Shen Mo could just glance over at Shen Jue one last time before sighing and heading deeper towards the cave's darkness.
"Hope we meet again soon, Jue..."
A week passed by, and two news stories spread across the ears of big names in the region.
First—Heaven's Mandate Shen Clan has gained two prodigies, both above the realm of geniuses.
And the second news—the unfortunate death of Shen Mo under the unified attack of 9 dark sects.
The Shen Clan ravaged all the 9 dark sects responsible for this attack and killed every last member of those sects to avenge Shen Mo, who was watching it all while sitting at the top of the enormous hill surrounded in mist, with a squadron in dark robes and seemingly cracked black masks covering their faces.
"It's a pity I can't attend my funeral." Shen Mo scoffed and stood up, tossing an empty can of soda down the hill as he also took out a cracked black red horned mask. "Let's move," he commanded and left along with those people as the new Severed Vein Sect Leader.
Years passed by in the same manner...
"Sect Leader is indeed a genius..."
"To think he will master even Heaven Grade Techniques in a mere month?!"
"Not to mention it took him merely a week to reach the 1st Stage of the Foundation Building Realm from the 1st Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm and just 2 months to reach the Core Formation Realm..."
All those who watched Shen Mo train couldn't help but be left in awe, but still, being older or younger was just a name in this world, as even the monstrous pride of Shen Mo lagged way behind his younger brother—Shen Jue.
"What a monster?!"
"Did you hear? The heir of our clan has already reached the Nascent Soul Realm!"
"Oh my God!"
"The Patriarch is already passing down his signature skills over to him..."
The gap between the two brothers grew more and more, not just in terms of strength but also in the type of world they lived in.
"The Heir of Heaven's Mandate Shen Clan has successfully defeated the current champion of the Dragon Phoenix League and claims the title of champion!"
"Did you hear? Liu Group's sole daughter has been engaged to Shen Jue..."
"Oh my god! The Medical Saint wants to accept Shen Jue as his disciple!"
"What am I seeing...? He cleared the whole rift at 15 years old?!"
While Shen Jue rose in fame during the morning, gathering attention and favours from all over the world, Shen Mo could never step away from the crescent light.
"Hmph..." Shen Mo groaned before unsheathing his sword, which slit through the throats of two people at once.
Their bodies fell down lifelessly as he stood up, wiping blood from his face in an empty office.
"These were the last ones, right?" he questioned.
"Yes, Leader," his subordinates nodded, looking at corpses with fearful gazes.
'To think a 15-year-old can kill like this...'
'Not to mention both enemies were in higher cultivation compared to him.'
'Monsters indeed'
'The title of Grey Reaper is well deserved.'
The world Shen Mo lived in was fundamentally different from Shen Jue's. "Good, let's move," he commanded, and they all just vanished like shadows in light.
Years passed, and both brothers grew.
Shen Jue became brighter and more confident with a sense of righteousness and kindness in his heart, bringing smiles wherever he went.
While Shen Mo—he grew dark and cold. Instead of being kind, he grew more commanding and charismatic, capable of making optimum decisions and hard choices.
...
The flowers of puberty washed away, and now both brothers reached the age of adulthood; their faces were still like mirrors to one another, yet their appearances had changed a lot.
Shen Mo was seen sitting over a table outside the restaurant with round sunglasses and coffee in hand; his cold and sharp temperament made it hard to take calm breaths just by being around him.
"Wang Zhenyu?" Shen Mo addressed his earpiece.
(I have the target in my sight, a black cap and greenish jeans, coming from the right.)
His subordinates relayed the details with eyes fixated on a man walking over the street, approaching from behind Shen Mo's direction.
"Good," Shen Mo remarked and waited calmly, sipping his coffee, his gaze behind sunglasses fixed over his black phone screen reflecting the man approaching from behind him.
(13 seconds for impact, follow-up)
Wang Zhenyu commanded; suddenly several youngsters started to move in the direction of Shen Mo too, and exactly a dozen seconds later, Shen Mo noticed a smirk suddenly flash over the man behind him.
'Atta boy!' Shen Mo scoffed and just watched as the man behind him slid a dagger from under his jacket, but before he could even properly grip the dagger, Shen Mo was suddenly seen standing right in front of him with Shen Mo's fist wrapped around the heart, which was still beating inside that man.
"You—?!" The man just watched with eyes wide open, full of horror, "You aren't Chen Ziyang!"
"100 points." Shen Mo just scoffed with not so much as a mere flinch over his eyes as he crushed the beating heart and simply walked away while biting on an energy bar.
Meanwhile, behind him, before the body could fall, the several unknown youngsters cleanly wrapped the dead corpse inside a bear mascot's clothing and disguised it as a toy; they also vanished somewhere in the crowd.
(Mission accomplished! Let's move back.)
Wang Zhenyu remarked while signalling other members of the Severed Vein Sect hidden in the crowd of the city.
(Leader, the helicopter is waiting at TGT Group's building. We will follow after you after dealing with the remnant of the underworld group.)
"Hmm." Shen Mo nodded, and just as he ended the call on his phone, a familiar number surfaced on his screen.
(Ugly Oldman)
Shen Mo frowned but still picked up the call with a sigh, "Hello, Patriarch."
In the whole clan, only he dared to save Shen Wuyou as 'Ugly Oldman' and get away without consequences.
(Where are you?!)
Unexpectedly, a hurried voice was heard from the other side of the call, "Blue Pearl City..."
(This is an emergency! Shen Jue is in Tiger Fang City! I received news of a stampede of high-tier monsters erupting near that place; our people are too far away—)
"Who let him go there alone?!" Shen Mo yelled as he was already more than a hundred metres away, striding through the roofs of buildings over the city with all his nerves across his body strained with tension bubbling in his muscles.
(We couldn't predict! Shen Jue used Heavenstep Array! We didn't know he had already mastered it at the 7-star level!)
"Tch!" Shen Mo clicked his tongue. "Once in an era genius! How can you not predict such simple things? What has the clan been doing all these years instead of observing him?!"
(I will take full liability for this...)
Even the Patriarch seemed pressured under Shen Mo's words. Shen Mo gritted his teeth and jumped over the helicopter, roaring, "You better do it!!!"
With that he ended the call and himself started the helicopter and flew off in the direction of the city; the speed almost matched that of Mach 3 jets—the result of science mixed with spiritual laws.
"Fuck!" Shen Mo cursed, 'Tiger Fang City is a 3rd-grade city located in a relatively safe region, but if the direction of the stampede moved in the direction of the city, there is no way a single person will be left alive there. Why is my brother so irresponsible and unlucky?'
Shen Mo gritted his teeth and, picking up another phone, commanded, "Wang Zhenyu! Get as many members to Tiger Fang City! Quick! Shen Jue is there in the middle of the stampede situation!"
(I will have the whole sect mobilised instantly! We will be there in half an hour!!!)
"Tch!" Shen Mo ended the call, 'The Tiger Fang City is hundreds of miles away; I hope the situation hasn't escalated there already!'
But true to his bad dreams, the reality was cruel.
"Grade 4 Monsters..."
"It's a big rift!"
"Evacuate the city!"
"Men! Hold your ground!!!"
The city lord of Tiger Fang City was seen standing over the frontlines as a stampede of monsters was seen rushing straight towards the direction of the city.
'There is no way we will survive... I'm only in the Golden Core Realm myself; at least I need to buy some time—' the city lord was prepared for death but unexpected to all eyes, with a face as brilliant as the sun, eyes with the depth of the whole ocean and a presence incarnate of all warmth in the world.
Shen Jue suddenly stepped up with nothing but one charming blue sword in his hand.
"I will take over from here," he remarked, a youngster never seen before by anyone here, but somehow they couldn't question his abilities.
"Wh-who?" The city lord mumbled, but before he could finish, Shen Jue waved his blade in the direction of the stampede, marking an enormous wide gap across a mile at once.
He turned back with a smirk, facing the whole city and the men defending it. "Shen Jue..." he said with a smile, "And I vow to protect you all."
The charisma he showed gave strange comfort and confidence to all those who saw him. Shen Jue nodded and, without missing a beat, turned over towards the swarm of beasts.
...
Meanwhile, a few dozen miles away, a black helicopter was seen cutting through the clouds in the sky, dashing at full speed.
"Shen Jue... Shen Jue... I will show you all my love with my fists, you freedom-seeking bastard." Shen Mo mumbled, and not long after, his helicopter reached the skies of Tiger Fang City.
A small city covered with enormous walls on all sides, with chaos rumbling inside across the city.
"It doesn't seem like monsters have breached inside the city yet..." Shen Mo sighed in relief as he landed the helicopter on top of one building and, with a few leaps, reached outside of the city walls. Behind him were local forces of the city continuously shooting from the tops of the walls towards approaching monsters, and beneath the walls was a crowd of warriors ready to clash.
"Hmm..." Shen Mo's presence wasn't noticed by any of them; despite standing at the centre of the battlefield as he scanned through the crowd of people, the city lord was found covered in bandages commanding the forces.
'Weak…' Shen Mo remarked with a single glance, and his eyes moved over towards the approaching monsters. 'Most monsters are Tier 2 and 3, manageable for the city; perhaps the Patriarch received wrong news?' Shen Mo frowned.
"Guess we will know in a few minutes either way." Shen Mo scoffed as he took out a sword sealed in his palm and released his concealed presence.
Shen Mo made his path, cutting through the approaching monsters like a slaughtering machine.
The display of overwhelming fighting prowess was something even mindless monsters seemed scared of, but it wasn't just them; even the people standing over the walls of the city were.
"Hold fire!!! Hold fire!!!"
"What the hell is that guy?!"
"He sliced through the skull of 'Mandate Skull Rhino' just like that..."
"That's at least an Immortal Ascension Realm Powerhouse!"
They were stunned by this display of overwhelming prowess; all just watched with eyes wide open at the back of this monster stomping skulls of other monsters.
'Countryside bumpkins...' Shen Mo scoffed at those reactions, 'These people may not have even seen a mere Nascent Soul Realm Powerhouse before. I can't even imagine how they would react if they saw our clan's masters...'
Shen Mo smiled, but that calm smile faltered as he felt a weird sensation beneath his feet.
*Absolute Void Shatter!*
In an instant, a wide-scale purple aura shaking space itself burst out of Shen Mo's body, crushing all monsters anywhere close to him, and finally, with a moment of silence, he noticed what was beneath him.
"Human?" Shen Mo mumbled, taking his step away from the human corpse, and now as he looked around him, he noticed even more and more human corpses lying in front of him, which were hidden by the stampede of monsters till now.
"... How long has this stampede been going on?" Shen Mo's eyes seem to twitch with realisation. "How is this city still standing?! A mere 3rd class city! I can't even sense a single Nascent Soul Realm Powerhouse here. How did they survive over an hour against these hundreds of Grade 4 monsters?! Unless...'
Shen Mo's instincts screamed, and the mask hiding his face shattered in an instant just from the powerful burst of his aura as he rushed in the direction of all those monsters in a blind rush of frustration and panic.
"Get the fuck away from me!!!"
Shen Mo screamed, grabbing his blade right, igniting pure red flames over its edge, and with each swing of the blade came a widespread wave of destruction.
*6 Wheels of Samsara Incarnation!*
Through the burning corpses and ashes in the air, Shen Mo rushed up ahead, and not long after, he found himself in the middle of a dense forest with not even a single monster in sight left standing alive.
"What the hell..." The site ahead made him gasp; there were countless corpses of Grade 6 monsters lying everywhere.
The more he walked forward, the stronger the dark energy he could feel; the smell was so thick, even Shen Mo felt sick.
And finally, as Shen Mo reached under an enormous straight cliff, he found himself blankly staring over 3 corpses of Grade 7 monsters and 1 colossal crystal giant—a Grade 8 monster, kneeling on its legs with all its 3 pairs of arms cut off and head sliced through smoothly via a clean cut of a sword.
".... No way," he mumbled, looking up at the top of the cliff; all he could see was a giant canvas painted with the blood of monsters. He was stunned and amazed, but those feelings lasted merely for a moment because in a second his eyes fell on a corpse in a white shirt painted red with blood lying beside a tree with a hand still stuck over the sword struck straight on the ground.
"No way!!!" Shen Mo yelled as he recognised the corpse; how could he not? It was his face; it was the face of Shen Jue! The brother he sacrificed everything for!
"No way! Shen Jue! Hey! Wake up! Wake up!!!" Shen Mo yelled as he came running beside the corpse, on his knees, as he continuously slapped that cold corpse in front of him.
"No, no, no, no! No, no, no, no! No, no, no, no! No, no, no, no! No, no, no, no!!!" He mumbled nonstop at that horrific sight.
There was a clear hole made right through the chest of Shen Jue, and his heart was taken away while he was still alive; blood leaked out from every gap over his face, and death was clearly gruesome.
"Fuck! No, no, no, no!" Shen Mo cussed, "Nooo!!!!"
For the first time, Shen Mo lost control of the flow in his body; a powerful pitch-black, ink-like aura burst out of him, covering the whole region at once. His subordinates, who had just arrived, were left stunned as they fell to the ground, struggling to barely even breathe.
"Who did this?!!"
Shen Mo yelled, the roar loud enough to shake the skies above.
Lost in emotions, Shen Mo fell down on the ground, grabbing the cold arm of the brother he once left on his own, but now there was no life in those hands; they fell down the moment their grasp from the sword's hilt fell off, revealing the name carved on the blade of the sword.
Shenmo Yin— God's Muted Howl
'... He even named his sword after me.' Shen Mo finally couldn't hold it; tears started to well up in his eyes as he retracted his pressure, allowing his subordinates to grasp and breathe again.
"Who did it..." Shen Mo questioned with a frown as he picked up the sword and the corpse of Shen Jue in his arms.
"Eclipse Maw Dynasty" Wang Zhenyu barely answered.
"They carried out a mass scheme targeting the Shen Clan; news has it that Patriarch Shen Wuyou was killed in the hands of the Eclipse Maw Dynasty's head, and all of the Shen Clan, aside from us, the Severed Vein Sect, have been annihilated."
Shen Mo had no reaction; he was already numb to it. His eyes were fixated on Shen Jue's body, which was slowly starting to fill with cracks like in some mirror, with his body turning into light particles while still in Shen Mo's hands.
'He overexerted himself... Shen Jue's strength was just a bit more than mine. He was a peak Transcendent Realm Powerhouse, so I can understand if he managed to kill 7 Star Monsters with the help of the clan's techniques, but to defeat an 8 Star Monster, he had to burn half his soul away. The body, of course, can't bear it; even his remnant soul was washed away with death, leaving no way to revive him... He is, truly, dead.'
The truth rang like a loud bell in his mind again and again; all he could do was watch his brother's last living evidence perish in front of his eyes, just watching a light ascending to the skies.
Left with just a sword with half its blade chipped off, Shen Mo lost all his reasoning to truly live. Now...
All he cared for was one name.
"Who is the head of the Eclipse Maw Dynasty?" Shen Mo questioned.
"Xue Moran"
"Very well..." Shen Mo sighed, and looking up, Shen Mo declared an oath to heaven and his brother.
"I, Shen Mo! Last son of the Shen Clan of Heaven's Mandate and leader of the Severed Vein Sect, vow to Heaven and Earth and all those who stand in between!
Its black sun will gutter and die beneath my blade.
I will carve the sinner from his throne and feed his ribs to the crows of the Nine Nethers.
No altar will bear their mark. No chronicle will whisper their deeds.
I will erase them—not from history, but from 'memory itself'.
This is my oath!
Heaven hears it.
Hell awaits it.
Let the stars be witnesses—for history in ashes and mourners in the afterlife."
With that declaration, Shen Mo tightened his fists to acknowledge his vow; even the heavens were forced to run a streak of 108 thunders along with heavy rain.
'Shenmo Yin, this dumb kid...' Shen Mo showed a blank depth in his eyes. 'Shen Jue mistook its meaning for 'God's Muted Howl'; my name doesn't mean God; it means...'
"Demon's Muted Howl..."
The characters carved over the blade lit up for a moment as if acknowledging the name and Shen Mo's emotions.
But that silence was cut short. "What a grand vow... Even the heavens acknowledge it!" A cold voice was heard coming from the woods.
"You have to be kidding me right now! Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" The man shrouded in a purple robe like those of ancient times burst out in laughter.
"Oh, come on! I just killed you! Why are you alive all of a sudden?!" he remarked while separating the black hairs drenched in rain blocking his vision, and red eyes lit up in fierce light, a vicious grin took over that face.
"Or perhaps..." he remarked with fingers drenched in blood pointing in Shen Mo's direction, "Are you that bastard twin whom the protagonist was talking about?"
"..."
Shen Mo said nothing; rather, he didn't even pay attention to any of them. His mind and ears both were blinded in rage; only his eyes, which observed the nearby woods, were sane.
'A 100? No... There are more.' Shen Mo noticed a gang—no, an army—hidden in the woods surrounding him and his subordinates.
"Oh? Can you sense it? What the hell...?" the unknown man remarked with a shocked look on his face, "You impress me... I'm Xue Wuyin; how about you follow me back to my world?"
"No," Shen Mo answered coldly, with one hand grabbing his sword and another wrapped around the broken sword his brother once held.
"Oh man~" Xue Wuyin reacted with an exaggerated look of shock, "What a pain~".
Suddenly, his playful eyes changed to stone cold, and a lightning bolt materialized a blade in his arm. "Kill them."
He commanded, and in an instant, thousands of humanoid creatures wrapped in dark auras jumped out of the woods, straight toward Shen Mo and his subordinates.
Shen Mo just watched as he sliced through these hollow, dark bodies; even his subordinates could defend easily, but the problem was 'overwhelming numbers...'
Shen Mo noticed it, and with a lifeless scoff, he remarked, "You think you can win with numbers?"
"Can't I?" Xue Wuyin scoffed, but that smile was cut short as he looked all around him, his hollow humanoids suddenly falling at an insane pace.
"Of course not." Shen Mo's voice cut through that look of shock like a deadly blade. "I never lost in terms of numbers," he remarked as the whole hill and the entire region of forest were seen covered under the shadows of men in black suits.
"The whole Severed Vein Sect has been assembled, my lord." Wang Zhenyu stood up behind Shen Mo, and while removing the black suit restraining his movements, he remarked, "We await the command."
"Kill!"
Shen Mo said without a hint of hesitation, and right that instant, Wang Zhenyu flashed straight towards Xue Wuyin like a bolt of lightning. Xue Wuyin couldn't even react and would truly have lost his head at that moment of carelessness if it weren't for the invisible shield around his body.
"Will you believe me if I say I almost pissed my pants?" Xue Wuyin chuckled, but Wang Zhenyu seemed unfazed. "I don't," he said, and in an instant a hundred strikes landed on the shield, crushing it in an instant.
"Haaa!!!" With the final strike in mind, Wang Zhenyu stretched out his sword, but unexpectedly he suddenly found his own head missing, with his body falling lifelessly on the ground.
Xue Wuyin's blank face lit up with a smirk as, at the same time, a pendant on his neck shattered to dust.
His eyes moved over towards Shen Mo, who was just staring at Xue Wuyin like an empty void.
"Not even surprised, huh..." Xue Wuyin's smile turned to a frown, and with thousands of hollows clashing with thousands of Shen Mo's subordinates, Shen Mo extended both his blades in the direction of Xue Wuyin. "You are the one who killed Shen Jue, right?"
"Oh? You guessed it?" Xue Wuyin remarked, "Well, it's no secret anyway," he scoffed.
"So Xue Moran is just an alias?" Shen Mo questioned.
"Damn! Yes! It's the name of some random guy from my clan?! How did you know?!" Xue Wuyin yelled in excitement, but in return all he received from Shen Mo was a grin, a hollow one.
"You just made the job easy," Shen Mo remarked and instantly flashed right under Xue Wuyin's face.
*Absolute Void Shatter!*
The invisible shield protecting Xue Wuyin couldn't even handle a single strike this time. "Thank you," Shen Mo mumbled while staring dead in the eyes of Xue Wuyin, who was barely blocking the two swords with one of his own.
"And Die"
Shen Mo said and, in an instant, spun in midair like a drilling machine gun.
*6 Wheels of Samsara Incarnation!*
Even in the middle of the rain, almost half the forest fell into flames; Xue Wuyin barely avoided it, but a portion of his face was still burned away.
"What kind of strength is this?! Are you really just an Immortal Ascension Realm Powerhouse?!" he yelled.
"Having second thoughts about resisting death?" Shen Mo questioned blankly.
"Of course not—"
"Maybe you should," Shen Mo said, and in an instant his eyes lit up red, leaking blood from all the gaps in his face.
"H-hey..." Xue Wuyin was left stunned. 'To use Forbidden Soul Sacrificing Techniques so casually like this?! Is he a madman?!'
He was taken aback in surprise but still not out of his expectations. "I'm already in a state of loss..." he stated, and making some space, he activated a spell.
The space itself started to fold around Shen Mo; he noticed and jumped away, but this spell followed him. If he remained still for even 1/100th of a second, he would die.
But was it really all tough? Shen Mo just didn't have to stop, nor was he willing to.
"You fucked up," Shen Mo remarked, but before his sword could reach Xue Wuyin, Xue Wuyin suddenly vanished, and in his space was a talisman which burnt away in air instantly.
"This fight is so damn expensive!" Xue Wuyin roared as he emerged from behind Shen Mo with arms stretched out with a blade in his hand.
"Hmph!" Shen Mo reacted fast with both blades crossed, prepared to take the attack, but not without an early preparation.
"Sky-Locking Blood Array!" Shen Mo yelled, creating a giant array in front of his sword to trap Xue Wuyin.
"Funny trick", but Xue Wuyin saw right through it, retreating his sword right away, "You really thought a peak Immortal Ascension Realm Powerhouse could match a Transcendent? Funny – the protagonist is already dead," Xue Wuyin chuckled.
But this enraged Shen Mo even more as he countered with a heavy series of blades, with sparks so tremendous it felt like Shen Mo was wielding thunder in his arms.
'?' Even Xue Wuyin was caught off guard a few times on his face, "You piss me off!" Xue Wuyin finally couldn't hold the rage, and an exploding aura burst out in fury, taking advantage of his superior cultivation and agility to slash Shen Mo several times.
Shen Mo, on the other hand, just endured.
"Are you done now, you bastard?! All big talk?!" Xue Wuyin mocked, "Side characters should act like one! You fucker!!!"
Shen Mo said nothing and, activating all his defence artefacts and spells, just endured.
"You know what?! So Shen Jue was your brother, right?! I'm the one who created this monster stampede! So easy to trick kind-hearted fools!"
Shen Mo still said nothing.
"After he was exhausted fighting all the monsters and collapsed to heal himself! I disguised myself as a helper, and he believed it! Can you believe this fool?"
Shen Mo endured.
"I drilled the hole in his chest with my own hands and ate his heart! Oh man! That tasted so nice!"
Shen Mo said nothing, but this frustrated Xue Wuyin even more. He finally paused, watching Shen Mo, who was covered in cuts and bruises all over his body, dripping blood everywhere.
"Boring..." Xue Wuyin scoffed and, with just a fist, shattered all defence artifacts and spells. "I bet if I fucked your mom, you would scream more—"
"Are you done?" Shen Mo finally spoke up, and Xue Wuyin, stunned, suddenly paused. It was his instinct screaming now, "So it's my turn now?" Shen Mo finally lifted his head with both swords stabbing the ground.
"N-no..."
In an instant, the Sky-Locking Blood Array he had deployed earlier suddenly lit up, covering the whole forest; the colour changed from white to red, and the next instant, hundreds of chains locked Xue Wuyin from all angles.
"It's my turn then," Shen Mo said, and finally the horror hidden over Xue Wuyin's eyes could be seen as clear as day as he just watched Shen Mo's blood-drenched fist strike right over his face.
"Fuck..."
*Smack!*
Again and again and again and again, the first strike ended his vision, next his ears, then even the scent, and not long after, he couldn't even taste his blood, which he choked over.
[Detected host is incapable of survival]
A voice that was with him for years rang up.
[Detecting a better host...]
[Host found!]
[Shen Mo has been selected as host with 230% compatibility.]
"Heh..." With just his tongue still left capable enough to speak, Xue Wuyin turned his head in the direction of Shen Yu sitting on his chest as he remarked
"I was wondering where the antagonist of this world was...."
Before he could finish his words, Shen Mo's hand pierced right into his chest, taking out his heart in an instant.
"Turns out, he was in front of my eyes all along..." Xue Wuyin mumbled as the next instant, Shen Mo tossed his heart up in the sky, which was grabbed and torn to pieces by a flock of dark crows.
With that, Shen Mo fulfilled his pledge, but at the same time, he lost everything. His brother, his friend and all his subordinates – only he was left standing in the middle of the massacre but with a new strange existence floating in front of his eyes.
[Greetings, host!]
[Sinhound System awaits your command!]
"Kill me"
[Request granted!]
[...]
[Reassembling the soul... Unlocking sin...]
[Done!]
[Awakening…]