Chapter 306: Slaying Two Kings

Wang Shu’s movement technique was incredibly swift, like a nimble ape or a soaring bird. He could leap dozens of feet up the steep cliff face, making it impossible for Li Weiyi to catch him.

However, the six Phoenix-Winged Moth Monarchs could fly and dive in pursuit, matching his speed. Five Phoenix, in particular, whose innate Dao Art seemed to be speed, was so fast it was merely a blur. It was the first to catch Wang Shu, unfurling its membraneous wings and striking towards his neck.

“You’re asking for death!” Wang Shu spun around in mid-air, raising his blade to strike. His Hundred-Character Doctrinal Artifact saber struck Five Phoenix, sending it crashing into the rock face. It let out a low cry, clearly injured.

This brief delay was all it took. The other five Phoenix-Winged Moth Monarchs caught up to Wang Shu, surrounding him. The five smaller Monarchs let out shrill cries, seeking revenge for Five Phoenix. They either spat out Golden Crow flames, unleashed lightning, struck with sharp claws, or used stealth to ambush him. Even with Wang Shu’s profound cultivation, he was overwhelmed, unable to defend both front and back.

From a distance, Li Weiyi focused his energy to unleash an Ash Annihilation Finger Strike. “Whoosh!” His finger strike shot through the air. A golden-red beam of light traversed dozens of feet, striking Wang Shu. Wang Shu, already caught in the siege of the five Phoenix-Winged Moth Monarchs, had his Dao Heart Manifestation and Protective Qi shattered by Li Weiyi’s strike. The beam hit his chest, sending him flying backward, shattering rocks, and tumbling down the hillside.

Li Weiyi intended to press his advantage, but suddenly, a strong sense of alarm flared within him, making his hairs stand on end. Almost instinctively, he swung his sword horizontally to the right, unleashing a bright sword gleam. Wang Zhi burst out from a crack in the cliff face, manifesting two bone claw imprints. They tore through the sword gleam and lunged at Li Weiyi. He hadn’t fled; instead, he had hidden there, waiting to ambush. After all, if something happened to Wang Shu, Wang Zhi would also perish. Their lives were intertwined.

“Boom! Boom!” Li Weiyi employed all his abilities—Telekinetic Flame Whip, sword techniques, movement arts, leg techniques—desperately defending himself. He clashed repeatedly with Wang Zhi on the steep cliff, each move lethal, their speed incredibly swift. Li Weiyi endured three claw strikes from Wang Zhi. Protected by his Blood Handprint Demon Armor, he managed to withstand them, his body intact, but blood seeped from his skin, and his internal organs ached terribly.

Wang Zhi, on the other hand, took a sword strike. The sword cut across Wang Zhi’s chest, and blood flowed continuously. He couldn’t stop the bleeding. What terrified Wang Zhi even more was that the Netherworld Dweller’s soul within him had been wounded by the Yellow Dragon Sword. Its soul energy continuously seeped out from the wound, making him weaker and weaker. He had never encountered such a strange sword before.

Yang Qingxi, holding the Ghost Flag, stood on the Yin Ghost Commander’s shoulder and joined the battle. “Boom!” The Yin Ghost Commander let out a long roar and swung its battle-axe, striking Wang Zhi, who was still fighting Li Weiyi, and slamming him into the cliff face, sending rocks tumbling down. “Clang!” Li Weiyi seized the opportunity and thrust his sword forward. The sword, like a streak of golden light, pierced through Wang Zhi’s chest, pinning his body firmly into the concave cliff face.

“You… who exactly are you?” Wang Zhi shrieked, feeling as if the Yellow Dragon Sword was a red-hot iron rod piercing through his body. The agonizing pain was tearing him apart, burning his soul into continuous oblivion.

“Whoosh!” Behind Li Weiyi, a gust of cold wind swept past. Yang Qingchan, with disheveled hair, appeared beside Li Weiyi. She extended a slender, pale hand, her five fingers piercing through Wang Zhi’s skull as she chanted a spell, performing some kind of Netherworld Dweller secret art. The next moment, she extracted the Netherworld Dweller from Wang Zhi’s body, absorbing its soul energy little by little through her nose and mouth, looking utterly satisfied. Netherworld Dwellers from the Netherworld Realm, especially those of the Yin Soul type, almost all practiced “Spirit Devouring” techniques.

“How is this possible? The consciousness of the Netherworld Dweller inside Wang Zhi has been mostly obliterated by him, and its soul energy is quite weak. How did he do it? Was it that sword?” Yang Qingchan’s eyes showed surprise. While refining the soul energy within her, she looked at Li Weiyi’s retreating back as he pulled out his sword.

After being caught by Li Weiyi, Yang Qingxi, Yang Qingchan, and the Yin Ghost Commander, Wang Shu knew he couldn’t escape today. He fought while retreating, speaking in a low voice, “Li Weiyi, you are too foolish. Can’t you see what’s happening? I am a Divine Son of the Divine Cult, yet those Grand Disciples and elders are standing by, doing nothing to save me. Haven’t you wondered why? They are waiting for you to kill me, to commit an unforgivable error, so they can then devour you whole and seize the treasures on your person. When the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman profits.”

Wang Shu approached the Heaven’s Principles Hall Patrol Guards, seeking help, but the Patrol Guards quickly retreated, showing no intention of protecting him. In the past, the Patrol Guard martial artists had been quite close to him. At that moment, Wang Shu finally saw his master’s true colors. If not for his master’s prior instructions, why would the Patrol Guards act this way? For profit, disciples could also be sacrificed.

Li Weiyi had long since perceived all this, but his resolve remained unshaken. Given the current situation, a deadly feud had already been forged between them. If he let Wang Shu go, it would truly be like letting a tiger return to the mountains. If Wang Shu fully manifested his Dao Lotus, even if Li Weiyi hid back in the Southern Clarity Palace, Wang Shu would surely go to the surface and furiously retaliate against everyone close to Li Weiyi.

Wang Shu said, “You don’t think Venerable Nan will protect you, do you? All those old geezers in the Divine Cult are selfish, greedy, and ruthless. So-called masters only see your exploitable value; there’s no human touch to them. Li Weiyi, let me live, and I swear I will never seek revenge.”

How could Li Weiyi believe him? He deliberately proclaimed with righteous indignation, “Wang Shu, don’t think your master isn’t saving you because he’s selfish and greedy. How wise and sagacious is the Vice Hall Master? He must have, like us, long ago discovered your heinous deeds, your slaughter of fellow disciples, and your embezzlement of the Divine Cult’s wealth…”

“If you want to condemn someone, you’ll always find a reason. Since you are so deranged, there’s nothing more to discuss. If you want to kill me, you will have to pay a heavy price!” From Wang Shu’s Ancestral Field, six Bodhi Seeds flew out in succession. Each Bodhi Seed was inscribed with over a hundred scriptures and had been refined into a doctrinal artifact. The six scriptures and six Bodhi Seeds were from the same origin, forming a set of doctrinal artifacts with a total of over eight hundred scriptures. If one could perfectly comprehend these scriptures and push the power of the six Bodhi Seeds to their utmost, theoretically, they could unleash the might of an eighth-grade Hundred-Character Doctrinal Artifact. However, the difficulty in controlling them was far greater than that of a single eighth-grade Hundred-Character Doctrinal Artifact. With Wang Shu’s current cultivation, he could only utilize a very small portion of their power.

Yang Qingxi said, “This set of doctrinal artifacts is incredibly valuable, worth over a million Spring Coins. There’s no way Wang Shu could own them; they must have been acquired from a secret treasury. Why don’t we capture him alive first?”

“Don’t even dream about it! Do you really think the Heaven’s Principles Hall Patrol Guards are just for show? Will they give you a chance to capture him alive? Either don’t do it, or do it thoroughly.”

Li Weiyi, the six Phoenix-Winged Moth Monarchs, Yang Qingxi, Yang Qingchan, and the Yin Ghost Commander—ten figures in all—surrounded Wang Shu. The six Bodhi Seeds couldn’t stop them. Li Weiyi’s resolve was firm. He didn’t dwell on the subsequent troubles, nor did he, like Yang Qingxi, want to interrogate Wang Shu about the secret treasury’s location. He had only one thought: Kill Wang Shu to eliminate future troubles.

“Thwack!” He flashed forward and with a single sword stroke from behind, severed Wang Shu’s right arm. The doctrinal artifact saber fell to the ground. Blood gushed from Wang Shu’s shoulder like a fountain, and he shrieked in agony. No longer able to effectively control the six Bodhi Seeds, he stumbled and fled.

“Thud!” Yang Qingxi controlled the Yin Ghost Commander, which swung its battle-axe, severing Wang Shu at the waist, splitting him into two pieces. With a whoosh, she landed beside Wang Shu’s corpse and extended a finger, probing his Ancestral Field. True treasures were always hidden within the Ancestral Field. A Dao Seed Realm martial artist’s Ancestral Field, an inner world, was vast, but from the outside, it appeared only the size of an acupuncture point, requiring careful probing to find. The inner world was like a bubble blown within the real world.

“There’s nothing in his Ancestral Field? But in his spatial pouch… there are so many cultivation resources: blood crystals, thousand-year elixirs, doctrinal artifacts, Spring Coins…” Yang Qingxi took Wang Shu’s spatial pouch and signaled to Yang Qingchan to quickly collect Wang Shu’s doctrinal artifact saber and the six Bodhi Seeds. At this moment, Li Weiyi had no intention of competing with her for resources. He held his sword, looking at the approaching Patrol Guards.

“Rumble!” Three hundred Patrol Guards, all Five Seas Realm martial artists, rode Netherworld Soul Beast mounts, wearing white armor and carrying standardized doctrinal artifact spears. The Netherworld Soul Beast mounts charged wildly, shaking the ground and surrounding Li Weiyi, Yang Qingxi, and Yang Qingchan. With moderate talent and decades of refinement, most martial artists could open seven spiritual springs. As long as there were enough Five Seas Pills, a large number of Five Seas Realm martial artists could be cultivated.

Thousand Guard Commander Yizhou Xue, riding a seven-meter-long giant chicken-headed tiger-bodied soul beast, slowly emerged from the Patrol Guards. He looked at Wang Shu’s two severed remains on the ground, his face as cold as ice. He had never felt such profound heartbreak and distress as he did today. He dearly wanted to save Wang Shu, but ultimately, he dared not defy his master’s orders.

“Whoosh!” Yizhou Xue, being a Grand Disciple, unleashed his Dao Heart Manifestation, which transformed into a dense white cloud of Qi, pressing down on the three of them, rendering them immobile. This was the power of a Grand Disciple! In any state within the Lingxiao Living Realm, they were among the strongest figures.

“Bind them and take them back to Heaven’s Principles Hall,” Yizhou Xue ordered.

“Haha!” The laughter of Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun approached from a distance. In an instant, the two appeared from the peak of Spirit Ridge Mountain to its base. Their figures moved like two spinning wheels, riding the wind and mist, showing far greater skill than Wang Shu.

“Thousand Guard Commander, the killing of a Divine Son is a major case that should rightly be handled by our Prosperity-Decay Hall,” Sikong Jingyuan said.

Yizhou Xue sensed the aura of Dao Lotus emanating from Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun. Clearly, these two Fifth Divine Sons had made rapid progress in their cultivation during their training in the Netherworld Realm, having entered the fourth layer of the Dao Seed Realm. How could Yizhou Xue not know their intentions? He cupped his fist in a salute and said, “Two Divine Sons, the deceased is my junior brother. Heaven’s Principles Hall and the Patrol Guards will absolutely not let the culprit go. I ask for your consideration.”

Sikong Yanlun retorted unceremoniously, “If he was your junior brother, why did you hide earlier and not save him?”

Sikong Jingyuan said with a smile, “I heard Li Weiyi say that Wang Shu killed many fellow disciples in his lifetime. There must be other major cases involved. Our Prosperity-Decay Hall will certainly investigate this thoroughly. So, I’m truly sorry, we cannot grant this request! Enforcing rewards and punishments is the duty of the Prosperity-Decay Hall.”

Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun moved through the Patrol Guards, entering the open space at the center, their gaze falling upon the three individuals suppressed by Yizhou Xue’s Dao Heart Manifestation. What was different was that Sikong Jingyuan, with a faint smile, stared intently at the six strange insects and the Ghost Flag. Sikong Yanlun, on the other hand, had eager eyes, scanning Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan.

Yizhou Xue’s tone deepened. “If I cannot apprehend the murderer, I’m afraid this commander will not be able to report back.”

“That’s your problem!” Sikong Yanlun spread his arms wide, a demonic wheel coalescing between his hands. Once unleashed, it spun rapidly, its wind force like blades, grinding Yizhou Xue’s Dao Heart Manifestation to pieces, inch by inch, intending to seize the people directly.

“Rumble!” Yizhou Xue let out a low grunt and thrust his spear forward, shattering the demonic wheel and turning it into a mass of cold mist. The three hundred Patrol Guards simultaneously raised their spears and activated their armor. Immediately, a battle formation coalesced above their heads, with countless scriptures fluttering within it. In an instant, the two sides were at daggers drawn, the atmosphere chilling.

“Stop!” A young voice of reprimand came from mid-air. Everyone on the ground felt dizzy and swayed precariously from the power contained in the voice, as if divine thunder had exploded in their minds.

“Whoosh!” The massive body of a Two-Headed Golden-Winged Roc, carrying two figures, descended from mid-air, its wings stirring up violent gusts of wind.