Chapter 829: Dying of Rage
In an instant, black Mystical Light surged from Shen Anyu's eyes. Amidst Xiao Qingtian's terrified expression and the shocked gazes of the crowd, it lightly swept over his body, all within a bubble of solidified time and space.
The moment this black Mystical Light erupted, an unnatural flush crept onto Shen Anyu's face, and a flicker of pain tightened the space between his brows.
'The Death Qi is over-consumed, and the Life Qi is now excessive; the balance is broken,' Shen Anyu thought, his brow furrowing slightly. This was his first time fully unleashing the Two-Aspects Life-Death Mystical Light. Wary of the White River Divine Sword in Xiao Qingtian's hand, he had expended his entire reserve of Death Qi in one go.
The effect was undeniably potent, but now the surplus Life Qi was surging uncontrollably through his body. A restless energy, hot and volatile, coursed through his veins, making him feel almost feverish.
'Still,'Shen Anyu mused, his gaze falling upon Xiao Qingtian, who was frozen in mid-air with a mask of utter terror,'the power of the Two-Aspects Life-Death Mystical Light was well worth the effort.'
A faint smile touched his lips.
At that very moment, as the effect of the Mystical Light dissipated, the frozen world snapped back into motion.
"What happened?"
Liu Ruyan and the others were all bewildered. They had felt their minds go utterly blank for a moment, a disorienting void where time seemed to have vanished.
"Master!" Xiao Fan was the first to react. He looked worriedly toward his master in mid-air, but his expression immediately twisted in horror, as if he had just seen a ghost.
Drawn by his cry, Liu Ruyan, Zhong Lingyin, and Murong Jieyu all turned their eyes to the sky.
The man hovering there was no longer the immortal-like figure from before, nor was he the impressive, god-like presence he had been when he brandished the White River Divine Sword. His once rosy, almost cherubic skin had become ashen and withered, collapsing into a web of deep wrinkles and dark age spots.
The mighty, volcanic heart that had pounded in his chest now beat slower and slower. The blood that had flowed like a great river through his veins now trickled to a near standstill. Even his relatively tall frame began to stoop, his back bending under an invisible weight.
It was as if, in a single, silent instant, Xiao Qingtian had lived and died a hundred years, transforming from a man in his prime to a frail, bedridden elder on the verge of death.
A single glance had stolen a century of his lifespan.
Even a cultivator of the Foundation Establishment realm, whose life could span three sixty-year cycles for a total of one hundred and eighty years, could not escape this fatal gaze.
"You… what divine ability is this?" Xiao Qingtian struggled to turn his head, his voice a dry rasp. He wanted to launch one final, desperate counterattack, to drag Shen Anyu down with him, but he no longer had the strength. His body went limp, and he began to fall from the sky.
"Master!" Xiao Fan screamed in terror, lunging forward to catch the falling body. As he checked Xiao Qingtian's condition, his face contorted in sorrow.
His master's life force was not just exhausted; it was gone. He was no different from a corpse, utterly devoid of vitality. Where was the immortal master who could stir the clouds with a flick of his sleeve?
Shen Anyu reached out a hand, and the White River Divine Sword, which had clattered to the ground nearby, flew into his grasp. He ran his fingers along the blade, suppressing its power. The sword, which had once shimmered like a white dragon, instantly lost its luster and became inert.
"Good stuff," Shen Anyu remarked with a smile. The quality of this White River Divine Sword was exceptionally high; it was a true Golden Core stage treasure, complete with its own domain. However, it had already been refined and bonded to a master, making the process of claiming it for himself quite complicated.
But with the inherited memories of Heavenly Venerable Chen Yuhua, Shen Anyu knew a hundred ways to make it submit.
Besides, another, better idea was already forming in his mind: he could dismantle the White River Divine Sword, break it down into its raw materials, and integrate them into his Yin Corpse Devil Sword.
The Yin Corpse Devil Sword had been tempered with the blood sacrifice of Zhang Zhiyun, a Child of Destiny, giving it a spiritual potential that even surpassed the White River Divine Sword. It was only held back from becoming a true treasure by the inferior quality of its materials. If he fused it with the essence of the White River Divine Sword, it would undoubtedly ascend to the next level.
also, the Yin Corpse Devil Sword was his own creation, forged by his own hand. It would always be more attuned to his will.
After stowing the White River Divine Sword in his storage ring, Shen Anyu tilted his head and looked down at the dying Xiao Qingtian.
"Want to know what divine ability I used?" he asked, a playful glint in his eye. He then let out a soft, theatrical cough. "Ah, but I'm not going to tell you."
"You…" Xiao Qingtian was so incensed he raised a trembling finger to point at Shen Anyu. But in the next moment, his arm fell limp, and the last spark of light in his eyes flickered and died.
He was dead.
Xiao Qingtian, who had survived the cataclysmic destruction of the Yunhai Sect and fled to the Secular World, vowing to one day take his revenge on the Heavenly Emperor Palace, could never have imagined this end. He would not fall at the hands of a mighty expert from the Palace, but to a junior he utterly despised—a descendant of the Shen Clan from a thousand years in the future.
Xiao Qingtian's eyes remained wide, frozen in a final, defiant glare of fury and disbelief—a proof of a man who died utterly unreconciled to his fate.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xiao Fan has lost his esteemed Master, Xiao Qingtian, and lost many opportunities. Plundering +1,100,000 destiny value!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xiao Fan's mind is shaken. Plundering +29,999 destiny value!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xiao Fan's Dao Heart is damaged. Plundering +300,000 destiny value!]
…
Xiao Fan held his master's corpse, his expression utterly blank.
Shen Anyu had actually killed his master, Xiao Qingtian. He was actually capable of killing his master.
He could still hear his master's confident voice echoing in his ears.
"Your Master is a mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. In this mortal world, who can possibly be my opponent? The insignificant Shen Clan of Yanxia can be annihilated with a single hand."
Those words were still ringing in his memory, yet their speaker had been instantly killed by Shen Anyu.
Shen Anyu, this descendant of the Heavenly Emperor Palace left behind in the spiritually barren Secular World, possessed such terrifying, unmatched strength. What hope did he ever have of seeking revenge on the Heavenly Emperor Palace? Shen Anyu alone was an impossible mountain blocking his path.
A bitter smile twisted Xiao Fan's lips as he recalled his earlier words, asking his master to leave Shen Anyu's corpse intact for him.
Overestimating ourselves. We were truly, truly overestimating ourselves.
He had thought Shen Anyu was the one with an inflated sense of his own importance, but it turned out to be him and his master all along.
"Shen Anyu, you killed my master!" Xiao Fan's gaze, filled with a venomous hatred that all the waters of the five lakes and four seas could never wash away, locked onto Shen Anyu.
"Heh, and you have the nerve to question me?"
Shen Anyu couldn't be bothered to even look at this broken Child of Destiny. He flicked a finger. A sliver of Sword Qi shot out, instantly multiplying into countless threads of light that enveloped Xiao Fan, suppressing him completely. In a flash, the threads pierced his lower abdomen, destroying his Dantian and crippling his cultivation.
Xiao Fan let out a bloodcurdling scream, a spray of blood erupting from his mouth. He fainted on the spot, collapsing like a dead dog onto Xiao Qingtian's corpse.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xiao Fan's Dantian has been crippled, and his cultivation is lost. Plundering +600,000 destiny value!]
'Xiao Fan originally had three million destiny value, and now only a few hundred thousand remain. Once I secure the associated female lead, Xia Mengmeng, that should just about drain him dry. Still, he has his uses for now… to scout the Baiwu Mountain Valley.'
Shen Anyu's eyes narrowed as he looked solemnly toward the nearby valley. When he had unleashed the Two-Aspects Life-Death Mystical Light just now, he had sensed a faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation from that direction.
Perhaps there really was a living creature inside the Baiwu Mountain Valley—a ghost, a god, or another cultivator.
Whatever it was, it seemed to be restricted in some way, unable to emerge. For now, Shen Anyu decided to ignore it.
He walked over to Xiao Qingtian's body and began to search it, quickly finding and taking a storage bag.
Looting the battlefield was a time-honored tradition. The Shen Clan was a large enterprise with significant expenditures; Shen Anyu wasn't one to pass up free resources.
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