Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 334: Chapter 188: Cold Abyss

Martial Artists at the Minor Achievement stage of Bone Marrow Cleansing were incredibly resilient. Despite injuries that would have long since killed an ordinary person, Su Jianye was still alive.

His face turned ashen when he saw Xu Yang drag his son, Su Zhe, back. "Spare his life. He will manage the Su Family from now on, and we will obey your every command."

The Su Family wasn’t a top-tier clan in Cyan Yang City, but it was considered high second-tier, almost first-tier. If a family like that were to be at Xu Yang’s command...

The benefits were unimaginable. The Su Family’s assets were worth over a hundred thousand taels, at the very least.

The money was trivial. What was most important was the access to resources. Things like Pure Yang Grass and Tiger Bone Vine—he couldn’t say he’d have an unlimited supply, but it would definitely be more than enough to support his Alchemy.

Then there were things like Pill Formulas, which were otherwise unobtainable for him.

"You’ve got a clever plan, trying to play tricks on me even at death’s door!" Xu Yang sneered.

Anyone else would have been tempted.

In truth, Xu Yang was tempted. But after a moment’s hesitation, he suppressed his greed.

He absolutely could not expose his true capabilities. He had yet to see even the tip of the iceberg of this world; revealing himself would only put him in grave danger.

Being talented with no background was like being a beautiful woman from the lower class—doomed to become someone else’s plaything.

Besides, the families in Cyan Yang City had deep and tangled networks of power. He might have killed all the Su Family’s experts, but would the other families just sit by and watch him take control?

The great families all loved their marriage alliances. The Su Family might have no experts left, but what about their in-laws?

Su Jianye seemed to be trying to protect his son and the Su Family, but in reality, he was hoping Xu Yang would let Su Zhe go, so that Su Zhe could use the power of other families to have him killed.

"You..." Su Jianye fell into despair.

He never thought Xu Yang could resist such a great temptation. It seemed the heavens truly intended to destroy the Su Family; he couldn’t even drag Xu Yang down with him as he died.

Xu Yang gave Su Jianye no more chances to speak. He pointed a finger from afar, and a thumb-sized bloody hole appeared on Su Jianye’s forehead.

Su Jianye’s eyes widened, his body twitched unconsciously a few times, and then his breath ceased.

"Father..."

Watching his father die so horribly, Su Zhe’s eyes widened as if they would tear apart. He let out a heart-wrenching cry.

"If you don’t want to die, follow me!"

Xu Yang picked up the corpses of Su Jianye and Su Jiangong and headed into the mountain forest.

"Never!" Su Zhe said coldly.

He knew that if he followed Xu Yang into the forest, he would never come back alive.

"So you’d rather die right now?"

Xu Yang’s cold gaze swept over him as he released a tyrannical pressure. Su Zhe immediately felt as if a massive boulder was crushing his chest. His body trembled uncontrollably, and he had no choice but to silently follow Xu Yang into the mountain forest.

They walked for about fifteen minutes before reaching a clearing. Xu Yang dropped the two corpses he was carrying. "Tell me what other experts the Su Family has."

Su Zhe shuddered, a look of disbelief on his face.

He instantly understood. It wasn’t enough for Xu Yang to have killed his father and second uncle; he wanted to annihilate the entire Su Family. Xu Yang was keeping him alive to extract intelligence.

"There are no others!" Su Zhe said, gritting his teeth.

Xu Yang sneered. He strode forward, grabbed one of Su Zhe’s fingers, and squeezed. With a CRUNCH, the finger was crushed into a pulp.

"ARGH..."

The sharp, excruciating pain made Su Zhe’s vision swim. He couldn’t help but scream, "I’m telling the truth!"

"Do you take me for a fool? I know the Su Family has experts from the older generation," Xu Yang snorted.

Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artists generally lived to be over a hundred years old.

He might have killed three of the Su Family’s Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artists, but they were all only in their sixties or seventies.

A great clan like the Su Family was bound to have some old masters hidden away. It was impossible for the entire previous generation to be dead.

Moreover, he had already been gathering information on the Su Family and knew they did have one old master who was nearly a hundred years old. What he wasn’t sure of was whether he was the only one.

"You’d better think carefully before you answer. I may not know any formal interrogation techniques, but I’m perfectly capable of snapping your bones one by one."

As he spoke, he took hold of another of Su Zhe’s fingers.

Despair washed over Su Zhe’s face, his body drenched in cold sweat.

He had come here to torture Xu Yang. Who would have thought he’d be the one being tortured and tormented instead?

"Only my third grand-uncle, Su Xiuyuan, is still alive! There are no other experts!" he said, terrified.

Losing just one finger was enough to break his will. He begged, "Please, just give me a quick death. What I said this time is the truth."

He knew Xu Yang wouldn’t spare him. All he wanted was a swift death, not more torture.

"What is Su Xiuyuan’s Cultivation level?" Xu Yang asked. "You’d better tell the truth. You should know that at your level of Cultivation, you can’t fool my senses with a lie."

This Su Xiuyuan was the same Su Family old master he had heard about. Rumor had it he was at Minor Achievement in Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation.

A lifetime of cultivating, and he had never reached Marrow Cleansing Great Success.

In the later stages of the Martial Dao, resources alone weren’t enough to advance. Talent was indispensable.

In truth, it was unlikely the Su Family had too many hidden experts. If they really had thirty of them, they wouldn’t be a mere second-rate family in Cyan Yang City.

"He’s at Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement!" Su Zhe said, a hint of shame on his face.

He felt disgraced for betraying his own clan, but the pain from his crushed finger overwhelmed his shame.

"Last question. Where does your father keep his Half-Spirit Weapon?"

Su Zhe answered without hesitation. "It’s on display in the main hall!"

Xu Yang’s senses confirmed Su Zhe wasn’t lying. He immediately struck Su Zhe’s forehead with his Palm, granting him a quick death.

A mix of brain matter and bone fragments exploded outward. Half of Su Zhe’s head vanished. After twitching a few times, his body fell backward, stiff as a board, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He began looting the bodies. However, all three had come to ambush him and weren’t carrying any money. He didn’t even find a hundred taels on them.