Chapter 1099: Dark Night Red Butterfly

It was a dark and stormy night at the Soul Sect.

A chilling atmosphere permeated every corner under the night sky. Although it was already night, the Soul Sect was brightly lit. None of the disciples within the sect were asleep; each trembled with fear, as if confronting a formidable foe.

With Lei Qianfeng’s furious roars echoing throughout the sect, everyone knew that after thousands of disciples had been continuously killed, even Lei Guangmo, the sect master’s most beloved son, had died by Ling Yun's hand. Furthermore, the opponent could have killed him directly, but chose to inflict a deadly poison, making him die a slow, agonizing death right before Lei Qianfeng's eyes. The result was as desired: Lei Qianfeng was in agony, furious, and humiliated to the point of near madness.

All areas surrounding the Soul Sect were densely covered with ambush teams. All sixty-four halls had been dispatched. Such an exaggerated scale was used to wait for an elusive target, an undoubtedly irrational strategy, but with the sect master in a rage, who dared to contradict him?

On the outskirts of the Soul Sect, four disciples guarding a side gate stood rigidly, not daring to show any slackness. At the same moment, a strange red glow suddenly appeared in their pupils. Their bodies then froze, completely motionless, as if petrified.

Beside them, Yun Che’s figure slowly emerged.

During this time, in his dealings with the Soul Sect, his concealment ability and Red Butterfly Soul Burning had become second nature. Before leaving the Snow Song Realm, after concealing himself with the Vanishing Moon God Profound Art, he had to be cautious with every step; sometimes a slightly larger stride could reveal him. Now, he could move almost at will, strolling casually.

The power of the Red Butterfly Domain lay not only in the absence of profound energy leakage, which allowed for silent and invisible killing, but its most terrifying aspect was that those whose souls were burned by it would have their souls extinguished while their bodies remained alive. This meant their vital signs would not disappear, nor would there be any obvious changes, implying that even if someone were close by and their spiritual sense remained in the area, they would not perceive that the person had died.

The four Soul Sect disciples, under Yun Che’s Red Butterfly Domain, unconsciously fell into a boundless sea of fire formed by countless flame butterflies. They were unable to escape or even struggle. At this moment, with just a thought from Yun Che, their consciousness would be completely incinerated by the endless flame butterflies.

But Yun Che did not do so; after all, his purpose was not to burn them to death. He swept his gaze, arbitrarily chose one person, extended his left arm, and his profound energy instantly invaded their consciousness.

The opponent’s consciousness was already trapped within the Red Butterfly Domain, making any resistance impossible. The profound energy penetrated directly, and the person’s memories from the past few days rapidly flooded Yun Che’s mind.

In an instant, Yun Che’s eyes lit up. He read the Soul Sect disciple’s memory not merely to understand the sect’s internal structure, but more importantly, to locate Lei Qianfeng’s sons. He had originally planned to interrogate at least several individuals, but unexpectedly, this one person had provided all the information he desired.

“Excellent,” Yun Che murmured, withdrawing his arm. His figure vanished completely into the air, like dissipating mist.

A few breaths later, the four Soul Sect disciples simultaneously jolted awake.

“...I think I just had a momentary lapse.” The same thought flashed through the minds of all four. They remained standing rigidly, diligently guarding, completely unaware of any abnormalities.

Nor did they notice an invisible figure swaggering past them.

Although far from comparable to the Ice Phoenix Realm of the Ice Phoenix Divine Sect, the Soul Sect’s main headquarters was vast, spanning hundreds of miles from north to south. Without knowing the precise locations beforehand, finding specific individuals would undoubtedly be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The atmosphere in the Soul Sect tonight was vastly different from usual. With the sect master’s son meeting a violent death, the entire sect was enveloped by Lei Qianfeng’s furious rage. Furthermore, with all sixty-four halls’ disciples dispatched, the entire sect was much quieter than usual.

Amidst this silence, Yun Che heard a thunderous, soul-shaking roar from a distance.

“...Over five thousand disciples are dead, and now even my son has died by Ling Yun’s hand... The mighty Soul Sect, yet you’ve been toyed with and humiliated to such an extent by someone merely at the Divine Soul Realm, and you are completely helpless... Are all the people under my command useless gluttons and drunkards?!”

“I don’t care what methods you use... Five days, I’m only giving you five days. Even if you have to turn the entire Black Yama Realm upside down, you must capture Ling Yun and bring him back... If he’s alive, I will flay him alive with my own hands! If he’s dead, I will grind his bones to dust!!”

“Still no news from the Pure Moon Realm... A bunch of good-for-nothings... If you can’t uncover Ling Yun’s background, tell those good-for-nothings never to return!!”

Was that... Lei Qianfeng’s voice?!

After all, no one else in the Soul Sect could roar like that.

It seems this guy has quite a bad temper.

The voice was incredibly hoarse, carrying a terrifying killing intent, and it was quite close to Yun Che’s location. In the direction from which the voice came, Yun Che clearly sensed an incredibly powerful aura. The moment he detected this aura, an immensely heavy sense of suffocation arose in his chest.

Lei Qianfeng... Sect Master of the Black Soul Divine Sect, Great Realm King of the Black Yama Realm... the only Divine King in the Black Yama Realm!!

Near that aura, there were also several other equally powerful auras that he absolutely could not contend with.

Divine Spirit Realm auras.

Ji Ruyan had mentioned that within the Soul Sect, those who reached the Divine Spirit Realm included several elders, the head of the sixty-four halls, and a limited number of branch sect masters.

Clearly, the enraged Lei Qianfeng was gathering the sect’s top leaders for a meeting. The reason, of course, was him.

After a brief hesitation, Yun Che slowly retreated, changing his route to gradually move away from the direction of Lei Qianfeng’s aura. This was within the Soul Sect; if discovered, he would be like a turtle in a jar, certainly dead, with no chance of escape. Therefore, even with great confidence in the Vanishing Moon God Profound Art, he had to be extremely cautious.

Although cautious, his speed was not slow at all. One by one, and in groups, Soul Sect disciples walked past him, none turning their heads. And they could never have imagined that Ling Yun, whom the entire sect desperately wanted to capture, was currently swaggering through their main headquarters.

The leaders were all in a meeting, and the sixty-four halls had been emptied. What Yun Che saw along the way were mostly lower-ranking disciples. Following the memories he had acquired, Yun Che soon arrived at the location of his first target.

This was an extremely luxurious courtyard; ordinary people entering it would surely think they had stepped into an emperor’s palace. There were not many guards here, but quite a few people dressed as maids were respectfully waiting outside the door.

The door was half-open. Yun Che quietly approached and entered directly through the partially open door.

“Qian’er, Mo’er is gone. Mother only has you, one son, left. These days, don’t go anywhere. Even for the most important matters, don’t leave the sect by half a step. If you are ambushed again, Mother won’t be able to live.”

Inside the room, a young woman in green robes had tears in her eyes. In front of her was a tall, burly man with a full black beard.

This was Lei Guangqian, Lei Qianfeng’s eldest son, the Soul Sect’s Young Sect Master, and the elder brother by the same mother of the poisoned Lei Guangmo!

“Mother, don’t be sad. Father King will definitely catch Ling Yun and avenge Seventh Brother,” Lei Guangqian said.

“Alas, this is all your Father King’s doing, but why must the retribution fall upon Mo’er? Mother doesn't hope your Father King can catch Ling Yun now; even if he escapes and is never caught... as long as all of you are safe, that's enough.” The woman’s voice choked with sobs.

“Mother?” Yun Che’s brow twitched. So, this woman in green robes was Lei Qianfeng’s main wife, seemingly named... Xiao Qingtong?

By appearance, she looked younger than Lei Guangqian.

“Is that Ling Yun really so terrifying? What deep hatred does he have with our Soul Sect? Is it really as I heard... because Father King often sends people to hunt Wood Spirits?”

“...” Xiao Qingtong remained silent, nodding her head.

“Hmph! Is he insane?!” Lei Guangqian slammed the table, baring his teeth. “Wood Spirits are naturally lowly creatures. If we don't kill them, others will. For the sake of a few Wood Spirits, he dared to oppose our Soul Sect so recklessly and even killed my Seventh Brother. Now that Father King is utterly enraged, even if he were ten times stronger, he wouldn't last much longer. Let him get what he wished for, and bury him with those Wood Spirits.”

“Qian’er, never speak like that, especially not to outsiders.” Xiao Qingtong shook her head. “Hunting Wood Spirits is a taboo throughout the Divine Realm. I've advised your Father King many times that with the Divine Martial Realm above us, we absolutely don't need such underhanded methods, but he never listened. Now... Qian’er, should you inherit the Sect Master position in the future, do not forget your Seventh Brother's death, and never again order the hunting of Wood Spirits.”

Yun Che narrowed his eyes. “Consider yourself lucky to still have a conscience; I’ll spare your life... though I never intended to kill you anyway.”

“Yes, I understand, Mother,” Lei Guangqian replied, though his eyes clearly showed indifference.

Xiao Qingtong and Lei Guangqian would never have dreamed that less than ten zhang away, a pair of eyes was coldly observing them.

“Qian’er, get some good rest tonight. Tomorrow, your Father King will surely address all of you.”

“Remember, you absolutely must not leave the sect,” Xiao Qingtong emphatically reminded him before leaving.

“You may all leave; the Young Sect Master needs to rest.” Xiao Qingtong closed the door and left, and the maids quickly withdrew.

The moment the door closed, Yun Che slowly walked toward Lei Guangqian without a moment’s hesitation. The illusionary Red Butterfly Domain was silently released.

Lei Guangqian’s profound energy was at the late stage of the Divine Soul Realm, and the Red Butterfly Domain could not guarantee 100% success on him. However, in his own sect and courtyard, he had no spiritual defenses whatsoever. By the time he sensed even a slight abnormality, his soul was already completely trapped within the endless red butterflies. His entire body froze, eyes vacant, and saliva drooled from his mouth.

Initially, Yun Che releasing the Red Butterfly Domain would cause him to emerge from his concealed state. However, after completely mastering the Red Butterfly Domain, he could now release it while remaining concealed.

Lei Guangqian’s consciousness was already ensnared in the Red Butterfly illusion. At this point, with just a slight thought from Yun Che, his soul would be utterly extinguished, turning him into a living corpse.

But Yun Che clearly had no intention of doing that. He picked up the Sound Butterfly Blade, its tip coated with Ancient Horned Dragon Poison, and lightly grazed it across Lei Guangqian’s nape. Then he turned directly and headed straight for his next target.

Yun Che did not immediately release Lei Guangqian from the Red Butterfly illusion. For Lei Guangqian to break free from the Red Butterfly illusion on his own would take at least one or two hours.

This amount of time was more than enough for Yun Che to safely escape from the Soul Sect.

After leaving Lei Guangqian’s courtyard, Yun Che’s next target was none other than the location of Lei Yuanzhe, Lei Qianfeng’s second son.

Under the exceptionally oppressive night sky, in less than half an hour, using the same process, the same method, and the same silence, executed with the terrifyingly superb Vanishing Moon God Profound Art, complemented by the perfectly suited Red Butterfly Domain, all six of Lei Qianfeng’s sons had their consciousness successively imprisoned within the Red Butterfly illusion.

And all of them had been injected with the Horned Dragon Poison!

No one noticed until Yun Che safely exited the Soul Sect’s main gate.

After exiting the Soul Sect, Yun Che glanced back, a cold, satisfied smile playing on his lips: “Lei Qianfeng, enjoy this grand gift I’ve bestowed upon you! But don’t get too excited... there’s an even bigger one coming!”