Chapter 91

Chapter 91: Spare Me, Esteemed Master!

"Fine then."

Nangong Zhandao spoke indifferently, "I leave it to you."

Having said that, he closed his eyes, ignoring everyone from the Hunyuan Sect entirely.

Lan Youruo fixed Hongchen of the Hunyuan Sect with a cold and aloof gaze, her voice icy as she said, "Our visit today was indeed intended to peacefully resolve the causal entanglements between us and the Hunyuan Sect."

"Unfortunately, you refused the easy way and chose the hard way. Can’t blame me then."

"Hahaha…"

Elder of Killing wore an expression of utter disdain. "Such arrogance!"

"Nangong Zhandao ranks first on the Hidden Dragon List. As his companion, how strong could you possibly be?"

"While our Hunyuan Sect may not compare to the Buddhist Pure Lands or the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, within the Eastern Region, we are considered top-tier. For a young lady like yourself to believe you can take on our entire sect alone is sheer arrogance."

Another voice joined in, filled with cold mockery. It belonged to an elderly woman possessing the power of a Great Sage, who had remained silent throughout until Lan Youruo stated her stance.

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect’s expression turned severe. "Nangong Zhandao paying obeisance to me as his master was the very final compromise the Hunyuan Sect could offer."

"Since this cannot be agreed upon, I have nothing further to say."

BOOM!

As his voice faded,

Elder of Killing abruptly unleashed his mana. An aura of slaughter erupted. He pointed a finger towards Lan Youruo. The very heavens and earth twisted, surrounding figures seeming to be cast onto a vast battlefield—a chaos of weapons and hooves, mountains of corpses, and oceans of blood.

He presided over punishment, his killing intent overwhelming.

With a single attack, the Power of the Laws of Killing manifested.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

In that instant, killing intent coalesced. That single finger transformed like a divine sword, its tip aimed squarely at Lan Youruo.

Lan Youruo stood immovable, unflinching.

CLANG!

Elder of Killing’s finger struck down with ferocious momentum, but his index finger halted one foot before Lan Youruo. No matter how fiercely he channeled his mana, it refused to advance a single inch further.

"Hmm?"

The expressions of the sect master and the elderly woman abruptly changed.

‘This woman is indeed extraordinary,’ the sect master thought internally. Lan Youruo’s aura was unfathomably deep and utterly impenetrable to him. This single test immediately made the sect master sense something was terribly amiss.

"Daring to act so presumptuously within the Hunyuan Sect, young lady, you truly possess some skill," the sect master forced a smile, still not grasping the critical severity before him.

BANG!

Lan Youruo merely flicked a finger.

Elder of Killing’s wave of killing intent shattered. His entire body was sent flying backward as if struck by a colossal force, blasting through the sturdy walls of the Hunyuan Hall, dripping with blood in the sky above.

Inside the Hunyuan Hall, numerous Saints and Saint Kings were horrified.

She had merely made a move! She hadn’t even mobilized much mana or utilized any particularly mighty divine ability!

Elder of Killing had been grievously wounded in an instant?!

This clearly indicated the young woman before them wielded at least the power of a Great Sage, if not higher.

WHOOSH!

Lan Youruo raised her hand.

A dazzling flash of sword-light tore through the air.

PUCHI!

It pierced straight through Elder of Killing’s head!

Blood blossomed like a flower.

His divine soul was extinguished on the spot!

"Old Ma!"

The elderly woman screamed tragically.

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect was struck dumb, his face instantly paling as if drained of all blood.

"How… how dare you kill within the Hunyuan Hall!" Elder of Killing roared hysterically, his voice filled with utter disbelief and rage. "Do you truly believe no one in our Hunyuan Sect can withstand you?!"

He instantly charged towards Lan Youruo with terrifying killing intent.

"Futile resistance."

Lan Youruo remained unperturbed. Facing the onrushing Great Sage, she simply flicked her slender finger once more.

SHUAAAA!

Innumerable specks of sword-light condensed before her.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

The sword rain descended densely, transforming the charging Great Sage into a sieve before the horrified eyes of everyone present. His body exploded into a mist of blood, his divine soul utterly obliterated!

"I had no intentions of fighting against you two, but now that it has come to this, I can only resolve your grudges through the use of force."

Lan Youruo was expressionless. With a single thought, a terrifying aura descended upon Hunyuan Hall.

In an instant, the entire Hunyuan Hall froze from a chilling cold, and a bright moon manifested in the void above, casting its radiant moonlight onto everyone.

At once, the cultivations of all the Saints and Saint Kings were completely suppressed, leaving them unable to muster even a shred of power and turning them into ordinary people.

"What is going on?" exclaimed the crowd in terror.

Chiyue Saint possessed the weakest cultivation, and he was suppressed the most visibly. That aura nearly crushed his bones, threatening to shatter him completely.

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect and the great sage level old woman also sensed the danger. The two wore uneasy expressions and desperately urged their cultivational power and divine weapons to resist Lan Youruo’s divine ability.

Boom!

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect held a large brush-like divine brush in his hand. This was the divine brush of the Hunyuan Sect, a treasure named after the sect. Even among the divine weapons of the great sage, it was a top-tier magic artifact.

He swung the brush once, tearing open the void abruptly. His cultivational power enveloped all the Saints as he attempted to lead them out of Lan Youruo’s divine ability.

Buzz!

The next second, the bright moon emitted divine light, showering down upon them and sealing the ripped void instantly. The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect was bathed in moonlight, his body fixed in place and struggling to move.

Lan Youruo’s gaze was calm. The greatest difference between the Quasi-Emperor level and the great sage level was that a quasi-emperor could control the laws of a realm and condense a law domain.

Within the law domain, Lan Youruo was the sky and the rule itself.

Not even a hundred great sages could break through the domain of a quasi-emperor.

The two levels amounted to a complete qualitative change.

"You… you are a quasi-emperor?" cried the sect master of the Hunyuan Sect in utter shock, feeling close to despair. He was an expert at the late great sage level, only a step away from the Quasi-Emperor level, yet he was completely helpless. The woman before him was definitely a quasi-emperor.

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect deeply understood the terror of a quasi-emperor.

Even if the entire Hunyuan Sect attacked together, they could not harm a single finger of a quasi-emperor.

"Impossible!" shouted the old woman, frantically urging her magic treasure to assault Lan Youruo’s lunar domain. But it was undoubtedly like an ant trying to shake a big tree and utterly useless.

"Why would Nangong Zhandao have a quasi-emperor by his side?" thought the Saints of the Hunyuan Sect inwardly, filled with extreme fear.

Even if Nangong Zhandao was ranked first on the Hidden Dragon List, and even if he had become a Saint, how could he have a quasi-emperor-level companion by his side?

To the listeners, this matter sounded utterly unbelievable.

A quasi-emperor and a Saint forming a companion?

It was absolutely ridiculous!

After all, a companion was someone to accompany one for life, trusted completely and entrusted with everything, even one’s life.

From any perspective, a quasi-emperor would never choose a Saint to form a companion with.

Yet, regardless of whether they believed it or not, the facts stood before them.

Lan Youruo’s gaze turned icy cold. Within Hunyuan Hall, all the Saints were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, their lives and deaths determined solely by her will.

"Senior, we were wrong."

Facing imminent disaster, Chiyue Saint was frightened out of his wits, repeatedly kowtowing to Lan Youruo to apologize. "We were blind and failed to recognize a true master. We offended you, Senior. We beg you to spare our lives."

"Senior, please show mercy!"

Numerous senior elders of the Hunyuan Sect kept weeping and pleading.

The great sage level elderly woman remained expressionless. Having learned of Lan Youruo’s power, she had already abandoned any thought of resistance, standing motionless as if waiting for death.

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect glared at Nangong Zhandao, his voice filled with hatred. "Nangong Ling! A hundred years ago, you ruined my disciple. You made her lose all dignity of the Hunyuan Sect and destroyed her future."

"And now, do you intend to wipe out my entire Hunyuan Sect?"

Hearing the sect master’s voice, Nangong Zhandao opened his eyes, his expression calm.

"I came today to sever a causal bond with the Hunyuan Sect, not to annihilate it. Had that been my intention, none of you would have had time to act so threateningly."

Nangong Zhandao spoke indifferently.

"Hahaha…"

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect laughed with a twisted grin. "Sever a causal bond?"

"Do you realize how profound the karma is between you and the Hunyuan Sect?"

"What you owe isn’t to the sect—it’s to Mo Nansu!"

"The karmic debt between you two can never be settled in this lifetime."

At this, Nangong Zhandao’s brow furrowed slightly. "Is she dead?"

Whoosh!

Lan Youruo channeled her spiritual power, forcing the sect master of the Hunyuan Sect to kneel involuntarily before Nangong Zhandao. The sect master struggled fiercely, his face contorted terrifyingly like a vengeful ghost.

"I ask you—is she dead?" Nangong Zhandao fixed an icy stare upon the sect master.

The sect master trembled with fear. He had no doubt that if he dared speak disrespectfully again, Nangong Zhandao would have Lan Youruo kill him instantly.

"She isn’t dead."

At that moment, the elderly woman who had silently awaited death spoke up, her face etched with sorrow. "But she has lost her mind."

"Thirty-six years ago, the Mo girl suffered a cultivation deviation and descended into total madness."

"Now she drifts in a daze, recognizing no one. How could you possibly settle karma with her?"

The elderly woman stared at Nangong Zhandao and let out a bitter laugh. "What a cursed entanglement!"

Lan Youruo’s delicate face shifted slightly. Mo Nansu’s madness was dire news.

Her eyes turned frosty as she glared at Chiyue Saint. "Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?"

Chiyue Saint stammered nervously. "Senior, how could I have dared tell you then that the Mo girl had gone insane?"

Lan Youruo’s expression grew complicated.

The Hunyuan Sect members had only wanted to lure them into the Hunyuan Hall to negotiate before resorting to force. Naturally, they hadn’t revealed that Mo Nansu was now witless.

After all, they couldn’t predict Nangong Zhandao’s true intentions.

"Take me to the Penitence Cliff."

Nangong Zhandao said solemnly.

"What about them?" Lan Youruo stared at the crowd; the conduct of the sect master of the Hunyuan Sect and the others had ignited her killing intent.

"Spare their lives."

Nangong Zhandao replied indifferently; he hadn’t come for revenge. He came to the Hunyuan Sect only to see Mo Nansu once more and settle the past.

"Elder, please take us to her."

Nangong Zhandao looked at the old woman.

"Do you really still have the face to see her?" The old woman’s eyes were deep, a trace of mockery seeming to flicker across her face.

Nangong Zhandao remained unmoved, nodding slightly.

A hoarse, grating laugh rasped from the old woman’s throat. "Then follow this old one."

The three left the Hunyuan Hall.

"Sect Master, what should we do?"

The moment Lan Youruo departed, the Yin Domain enveloping the Hunyuan Hall instantly dissolved. The oppressive force lifted, and they collapsed to the floor one after another, gasping and panted like oxen.

Elder of Killing, dragging his gravely injured body, approached the sect master of the Hunyuan Sect to report.

"Sect Master, should we activate the sect-protecting formation and keep them here?" A Saint King Longevity elder demanded coldly.

Slap!

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect struck out with his palm, sending the elder flying over a dozen feet away, his face bruised and swollen.

"Idiot,"

roared the sect master of the Hunyuan Sect. "That’s a quasi-emperor! In the entire history of the Hunyuan Sect, only our founding Patriarch ever reached quasi-emperor cultivation!"

"The sect-protecting formation he left behind is said, in theory, to block a quasi-emperor, but how do you know if that woman is at the early or middle stage of quasi-emperor?"

"This subordinate was mistaken," stammered the elder, covering his face and bowing his head.

The sect master of the Hunyuan Sect’s gaze turned profound.

"Right now, I only hope Nangong Zhandao won’t blame Mo Nansu’s circumstances on the Hunyuan Sect. Otherwise… the Hunyuan Sect will face certain annihilation!"

Hearing this, fear gripped their hearts.

If Nangong Zhandao hadn’t intervened earlier, that woman truly intended to wipe out the entire Hunyuan Sect.

…

"Opposite is the Penitence Cliff."

The three arrived at a broken precipice. Clouds and mist swirled perpetually; the sky remained perpetually dark and sunless, the atmosphere deeply oppressive.

The old woman gazed across at a jet-black cave entrance. "The Mo girl is inside. If you wish to see her, cross over yourselves."

"Will you remain here?" Nangong Zhandao looked at Lan Youruo.

"I’ll go with you."

Lan Youruo gently held Nangong Zhandao’s hand.

Nangong Zhandao nodded.

With a single step, they traversed the distance to the cave entrance opposite. Nangong Zhandao remained impassive, like a placid Ancient Well. Pausing only for a brief moment at the threshold, he then strode into the cave’s darkness.

The old woman watched their retreating figures, her eyes filled with sorrow and desolation.

"Mo girl," she murmured, "This old woman truly feels you suffered for nothing!"

"You were truly blind!"