123: They were all slaughtered, Gu Jian Hai Jiu Yuan.

Quiet, a deathly silence.

Everyone in the trap was dumbfounded; what had happened?

A single punch could send a Cultivator's head flying? Is this still a Cultivator?

"Brat, what are you doing!" the Dao Cloud Sect Elder roared in anger.

"Am I not trying to save people?" Jiang Yan feigned innocence. "I said I'd give it a try. What, don't you want to get out?"

Hearing this, everyone shook their heads repeatedly, their tone softening. "Fellow Daoist, your strength is too great. Try using a bit less power."

In their view, it wasn't their own Sect's Disciple dying anyway, so they might as well let this fool try.

"Brat, you're doing this on purpose!" The Dao Cloud Sect Elder slowly stood up, his voice filled with rage. "You're playing the fool on purpose. What exactly are you trying to do!"

Others might not have seen through the kid's act, but Luo Lingfeng was different. Jiang Yan's punch just now was clearly laced with killing intent.

Jiang Yan chuckled and stopped pretending. After all, within this Forbidden Domain, he was invincible.

Jiang Yan's smile suddenly vanished, the playfulness in his eyes fading to be replaced by a cold killing intent.

He slowly raised his hand, and the space within the entire Sword Tomb seemed to freeze at that moment.

"Old Bi Deng, you've got quite the sharp eyes."

His voice was low and dangerous. The qi-blood around his body suddenly surged, becoming several times more powerful than before!

"You little beast from the Qingyun Sect! You've been plotting against us from the very beginning!" Luo Lingfeng shouted in anger.

Hearing this, the faces of everyone in the trap turned ashen. They never expected to be completely fooled by the young man before them.

"If you weren't so greedy, how could I have lured you down? And how would the traps have been triggered?" Jiang Yan said with a half-smile, his tone flat. "If not for me, would you even be able to take a few more breaths?"

Jiang Yan's words were like needles, making everyone's hair stand on end.

They were greedy, but they didn't want to die.

"Little beast, you're looking for death!" Luo Lingfeng roared. He wanted to unleash his Core Formation Realm cultivation, but due to the seal, he could only rage impotently.

Jiang Yan looked at Luo Lingfeng's flushed old face and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Old Bi Deng, your expression of impotent rage is truly amusing." He tilted his head, took out a Spirit Treasure longsword, and used the tip to lift Luo Lingfeng's chin. "How about I send you down to wait in line first?"

With that, Jiang Yan gave Luo Lingfeng no chance to speak and pierced his throat with a single thrust.

Luo Lingfeng was extremely aggrieved; he died without ever being able to showcase his Core Formation Realm cultivation.

[Killed Level 4 Core Formation Cultivator Luo Lingfeng. Gained Experience: 41,000. Gained life span: 2,502 years. Gained life span: 4,305 years.]

[Current Experience: 69.36%]

[Plundered 1.3 Dragon essence from Luo Lingfeng.]

[Plundered Luo Lingfeng's Intermediate Spell: Puppet Hundred Control.]

[Plundered Luo Lingfeng's Intermediate Martial Skill: Puppet Battle Slash.]

As Luo Lingfeng's blood slowly flowed onto the ground, everyone in the trap backed away in terror, especially the Dao Yun Sect Disciples.

Jiang Yan glanced at the Martial Skill "Puppet Battle Slash," found it mediocre, and chose to discard it.

"You don't need to be afraid. I only kill those who deserve to die." Jiang Yan pointed at the few surviving Dao Yun Sect Disciples.

"Fellow Daoist of the Qingyun Sect, listen. If you let us go, we'll act as if this never happened!" one Dao Yun Sect Disciple threatened.

"Right, we promise not to say a word," another Dao Yun Sect Disciple chimed in.

Hearing such threats, Jiang Yan almost laughed. He walked slowly toward the Dao Yun Sect Disciples and decisively swung the Spirit Treasure longsword in his hand.

"Swish! Swish! Swish..."

Blood droplets from the Spirit Treasure longsword slowly dripped onto the ground. Jiang Yan turned to the remaining Disciples from other Sects with a strange smile:

"My apologies, but since you've seen me kill the Dao Yun Sect Disciples, none of you should expect to leave alive either."

Hearing this, everyone's expressions froze. They thought the Qingyun Sect Disciple would let them go, but... "Damn it, you never had any intention of letting us go!" a Cuiqing Sect Disciple cursed.

"Attack! There are so many of us, let's fight him!" a Baiyue Sect Disciple shouted.

Jiang Yan looked at the enraged crowd and suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter echoed through the Sword Tomb, causing the ancient swords hanging around to vibrate in resonance.

"Well said!" He wiped away the tears from his laughter, his tone playful. "I just love seeing you all struggle in your death throes."

"Madman, this guy is a madman!" a Daluo Sect Disciple roared, raising a long saber and slashing at Jiang Yan.

A hint of mockery flashed in Jiang Yan's eyes. Facing the incoming saber, he didn't even try to dodge.

Just as the blade was about to touch his neck, a rusty black ancient sword instantly flew out.

"Clang!"

A sword hum suddenly rang out. The pitch-black ancient sword hanging in the very center of the Sword Tomb suddenly tore through the air, its edge precisely blocking the saber's blade!

The Daluo Sect Disciple felt a massive counter-force. His web of the thumb instantly split, and the saber flew out of his hand. Before he could react, Jiang Yan raised his right hand, his fingers like hooks, and clamped down directly on his throat!

"Struggling in death throes?" Jiang Yan chuckled, applying slight pressure with his fingertips. With a crisp "crack," the Daluo Sect Disciple's neck snapped. "No, this is called... slaughter."

The corpse slumped to the ground, blood slowly seeping into the floor of the Sword Tomb.

The rest of the crowd was completely terrified. They finally understood that within this Sword Tomb, Jiang Yan was the absolute controller!

Jiang Yan glanced at the trembling, rusty black ancient sword before him and flicked it lightly with his right hand, causing a sword hum to ring out.

"Oh, so you're afraid too."

As Jiang Yan spoke, the rusty black ancient sword plunged into the ground and bent its blade toward him. Then, the rust on the ancient sword slowly began to peel off.

Everyone was stunned by this scene; it was the first time they had witnessed something so eerie.

They didn't know that this ancient sword had sensed the Aura of Soul Shattering. This Aura was born from killing artifact spirits. If it didn't curry favor with Jiang Yan, it would likely be next after all these Cultivators were dead.

As the rust fell away, the ancient sword emitted a faint golden-blue glow. Then, three large seal script characters appeared on the blade: "Hai Jiuyuan."

Jiang Yan gripped the hilt. While swinging it with his right hand, he secretly slapped a "Will Talisman" onto the bottom of the hilt with his left.

As ripples of tidal Sword Intent spread outward, the two Disciples closest to Jiang Yan had their heads severed in an instant.

"Hai Jiuyuan? Probably the sword of some old fogey from the Sea Race!"

Jiang Yan gently stroked the blade, feeling the power of the deep-sea tides emanating from the sword. The golden-blue light on the edge flowed like waves, and with every slight tremble of the blade, it felt as if monstrous waves were roaring within.

"Not bad. I'll make do with it for now. Once I'm bored, I'll snap it."

The hai jiuyuan sword spirit trembled; it could clearly sense the killing intent from its new master.

Jiang Yan ignored the sword spirit's thoughts, his lips curled upward as his gaze swept over the remaining Cultivators. Those people were already scared out of their wits; a few even knelt on the ground, kowtowing frantically for mercy.

"Afraid now? Where's that 'death before dishonor' Aura from before?" Jiang Yan chuckled, turning the blade. "Pity... my killing intent has already been roused!"

"Buzz!"

The hai jiuyuan sword suddenly let out a long hum, and the air within the entire Sword Tomb seemed to freeze. Then, countless visible tidal Sword Qi erupted from the blade, sweeping in all directions like massive deep-sea waves!

"No! Mercy..."

The pleas for mercy stopped abruptly.

Wherever the tidal Sword Qi passed, the Cultivators were like those caught in a deep-sea vortex; their bodies twisted and deformed, and blood sprayed from their orifices. Their protective spiritual power was as fragile as thin paper before the Sword Qi, ground into blood mist in the blink of an eye!

Jiang Yan stood where he was, his robes fluttering but unstained by a single speck of dust. He looked down at the hai jiuyuan sword vibrating excitedly in his hand and said softly:

"Oh, not a bad performance. Such heavy bloodlust, I like it."

The golden-blue light on the blade intensified as if responding to his praise. Meanwhile, the blood of the dead Cultivators was being slowly absorbed by the floor of the Sword Tomb, converging into blood-colored streams that flowed toward the central blood pool... Jiang Yan stepped onto the trap wall with his right foot and pushed off with his left, using the surrounding rusty broken swords as stepping stones to jump back into the passage.

Watching the central blood pool churn, Jiang Yan gripped the Hai Jiuyuan: "It looks like your original master is about to wake up."

The Hai Jiuyuan let out a humming sound, seemingly very resistant to whatever was in that blood pool.

Jiang Yan felt the resistance from the hai jiuyuan sword and couldn't help but chuckle. He stood at the high point of the passage, looking down at the churning blood pool below. The water was boiling now, and a blurry figure could be vaguely seen condensing.

"It seems your former master wasn't exactly a good person either..."