Chapter 189: The Yan Clan Annihilated!
Upon the ruins of a great hall complex, several black-robed figures stood trembling with fear, gazing at Hun Mie Sheng, whose entire body radiated an icy, chilling aura before them.
A long while later, Hun Mie Sheng's hoarse, rasping voice rang out, making everyone jolt as if shocked.
"Have you discovered who was responsible?"
Hearing Hun Mie Sheng's words, a Half-Saint who had been fortunate enough to be away and thus survive stiffened his scalp, bowed, and spoke: "H-Hall Master... the ones who attacked were of exceedingly high strength. Even the Vice Hall Master and the First Heavenly Venerable both... both died miserably at their hands..."
"What I asked was—have you found out who did it?!" Before that Half-Saint could even finish, Hun Mie Sheng abruptly spun around and roared furiously at the few of them.
A howling, raging storm swept past. The aura of a five-star Dou Sheng erupted ferociously from his entire body, causing the few of them to hurriedly fall to their knees in terror. Their bodies trembling violently, they could no longer utter a single word.
"Speak—!" Seeing their behavior, the fury in Hun Mie Sheng's heart instantly exploded. His eyes were bloodshot, like a wild beast about to choose its prey and devour it. Staring at the few of them, he let out a low, furious roar: "Who was it?! Who, in a single night, wiped out twenty-two of my branch halls in succession—among them even the Earth Hall and the Human Hall?! Speak!!!"
"Hall Master... your subordinate has not... has not been able..." At this moment, no one dared meet Hun Mie Sheng's eyes directly. In the end, it was still that Half-Saint who stepped forward to report. Only, his voice grew quieter and quieter as he spoke...
"Must I wait until the enemy attacks the Heavenly Hall itself before I finally learn who the culprit is?!" Hun Mie Sheng looked at the few of them. Instead, he regained his calm, his voice cold and indifferent as he asked.
"We dare not..." Hearing Hun Mie Sheng's words, the few of them hurriedly spoke, pressing their heads down even lower!
"Useless wretches!" Seeing this, Hun Mie Sheng sneered coldly. With a flick of his sleeve, a mass of black mist instantly spread and pervaded the air. In the next moment, wretched, miserable screams rang out from within the black mist. After several breaths, only a few black robes remained on the spot. The figures that had been within them had vanished without a trace.
After casually killing the few of them, Hun Mie Sheng's icy gaze swept over the ruins of the Earth Hall ahead. Although the Hun clan was still waging war against the Yan clan and was, for the moment, unaware of the Soul Hall's situation—once the Hun clan managed to spare some attention and learned of the Soul Hall's current state...
He, Hun Mie Sheng, would absolutely not get off easy!
It could be said that this was the most devastating, grievous loss the Hun clan had suffered since the great war that annihilated the Xiao clan. Most likely, even the losses from this current Yan clan war would be no less.
And right now, he didn't even have the slightest clue as to the culprit. In the past, because he had controlled and managed the Soul Hall, the status and position he had gained within the clan would, in the blink of an eye, come crashing down—and he would become a sinner of the clan.
Thinking this, Hun Mie Sheng inwardly hated the power that had made this move to the very extreme. He desperately wished he could once again wash the various great sects of the Central Plains in blood to make up for some of the losses.
But at this critical, precarious juncture, he absolutely could not make any rash moves. If, by some careless accident, a chain reaction were triggered and the clan's current movements were exposed—then it would no longer be a mere matter of punishment. He would absolutely, without a doubt, be slapped to death by a single palm from Hun Tiandi.
Still unwilling and resentful in his heart, Hun Mie Sheng once again meticulously and carefully examined the scene of these ruins. He murmured quietly, "On this entire continent, there aren't many powers capable of launching such a full-scale, all-fronts surprise assault on my Soul Hall. Even the Pill Tower couldn't do it. Then it can only be those few clans."
Very quickly, Hun Mie Sheng narrowed down the suspects to the several great imperial clans. The Pill Tower indeed had the strength, but for such a massive commotion—the Pill Tower would absolutely have had to go all out. Even the Pill Tower Ancestor would have had to take action. It was absolutely impossible for the Pill Tower not to have let slip even the slightest whisper of wind.
Eliminating the Pill Tower, the only powers he could think of were the several great imperial clans. It could only be said that the Taixu Ancient Dragon had indeed remained hidden and concealed for far too many years. Very few people would ever connect such an incident to them.
But an even greater question surfaced in Hun Mie Sheng's mind. If it were an imperial clan—then what was their motive?
The scene contained no lingering traces of Dou Qi of any other attribute. Adding to that the corpses of the Vice Hall Master and the others, it indicated that the one who had struck had used only pure physical body strength and spatial power.
And a person with this level of strength would have to be at the very least a six-star Dou Sheng. Clue after clue—every sign and indication seemed to point the finger of suspicion toward a single target...
The Shi clan!
At the same time, an even deeper, more profound doubt once again surfaced in his mind. Why would they do this?
Unable to figure it out, Hun Mie Sheng flicked his sleeve and departed, his expression dark and overcast. The damage was already done. The Heavenly Hall absolutely could not be lost. As for how the clan would determine his guilt—all of that would have to wait until the Yan clan's battle was over.
"Ah—!"
Miserable screams rang out from every single corner of the Yan Realm. When no one possessed the ability to break through the Death Realm, the people within the grand array could do nothing but slowly, quietly await the arrival of death.
This time, the Hun clan, having come thoroughly and amply prepared, had given the Yan clan not the slightest room to resist.
"Detonate!"
Within the Death Realm, a Yan clan elder—the Dou Qi upon his body abruptly blazed to its absolute, utmost brilliance. Then, a wave of exceedingly, violently raging energy madly exploded across the sky.
Detonate! Detonate! Detonate!
After that first expert self-detonated, it was as if the blood of countless Yan clan members had been ignited. Instantly, the bodies of many experts blazed with great, intense light. Finally, like blazing meteors streaking across the sky, they converged at the very same spot and self-detonated.
"Boom! Boom!"
A terrifying, annihilating storm instantly raged and rampaged through space. Abyssal fissures, thousands of zhang wide, spread outward like a spider's web.
And faced with such terrifying self-detonation assaults, the space that had been sealed airtight by the Death Realm actually began to warp and distort. Faintly, fine, hair-thin cracks began to emerge.
"Clan Leader—it's working!"
Seeing that the space had finally begun to change, the disheveled, battered Yan clan members had wild joy surge in their eyes. Only, beneath that wild joy was hidden an endless, boundless, tragic sorrow.
Who could have imagined that just yesterday, their Yan clan had still been a picture of serene peace and harmony—and now, not only had millions, even tens of millions, of their denizens been completely slaughtered, but their clansmen had also suffered devastating casualties.
The crisis of clan annihilation loomed over their heads. At a time like this, the only thing they could do was use the self-detonation of their clansmen to blast open this stretch of space. It was not only to seek that slim, faint thread of survival, but also because they refused to die so utterly uselessly, so completely without effect—without leaving even the slightest scar or wound upon the Hun clan.
They could not accept this!!!
"Clan Leader—those cracks are about to close up again!" Suddenly, a Yan clan elder pointed anxiously at the spatial fissures ahead that were gradually healing and shouted.
"Quick—continue!" Hearing Yan Jin's fierce shout, yet more Yan clan experts unhesitatingly ignited the Dou Qi within their bodies.
"Huo Ling..." Watching the self-detonations that yielded only minuscule, barely perceptible results, Yan Jin gazed with a pained expression at the Fire Spirit Fairy beside him. At this moment, she had long since lost her previous image of enchanting, alluring beauty. Her entire body was covered in blood and gore, filled with a sense of tragic desolation.
"Clan Leader... take care!" Hearing Yan Jin's words, the Fire Spirit Fairy gave the crowd a heartbreakingly beautiful, tragic smile. Her figure directly shot forth explosively. Then, in the sky above, brilliant, dazzling radiance—like yet another blazing sun—erupted. The blinding, piercing, intense light nearly filled the entire space of the Death Realm...
"Boom!"
An indescribable annihilating impact swept forth in all directions across the sky, rampaging outward everywhere. At the very center of the explosion, a spatial rift several zhang wide was torn directly open.
"Rush out! Even if we die—we're going to knock a mouthful of teeth out of those Hun clan bastards!"
Seeing this spatial rift, Yan Jin's entire body jolted violently. Taking the absolute lead, he shot toward that spatial rift with lightning speed. Behind him, the mere ten-plus surviving Yan clan elders followed closely.
The Dou Qi within their bodies all began to boil and seethe completely at this moment. And as their Dou Qi boiled, their auras also skyrocketed and surged. This—would be their final battle.
"Not good! The Death Realm has been torn open into a crack by them. A few fish that slipped through the net have managed to escape!"
The escape of the crowd was naturally detected by Hun Sheng Tian and the other three who were maintaining the grand array.
"No matter. The greater picture is already decided. A few fish that slipped through the net—we'll personally send them on their way!" Hearing Hun Sheng Tian's words, Hun Jing bared his teeth in a savage grin, his face full of bloodthirsty savagery.
"Boom—"
Just then, a spatial rift blasted open. Yan Jin, leading the only remaining Yan clan elders, charged out.
Warm, gentle sunlight poured down from the sky above like a waterfall. And under the illumination of that sunlight, the pervading, spreading death aura also rapidly receded and faded.
And in the sky above them, a dark, oppressive mass of Hun clan experts hovered in the air, glaring down at them with fierce, vicious, malicious gazes.
As the saying goes—when enemies meet, the eyes blaze red with fury. The moment Yan Jin saw the Hun clan members, his already crimson-red eyes instantly filled with an aura of violent, savage brutality. A furious roar resounded throughout the entire Yan Realm.
"Hun clan—pay with your lives—!"
"Yan Jin, you are, after all, the leader of a clan. This seat shall grant you a dignified death!"
Seeing Yan Jin, a fierce, ferocious light blazed in the Nihility Devouring Flame's eyes. His palm slammed down fiercely. Space collapsed. A black-flame palm wind, fast as lightning, descended toward Yan Jin.
"Kill—!"
With the Nihility Devouring Flame making his move, the remaining few members of the Yan clan were, in less than the blink of an eye, completely divided and wiped out.
"Boom—"
A tattered, battered figure, covered from head to toe in blood, slowly collapsed onto the Yan God Mountain Range. Yan Jin weakly watched the Nihility Devouring Flame walking toward him. A tragic, miserable smile appeared on his face.
"Cough, cough... Nihility Devouring Flame—your Hun clan attacked my Yan clan for nothing more than our bloodline power and the Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade. What a pity... you will never, ever obtain the Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade now!"
The Yan clan's Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade was enshrined and worshipped within the ancestral hall, guarded and protected by several of the most senior elders. Yan Jin firmly believed that they would absolutely never allow the Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade to fall into the Hun clan's hands. Thinking this, a look of carefree, satisfied relief instantly appeared in Yan Jin's eyes.
"The Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade?" The Nihility Devouring Flame glanced at him expressionlessly. With a light laugh, he produced a piece of emerald-green jade and spoke as if to himself: "You mean—this piece?"
"How is this possible?! The Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade—why is it in your possession?!" Seeing this, Yan Jin's pupils abruptly constricted. He let out a low, disbelieving roar.
He, too, had once studied the Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade, seeking to glimpse the profound mysteries of becoming a Dou Di. He would absolutely not mistake it. This was, without a doubt, his Yan clan's Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade.
"Naturally—it was I who gave it to Lord Nihility. Clan Leader." Just then, a sinister, icy laugh rang out. A figure simultaneously familiar and foreign to Yan Jin slowly walked over from the distance, standing with a face full of deference and respect behind the Nihility Devouring Flame.
"Elder Huo Feng! Why would you betray the Yan clan?! Such despicable conduct—how can you face the ancestors and forebears of the Yan clan?!" Seeing who had come, an even more agonized, tortured look appeared on Yan Jin's face. He gazed at the other man with a face full of grief and sorrow.
"Heh heh... Clan Leader, take a good, careful look—who am I?" Hearing Yan Jin's furious rebuke, the black-robed 'Huo Feng' could not suppress a strange, eerie cackle. His pair of eyes, brimming with a deep, sinister, bone-chilling cold, revealed a look of mockery.
"You're from the Hun clan!" Seeing this, Yan Jin's pupils constricted. An involuntary chill surged forth from his heart. This Huo Feng... had already been replaced by someone from the Hun clan! Thinking this, the look in his eyes as he stared at the Nihility Devouring Flame was filled with bitter, tragic despair. "Hahaha! Your Hun clan's scheming and plotting runs so deep! Everyone underestimated you! Underestimated Hun Tiandi! I imagine the other clans have long since had your Hun clan's people planted within them as well!"
Hearing Yan Jin's words, the Nihility Devouring Flame merely smiled without speaking!
Seeing this, already having his answer in his heart, Yan Jin shook his head in utter desolation and despair. Then, his eyes filled with the stillness of death. Facing the Nihility Devouring Flame, he smiled—and spoke: "Even if I die... don't even think of getting anything from me!"
"Boom—"
In that very instant, an even more terrifying explosion once again resounded throughout this blood-soaked space!
The terrifying storm raged and raged for several full minutes before it was finally suppressed and quelled. Gazing at the colossal, massive crater—tens of thousands of zhang wide—left behind in the Yan Realm by Yan Jin's self-detonation, and at the lingering, unhealed spatial fissures surrounding it, the pupils of the Hun clan members all constricted tightly.
"Thankfully, Lord Nihility had the foresight and wisdom to act. Otherwise, our Hun clan would have suffered losses this time as well!" The still-shaken, palpitating Hun Sha watched the Nihility Devouring Flame retract his Dou Qi and fawned with flattery.
"Enough. No more pointless chatter. First, gather the bloodline power. This time, with the aid of the Yan clan, I will be able to advance yet another step. Once the Shi clan and Ling clan are also annihilated—then it will be the moment for our Hun clan to strike in full, decisive force!"
The Nihility Devouring Flame waved his hand dismissively. His gaze burned with fervent intensity as he looked down at the millions upon millions of the Yan clan's denizens below. The Emperor Realm soul was nearly within reach!
"Yes!" Hearing the Nihility Devouring Flame's command, the many Hun clan experts shouted in loud, booming voices, tinged with fervent, surging excitement.
After a thousand years of waiting... had the final, ultimate conclusion finally arrived?
Watching the dispersing crowd, the Nihility Devouring Flame raised his head and gazed into the distance at a pitch-black sphere of energy. At this moment, what seemed like an endless, inexhaustible torrent of energy surged and poured into that sphere from all directions.
The Nihility Devouring Flame could clearly sense the skyrocketing, rapidly advancing aura within it. Sensing that different, distinct origin within it, the Nihility Devouring Flame greedily, hungrily licked his lips. He murmured quietly, "Such a tempting, enticing little thing..."
Having spoken, he turned and flew into the distance, joining the army of reapers!
Within the Bodhi Ancient Tree, Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian lay quietly, peacefully, in each other's embrace, deep in slumber. Two masses of emerald-green Bodhi Heart pulsed and beat within their bodies. At the same time, countless streams of jade-green light surged in, washing and scouring their bodies through and through.
While the outside world was fighting and dying, struggling desperately just to approach the Bodhi Ancient Tree and draw its attention—Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian had already, together, entered the hundred cycles of samsara woven by the Bodhi Ancient Tree.
Legend said that those who experienced this kind of samsara tempering would possess the potential to step into the Dou Di realm. Whether this legend was true or false, the elevating, enhancing effect it had on a person was unequivocally, tangibly real. It was for this that countless experts scrambled and flocked toward the Bodhi Ancient Tree like ducks to water.
Within this strange, wondrous space, the concept of time became exceedingly, exceptionally blurred. A month passed in the blink of an eye. Yet the Bodhi Ancient Tree still showed no signs of any movement whatsoever.
On this day, the two figures—who, just as on every other day, had shown not the slightest sign of stirring—finally, at last, emitted faint, subtle sounds of movement.