Chapter 242

Chapter 242: Setting an Example

"Heaven’s Secret Pavilion speaks quite boldly! You speak of annihilating my Bi Fang divine clan as if it’s nothing!" The red-haired youth let out a cold, furious laugh as he gripped his battle halberd, murderous aura surging wildly.

"Silence."

An angry shout rang out as an elderly woman appeared outside the true immortal’s cave. With a kindly expression, she looked at Ye Xian’er and pleaded, "Young lady, might I trouble you to relay a message to the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion? The Bi Fang divine clan wishes to apologize to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. We offer these six culprits and humbly beg the pavilion master for leniency."

"Elder, are you betraying us?"

A woman stared at the elderly matriarch in terror.

The other culprits also wore expressions of dismay and fury.

They had ambushed those disciples of the Temple of Ten Thousand Paths solely to seize more resources for the Bi Fang divine clan—to nurture more geniuses and expand their territory. Yet the elder’s words chilled them to the bone.

Her face impassive, the elder declared icily, "I will not let a handful of fools destroy the entire Bi Fang divine clan."

As the clan’s ruler, her duty was to safeguard the entire race, regardless of cost.

Ye Xian’er replied, "The cause and consequence are clearly stated upon the edict. The Bi Fang divine clan cannot escape extermination today."

"This calamity is entirely of your clan’s own making!"

Her voice trembled with suppressed rage.

What crime did those Temple of Ten Thousand Paths elders commit? They were killed without provocation by the Bi Fang, their treasures stolen.

This was no different than brazenly shearing the wool from Heaven’s Secret Pavilion itself.

Across all realms, the Bi Fang divine clan was the first to dare eat the crab.

Therefore, they must pay the price.

Whoosh!

Ye Xian’er unfurled the edict. Countless ancient characters shifted and coalesced into a single, towering character: 杀—Kill. Its annihilating aura pierced through the Yuan Realm, tore the clouds asunder, and shook mountains and rivers like the thunder of ten thousand charging steeds. A suffocating sense of doom blanketed the land for millions of miles.

"Retreat to the cave! Now!"

Sensing imminent catastrophe the instant the edict opened, the elder instantly fled into the true immortal’s cave.

The red-haired youth darted after her.

But the five Emperor Venerables reacted too late. The moment the "Kill" character manifested, their domains of the Great Dao had barely begun to form when the shattering killing intent washed over them.

The five wailed in agony as their Dao fruit and primordial spirits scattered like smoke in the wind.

Awe flooded Ye Xian’er’s heart. That a single character written by Ye Xu could unleash such terrifying power proved why he was truly her idol.

Clang!

Immortal light rippled across the edict, condensing into the hazy form of a man—Ye Xu. His sleeves fluttered while his eyes held cold indifference. He grasped a vicious sword forged from the Great Dao of Slaughter and swept its killing edge toward the Bi Fang divine clan’s true immortal’s cave.

In combat, Ye Xu relied not on refined skill but overwhelming, unmatched strength.

And his might was utterly sufficient to crush any true immortal.

This edict held half—fifty percent—of Ye Xu’s power, more than enough to obliterate the Bi Fang divine clan’s last refuge.

Boom!

The life force within a million miles was drained by this single sword stroke. A colossal sword cleaved through the void, and the Great Dao rules manifested. A character for ‘杀’ (kill) appeared mid-air, each stroke seeming inscribed by the Great Dao itself. As Ye Xu’s sword fell, it resembled the creation and separation of heavens and earth.

"Activate the formation!"

The old woman’s voice was piercing. Immortal light surged across the true immortal’s cave. Within the ten suns, one Bi Fang after another awakened. Ten near-immortal powerhouses poured their magic power together into the true immortal’s cave.

Kree!

The true immortal’s cave warped. The Bi Fang divine bird soared upward, its entire body bathed in Bi Fang immortal fire that scorched the very space, causing it to distort. Its wings flipped over, striking like two celestial cleavers towards the Great Dao of Slaughter.

An immortal aura erupted. The Bi Fang divine bird’s cry echoed eternally. Its immortal fire incinerated a million miles; the vast territory turned to scorched earth in an instant.

This was the imprint of the very first Bi Fang, a descendant of the innate gods, the essence born within fire.

Yet, before Ye Xu, it still fell short.

Swoosh!

Ye Xu’s sword descended. The six strokes forming the ‘杀’ character transformed into six streaks of sword light, streaking towards the Bi Fang divine bird.

In that fleeting moment, the six sword lights arced across the sky. The Bi Fang’s wings were severed, its body practically cleaved in two, vanishing into nothingness.

The true immortal’s cave trembled violently, mountains shaking as countless fissures spiderwebbed its surface. The members of the Bi Fang divine clan watched the cave crumble, a scene of apocalyptic destruction. Shrieks of terror erupted as they scrambled wildly to flee the collapsing realm.

"No!"

The colossal sword plunged into the cave, forcibly splitting it asunder. The ten suns hanging in the sky bore the brunt, rent apart and annihilated by the Great Dao of Slaughter.

Ten near-immortal powerhouses couldn’t withstand a single sword stroke.

"Senior Brother Meng! Senior Brother Ji!" The old woman screamed, eyes seeming to bleed with rage, her voice tearing towards the sky.

"Daoist brother, though the Bi Fang divine clan erred, their crimes did not warrant extermination. I beseech you, be merciful. Spare the Bi Fang divine clan." Two figures materialized between heaven and earth. The Green Robe Drunkard—Ji Xuan Yi—formed a hand seal with one hand. A Taiji circle rotated, blocking the sword strike.

Though it halted Ye Xu’s great Dao fierce weapon, Ji Xuan Yi strained tremendously, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"I am no match for him."

A single touch was enough. Ji Xuan Yi’s heart turned to icy dread. He understood immediately and dared not show the slightest carelessness.

Seeing this, Meng Changan activated the Great Dream Immortal Art, joining Ji Xuan Yi in blocking the Slaughter Immortal Sword.

He stared at Ye Xu and also spoke, "The five who perpetrated the harm are now dead. The Bi Fang divine clan has already lost ten of its supreme powerhouses. Must you pursue absolute destruction, Daoist brother?"

"When will these grievances ever be settled…"

A mocking smile played on Ye Xu’s lips, somewhere between amusement and disdain. "Even if I gave them the chance, did they have the courage to seek revenge upon me?"

Meng Changan choked, his words caught. "Daoist brother’s vast divine abilities are such that none across the Lower Realm could hope to rival you."

"These old bones misspoke."

Meng Changan’s heart pounded with terror.

He had come to mediate, not to fight.

Now it was clear: even combined, he and Ji Xuan Yi could not withstand a single blow from Ye Xu.

"Senior, this junior admits his wrongdoing."

At this moment, the red-haired youth stepped towards Ye Xu. With each step, he kowtowed, his forehead breaking open and bleeding. Endless fear and remorse filled his eyes; the arrogance and audacity he once possessed had utterly vanished.

A single thought, a single wrong decision, had forged the extermination disaster of his clan. For this, ten thousand deaths could not absolve his guilt.

The only hope now was to use his death to seek forgiveness from Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

The old lady watched this scene and nodded slightly.

The red-haired youth finally showed some responsibility.

The red-haired youth had expectant eyes; he no longer expected to survive, only hoping to preserve the Bi Fang divine clan.

"You should bow to those innocent ones at the Temple of Ten Thousand Paths, not to me."

Ye Xu said indifferently, "Moreover, if a mistake could be undone with just an apology, the punishment would be too light."

"The Bi Fang divine clan, I still intend to destroy. And you, you were never meant to live."

Bang!

With a single glance from Ye Xu, the red-haired youth suddenly tensed his entire body; then his Great Dao perished, his primordial spirit shattered, turning into a wisp of green smoke and vanishing in the void.

Meng Changan and Ji Xuan Yi felt anxious and uneasy, continuously communicating through eye contact.

"If I say I will destroy the Bi Fang divine clan, no one can stop me." Ye Xu stepped forward, unleashing an overwhelming presence; the true immortal’s cave cracked and collapsed at a visible speed.

Meng Changan and Ji Xuan Yi exchanged a glance, their expressions extremely grave.

The matter had become troublesome.

The actions of the Bi Fang divine clan had deeply angered Heaven’s Secret Pavilion; if everyone imitated the Bi Fang divine clan, who would dare trade at Heaven’s Secret Pavilion in the future?

This matter touched the foundation of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, so Ye Xu naturally would not show leniency.

He intended to establish his authority by making an example of the Bi Fang divine clan.

At the same time, it was a show to warn the ancient divine clans and other forces of the Yuan Realm.

"You two, Daoist friends, choose death or life?" Ye Xu’s gaze met their eyes; both pupils constricted suddenly, immediately breaking into cold sweat from fear.

The two felt the killing intent.

Cultivation was not easy, and this affair was entirely unrelated to them, so they certainly wanted to live.

The reason they were here was that the old lady had promised them benefits, and since they were also from ancient divine clans, they had come to lend a hand.

Now that Ye Xu displayed killing intent, even the stupidest person knew it couldn’t continue, let alone two true immortals.

"Junior Sister, today’s events aren’t because we didn’t want to help, we are truly powerless." Meng Changan and Ji Xuan Yi wore bitter smiles, cupped their fists, and bid farewell.

Thud!

The old lady let go of her cane and slumped to the ground, completely limp.

Her eyes were cloudy and blank.

The Bi Fang divine clan had dominated for millions of years, from the Primordial Era to this day, spanning ages; today’s annihilation arrived inexplicably.

"So the prophecy came true…"

The old lady laughed weirdly.

The Bi Fang divine clan was truly destroyed because of that red-haired youth’s generation.

"Sigh…" Meng Changan and the other sighed deeply, vanishing deep into the void.

Boom!

Ye Xu pressed his palm downward; the power of the Great Dao of creation instantly covered the true immortal’s cave; amid confusion and despair, the old lady experienced Body perishes, Dao vanishes, and one Bi Fang after another turned to ash.

Bang!

The true immortal’s cave exploded violently, completely pulverized; the sages, great sages, and Great Emperors all dissipated with the wind.

This wisp of Ye Xu’s power also fell onto the golden holy decree, landing in Ye Xian’er’s hand.

Ye Xian’er looked at the ruins before her, deeply stunned.

Destroying the Bi Fang divine clan with a single decree was merely the tip of the iceberg of the Master’s strength.

"Time to return and report." Ye Xian’er turned into a long rainbow, flew out of the ruins, and headed back to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

In the void, Meng Changan and Ji Xuan Yi watched the ruins from afar, filled with many thoughts.

"Though the Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion punished the Bi Fang divine clan, he was warning us by making an example of them."

Meng Changan sighed.

"The annihilation of the Bi Fang divine clan should serve as a warning to the ancient divine clans."

Ji Xuan Yi solemnly said, "Recently, their actions have truly been excessive."

The ancient divine clans emerged; within days, they nearly suppressed all local clans of the Yuan Realm, turning them into slaves or livestock; vast as the Yuan Realm was, only Dawn City of humans and the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom in the West could hold out temporarily now.

"You, Daoist friend, think too highly of them."

Meng Changan mocked with a laugh, "What living beings learn from history is that they learn nothing."

"The Bi Fang divine clan was only the first."