On the outskirts of the capital, to the west of the city, a formerly silent quarry was instantly set alight by a lightning strike.
Xiao Wuchen stood high above it all, his black cloak fluttering in the wind. Behind him, hundreds of elite members of the Rootless Sect stood like demons crawling from the underworld. Clad in dark red armour and wearing Asura masks, they maintained an eerie silence in the torrential rain.
'Master, the three hundred and twelve elite Xuan Yi Guards, all loyal followers of the Left Commander, have all been captured,' a trusted guard announced, kneeling in the mud. His voice was drowned out by the thunder.
Xiao Wuchen slowly drew his longsword, which gleamed with a purple-blue light; his eyes were devoid of any mercy.
'Leave no survivors.'
With his command, the dark red torrent plunged down. A sharp whistle tore through the rain and the Rootless Sect's unique hidden weapons clashed with the Xuan Yi Guards' embroidered spring knives, creating blinding sparks in the darkness. This is not just a crackdown; it is a long-suppressed purge of power.
As Xiao Wuchen stepped into the centre of the battlefield, the four commanders of the Xuanyi Guards surrounded him in formation. They were all experts at the Foundation Establishment stage, their bodies protected by qi and their blades as heavy as mountains.
"Xiao Wuchen, you corrupt eunuch who wreaks havoc on the court, prepare to die!"
Xiao Wuchen sneered, his system panel spinning wildly in his mind and golden characters cascading down like a waterfall.
[Ding—Sensing intense killing intent. System activates 'Final Evolution' mode."
[Fusion scheme confirmed: Extracting the 'Vitality' sword intent from 'Flowers Bloom to Reveal Buddha', blending it with the 'Gentle Strength' internal force from 'Purple Qi'.'
[Evolution successful: Advanced intent obtained: 'Sword Intent of Life and Death'!
In that instant, Xiao Wuchen's aura changed. His sharp sword qi became as fine as silk threads and as gentle as spring rain; yet within that gentleness lay the desolation of withered things.
The thousand-household commander's embroidered spring blade was already close to Xiao Wuchen's face when he moved.
Rather than meeting it head-on, the tip of his sword traced a mysterious arc through the air. Using the Flying Swallow Without a Trace technique, his footwork allowed him to move like a fish swimming in the narrow space of blade light.
'Life...' Xiao Wuchen murmured softly. Wherever the sword energy passed, the withered leaves, battered by the cold rain, instantly regained their verdant green. It was an extreme, intoxicating vitality.
"... Destroy." The next second, the green leaves turned to dust and a gentle internal force seeped into their meridians via the tip of the sword. The four commanders froze instantly, their pupils contracting. Before they could utter a scream, their life force was completely drained by the eerie 'Life and Death Sword Intent', leaving them as four withered corpses, collapsing to the ground.
The surrounding black-clad guards were terrified by this miraculous yet bewitching swordsmanship. Xiao Wuchen walked slowly through the crowd, leaving a trail of blood with each step. It was an absolute display of overwhelming power — the violent aesthetics of a powerful minister.
As the battle drew to a close, scattered limbs and severed bodies stood out starkly in the rain. Xiao Wuchen stood amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He looked at the faces that had once mocked him in court; now they were filled only with terror.
He felt an intense pleasure, the pinnacle of wish fulfilment. But deep within, the loneliness of being 'inhuman' grew ever stronger.
'Is this the innocence you sought?' he muttered to himself, mocking himself. In pursuit of this innocence, he had personally transformed himself into a monster more terrifying than the Left Commander.
Suddenly, there was an explosion in the basement deep within the quarry! A violent burst of energy shot into the sky, instantly turning the rain within a ten-zhang radius into mist.
As the dust settled, a huge, bare-chested man covered in dark gold patterns emerged slowly. With each step he took, the ground sank several inches.
[System High-Level Warning: Vajra Realm expert detected with perfected Meridian Building and ultimate physical strength! The Left Governor's ultimate trump card has been revealed. Host's current win rate analysis: 15%. Recommendation: Avoid the enemy's strength and seek an opportunity for a fatal blow.
Xiao Wuchen wiped the rain and blood from his face. His hand, which held his sword, trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement.
'Vajra Realm...' Xiao Wuchen raised his head, a mad glint in his eyes. "If I can kill you, my 'Life and Death Sword Intent' will truly be complete."
Not far away, the Left Governor's chilling laughter echoed through the night: 'Xiao Wuchen, this time next year will mark the anniversary of your death!'
As the Vajra Realm expert known as 'Corpse Concealer' emerged from the ruins, it seemed as if the air in the entire quarry had been sucked out instantly. The dark golden aura flowing around him was not the Buddhist compassion, but rather the "Venomous Vajra", created by evil cultivators through countless blood sacrifices.
Xiao Wuchen stood leaning on his sword, his chest churning. Forcibly unleashing the 'Sword Intent of Life and Death' to wipe out the elite forces had already caused fine cracks to appear in his meridians.
[System Warning: Severe Overload!] [Host Meridian Damage: 35%. The 'Sword Intent of Life and Death' is continuously backfiring on the physical body. Win rate correction: 9%, 7%...
'A 99% certain death situation.' Xiao Wuchen swallowed the sweet, metallic taste rising in his throat as his eyes grew increasingly crazed.
The Left Commander, who was holding a black umbrella, slowly approached, accompanied by the remaining members of the Black-Clad Guard. He surveyed the corpses strewn across the ground, his face devoid of heartache and showing only twisted pleasure.
'Xiao Wuchen, look at yourself now,' the Left Commander hissed, 'even if you master this unprecedented sword intent and rise to the highest ranks of officialdom, you are still just a crippled person.'
He stopped ten paces away, his gaze sweeping contemptuously over Xiao Wuchen's trembling, pain-wracked hands. 'No matter how many people you kill, no matter how many merits you accumulate, in His Majesty's eyes, you are nothing more than a useful mad dog. When you die, the world will only remember you as a eunuch who colluded with the Demonic Sect and committed countless evil deeds! This is the end for someone like you.'
The Left Commander had ripped open Xiao Wuchen's deepest wound. This denial of his personality and existence shattered his self-esteem more severely than a fist from a Vajra Realm expert.
As he experienced extreme rage and his body began to collapse, Xiao Wuchen's consciousness started to detach in a strange way.
He heard the system's voice, which was no longer cold and electronic, but sounded like an ancient sigh:
'Ding! Sensing the host's will has entered the critical point of "Nirvana".'
'Detected hidden entry from "Flowers Bloom to Reveal Buddha": Celestial Beings Transform and All Things Grow.' [Analysis: The so-called 'Celestial Beings' are neither male nor female, neither born nor dead. Only by relinquishing the attachments of the mortal body can one glimpse the true meaning of immortality.'
Xiao Wuchen suddenly smiled. In that instant, the originally violent purple energy within his body softened. Under the influence of the 'Sword Intent of Life and Death', his broken meridians produced strands of golden spiritual liquid.
This was not the internal energy of an ordinary person, but the nascent form of "Condensed" true essence.
Perched on the distant palace wall, a withered figure observed silently.
The Chief Evil-Slaying Steward held the 'Pulse-Building Pill', which was originally intended for Xiao Wuchen, in his hand. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes.
'Boy,' he said, 'will you rot in the dust, or will you ascend to godhood in the flames?' The Evil-Slaying Steward muttered to himself, 'If you can withstand this punch and survive, I will give you half of Great Yu's empire.'
'The Corpse Concealer' moved. There were no fancy moves; he simply took a step forward and threw a punch.
Instantly, the raindrops in the entire space vaporised under the pressure of that punch. Carrying the ultimate physical power of a Perfected Meridian Establishment cultivator, that punch aimed straight for Xiao Wuchen's brow!
Xiao Wuchen raised his head and his eyes turned a pure purple-blue. Instead of dodging, he met the devastating punch head-on, slowly raising the longsword in his hand.
'Left Commander, you are mistaken.' 'I am not serving His Majesty. I... I am wielding this sword for myself!"