Chapter 116: The Annihilation of Yanfu Palace

The forces of Yanfu Palace arrived at the mountain gate. Wan Xingyun was the first to speak: "I wonder what brings you here, young friend? The Palace Master is currently in seclusion and unable to come out to greet you. I hope you can understand."

Liu Junhuai gave a cold sneer and replied, "Your people at Yanfu Palace know exactly why I am here. Why have you repeatedly sent people to obstruct my personal business? The Shen family hired cultivators from the Blood-Slaying Alliance; could it be that your Yanfu Palace is also linked to them?"

Fang Shangxi retorted, "Friend, that is an inappropriate remark. Shen Bingwen of our palace is a member of the Shen family. It is only natural for Yanfu Palace to provide assistance when our disciples are in trouble. Do you find something wrong with that?"

Liu Junhuai said, "Since that is how you put it, I suppose there is nothing left to discuss. I will go find your Palace Master and talk to him instead!"

Before Liu Junhuai’s voice had even faded, Bian Jizhong and the others drew their weapons and surged forward.

Wan Xingyun was shocked and quickly said, "Wait a moment, young friend, I have a few words to say. I do not know what was improper about what Palace Master Fang said, but is it wrong to stand up for one's disciples? Do you think Yanfu Palace is easy to bully?"

Liu Junhuai laughed. "I did not say Yanfu Palace cannot stand up for its disciples, but colluding with the Blood-Slaying Alliance in secret is not a matter of 'propriety'!"

Wan Xingyun asked, "You keep mentioning the Blood-Slaying Alliance, but do you have any proof in your hands?"

Liu Junhuai replied, "Do you have a Vice Palace Master named Li Chengyi here?"

Wan Xingyun paused, sensing that something was amiss. "This is Vice Palace Master Li. Why do you ask about him?"

Liu Junhuai said, "Then you should ask him! He is a member of the Blood-Slaying Alliance. Oh, and I forgot to tell you: Cheng Keli is being held captive at the Heavenly Mystery Gate; he is also a member of the Blood-Slaying Alliance. The twenty-some Yanfu Palace disciples I killed were all members of the Blood-Slaying Alliance. My friend, you tell me—why am I here?"

Wu Wanren stepped forward at this moment and stated, "I am Wu Wanren of the Heavenly Mystery Gate. The members of the Blood-Slaying Alliance hidden within your Yanfu Palace have all confessed, and this Li Chengyi is on that list."

Li Chengyi, standing to the side, was already terrified. Knowing that this matter could no longer be resolved peacefully and that he could not let Liu Junhuai continue, he channeled his true essence and struck a palm at Liu Junhuai.

Among the dozen people who had come from Yanfu Palace, there were others on that list. Seeing Li Chengyi make his move, they swarmed forward to attack Liu Junhuai and his companions.

Before Li Chengyi’s palm wind could reach him, Liu Junhuai already had his Ghost-Eye Blood Blade in hand. A violent aura of slaughter instantly permeated the air. As the Ghost-Eye on the hilt flashed, the blade whistled toward the incoming palm wind.

Li Chengyi immediately felt a massive, savage energy rushing toward him; the smell of blood within that savage force made his heart tremble with fear.

Before Li Chengyi could retract his palm power to defend himself, Liu Junhuai’s "Seven-Kill Finger: First Kill - Life-Taking" was executed silently. In the split second Li Chengyi blocked the Ghost-Eye Blood Blade, the finger strike pierced his dantian.

Before Li Chengyi could even react, the violent blade aura of the Ghost-Eye Blood Blade severed the arm he had used to block.

Liu Junhuai pulled back the blade, grabbed the now-withered Li Chengyi, tapped a few points on his body, and tossed him behind. Mo Sitong stepped forward to receive him and sealed him within a cold-iron bracelet.

By now, the two sides were locked in a chaotic battle. Wu Yaohan and Bian Jizhong were fighting against the two Vice Palace Masters, who were clearly at a disadvantage.

Liu Junhuai’s thoughts flashed, and he appeared behind Wan Xingyun, swinging the Ghost-Eye Blood Blade directly at his back.

Wan Xingyun felt the fierce, savage aura approaching. In his alarm, he abandoned his fight with Wu Yaohan and lunged to the side, pouring all his true essence into his back in a desperate attempt to defend.

Even so, a foot-long gash was carved into his back by the blade aura, and the aura of slaughter seized the opportunity to invade, eroding his flesh and meridians.

Having escaped death, Wan Xingyun ignored Liu Junhuai behind him and fled in a panic, desperately circulating his true essence to expel the slaughter aura that had entered his body.

Liu Junhuai did not pursue him. As more Yanfu Palace disciples arrived as reinforcements, he turned and plunged into the crowd, wielding the Ghost-Eye Blood Blade.

Wherever the fierce and violent blade aura passed, it was like a hot knife through butter, and countless severed limbs flew through the air.

The dense aura of slaughter tore holes in the void, and the scattered blood was instantly sucked into the distorted space and vanished.

The dark red blade of the Ghost-Eye Blood Blade, stimulated by the scent of blood, released even more violent baleful energy, crazily assaulting the bodies of the surrounding cultivators.

Fang Shangxi was being entangled by the joint efforts of Wu Yaohan and Bian Jizhong. Seeing Liu Junhuai’s terrifying strength out of the corner of his eye, a feeling of cowardice suddenly gripped his heart, and his movements slowed.

Bian Jizhong seized this rare opportunity, putting his full strength into a strike. Wu Yaohan, understanding his intent, followed the momentum of that strike and quietly launched a blood-coagulating flying spike.

Fang Shangxi, already distracted, suddenly felt the power of Bian Jizhong’s strike surge and hurriedly gathered his focus to defend against it.

Unexpectedly, just as he barely managed to block that strike, a spray of sharp objects pierced his chest.

Before Fang Shangxi could let out a cry of pain, Wu Yaohan’s Scarlet Chain Spear had already pierced his abdomen. Following closely behind, Bian Jizhong’s Tiger-Shadow Blade whistled through the air and severed his head with a 'swish.'

The Golden Core stage cultivators from Yanfu Palace who had joined the battle were now all dead. The remaining people lost the will to fight and fled in all directions.

On Liu Junhuai’s side, everyone except Fang Keyin, Bian Yanshan, and the three female warriors had joined the fight. Seeing the enemy’s spirit broken, they did not hold back.

Before long, the hundred or so Yanfu Palace disciples who had lost their will to fight were cut down one by one.

In the distance, a shrill, mournful howl suddenly rang out. It was the Palace Master of Yanfu Palace, Qin Shengqiu, leading dozens of disciples as they charged in.

Liu Junhuai held the Ghost-Eye Blood Blade horizontally before him, signaling everyone to retreat. He circulated his transformation technique to manifest the Heaven-Covering Seal. With a flip of his hand, the purple seal slowly floated into the air, its brilliant purple light gradually transforming into a giant hand that seemed to cover the sky.

While the Yanfu Palace group was still a dozen yards away, the giant hand descended rapidly. A series of squelching sounds followed as several people were instantly crushed into meat patties, quickly consumed by Ah Zi’s purple flames. A stench of charred blood spread everywhere.

Liu Junhuai leaped forward. The giant hand rolled wantonly through the enemy ranks, and as flesh and blood flew, specks of purple flame interspersed among them, clinging to the bodies of the Yanfu Palace disciples.

The flames ignited upon contact, and within a few breaths, the enemy ranks were filled with screams.

Qin Shengqiu’s face was as yellow as wax, his lips ghastly pale, his gray beard trembling, and his entire body shaking. His eyes, sunken deep into their sockets, stared at Liu Junhuai like a pair of marbles, and he let out a beast-like roar.

His voice rose from low to high until he was screaming in a frenzy. His face flushed red and then turned blue; his neck swelled as if it were about to burst. His head was covered in sweat, his lips were coated in white foam, and his eyes seemed to be overflowing with blood.

Suddenly, Qin Shengqiu launched himself like an arrow released from a bow, flying rapidly toward Liu Junhuai.

Liu Junhuai, however, acted as if he felt nothing, continuing to slaughter the Yanfu Palace disciples, his Heaven-Covering hand flipping left and right.

In an instant, Qin Shengqiu was less than two yards from Liu Junhuai. He suddenly turned his head to look at Qin Shengqiu, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth—a smile that looked like contempt to Qin Shengqiu.

Qin Shengqiu felt a flicker of panic, but the arrow was already fired; there was no turning back.

Just as his palm wind was about to touch Liu Junhuai’s body, ripples suddenly spread across Liu Junhuai’s surroundings. A flash of golden light burst forth from the ripples and, with a 'whoosh,' pierced through Qin Shengqiu’s chest.

Qin Shengqiu did not even have time to react. His palm remained outstretched, but there was no longer a trace of true essence fluctuation in his body.

He gradually felt his body grow cold, his consciousness fading. With a dull thud, Qin Shengqiu collapsed to the ground, dead.

The Yanfu Palace disciples stopped attacking almost simultaneously, staring blankly at Qin Shengqiu’s corpse with eyes reflecting despair and disbelief.

With a crisp 'clang,' someone’s weapon dropped, followed by more weapons clattering to the floor. After a period of metallic ringing, Yanfu Palace was officially declared finished.

Liu Junhuai stood still, silently recovering his true essence. No one on the scene made a sound.

A cool breeze blew through, and the thick, pungent smell of blood and charred flesh on the battlefield was diluted by the sudden wind, then slowly faded until it could no longer be smelled.

A few birds flew over the sky of Yanfu Palace, their calls gradually drifting away as the sky grew dark.

After a long while, Liu Junhuai recovered from a moment of realization. Looking at the cold silence of the scene, he sighed softly and said, "Clean up the battlefield quickly. Grandpa Wu, come and settle these captives. Let those who wish to stay report their names, and give some spirit stones to those who want to leave so they can go."

Wu Yaohan called over Wu Shaoyuan, Bian Jizhong, Mei Bingyi, and the female warriors to gather the Yanfu Palace disciples in an open space. Wu Wanren read the list of the twelve people, and in the end, only two of them had survived.

Wu Wanren explained the situation to the twenty-some disciples. Upon hearing that so many people were linked to the Blood-Slaying Alliance, they fell silent for a long time before voices slowly emerged, growing increasingly heated.

Wu Yaohan questioned them one by one, selected a Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivator to act as a temporary leader, and called the others aside for a low-voiced discussion.

Wu Shaoyuan, Bian Jizhong, and Mei Bingyi had finished cleaning the battlefield; they had collected over a hundred storage rings, and all three were beaming.

By this time, Liu Junhuai had also explored Yanfu Palace inside and out and gathered all the survivors to the location of the previous group.

Liu Junhuai leaped onto a large rock and said loudly to the Yanfu Palace disciples, "I know the pain of losing your sect or home, but this was all brought upon you by your Palace Masters. You must have heard about what happened in Pingdu City. I had to avenge my mother’s death; I kill anyone who tries to stop me, and in my eyes, this is only right and proper.

"But was your Vice Palace Master, Li Chengyi, helping his own disciples? Look at the people he sent—they were all from the Blood-Slaying Alliance. Not a single true Yanfu Palace disciple was among them. Moreover, everyone sent to support the Shen family who was at the Foundation Establishment stage or above was also from the Blood-Slaying Alliance. You tell me, did I have to come to your Yanfu Palace?"

As he spoke, Liu Junhuai pointed at Fang Keyin and Bian Yanshan standing behind him and said, "These two are Nascent Soul late-stage cultivators. Even if your Yanfu Palace were several times larger, it would still fall. The world of cultivation is full of experts; how can a single sect expect to rule as king? Your Palace Master truly lacked the capability to lead, which is why he was completely unaware of such serious problems within his own sect. Tell me, is there any reason for such a sect to continue existing?"