Chapter 344: All Kin Slain!
When the metaphorical volcano erupted, who cared about the Immortal Asylum? The erupting lava was forming an overwhelming force, looking like it could swallow a thousand Sword Cultivators whole, burning them to ashes with not even a bone left.
"Exile Yun!"
The Sword Cultivators' hearts trembled, turning to stare at Yun Xiao in a daze. They couldn't help but be nervous. Surely, they hadn't bitten off more than they could chew?
At this moment, even the Sword Wardens heart was pounding.
"If something goes wrong, it could lead to the extinction of the entire Sword Cultivator lineage!"
That would indeed make one an eternal sinner...
In the suffocating moment for these thousand Sword Cultivators, Yun Xiao's gaze swept over Pale Revenant, Moon Fairy, the War Princess, and that group of merfolk cowering in the corner... His gaze finally settled on Mo Jianzhi, Shen Xiaochan, the Dream Demon, and Kun Jiang, the four delegates from the Immortal Asylum on the high platform.
Of course, there was also the Old Immortal waiting to clean up the corpses below the stage.
"No more hiding now, eh?" Yun Xiao thought with a smile. As eight thousand strong were about to cross the stage, right on cue, the Immortal Asylum quartet made their move.
BUZZ! The Dream Demon and Kun Jiang triggered a small formation on the high platform!
For a moment, a black and white Taiji radiance dazzled!
BOOM! The entire Eight Trigrams arena suddenly expanded, forming a giant Taiji formation, slicing the battlefield into nine parts! Apart from the central octagon, there were eight trapezoids around it! This was a grand Taiji!
Within the grand Taiji, towering black and white walls suddenly rose, blocking the attacking forces of the seven hells!
BANG! Many from the seven hells didn't stop, crashing into these black and white walls. Not only were they thrown back, vomiting blood, but they were also caught by black and white flames!
"Aah!" These black and white flames burned both body and soul, engulfing the demons, devils, and humans in an instant. They writhed on the ground in agony, screaming pitifully, and were incinerated in less than three breaths!
In just an instant, at least 1,000 perished tragically!
The scene was a terrifying spectacle, stunning the entire arena!
The Inscription Cultivators charged most fiercely and, naturally, suffered the most casualties.
A staggering 400 fighters in the Fate Ocean Realm met their grim end on the spot!
After being scorched by the black and white flames, their flesh and blood melted like ice on a hot day, seeping into the trenches below, their destination unknown.
This sight left the rulers of the Calamity Seal Purgatory, Rising Sun Inferno, and Leviathan Ravine dumbstruck, their hearts torn anew.
The Talisman Emperor and Wick Devil, one human, one demon, stood frozen in place.
WHOOSH! At this moment, Mo Jianzhi and Shen Xiaochan descended, one to the left and one to the right, landing in the central octagon of the Taiji formation!
"If you eight hells have a feud, you can duke it out after the Nine Hells Conquest Clash ends. But starting a ruckus in our Immortal Asylum? That's asking for trouble! What a waste of several hundred million Immortal Jades," Shen Xiaochan said with a chilling indifference.
This Taiji formation was clearly even more astonishing than the Ruination Sword Array! Killing so many at once, the expenditure of Immortal Jades was bound to be an eye-watering figure.
These two seemed quite peeved!
"We, the Immortal Asylum, uphold the mandate of the Primordial Ruins to maintain peace in the Nine Hells and select the ruler. Do you really think we're just referees?" Mo Jianzhi scoffed coldly, his icy gaze sweeping over the crowd.
Some, in their haste, had reached the central octagon before the black and white walls arose, trapping them now before Mo Jianzhi and Shen Xiaochan!
Even their own territories were out of reach.
Among them, the highest-ranking were the Sea Dragon Emperor of Leviathan Ravine and Madame Liuli of the Calamity Seal Purgatory!
Two Genesis Spirit Realm powerhouses, accompanied by a dozen or so others. They were not afraid, but a glance at the ghastly scene of 1,000 dead sent shivers down their spines.
"The Immortal Asylum has never activated this Taiji Formation before..." The Sea Dragon Emperor gritted his teeth.
"After all... we've never clashed here like this before," Madame Liuli's voice trembled slightly.
One assault, several hundred million Immortal Jades, in exchange for the lives of a 1,000 in the Fate Ocean Realm, 400 of them Inscription Cultivators!
With Qingzan dead, Madame Liuli somewhat mourned the loss in combat strength, but the death of these 400 brethren twisted her face in agony!
"Shen Xiaochan! I nurtured you, and you repay kindness with enmity! How can you still show your face in this world?!" Madame Liuli's face twisted with fury, unleashing all her anger on the robed woman.
"Fu Liuli, the punishment of the Immortal Asylum isn't over yet," Shen Xiaochan suddenly said, her voice icy.
"What do you mean?" Madame Liuli's brows furrowed.
No sooner had her words fallen, Shen Xiaochan's eyes suddenly rolled back, leaving her pupils eerily white.
This only made her appear more sinister!
Abruptly, she reached for her forehead and pulled out a pitch-black Life Sigil!
This Life Sigil, resembling a map of a dark abyss, brimming with ghastly bone-white inscription runes, cast a gloomy atmosphere over the entire Immortal Asylum.
"18,000 Runes?" Yun Xiao exclaimed in surprise, his pupils shrinking. That was 3,000 more than the Talisman Emperor!
The remaining Inscription Cultivators exploded with shock inside. A castaway, an exile, had surpassed the Talisman Emperor in Rune count after seeking refuge in the Immortal Asylum?
"What?" Madame Liuli's eyes bulged, breathless.
"Those who defy the laws of the Immortal Asylum, perish!"
With a flick of her wrist, Shen Xiaochan's Life Sigil engulfed Madame Liuli, who was still in shock.
Sizzling sounds filled the air!
Madame Liuli's body emitted thick smoke as the black Life Sigil wound around her, like a venomous snake coiling around its victim. Her flesh burnt, bones twisted.
Her neck stretched a full foot in length!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! In her agonizing screams, Madame Liuli perished on the spot.
"So powerful!" Yun Xiao frowned deeper.
Blue Star had warned of the formidable power these four possessed, but even Yun Xiao hadn't anticipated this level of strength.
Madame Liuli was in the Genesis Spirit Realm, but she was crushed and obliterated by Shen Xiaochan in both body and soul!
"Madame Liuli!" The Sea Dragon Emperor, in his prime, was terrified, his complexion changing dramatically. He hurriedly addressed Shen Xiaochan and Mo Jianzhi. "We were wrong. I am willing to lead the Leviathan Ravine in admitting our fault to the Immortal Asylum and abiding by its rules!"
"Too late, this is a prime opportunity for a lesson!" Mo Jianzhi stepped forward, conjuring a white Sword Soul with a cold laugh, "Sorry, but you're the example."
"20,000 layers of Sword Aura!" The Sword Cultivators around gasped, the atmosphere tensed to the breaking point.
"You!" The Sea Dragon Emperor, a Hell Warden, never in his wildest dreams imagined that a mere Sword Cultivator from the Immortal Asylum would have a Sword Aura double that of the Sword Warden!
Trapped in the central octagon, where could he run?
"To arms, fight our way out!" he commanded. But before he could finish, Shen Xiaochan's Life Sigil split into several parts, striking towards the Inscription Cultivators and sea demons beside him.
And Mo Jianzhi, like an impassive automaton of the sword, lunged at him!
ROAR! The Sea Dragon Emperor transformed into a majestic deep blue sea dragon, enveloping the area in a misty, endless fog. The octagon became a vast sea with him at its tempestuous heart!
Mo Jianzhi plunged into the sea, his white Sword Aura boiling the waters where it passed.
The murky waters obscured the view, but from outside the Taiji formation, thousands of onlookers from the Nine Hells watched this blurred yet fierce battle between sword and demon!
The lethal intent of 20,000 layers of Sword Aura even penetrated the Taiji formation, sending shivers down the spines of all demons present!
The battle lasted longer than usual, but by the second half, only the Sea Dragon Emperor's agonized roars were heard.
SIZZLE! SIZZLE! SIZZLE! The vast sea turned into a sea of blood, rapidly evaporating until nothing was left.
When the dust settled, only Mo Jianzhi and Shen Xiaochan remained standing in the octagon.
What sent chills down the spines of the demons was the sight of Mo Jianzhi, absorbing the Sea Dragon Emperor's demonic essence with his white Sword Soul.
The entire Immortal Asylum fell into a deafening silence!
Everyone exchanged glances, a chill running down their spines.
In their eyes, the terror instilled by these two members of the Immortal Asylum was almost on par with the Talisman Emperor.
Only someone of that caliber could publicly execute the ruler of an entire hell like the Sea Dragon Emperor!
The Leviathan Ravine was left leaderless! Every sea demon's face paled, struck by a devastating blow! Instinctively, they recoiled, daring not to make a move.
The Inscription Cultivators suffered even greater losses!
"The Talisman Emperor's mother, wife, children, and sister... all dead..."
While people shuddered inwardly, they suddenly remembered Yun Xiao's words from earlier.
"Cross me, and do you have enough kin for me to slay?"
In that moment, a shiver ran through the crowd. All eyes turned to the Talisman Emperor, standing shrouded in darkness, his face obscured. Only his blood-dripping eyes were vividly visible One could scarcely imagine the desolation in his heart after the demise of his entire family.
"Is this the fate of those who oppose Exile Yun?"
"Insisting on the demise of Yun Xiao, and now, their own kin are wiped out..."
One by one, the demons and devils who had just been bold retreated into their shells.
In the Primeval Demon Hell, many demons who had followed Moon Fairy in his bravado now instinctively stepped back.
The Yin Devils of the Endless Netherworld and the merfolk of the Reverie Abyss remained motionless from start to finish!
And those Inscription Cultivators, Yang Devils, and sea dragonsinitially the most aggressive and foolhardy with 8,000 strong, now reduced to less than 7,000were bleeding inside, forced to bow their heads.
The frustration was palpable.
The Immortal Asylum fell into complete silence.
Finally, Mo Jianzhi withdrew his white Sword Soul. His eyes, which had lost their pupils, began to regain a semblance of humanity.
He glanced around and said indifferently, "Let me inform you, the Immortal Asylum has no desire to be the ruler of the Nine Hells because we have other, more important duties. We don't have time to deal with you. Understand?"
This fact was unknown to the Hell Wardens of the Nine Hells for centuries.
"In other words: We are your masters, not your referees!" Shen Xiaochan chimed in with a chuckle.
Silence continued to dominate the crowd.
Mo Jianzhi suddenly smiled, then raised his hand. "No objections, right? Good, the Nine Hells Conquest Clash shall continue."
After his words, the Taiji formation receded, and normalcy returned.
Yet, the entire Eight Trigrams arena remained eerily quiet.
Mo Jianzhi announced a number! Seven bearers of tokens from the seven hells obediently stepped onto the battle stage, while the Sword Cultivators continued to abstain... This meant that everything that had just transpired was merely an interlude!
The struggle for supremacy had to go on!
"That's more like it." Mo Jianzhi crossed his arms and smiled reassuringly. Then, he turned to Yun Xiao and raised an eyebrow, his gaze oddly amused.
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