Chapter 729: Experienced Ninth Grandfather

Initially, Xu Qing was unwilling to speak much when facing Grand Alliance Leader Chen Yangzi’s interrogation. However, after seeing Zi Xuan’s ashen face, remembering Chen Yangzi’s arrangements, and observing the expressions of the surrounding cultivators from Fenghai County, he calmly stated, “A Sun of Dawn!”

The moment these words were uttered, everyone in the Prefectural Hall was stunned. Blood Refiner, Zi Xuan, and the other Fenghai County cultivators present gasped, their faces showing uncontrollable disbelief.

“A Sun of Dawn… here? Here?!” A clamor of voices erupted from the crowd, but Chen Yangzi’s terrified shout immediately overshadowed them all.

“Where did you get a Sun of Dawn?! You! You!” Chen Yangzi trembled violently. He initially disbelieved, but the destruction of his main body and the horrifying light and heat visible in the last transmitted image made it impossible for him to deny the truth.

He then remembered that his main body was located in the Seventh Prince’s imperial capital, a place fortified by the loyalty of nearly a million scholars and followers from various sects. That was the core foundation of the Seventh Prince’s dominion, the culmination of all his preparations over the years.

Chen Yangzi’s body began to tremble uncontrollably, an intense shiver ran through him, and goosebumps instantly erupted.

He could only imagine that the explosion of that Sun of Dawn must have enveloped the entire imperial capital, unleashing an utterly terrifying destructive force. Although Fenghai County was the ultimate source, he had opened the flesh vortex, making him an accomplice in the catastrophe.

Furthermore, if anyone were to claim he was a true accomplice, enduring humiliation and feigning allegiance to the Seventh Prince to accomplish some grand mission, many would surely believe it. This turn of events would leave him no place among humanity. The King of Tianlan or the Seventh Prince would undoubtedly tear his soul apart. And more importantly, if the Seventh Prince were to perish…

“How could you dare? How do you have a Sun of Dawn?!” Chen Yangzi shrieked, finally losing his composure. He stared at Xu Qing in disbelief, a roaring tide of terror overwhelming him. He spat out a mouthful of blood, stumbling backward as bitter despair washed over him like a flood.

He felt wronged, utterly stifled. All his calculations had proceeded smoothly and successfully, yet the final outcome was something he could never have imagined.

“It was just a test! You actually threw a Sun of Dawn!” Chen Yangzi shrieked.

He had finally lost his composure, gazing at Xu Qing with disbelief as a mountainous roar of terror thundered within him. He spat out a mouthful of blood, stumbling backward as bitter despair like a tidal wave engulfed him.

A thought remained unspoken in his heart; he truly wanted to say, “If you had a Sun of Dawn, Xu Qing, couldn’t you have just shown it to me? Or shown it to the Seventh Prince? After seeing it, who would dare provoke you? Why was this necessary?!”

This thought only deepened the bitterness in his heart. His cultivation, weakened by the collapse of his main body, had plummeted drastically, falling from the third stage of Gui Xu. Even the Gui Xu realm itself felt unstable to him, his aura chaotic, fluctuating between the first and second stages.

Judging by his appearance, this state likely wouldn’t last much longer. Without hesitation, he abruptly retreated, desperate to escape. Even if he could still launch an attack, his weakened cultivation and Xu Qing’s mercilessness had instilled fear in him.

He was terrified to his very bones, to his soul. He worried there might be more Suns of Dawn, and he feared Qingling from the sky, as well as Fenghai County’s forbidden artifact. Having lost sufficient cultivation, he knew this was the most critical moment of his life.

The moment he retreated, Blood Refiner surged forward, and Zi Xuan also stepped towards him. From the sky, Qingling’s squawk echoed, and a powerful aura descended, locking onto Chen Yangzi as Qingling rapidly plummeted.

In an instant, it appeared above the hall, its immense pressure blanketing all directions, its squawk deafening. Seeing this, Chen Yangzi had no choice but to suppress his inner panic, his expression twisting as he let out a shrill cry.

“Xu Qing,” he shrieked, “I arranged for those over ten thousand people who escaped from the Fenghai County battlefield to survive! I left a soul imprint on each of them. If I die, they will instantly perish, body and soul!”

“Even if you can eventually remove the imprints, it will take time. And if you attempt to seal me, I will self-destruct my soul, and they will perish with me. Let me go! That way, you’ll have time to remove the imprints. My single life for the lives of tens of thousands of Fenghai warriors — that’s a profitable exchange for you!”

Chen Yangzi was indeed a meticulous and cunning individual, always prepared with contingencies, even at this desperate stage. The moment his words came out, Blood Refiner and the others paused. Even Qingling was unsure if it could instantly kill Chen Yangzi and simultaneously remove the soul imprints; it was just a large bird, and undoing imprints was not its forte.

A stalemate seemed to have emerged, but Xu Qing’s expression remained calm. He paid no attention to Chen Yangzi, who was struggling to survive, but instead looked up at the sky with an expectant gaze, believing that what others couldn’t do, Grandfather Nine might resolve with ease.

Xu Qing was about to make a request when his expression subtly changed as Grandfather Nine’s voice echoed in his mind. However, what he heard made Xu Qing’s expression instinctively peculiar.

He looked at Chen Yangzi, who was continuously retreating, disheveled and frantic, in a hysterical state, and chose to comply. He calmly uttered, “Slap his face!”

The moment Xu Qing spoke, the sky and earth changed color, wind surged, clouds churned, and lightning flashed across the blurred world. A vast power suddenly descended, causing the hall to rumble and vibrate. Everyone present was stunned.

Chen Yangzi felt his entire being, mind and body, on the verge of collapse. It was as if Xu Qing’s voice embodied an external law, a profound rule, the very will of heaven and earth, with his words instantly becoming reality.

As this power arrived, it directly transformed into an invisible hand that brutally slapped Chen Yangzi’s face. With a resounding crash, Chen Yangzi let out an even more agonizing wail as he was directly slapped flying, the flesh on his right cheek reduced to a bloody pulp.

While the sight was gruesome and shocking, everyone could feel the excruciating pain Chen Yangzi was enduring at that moment. He instinctively screamed, his mind blank, feeling an unimaginable force, like a mountain crashing into him, making it impossible to resist or dodge.

Before he could even react, while his body was still reeling backward, Xu Qing’s voice sounded again: “Another slap!” The rule descended, and another thunderous impact followed. Chen Yangzi’s screams turned into agonizing wails as his left cheek was struck with such force that his head nearly detached. He no longer resembled a human.

His body was slapped back from a distance, landing before Xu Qing. Blood continuously gushed from his mouth and neck, and the Golden Crow he had manifested also began to shatter, a truly horrific sight.

“This… this application of rules? You, you, you! What is your cultivation level?!” Chen Yangzi struggled to speak weakly after hitting the ground, his expression filled with terror. His mind was breaking; only absolute dread remained. What he had just experienced felt even more terrifying than seeing the Sun of Dawn.

He knew that to wield rules, laws, and the will of heaven and earth in such a manner, making them an extension of oneself, was far beyond the capabilities of a Gui Xu realm cultivator.

“Kneel!” Xu Qing did not reply, speaking calmly. The moment his words were uttered, Chen Yangzi wailed again as his legs violently exploded, completely shattering. Yet, they did not vanish; instead, they reassembled, twisted into a permanent kneeling position.

He was forced to remain kneeling. “Spirit Accumulation Realm!!” Chen Yangzi’s mind shattered. He looked at Xu Qing, then turned to Zi Xuan, a desperate plea appearing in his eyes for the first time.

“Junior Sister,” he begged, “for the sake of our shared past and our master, please let me go just this once!” Zi Xuan silently shook her head.

Despair turned to madness in Chen Yangzi’s eyes; he was about to unleash a final, mutually destructive attack. Xu Qing calmly uttered, “Deprive!”

As the words echoed, heaven and earth rumbled. A massive hand formed by pure will reached out and seized Chen Yangzi’s body. Chen Yangzi shrieked as his form began to shatter, countless streams of spiritual energy flying out. In that moment, his cultivation was utterly stripped away.

Only his flesh and soul remained in the hall. “Flesh into a candle, soul into fire!” Xu Qing spoke again.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Yangzi’s body severely twisted, squeezed, and molded, ultimately transforming into a candle made of flesh. The candle was lit, his soul trapped inside as the wick, burning continuously in agonizing torment. Inhuman screams, unlike any human sound, ceaselessly echoed from within the flickering flame as it burned.

Xu Qing raised his hand, took the candle, and turned to Zi Xuan, placing it before her. After a slight hesitation, he spoke, “A small gift for you!”

Zi Xuan looked at Xu Qing. She hadn’t expected him to do such a thing; it didn’t seem to be his usual style. But it didn’t matter. At this moment, a profound and unusual feeling swelled within her heart.

She took the candle, her eyes shining with intense light. She intended to place this lamp outside her cave dwelling as an eternal flame, burning perpetually.

A complete silence fell over the hall, broken only by the agonizing screams still emanating from within the candle. Grand Ancestor Blood Refiner looked at his sole grand-disciple with admiration, feeling immense appreciation in his heart.

He thought Xu Qing was excellent, quite reminiscent of his younger self. This was what true “bloody ruthlessness” looked like!

As everyone’s gaze converged upon him, Xu Qing looked up at the sky and bowed with cupped fists. In his mind, Old Nine’s cold words resonated: “Some enemies should be cut down swiftly with a sword! But for those who provoke your woman, killing them too quickly might deprive you of some satisfaction! Therefore, you must torment them little by little, cripple them, and ultimately turn them into a gift!”

“This is the true way to touch a woman’s heart. I have experience in such matters; I’ve helped many people do this back in the day!” Xu Qing’s expression was peculiar. It was his first time hearing Grandfather Nine speak so much, and he hadn’t expected the usually aloof Grandfather Nine to seem so experienced!

So he nodded. But noting the radiant light in Zi Xuan’s eyes at that moment, Xu Qing felt that Grandfather Nine might indeed be right. Nevertheless, he still believed that enemies should be killed instantly, without delay.

“Only this once!” Xu Qing muttered inwardly.