Chapter 952 - Elder Black

The scene was nothing short of horrific. This was the bloodiest massacre Liu Wuxie had ever unleashed.

Even during the Ten Grand Ceremony, where he had cut down disciples from five major sects, the death toll had reached only five hundred.

But today, he had killed over a thousand cultivators, covering the desolate plains in a thick stench of blood.

Only a few cultivators at the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm managed to escape with severe injuries. As for the rest, not a single one had survived.

The ground was littered with corpses—some crushed, some frozen, and some blown to smithereens.

The four assassins from the Black Plume Pavilion inhaled sharply—they had clearly underestimated Liu Wuxie's combat strength.

Liu Wuxie had been formidable even before refining the four treasures, but now he had reached an unimaginable height.

The four felt powerless as regret began to set in. They realized it had been their best chance to kill Liu Wuxie in Heaven-Earth City. They had nearly succeeded until a mysterious substance had enveloped Liu Wuxie and allowed him to slip away.

Now, just a month later, the tables had turned. Liu Wuxie had undergone a drastic transformation, and even cultivators at the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm couldn't threaten him.

Among the corpses that littered the ground, there were cultivators at the higher levels of the Spirit Profound Realm, but not a single one had managed to put up any resistance before they were killed.

Each of them had once been considered a prodigy, yet none survived Liu Wuxie's blade.

Even those who managed to flee would most likely abandon the training and leave the sacred ground in fear.

"Your turn," Liu Wuxie said coldly, approaching the four assassins with blood dripping from the Heretic Blade.

The assassins exchanged glances and took on a formation. They had accepted death the moment they had taken on this mission.

"Liu Wuxie, we hadn't expected you to grow so powerful in just one month," said the group leader.

It was rare for assassins of the Black Plume Pavilion to speak before killing their target, but perhaps they could feel that they wouldn't survive this fight.

The idea of refining all four treasures within a month was unthinkable; most cultivators could barely manage two, perhaps three, in that time.

Yet, when Liu Wuxie had fought earlier, they had seen the elements of the four seasons. This meant that Liu Wuxie had refined all the treasures and was capable of controlling the laws of the four seasons.

"I have one question before I kill you four," Liu Wuxie said. He wasn't in a hurry to kill and wanted to extract information from them.

"No need to ask. We wouldn't tell you anything, not to mention we only follow orders and know nothing more," said the leader, representing the group. He knew what Liu Wuxie wanted to ask, so he told Liu Wuxie to give up trying to get anything useful from them.

"Understood!" Liu Wuxie nodded. He could read from their eyes that they weren't lying to him.

It was normal for a mysterious organization like the Black Plume Pavilion to have tight management. Otherwise, its secrets would've been leaked by now.

All assassins acted independently, following only the orders they were given. They rarely knew the full details of their missions. Usually, they found the mission details beside their pillow upon waking up.

No one knew who delivered the letters, and they just had to complete the missions given to them. If they failed, they were as good as dead.

The Black Plume Pavilion didn't need failures, and their fate was sealed the moment they failed to kill Liu Wuxie.

Since interrogation had proven futile, Liu Wuxie had no choice—he would kill them first, then scour their soul seas for any useful traces.

He needed to know if more assassins still lurked within the sacred ground.

Raising the Heretic Blade with the tip pointing upward, a swirling vortex of blade intent appeared above the four assassins.

The four assassins scattered swiftly and took on four positions, just like they had ambushed Liu Wuxie back in the city.

The four assassins struck from four directions like arrows, moving with seamless coordination. This was the very same move that had nearly killed Liu Wuxie a month ago, but he was prepared this time.

The increase in his cultivation had strengthened his soul energy, allowing him to spot the flaws in their attacks before slicing down with the Heretic Blade.

His target was the assassin on the left, whose sword technique was yin-attributed in nature. It didn't resemble a sword technique typically practiced by men. However, he couldn't see the assassin's face because of the mask.

The Heretic Blade struck from a tricky angle as Liu Wuxie vanished, teleporting by manipulating the surrounding spatial laws.

He appeared before his target without warning, and the Heretic Blade struck before the assassin could react.

Along with a flicker of blade intent, the assassin's mask fell and revealed a woman's face. Liu Wuxie didn't know this woman since she was an assassin of the Black Plume Pavilion. But for some reason, he couldn't help finding her face familiar.

"You're a disciple of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy!" He recalled catching a glimpse of her among the spectators during his battle in Astral Moon Valley. Though he couldn't remember the faces of everyone present, he was able to build a rough impression of them.

"Die!" The woman's face was devoid of emotion as she had long come to terms with death. She dropped her guard and swung her sword at Liu Wuxie's neck.

Liu Wuxie parried the blade effortlessly and knocked the sword away.

"Freeze!" Liu Wuxie froze the woman in place with the Spatial Dao Art as he questioned her. He hoped to collect more information on the Soaring Bloom Order from the assassins.

The woman stood frozen, unable to move. With her immobilized, Liu Wuxie turned to face the remaining three assassins.

With one of them down, their formation had already begun to collapse. Since Liu Wuxie had deciphered the Four Seasons Mirage Array, ordinary formations could no longer trap him.

No dao techniques were needed; the Heretic Blade was enough to suppress them. He could easily crush them in terms of the purity of true essence or the power of the laws.

"Freeze!" The Heretic Blade descended, targeting the assassin on the right this time, who was frozen in place, immobilized by the Spatial Dao Art. No matter how he struggled, the surrounding space weighed down on him.

With two assassins remaining, Liu Wuxie's figure suddenly split into two, creating two afterimages. This was a trick where the speed was pushed to the limit beyond what the naked eye could follow.

"Earth-Binding Chains!"

"Frost Dao Art!" Liu Wuxie attacked.

The Earth-Binding Chains went after the assassin before him, and the Frost Dao Art targeted the one behind.

He didn't kill the assassin at the rear and merely froze his limbs to immobilize him. He had already reached his limit after executing the Spatial Dao Art twice—any further use risked throwing the surrounding space into complete disorder.

"Kill us!" said the assassin bound by the Earth-Binding Chains. He didn't struggle, and his mask fell, revealing another youthful face.

He requested death outright. There was no point in wasting words, knowing they would never speak.

"That would be letting you off too easily. I have other plans for you," Liu Wuxie said with a smirk. He had killed too many people, and he didn't want to take another life.

"We've failed our mission. Even if you don't kill us here, we'll die the moment we leave the sacred ground," said the leader with a wry smile, shaking his head. He also hadn't come this far if he had a choice.

They shouldn't have been assassins at their age, but they had no choice.

Liu Wuxie had considered that, but he remained determined to extract information from the Black Plume Pavilion—even if it meant killing them.

He approached the female assassin, whose expression was stiff, unwilling to face him. He didn't torture them, nor did he scour their souls. He stood there, staring at them in silence despite the overwhelming urge to end their lives.

However, he knew that killing them would sever all leads.

Without uncovering the mastermind, the assassins would keep coming—endlessly.

For more leads, he planned to use these four assassins as bait.

"Kill me," the woman said, her voice quiet, asking for a swift end. Murderous intent flickered in her eyes as she spoke.

"You think it's that easy? You think I'll let you off so lightly after what you did to Fiery?" Liu Wuxie sneered. His gaze pierced the woman as two golden rays shot into her soul.

He was performing the Buddhist Clan's Conversion Art, which he had previously used to control Liu Lin to uncover the secrets of his collusion with the Wang Clan and the Eternal Spirit Mountain.

He knew there would be news from the Eternal Spirit Mountain soon. Unfortunately, Communication Talismans were rendered ineffective in sacred ground.

"What have you done to me?" the woman asked, her voice trembling with a trace of fear. She had already tried to end her life several times, but her body remained paralyzed. Even death had become a luxury beyond reach.

"You'll find out soon enough," Liu Wuxie said as he turned to the next assassin, preparing to perform the Conversion Art once more.

Within a minute, Liu Wuxie had planted the seed of conversion in all four.

"Greetings, master!" declared the four assassins, their voices reverent and unwavering.

Liu Wuxie dispelled the Spatial Dao Art and Earth-Binding Chains, releasing them from their restraints. They stood before him with devotion filled in their eyes, like loyal retainers awaiting orders.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Who sent you to kill me?" Liu Wuxie asked. Four figures had appeared on the pool of faith, and those were the imprints of their primordial spirit. This meant they were now under his control, and he could claim their lives with a thought by destroying their imprint in the pool of faith.

"Elder Black," said the assassins with a more refined appearance.

"Can you be more specific?" Liu Wuxie asked. Just the name itself was hardly a lead.

"We honestly don't know anything. He is responsible for issuing missions; we have only seen him once. Even then, he was wearing a black cloak and a mask," replied the assassin.

The four had been converted into Liu Wuxie's loyal devotees, which meant they couldn't lie to him. As they began describing Elder Black, a vague image of the man began to take shape in Liu Wuxie's mind.