Chapter 43: Vengeance Exacted

The seasons quickly passed by, and two years flew by in the blink of an eye.

To the northwest of the Prosperous Nation was the Bloodlight Mountain Range, which stretched for thousands of kilometers. The spiritual qi here wasn't very abundant, and the mountain range was filled with barren mountains, as well as deep, misty valleys.

Inside a certain massive dark red valley in the mountain range was a dense cluster of buildings, and some red-robed cultivators were occasionally flying through the air at low altitudes, while others were making their way in and out of the buildings with urgent expressions.

Inside a large hall deep in the valley, a blue-robed middle-aged man was pacing back and forth in an agitated manner, raising his head from time to time to cast his gaze toward a massive stone gate deep in the hall.

The stone gate was tightly shut, and crimson light was surging incessantly over its surface.

"Has Boss still not come out of seclusion?" A male voice rang out from outside the hall, following which a burly man with a heavily scarred face strode in.

"He should be coming out soon. How are things going on your end?" the blue-robed man asked in an urgent voice.

"Reinforcements from nine branches have already arrived, and the reinforcements from the other four branches should be on their way as well. Most of the inner court disciples who were carrying out duties outside of the sect have also been summoned back. Aren't we making too much of a big deal out of this?" the burly man asked with a hesitant expression.

"In the span of just 10 days, six branches have been razed to the ground, and even the branch masters have disappeared without a trace as if they've evaporated off the face of this realm! Do you think either of us would be able to replicate such a feat?" the blue-robed man sighed.

"How is that possible? I didn't realize that the situation was so severe. The problem is that with everyone gathered in one place, we've had to cease trade in all of our branches, resulting in heavy losses of profit. I'm worried that Boss will blame you for making decisions on your own and..." The burly man's voice suddenly trailed off here, and he shuddered as if a terrifying thought had occurred to him.

A fearful look also appeared on the blue-robed man's face, but he then shook his head as he replied, "I'm well aware of all of that, but if I had delayed any further, there was a good chance that our sect would've suffered losses too severe to recover from.

“Everyone always treats us with fear and respect, but in reality, all of them are praying for our Blood Sword Sect to fall. If we display any signs of weakness, even those demons wouldn't hesitate to swoop in and land the killing blow on us."

A vicious light flashed through the burly man's eyes as he said in an enraged voice, "They wouldn't dare! Everyone knows what Boss is capable of. Don't you remember what happened to the Yu Family?

“They used to be the most powerful family in the state, yet the head of their family made the mistake of standing up against our sect, and the entire family of over 1,300 people was slain by Boss in a single night! Not even the mortals among them were spared! Now that Boss has made a breakthrough to the mid-Deity Transformation Stage, he'll be sure to crush the perpetrator with ease!"

"I'm afraid things may not be so simple. Over a month ago, that group of Shadow Cat women that was being transported by Branch Master Shi was intercepted, and over 20 people, including Branch Master Shi, vanished during the incident. To this day, they still haven't been found, and it seems that there's a very good chance that their disappearance has something to do with what's been happening recently.

“Branch Master Shi was a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, yet even his nascent soul wasn't able to escape. That should be a clear indication of what we're dealing with here," the blue-robed man said with a grim expression.

"I hadn't heard about that at all! In that case, it sounds like the perpetrator is no less powerful than Boss. Perhaps we'll have to turn to the Heavenly Ghost Sect for help," the burly man said with an alarmed expression.

Right at this moment, the crimson light on the surface of the stone gate faded, and it swung open to reveal a white-robed man.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The man appeared to be in his early thirties and was clean-shaven with a handsome appearance, giving him an air of gentle elegance.

The blue-robed man and the burly man hurriedly fell to their knees upon seeing this.

The white-robed man made his way over to the two men with a faint smile, then said, "No need for such formalities. Get up and tell me what you have to say."

The two men hurriedly offered their gratitude before rising to their feet.

"Boss, I..." The blue-robed man stepped forward to say something, but he was cut off by the white-robed man.

"I already received the message you sent to me a few days ago. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come out of seclusion early. I don't have much time, Feng Song, just tell me if there's been any progress on the situation."

"Three days ago, the Sui State branch was attacked as well, and there were almost no survivors. In light of this incident and what happened with Branch Master Shi, we have strong reason to believe that the perpetrator is at least at the Deity Transformation Stage.

“On top of that, judging from the observations made at the sites of the incidents, it appears that they're particularly adept in using fire-attribute cultivation arts or treasures," Feng Song replied as he dabbed at the cold sweat that had appeared on his forehead.

"Almost no survivors? So that means that there were survivors, right? I told you I don't have much time, Feng Song. I suggest you don't test my patience with these word games," the white-robed man said with a hint of a smile on his face.

Feng Song's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this, and he hurriedly said, "Please forgive me, Sect Master! There was one survivor from the Sui Stage branch, and he's waiting outside. I'll get him to come in right away."

The white-robed man offered no objections to this, so Feng Song immediately turned around before calling out to someone outside the hall. At this point, the clothes on his back were already completely drenched in cold sweat.

A young man with a thin build quickly made his way into the hall at Feng Song's behest, then fell to his knees before extending a respectful salute.

"No need for formalities. Stand up and tell about what happened at the time of the attack," the white-robed man prompted with a gentle smile.

The young man didn't dare to stand up, and he replied in a nervous, stuttering voice, "Th...Three days ago, our branch was attacked late at night. I...I was unable to see the perpetrator clearly. All I know is that they unleashed some type of fire-attribute ability that incinerated the entire branch to the ground, and... and there were no survivors. Not even Branch Master Yu managed to survive the attack."

"If there were no survivors, then how are you still alive?" the white-robed man asked.

"I was away carrying out some duties for the branch, and at the time of the incident, I still hadn't returned to the branch yet, so I was only able to witness the attack from afar, and that's how I survived," the young man replied with a hint of lingering fear in his eyes.

"Is there anything you're not telling me?" the white-robed man asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

The young man became rather anxious upon seeing this. "N... No, Sect Master..."

A faint smile appeared on the white-robed man's face, and he suddenly reached out with one hand before making a grabbing motion. The young man's body instantly stiffened as several streaks of black light appeared above him before burrowing their way into his head like a nest of vicious snakes.

The young man let loose an agonized howl as blood gushed out of all of his orifices, but he then quickly fell silent before collapsing to the ground.

"Looks like he was telling the truth," the white-robed man remarked as he lowered his hand, and a contemplative look appeared on his face.

Ever since the young man entered the hall, Feng Song and the burly man had been standing with their heads lowered the entire time, not daring to utter a single word.

Right at this moment, a resounding boom suddenly rang out, followed by a flurry of alarmed cries as the entire hall trembled violently.

A displeased look appeared on the white-robed man's face as he flew toward the entrance of the hall at an incredible speed, and Feng Song and the burly man hurriedly followed along.

At this moment, the entire sky above the dark red valley was enshrouded under a red light barrier. Above the light barrier were three giant black mountains, each of which was over 1,000 feet tall with black light revolving incessantly around them.

The massive mountains and the red light barrier seemed to have been caught in an impasse, with neither side able to get the better of the other.

Countless figures flew out of the buildings in the valley before looking up at the sky with alarmed expressions.

All of a sudden, yet another giant black mountain came crashing down from the sky, causing the red light barrier to ripple violently, and finally, it was unable to withstand the pressure, shattering with a resounding boom.

The four enormous black mountains descended from the heavens, encompassing close to half of the entire valley beneath their massive shadows.

Everyone immediately erupted into a panicked frenzy, fleeing in all directions, but the mountains were crashing down far too quickly to be evaded, and looks of despair appeared on the face of everyone standing beneath the mountains.

Right at this moment, the white-robed man appeared in the sky above the hall, then raised a hand to summon a large crimson flag.

The flag swelled drastically in size, releasing a vast expanse of crimson light as it positioned itself beneath the bases of the four mountains.

The mountains and the flag clashed with devastating force, and the crimson flag shuddered violently, but it was able to keep the four mountains at bay.

"Long live our sect master!"

The disciples of the Blood Sword Sect were ecstatic to see that they had been saved.

However, before they had a chance to celebrate, a dark shadow appeared in the sky, following which another giant mountain came crashing down.

Under the combined might of the five massive mountains, the giant crimson flag was torn apart. With nothing else standing in their way, the five mountains came crashing down at an astonishing speed.

The five enormous mountains encompassed virtually the entire valley, plunging the area into darkness.

The white-robed man's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and he immediately flew out of the way without any hesitation, escaping right before the five mountains crashed down onto the ground.

Huge clouds of dust rose up from the impact of the five falling mountains, and the earth quaked violently while agonized howls rang out incessantly, only to be immediately drowned out by bursts of loud rumbling.

At this point, the white-robed man had already appeared above the valley, and he was looking directly up ahead with a furious expression.

There, a jade flying ark was hovering in mid-air, upon which stood an elderly daoist priest and a beautiful young woman.

They were none other than Daoist Master White Stone and Liu Le'er.

"Who are you?" the white-robed man asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm the one who's going to put an end to your life!" Liu Le'er declared in a cold voice.

A thought seemed to have occurred to the white-robed man, and he mused, "Oh? You're a member of the Cloud Fox Race. Ah, I see, you must be that little demonic fox that managed to escape a few years ago.

“It's quite impressive that you've already reached the Core Formation Stage in just a few years. The pelts of the Cloud Fox Race are an extremely sought-after material for refining defensive treasures. I made an absolute killing selling the hides of your brethren."

"Jia Ren, I'm going to kill you!"

Tears began to well up in Liu Le'er's eyes as she made a rapid series of hand seals, and a burst of silver light flashed from her left arm, following which a silver fireball emerged. The fireball quickly transformed into a palm-sized silver fire raven, which flew directly toward the white-robed man.

While Jia Ren was speaking, he had already released his spiritual sense to sweep through the surrounding area in a radius of several hundred kilometers, but he didn't discover any cultivators at or above the Deity Transformation Stage.

He initially faltered slightly at the sight of the completely mundane-looking silver fire raven, following which a derisive sneer appeared on his face.

"To think that two measly Core Formation cultivators would dare to challenge me. What a joke!"

He opened his mouth to release a black ring, which instantly transformed into a fiery black monster that was close to 1,000 feet tall.

The creature's form resembled that of a lion, and it was giving off an extremely violent aura as it pounced toward the silver fire raven.

The disparity in the statures of the two creatures was so vast that it was almost comical.

However, as soon as the two clashed, the silver fire raven instantly vanished into the body of the fiery black monster before shooting out the other end.

The fiery black monster's body instantly stiffened, then exploded with a resounding boom.

Jia Ren's eyes widened with incredulity upon seeing this, but he immediately reacted, turning around to flee from the silver fire raven. At the same time, light flashed all over his body, and he was instantly encased in a suit of glowing crimson armor.

However, the silver fire raven was incredibly fast, catching up to him in an instant before piercing through his body, completely bypassing the suit of crimson armor.

Jia Ren didn't even get a chance to cry out before he erupted into flames, and even the treasures and magic tools that he was carrying were quickly incinerated into ashes along with his body.

The silver fire raven circled around in the sky, then opened its mouth to blast a wave of silver flames down onto the valley below.

As the wave of silver flames descended, it expanded rapidly, and by the time it descended upon the valley, it had already swelled to become a raging sea of silver fire.

With the five giant mountains in place, none of the people in the valley were able to escape in a short time.

Liu Le'er looked down at the sea of scorching flames, and her vision was already blurry with tears.

"Father, Mother, Big Brother, Big Sister... I've finally avenged you all and erased the Blood Sword Sect off the face of this realm," she murmured to herself.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Liu," Daoist Master White Stone said as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"It's all thanks to the help that you've given me these past years, Fellow Daoist White Stone. Brother Rock told me that he'll remember everything that you've done," Liu Le'er replied as she wiped her tears away before extending a curtsey toward Daoist Master White Stone.

"I wouldn't dare to expect anything from Senior Han. I'm merely doing what I've been told to do," Daoist Master White Stone hurriedly replied.