61: Chapter 61 Master Annihilates the Remnant Souls of Upper Realm Cultivators

"No! Open for me!"

The instinct to survive overcame its fear. The One-Horned Thunder Beast spun around abruptly, its scales standing on end as its purplish-red horn burst with unprecedented light.

An energy shield mixed with thunder, blood-fiend aura, and the scent of decay wrapped around it layer by layer.

This was its final trump card.

However, before the Twelve Cold Moons Sword, all of this was in vain.

The first sword shadow fell.

*Crack.*

The shield cracked in response.

The second sword shadow followed closely behind.

*Pfft!*

One of its forelimbs was severed at the root, spraying blood.

The third, the fourth...

The sword shadows were like a gorgeous yet deadly dance, weaving continuously through the One-Horned Thunder Beast's massive body.

*Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!*

The sound of sharp blades slicing into flesh was endless.

By the time the twelfth sword shadow dissipated, all of the One-Horned Thunder Beast's limbs had been severed, and its massive body was covered in crisscrossing sword wounds.

Every wound was frozen by a chilling frost, preventing even a single drop of blood from flowing, but also completely sealing away all its life force.

Losing its ability to float, it crashed heavily onto the ground.

*Rumble—*

The earth shook violently as dust shot into the sky.

Yun Qinghan's figure appeared silently at the edge of the crater, looking down from above at the dying Yao Beast at the bottom.

She had intentionally held back.

The aura on this thing was very strange, not purely demonic; there was likely something else involved behind the scenes.

"Who... who on earth are you..."

Lying at the bottom of the crater, the One-Horned Thunder Beast couldn't even move a muscle. Its tyrannical beast pupils now held nothing but endless terror and confusion.

"Why... in the Lower Realm... is there an existence like you..."

Yun Qinghan did not answer its question.

She simply struck down with a palm toward the Yao Beast's head from a distance.

*Bang!*

The One-Horned Thunder Beast's head exploded.

But in the next instant, a wisp of blood-red mist, several times denser than before, suddenly shot out from the shattered skull, attempting to flee into the Void Realm.

"Still trying to run?"

Yun Qinghan snorted coldly, gently clenching her jade-like hand.

The space within a hundred-meter radius was instantly sealed by an invisible force. The blood-red mist seemed to hit a transparent wall and was forcibly bounced back.

The blood mist twisted and struggled in the air, finally condensing into a blurry, humanoid phantom filled with a venomous aura.

This was the true culprit.

"The remnant soul of an Upper Realm Cultivator?"

A trace of coldness crept into Yun Qinghan's voice.

"Senior, spare my life! Senior, spare my life!"

Seeing that it had been seen through, the blood-red remnant soul could no longer maintain any semblance of dignity. Its illusory figure kowtowed frantically in the air, its voice filled with flattery and terror.

"This Junior is a Loose Cultivator from the Upper Realm, Patriarch Xuehe. I only fled to the Lower Realm and reluctantly took refuge in this Yao Beast's body to survive because I accidentally offended an enemy who hunted me down. I absolutely had no intention of offending you, Senior!"

"Oh?" Yun Qinghan's tone betrayed neither joy nor anger. "Then why did you attack my Disciple?"

"Your... Disciple?"

Patriarch Xuehe's soul body trembled violently, seemingly failing to register the words.

"The Qingxuan Sect Disciple who ruined your thousand-year grand plan."

*Boom!*

These words exploded like a clap of heavenly thunder in Patriarch Xuehe's Soul Sea.

That kid... that kid who ruined his grand plan of Possession and Rebirth... was actually the Disciple of this terrifying existence before him?!

What kind of massive hornet's nest have I poked?!

Patriarch Xuehe's soul body fluctuated violently, nearly dissipating on the spot.

He now regretted it to his very bones.

Had he known that kid had such a powerful backer, let alone ruining his thousand-year plan, even if the kid had overturned his nest, he would have welcomed him with a smile and offered up several treasures as greeting gifts!

"A misunderstanding! Senior, this is all a misunderstanding!"

Patriarch Xuehe shrieked, "This Junior was blind and failed to recognize your greatness. I didn't know that young Revered Master was your Disciple. Otherwise, even if you gave this Junior ten thousand times the courage, I wouldn't have dared to harbor the slightest ill intent toward him!"

"This Junior is willing to compensate him! I am willing to offer all my lifelong savings to that young Revered Master, if only Senior would spare my remnant soul!"

To survive, he could no longer care about any dignity.

"Compensate?"

Yun Qinghan repeated, a trace of mockery adding to her cold voice.

"If anything had happened to him, what could you possibly use to compensate?"

As her voice fell, she gave him no further opportunity to explain.

Opening her jade hand, she squeezed gently toward the remnant soul.

"No—!"

Patriarch Xuehe let out one final shriek of misery and unwillingness.

That remnant soul, who had been considered someone of note in the Upper Realm, was crushed inch by inch under this irresistible force, turning into the purest energy particles and dispersing into the world.

Anyone who dared to touch her people, no matter who they were, had to die.

Having done all this, Yun Qinghan turned around, transformed into a streak of light, and returned to the Qingxuan Sect.

...

At the same time.

In an eerie space that defied description.

The sky was dark red, and upon the earth flowed an endless sea of blood as thick as quicksilver.

In the center of the sea of blood, a throne piled high with the bones of billions of living beings towered.

Upon the throne, a towering figure shrouded in dense blood mist sat with his eyes closed, dozing.

Suddenly.

He slowly opened his eyes.

What kind of eyes were those—they had no pupils, only two constantly spinning blood-red vortexes that seemed capable of swallowing everything in the world.

"Hmm?"

He let out a low grunt, raising a palm covered in blood-red scales, his fingers moving slightly as if calculating something.

A moment later.

"Interesting."

"A chess piece that I casually placed in the Lower Realm has actually been plucked."

His voice echoed across the entire sea of blood.

"Eastern Region, Great Xia..."

He murmured as a blurry landscape of mountains and rivers was reflected in his blood-red vortexes.

"No matter who you are, if you dare to ruin my affairs, you must be prepared to face my wrath."

...

By the time Yun Qinghan returned to the Qingxuan Sect, the sky was already growing bright.

Without disturbing anyone, she went straight back to Qinghan Peak.

With the complete annihilation of that Upper Realm remnant soul, the evil source stirring up trouble in the depths of the Tianyao Mountain Range also dissipated.

Having lost their unified command, the army of Yao Beasts, which had been wild, bloodthirsty, and unafaint of death, disintegrated into a disorganized mess.

Panic spread through the horde, and they began to flee in all directions without any order, trampling one another.

The beast tide that had lasted for several days collapsed in such an inexplicable manner.

This allowed the various Cultivators who were still struggling to hold on at the periphery of the mountain range to score a massive bargain.

...

On the Azure-Feathered War Bird, the Qingxuan Sect Disciples, who had escaped death, finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"We survived... We really survived!"

"Heavens, I thought we were dead for sure this time."

Elder Xiong steered the war bird through the final mountain barrier, and the silhouette of a magnificent giant city appeared before everyone's eyes.

Tianyao City.

The premier grand city on the eastern border of the Great Xia Dynasty.

However, Tianyao City at this moment was vastly different from its usual appearance.

The city gates were packed with people, with Martial Artists and Cultivators in all kinds of attire coming and going in an endless stream.

The city walls were further crowded with City Guards possessing powerful auras, every single one of them wearing an extremely solemn expression.

"Why are there so many people?" Senior Sister Liu asked curiously.

"They're all here to profit off the 'beast tide fortune,'" an Inner Sect Disciple with broad experience explained.

"Danger and opportunity coexist. Although the beast tide is terrifying, it also leaves behind vast quantities of Yao Beast corpses. Those beast cores, pelts, and bones are all valuable treasures. For Loose Cultivators like us who live on the edge, this is an immense fortune dropped from the heavens."

Hearing this, everyone sighed with emotion.