Chapter 2017: Extermination

Ximen Borong was carried by the Chief Hall Master of Bailin, desperately fleeing south. The four individuals from Myriad Blades Sect had all vanished into the sand sea, escaping in four different directions.

After all, they were at the Half-God Extinction Realm, and their speed was extremely fast. By the time Yun Che was slaughtering Panxuan’s Third Elder and Zhaike Xie, they had already fled nearly a hundred miles away.

Yun Che turned around. The aura of those desperately fleeing was incredibly clear within his spiritual perception, as if within arm's reach.

He lowered his gaze to Yun Xi, who was held tightly against his chest. Her eyes were half-open, showing no pain from severe injuries, no surprise, no excitement, nor any satisfaction of vengeance…

It was as if everything happening around her had nothing to do with her, like a porcelain doll devoid of emotion.

The hand holding the sword slowly touched her brow, briefly isolating all her senses. Yun Che raised his gaze, and his profound energy soared into the sky, transforming into a dragon and letting out a heaven-shattering roar.

The sand sea, stretching for thousands—even tens of thousands of miles—instantly surged, like a furious ocean rising in a tempest.

The world, with its laws disintegrating, ripped open with countless spatial fissures… At a glance, it seemed as if the entire sky had been shattered. Ximen Borong and the Chief Hall Master of Bailin, who were fleeing, instantly blacked out, their consciousness collapsing as they plunged headfirst into the roaring sand sea… Meanwhile, Wan Wei and the Third Elder of Myriad Blades, who had fled into the sand, were both thrown out of the sand sea, their eyes rolled back, and their bodies violently convulsing and trembling, like four dying fish beached on land.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword pointed downwards, its blade gleaming with crimson lightning. Six crimson lightning chains shot out, instantly piercing through a hundred miles of space and tightly coiling around the six shattered auras.

The crimson lightning roared, and beneath the sky, six dazzling beams of lightning rapidly contracted, dragging the six figures—who had just begun to hope for escape—back to Yun Che's feet at a speed several times faster than their full-effort escape.

Wan Wei, Ximen Borong, and the other four barely recovered consciousness from their mental collapse. They looked up… Through their blurry vision, Yun Che was directly above their heads. His indifferent black eyes, looking down upon them, made them feel as if they were staring into the legendary… primordial abyss of death at the deepest part of the Mist Sea.

Wan Wei's mouth opened and closed with difficulty… but he could not utter a single sound.

His still unfocused eyes no longer held fear, nor any spark of life; instead, there was a bewildered blankness, like a dying, taut string.

He didn't understand why such a monster would appear in the small Qilin Abyssal Realm… and even less why he had provoked it.

Sss-crackle!

The crimson lightning, which had tightly bound the six individuals and was already deeply embedded in their bodies from the tearing, suddenly let out a ferocious beast-like screech. With a burst of light that annihilated all other illumination, in an instant… it completely ripped apart the six bodies, their profound energy shattered.

To shatter their will and protective profound energy with his dragon soul, and then instantly destroy the bodies of six Half-God Extinction Realm powerhouses… Even with equivalent power, this was a world-shaking feat only Yun Che could achieve.

Wan Wei's upper body tumbled into the chaotic, surging sand sea. He felt his life force rapidly draining away, his increasingly blurry gaze still fixed on Yun Che.

"You… are… from the… Owl Butterfly Divine… Kingdom…"

He saw the devil flames emanating a rich dark aura.

Such terrifying dark profound energy could only originate from the Owl Butterfly Divine Kingdom.

The sand sea churned, eternally burying his subsequent words along with his severed body.

Ximen Borong's final thought, however, was much simpler:

Why did I… waste so much effort entering this damned Qilin Divine Realm…

Damned Blazing Sand Sect…

Lie Qianhong kicked out, sending the large rock in front of him shattering into countless fragments, and cursed bitterly, "Damn the Bailin Alliance!"

"Father!" Lie Zhuoyang quickly stepped forward to comfort him. "What's done is done; it's irreversible. But please rest assured, Father, Zhuoyang will work twice as hard with my siblings to make up for the regret of not entering the Qilin Divine Realm through diligence."

"You haven't entered the Qilin Divine Realm, so you wouldn't understand," Lie Qianhong sighed. "Some things cannot be compensated for by mere 'diligence'."

After speaking, he angrily continued, "If it weren't for the fortuitous appearance of Ximen Boyun, or if they hadn't invited Long Jiang from somewhere, what would their Bailin Alliance be worth?!"

Indeed, those who had never entered the Qilin Divine Realm didn't hold such a profound obsession with it. Lie Zhuoyang continued to console him, "It is said that fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Failing to enter the Qilin Divine Realm this time might ignite a united fervor throughout the sect, leading to even more diligent cultivation. Zhuoyang has always believed that while resources and opportunities are certainly important in the path of cultivation, the most crucial elements are strict self-discipline, diligence, and a will forged from obsession."

Lie Qianhong's expression softened. Looking at his most cherished son, immense relief quickly washed away his resentment. "Yang'er… good, well said!"

"Though I may be lacking, my son is a hundred times stronger than them! Even without entering the Qilin Divine Realm, he will certainly be no worse than them in the future!"

"The mere resources of the Qilin Divine Realm… consider them coffin money for those old farts! Let's go, we're returning to the sect!"

From the entire Qilin Divine Gathering, only the Blazing Sand Sect returned empty-handed.

But they never dreamed that this disastrous defeat would propel them to become the Qilin Abyssal Realm's top sect… and one that would be unshakable in the short term.

Lie Qianhong was so dumbfounded by this that he couldn't recover for three months.

At this moment, in front of the Qilin Divine Realm.

Ximen Boyun's brows were deeply furrowed as he stared intently at the spatial profound formation at the entrance.

Just now, he had vaguely caught a glimpse of an abnormal spatial ripple. With the heightened awareness of a demigod and an Abyssal Knight, he didn't dismiss it. Instead, he focused his gaze, staring fixedly at it… He didn't have to wait long; within a few breaths, clearly abnormal ripples appeared on the spatial profound formation once more.

Initially, there was only one, but within moments, they began appearing consecutively, and each one noticeably lasted longer than the last.

Any lingering hope vanished, and his heart was greatly shaken.

As the Abyssal Knight supervising the Qilin Divine Realm this time, he naturally knew the true nature of this secret realm.

These rapidly appearing spatial ripples were clearly the prelude to the Qilin Divine Realm's laws falling into disorder! And once the laws collapsed, the Qilin Divine Realm would crumble with them!

And what could cause the laws to become disordered and the secret realm to collapse… could only be the death of the Qilin God!

He had known even before returning from the Pure Land that, tens of thousands of years ago, there had been talk in the Pure Land that the last Qilin was nearing the end of its lifespan and could perish at any moment… After that, its death at any time would be considered normal.

And yet, it happened today of all days! Ximen Boyun could no longer remain calm… If it were an ordinary secret realm, the strange phenomena preceding its collapse would alert everyone within, allowing them to escape in time. However, the Qilin Divine Realm was constantly plagued by sandstorms and rock disasters, which would greatly obscure the unusual signs of the laws breaking down.

By the time space truly began to collapse, it would likely be too late for them to escape. Especially if the exit collapsed first, then hope would be entirely lost.

After all, that space was created using the Qilin God's life source as its foundation and the Abyssal Emperor's divine power. With merely Half-God Extinction Realm power, there would be no possibility of forcefully escaping; they would only be torn apart, annihilated, and eternally vanish into spatial rifts.

It was of no concern to Ximen Boyun if everyone else died, but his most respected elder brother was inside, as well as all the core members and most talented young disciples of the Bailin Alliance… including his son and nephew.

In his anxiety, he gritted his teeth and violently slammed into the entrance profound formation.

As expected, a massive repulsive force struck him, sending him flying several miles back and causing a violent surge of qi and blood throughout his body.

The entrance restriction was personally set by the Abyssal Emperor; even powerful Abyssal Knights couldn't force their way through.

The thousand-person limit had been reached, so it was impossible to forcefully grab another Qilin Abyssal Realm practitioner and send them in to warn everyone.

Ximen Boyun took a deep breath, staring intently at the entrance profound formation, forcing himself to calm down.

Outside the Qilin Divine Realm, he was powerless. He could only hope that Ximen Borong… or anyone in the Bailin Alliance would discover the abnormality and escape as early as possible before the space collapsed.

The crimson lightning continued to twist and screech, lingering for a long time. But no figures could be seen in the rolling sand sea, not even a trace of blood.

Yun Che did not leave immediately. He lifted the Heaven Smiting Sword and brought it down heavily.

Boom—

The vast sand sea was churned up a thousand zhang deep, instantly obscuring the light and filling the shattered sky.

As the wild sand fell like a torrential downpour, a hunched figure also crashed down heavily.

His arms were stained with blood, and he trembled violently. The "perfect" breath-holding in the sand sea had almost exhausted all the willpower of his life, yet he still couldn't escape this absurd nightmare.

"Yun… Yun… Young Divine Son Yun… Your Esteemed Self…" Helyan propped himself up, kneeling, his eyes filled with fear and pleading. "I… I knew you wouldn't kill me for Lingzhu… You definitely won't…"

"Take Lingzhu, anything you want… take anything…" With every word he uttered, his body trembled dozens of times. Yet, he still tried to force a humble, ingratiating smile.

He felt the rapidly spreading cracks within his body… It turned out that under extreme fear, one's insides could truly shatter.

Without a glance at him, and without deactivating his Divine Ash state, Yun Che gently tightened his embrace around Yun Xi, confirming that her injuries were alleviating under his power, then flew directly west… towards the exit.

Having narrowly escaped death, Helyan immediately slumped to the ground.

But before he could rejoice or catch his breath, the returning profound energy, which had transformed from a dragon into a Golden Crow, pierced through his body with its blazing golden light, directly pursuing Yun Che, who had vanished into the horizon.

Boom!!

The golden flames exploded, instantly engulfing Helyan. Helyan only managed to let out one desperate shriek before being incinerated into dry bones, then ashes.

Dragon roars, rumbling, sandstorms, trembling space, and a shattered sky…

The continuous strange phenomena emanating from the east left the profound practitioners of the four major powers trembling with fear.

"What's happening? What on earth is going on?"

"They aren't… aren't they fighting fiercely over the Qilin Bone Spirit Orchid? Should we go and help?"

"Don't make any rash moves! If the Sect Master needs help, he'll send a sound transmission!"

"That terrifying dragon roar… could it really be Long Jiang?"

"This spatial tremor, and the cracks appearing everywhere. Could it be…" Ximen Hong, who had heard many secrets about the Qilin Divine Realm from Ximen Boyun, suddenly became alert. "Could these be signs that the Qilin Divine Realm is about to collapse? The Qilin light in the east also seems to have already…"

"Heh, what a fuss," Ximen Qi sneered. "Everyone in the Qilin Abyssal Realm, whether they've been inside the Qilin Divine Realm or not, knows that it's constantly plagued by sandstorms and rock disasters. As the Young Alliance Master, are you really scared by such a minor disturbance?"

He pointed towards the exit. "If you're scared, just leave promptly. But don't forget Uncle's reminder: once you're out, you can't come back in. This Qilin Divine Realm, imbued with the Abyssal Emperor's grace, is indeed no place for cowards."

As the most talented individual of his generation, acknowledged by both Ximen Borong and Ximen Boyun, Ximen Qi had long been displeased with Ximen Hong, the Young Alliance Master. He frequently found fault, provoked him, and spoke in a sarcastic, condescending manner.

Ximen Hong frowned deeply, said nothing, and didn't take a single step towards the exit.

Suddenly, a bizarre distortion appeared in the eastern sky, followed by peals of thunder. At first, it was only a distant, muffled rumble, but within moments, it became as earth-shattering as ten thousand thunders striking simultaneously, making ears buzz.

"What's th… ugh!"

RUMBLE――――

Just as everyone instinctively cried out in alarm, an utterly terrifying surge of wind carrying a sky full of flying sand swept over them, directly knocking most of them to the ground.

They looked up in astonishment… A figure appeared in the sky a hundred zhang away. Though it was clearly just one person floating there, their presence darkened the entire eastern sky.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE――

The delayed sound of thunder rumbled continuously from behind him, violently shaking every heart and annihilating all other sounds in the world. It took a long time for the gazes, scattered by terror, to barely regain focus. Only then did they see clearly: it was not just one person… In one arm, he held a woman whose upper body was stained with blood, and in the other, he wielded a massive sword whose oppressive might made it impossible for them to breathe.

"Yun… Che?"

They murmured his name, their faces filled with terror and bewilderment… Everyone recognized him, yet no one could believe it was truly him.

For his face and eyes were as cold as a newly awakened demon god filled with hatred for the world. The pressure emanating from him was so terrifying that it felt as if a slight shift in his aura could directly crush their bodies and souls.

Review: Evil God Realm Stages and Corresponding Evil God Arts

First Stage: Evil Soul — Falling Moon Sinking Star

Second Stage: Burning Heart — Sealing Cloud Locking Sun

Third Stage: Purgatory — Heaven's Bane, Earth's End

Fourth Stage: Heaven Smiting — Moon Embracing Star Returning

Fifth Stage: Yama Emperor — Asura of the Other Shore

Sixth Stage: Divine Ash — Elemental Forbidden Zone

Seventh Stage: ?? — ????