Chapter 824: Slaughter Completely

“I have fulfilled my duty, Master!”

The Purple Lightning Sword, after beheading Patriarch Golden Wind, sent a telepathic message to Chen Mobai, feeling a little apprehensive. However, Chen Mobai did not respond.

As the Purple Lightning Sword felt a pang of fear, Chen Mobai, controlling the Grand Unity Five-Smoke Veil, formed a cloud hand to retrieve the storage bag and the large golden banner from Patriarch Golden Wind’s corpse. Then, the Haotian Mirror flew over, and a large burst of Great Sun Pure Yang Flame cascaded down, enveloping Patriarch Golden Wind’s decapitated body and his unseeing head.

Upon witnessing this, Zhou Shengqing’s expression relaxed. He had been about to do the same, as there were indeed some strange demonic secret arts in the Heavenly River Realm that could bring the dead back to life. After cremation, at the very least, the Art of Corpse Dissolution would be impossible.

The Great Sun Pure Yang Flame blazed fiercely, yet faint golden patterns flickered on Patriarch Golden Wind’s corpse, resisting its reduction to ashes.

“This fellow’s Profound Gold Dharma Body is quite something. Let me lend you a hand, Junior Brother,” he offered.

Zhou Shengqing, eager to utterly annihilate his opponent, immediately channeled his Longevity True Qi, directing it onto the Great Sun Pure Yang Flame. Instantly, the flames intensified, and the golden patterns on the corpse began to dim, one by one.

After a long moment, Patriarch Golden Wind’s Profound Gold Dharma Body began to crack, eventually shattering into countless fragments with a loud bang. Golden flames rose, turning everything into ashes that dispersed into the sky.

Zhou Shengqing, having completed this task, wore an expression of satisfaction. “Junior Brother, with Patriarch Golden Wind’s death, the Mysterious Pride Dao Palace is effectively open to us,” he said.

Chen Mobai nodded in agreement, understanding the implication of his words. “Please, Senior Brother, lead the Wood Vein’s cultivator army to Dongyi first to secure the situation, to prevent the most valuable spoils from being seized by the local Dongyi inhabitants.”

“Then I’ll trouble you, Junior Brother, to remain here and clean up the aftermath.”

Zhou Shengqing immediately tallied the two thousand Five Elements Sect cultivators waiting below. These were the very ones who had formed the Jia-Wood Dao Soldiers, representing the direct lineage of their Wood Vein. With his Nascent Soul cultivation and the Jia-Wood Dao Soldiers, suppressing the Mysterious Pride Dao Palace — now devoid of high-level cultivators — was akin to using a butcher’s cleaver to slay a chicken.

Meanwhile, not far off, Mo Douguang’s Longevity Sword streaked across the sky like a golden meteor, moving with such speed that True Master Xuanguang could barely track its trajectory. As the sect master of the Mysterious Pride Dao Palace, True Master Xuanguang was also a late-stage Core Formation cultivator. Although he knew he was outmatched, his fighting spirit remained undiminished. He channeled his spiritual energy with all his might, activating a golden bell that manifested as layers of golden light shields, attempting to fend off Mo Douguang’s fierce onslaught.

Their exchange resembled lightning and thunder, each clash causing the surrounding spiritual energy to ripple intensely. Mo Douguang’s sword techniques were unparalleled in their sharpness, each strike imbued with the power to tear through space. True Master Xuanguang, in turn, resisted with a rock-solid defense and profound spiritual energy.

However, as time wore on, True Master Xuanguang’s slight disadvantage in cultivation became evident, and cracks gradually appeared in the golden bell’s defensive light shield. Yet, this vulnerability appeared only for an instant before vanishing. Were it any other opponent, even if they had spotted it, they wouldn’t have been able to capitalize on it. But Mo Douguang’s eyes glinted, and he immediately seized the opportunity when it reappeared. Unleashing the swiftness of the Sword Fiend Thunder Sound, his Longevity Sword instantly pierced through.

True Master Xuanguang felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder; his arm, along with the golden bell he was grasping, was instantly severed. Immediately afterward, Mo Douguang unleashed a barrage of sword strikes, descending upon True Master Xuanguang like a tempest. Ultimately, with a pained cry, True Master Xuanguang was dismembered by the Longevity Sword, his body falling apart from mid-air, unequivocally dead.

Concurrently, Zhou Ye’s battle with Xuanyi was also drawing to a close. Xuanyi was also a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, and possessing a Fourth-Tier Dharma Robe as her Natal Artifact, she managed to hold on longer than True Master Xuanguang. Of course, this was also largely due to Zhou Ye not going all out. Being a cautious individual, he primarily used his main cultivation, the Wu-Earth True Law, to probe her after engagement. Even so, the heavy hammer artifact he wielded seemed to contain the power to shatter mountains and cleave stones with every strike, causing the void to tremble.

Even True Master Xuanyi, despite her confidence in her Natal Artifact, primarily focused on evasion when confronted with such might. She seemed to have cultivated the Golden Light Escape Technique to its grand mastery, exhibiting exceptional agility and consistently evading Zhou Ye’s heavy hammer. However, due to her inferior cultivation, the speed of her Golden Light Escape Technique began to wane as her spiritual energy diminished. Left with no choice, she could only use her Dharma Robe to directly withstand a hammer blow.

A muffled thud!

Had it not been for the truly extraordinary Fourth-Tier Dharma Robe, Xuanyi would have already fallen apart. Even so, she felt her qi and blood churning, and her body began to ache. At that moment, she witnessed True Master Xuanguang being dismembered by Mo Douguang, and her heart instantly turned to ice, prompting her to surrender.

“Senior Brother, the Mysterious Pride Dao Palace possesses thirty thousand mu of medicinal fields in Dongyi. If you spare my life, I am willing to return, disable the grand formation, and offer them all to you!”

Zhou Ye’s expression remained impassive upon hearing this, and he raised the heavy hammer artifact once more. The order from the two Nascent Soul cultivators of the Five Elements Sect was to annihilate the attacking cultivators from the Mysterious Pride Dao Palace. Zhou Ye was well aware of his role: simply execute the orders given. Even if securing this surrender meant great merit, he would forgo it. His priority was to follow the Sect Master Junior Brother’s instructions.

Seeing the heavy hammer once again descend upon her, Xuanyi gritted her teeth and could only continue to retreat and evade. Throughout the battle, Zhou Ye gradually gained the upper hand. Unleashing his Wu-Earth True Law, he once again forced his opponent into a position where she had no choice but to directly face his heavy hammer. True Master Xuanyi could only go all out, activating her Natal Artifact to counter.

But this time, as the heavy hammer descended, five-colored light flickered. This was Zhou Ye’s Primordial True Qi! The hammer struck True Master Xuanyi’s shoulder. The Primordial True Qi instantly pierced through the Dharma Robe’s defenses, invading her meridians, while the immense force slammed her heavily to the ground. True Master Xuanyi struggled, attempting to activate her spiritual energy to employ the Golden Light Escape Technique and change direction, but with the Primordial True Qi having entered her body, her spiritual energy went entirely out of control. With a resounding crash, she slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater. Fortunately, thanks to her Dharma Robe, her body remained largely intact.

However, Zhou Ye, his expression blank, once again activated his heavy hammer from mid-air, unleashing another blow upon her.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After a dozen consecutive hammer blows, Xuanyi was utterly reduced to a pulp.

“A decent artifact. I can take it back for Luzhu,” he mused.

Zhou Ye flew into the deep pit. After retrieving Xuanyi’s storage bag, he couldn’t help but smile slightly at the sight of the Dharma Robe, which, despite being covered in gore, remained completely undamaged after enduring his dozen-plus hammer blows. He then picked up the Dharma Robe, shook off all the adhering gore, and then conjured clear water to rinse it thoroughly several times before placing it into his storage bag.

In the Heavenly River Realm, it was customary for sect cultivators to claim an defeated opponent’s artifacts and storage bag as war spoils. It was precisely for this reason that many sect cultivators in the Heavenly River Realm, despite acknowledging the brutality of war, eagerly sought such conflicts as a means to further their own cultivation. They viewed war as a ladder for their advancement, as only during such conflicts could they accumulate more resources.

Elsewhere, Sheng Zhaoxi and Nujiang were engaged in battle with Xuanwo. Xuanwo’s strength was not to be underestimated, yet in a two-on-one scenario, they maintained firm control of the situation. However, during the engagement, Xuanwo suddenly pulled a Heaven Evasion Talisman from his sleeve. With a flash of talisman light, his figure instantly became ethereal. Sheng Zhaoxi and Nujiang were greatly alarmed and quickly exerted their full power to intercept, but they were unable to breach the Heaven Evasion Talisman’s defenses in such a short time. Xuanwo’s figure completely vanished within the talisman’s light, leaving behind only a wisp of his robes fluttering lightly, dispersing with the wind.

“He escaped!” Sheng Zhaoxi declared, his face grim.

Nujiang frowned slightly. Just as he was contemplating how to apologize to the Sect Master Junior Brother, a silver light illuminated the sky not far away. A moment later, a bloody light flared, and the recently vanished Xuanwo suddenly screamed as he tumbled out of the void. Sheng Zhaoxi and Nujiang were instantly overjoyed at the sight, and immediately maneuvered their artifacts to surround him. This time, they dared not be complacent and immediately unleashed their full power, swiftly slaying Xuanwo. However, this was primarily due to Xuanwo having been struck out of the void by Chen Mobai and already severely wounded.

At the outset of the battle, Chen Mobai had already expanded his domain to encompass the area. After all, the Mysterious Pride Dao Palace’s repeated use of Heaven Evasion Talismans for escape had left a deep impression on him. His domain could transform into a Grand Netherworld Array. Once activated, even if the Mysterious Pride Dao Palace members used Heaven Evasion Talismans, they would first have to escape his domain. As long as he detected them, he could, at any moment within his domain, strike the fleeing individual with a Void Blade. He had initially thought he was being overly cautious. Unexpectedly, it proved necessary in the end.

“Sect Master Junior Brother, please look at this!”

At this moment, the approaching Zhou Ye handed a jade scroll to Chen Mobai, which he had found in Xuanyi’s storage bag. Even if he had kept it hidden, Chen Mobai wouldn’t have known, but Zhou Ye understood he was currently under probation. Therefore, despite his shock after reading it, he still handed it over.

The jade scroll was a delicate emerald green, crafted from smooth, warm jade. It shimmered with a mysterious luster, resembling a tranquil spring pool. Chen Mobai took it, noting the jade scroll’s hard yet brittle texture. As he gently opened it, a crisp, melodious sound, like heavenly music, emanated from it. Each panel of the jade scroll was smooth as a mirror. The inscribed text consisted of incomprehensible golden runes, whose fluid, wave-like strokes exuded an elegant beauty. Though he couldn’t decipher the text, Chen Mobai sensed the otherworldly aura that emanated from the characters.

All textual classics of the Five Elements Sect had long been scanned and stored by Chen Mobai within the Heavenly Computing Pearl. He used the ‘Square Inch Book’ to search for keywords such as ‘jade scroll’ and ‘golden runes.’ He quickly found a potential match, and couldn’t help but be greatly surprised.

“This is... an Immortal Scripture Jade Slip!?”