Translator: CinderTL
Boom!
The massive pillar of Malevolent Qi slammed into the formation barrier, shattering it instantly into shimmering motes of spiritual light.
Chen Heguang didn't surrender. He activated a shield, which hovered above his head.
The pillar of Malevolent Qi, its force undiminished after breaching the barrier, crashed down upon the shield.
Chen Heguang felt an overwhelming force bearing down on him, as if the earth itself were crushing him. The ground beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb, and his feet sank deep into the fissures.
Gritting his teeth, he channeled all his spiritual power into the shield.
Simultaneously, he braced his arms against the shield's inner surface, summoning every ounce of strength to resist the terrifying force.
Yet the crushing power from above was too immense. His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Zhu Tianlei, when you ambushed me during my breakthrough, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
Zhu Tianlei turned to find Song Wen standing beside him, watching with a serene smile.
He opened his mouth to speak, but feared that uttering a word would break his concentration, allowing the Malevolent Qi pillar to crush him into dust. He remained silent.
A flicker of disdain crossed Song Wen's eyes as he raised his hand and pointed toward the towering pillar of Malevolent Qi.
The Malevolent Qi surged downward with renewed ferocity, crashing against Zhu Tianlei's shield like a relentless torrent.
Zhu Tianlei felt the pressure from above suddenly intensify tenfold. Unable to withstand the force any longer, his arms buckled, his knees bent, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground.
With a heavy thud, the shield slammed down onto his back.
Immediately afterward, the surging Malevolent Qi crashed down upon him.
Zhu Tianlei was instantly grievously wounded. His flesh was torn to shreds, his bones shattered, and every inch of his meridians ruptured, leaving him teetering on the brink of death.
Fortunately, the towering pillar of Malevolent Qi finally dissipated, leaving him with a sliver of life.
"Senior... spare me... I don't want to die."
Song Wen stepped on Zhu Tianlei's head, grinding his foot down with brutal force.
"If you don't die, I can't vent this resentment. Besides, I promised Zhu Zhizhen and Zhu Yi that I would kill you. I'm not a man who breaks his word."
With that, Song Wen abruptly increased the pressure, crushing Zhu Tianlei's skull beneath his foot.
Immediately afterward, a torrent of blood erupted from Song Wen's body, engulfing Zhu Tianlei.
The blood sea swiftly receded back into Song Wen's body, leaving no trace of Zhu Tianlei behind.
Within Song Wen's Sea of Consciousness:
Zhu Zhizhen suddenly found Zhu Tianlei's divine soul standing before her.
Her expression twisted into furious rage, her features contorted into a savage grimace.
Before she could speak, another divine soul materialized beside Zhu Tianlei—Zhu Yi.
"Hahahaha..."
Zhu Zhizhen threw her head back and laughed maniacally, her eyes burning with such ferocious hatred that she seemed ready to devour both their souls alive.
"Zhu Tianlei, Zhu Yi, your day of reckoning has finally come! You slaughtered every member of the Zhu Clan to cling to your miserable lives, yet all your efforts were in vain. How utterly pathetic!"
Zhu Tianlei, however, seemed oblivious to Zhu Zhizhen's words. He frantically looked around, his eyes wide with panic and despair.
"Where am I? What is that pitch-black thing looming above us? Why is there such overwhelming pressure?"
In contrast, Zhu Yi greeted Zhu Zhizhen with a bitter, almost mournful smile.
"Zhizhen, I never imagined I'd see you again in this lifetime."
Zhu Zhizhen glared fiercely at Zhu Yi, her eyes burning with hatred.
"Don't call me by my name! You don't deserve to! You slaughtered our clansmen—you're a disgrace to the Zhu Clan."
Zhu Yi quickly defended himself. "Zhizhen, I didn't kill our clansmen. It was all Zhu Tianlei's doing."
"Is that true?" Zhu Zhizhen asked, her expression skeptical.
"Of course," Zhu Yi replied. "You know my character. How could I sacrifice the entire clan just to save my own life?"
Unconvinced, Zhu Zhizhen turned to Zhu Tianlei.
"Zhu Tianlei, is what Zhu Yi says true?"
Realizing escape was impossible and no longer caring to observe his surroundings, Zhu Tianlei roared in response to Zhu Zhizhen's question.
"We're nothing but divine souls now, on the verge of soul scattering and spirit vanishing. What's the point of arguing about this?"
At that moment, Song Wen's voice suddenly echoed through the air.
"It was all Zhu Tianlei's doing."
Simultaneously, Song Wen's figure slowly materialized before the trio.
"You lied to me!" Zhu Zhizhen glared at Song Wen.
Song Wen sneered, "What does it matter if I deceived you? You were foolish enough to fall for it. When you three attacked me, you should have considered the consequences: failure meant death for all of you."
"You..." Zhu Zhizhen wanted to hurl insults, but she realized that no words could convey the depth of her fury and despair.
Her expression turned despondent as she turned to Zhu Yi.
"Zhu Yi, I'm sorry. I never used the shield you gave me. It was my mention of it that led him to you."
Zhu Yi shook his head. "Don't blame yourself. Even if you hadn't told him, he would have found the shield eventually."
Unlike Zhu Zhizhen's rage and Zhu Yi's composure, Zhu Tianlei's face was etched with pleading as he faced Song Wen.
"Senior, I was wrong! Please spare me! I'll serve you like a beast of burden, obeying your every command. Just let me live!"
"Still clinging to life? Delusional!"
Song Wen snorted coldly and began forming a magic seal with his hands.
Three golden liquid spheres slowly materialized before him, one after another.
The surfaces of the golden spheres churned violently, radiating scorching waves of heat.
Zhu Tianlei and his companions instantly felt a terrifying burning sensation assault them, causing their divine souls to writhe in agony. Terror flooded their faces.
"Go!"
With a soft exhale from Song Wen, the three golden spheres shot forth, each raining down upon one of the three figures.
"Ah..."
Piercing screams erupted from their mouths.
As the golden spheres' power waned and gradually dissipated, the three figures were left disfigured beyond recognition. Their faces resembled crude clay sculptures molded by a child, twisted and grotesque.
Having no further interest in tormenting them, Song Wen activated the Black Hole within his Sea of Consciousness, devouring their divine souls.
Withdrawing his consciousness from the Sea of Consciousness, Song Wen found four storage rings in his hand.
All four rings belonged to Zhu Tianlei, their contents a chaotic mix ranging from first-tier spirit grass, medicinal pills, and mystic artifacts to fifth-tier spirit materials, secret arts, and mystic treasures.
It was clear that after slaughtering the entire Zhu Clan, Zhu Tianlei had plundered everything of value from their corpses.
Notably, one of the storage rings was filled entirely with spirit stones, totaling two to three hundred million. However, the vast majority were mid- to low-grade spirit stones, with a total value of less than fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones.
Combined with the spirit stones obtained from Zhu Zhizhen and Zhu Yi, Song Wen now possessed over one hundred and fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones.
After thoroughly examining all four storage rings, Song Wen retrieved a jade slip and several jade boxes, tossing them to Wu Yue, who was waiting nearby.
Wu Yue accepted the items with a puzzled expression, which immediately transformed into one of elation.
The jade slip contained the Pill Formula for the Profound Spirit Creation Pill, a medicinal pill that aided in achieving Divine Transformation.
The jade boxes held several key Spirit Herbs required to refine the Profound Spirit Creation Pill.
With these primary ingredients in hand, it would be easy to gather the remaining Spirit Herbs needed to refine the pill.
"Thank you for your generous gift, Senior," Wu Yue said, his voice trembling with excitement.
Song Wen offered no further words. His figure suddenly shot into the air, vanishing into the distant horizon in an instant.
(End of the Chapter)
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