Chapter 2156 - Forging Invincible Courage Through Slaughter

There was an enormous ritual ground at the eastern end of Grassy Creek Village. It was where the village children cultivated.

Elder Li Changqing’s residence stood beside it.

Night was fast approaching, and the light of dusk was as red as blood.

All of the villagers were currently gathered there. Elder Li Changqing and a few of the older villagers stood at the head of the group.

A silver-robed man stood just outside the ritual grounds, his hands behind his back. His voice boomed, “Even though we acquired no small amount of treasure in the mountains, it’s less than Their Excellencies of the Sky Fire Yao Sect anticipated.

“All you lowly human scum of Grassy Creek Village must empty out your pockets as compensation! We want everything you have on you!”

The villagers were visibly furious, and many of them clenched their fists.

“What? You aren’t willing?” The silver-robed man furrowed his brow, his gaze suddenly cold and dark.

He suddenly pointed at Xue Feng. “Think about how his father, your village headman, died!”

His voice boomed like thunder. Many of the villagers looked stricken and frantic.

Xue Feng’s face was ashen. He lowered his head, his entire body shaking with fury, but he didn’t dare to say anything.

A treasure ship covered in flowing, colorful lights hovered over the village. Several experts of the Sky Fire Yao Sect were drinking and partying on board.

The leader of the group was a golden-robed man of unearthly beauty. His name was Zhi Yin, and he was a descendant of Immortal Spirit Pheasant, one of the sect elders, as well as a Oneness Realm World King of the Path of Heaven’s Ascension.

He was responsible for this expedition into the Demon Crow Mountains.

Zhi Yin and his companions were drinking and partying as beautiful serving girls waited on them. They seemed as happy as could be.

To them, everything happening in the ritual grounds was no more than a spectacle.

“Hurry up and give up your treasures!!” shouted the man in silver robes, seething with murderous intent. “I’ll give you ten minutes. Refuse, or if we discover that you’ve been hiding something, all of you will die!”

All of the villagers looked to Elder Li Changqing.

After a moment’s silence, Li Changqing said gravely, “Everyone, do as His Excellency says. Cooperate and give up your treasures!”

All of the villagers looked grief-stricken and frustrated, but they had no choice but to obey.

The silver-robed man laughed and jeered, “That’s more like it! If human scum like you want to live, your only choice is to submit and cooperate!”

The experts of the Sky Fire Yao Sect watched from on board their treasure ship. They couldn’t help but shake their heads; this was far too dull.

These lowly humans won’t fight back no matter how much you hit them, and won’t argue no matter how much you insult them. They’re simply spineless!

Li Changqing was the first in the village to offer up his treasures.

With him leading the way, the other villagers suppressed their bitterness and grief and offered up their treasures, one after another.

The silver-robed man laughed and exclaimed approvingly, “Not bad! You know what’s good for you. However, this is far from enough. Go home and empty out your coffers next!”

“What?” The crowd was instantly in uproar. Many of the villagers’ eyes were bloodshot, and their hearts filled with unendurable indignation.

The silver-robed man was serving the yao cultivators, but he was obviously human, just like they were. Yet for some reason, he treated them even more ruthlessly than the yao cultivators did!

“How are we supposed to live? Are you trying to see us dead?” roared Xue Feng.

Whoosh!

The silver-robed man’s eyes glinted like knives as he looked at Xue Feng. “What? Your father’s death wasn’t enough to teach you manners? Or have you been resentful over his death this entire time? Kneel! Or else, I’ll kill you on the spot!”

Xue Feng clenched his fists, his face ashen and his eyes bloodshot.

Clang!

The silver-robed man drew a glinting saber. His murderous intent practically boiled over.

But then, the utterly enraged Xue Feng quivered from head to toe, and the crowd watched as his knees thudded to the ground.

The villagers’ hearts ached, and their expressions were bleak.

Li Changqing sighed inwardly.

The kid’s got backbone, but he’s obviously letting his emotions control him. He shouldn’t have said anything earlier.

“Hahaha! Worthless! You don’t dare to fight back at all! You’re really fucking useless!” The man in silver burst into laughter, the sound extraordinarily grating to the ears.

Zhi Yin’s voice emanated from the hovering treasure ship. “Cut the chatter. Hurry up and get started!”

It was just one light, airy sentence, but the silver-robed man shuddered and hurriedly plastered an obsequious smile on his face. “I shall assiduously carry out your orders, Your Excellency!”

A moment later, he raised his saber and pointed its tip at Li Changqing. “Help me gather the spoils. The village must offer up all of its treasures within ten minutes, or else...”

He laughed hideously, “I wouldn’t mind slaughtering the entire village!”

Li Changqing sighed to himself, then got to work.

But then, the creaking of a wooden wheelchair emanated from afar. It was particularly jarring against the stifled, deathly silence.

When the crowd looked over, they saw a young woman in beast skin robes pushing a wooden wheelchair their way beneath the fiery light of dusk.

A young man sat quietly in the wheelchair. He too was clad in beast skins. His skin was pale, and his long hair hung loose to his sides.

These were none other than Su Yi and A’Ling.

Over the past several weeks, Su Yi had remained completely paralyzed. It was A’Ling who tended to him every day, including wiping his entire body clean and washing his face. She’d even sewn his beast skin robes personally.

When Elder Li Changqing saw them approach, he instantly looked worried, and he was inwardly frantic.

Didn’t I tell her to take Xiao Jian and run away? What are they doing here instead!? How is this any different from throwing themselves into the net?

When Zhi Yin and his companions saw this from on board the treasure ship, all of them were stunned, and their expressions turned strange. “What’s a cripple in a wheelchair doing getting involved in this?”

“Ah, but the girl’s not bad. She looks spunky, and she’s got a spiritual air about her!” Zhi Yin stroked his lower jaw and stared at A’Ling. Then, he ordered, “Luo San, bring her too. Remember: don’t hurt her!”

The silver-robed man grinned. “One moment, please, Your Excellency!”

Li Changqing’s expression shifted. “Your Excellency, we can give you all of our treasures, but please, don’t...”

“Shut your mouth!” roared the silver-robed man. “One more word, and I’ll kill you!”

With that, he pressed off the ground and shot toward the distant Su Yi and A’Ling.

“Consider yourself lucky, girl. You were actually fortunate enough to have caught His Excellency Zhi Yin’s eye. Stay by his side and serve him well, and I guarantee you a bright future!” laughed the man in silver robes.

A’Ling was instantly nervous. The silver-robed man was in the Profound Unity Stage, just like Elder Li Changqing!

Su Yi, however, remained perfectly calm. “Use the Lightning Execution Talisman and kill him.”

“Enough! Do you

want

us to fight to the death?” Practically simultaneously, Li Changqing rushed over, his eyes bloodshot. He was completely enraged.

The silver-robed man’s expression darkened, and he swung his saber at Li Changqing. A waterfall of silver saber light rose into the heavens, its radiance stinging the eyes.

But a moment later, the dazzling saber light was enveloped by even more stingingly brilliant electricity.

Bang!!

The onlookers felt as if they were seeing things. A streak of lightning exploded into being, and the man in silver robes disintegrated into ash.

Destroyed, body and soul!

His glinting saber clattered to the ground. It was all that remained of him.

Silence descended over the crowd. The villagers’ eyes widened.

Li Changqing was stunned, but a moment later, he visibly lost his composure. Inwardly, he cried out,

This is terrible!

“How dare you kill my subordinate? You’re courting death!”

Just as Li Changqing expected, the experts of the Sky Fire Yao Sect jumped to their feet and glowered at Su Yi and A’Ling.

All of them had watched her use a talisman to kill the silver-robed man, Luo San.

They didn’t care about Luo San’s life in the slightest. He was just a human servant, and they had no shortage of those.

But killing him was a slap in the face! Before you hit a dog, you had to make sure you could afford to offend its master.

Terrifying murderous intent enveloped the entire area.

A’Ling visibly tensed up. Just now, she’d acted on orders, obeying Su Yi on instinct. It was only after she’d killed Luo San that she realized how serious the situation was.

She’d just irrevocably offended the Sky Fire Yao Sect! In doing so, she’d implicated all of Grassy Creek Village!

Su Yi said warmly, “A’Ling, you hunt in the mountains year-round, and you have an abundance of combat experience, so why is it that facing a few dirty beasts like them makes you this ill at ease?”

Before A’Ling could respond, Su Yi said, “Don’t be afraid. Starting now, I’ll teach you how to kill your enemies. Courage... has always been tempered through slaughter. You must break the fear in your heart before you can become a true expert.”

Zhi Yin and the other Sky Fire Yao Sect experts couldn’t help but find this absurd.

A wheelchair bound cripple dares call us ‘dirty beasts’ to our faces?

And he seriously plans to give that little girl killing lessons?

What a reckless fool!!

“Please wait, everyone. I’ll go capture that girl, and while I’m at it, I’ll ask the guy in the wheelchair to ‘teach us how to kill our enemies,’” jeered a man in black robes. “I’ll be interested to see if they dare to resist!”

With that, he leaped overboard.

“Use the Annihilating Flames Talisman,” SuYi said calmly.

A’Ling tensed, but when she heard Su Yi, she instinctively raised her hand and shattered another talisman.

Boom!

Strange black divine flames descended from the heavens like a waterfall, then expanded into a sea of flame. The blaze seemed intent on melting the entire stretch of heaven and earth.

The black-robed man had only just charged at them, and he didn’t even have time to dodge before the sea of black flames swept over him.

Within moments, he was reduced to ash!

His last desperate shrieks made the crowd’s hair stand on end.

When Zhi Yin and the other Sky Fire Yao Sect cultivators on board the treasure ship saw this, they were alarmed and furious. Even if you’d hit them over the head, they would never have guessed that two lowly humans from Grassy Creek Village would dare to attack them!

Had they gone insane!?

“Senior Apprentice Brother, there’s something strange about that girl’s talismans!” someone whispered a warning. “Seems to me we’d best get a feel for the situation first.”

The others nodded.

The black-robed man had been their sectmate, and he was a true Heavenly Longevity Realm World King, yet he’d been burned to death in a flash. Who wouldn’t have been startled?

Thus, they chose to hold off for now and figure out the situation before they did anything else.

But Su Yi didn’t give them the opportunity. A pack of yao riffraff, that’s all. There was no need to waste time talking to them. Better to just kill them and be done with it.

“A’Ling, attack the ship with the Spirit-Slaughtering Sword Talisman,” Su Yi ordered casually.

“Got it!” A’Ling raised her hand and shattered another talisman.

Immediately afterward, sword qi flashed through the air, like a beam of the flowing light of the nine heavens.

Heaven and earth shook, and the sky tore and collapsed.

The treasure ship was instantly blasted into countless pieces. Zhi Yin and everyone else on board were completely eradicated, destroyed in both body and soul.

Not one survived.

Deathly silence fell over the crowd. Even the birds fell silent.

Everyone’s minds went blank. They just stood there in a daze.

Those were experts of the Sky Fire Yao Sect!! Yet they’d died just like that!?

Li Changqing was stunned too.

Even A’Ling looked dazed. She would never have guessed that the talismans her Big Brother Xiao taught her how to refine would be this terrifying!

Su Yi said gently, “Look! Killing your enemies is simple. Overcome your fear, and everything that once scared you will seem as harmless as a clay chicken or porcelain dog. Snap your fingers and they’re dead.”

The fiery light of dusk washed over Su Yi, lending his pallid face an additional air of mystery as he continued softly, “But this was just a measly little appetizer. It’s not enough to avenge the village headman, either.

“Tomorrow at dawn, we’ll take a trip to the Sky Fire Yao Sect. If you’re going to kill, you ought to kill to your heart’s content, and forge a fearless, invincible courage!”