25: Chapter 25: The Curtain Falls

"Saint Master...!!!"

"Revered Master!!!"

"No...!!!"

...

After a brief, deathly silence came heart-wrenching wails!

Many Disciples stared with eyes split wide, unable to believe the scene before them.

The invincible Saint Master, who stood high above in their eyes, had actually died right in front of them.

And he had fallen in such a tragic and heroic manner.

It was almost like a dream...

One must know that although Saint Master was arrogant in nature and overbearing in his actions, he had truly poured much effort into the Disciples of the Holy Land, especially those who were talented and willing to work hard, and his rewards and punishments were fair.

Therefore, his reputation among the ordinary Disciples was quite good, and his prestige was not low.

Seeing him choose to end his own life in such a tragic and heroic way at this moment, the immense grief and a certain sparked ferocity instantly overwhelmed the fear in many people's hearts!

"Sect Master! Wait for your Disciple! Disciple Li Ergou is coming with you!"

A young Disciple of the Innate Realm, his face covered in tears, suddenly drew his sword and slashed it across his own throat!

As blood sprayed, his body collapsed.

"I was an orphan, and the Saint Master treated me with immense kindness. Today, the Holy Land suffers a calamity, and the Saint Master has gone first; how can I, Disciple Zhao Kai, live alone? I will follow the Saint Master!"

Another middle-aged man, looking like an Elder, roared and shattered his own heart meridians with a single palm strike.

"Count me in!"

"Sect Master, travel slowly on the road to the Yellow Springs; your Disciple is coming!"

"The grace of the Holy Land in raising me cannot be repaid, only by death can I follow!"

"Hahaha... Isn't it just death? What is there to fear..."

"Today, it is my honor to walk with the Holy Land; I have no regrets in death!"

...

In an instant, it was like a prairie fire had been ignited!

One after another, Disciples, Elders, or stewards, driven by extreme grief, despair, and their final admiration for Saint Master, chose to commit suicide to follow him in death!

The sounds of blades entering flesh, palms striking skulls, and True Qi backfiring to explode bodies... were endless!

Blood stained every inch of the plaza.

It was tragic, brutal, and yet carried a determination that made the Soul tremble!

This sudden collective martyrdom made the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who were accustomed to life and death and had hearts as hard as iron, feel a tremor in their hearts, and their hands gripping their blades tightened slightly.

They could slaughter resisting enemies without hesitation.

But faced with this silent, self-inflicted tragedy, even they felt a trace of inexplicable agitation.

Even the three Old Ancestors of the Imperial Dynasty high in the sky were silent at this moment...

They had lived for hundreds of years and had seen too much life and death, but the wave of martyrdom ignited by the death of the Saint Master before the fall of the Holy Land was so brutal and resolute that it still deeply moved them.

Ancestor Wang Xuan even sighed slightly and murmured in a low voice:

"Sigh... This Saint Master... he can be considered a man of character. It is just a pity..."

However, no large force could ever have only one voice or one choice.

While some chose to die with dignity and tragedy, burying themselves with the millennium-old tradition, there were naturally others who were overwhelmed by the fear of death and only wanted to humbly beg for a chance at survival.

Just as the tragic song of martyrdom had not yet completely ceased, and the air was still filled with an inseparable stench of blood and sorrow, a sound of pleading—totally out of place with the scene, filled with weeping and extreme sycophancy—abruptly rang out.

"S-Seniors! My Lords! Spare my life!"

"We were all forced! It was the Holy Land and those Elders who forced us to oppose the Imperial Dynasty! It has nothing to do with us ordinary Disciples!"

"I am willing to surrender! I am willing to submit to the Imperial Dynasty! I will work like an ox or horse for the Imperial Dynasty! Please, Seniors, give me a chance and spare my life!"

"Me too! I know many secrets of the Holy Land! I can lead the way! I can point out others! I only want to live!"

"Long live Your Majesty of the Imperial Dynasty! Your Majesty is wise! This lowly one has long been unable to stand the actions of the Xuantian Holy Land! Today, the arrival of the Imperial Dynasty's heavenly troops is truly the will of heaven!"

"We are willing to surrender to the Imperial Dynasty and from now on are willing to be dogs for the Imperial Dynasty and Your Majesty!"

"Please, my Lords, give us a chance..."

...

The pleas for mercy were initially just a few scattered voices, but they quickly merged into a chorus.

Those survivors who were kneeling on the ground but had not chosen to commit suicide to follow their Revered Master were now desperately kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Their voices were filled with extreme fear and a longing for life, and they did not even hesitate to slander the newly deceased Saint Master and their fellow Disciples to express their loyalty.

This scene, falling into the eyes of Ji Gang and the many Embroidered Uniform Guard, instantly aroused completely different emotions in them.

Contempt.

Deep contempt!

Although even ants cling to life, and in the face of an irresistible death threat, fear and pleading are normal human nature and understandable.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard were not bloodthirsty lunatics.

However, the problem lies in the comparison...

On one side, there was the Saint Master committing suicide to atone for his sins, and many Disciples resolutely facing death, using their lives to write the final chapter of backbone and loyalty to the Sect.

Even if this loyalty carried a hint of ignorance, this determination was worthy of respect.

On the other side were these people, in the same desperate situation, choosing to wag their tails for pity, betray their fellow Disciples, slander their former Revered Master, and do everything possible in their humbleness, just to linger on in a desperate struggle for survival.

Comparing the two, the verdict was clear.

It was the difference between clouds and mud!

The trace of emotion and complex feelings for the martyrs in their hearts just a moment ago was instantly washed away by the ugly behavior of these cowardly, spineless people before them.

Replacing it was a deeper coldness and disgust!

Ji Gang's cold gaze swept over those kowtowing, begging, and ugly survivors, with not a shred of pity in his eyes, only the indifference of looking at trash.

He slowly raised his hand and pointed downwards.

"Embroidered Uniform Guard, hear my order."

His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every Embroidered Uniform Guard officer, and it struck the hearts of those pleading like a funeral bell.

"Obeying His Majesty's decree, raze the Xuantian Holy Land."

"Kill!"

The final word "Kill" was resolute and decisive, without a shred of hesitation!

"Understood! Kill—!!!"

"Kill—!!!"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard, who had long been impatient, instantly roared in unison, their battle cries shaking the heavens!

Like a black tide of death, they rushed forward again.

This time, their goal was clear: everyone in the Xuantian Holy Land who was still breathing, whether kneeling or standing, was their target!

"No—!!!"

"Why?! We surrendered!"

"I'll fight you to the death!!"

"Ahhh! I don't want to die!"

"Spare my life..."

...

The pleas for mercy instantly turned into desperate screams.

Flashes of blades and swords flickered again, and blood was splashed everywhere like cheap red paint.

Those survivors who had just been desperately trying to show their loyalty were now all the primary targets for the "care" of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and under the Xiuchun Blade, there was no mercy!

This massacre was more efficient and colder than before.

The resistance was pitifully weak, and the screams did not last long.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the entire Xuantian Holy Land had once again fallen into a deathly silence.

The wind howled, carrying a heavy stench of blood.

Looking around, apart from the Embroidered Uniform Guard in their flying fish uniform standing solemnly with blades in hand, there was not a single living person from the Holy Land left within the vast mountain gates of the Xuantian Holy Land.

Corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

The millennium-old Holy Land was destroyed in a single day, turning into a Shura ghost realm.