Chapter 43: Great Revenge Achieved

Spring passed and autumn came; two years had flown by in the blink of an eye.

The Blood Mang Mountains in the northwest of Feng Country stretched for thousands of li. The spiritual energy here was not particularly abundant, with barren peaks standing in succession, unbroken high mountains and deep valleys shrouded in mist.

In a huge, dark red valley within the mountains, dense buildings were constructed along the slopes. From time to time, some blood-robed cultivators flew by at low altitude, while others hurried in and out of these buildings with anxious expressions.

Inside a great hall deep within the valley, a blue-robed middle-aged man with a leopard-like head and round eyes paced back and forth somewhat impatiently, occasionally lifting his head to gaze at a massive stone door deep in the hall.

The stone door was tightly shut, with blood-colored light flowing and flickering across its surface.

“Hasn’t Big Brother emerged from seclusion yet?” A man’s voice came from outside the hall, and then a burly man with a face full of scars strode in.

“It should be soon. Third Brother, how are things arranged?” the blue-robed middle-aged man asked somewhat urgently.

“The men from nine branch halls have arrived; the remaining four should be on the way as well. Most of the inner disciples who were out on business have been recalled… Second Brother, aren’t we making too much of a fuss?” the scarred burly man said hesitantly.

“Within just ten days, six branch halls were razed to the ground, and almost everyone, including the hall masters, vanished overnight like they had evaporated into thin air, leaving not a single trace. Third Brother, do you think, with our strength, we could accomplish this?” The blue-robed middle-aged man sighed and asked in return.

“Impossible! But at this rate, all transactions have come to a halt, and the losses are severe. I’m worried that Big Brother will blame us for acting on our own and, in his fury…” The scarred burly man gave a bitter laugh, but then seemed to think of something and shuddered.

“Don’t I know it? But if we delay any further, our society might suffer a severe blow to its vitality. Don’t forget those mid- and small-sized forces and families—though they usually show us respect, every one of them wishes nothing more than to see our Blood Blade Society destroyed. By then, even those demon clansmen will not miss such an opportunity.” The blue-robed middle-aged man’s face also showed a trace of fear, but he shook his head and said in a deep voice.

“How dare they! Who doesn’t know Big Brother’s methods? Back then, the Yu family, the top clan in Langzhou—their clan head dared to criticize our society’s actions, and in one night, Big Brother turned all over thirteen hundred of them into dry bones, not even sparing the mortals. Now that Big Brother has broken through to mid-stage Nascent Soul, once he takes action, he will surely tear those who dared to destroy our branch halls into a thousand pieces!” The scarred burly man’s eyes flashed with a fierce light as he said indignantly.

“This matter is probably not that simple. You may not know yet, but over a month ago, the batch of Shadow Cat clan women that Hall Master Shi was escorting was hijacked, and more than twenty people, including Hall Master Shi himself, went missing. To this day, their whereabouts are unknown. Now it seems highly likely that this is connected to the recent events. Hall Master Shi was at mid-stage Nascent Soul, second only to you and me, yet even his Nascent Soul couldn’t escape—this clearly shows the ill intent of the perpetrator.” The blue-robed middle-aged man said thoughtfully.

“So that’s how it is! It seems the opponent’s strength is probably not inferior to Big Brother’s. In that case, we might have to trouble that one from the Heavenly Ghost Sect.” The scarred burly man drew in a cold breath and said.

Just then, a “crack” sounded from deep within the hall. The blood light on the stone door’s surface converged, and then the door opened from both sides, and a white-robed man walked out slowly.

He appeared to be only about thirty years old, with handsome features and a fair, beardless face, giving off a gentle and refined impression.

“We welcome Big Brother out of seclusion!” Seeing this, the blue-robed middle-aged man and the scarred burly man immediately fell to their knees with a thud and prostrated themselves.

“Hehe, my two brothers, as vice-chairmen of our society, there’s no need for such formalities. Rise and speak.” The refined man walked unhurriedly before them and said with a light chuckle.

The two repeatedly expressed their thanks before standing up.

“Big Brother, I…” The blue-robed middle-aged man stepped forward half a pace, intending to say something.

“Feng Song, I already know about the matter you reported to me a few days ago. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have emerged from seclusion early. I have little time, so just tell me: what progress has been made?” The refined man interrupted the blue-robed middle-aged man’s words.

“Reporting to Big Brother, three days ago, the Suizhou branch hall suffered the same fate, with over two hundred people almost none surviving. Combined with the earlier matter of Hall Master Shi, Third Brother and I speculate that the opponent is at least at the Nascent Soul stage or above and is skilled in using fire-attributed treasures or techniques.” Feng Song wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said.

“That’s all? ‘Almost none surviving’ means someone did survive by luck. Feng Song, since when did you learn to split hairs?” The refined man looked at Feng Song and said with a false smile.

“Forgive me, Big Brother. That person is now outside the hall; I’ll have him brought up immediately.” Feng Song’s heart tightened, and he quickly said.

Seeing that the refined man did not object, he hurriedly turned and called out toward the outside of the hall. By then, the clothes on his back were already soaked through with cold sweat.

Before long, a lean young man strode quickly into the hall. Upon seeing the three inside, he immediately knelt on both knees and bowed in salute:

“Greetings to the Society Leader and the two Vice-Leaders!”

“No need for formalities. Rise and speak. Tell me about the situation at that time.” The refined man said with a gentle smile.

“R-re… reporting to the Society Leader, three nights ago, our branch was attacked at night. I… I couldn’t see the attacker’s face clearly. All I know is that he used a fire-type divine ability that turned the entire branch into ashes… No one survived, not even Branch Master Yu.” The lean young man dared not rise and stammered.

“Since you say no one survived, how did you manage to live?” The refined man asked again.

“This subordinate was out on business and happened to arrive at the Panzhe Ridge outside the branch when the incident occurred, thus narrowly escaping death.” The lean young man said with lingering fear.

“Is there anything else you’ve left out?” The refined man frowned slightly.

“N-no…” Seeing this, the lean young man grew nervous.

The refined man smiled faintly, then suddenly reached out with one hand and made a grasping motion in the air. The lean young man’s body tensed, and several streaks of black light appeared above his head, drilling into his skull like snakes.

The young man let out a miserable scream, blood flowing from his seven orifices, but the sound quickly faded, and his body slumped limply to the ground.

“It seems he was fairly honest.” The refined man lowered his hand, nodded, and a thoughtful expression flickered across his face.

Feng Song and the scarred burly man had kept their heads lowered ever since the lean young man entered, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Just then, a loud “boom” suddenly came from outside, accompanied by cries of alarm rising one after another, and the entire hall shook with a rumble.

The refined man’s face darkened, and his form instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning, shooting out of the hall.

Feng Song and the scarred burly man quickly followed.

Above the dark red valley at that moment, a thick layer of blood-cloud light screen was covering the area, and on top of that light screen, three hundred-zhang black giant mountains were pressing down, surrounded by swirling black light.

Blood light and black light interwove and flickered, locked in a stalemate.

In the valley, countless figures flew out from various buildings, numbering at least a thousand, all looking up at the sky with greatly changed expressions.

“Boom!”

Another enormous black mountain peak came crashing down from the sky. This time, the light curtain's surface churned violently with blood-red light before finally collapsing with a loud bang.

Four massive black peaks rumbled down, casting their shadows over the small valley below, including the main hall.

Everyone immediately fell into chaos, scattering and fleeing in all directions.

But the peaks descended with terrifying speed; these people had no chance to escape, and despair filled their faces.

At that moment, a figure appeared in midair above the main hall—it was the white-robed, refined man.

Without a word, he raised a single hand, and a large blood-red banner appeared before him. It spun rapidly, expanding in the wind, and spewed out a vast expanse of blood-red light, blocking the four black peaks below.

The two sides collided with a thunderous roar!

The blood-red banner blazed with light and trembled violently, but it managed to hold up the four peaks.

"The Guild Leader is mighty!"

The Blood Blade Society members under the shadow let out a cheer.

But before they could cheer a second time, a black shadow flickered in the higher sky, and another giant peak crashed down.

With a tearing sound!

The blood-red light collapsed under the pressure of the five peaks, and the blood-red banner below was torn apart. The five black peaks fell unhindered, at astonishing speed!

The five peaks nearly filled the entire sky above the valley, plunging it into darkness.

The refined man's expression changed. Without a moment's hesitation, he flickered and barely managed to fly out before the five peaks landed.

Rumble!

The five peaks crashed to the ground, raising vast clouds of dust. The ground shook violently, and piercing screams rose and fell, immediately drowned out by the deafening roar.

Above the valley, a figure flickered, and the refined man reappeared, his face ashen as he stared at a spot not far ahead.

There floated a green jade flying boat, on which stood an old man and a young girl. The old man was an aged Daoist in gray-white robes; the girl had lively eyes and a delicate, beautiful face.

They were none other than White Stone Daoist and Liu Le'er.

"Who exactly are you two?" the refined man asked slowly, narrowing his eyes.

"Someone who's come to kill you!" Liu Le'er's voice turned icy.

"Oh? A Cloud Fox tribeswoman? I see—you must be that little fox demon who escaped back then. I didn't expect that after a few years, you'd reached the Core Formation stage. Speaking of which, the fur of the Cloud Fox clan from Qingyun Hill is top-grade material for defensive magic treasures. Back then, it really made me, Jia, a tidy profit." The refined man let out a soft exclamation, then chuckled as if recalling something.

"Jia Ren, I'll kill you!"

Liu Le'er's eyes reddened. Her slender fingers moved rapidly like a spinning wheel. A silver light flashed on her left arm, and a ball of silver flame flew out. It spun once and transformed into a palm-sized silver firebird, which lunged at the refined man.

While speaking, Jia Ren had already extended his divine sense, sweeping over an area of several hundred li in an instant, but he found no cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage.

After seeing the unremarkable silver firebird, he was momentarily startled, then a sneer appeared in his eyes:

"Two mere Core Formation juniors dare to challenge me? Ridiculous!"

With that, he opened his mouth and spat out a black ring. It spun once and suddenly transformed into a black-flame monster over a hundred zhang tall.

The beast resembled a lion-tiger, exuding a ferocious aura. It stepped on the void and charged toward the silver firebird.

The difference in size between the two was like heaven and earth.

But with a flash of silver light, the silver firebird instantly plunged into the black-flame monster's body, then pierced out from the other side.

The black-flame monster stiffened, then exploded with a bang.

Jia Ren's eyes widened in disbelief. However, he quickly reacted and turned to flee without a word. Light flickered on his body, and a dazzling blood-red armor enveloped him completely.

But the silver firebird was incredibly fast. It caught up to him in an instant, pierced through his body with a flash, and the blood-red armor offered no resistance.

"No..."

Jia Ren only had time to shout a single "No" before his body turned into a fireball, burning fiercely. Everything, including his magic treasures and tools, soon turned to ashes.

The silver firebird circled in the air once, then opened its mouth and sprayed a stream of silver flames toward the valley below.

As it descended, the silver flame rapidly expanded, turning into a sea of silver fire that engulfed the entire dark red valley.

Pinned down by the five peaks, the people inside the valley had no chance of escaping anytime soon.

Now, Liu Le'er gazed at the blazing sea of fire below, her vision blurred by tears.

"Father, mother, brother, sister... Le'er has finally avenged you today, wiping out the Blood Blade Society and bringing the murderer to justice," she murmured to herself.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, congratulations on avenging your family!" After a long while, White Stone Daoist clasped his hands and said.

"I owe much to you, Fellow Daoist White Stone, for all you've done over the years. My brother said he will remember it." Liu Le'er wiped away her tears and made a respectful bow to White Stone Daoist.

"I dare not presume. Since Senior Han instructed me, I naturally did my utmost," White Stone Daoist quickly replied.