26: Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots

The air was thick with a deathly silence.

The Sect Master of Ten Thousand Spirits Sect stood stiffly at the bow of the warship, maintaining his "high-spirited" posture, but his face was twitching frantically. Cold sweat slid down his forehead and dripped into his eyes, stinging sharply.

He didn't dare to blink.

His gaze was fixed firmly on the pitch-black great bow in Su Xuanchen's hand.

That was the saint slaying bow.

As the current leader of the Myriad Spirits Sect, he had served this Saint Weapon for three thousand years. Even if it were turned to ash, he would recognize the ancient, complex blood-colored runes on the bow's body.

At this moment, this Saint Weapon, which symbolized the highest deterrent power of the Myriad Spirits Sect, was lying obediently in that young man's hand.

The original tyrannical, bloodthirsty, and defiant Aura of malevolence on the bow was now as docile as an old cat with its teeth pulled out.

What did this mean?

A terrifying thought that made his Soul tremble instantly occupied his mind.

A Saint Weapon has a spirit; it only changes masters if its owner falls or is completely suppressed by a more powerful force.

Ancestor Zishan... is gone.

That Saint Ancestor, who was as invincible as a deity in his heart and had supported the Myriad Spirits Sect's foundation for tens of thousands of years, had truly fallen!

Not even his bones remained; only this bow was left!

"Gulp."

The Sect Master of Ten Thousand Spirits Sect swallowed with difficulty, his throat feeling as dry as if he had swallowed a handful of sand.

He looked into Su Xuanchen's half-smiling eyes, and his heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by a cold, large hand, almost stopping its beat.

Run?

Where to?

The only teleportation light gate behind him had already been casually crushed by the opponent.

Fight?

Even the Ancestor, who held the saint slaying bow, was slaughtered by the opponent. What could he possibly use to fight?

A desperate situation!

A true dead end!

A strong desire for survival caused his frozen brain to start working at an overloaded pace.

He had to save himself!

He had to find an excuse!

Even if the excuse was as rotten as a pile of dung, he had to bite the bullet and make it work!

"Mis... Misunderstanding!"

The muscles on the Sect Master of Ten Thousand Spirits Sect's face contorted, forcing out a fawning smile that looked worse than crying.

He suddenly threw the top-grade Spiritual Artifact longsword in his hand onto the ground with a crisp "clank," then raised both hands high in a gesture of surrender.

"Saint... Saint Su! It really is a misunderstanding!"

His voice trembled as he roared incoherently.

"This Junior... this Junior heard of Saint Su's grand wedding and specially... specially brought the Sect elites to... to..."

He got stuck.

Bringing a hundred thousand fully armed, murderous Cultivators to attend a wedding?

He didn't even believe his own nonsense!

"To do what?"

Su Xuanchen toyed with the saint slaying bow in his hand and asked nonchalantly.

His tone was very light, without a hint of Killing Intent, yet it made the Sect Master of Ten Thousand Spirits Sect feel as if his neck were being stared at by an ancient Vicious Beast, making his hair stand on end.

"To... to add to the festivities for Saint Su!"

In a moment of desperation, the Sect Master of Ten Thousand Spirits Sect knelt on the deck with a thud, his head hitting the floor repeatedly.

"Yes! To add to the festivities! We are here to perform battle formations! The Myriad Spirits Sect's admiration for Saint Su is like a surging river that never ends! We have come to present gifts! Gifts!"

Behind him, the hundred thousand Myriad Spirits Sect Cultivators were all pale with fear. Seeing their Sect Master kneel, how could they dare to remain standing?

"Clatter—"

A hundred thousand people knelt in unison, their weapons scattered across the ground.

"Saint Su's Divine Might is peerless! For thousands of generations!"

"We are here to offer congratulations!"

Cries for mercy and flattery echoed through the skies. The arrogant atmosphere that had been ready to slaughter a city and exterminate a clan just moments ago instantly turned into a pathetic display of begging for pity.

Inside Purple Heaven Palace, the guests were dumbfounded.

This scene was both absurd and all too real.

This was the world of cultivation.

Might makes right.

If Su Xuanchen had lost today, this army of a hundred thousand would be man-eating wolves.

But Su Xuanchen won, so they became docile house dogs.

High on the platform.

Su Xuanchen looked down at the kneeling members of the Myriad Spirits Sect, a flash of disinterested boredom in his eyes.

"Add to the festivities?"

He chuckled softly, his fingers gently brushing over the cold string of the saint slaying bow.

"Unfortunately, I do not like watching plays."

"And I especially do not like watching a group of ants with ulterior motives perform."

As his voice fell.

The hand holding the bow's body suddenly jolted.

There were no fancy movements.

Nor were any Divine Abilities or techniques used.

He simply treated this incredibly hard Saint Weapon bow as a fire poker and gave a light swing through the air toward the Sect Master of Ten Thousand Spirits Sect.

"Hum—"

The Void Realm trembled.

A visible transparent ripple suddenly erupted, centered on the saint slaying bow!

It was a force of pure extremity.

It was the majestic Physical Body power of a Fourth Layer Saint, superimposed with the Saint Weapon might of the saint slaying bow itself, forming a storm of destruction!

Everywhere the ripple passed, space shattered like a fragile mirror into billions of tiny fragments.

"No—!!!"

The Sect Master of Ten Thousand Spirits Sect suddenly looked up, his pupils shrinking to the size of needlepoints.

He felt the arrival of death.

It was an absolute power that could not be resisted or escaped, enough to completely erase everything he was!

He wanted to sacrifice a Magic Treasure, burn his essence blood, and attempt Soul Emergence.

But under the suppression of that powerful Saint Might, he couldn't even move a single finger.

He could only watch helplessly as that transparent ripple, like an invisible scythe of the grim reaper, silently swept through his body.

It swept through the core Elders of the Myriad Spirits Sect behind him.

It swept through that massive war ship.

"Puff."

A soft sound.

Like wind scattering a pile of sand.

Under the horrified gazes of everyone present.

The Sect Master of Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, along with the dozens of Void Breaking Realm Elders behind him and that indestructible war ship, turned directly into dust in that instant.

No flesh and blood flew.

No severed limbs remained.

Not even a trace of their Primordial Spirits escaped.

Completely obliterated into nothingness.

Only a void remained, with spatial cracks still slightly vibrating.

One strike.

Erasing a Sect Master and dozens of top powerhouses.

Su Xuanchen hadn't even moved a step.

"Gulp."

Inside Purple Heaven Palace, someone swallowed their saliva.

The sound was exceptionally piercing in the deathly silent hall.

Too strong.

This wasn't a battle at all.

It was a dimensional strike.

A casual erasure of Mortals by a deity.

The three thousand Su Family death warriors and thirty Dao Protectors looked at their Old Ancestor's back, the fervor in their eyes almost ready to erupt.

Invincible!

This was their Old Ancestor!

Following such a powerhouse, how could the Su Family not prosper?!

"The Old Ancestor's Divine Might!!!"

Some Su Family member took the lead and shouted.

In the next second, mountain-shaking cheers once again vibrated through the entire Tianyan City.

"Old Ancestor is invincible! The Su Family is eternally prosperous!"

"Kill them all! Spread our Su Family's Divine Might!"

The reaction of the remaining ninety thousand plus Myriad Spirits Sect Cultivators was a stark contrast to the Su Family's celebration.

They knelt on the ground, looking at the empty void ahead, their minds blank and their bodies shaking like sieves.

The Sect Master... is gone?

The Elders... are also gone?

The top combat power of the Myriad Spirits Sect was wiped out with just a wave of a hand?

Despair, like a black tide, completely submerged their reason.

Someone was scared out of their wits and let out a strange cry, trying to flee.

But before they could fly ten feet, they were pierced through by a spear from a Su Family death warrior who had been waiting nearby, pinned to death in the void.

"Whoever dares to move, this will be their fate."

Su Jingyuan walked out with a sneer, his body radiating Killing Intent.

The order he received was to capture laborers, but if these guys didn't know what was good for them, he didn't mind killing a few more to set an example.

High on the platform.

Su Xuanchen put away the saint slaying bow, ignoring the commotion below.

Such trivial matters could be left to Su Jingyuan to handle.

His gaze pierced through layers of void and looked toward an extremely distant direction.

That was the location of the Myriad Spirits Sect's mountain gate.

"Cutting the grass without removing the roots."

"The spring breeze will make it grow again."

Su Xuanchen whispered to himself, his tone as flat as if he were talking about what to eat today.

He turned around and looked at Gu Lingshuang, who had been in a daze for a long time.

The young girl's originally cold and proud Phoenix eyes were now staring blankly at him, her gaze extremely complex.

Shock, wariness, confusion... and even a hint of awe that she hadn't noticed herself.

Su Xuanchen reached out and helped her straighten her slightly messy phoenix crown and bridal robes.

His movements were gentle, and his expression was doting.

It was as if the god of slaughter who had just wiped out tens of thousands of lives with a wave of his hand wasn't him at all.

"My lady, wait for a moment."

He said softly, his voice as warm as jade.

"Dirty things have entered the house; just cleaning them up isn't enough."

"I have to go and clear out the trash heap as well, lest there be more flies to bother us in the future."

Gu Lingshuang's delicate body trembled as she subconsciously asked:

"Where are you going?"

Su Xuanchen smiled grimly, his eyes filled with a Killing Intent enough to freeze the Nine Netherworlds.

"To the Myriad Spirits Sect."

"To exterminate the Sect."

As his voice fell.

He took a step forward.

"Boom!"

The void rippled under his feet like the surface of water.

A brilliant starlight path was laid directly into the depths of the void, instantly crossing a distance of millions of miles.

Su Xuanchen's figure disappeared at the end of the starlight.

Only a faint sentence was left echoing in the Purple Heaven Palace.

"I will be right back."

"The wine is still warm, just in time to return and drink together."

...Meanwhile.

Millions of miles away from Tianyan City.

Myriad Spirits Sect.

This was a blessed land with rich Spiritual Qi, where mountains stretched endlessly and clouds rose in rosy mists.

As a top-tier power in the Northern Barren and several surrounding continents, the Myriad Spirits Sect's foundation was undeniably profound.

Within the Sect, there were over a hundred thousand Disciples, thousands of Elders, and even a Saint Ancestor presiding over it, awe-inspiring to all.

At this moment, the Myriad Spirits Sect was peaceful.

Because the Sect Master and a large number of Elders were out on an "expedition," the Disciples who remained behind were exceptionally relaxed.

Soul Lamp Hall.

This was one of the most important places in the Myriad Spirits Sect, housing the life-bound Primordial Spirit lamps of all powerhouses at the Eternal Realm and above.

Should someone fall outside, the lamp would go out, and the Sect would know immediately.

The person responsible for guarding the Soul Lamp Hall was an Inner Sect Disciple named Wang Mazi.

This was a lucrative job.

Usually, there was nothing to do, and one could enjoy the abundant Spiritual Qi within the hall. Countless people were envious.

At this time, Wang Mazi was humming an unknown little tune, holding a piece of silk, and slowly wiping the rows of lamp bases made of top-grade Soul Jade.

"Today is a good day..."

Wang Mazi was in a very good mood.

"I heard they went to destroy that upstart Su Family? Tsk tsk, although that Su Family just rose, there must be plenty of loot."

"When the Sect Master and the others return in triumph, the whole Sect will surely be rewarded."

"At that time, I can also get a share. Maybe I can even get a better Flying Sword to show off in front of Xiao Cui..."

While dreaming his beautiful dream, he walked to the very top of the hall.

What was enshrined here were the Soul lamps of the people with the highest status in the Sect.

The one at the very top was high above, burning with a purple-gold flame, majestic in its Aura.

That was Ancestor Zishan's Soul lamp, and also the stabilizing pillar of the Myriad Spirits Sect.

The row below it consisted of the Soul lamps of the Sect Master and several Grand Elders, which were also burning vigorously.

Wang Mazi looked at these lamps, his eyes full of awe and envy.

"This is what a powerhouse is..."

"As long as these lamps do not go out, the sky of my Myriad Spirits Sect will never collapse."

He sighed and was about to turn around to wipe the lamp bases next to him.

Just then.

"Crack."

A very subtle yet clear crisp sound abruptly rang out in the silent hall.

Wang Mazi was stunned for a moment.

"What was that sound?"

He subconsciously turned his head.

In the next second.

His pupils dilated suddenly, and he froze in place as if struck by lightning.

Among the row of Soul lamps representing the Eternal Realm Elders of the Sect.

One lamp.

Two lamps.

Three lamps... "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Without any warning.

Those Soul Jade lamp bases, which were usually indestructible and symbolized longevity, were now being crushed by an invisible hand.

They shattered one after another!

The flames went out.

Faint smoke curled up.

"How... how is this possible?!"

Wang Mazi fell back onto the ground in fright, his face pale and his whole body trembling.

"The Elders... the Elders' Soul lamps... shattered?"

"So many shattered at once?!"

However.

This was only the beginning.

Before he could recover from his terror.

"Boom!"

The row of Soul lamps above, representing the highest power of the Sect, also began to explode!

First, the lamps of several Grand Elders went out together.

Following that.

It was the Sect Master's!

"Bang!"

The Sect Master's Soul lamp shattered into pieces. Shards splattered onto Wang Mazi's face, cutting his skin and making blood flow.

But he couldn't feel the pain.

He could only hear the sound of his heart beating frantically, as if it were about to jump out of his throat.

"The Sect... the Sect Master is also... dead?!"

Wang Mazi opened his mouth wide, making a "he-he" raspy sound in his throat, his eyes bulging out.

How could this be possible!

That was the Sect Master! He went out with an army! How could he suddenly be gone?!

Just then.

His gaze, trembling, slowly moved to the very top.

That was the last shred of hope.

That was Ancestor Zishan's Soul lamp.

"Ancestor... the Ancestor is still here... as long as the Ancestor is here, the Myriad Spirits Sect won't—"

Before he could finish his sentence.

"Puff."

A soft sound.

That purple-gold flame that had burned for tens of thousands of years without ever wavering.

Like a candle blown out by the wind.

It flickered.

Then.

Completely extinguished.

The lamp base collapsed, turning into a pile of waste soil.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

In the Soul Lamp Hall, only Wang Mazi's heavy breathing remained.

He stared blankly at the empty highest point, his mind a total blank.

Total annihilation.

From the Ancestor down to the Elders.

All the top-level combat power of the Myriad Spirits Sect.

At this moment.

All were dead!

Endless fear, like a cold hand, gripped his heart tightly, making him almost unable to breathe.

Wang Mazi slumped onto the ground, a warm wetness coming from his crotch.

His eyes were vacant, his lips trembling, as he let out a desperate wail.

"It's over..."

"It's all over..."

"The sky of the Myriad Spirits Sect..."

"Has collapsed!"