Chapter 385: Divine Punishment!

Yun Xiao couldn't believe the Sky Source Seven, with their power and authority, were no match at all. The woman with white hair really didn't mess around! Before he even realized it, she had them all laid out, with Lord Yaun flattened like a pancake and the rest not looking much bettermangled up and barely recognizable.

"I'll have to remind myself not to piss off Lian Xi's master" Yun Xiao thought to himself. She wasn't just tough; she was practical to the bone. After the battle, she scooped up the seven's Bags of Holding without leaving a scrap for him.

"Zhang Qingwei is one of my people, and you dared to kill her?" Dean Yu pulled out a white jade gourd, and with a flick of her wrist, summoned the lingering spirits of the Sky Source Seven. "You'll get no mercy."

"Yu Nichang, you dare to imprison us within the Spirit Gourd? You'll" Yuan Xianjun's lingering spirit shouted furiously, but the terror and despair in his voice was unmistakable.

"Wanton murder, burning a whole world You lot will have plenty of time to reflect on your actions" Dean Yu said coldly. With a flick, she stuffed the lingering spirits of Yuan Xianjun and the other six into the Spirit Gourd and sealed it tight with a familiar ease. The sound of their mournful cries leaked out, a testament to their agony.

This is retribution for Sister Weiwei" Lian Xi muttered with tears in her eyes, holding tightly onto Yun Xiao's hand.

"Don't worry," Dean Yu assured. "Those seven won't be bothering anyone anymore. Unable to rest even after death, they're getting what they deserve. May Qingwei's spirit rest in peace"

Yun Xiao felt a weight lift off his shoulders. With the Sky Source Seven dealt with, the immediate threat to the Nine Hells was neutralized.

"Seeing how zealous and ruthless that Yuan Xianjun and the other six were, the depravity of the Primordial Ruins must sink to a whole other level of twisted" Yun Xiao mused to himself. Luckily, there were still folks like Dean Yu to keep things in check.

Yun Xiao, seeing an opportunity, softly asked, "Can we take the Nian down while it's weak? That way, the calamity looming over the common folk will be resolved."

"Yes." Dean Yu nodded, her gaze piercing through to the Immortal Asylum below, where the Nian sensed the battle above and went berserk, tearing itself apart in an even greater frenzy!

The Nian was squirming its way out of the crack, but it was struggling to break free with Moon Fairy barely holding onto its hind legs.

"Even a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. That Nian, even if it's been weakened by ages of imprisonment, is going to be a lot tougher to deal with than those seven" Yun Xiao remarked silently to himself.

Dean Yu was their last hope for a clean sweep, to put an end to this mess once and for all.

"You two, step aside." She gestured for Yun Xiao and Lian Xi to get off, ready to unleash the power of her lotus platform.

"Alright." Yun Xiao nodded, ready to step off to the sidelines, but the heavens appeared to have other plans.

Out of nowhere, the sky roared, shaking the Nine Hells to its core. Up above, through the clouds, three gigantic steles plummeted downgold, silver, and black, each stamped with a circular

return

symbol.

Like three mountains, they smashed through the clouds, their descent sparking a dazzling light show.

Dean Yu frowned, quickly retreating to her lotus platform, not letting Yun Xiao and Lian Xi out of her sight. She whisked them away just in time, as the steles slammed into the ground around the Immortal Asylum, forming a triangle that sealed off the area.

The moment they hit the ground, symbols fluttered to life on their surfaces, morphing into butterflies of gold, silver, and black, swirling up into a dome-shaped barrier that cloaked the Immortal Asylum completely.

Inside, the butterflies, shimmering with the colors of the steles, zeroed in on the Nian and its clones, sticking to them like glue. Then, they ignited into a fierce blaze, engulfing the Nian in flames that danced across its hide, a fiery spectacle to behold.

The Nian, just on the brink of freedom, let out a roar of agony as it was swallowed whole by an endless swarm of butterfly symbols. The ground of the Immortal Asylum shook violently again, the Nian's roars of fury echoing through heaven and earth, leaving the souls of the Nine Hells in a state of unease.

"Who intervened?" Yun Xiao peered into the skies, spotting three towering figures amidst the clouds, standing as if they were three sacred mountains casting their shadow over the Nine Hells, making even him feel a bit short of breath.

And behind these three, a crowd of silhouettes loomed, clearly a gathering of mighty beings.

It appeared many top figures from the Primordial Ruins had descended!

"They're here!" Yun Xiao muttered, his eyes narrowing. Those three formidable figures at the forefront were undoubtedly the True Immortals responsible for propagating the All-Life Devouring Gu.

"Nichang pays her respects to the Three True Immortals," Dean Yu, calm as ever, greeted. It appeared she was ready to hold up the sky should it fall.

The gaze of the three settled on Dean Yu, and even though Yun Xiao wasn't their target, he could feel the immense pressure they exuded, as if the weight of the whole world rested on his shoulders.

"Dean Yu, with the Nian sowing chaos, why did you slay the Sky Source Seven first?" the figure in black on the right asked.

"Please, take a look." Unruffled, Dean Yu presented a mirror that replayed the seven's misdeeds, leaving no room for doubt about their villainy.

After showing the evidence, she put the mirror away and addressed the three True Immortals, "Though they acted under the authority of the Sky Source Ruins, the Sky Source Immortal is a saintly master, a benefactor to the world. Would he truly seek to destroy it for personal gain? Clearly, those seven were deranged. I couldn't stand by and watch them tarnish the reputation of the Three True Immortals and harm the living, so I took decisive action."

After her explanation, she looked calmly towards the heavens, which fell silent for a moment. Then, an ancient voice from the middle Immortal declared, "The actions of those from the Sky Source Ruins were their own, almost leading to catastrophe. This is my responsibility. I will severely punish the higher-ups of the ruins to serve as a warning and a lesson to all."

"Your wisdom shines, True Immortal," the figures in the rear echoed.

"Well, how about that?" Yun Xiao was taken aback. He leaned over to Blue Star with a hushed tone, "Aren't these three supposed to be old devils? Why the act of mercy all of a sudden?"

Blue Star chuckled. "Them? Cruel and domineering? That'd be the day."

"Why do you say that?" Yun Xiao inquired, keeping his voice low.

"To win the masses, you play the saint. Who'd worship a tyrant? Take away the All-Life Devouring Gu, and you'll find they're paragons of virtue, at least in the public eye. That's how they earn folks' devotion," Blue Star explained with a click of the tongue.

"Got it," Yun Xiao squinted, "So, they have a weakness."

"What weakness?" Red Moon chimed in curiously.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Goodness," Yun Xiao paused, "They have to keep up their moral facade. If that crumbles, so does their spiritual power."

Blue Star shook his head with a smile, "You're being naive."

"How so?"

"That weakness you mentioned was only relevant when they were starting out. Now, they're close to their peak. Frankly, they could do anything, and people would bend over backwards to justify their actions... Once the rot sets in deep, even devils can be saints," Blue Star rattled off with ease.

"I see," Yun Xiao nodded, taking in Blue Star's words but keeping his own counsel.

"Why worry about all this? These folks are leagues beyond you. In the Primordial Ruins, you're just another face in the crowd," Blue Star rolled his eyes.

As for Lian Xi, she was not

just another face

.

Yun Xiao's eyes sparked with determination, "The next rung of the ladder is right in front of us. Just need the right resources, and it's a matter of days."

"Don't get too optimistic. The Primordial Ruins are crawling with tough critters," Blue Star warned. His caution was a clear sign that the stakes in the divine vessel were a significant step up from the Nine Hells.

"Alright." Yun Xiao wasn't one to get cocky, nor easily frightened. He'd keep a steady heart and take things one step at a time.

"The real deal is the Nian and the Immortal Asylum... The former is a threat, the latter a treasure!"

With the Three True Immortals of the Primordial Ruins making their move, what would come next?

Yun Xiao could only watch from the sidelines.

Sensing his thoughts, Dean Yu took the initiative, "True Immortals, with the beast causing havoc and the people in peril, what's the plan?"

Before she could finish, the towering figure in black glanced her way, his voice cool, "We have our ways. You focus on passing down the celestial teachings at your academy."

With a nod, Dean Yu accepted the decree. She had dealt with the Sky Source Seven, but now that the real bosses had shown up, she knew better than to overstep.

This left Yun Xiao with a headache. Yuan Xianjun was willing to burn a whole world to refine an Ascension Pill. Now, with these Three True Immortals at the helm, who could tell what they were planning to do? What if they also wanted to burn up the whole Nine Hells?

"The fact they sealed the Immortal Asylum with those steles without directly killing the Nian means they're up to something," Yun Xiao mused. "What are they after? The Immortal Asylum itself?"

A chill ran through Yun Xiao.

Then, out of the blue, the central figure in golden robes, the Sky Source Immortal, announced, "The Nian is immortal, beyond the reach of common methods. We intend to gather the blood of Immortals to scorch its flesh and bones, to burn its lineage until nothing remains, ensuring its total annihilation and preventing future threats."

Who was he addressing? Perhaps Dean Yu, or maybe the dozens of figures behind them.

"Such wisdom, True Immortal!" came the unanimous praise.

"You may leave," the Sky Source Immortal said with a benevolent gaze.

The figures dispersed, and Dean Yu, with no other choice, took Yun Xiao and Lian Xi back to the Primordial Ruins on her lotus platform, leaving the imposing figures of the Three True Immortals looming over the Immortal Asylum.

"Things just got more complicated," Yun Xiao muttered. They'd rid themselves of one problem only to face three more formidable ones. What they planned was beyond his control.

Unlike the Sky Source Seven, these Three True Immortals had reputations to maintain; they likely wouldn't resort to world-burning tactics against the inhabitants of the Nine Hells...

The events unfolding in the Nine Hells would soon be the talk of the Primordial Ruins, bringing widespread attention to the Nian. With such eyes on them, would the Three True Immortals act more cautiously?

Yun Xiao couldn't be sure. But one thing was clearsticking around would achieve nothing.

With Moon Fairy entangled with the Nian and the War Princess lurking nearby, keeping an eye on the Three True Immortals, Yun Xiao concluded, "I need to head back to the Primordial Ruins and level up, fast!"