Chapter 553

Chapter 553: Settling a Karmic Matter

"Master, where do we go now?"

"Back to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

Taotie inquired.

"It’s rare to be out. Let’s settle this matter." Mu Fanyin stated lightly. "To the Tianyuan Immortal Domain. I shall settle a karmic matter."

Having met the Chaotic Ancient God, the affair of the Sky-Reaching Mu Family could no longer be delayed.

"As you command."

Taotie let out a long roar, soared from the Dragon Palace, and flew southward.

"Relying on his master’s might like a vicious dog!"

Celestial Lord Suanni glared with venomous eyes, watching the retreating figures of Taotie and the others, grinding his teeth in hatred.

"Fourth Son."

The Ancestral Dragon materialized out of thin air and ordered. "Your father must leave the Dragon Palace for a time. You shall remain here. Furthermore, closely monitor the movements of the Palace Master of Yuqing."

"Divine Dragon, Yuqing Palace has been razed to the ground. Why fear a mere Palace Master of Yuqing?" Suanni dismissed it casually.

"Hmph!"

The Ancestral Dragon snorted coldly. "Fifth Brother destroyed Yuqing Palace and departed immediately thereafter. Yet he employed forces under the Dragon Palace’s banner. It’s hard to guarantee the Palace Master of Yuqing won’t vent his fury upon us."

"That damned bastard!"

Celestial Lord Suanni cursed vehemently. "Not only did he mobilize troops without authorization, but he also invited wolves into the house!"

"Silence!"

The Ancestral Dragon rebuked.

Celestial Lord Suanni clammed up, falling silent.

"This task Daoist brother assigned me is truly a thankless one." The Ancestral Dragon felt his cup of bitterness overflow. "The secrets of the Hongmeng Dao Realm are numerous indeed. Could it be… to have the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion deduce the secrets of the yin and yang realms?"

…

After half a day.

Taotie descended upon the Tianyuan Immortal Domain and entered the Sky-Reaching Ancient City.

He assumed his human form and, along with Mu Fanyin and her companions, flew silently into the Mu Family compound.

After a cataclysm hundreds of millions of years prior, the Mu Family, under Mu Xuanji’s management, had gradually regained its strength. It once again ruled the Sky-Reaching Ancient City and stood as a major power in the Tianyuan Immortal Domain.

The estate of the Mu Family spanned an immense area, housing numerous exotic beasts in meticulously tiered enclosures.

"Master, shall I swallow them all in one gulp?" Taotie stirred restlessly.

Mu Fanyin declared, "I execute only the ringleaders."

Most Mu Family members now were descendants born later. They bore little relation to her past self, offering no cause for extermination.

"Go to Zhan Tian Hall," Mu Fanyin commanded. "Bring me the head of Dao Sovereign Zhan Tian."

Taotie accepted the order and departed.

Mu Fanyin moved her Divine Sense and instantly locked onto Mu Xuanji.

The next second.

Mu Fanyin and others appeared within a palace hall.

The high-ranking members of the Mu Family gathered together, seeming to be discussing matters.

Seeing the unexpectedly arrived Mu Fanyin, they acted as if they had seen a ghost.

"It’s you, that calamity!"

Gray-haired elders cried out in terror.

"Sister?" Mu Xuanji tentatively called out, his eyes slightly narrowing.

Back in Canglan City, he and Dao Sovereign Zhan Tian had been forced to retreat by Mu Fanyin’s second personality. He did not know what had happened in Taihuang Abyss. He knew nothing about Mu Fanyin’s condition.

Whoosh!

Mu Fanyin clenched her fingers in the air. An invisible palm grasped Mu Xuanji’s throat, lifting him slowly into the air.

"Head of the family!"

The elders’ faces turned pale with terror.

"Fanyin, stop quickly! He is your own brother!" An old woman from the Dao Sovereign realm shouted loudly.

"This woman has gone mad again. Let’s join forces to eliminate her!"

Others clamored to kill Mu Fanyin.

"Own brother?"

Mu Fanyin’s smile was sinister. "Do you really think I don’t remember what happened in the past?"

"Is it you?"

Mu Xuanji was terrified beyond words.

At this moment, Mu Xuanji finally understood. The Mu Fanyin before him had recovered her memories. She knew every scene from the past.

"I am myself."

Mu Fanyin said indifferently.

"Sister, you can’t kill me." Mu Xuanji struggled wildly. "I am your own brother."

Mu Fanyin laughed.

Deep in her eyes, there was an indescribable emotion.

It was sorrow.

After achieving Dao Ancestor, she had not felt sorrow for several epochs, countless billions of years.

Since her reincarnation, her mother was the only one who treated her well. The members of the Mu Family, after learning of her reincarnation identity, had under the orders of various forces tried every means to kill her.

And the mastermind behind it all was Mu Xuanji.

Until the day they drove her mother to death, Mu Fanyin erupted.

That day, the Mu Family streets ran red with blood. Except for Mu Xuanji and a few elders who were out on business, the entire Mu Family was exterminated by Mu Fanyin alone.

"Last time, you narrowly avoided disaster," Mu Fanyin said expressionlessly. "But unfortunately, you still thought of using me. Today, you are not so lucky."

"Sister, I am mother’s only son," Mu Xuanji roared. "If she were alive, she definitely would not have us slaughter each other like brothers."

Crack!

Mu Fanyin exerted a slight force, and Mu Xuanji’s neck was snapped.

"Wait."

Just at that moment, an elder of the family spoke up: "Young Miss, since you have regained your memories, you should know that targeting you was not the Mu Family’s original intention."

"After your descent into the world, many people instructed us to kill you."

"But we resisted the pressure."

"Later, those people’s influence grew more powerful, and the pressure on the Mu Family became greater, forcing us to take action against you. To sacrifice just one person to protect the entire Mu Family, we had no choice but to do this."

Bang!

Mu Fanyin waved her hand, and the speaking elder burst apart with a bang, his soul scattered.

The crowd fell silent.

"Right!"

Mu Xuanji seemed to grasp the last lifeline; his primordial spirit urgently said: "Sister, the people who want you dead are those lofty Heavenly Venerates."

"If you recover your peak cultivation, you pose the greatest threat to them."

"You cannot kill me."

Mu Xuanji’s primordial spirit roared: "If I die, they will surely know you have recovered and will definitely come after you."

"At that time, you will also perish with me."

"In the past, you were a pawn."

"Now, you are a discarded piece."

Mu Fanyin said indifferently.

Boom!

Hearing these words, Mu Xuanji completely collapsed.

He was a smart person.

Yet he still held onto a thread of fantasy.

Mu Fanyin’s words completely shattered his fantasy.

"I will soul searching for what I want," Mu Fanyin said, and Divine Sense surged into Mu Xuanji’s primordial spirit.

"Ah…"

Mu Xuanji let out a spine-chilling scream.

Soul searching was the most painful.

Before long, Mu Fanyin gained everything she wanted.

"They are all puppets."

Mu Fanyin sneered.

Bang!

With a gentle clench of her fist, Mu Xuanji’s primordial spirit utterly crumbled, vanishing completely.

Su Mu’s eyelids twitched.

Who could have imagined that the seemingly youthful and beautiful Mu Fanyin possessed methods so ruthlessly decisive.

A sheer female demon.

Mu Fanyin’s gaze swept over the elder clansmen one by one.

They kept their heads bowed, trembling violently.

"You six, killing you would dirty my hands." Mu Fanyin crooked a finger, and the six elders, male and female, involuntarily rose into the air.

"Kill yourselves."

Mu Fanyin commanded.

"Young Mistress, if we die, will you exterminate the Mu Family?" one elder implored sorrowfully.

"Do you think you are qualified to bargain with me?"

"We beg you, Young Mistress, for the sake of the late Mistress, spare the Mu Family."

Two elders spoke these words, then destroyed themselves and perished.

"Bang!"

Several breaths later.

The remaining four patriarchs followed suit, meeting their deaths.

Those left behind wore expressions of grief and indignation. The Mu Family’s top-tier strength had been utterly decimated. Even if Mu Fanyin didn’t wipe them out today, surviving future struggles within the Tianyuan Immortal Domain would be near impossible after this day.

"Let’s go."

Mu Fanyin turned and left.

Su Mu and Feng Wuji hurriedly followed after her.

"Master, mission accomplished within your expectations."

A quarter of an hour later, Taotie returned.

He held a severed head, unmistakably that of the Zhan Tian Hall Master, who had dared to attack Mu Fanyin that day.

He couldn’t help but lick his lips.

The tens of thousands of disciples from Zhan Tian Hall had all fallen into his maw, becoming part of him.

"Return to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

Mu Fanyin spoke.

Swoosh!

Taotie transformed, carrying the three of them as he flew towards Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

A light breeze drifted by, the clouds gathering and dispersing.

Mu Fanyin closed her eyes, her emotions surging within.

Starting today, this life of hers was irrevocably consigned to the past.

All karmic ties had been severed.

At this moment, she was the Dao Ancestor Tuntian.