The head was severed cleanly.
Xue Daoren's eyes remained wide open, as if unwilling to rest even in death.
Yun Jin took out a pouch and calmly stored the head inside.
Such a filthy thing, she didn't want to place it in her own storage pouch.
Just as she was collecting the head—
A nearly transparent Primordial Soul shot out of Xue Daoren's corpse, bolting away at astonishing speed. But before it could get far, a wall of fire appeared ahead, blocking its path. The Primordial Soul was quickly surrounded, sealed off from any chance of escape. Xue Daoren's soul began to panic as it stared at Yun Jin.
Yun Jin met his gaze, her expression cold and unreadable. "After reaching Mahayana, even if your demon core is shattered, as long as your Primordial Soul survives, there's still a chance to come back from the brink." Yun Jin spoke slowly, almost lazily. "Your performance just now wasn't bad. But it wasn't enough to fool me."
Whether human or demon, upon entering the Mahayana stage, the Nascent Soul transforms into the Primordial Soul.
At that point, unless the Primordial Soul is completely destroyed, any survivor could one day rise again—a lingering threat Yun Jin would never allow to remain.
Xue Daoren's expression twisted in frustration. He had hoped Yun Jin, being in the Unity stage, might not understand the intricacies of Mahayana cultivation. He had deliberately created the appearance of absolute death, even letting her sever his head, thinking he could slip away while she was distracted.
But in the end—
His petty schemes had long been seen through.
She had prepared for this all along.
Which only made his efforts look like the antics of a fool.
"Spare me, Fairy!" Xue Daoren knew when to yield. He dropped to his knees and pleaded, "With my head in your hands, you've done enough to complete your mission. This body is lost to me, I couldn't stir up much trouble even if I wanted to. If you'll let my Primordial Soul go, I'll retreat into some deep forest, never to bother the world again."
As he spoke, his Primordial Soul knelt on the ground, adopting a pitiful posture.
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow and slowly drew out a glass vial.
Xue Daoren's expression changed. "A Soul Refining Bottle? Yun Jin, must you be so ruthless?"
Yun Jin didn't waste a single word. She reached out. Xue Daoren's soul was immediately compressed into a glowing mass, then shoved directly into the bottle. The moment it entered, his scream rang out, raw and full of agony, as if enduring unbearable torment.
Yun Jin didn't even blink.
The Soul Refining Bottle was designed to torment Primordial Souls. It was a perfect fit for him. Within that vessel, Xue Daoren would suffer endlessly. A Primordial Soul, after all, was extremely fragile.
Yun Jin could have destroyed it with a single sword strike.
But—
Xue Daoren carried a secret. A very important one.
That mysterious liquid.
Yun Jin was not skilled in torture or interrogation, and she knew he would never divulge such a secret willingly. So she preserved his Primordial Soul, intending to hand it off to someone more... persuasive. From the very beginning, she never planned to fight this battle alone. The demonic schemes at play were far beyond a single cultivator's burden.
On the contrary—
Her master Ji Wusi, and the others, needed to know just how far the Demons had infiltrated. Qingxiao Pavilion was likely already lost. If the remaining three Holy Lands did not unite and take action soon, humanity might have no future left at all.
The burden of purging evil could not fall to her alone.
Everyone had to rise to the occasion.
And the secret hidden within Xue Daoren might just be the alarm bell they all needed.
After storing the head and the Primordial Soul, Tian Po Sword spoke.
"Young Master, Xue Daoren was a Mahayana cultivator. If the demonic energy in his body isn't dealt with properly, it could cause problems when it disperses. Allow me to purify it."
Yun Jin asked, "Senior, how much of your strength has returned? Why not teach me the purification method and let me handle it?"
Tian Po Sword replied, "I've recovered somewhat. These demonic energies are ownerless now. It's easy enough to deal with them."
Yun Jin nodded and said no more.
Tian Po Sword emerged from the sword seal and swiftly dispersed the demonic energy. As he looked at Xue Daoren's corpse, a wave of emotion welled up in him—mingled with an unexpected sense of loss.
Originally—
His master had left him behind to protect the Young Master until she was strong enough to stand on her own.
But now—
How much time had even passed?
The Young Master no longer needed his protection at all.
She had already grasped a great Law. As long as fire element existed around her, her spiritual energy would be inexhaustible. In moments of crisis, she could even transform her body into flame.
That meant—
Unless she was surrounded by a horde of Mahayana cultivators, it would be incredibly difficult to kill her.
And he—
Seemed to have become unnecessary.
With these complex feelings swirling in his heart, Tian Po Sword completed the purification and returned to the sword seal.
Now, what remained of Xue Daoren's body was no different from an extremely durable human corpse.
Naturally, Yun Jin had no intention of giving him a burial.
She turned and walked away.
At first, the beasts of the wild were too intimidated by the spiritual pressure left behind from the recent battle to draw near. But once Yun Jin had departed, and the lingering power slowly faded, they began to emerge.
One hungry hyena was the first to pounce.
Soon, more and more beasts joined in.
Sharp teeth tore into flesh.
Xue Daoren's body was unnaturally tough. It took the beasts three full days to completely devour it.
When they finally dispersed—
Only faint bloodstains remained on the grass.
That was all that was left.
Xue Daoren's final fate: devoured by wild beasts.
"Xue Daoren… is dead."
In a hidden place, a Demon Sovereign's eyes flew open, both furious and stunned.
How could this have happened?
He had already heard from Xue Daoren that Yun Jin was chasing him.
But Xue Daoren was Mahayana!
And Yun Jin, according to the report, was only in the Unity stage.
Yes, her growth had been terrifyingly fast—
But Unity killing Mahayana?
Across thousands of years in this world, had such a thing ever happened?
Not even once.
"You seem to have some rather useless subordinates," came a voice from Yang Yun's mind, thick with schadenfreude.
Yang Yun's expression darkened. "We don't know if Yun Jin killed him. Ji Wusi and the others may have planted safeguards beforehand."
The fragmented soul of the Devourer Demon God didn't bother arguing. It spoke calmly, "You've thrown everything into this plan, used countless methods, just to kill Yun Jin. I always thought it was absurd. But because it was your first request, I agreed to help."
"I've delivered the message to Lin Xiao. He's bought you time by holding off Ji Wusi and the others. Yet your plan still failed. Isn't it time to let this go? Wasting so much effort on Yun Jin is foolish. We have far more important things to do."
Yang Yun's face tightened. Ever since the day he forcibly awakened the remnant soul inside him, he had known the risk.
Summoning was easy—banishing it, much harder.
Now, the remnant soul was actively trying to manipulate and control him.
This was the very reason Yang Yun had avoided awakening it for so long.
But now—
He had no other choice.
"…I understand," Yang Yun replied stiffly.
The remnant soul smiled in satisfaction.
"That's more like it. Our true goal isn't to kill Yun Jin. It's to tear open the spatial barrier, to reestablish contact between me and my main body.
When the armies of the Heavenly Demon Realm descend upon this world, no matter how talented Yun Jin is—what could she possibly do then?"