293: Chapter 292 Kill Again

Princess Yueli held the Jade Box in both hands, retreating from the hidden compartment to the side of the Buddha statue.

Her arms were covered in burn marks from the blood-red light screen, and the cuffs of her leather armor were charred black, revealing the red and swollen skin beneath.

But she didn't care about the pain; her gaze fell on the runes on the surface of the Jade Box.

The Jade Box was pale green and white. In addition to the emblem of the Innate One Qi Sect on the lid, a circle of fine Sanskrit characters was also engraved. Those Sanskrit characters were pale gold, arranged in a lotus shape with layers of petals, each petal flowing with a faint Buddha light. She pressed her fingers onto the Sanskrit characters, and a warm sensation came from her fingertips; it was the fluctuation of Buddha Power, originating from the same source as the Sarira power within the buddha bone jade pendant.

She immediately understood the mystery within. This Array Core needed Buddha Power to be activated to function. At the same time, Buddha Power could suppress the Dragon-Slaying True Intent; this was a contingency plan left by the Innate One Qi Sect in the Western Desert, specifically designed to counter the Dragon Slaying True Person's dao seed.

Without hesitation, she took out the buddha bone jade pendant from her bosom and pressed it against the lid of the Jade Box. The moment the pendant and the box touched, both erupted with a dazzling Buddha light. The light was pale gold, surging out from the Jade Box like a Tide, spreading in all directions and instantly enveloping the entire hall.

Everywhere the Buddha light passed, the air became warm and soft. The dust on the ground was purified by the light, dissipating as fine points of light. The fragments of the collapsed Arhat statues on both sides of the hall trembled slightly in the light, and blurry phantom images of Buddha statues appeared on the broken stones, as if a power sleeping for thousands of years was being awakened.

Yi Qianfan was currently driving the Five-Colored Divine Sword to suppress Jiang Hanzhou's Seven-Colored Saber Light. The moment the Buddha light fell on him, his body suddenly stiffened. The light was like invisible chains, wrapping around his limbs and bones, seeping into his Meridians, and pouring into his Dantian.

The Dragon-Slaying True Intent within his body instantly became chaotic. The five-colored radiance collapsed from the sword, splashing in all directions as chaotic points of light. Deep within his Dantian, that matured dao seed began to stir violently. Under the erosion of the Buddha light, the black patterns on the surface of the dao seed emitted wisps of black smoke and made a sizzling sound. The remnant soul fragments of the Dragon Slaying True Person within the dao seed let out sharp shrieks, as if enduring immense pain.

His cultivation began to drop. It fell from the Middle Stage of the Dragon-Elephant Intersection Realm to the Early Stage, and from the Early Stage down to the Peak of the Dragon Fetus Realm. The power that had been forcibly elevated by the dao seed was peeled away layer by layer under the purification of the Buddha light, like a receding Tide, revealing the dried-up beach beneath.

"No! Impossible!" Yi Qianfan let out a roar, his voice filled with fear and unwillingness. He frantically drove the Dragon-Slaying True Intent within him, trying to resist the suppression of the Buddha light, but every attempt only made the dao seed more restless and the pain in his Meridians more intense. Black blood began to seep from his seven orifices, a sign of the dao seed's backlash.

Jiang Hanzhou seized this opportunity.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes as he mobilized all the remaining power in his body. Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Blade suddenly vibrated, and the dark golden patterns on its body erupted with a blinding light. Within his Dantian, seven types of True Intent surged simultaneously: Tide, Pure Yang, Metal Sharpness, Heavenly Fire, Glacial, Yellow Sand, and Buddha Power. Under his guidance, these seven forces converged into a torrent, pouring into the tiger soul saber.

The Heart Blade and the tiger soul saber merged into one.

This was not a simple stacking of power, but a perfect Fusion of Divine Soul and Physical Body. The Heart Blade was the master, the tiger soul was the vessel, the Dao-Slaying Blade Intent was the core, and the seven types of True Intent were the edge. The dark golden patterns on the saber's body and the dark golden dragon patterns of the Heart Blade complemented each other. Within the dark golden halo at the edge of the blade, a phantom saber shadow was faintly visible; it was the projection of the Heart Blade in reality.

He drove all his Divine Soul power, pushing the Dao-Slaying Blade Intent to its limit. A portion of the Buddha light surging from the Jade Box was drawn into the saber by him, merging with the Dao-Slaying Blade Intent to form a saber light specifically designed to counter the Dragon-Slaying True Intent and the dao seed.

That saber light was pale gold, not blazing or violent, but instead gave off a warm and tranquil feeling. But the moment Yi Qianfan saw that saber light, his pupils constricted to the limit. He felt the aura of death within the light—not the death of the Physical Body, but the annihilation of the Divine Soul, the shattering of the dao foundation, and the erasure of existence.

"No, you can't kill me! I am the vessel chosen by the Cult Leader. If you kill me, the Cult Leader will definitely—"

He didn't finish.

Jiang Hanzhou swung the saber.

The saber light sliced through the air silently, without any roar or airwave, only a pale gold arc, like the first ray of sunlight at dawn, gentle yet unstoppable. The saber light entered Yi Qianfan's chest; there was no blood, no wound, only a pale gold light spreading out.

Yi Qianfan's body suddenly froze. His eyes were wide open, his mouth agape, and he made incoherent gurgling sounds in his throat. Deep within his Dantian, that matured dao seed shattered inch by inch under the dual impact of the Buddha Power and the Dao-Slaying Blade Intent. The black patterns on the surface of the dao seed were like cracked porcelain, with cracks spreading from the center to the surroundings, becoming denser and deeper.

The moment the dao seed shattered, the remnant soul fragment of the Dragon Slaying True Person sealed within was exposed. It was a wisp of five-colored radiance, shaped like a miniature longsword, with five colors—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—flowing on its body. The remnant soul fragment struggled frantically, letting out sharp shrieks as it tried to escape the ruins of the dao seed and flee back to the main body of the Dragon Slaying True Person.

But the Buddha light locked it firmly in place. Those pale gold lights were like silk, wrapping around the remnant soul fragment layer by layer, encasing it in a golden cocoon. The Dao-Slaying Blade Intent transformed into an invisible blade, slicing into the cocoon and cutting the remnant soul fragment in two.

The remnant soul fragment let out a shrill scream—not like a human voice, but more like the ear-piercing sound of metal scraping glass. The five-colored radiance flashed violently a few times, then quickly dimmed, turning into a wisp of blue smoke and dissipating into the air.

Yi Qianfan's body began to disintegrate the moment the remnant soul fragment dissipated. It wasn't a disintegration of flesh and blood flying everywhere, but like a sand sculpture being blown away by the wind, starting from his fingers and turning into fine grey powder inch by inch. The powder drifted in the Buddha light, purified by it, and turned into nothingness.

His face still held the expression he had before death—fear, unwillingness, and anger, intertwined and distorted into a hideous mask. But that expression only lasted for a breath before his entire face turned into powder and dissipated into the air.

The last thing to disappear was the index finger of his right hand. On that finger was a dark silver Storage Ring, which flickered slightly in the Buddha light before falling to the ground with a clink.

Yi Qianfan, the True Disciple of the Heavenly Evil Cult and the vessel for the Dragon Slaying True Person's remnant soul, was dead. He was completely and utterly dead, with not even a Divine Soul left behind.

Jiang Hanzhou stood where he was, the tiger soul saber thrust into the ground, supporting his tottering body. His face was as pale as paper, his lips devoid of any color, and his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. His hands were trembling, and the skin at the webs of his hands had split open in several places, with blood dripping down the saber's handle to the ground.