Chapter 1683: Cruel and Inhumane

The instant the profound light flared, Yan Wanchi lost his balance. The profound energy he was about to unleash disintegrated, and he crashed heavily to the ground, his limbs thrashing wildly as he let out a hoarse, agonizing wail.

Yan Wanhou and Yan Wangui also fell, writhing and scrambling on the ground, screaming in agony. They were like jackals thrown into a pot of boiling oil, desperately trying to escape.

Yan Wanchi's full-force attack, which had been moments from unleashing, was forcefully shattered, causing him a severe backlash. His aura was in turmoil, and the sacred light seared his body. He thrashed and struggled wildly and despairingly on the ground, like a desperate beast with broken limbs.

With the aid of the light, it was clear that the flesh on the Three Yama Ancestors' bodies was rapidly decaying and disappearing, like leather being burned layer by layer. Soon, their stark white bones were exposed, from which wisps of white smoke began to rise.

"Just as expected," Yun Che murmured. Ignoring the wildly fleeing Yan Wanhou and Yan Wangui, he walked unhurriedly towards Yan Wanchi, bathed in profound light. "Your lives and souls are entirely sustained by the dark profound energy here," he said. "So, once you come into contact with profound light, your lives and souls will be incinerated. It must be excruciatingly painful, isn't it?"

Profound light and dark profound energy are mutually restrictive, but typically, someone possessing dark profound energy wouldn't be pushed to such an extreme by mere profound light.

However, the Three Yama Ancestors were different.

For over eight hundred thousand years, their lives and souls had been sustained by this place's dark yin energy. Their bones, flesh, and blood had long been assimilated, transforming them into entirely dark entities.

When they became pure dark beings, light, to them, was the most terrifying and untouchable existence in the world.

Normally, the Three Yama Ancestors weren't entirely unable to leave the Everlasting Dark Bone Sea. Chi Wuyao had once mentioned that they could leave for a maximum of half an hour at a time.

But they almost never stepped out, because even the naturally faint light outside caused them pain and discomfort.

The light emanating from Yun Che, however, was sacred profound light released by one of only two profound light energies in the world! When it fell upon the Three Yama Ancestors, it was like ten thousand blades piercing their bodies and ten thousand needles piercing their souls...

No, the annihilation of life and soul is an entirely different concept from the destruction of the physical body. That kind of pain, perhaps, could not be described by any words, nor resisted by any will.

With Hong'er awake and You'er asleep, the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword in his hand transformed into the Heaven Smiting Devil Punisher Sword. Sacred profound light spread from Yun Che's body to the sword as he thrust it towards Yan Wanchi.

"Arrrghhhhhhhh—" Yan Wanchi's body was too powerful for Yun Che's casual thrust to pierce him entirely; only the tip of the sword penetrated. However, the Devil Punishing power, fused with profound light, elicited a scream from Yan Wanchi that was countless times more piercing than the collective wails of ten thousand devils.

The extreme pain unleashed desperate ferocity, and Yan Wanchi surged up, slamming a claw into Yun Che's chest.

At this moment, Yan Wanchi's body and soul were as if immersed in purgatorial lava. Under the suppression of the light and pain that surpassed the limits of will, his convulsing arm unleashed less than one-tenth of his strength, yet it still sent Yun Che flying far away.

Yun Che rapidly retreated, but then returned with lightning speed. Using profound light energy, he unleashed the fourth sword of Sky Wolf, "Instant Hell Tribulation," suddenly stabbing the once again paralyzed Yan Wanchi.

*Rip!* The sword shattered space, cutting through everything with destructive force. It pierced Yan Wanchi's right chest and emerged from his left back, completely skewering the Yama Ancestor's body with a single strike.

"Arrrghhhhhhwooooaaahhhhaaaaahhhh!!" The profound light exploding within his body was undoubtedly like a living hell erupting inside him. Yan Wanchi's scream directly tore his throat, and his profound energy erupted wildly.

*Boom!!* Screams and explosive roars overlapped as Yun Che was sent flying hundreds of yards through the air. However, the Heaven Smiting Devil Punisher Sword remained impaled in Yan Wanchi's body. The flesh and bones around the sword rapidly withered away, creating an ever-growing void in his body.

Amidst his horrific screams, Yan Wanchi slammed a fist into his chest, forcefully dislodging the Heaven Smiting Devil Punisher Sword. But Yun Che's figure suddenly appeared, drawing the sword into his hand, and violently thrust it down again with the same "Instant Hell Tribulation" attack.

This time, from his left chest to his right back, Yan Wanchi's body gained another hole pierced by the power of light.

"Arrrghhhhhhh!!" Yan Wanchi's screams were so piercing that even the most cruel person would wince. All the pain he had endured in his entire eight hundred thousand plus years of life was less than a single instant of what he felt now.

The profound energy in his body was released chaotically and without order, but it could neither suppress the light nor push Yun Che away. Finally...

*Thud!!* He fell heavily to his knees. His remaining sanity made him let out a blood-curdling scream: "Old Ghosts... save... me... save me, arrrghhhh!"

His desperate roar had an immediate effect. Yan Wanhou and Yan Wangui, who had already fled far away, suddenly appeared in an instant, their full-power Yama Devil Ghost Hands simultaneously clawing towards Yun Che's head from a great distance.

Yun Che revealed a cruel smile. The Heaven Smiting Devil Punisher Sword was suddenly pulled from Yan Wanchi's body. He abruptly turned, sweeping the sword horizontally to quickly unfold a massive sword array.

The Sixth Sword of Sky Wolf—Blood Moon Devil Punisher Sword!

This Devil Punisher Sword Array, which normally required a vast amount of profound energy to unleash, he executed in mere moments in this dark world—a speed that even Caizhi couldn't achieve.

The sword array erupted, and the dark world displayed countless luminous sword shadows in the shape of a full moon. The sacred profound light released by these sword shadows alone was thousands of times more intense than what Yun Che had previously unleashed.

What it brought to the Yama Ancestors was undoubtedly a thousandfold purgatory.

*Sizzle—* As if countless flames were searing the Three Yama Ancestors, their flesh rapidly vanished, and their bones quickly turned to ash. But the true purgatory had only just begun...

As Yun Che tilted his sword, luminous sword energy rained down like a torrential downpour.

Although the Devil Punisher Sword Array was powerful, it was impossible for it to truly suppress the Three Yama Ancestors; they could either withstand it directly or evade it.

But under the merciless devouring of light, it was entirely different.

When their lives and wills were both engulfed by extreme pain, they were utterly unable to fully control their bodies and powers. The luminous sword energy rained down, mercilessly slicing and piercing their bodies, leaving behind luminous marks that continuously devoured their lives and souls.

The Three Yama Ancestors tried to resist and escape, but they could only writhe and tumble like larvae with severed limbs and gouged-out eyes. Their screams grew increasingly shrill and despairing.

Throughout their lives, they had toyed with countless opponents and prey, but even the most pitiful among them had never been as miserable as they were now... perhaps not even a ten-millionth as miserable.

Under the light's annihilation, Yan Wanchi's hands and feet had already disappeared. His legs revealed only half of their leg bones, which were still gradually turning to ash under the light.

Yan Wanhou and Yan Wangui were not much better off. Their fingers rapidly melted in the light, at least seventy percent of their flesh had disappeared, and their heads were practically indistinguishable from skulls.

And even so, their screams still echoed throughout the Everlasting Dark Bone Sea.

One could only imagine the inhuman pain they were enduring.

Standing at the center of the sword array, Yun Che's expression was indifferent, a faint smile playing on his lips—a stark contrast to the horrific sights and sounds surrounding him.

The Devil Punisher Sword Array continued; as long as he wished, it could be endless.

The dark yin energy of the Everlasting Dark Bone Sea continuously flowed into his body, and then, through his profound veins, transformed into the entirely opposing profound light energy.

Fusing darkness while releasing light—this sight would likely astound even ancient Creation Gods and Devil Emperors if they were to reappear.

Watching the bodies of the Three Yama Ancestors gradually disappear amidst the luminous sword energy, Yun Che suddenly withdrew his sword.

Instantly, all the sword energy filling the sky and the profound light on his body vanished, and the surrounding world temporarily plunged into its original darkness.

Because if he had continued, the Three Yama Ancestors would likely have completely dissolved in the light.

How could he bear to let them die!

As the light vanished, the Three Yama Ancestors' prolonged screams finally ceased. Their crippled bodies lay prone on the ground, every part of them twitching wildly. A large puddle of murky fluid spread beneath them.

The dignified Three Founding Ancestors of the Yama Devil Realm—figures whom even the Northern Region's First God Emperor would respectfully call ancestors—now looked as if they had just been ravaged tens of thousands of times by countless ferocious beasts. They writhed on the ground like dying larvae, ineffably miserable and desolate.

Darkness returned, rapidly mending their bodies, lives, and souls that had been devoured by the light.

Their flesh, bones, blood, and limbs were all recovering at a visible rate. While far from as abnormal as Yun Che's recovery, it was certainly astonishing.

With seventy to eighty percent of their bodies and mental strength recovered, Yan Wanchi was the first to roll over and stand. But his body and soul still trembled violently. The profound light hell he had just endured was enough to become an unerasable nightmare for his entire life.

"You... you... what exactly are you...?" he stammered, pointing at Yun Che, unconsciously retreating, his aged eyes filled with terror.

On the other side, Yan Wanhou and Yan Wangui also stood up. The way they looked at Yun Che was no longer like looking at a "kid," but rather as if they were looking at a truly brutal demon.

"Looks like you've almost recovered," Yun Che chuckled softly, and profound light suddenly flared on his body once more.

The reappearance of the sacred light was undoubtedly the return of the hell they had just escaped. Completely hoarse, distorted screams, accompanied by the pain of their lives and souls being devoured, resumed.

This time, they no longer cared about anything else. They desperately unleashed all the power they could muster, fleeing wildly in three different directions.

"Trying to escape?" Yun Che gave a mocking smile, not even looking at the Three Yama Ancestors. A faint black light flickered in his eyes.

Instantly, the surrounding dark yin energy rapidly mobilized. Before the Three Yama Ancestors could flee from the area covered by light, they were violently slammed back by surging dark waves, crashing directly at Yun Che's feet—which was also the core of the light.

Their screams instantly became several times more horrific. But even as they writhed at Yun Che's feet, their shattered will could not muster any thought of counterattacking. They continued to desperately flee, wanting at all costs to escape this excessively cruel purgatory of light.

But each time they were about to escape, they would be forcibly swept back by an irresistible dark storm. Several times in a row, they failed to escape the profound light hell for even an instant, and most of their flesh had already been devoured again, their hands and feet rapidly disappearing.

The pain of their souls being slowly annihilated was a hell within hell.

"Arrrgh... have... mercy... on us... arrrgh... have mercy on us, arrrgh..." they cried.

They finally began to beg for mercy, using every last shred of their remaining will.

Perhaps, in their nearly a million years of life, they had never imagined that they would ever have such a humble, pleading moment.

"Oh?" Yun Che slowly turned his gaze, smiling faintly, but the profound light on his body did not recede. "So, you finally know who your master is?" he asked.

"We are willing... arrrgh... willing to serve you as our master... wooarrgh... have mercy... have mercy, arrrgh..."

Rather than endure such pain, he would rather die.

But in this Everlasting Dark Bone Sea, even self-annihilation was a luxury.

"We are willing... to acknowledge you as our master!" the other two Yama Ancestors also screamed desperately.

"Very good," Yun Che said. He retracted his arm, and all the light vanished.

Their screams gradually ceased. The Three Yama Ancestors lay prone on the ground, gasping violently, every drop of blood and every pore on their bodies trembling and twitching. A large puddle of murky fluid spread beneath them.

Yun Che's gaze swept over them. He first walked towards Yan Wanchi, the leader of the Three Yama Ancestors. He stood before Yan Wanchi's head, looking down at his utterly pathetic and miserable state, then slowly extended his hand, reaching for his head.

"You... what are you doing?" Yan Wanchi asked weakly.

"To bestow upon you a slave imprint, of course," Yun Che said, his eyes narrowing. "Could it be that you three old ghosts thought I'd believe your verbal submission? Heh... You're not going to resist, are you?"

The words "slave imprint" instantly made the Three Yama Ancestors' bodies stiffen.

They, the Three Yama Ancestors... subjected to slave imprints!?

What a massive humiliation, what a huge joke!

How could they possibly accept!?

Yan Wanchi's entire body trembled. He suddenly surged up and lunged straight at Yun Che, intending to tear him to shreds with his devil claws and his barely recovered strength.

But what awaited him was the profound light flaring up once more.

"Wooarrghhhhhhh..." Yan Wanchi was brutally slammed down from the air as if by an invisible hand, writhing in agony on the ground. The hellish dirge formed by the Three Yama Ancestors' desperate screams once again echoed through this endless dark space.

Yun Che straightened up, a beaming smile on his face. "Very good," he said. "It's time to prove your Yama Ancestor dignity. You must hold on a little longer. I'm not in any hurry at all."