120: Chapter 120 Who Gave You the Courage?

Cold, overbearing pressure descended suddenly, shrouding the entire Qingxiao Mountain defensive line.

The air stagnated, spiritual power froze. Every Cultivator's heart was gripped by an invisible giant hand, their Souls filled with nothing but fear and submission; even the surging Erosion Tide paused for a moment.

Sima Fengyun appeared silently in mid-air, scanning the trembling Cultivators below, his voice filled with naked killing intent.

"Where is True Venerable Yueying?"

Dead silence blanketed the peak. No one dared to answer.

Jing Hong and the others felt their hearts sink to the bottom of a valley; first the Erosion Tide, then the Cangmu Sect seeking revenge—it was like adding frost to snow. But the problem was—at the Wending Assembly, they hadn't seen the envoy from the Yuan Shang Kingdom at all!

"Reporting to True Venerable, your Sect's True Lord Yuantong did not appear at the Wending Assembly."

Sima Fengyun squinted sideways.

"Are you trying to say that my Junior Brother Yuantong's death has nothing to do with your Qing State?"

Jing Hong braced himself. "Exactly! We have never seen True Lord Yuantong."

The others echoed, speaking in unison.

"We truly have not seen your Sect's True Lord Yuantong."

Sima Fengyun narrowed his eyes.

"You dare to stop calling us the Upper Sect?"

Under the invisible pressure, Jing Hong broke out in a cold sweat but remained standing straight.

"According to the Nine Cauldrons Alliance, when a Level 4 Cultivation State produces a Soul Transformation Cultivator, previous subordinate relationships are automatically dissolved."

"Heh! You have guts—"

Sima Fengyun sneered.

"Then if I kill that bullshit True Venerable Yueying of yours, won't your Qing State be left without a Soul Transformation Cultivator?"

"True Venerable, you—"

Jing Hong was shocked; this was indeed a method often used by superior Cultivation States.

Sima Fengyun's smile faded. "My Junior Brother Yuantong was gifted; how could he be compared to you Nascent Soul Cultivators from this wasteland? It must be that shameless old Soul Transformation fossil from your Qing State who made a move!"

"Do you think relying on the Nine Cauldrons Alliance will save you? In that case, don't blame my Cangmu Kingdom for starting a national war! If you don't want to be a subordinate, then don't be one!"

"Now, let's start by killing you high-level Sect members!"

A cold light flashed in Sima Fengyun's eyes, and he was about to strike!

"True Venerable! I know! I know where True Venerable Yueying is!"

A voice, shrill and distorted by terror, rang out. It was Huang Sha Hai, the Sect Master of the Huangtu Sect, who stood out. He was almost prostrate on the ground, kowtowing desperately to Sima Fengyun in the air:

"True Venerable, spare my life! True Venerable, spare me! I know, True Venerable Yueying's Sect is called the Moonshadow Sect! It is about eight thousand li to the southeast of here!"

"Liuyun Temple already sent a message to him for help; he, he must be on his way to Qingxiao Mountain right now! I beg the True Venerable to see the truth and spare my Huangtu Sect! My Huangtu Sect is willing to continue as a subordinate Sect of the Cangmu Kingdom!"

"Huang Sha Hai! You!"

"Shameless villain! A disgrace to the Qing State!"

"Greedy for life and afraid of death, you will die a terrible death!"

Jing Hong, the Golden Sword Gate Sect Leader, Sect Master Yongyue, and others were furious, their angry shouts almost breaking through the gloomy clouds of erosion qi.

A playful, cat-and-mouse smile appeared on Sima Fengyun's face. "Oh? Eight thousand li to the southeast? Very good..." He shifted his body, about to leave.

Seeing this, Huang Sha Hai was terrified to the point of his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering! If Sima Fengyun left and abandoned him here...

"True Venerable, wait! True Venerable, please stay!" Huang Sha Hai crawled forward a few steps.

"True Venerable! Since that True Venerable Yueying came to protect this place, he will definitely descend upon Qingxiao Mountain! With your invincible Divine Ability, why bother with the trouble? Wouldn't it be better to wait here and set a trap? You will surely be able to capture and kill him in one fell swoop!"

He spoke rapidly, fearing that if he were a second late, Sima Fengyun would disappear.

Sima Fengyun's movements paused slightly.

Huang Sha Hai was overjoyed. His eyes scanned quickly and suddenly locked onto a female Cultivator beside Jing Hong. She was wearing a cyan and red dress, stained and torn, with an injured arm, but it could not hide her clear, beautiful face and the stubbornness in her brows. Her Golden Core aura was surging.

Liu Sisi had also successfully made a Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage and had previously assisted her Revered Master in slaying a Tier 3 Erosion Beast.

"True Venerable, please look at this woman!"

Huang Sha Hai pointed fawningly at Liu Sisi, his face full of obsequiousness.

"Outstanding talent, peerless beauty! It must be lonely waiting, True Venerable; why not let her come closer to serve you and relieve your boredom?"

Sima Fengyun's gaze was instantly and firmly drawn to Liu Sisi. That clear, cold face with its stubbornness, that surging Golden Core aura—all of it made his eyes reveal undisguised appreciation and thick possessiveness.

"Oh? A tiny Qing State, and it has such a stunning woman?"

His voice carried a deliberately slowed-down "gentleness," but the coldness and overbearing nature deep in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

"This Sovereign is Sima Fengyun. Little girl, your talent is good; it is buried in this backwater. Come here, come to my side. This Sovereign can take you away from this filthy, dead land and bestow upon you supreme Opportunity and glory. Following me is your only path to life and fortune."

He reached out his hand with a condescending posture. He liked this feeling of "voluntary submission."

Liu Sisi bit her lower lip hard, her face as pale as snow, her body trembling slightly from anger and fear.

This was no supreme Opportunity; it was clearly an abyss!

She looked at Huang Sha Hai, who was fawning like a pug, and then at the figure in the air radiating terrifying pressure. She stood firmly on the spot, not moving an inch.

The "gentleness" on Sima Fengyun's face instantly vanished. "What? You are unwilling?"

His gaze turned cold, scanning the entire scene. The invisible pressure increased several times over. "This Sovereign never likes to force others... You must understand, your 'voluntary' act can save many lives. For example..."

Sima Fengyun's gaze swept pointedly over Jing Hong and the others. Under his gaze, the pressure increased, and everyone except Liu Sisi knelt down.

Huang Sha Hai and the other small Sect Masters immediately urged her.

"It is her honor to serve the True Venerable!"

"If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"

Amidst the urging, Liu Sisi's delicate body trembled violently, her fingernails digging deep into her palms, blood seeping out. She looked at the familiar and desperate faces, looked at the surging Erosion Tide in the distance, and a huge sense of humiliation and powerlessness almost drowned her.

A peerless figure suddenly flashed through her mind.

Strength, it's still that my strength is not enough. If only I could possess the strength of True Venerable Yueying.

Liu Sisi closed her eyes and slowly lifted a foot, about to take that humiliating step toward Sima Fengyun.

"Sisi! Don't!"

"Little Liu! Stop!" Jing Hong, the Golden Sword Gate Sect Leader, and others roared urgently.

"Sisi! You must not!"

An urgent voice came.

Liu Sisi turned to look; it was her Revered Master, Immortal Master Yunshui, who had raised her like a mother and taught her how to cultivate! Blood from suppressing the erosion qi still lingered at the corner of her mouth.

"Don't believe him! True Venerable Yueying will be here soon! Hold on! Even if it means death, you must never..."

"Noisy!"

A trace of impatience, viciousness, and annoyance at being defied flashed in Sima Fengyun's eyes. He casually flicked his sleeve through the air!

An unrivaled, massive force slammed into Immortal Master Yunshui!

The overwhelming, destructive power descended instantly. Immortal Master Yunshui's entire body exploded, turning into a mist of blood drifting across the sky, her Divine Soul destroyed!

"Mas—ter—!!!"

Liu Sisi's eyes instantly turned blood-red! A shrill scream pierced the sky.

The foot she had just lifted stopped abruptly. All humiliation and fear were replaced by boundless grief and crazy killing intent!

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

Liu Sisi acted like a madwoman. Her Golden Core spun frantically, summoning a spiritual sword. Every ounce of her spiritual power burned without reservation, turning into a resolute cyan and red light that charged recklessly toward Sima Fengyun in the air!

"Hmph! Unappreciative! Boring!"

Sima Fengyun ignored Liu Sisi's attack. He raised his palm coldly, his gaze sweeping over the ants below.

"Enough, you all shall be annihilated along with this place!"

Under the Soul Transformation pressure, Jing Hong and the others couldn't even raise a thought of resistance.

"True Venerable, True Venerable! We are on your side, we're on your si..."

"True Venerable, spare us!"

Huang Sha Hai and the other small Sect Masters behind him were completely dumbfounded, collapsing on the ground like mud.

They had begged for mercy, pinning all their hopes on Sima Fengyun, only for the other party to turn heartless and discard them after use! They were truly dead now!

A calm voice suddenly rang out between heaven and earth.

"Acting so arrogantly in the Qing State... who gave you the courage?"

"Liang Jingru?"

Liang Jingru? Who is that?

Is it some great power at the level of a True Venerable?