Chapter 179 - 118: Dividing the Gold
On Nine Waves Island, the sea wind howled, whipping up remnants of snow and loose stones.
Earth-shattering war cries and the clang of weapons mingled, transforming the island once occupied by Water Bandits into a roiling battlefield of carnage.
The stench of blood was so thick it was almost tangible, saturating every inch of the air.
At that moment, Shi Kaishan, the Sect Leader of the Xuanjia Sect, stood firm as a mountain. Dressed in deep blue martial attire, he was immovable and unyielding, exuding a heavy aura that seemed to suppress everything around him.
The Top-Grade Treasure Artifact in his hand, a saber named Broken Mountain, was cloaked in Xuanyue Astral Qi.
Crimson blood slowly dripped from the blade’s edge, splattering into jarring blossoms of red against the scorched earth.
Across from him stood Zheng Yuankui. His clothes were in tatters, his hair was a mess, and a trickle of fresh blood stained the corner of his mouth. His chest heaved violently, and the once-powerful Gang Qi surrounding him was now in disarray.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared daggers at Shi Kaishan. "Shi Kaishan! My Zheng Family and your Xuanjia Sect have no past grievances, no recent enmity! We’ve even had business dealings! Why are you so bent on hunting us down to the last man today?!"
Shi Kaishan’s expression was grim, his gaze was glacial, and his voice was deep and resonant. "’No grievances, no enmity?’ Zheng Yuankui, you know full well that what I despise most in this world are two-faced opportunists like you who collude with the Demon Sect and bring disaster upon the people! An act like that makes you an enemy of every power in Yunlin Prefecture! What need is there for personal enmity?"
"Colluding with the Demon Sect? Where’s your proof?!"
Zheng Yuankui retorted, "The Blood Marrow Pill was a setup! Someone is trying to annihilate the Zheng Family!"
"’A setup?’"
A mocking sneer touched the corner of Shi Kaishan’s mouth. "’Whether you colluded or not, you know better than anyone. Nine Waves Island has long since been so thoroughly infiltrated by the Infinite Demon Sect it’s like a sieve. As their backers, how could the Zheng Family not know? You want to play both sides, riding the fence, hoping to use the Demon Sect’s power to amass wealth and strength while still putting on a pure and innocent act for righteous sects like us? There’s no such easy thing in this world! There’s no need for us to waste any more words.’"
He slowly raised the Broken Mountain in his hand, its tip aimed at Zheng Yuankui. The Xuanyue Astral Qi abruptly condensed, and the blade seemed to grow heavier, making the very air around it hum as if under an immense strain.
The Saber Momentum, like a toppling mountain, locked firmly onto Zheng Yuankui.
"Tell me, where is the Demon Sect’s Sub-Pavilion in Yunlin Prefecture? And where is the Heart-devouring Old Demon hiding?"
Shi Kaishan continued, "If you tell me the truth, then out of respect for your former status as a Patriarch, I can grant you an intact corpse and allow the Zheng Family bloodline to continue. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?!"
That mountain-heavy killing intent thoroughly enraged Zheng Yuankui. "Shi Kaishan! Since you’re so determined to wipe out my family, then don’t blame me for taking you down with me!"
The words had barely left his lips when an unnatural, crimson flush spread across Zheng Yuankui’s face. A blood-red mist seemed to erupt from every pore on his body!
A feral growl rumbled in his throat. His already chaotic Gang Qi detonated like a lit powder keg!
A surge of blood-colored Astral Force, several times more violent than before, shot toward the heavens!
The Blood Burning Secret Technique!
Zheng Yuankui’s eyes turned completely blood-red. His body swelled, and veins bulged beneath his skin.
He became a streak of blood-red light, crashing toward Shi Kaishan with his immense Gang Qi in tow!
The ground cracked and the air boomed in his wake!
Faced with this desperate, all-or-nothing attack, a sharp glint flashed in Shi Kaishan’s eyes, but his expression remained completely placid.
His feet seemed to merge with the mountain rock beneath them, steady as an ancient Pan Stone!
"Stubborn fool! Then... from dust you came, and to dust you shall return!"
Shi Kaishan let out a low growl, gripping the hilt of his Broken Mountain Saber with both hands. Instead of expanding outward, his concentrated Xuanyue Astral Qi instantly collapsed inward, condensing upon itself!
The blade became as heavy as Profound Iron, dark and profound. All of its Momentum was contained to an absolute extreme, as if it had become the very core of a mountain on the verge of collapse.
In the instant before the streak of blood-red light reached him.
Shi Kaishan moved!
His movements carried the crushing weight of a landslide.
The Broken Mountain Treasure Saber in his hand carved an arc that held the power to sunder mountains and split the earth. It met the fierce, tyrannical, blood-colored Astral Force with the unyielding descent of an avalanche.
There was no piercing shriek, only a colossal BOOM like the earth itself tearing asunder!
For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
The incomparably violent, blood-red meteor collided with the landslide-heavy saber light and came to a dead stop, as if it had crashed into an immovable, ancient mountain!
The blood-colored Astral Force battered against it frantically, only to disintegrate and shatter under the crushing, tangible weight of the Xuanyue Astral Qi.
Zheng Yuankui’s charging figure came to an abrupt halt, the expression on his face frozen in place.
A deep, straight line appeared, running from between his eyebrows down to his stomach, like a fissure carved into a stone cliff by some unseen, titanic force.
"I..."
A whimper escaped Zheng Yuankui’s throat as the violent, blood-colored Gang Qi around him rapidly dissipated.
He looked down at the wound on his chest, which was rapidly widening as his life force drained away like a receding tide.
THUD!
Zheng Yuankui’s burly frame collapsed as if all support had been pulled from under him, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust and rubble.
His eyes were wide open, all signs of life gone.
The backlash from the Secret Technique, combined with Shi Kaishan’s all-crushing Xuanyue Astral Qi, had put a definitive end to the life of the Zheng Family Patriarch, a man who had once been a dominant figure in Yunlin.
The turbulent aftershocks of Gang Qi slowly subsided, like falling rocks after a landslide.
For a moment, an eerie silence fell over the peak.
The only sound was the fierce din of battle still raging in the distance.
Just then, three powerful auras rapidly approached the summit.
Chu Jinyun, Dean of the Gui Water Institute, and Peng Zhen, Dean of the Kun Earth Institute, arrived with calm, steady auras.
With them was an Elder of the Xuanjia Sect, Shi Zhenyue.
The three landed near Shi Kaishan, their eyes immediately drawn to the corpse of Zheng Yuankui on the ground.