Kill
"You bunch of greenhorns?" Wen Zhuliu's eyes were filled with disdain, but before he finished speaking, his figure had already moved like a ghost! He knew that he had to save Wen Chao first, or... create enough chaos!
His target was not Xie Linyang, but Nie Huaisang, who was closest to Wen Chao!
Nie Huaisang was terrified and crouched down, covering his head: "Don't kill me! I didn't see anything!"
Jiang Cheng roared, gathering spiritual energy in his fists and lunging straight for Wen Zhuliu's back! He had anticipated Wen Zhuliu's intention to create chaos, but he hadn't anticipated the shadowy figure lurking in the shadows—
Su She!
Just as Jiang Cheng was about to catch up with Wen Zhuliu, Su She suddenly darted out from behind the rock, a sharp stone shard appearing in his hand, which he viciously stabbed at Jiang Cheng's side!
"Despicable!" Wei Wuxian reacted swiftly, grabbing a handful of pebbles and throwing them at Su She's face. Su She was forced to retreat, the pebbles grazing Jiang Cheng's purple robe, leaving a bloody mark.
"Thanks!" Jiang Cheng didn't even turn his head, his fist already reaching Wen Zhuliu's vest!
Wen Zhuliu turned around and struck Jiang Cheng's fist and palm together. With a "bang," Jiang Cheng was forced back three steps, his tiger's mouth split open. Wen Zhuliu also groaned and staggered, crashing into Xuanwu's corpse. His left leg injury had indeed affected his power!
"Now!" Xie Linyang shouted, pushing Wen Chao toward Lan Wangji. "Keep an eye on him!" He then charged toward Wen Zhuliu with his staff.
The "Blazing Radiance" shone brightly with golden light, and its vital energy surged forth like a tide. Xie Linyang's staff technique was cunning, specifically targeting Wen Zhuliu's injured left leg and the area in his left hand where his old strength had not yet been restored. Although Wen Zhuliu's Core Formation Hand was powerful, it was restrained by the supreme vital energy. Every time his palm strike collided with the "Blazing Radiance," it felt as if it had been branded with a hot iron, emitting white smoke.
"Jiang Cheng!" Xie Linyang shouted sternly.
Jiang Cheng understood, and despite the excruciating pain in his tiger's mouth, he circled around to Wen Zhuliu's left side and unleashed a barrage of punches at his injured left leg!
Wei Wuxian grinned, grabbed a scale from the Xuanwu, infused it with spiritual power, and flung it at Wen Zhuliu's face: "Wen Zhuliu, taste the Xuanwu's 'dandruff'!"
Seeing Wen Chao struggling in Lan Wangji's hands, Jin Zixuan walked over and shoved Wen Chao hard against a nearby boulder, knocking him unconscious. When they met Lan Wangji's gaze, the two joined the battle.
Wen Zhuliu was forced to retreat repeatedly by the group. The injury to his left leg made his movements sluggish, and the numbness in his left hand weakened his palm strike. He looked at the increasingly intense golden light at the tip of Xie Linyang's staff, and a trace of despair flashed in his eyes. He knew that if this dragged on any longer, he would surely be defeated.
"Since you're courting death, then we'll all be buried with you!" Wen Zhuliu suddenly roared, no longer defending himself, letting Jiang Cheng's fist smash into his right shoulder. At the same time, he gathered his remaining spiritual power and unleashed the most insidious killing move of the Core Formation Hand, "Heart-Eating Palm," carrying death energy capable of corroding through the dantian, straight towards Xie Linyang!
That palm strike was too fast; it was so fast that even Wei Wuxian's shattered stones couldn't catch up with it!
"Thank you, Lin Yang!" Jiang Cheng's eyes were bloodshot. Without thinking, he rushed forward and used his back to block the palm strike!
"Master!" Meng Yao rushed out, holding a sword belonging to a Wen clan cultivator, and thrust it towards Wen Zhuliu's ribs.
However, even faster than them was the figure in white.
Lan Wangji had appeared before Xie Linyang without anyone noticing. He didn't form any hand seals, but instead concentrated all his spiritual power in his palms, which glowed with an icy blue light—the ultimate defensive technique of "String Killing Technique," using his own spiritual power as a string to withstand the attack!
"boom!"
When the Heart-Eating Palm struck the icy blue spiritual energy, Lan Wangji's white robes fluttered violently. He groaned, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he stared intently at Wen Zhuliu, his eyes icy cold.
Wen Zhuliu was stunned by Lan Wangji's fierceness, and his palm strike faltered—now is the time!
A glint flashed in Xie Linyang's eyes, and "Zhuoyao" suddenly left her hand, transforming into a golden rainbow that pierced straight into Wen Zhuliu's dantian! At the same time, she retreated rapidly, took out three silver needles from her sleeve, infused them with yang energy, and shot them toward Wen Zhuliu's knee, tanzhong, and baihui acupoints!
"Jiang Cheng! Finish him off!"
Jiang Cheng's fist arrived, smashing fiercely towards Wen Zhuliu's heart!
Wei Wuxian somehow produced the dagger that Wen Chao had dropped. With the infusion of spiritual power, the dagger glowed green and stabbed straight at Wen Zhuliu's throat!
Meng Yao's sword arrived, piercing Wen Zhuliu's old wound in the ribs!
Jin Zixuan also made a move and delivered a blow!
Several attacks arrived simultaneously!
Wen Zhuliu had no way to avoid it and could only watch helplessly as the "Blazing Radiance" golden rainbow pierced through his dantian, and the Yang energy burned his meridians like a raging fire.
"puff--"
Blood splattered onto the Xuanwu's scales, and Wen Zhuliu's body slowly slumped down. His last look at Xie Linyang held no hatred, only disbelief.
He couldn't remember how many golden cores his hands had consumed. He never expected that in the end, his golden cores would be destroyed by someone else, and he would lose to a group of "young brats" he had mentioned.
"Thump."
The body fell to the ground, stirring up a pool of blood.
The cave was so quiet you could only gasp for breath. Jiang Cheng leaned against the stone wall, blood dripping from his tiger's mouth onto the ground, mingling with Wen Zhuliu's blood. Wei Wuxian slumped on the Xuanwu corpse, the dagger still embedded in Wen Zhuliu's throat. Lan Wangji stood pale-faced to one side, while Meng Yao stood in the shadows, wiping blood from her sword, a cold smile playing on her lips.
Xie Lin Yang picked up "Blazing Radiance," the golden light at the tip of the staff had already weakened. She walked to Lan Wangji's side, took out a porcelain bottle from her sleeve, and poured out a pill: "Eat it."
She knew that Lan Wangji's heart meridian had been damaged by that attack, and he was just putting on a brave face.
Lan Wangji accepted the medicine and thanked him.
Xie Linyang turned to look at the unconscious Wen Chao. Jiang Cheng walked over, kicked Wen Chao in the stomach, and said viciously, "Kill him."
He always remembered that Xie Linyang's injury in the maze was inextricably linked to him.
Wen Zhuliu's body was still warm, and the cave was filled with the heavy stench of blood and the gasps of survivors. However, when Jiang Cheng's words, "Kill him," struck the ground like ice, the brief silence was instantly shattered.
"No!" A trembling voice rang out. It belonged to a member of a small family, his face deathly pale. "If we kill Wen Chao, Wen Ruohan will never let us go! We...we will all die!"
"Yes! The Wen family is powerful; how can we resist them?"
"How about...how about taking him hostage..."
"Miss Xie, Young Master Jiang, please reconsider!"
Fear spread like a plague among the surviving disciples of the immortal sects. They looked at Wen Chao lying on the ground, and then at Xie Linyang, Jiang Cheng, and the others who had just joined forces to kill Wen Zhuliu and were now covered in blood and still breathing heavily. Their eyes were filled with complex emotions.
There was gratitude, there was awe, but more than anything, there was an indescribable apprehension. Especially towards Xie Linyang, the strength, wisdom, and the coldness in her eyes that she had just displayed made them uneasy.
Just then, a commotion arose in the crowd, and two cultivators dragged a disheveled figure out and slammed her to the ground—it was Wang Lingjiao. Her hair was disheveled, her hairpin had fallen to the ground and broken in two, and her face was covered in mud and blood. Where was the arrogance she had shown before?
"Fairy...Fairy, spare me! Gentlemen, spare me!" Wang Lingjiao was terrified, her face pale and tears streaming down her face. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. "I was forced! It was all Wen Chao's fault! He forced me to do this! How could I dare to disobey the young master of the Wen family!" She cried and tried desperately to clear her name, but her eyes were filled with fear as she glanced at the reactions of the crowd.
Xie Linyang gave her a cold glance, a look that made Wang Lingjiao feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
She turned to the crowd, her voice not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying an undeniable power:
"Let him go?" A mocking smile played on her lips. "And then what? When he returns to Qishan, will he bring Wen Ruohan and even more of the Wen clan's lackeys to slaughter us, our entire family, one by one? Just like they did to the Gusu Lan clan!"
If it weren't for her intervention, the Gusu Lan Clan would have suffered the same fate as in the original story: most of Gusu would have been burned down, the clan leader would have died, Lan Xichen would have been seriously injured and forced to flee, and Lan Wangji would have broken his zither and leg.
Her words struck like a heavy hammer against everyone's hearts. The humiliating image of the various sects of the Immortal Clan in the Shadow Grass enduring humiliation and establishing the Supervisory Bureau flashed through her mind.
"Are you still fantasizing that the Wen family will let you go? Are you still hoping that someone else will step forward so you can reap the benefits?" Xie Linyang's voice suddenly rose, filled with a sharp anger at their incompetence. "Look at the Wen family corpses at your feet! Look at Wen Chao, who is unconscious over there! From the moment we stepped into this cave, from the moment we were forced to surrender our swords, we had no way out!"
The "Radiant Blaze" in her hand seemed to sense her emotions, and the runes on the staff lit up again with a faint light, which, though not dazzling, carried an invisible sense of oppression.
"Today, I, Xie Lin Yang, am making my words clear!" Her gaze was like lightning, sweeping over every bewildered and uneasy face present. "Wen Chao must die! Not only must he die, but he must die at the hands of each and every one of you!"
These words shocked the entire audience!
"What?!"
"This...this is impossible!"
“Miss Xie, are you trying to force us into a life-or-death feud with the Wen family?” A straightforward disciple couldn’t help but retort.
"A fight to the death?" Xie Linyang stepped forward, his blazing light pointing directly at the man. Though he didn't attack, his imposing aura caused the other to instinctively take a half-step back. "Is there any room for compromise now? If Wen Chao doesn't die, we'll die if we go out! If Wen Chao dies, we might have a sliver of hope! Are you willing to cower like turtles, waiting for the Wen family to come knocking on your door and wipe you out, or are you willing to fight to the death, to fight for yourselves, for your families, for a future?!"
Her voice was firm and resounding: "Today, anyone who doesn't take action is harboring wishful thinking, someone who wants to wait until we fight the Wen family to the death before groveling before them! Such people are not worthy of being with us, much less worthy of leaving this cave!"
"Well said!" Jiang Cheng was the first to stand up, his eyes fierce. "I've wanted to kill this bastard for a long time!"
Holding the short blade he had just used, he stepped forward without hesitation and slashed Wen Chao's thigh hard!
"Ah—!" The excruciating pain instantly brought Wen Chao back to his senses, and he let out a shrill scream.
"Oh, you're awake?" Wei Wuxian chuckled as he walked over, picked up a piece of Xuanwu scale armor, infused it with spiritual energy, and smashed it into Wen Chao's arm. With a crisp "crack," the bone broke. "Young Master Wen, how does that feel?"
"Wei Wuxian!" Wen Chao squeezed out the three words through gritted teeth in pain.
Before he could finish speaking, Jin Zixuan struck Wen Chao hard on the shoulder with the hilt of his sword.
"You! How dare you—!!!" Wen Chao was in so much pain that he almost fainted.
Lan Wangji felt that this method was too contrary to the Lan Clan's precepts, but he was also well aware of the harm caused by the Wen Clan, and understood that Xie Linyang's move was intended to force everyone to completely sever ties with the Wen Clan and form an alliance. He remained silent for a moment, then stabbed Wen Chao with his sword.
Meng Yao was the last one to step forward.
He stood in the shadows, his usual gentle smile long gone, his lips pressed into a straight line, like a bowstring stretched to its limit. The hand holding the sword was hidden in his sleeve, his knuckles white. The sword had been retrieved from the corpse of a Wen clan cultivator, its blade still stained with someone else's blood, yet it was now warm in his grasp.
Meng Yao only moved when Wen Chao's screams turned from angry curses into muffled pleas for mercy.
He walked slowly, each step feeling like he was stepping on a knife's edge. As he passed Lan Wangji, the other's cold gaze swept over him, and he instinctively wanted to smile, but only a cold arc appeared on his lips. When he reached Wen Chao, he squatted down, looking directly at the "young master" who had once trampled him underfoot.
Wen Chao convulsed in pain, but upon seeing it was him, a trace of contempt remained. He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "It's you... that lowly... son of a prostitute..."
"Smack!"
Suddenly, Meng Yao raised his hand and slammed the hilt of his sword into Wen Chao's face. Wen Chao's head snapped to the side, blood seeping from his gums. He stared at him in disbelief. How dare this "Meng Yao," who was usually afraid of offending people even by raising his voice, hit him?
Meng Yao didn't speak, but slowly raised her sword.
"Pfft—"
Without warning, the sword pierced Wen Chao's heart, not deep, but precisely severing a tendon. Wen Chao let out a pig-like scream, the excruciating pain causing his body to arch like a boiled shrimp.
Meng Yao's eyes remained unchanged, only her hand gripping the sword hilt trembled slightly.
He was very excited. He leaned close to Wen Chao's ear and whispered in a low, breathy voice, but every word was venomous: "Young Master Wen, this knife is yours."
Wen Chao was in so much pain that his vision blurred. He wanted to say something, but could only cough up blood.
Meng Yao abruptly drew her sword, spraying a cloud of blood that splattered onto his face. He didn't wipe it away; instead, he smiled—a cold and twisted smile, completely different from his usual gentle demeanor.
The second strike landed directly on Wen Chao's wrist! It wasn't a stab, it was a cleave! The blade nearly severed his wrist, and the sound of bones cracking mingled with Wen Chao's screams echoed through the cave.
Wen Chao's wrist fell limply, blood gushing out like a fountain. He was finally terrified, tears mingling with blood as he mumbled, "Spare...spare me...Meng Yao...I was wrong..."
Meng Yao laughed, but his laughter was even colder. He slowly raised his sword, the tip aimed at Wen Chao's dantian, the source of a cultivator's spiritual power, which was more deadly than the heart.
He whispered in my ear, "The last sword strike was to avenge Master."
The third strike, with the force of thunder, pierced deeply into Wen Chao's dantian! His source of spiritual power was completely destroyed, and even screaming became a luxury.
Meng Yao tossed aside his sword and turned to walk into the shadows. As he passed Xie Linyang, the other glanced at him, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Meng Yao lowered his head, a gentle smile returning to his lips, as if the sinister and ruthless person from just moments before was not him.
But only he knew that when he stabbed himself three times, the fire that had been suppressed in his heart for so long finally ignited. It burned away the gentle mask, revealing the hideous bones beneath.
With these individuals taking the lead, and coupled with Xie Linyang's subtle threat of "Blazing Radiance," the other disciples of the immortal sects, despite their reluctance and fear, had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward one after another.
Some blindfolded and slashed haphazardly, some trembled as they stabbed once and then withdrew their hands, and some, filled with resentment, delivered the final blow... Wen Chao's screams, initially filled with angry curses: "How dare you! My father will not let you get away with this! Xie Linyang, you bastard!", gradually turned into a pitiful pleas for mercy: "Spare me! Please! I'll have my father grant you wealth and honor!"
Ultimately, under countless traumas, some deep, some shallow, some forced, his voice grew weaker and weaker, his body was covered in blood and gore, and he breathed his last in extreme pain.
The cave was deathly silent, save for the heavy, nauseating stench of blood and the labored, suppressed breathing of everyone. Everyone had Wen Chao's blood on their hands; there was no way to sever their connection.
Xie Linyan stared at Wen Chao's mangled corpse, her eyes devoid of any emotion. She then turned to Wang Lingjiao, who lay limp on the ground, nearly incontinent with fear.
“You,” Xie Linyang’s voice was as cold as a spring, “go back to Nevernight and tell Wen Ruohan.”
Wang Lingjiao suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with disbelief and a sliver of hope.
“Tell him,” Xie Lin Yang said, each word clear and distinct, “that his son, Wen Chao, was arrogant and domineering, and attempted to harm the disciples of the immortal sects. He has been killed by all the disciples of the immortal sects present here!”
Her gaze swept over everyone present, their faces pale and their minds reeling. Her voice echoed throughout the cave: "The various sects of the immortal realm have endured this humiliation for far too long! Today, we will offer Wen Chao's blood as a sacrifice! If the Wen clan continues to defy the world and insists on being enemies of all, then we will unite with all those of like mind to jointly punish them! We will fight to the death!"
Wang Lingjiao scrambled and crawled, almost using both hands and feet, toward the cave entrance blocked by rubble, as if a demon were chasing her.
Xie Linyang watched her fleeing figure in a disheveled state, knowing that the news would soon reach Wen Ruohan's ears. She had successfully used the most extreme methods to force all the disciples of the immortal sects in the cave onto the same ship as the Wen family, opposing them.
The group broke open the cave, and outside, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Jiang Cheng walked to Xie Lin Yang's side, looked at her blood-stained hands, and whispered, "So... they really will join forces?"
“They have no choice but to join forces.” Xie Linyang gripped “Zhuoyao” tightly, the golden light at the tip of the staff reflecting the determination in her eyes. “Wen Chao’s blood has already written their names on the Wen family’s death list.”
Wei Wuxian patted Jiang Cheng on the shoulder, laughing wildly: "What's there to be afraid of? Anyway, we've been at odds with the Wen clan for ages!"
Jin Zixuan looked at the cave behind him, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Jinlintai... will send people to provide support."
Lan Wangji walked up to Xie Linyang, handed him a clean handkerchief, and said in a clear voice with a hint of gentleness that was barely perceptible: "It's time for this battle to begin."
"My God! Things have really changed! I need to hurry back and tell my older brother to make preparations." Nie Huaisang's pale face never turned red.
A storm sweeping through the immortal sects has quietly begun in this bloody cave.
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