The outer hall of the Qingyun Immortal Sect had been reduced to scorched earth.
Xiao Wuchen did not advance towards the inner sect, but instead stopped at the centre of the ruins. He held the demon sword, 'Rootless', upside down. The Heavenly Maim Mark on his left arm was frantically devouring the scattered spiritual energy in the area, transforming it into black demonic qi.
"Sir, shouldn't we strike while the iron's hot?" Chi Kui raised his head in confusion as he tore storage pouches from the elders' corpses.
Xiao Wuchen remained silent. Instead, he swept his right hand forward. Sword energy ploughed through the air, carving a vast circular formation at the heart of the hall's ruins. Then he took the fragmented skull of the First Division subordinate and the severed military banner he had found earlier from his robe.
The moment the Soul-Sacrificing Altar was erected, a vast expanse of pure, sacred light rose from the horizon. A woman dressed in a plain white celestial gown with a faint azure mark between her brows descended slowly onto a lotus platform. She was the Holy Maiden of the Qingyun Immortal Sect — Lu Qingyun's greatest creation — Su Qingyue.
When Xiao Wuchen saw her, his nearly frozen pupils contracted slightly, not because of her beauty, but because of the shattered jade pendant hanging around Su Qingyue's neck. Its shape was identical to the pendant he had crushed with his own hands before setting out to war."General Xiao… stop. Su Qingyue's voice was ethereal yet tinged with sickening pity. 'You have succumbed to darkness. All earthly matters are but dust. Your slaughter condemns these battle souls to eternal torment.""Cease?" Xiao Wuchen erupted in a maniacal laugh. The cybernetic runes on his demonic sword, Rootless, instantly exploded, blazing with a blinding crimson light.'Su Qingyue, you wear robes woven from their blood and sit on a lotus throne built from their bones, yet you lecture me about "salvation"?'
[Body as Array: Overclock Mode Activated."
The Soul-Sacrificing Altar beneath Xiao Wuchen's feet was instantly engulfed in black array patterns. The once benign holy light reacted as if exposed to caustic acid upon contact with these patterns, emitting a shrill, corrosive screech.'Chi Kui, guard the Soul-Sacrificing Altar.' Xiao Wuchen vanished from his spot, reappearing moments later on top of Su Qingyue's lotus platform. His demonic sword, 'Rootless', traced a warped arc through space and pointed directly at the jade pendant that had irritated him. "Since you've forgotten who you are, I'll peel away this layer of 'immortal skin' bit by bit!"
[Crescent Moon Slash · Third Form: Chaotic Shadows of the Crescent Moon]
Nine afterimages of Xiao Wuchen overlapped in the air, each one mirroring the killing move of the first form of a fallen brother. Su Qingyue's expression twisted in horror. She had never witnessed such immense power unleashed not by celestial energy, but by sheer "unwillingness"!
The sacred light lotus platform surrounding Su Qingyue emitted a cracking sound under the overlapping strangulation of nine 'Crescent Moon Chaos Shadows', unable to bear the strain. For the first time, the serene look in her eyes wavered as she felt fear.
"Qingyun Umbrella, open!"
With a flick of her delicate wrist, Su Qingyue unfurled a jade umbrella engraved with thirty-six ancient celestial decrees. Each rib represented a divine law of the upper realms and attempted to repel Xiao Wuchen's unruly demonic sword energy. However, Xiao Wuchen's blade was not bound by 'law'. [System log: 'Celestial decree-level' defence detected].
[Formation attribute switch: truth damage 100%, loading—ignore law shield].
Warning: The host is forcibly accessing unauthorised data packets!
'Synchronisation rate fluctuating wildly: 97.1% → 96.5% → 98%!'
In that instant, their consciousnesses briefly connected through the shattered jade pendant. Xiao Wuchen saw it: before that brutal battle beneath the ancient locust tree at the General's Mansion, a woman in a crimson wedding gown had trembled as she split a jade pendant in two.
'Wuchen, if you return, I shall forsake this divine destiny that binds me. If you do not return, I shall storm Qingyun and guard the lands of Daqian for you..."
Her voice was heartrendingly sorrowful. She was none other than Su Qingyue, before her memories were erased and she became the Sacred Maiden.
The vision then jerked violently. Lu Qingyun's icy hand covered Su Qingyue's head. Golden divine consciousness pierced like steel needles, tearing the crimson-clad figure to shreds. In its place emerged cold, indifferent immortal scriptures.
Killing intent surged backwards and Su Qingyue let out a piercing scream of agony. "Aah—!" The seal within her sea of consciousness cracked under the erosion of Xiao Wuchen's demonic energy. Staring at the man before her, his body covered in runes and his eyes twisted with ferocity, tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
"Xiao... General..." That single cry triggered devastating pain in Xiao Wuchen's heart — [System Rage: Logical conflict detected! Host attempting to restore 'invalid emotional target'!
[Heartless Lock Self-Destruct Protocol Activation Warning — Synchronisation Rate Forcibly Locked at 97.5%].
Xiao Wuchen's right hand trembled as he sliced a slender, bloody gash across Su Qingyue's carotid artery with the blade of his demonic sword, 'Rootless'.'Don't dare utter that name with your brainwashed mouth.' He pushed Su Qingyue away violently, taking three steps back with a savage expression.
The Heavenly Maim Mark on his left arm sensed his wavering resolve and responded with a frenzied backlash. The pitch-black demonic energy almost overwhelmed his sanity completely, while Chi Kui curled up under the Soul-Sacrificing Altar. It sensed that the atmosphere had become even more terrifying than before. The war soul fragments drifting towards the mortal realm seemed to sense Su Qingyue's tears and emitted a soft hum from the Soul Sacrifice Platform. "Master, this little wench seems genuinely problematic..." Chi Kui muttered softly. Xiao Wuchen stood up again, leaning on his sword. His dark hair obscured his eyes; only the sound of his deep, laboured breathing echoed through the silent ruins.
"Lu Qingyun, you stole my fate pattern and killed my people. Now you dare to forge my memories too?" He slowly raised his head, the crimson in his eyes reaching its peak — a murderous intent deeper than death itself.
Su Qingyue slumped amongst the shattered stones of the Soul-Honouring Altar. The mere mention of General Xiao seemed to drain every last ounce of vitality from her soul. The sacred light in her eyes receded like a tide, replaced by the confusion and agony that defined her humanity. Within Xiao Wuchen's field of vision, the entire world trembled violently. The system issued a red alert: 'Logic firewall compromised!'
[Host illegally extracting 'Forbidden Emotion Data Package'. Emotion Suppression Lock overload at 120%! Forced execution: Psychic Shock — erase anomalous fluctuations!"
"Three Elders... I didn't..." Su Qingyue spoke faintly, attempting to explain. Yet the three tokens had already coalesced in mid-air and solidified into a colossal golden character. 'Death.'
"Master! These old fools are trying to kill their own Holy Maiden!' Chi Kui cried out in horror, stuffing the newly acquired treasure into his robes with his three hands. 'This isn't a celestial sect — it's darker than our Demon Realm!'
The golden character 'Death', bearing the weight of an era's suppression, descended slowly. Beneath its pressure, the ground crumbled inch by inch.
Xiao Wuchen could have left. Given his speed, he could easily have evaded this strike, leaving Su Qingyue to be reduced to ashes by the Immortal Sect's laws. But he sensed it — the first fragments of souls being reclaimed on the Soul-Offering Platform were trembling violently. They weren't trembling in fear, but in sorrow. It was a resonance transcending life and death, as if telling him that this tear-streaked woman had truly kept vigil for them on that bitterly cold winter night. "System, you call this an invalid emotion?" Xiao Wuchen rose slowly, dragging his heavy demonic sword towards Su Qingyue. He halted between her and the three elders. 'But I see this "invalid" emotion has more flesh and blood than your bullshit Heavenly Dao!'
[Body as Array: Final Amplification Activated]
[Array Load: 96% (Danger Zone)]Synchronisation rate: 97.8% (demonic energy overflow!).
His right hand held the demonic sword level, its tip pointing directly at the fallen 'Death' character token. The nether flames surrounding him shifted from dark red to an all-consuming black.
'My fallen comrades — I shall honour them myself. My woman — you bastards have no right to clean up after her!'
[Crescent Moon Slash · Eighth Form: Moon-Defying Heaven's Incineration (Primordial Form Loading...).In that instant, the sky, which had once been governed by the laws of the Immortal Gate, was forcibly dyed pitch black by the overwhelming killing intent radiating from Xiao Wuchen.