266: Fate and Cause

You look back at the ashen-faced Yang Kun, your tone indifferent:

"I am not meddling in others' business; I simply made a deal with someone. This imperial lotus fruit is buying... your life."

"Daddy, why waste words on this beast? Just kill him." Qin Han licked the residual fruit juice from his claws.

"Crippling him will suffice!" you said indifferently.

Before the words had even faded—

"Whoosh!"

Qin Han's figure transformed into a stream of light difficult for the naked eye to track! Only a fleeting silver afterimage remained in the air.

"Squelch!"

With a soft sound, a hole appeared, piercing through Yang Kun's Qi Sea and Dantian.

"Aaaah—!!"

Yang Kun let out a shrill, inhuman wail. The intense pain and the terror of losing his cultivation distorted his face.

His Foundation Establishment true essence, cultivated over many years, leaked out frantically like a burst dam, and his entire cultivation vanished in an instant.

He instinctively clutched at the horrific wound on his abdomen, but his warm intestines spilled out. He could only fumble in a panic, trying to stuff the slippery viscera back into his body—a tragic and horrifying scene.

You stopped looking at him and turned to the trembling old couple, saying calmly:

"You may finish the rest yourselves."

Hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Yang shuddered violently. They exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with complex emotions—grief, indignation, pain, and resolve.

Hot tears rolled down the old man's turbid cheeks. He stumbled forward, each step feeling as heavy as a thousand catties.

He bent down, his trembling, withered hand reaching into the viscous pool of blood to grasp the "Xuanling Sword," which had once carried infinite expectations but was now soaked in the blood of his own flesh and blood.

The sword blade was ice-cold, the chill penetrating straight to the bone marrow.

He lifted the sword with difficulty, the tip dragging on the ground and leaving a glaring trail of blood.

Through blurred, teary eyes, he looked at Yang Kun, who was writhing on the ground like a maggot, dragging viscera and bloodstains across the floor. His voice was broken and hoarse:

"This sword... was a gift your parents prepared with everything we had for your Foundation Establishment..."

"Today... let it... send you, this unfilial son... on your final journey..."

As he spoke, tears streamed down his face. Dragging the sword, he moved toward Yang Kun, one step at a time.

Seeing this, Yang Kun was completely overwhelmed by fear.

His face was as pale as a ghost. Ignoring the agonizing pain of his torn abdomen and spilling intestines, he used his remaining arm and legs to desperately crawl backward, carving a shocking trail of blood across the cold floor.

"Dad... Dad! Spare me... please spare me! I was wrong... I truly know I was wrong!"

His voice was hoarse and trembling, snot and tears streaming down his face as he begged incoherently.

"I am your son... you raised me... Dad! I beg you..."

If he hadn't been a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with a Physique far surpassing that of a Mortal, he would have already perished.

But this tenacious vitality now only served as a torture to prolong his suffering.

The old man walked up to him and stopped. His withered hand was still shaking, yet it was exceptionally steady, gripping the hilt of the sword tightly.

He lowered his head, looking at the "son" beneath his feet—once treated as a precious treasure, now unrecognizable. He choked out, word by word, as if he wanted to vomit up all the accumulated blood and tears:

"Kun'er... Since I found you wandering the streets at six years old... I took you in... and treated you as my own..."

"Your mother and I... gave you all our hopes, all our resources... only wishing for you to succeed... and bring honor to our family..." His voice trembled so much it was barely coherent.

"But you... why couldn't you tolerate your older brother?"

"He couldn't cultivate... he was just a Mortal... how did he get in your way?!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Kun seemed to have a crazy nerve touched. He stopped begging and suddenly raised his head, his eyes erupting with twisted resentment and unwillingness as he roared:

"Couldn't tolerate him?!"

"Hahaha..."

"In his eyes, when has he ever treated me as a brother?"

"He looked down on me since we were young!"

"Just because I was a stray you picked up!"

"He, a Mortal like an ant, dared to put on airs as an older brother in front of me?"

"When you weren't around, he mocked me and spoke to me with venomous words!"

"Did he think I wouldn't dare touch him?"

"He was asking for death!"

"He deserved it! Who can he blame?!"

The more Yang Kun spoke, the angrier he became, as if the current outcome was all his older brother's fault.

"Shut up—!!!" The old man let out a heart-wrenching roar, as if weeping blood, cutting off Yang Kun's frantic venting.

The accumulated grief, disappointment, and anger exploded in that single roar.

As his words fell—

He closed his eyes and swung his arm.

The sword light flashed.

Squelch!

The sharp blade sliced across Yang Kun's throat.

Yang Kun stiffened. In his wide-open eyes, endless regret, unwillingness, and an indescribable, almost mocking, cold smile surged for the last time.

Then, his head slumped to the side, and his breath ceased completely.

The old man seemed to have had all his strength drained. His hand loosened, and with a "clang," the spirit sword fell to the ground again.

Everything returned to silence.

Only the lingering fragrance of the imperial lotus fruit and the intense scent of blood intertwined and permeated the air in silence.

Especially the guard who had gone to call Yang Kun; his eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets, his mind buzzing, completely unable to make sense of the situation—

He never imagined that simply delivering a message would lead to such a bloody scene.

Now, Venerable Zhiyuan would definitely not spare him. Only one thought remained in his mind—run!

After a brief silence, an irrepressible uproar suddenly erupted all around.

"To dare kill someone in front of the Imperial Law Enforcement Agency... This, this is openly making an enemy of the Immortal Dynasty!"

"The Imperial Law Enforcement Agency is usually so overbearing; today they finally kicked an iron plate. How satisfying!"

"Satisfying as it may be, the Imperial Law Enforcement Agency likely won't let this go."

Beside them, Sixteenth Princess Ji Fu clutched tightly onto Twelfth Prince Ji Changchu's sleeve, her voice trembling: "Brother... we aren't dreaming, right? Is there really someone... who dares to kill someone at the Imperial Law Enforcement Agency?"

Twelfth Prince Ji Changchu took a deep breath, suppressing the palpitations in his heart, licked his dry lips, and whispered: "He's finished... he's finished... he's finished."

At this moment, the same thought swirled in the minds of all the onlookers—you are undoubtedly doomed to die.

Meanwhile, the commotion here had long since alerted those in all directions.

More and more people arrived one after another upon hearing the news, surrounding the place until it was packed tight.

Within the crowd, Prince Ji Kang, Ji Yao, Jiang Hao, and others appeared, having rushed over upon hearing the news.

Prince Ji Kang looked puzzled: "Usually, Brother Qin is very low-key. Why is he so abnormal today?"

"It is said... it was for a transaction involving a spirit fruit." Someone nearby replied.

"A spirit fruit? What kind of spirit fruit?" Prince Ji Kang asked, leaning toward the person.

"It seems he used an imperial lotus fruit to buy the life of someone from the Imperial Law Enforcement Agency," someone said.

"How is that possible? A mere imperial lotus fruit is not that precious of an item," Jiang Hao interjected from the side.

Hearing this, Ji Yao smiled indifferently: "Heh, I've long disliked him. He usually acts like some great Senior, and now I want to see how he cleans up this mess."

In the eyes of many, there are too many injustices in the world, so they did not believe you would offend the Imperial Law Enforcement Agency, or even the Tianyu Immortal Dynasty, for the sake of an imperial lotus fruit.

There must be a deeper meaning behind this.