Xiao Wuchen finally ascended to the ultimate forbidden ground within the inner sect of the Qingyun Immortal Sect — the Celestial Punishment Platform — stepping over the ruins of the Fairy of Divine Melody.
Here, no ethereal qi swirled, only an endless aura of grim slaughter lingered. Dense networks of golden chains crisscrossed within the void, each bearing a suppression talisman crafted from the divine souls of mortal generals. The Celestial Punishment Elder sat enthroned atop the high platform, his face concealed within a cold mist of divine laws. In his hand, he held the 'Ten Thousand Souls Whip', forged from the bones of all the fallen generals of the First Division.
'Xiao Wuchen, your breach of the inner sect has crossed the ultimate boundary of the Heavenly Dao. Elder Tianxing's voice thundered like a clap of lightning, shaking the merciless lock on Xiao Wuchen's spine. Today, I shall personally send you west with the help of your former subordinates' souls."
He swung the Ten Thousand Souls Whip in his hand. Countless twisted, shattered souls let out piercing screams as they transformed into crimson lightning bolts bound by karmic chains and hurtled straight towards Xiao Wuchen.
Xiao Wuchen's state was nearing collapse. The demonic sword 'Rootless' in his right hand frantically drained his blood while the cybernetic runes on its hilt emitted a shrill sound of overload.
[System log: host's physical body nearing collapse. Array load: 98%.] [Synchronisation rate: 99.99%. Imminent loss of mortal emotions.] [System warning: spinal lock of despair forced unlock. Countdown: 00:03.]
"Emotions... severed?" Xiao Wuchen's voice betrayed no emotion. He gazed upon the familiar faces struggling within the Ten Thousand Souls Whip: the Imperial Guards who had died fighting for him and the personal guards who had shielded him from blades.
'If Heaven's Way binds me with karmic chains, then I shall send you all to hell with this eternal retribution.'
Eleventh Form: Blood Moon Reincarnation
Xiao Wuchen seized the Emotionless Lock on his spine with a violent force. With a soul-shredding crack, he forcibly severed the final shackle of this lifetime.
[System notice: forbidden technique 'Blood Moon Cycle' activated.]
Xiao Wuchen's eyes turned completely crimson. He plunged the demonic sword, 'Rootless', into his own heart and wrenched it out again. This strike summoned not spiritual energy, but the resentment and vengeful spirits of all his fallen subordinates from the first chapter!
A colossal, blood-red full moon slowly rose in the sky. Under its eerily beautiful glow, countless shadowy figures clad in tattered armour emerged from the void. They said nothing, driven only by their hatred of the Immortal Sect.
These spectral forms coalesced into overlapping bands of cyclical slaughter, each possessing Xiao Wuchen's peak combat prowess from his mortal life.
First Cycle: A thousand shadow guards swept through, severing every golden chain encircling the Celestial Punishment Platform.
Second Cycle: The first wave of fallen generals roared as they charged at the Celestial Punishment Elders. Merging with vengeful spirits, they savagely devoured the golden body of the Immortal Sovereign.
Thousandfold Cycle: All wills converged into a single point.
Amidst the frenzied slaughter of the Blood Moon Cycle, the pride of the Heavenly Punishment Elders, the Ten Thousand Souls Whip, shattered inch by inch. The imprisoned souls were utterly liberated, turning the tables and dragging the Immortal Sovereign, master of punishment, into the abyss of nothingness.
"I refuse to accept this... How dare you use such vile mortal souls..." Elder Tianxing's will rapidly dissolved within the infernal flames.
Xiao Wuchen stood beneath the crimson moonlight. At that moment, his synchronisation rate finally reached 100%.
In his mind, Hongluan's smile, the warmth of the First Battlefield and the names of his old comrades all dissolved into unreadable grey gibberish.
'Master...?' Chi Kui trembled as he called out from afar. When Xiao Wuchen turned back to him, his gaze held no trace of human struggle, only an abyssal void of absolute nothingness.
[System Notice: Mission Complete. Synchronisation rate reached 100%. Host has officially become the 'Demon Sword Immortal'.'
The golden chains on the Celestial Punishment Platform shattered completely when the "Blood Moon Cycle" hit. As each chain broke, the divine consciousness of a cultivator from the Immortal Gate exploded. Xiao Wuchen stood at the centre of the sky-filling blood rain. The 'Heartless Lock' at his spine had disintegrated into countless crystalline fragments and scattered into the void.
As the final fragment fell away, the red gibberish on the system panel abruptly ceased, revealing a cold, colossal number.
'System Log: Synchronisation Rate: 100%. Mortal Emotions Completely Reset.' 'Current status: Demon Sword Immortal · Absolute Truth Form". 'System Determination: Host has forgotten the core bond 'Red Phoenix', the 'Great Qian Generals' roster and the motive of 'Revenge'."
Xiao Wuchen slowly raised his head. His eyes, which were once bloodshot and seething with rage, had now transformed into two bottomless, utterly still black holes. He was no longer Xiao Wuchen, fighting to 'collect debts', but had become the world's sole 'cleansing programme', tasked with erasing flawed laws.
Facing Elder Tianxing's desperate spiritual backlash on the brink of collapse, Xiao Wuchen extended his left hand expressionlessly.
[Left Arm · Heavenly Maiming Seal: Continuously absorbs fear energy. Demon energy conversion rate: Unlimited].
All the spiritual energy overflowing from the air due to fear was forcibly devoured and transformed into pitch-black threads.
[Crescent Moon Slash, Ninth Form: Lonely Moon Seals the Heart]
This time, the black threads did more than just bind. They pierced the void veins of this realm directly, rendering Elder Tianxing immobile and stripping away the very concept of his existence as the threads swiftly extracted it.
"You... what are you?!" Elder Tianxing screamed in terror as his golden body began to flake away like cracked earth.
Xiao Wuchen offered no reply. The demonic sword 'Rootless', which he held in his right hand, emitted a high-frequency hum that was almost silent.
Bathed in the eerie glow of the blood moon, the overlapping spectres of the first wave of fallen subordinates — now numbering in the thousands — no longer charged blindly. Instead, they swung their ethereal demonic swords in perfect unison with Xiao Wuchen's breathing.
[Crescent Moon Slash · Eleventh Form: Blood Moon Reincarnation.
With each cyclical swing, vast swathes of the Immortal Sect's inner foundation were severed. The True Immortals, who boasted eternal life, proved to be as fragile as phantoms in the face of these spirits of "mortal resentment".
"Master... Master Xiao?" Chi Kui cowered in the distance, three hands clawing desperately at the ground. Looking at Xiao Wuchen, he experienced an unprecedented sense of strangeness — a coldness that was more terrifying than murderous intent; a gaze that regarded all existence as nothingness.
Xiao Wuchen turned, his demonic sword, 'Rootless', slicing through the void and leaving an irreparable black fissure in its wake. His gaze pierced the ruins of the Celestial Punishment Platform and reached deep into the heart of the Qingyun Immortal Sect — the sacred mountain of the Qingyun Main Peak, symbolising the highest order of the Immortal Realm.
There, Lu Qingyun gripped his scepter tightly as the entire Immortal Realm's spiritual energy converged upon him.
"Next. Erase."
Xiao Wuchen's voice had lost all human inflection. He strode through the void, shattering the laws beneath his feet with each step. The final judgement was imminent.
The instant the level of synchronisation surged past 100%, the void above the Celestial Punishment Platform appeared to freeze in time. At that moment, Xiao Wuchen's physical form ceased to be mere flesh and blood, instead becoming a vessel that bore the weight of an ancient killing array.
Although the 'Spinal Lock of Despair' had been completely destroyed and he had forgotten Hongluan and his old comrades, the 'Heart Pore of Reluctant Souls' erupted with its final radiance. This was the deepest bond his brothers had left him. Despite the system's absolute rationality having declared his 'emotions reset to zero', it forcibly preserved a sliver of his primal instinct to 'slaughter all hypocrisy'.
Empowered by this bond, the system's willpower lock succeeded in preventing his complete collapse during the deification process.
The Heavenly Maiming Seal on his left arm pulsed violently, converting the final trace of the law-level terror released by Elder Tianxing upon his death into dark demonic energy to fuel the demonic sword.
Xiao Wuchen swung his right hand expressionlessly. The 'Rootless' demon sword, now fully fused with his veins, carved a black arc of destruction through the void.
Arc Moon Slash · Eleventh Form: Blood Moon Reincarnation.
The remaining inner sect elites around the Heavenly Punishment Platform couldn't muster the will to resist this single strike.
The vengeful spirits of fallen subordinates formed a thousand overlapping afterimages under the crimson moonlight, each one precisely severing a cultivator's life force.
The mortal fortune forcibly harvested by the Immortal Sect had now transformed into a backfiring blade, grinding away at the inner sect's foundations inch by inch.
"It's over... completely over..." Chi Kui collapsed into the ruins. He had intended to use his three hands to touch the storage ring left behind by Elder Tianxing, but the aura of 'Nothingness' emanating from Xiao Wuchen froze him in terror.
It realised that Xiao Wuchen had activated pain suppression. Even though his flesh was cracking under the intense strain (formation load at 98%), he felt nothing. The system's crimson gibberish obscured his vision. Beyond his target, he could see no other beings.
Xiao Wuchen strode along the path paved by the blood moon. A high-frequency current surged around his body, amplified by 300% power and scorching through the void. He gazed at the towering peak of Qingyun Main Summit. The demonic sword in his right hand defied the 'Heavenly Dao Laws' to the utmost degree.
[System log: Forbidden Protocol entering final phase. Ultimate target detected—Lu Qingyun.]
He said nothing, advancing towards the main peak like a precision killing machine, dragging his demonic sword behind him. Although he had forgotten how to write the word 'revenge', he knew that he could only close this fractured logic by erasing that peak.