84: The city lord was executed, and the merit was in hand.

A deathly silence.

The overwhelmingly domineering deep-red Dragon of fire, after blasting away the arrogant Treasure Body Realm Cultivator, finally exhausted all its power and slowly dissipated into the cold air.

But the terrifying high temperature it brought, enough to burn mountains and boil seas, and the supreme Divine Might of transcending Realms to crush opponents, was like an eternal brand, deeply etched into the Souls of every survivor present!

Above the altar, Qian Wanshan was already scared out of his wits!

He knelt paralyzed on the cold ground, trembling like a sieve. His face, which had been full of fanaticism and flattery, now only held endless horror and fear, as if he had seen a ghost!

Defeated... defeated?!

In his eyes, the Demon Emissary, who was as powerful as a god or devil and had one foot already in the Dharma Body Realm, was actually... actually severely wounded by an ant, a Cultivator whose cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Realm, someone he had never even bothered to look at, with a single move?!

This... this isn't real! This must be an illusion!

He stared intently at the bottomless ruins in the distance, still clinging to a last, unrealistic shred of hope in his heart.

"Cough... cough cough..."

A violent cough, filled with endless pain and weakness, echoed from the ruins.

Immediately after, a tragic figure, charred black all over and no longer human-shaped, actually struggled to crawl out from the rubble!

His eyes, which had originally glowed with a crimson light, had now dimmed, leaving only endless resentment, unwillingness, and... a trace of fear from the depths of his Soul!

"You... what kind of fire... was that?!" he asked with a hoarse, broken voice, full of disbelief, struggling to speak.

Lin Ye did not answer him.

He just looked at him calmly, his dark eyes unmoving, like an ancient well, as if looking at a... dead man.

"Good... good..." The Cultivator seemed to understand something. He let out a tragic laugh, filled with endless malice, "This one... remembers you! Little bastard of Qingyun Sect... you just wait for this one! What you've given this one today, this one will surely... return a hundredfold in the future!!"

Before he finished speaking!

He bit the tip of his tongue fiercely, spitting out a large mouthful of pure vital essence blood! The moment the essence blood left his body, it instantly "boomed" into an extremely dense blood-red mist, completely enveloping his broken body!

"Blood Escape Great Technique!"

Before Lin Ye could react, the blood mist shot up into the sky with an unimaginable speed, transforming into a streak of blood-red light, instantly disappearing into the deep night sky!

He had actually burned nearly half of his essence blood and Lifespan, forcibly... escaping!

Lin Ye's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he watched the direction of his disappearance.

However, he did not pursue him.

He knew that with his current strength, it was still too difficult to completely eliminate a Treasure Body Realm powerhouse.

Furthermore, at this moment, there was another, more important "small fry" that he needed to... clean up.

His gaze slowly shifted towards the altar, towards the figure who had long been scared witless and was preparing to sneak away... Qian Wanshan!

The moment he saw the Demon Emissary burn his essence blood and flee, he knew that the tide had turned!

His last shred of hope in his heart was completely shattered.

At this moment, only one thought remained in his mind—

Escape!

The farther the better!

He didn't even dare to look at Lin Ye again. He stumbled and crawled down from the altar like a stray dog, frantically rushing towards the secret escape passage he had long prepared for himself behind the City Lord's Mansion!

However, just as he took his first step—

A calm voice, devoid of any emotion, slowly echoed behind him, like a death sentence.

"City Lord Qian," Lin Ye's voice was as cold as a knife, "Did I... allow you to leave?"

Qian Wanshan's body suddenly stiffened!

He turned his head with difficulty, inch by inch, and saw the thin figure, like a ghost, who had appeared less than three feet behind him at some unknown point!

"Immortal, spare my life! Immortal, spare my life!"

Qian Wanshan's legs gave out, and with a "thud," he actually knelt down before Lin Ye on the spot!

His originally refined face had lost all color, leaving only endless fear and fawning! Like the lowliest dog, he desperately kowtowed to Lin Ye, his head thudding against the ground!

"All of this... all of this wasn't my idea! It was... it was that Devil Head! He forced me! I was forced against my will!"

"Immortal! You are magnanimous, just treat me like a fart... and let me go! I... I am willing to offer all the treasures I have accumulated over these decades... all of them... to you!"

Looking at the City Lord before him, who a moment ago had been lording over others and disregarding human lives, and now was as humble as dust, wagging his tail and begging for mercy, Lin Ye's dark eyes showed no ripples whatsoever.

Only disgust.

"Your treasures," he spoke slowly, his voice calm, "I have already taken."

"As for your life..."

A cold, sharp glint suddenly flashed in his eyes!

"Go down, and personally... repent to those innocent Souls you have harmed!"

Before he finished speaking! His fingers pointed like a sword!

"Clang—!!!"

A clear, resonant, sky-shattering Sword cry, as if to completely tear apart the entire night, suddenly erupted from his seemingly ordinary body!

Wind Chasing Sword Technique — Perfection!

Just now, during that life-and-death battle with the Treasure Body Realm Cultivator, under that extreme pressure and insight, his Profound Rank sword technique, which had long reached the Minor Achievement Realm, finally, like water flowing into a channel, broke through the last Bottleneck and reached the legendary... Perfection Realm!

At this moment, though he held no sword, his entire being seemed to have transformed into a supreme Divine Sword capable of severing all things in the world!

An invisible, supremely sharp Sword Intent shot up into the sky!

"No!!!"

Qian Wanshan felt as if he was being stared at by an awakened ancient Sword Dragon! An irresistible aura of death, originating from the depths of his Soul, instantly enveloped his entire body!

He couldn't even muster a single shred of resistance!

Lin Ye's fingertip gently pointed forward.

A streak of green Sword Qi, faster than lightning and as thin as a cicada's wing, flashed and vanished like the first ray of dawn piercing through the night!

"Pfft."

A very faint sound, like a sharp blade entering flesh.

Qian Wanshan's body suddenly stiffened.

He lowered his head in disbelief, looking at his perfectly intact neck.

Immediately, a faint, almost imperceptible bloodline slowly appeared on his throat.

"So... so fast... sword..."

He uttered the last four words of his life with difficulty.

Immediately after, his head, which had still been filled with fear and unwillingness, slowly slid from his neck, like tofu cut by the sharpest blade.

"Thud."

The headless corpse fell heavily into the cold pool of blood... As the sinful scent of blood finally completely dissipated, the first ray of dawn just happened to tear apart the endless darkness that enveloped Black Wind City.

Lin Ye slowly withdrew his finger.

He did not spare another glance at the cold corpse, but turned around and walked, step by step, back to the altar filled with an eerie aura.

He waved his hand, severing the cold chains that bound the innocent commoners.

He then returned to the gloomy dungeon and rescued the Qingyun Sect disciples, who had long been scared out of their wits, one by one.

When he had finished all of this and returned to the back garden, which was already stained red with blood, the entire Black Wind City seemed to awaken from a long nightmare.

Countless commoners cautiously emerged from their homes.

This young man, who appeared thin and even somewhat naive, had, by himself, saved them from the abyss of Hell that threatened to swallow everyone!

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Someone, no one knew who, was the first to kneel.

Immediately after, hundreds of thousands of commoners, like falling dominoes, uniformly knelt down towards the young man standing quietly in the morning light!

"Thank you, benefactor!!"

"Thank you, benefactor, for saving our lives!!"

Shouts like a mountain roar and a tsunami, filled with endless gratitude and fanaticism, crashed against Lin Ye's eardrums like surging waves, one after another!

He looked at the dense crowd before him, prostrating themselves in worship, and listened to the heartfelt gratitude. His heart, which had long grown cold due to cultivation, suddenly trembled inexplicably.

What he gained was not just the vast treasures in the treasury, enough to drive anyone mad.

It was also the tens of thousands of the purest... human hearts!

These, perhaps in the eyes of those high and mighty Cultivators, were worthless.

But Lin Ye knew that this was the most precious and powerful... force in this world!

This reputation, this network, would be his most solid Foundation for establishing himself in this vast world in the future!

He slowly raised his head, looking towards the rising sun on the horizon, filled with endless hope. His dark eyes sparkled with an unprecedented brilliant light.