Chapter 79: Killing the Body, Punishing the Soul

With a crisp sound of bone breaking, Xue Song's powerful hand was shattered to pieces! The distortion in the space before his eyes was palpable, and he let out a horrified scream, retreating rapidly.

Qin Yue activated his Nether Escape Technique, moving even faster!

He unleashed his full power!

This strike was aimed to take Xue Song's life.

In a flash, the little cauldron first crushed Xue Song's hand and half his arm, then smashed down hard onto his shoulder.

Bang!

The force was overwhelming, unstoppable.

Xue Song screamed again, piercing and wretched; even with armor, half his body was shattered!

The organs within, reinforced by cultivation, burst under the tremendous impact.

His reaction was swift—his other hand managed to strike Qin Yue.

In the terror between life and death, this master at the peak of the Rift Realm exploded with boundless power in despair!

Vast energy surged forth.

Yet it accomplished nothing. Qin Yue wore several layers of armor, armed to the teeth. Even if Xue Song were at his peak, it would be difficult to inflict real harm. Now, after suffering a fatal blow, it was impossible.

He was merely knocked back a few steps, unharmed.

Qin Yue ran the Nether Escape Technique once more, stepped forward, swung the little cauldron, and ruthlessly smashed Xue Song's limbs, shattering them all. Only then did he squat beside Xue Song and gently ask, “Do you know who I am?”

In the blink of an eye, Xue Song's gaze became vacant, his breath thin as a wisp, unable to utter a word.

“Your analysis was actually quite correct, but you made one mistake—I have no accomplice.”

Such an old brute, to kill him so easily would be too merciful.

Sure enough, upon hearing Qin Yue's words, Xue Song utterly collapsed, unable to move, his eyes wide open, desperately staring at the pure gaze behind the black mask.

Blood gushed from his mouth as he croaked, “It’s you, it’s you!”

He had indeed guessed so, but never imagined his guess would actually be right...

What do people regret most at the end?

Not misjudging, but judging correctly and still suffering terribly!

A fatal loss!

To die, and have the heart pierced as well!

“Yes, isn’t it a surprise?” Qin Yue’s eyes were full of mockery as he looked at Xue Song. Without expression, he raised the cauldron high and brought it down hard on that old face, crushing his skull.

Then he formed a seal and cast a spell, and a bolt of violet lightning flashed in the cave.

May your soul scatter and vanish.

This was no evil art, but orthodox Daoist sorcery.

After everything was done, he gasped for breath, exhausted behind the black mask, hair wet with sweat.

Tonight’s actions were risky, like snatching chestnuts from the fire.

But he was not without confidence.

With a top-tier stealth technique and the cauldron that could break anything, this risk was worth taking!

He waited for Xue Song to come after him, then struck back, breaking the defensive array by resonance, and hid inside the cave.

Xue Song, agitated and distracted by his quarrel with Ling Jinsong, never expected such boldness, and certainly didn’t realize his carefully arranged defenses had already been breached.

The reason he returned to kill was because of the three clansmen’s corpses, refined in the pill furnace until they were the size of infants.

That scene was etched into his soul, impossible to forget.

With such a monster, he could not cultivate in peace without killing him.

Especially after hearing Xue Song’s precise deduction, Qin Yue had every reason to kill.

It must be said, the old bastard was intelligent—he guessed almost everything right, except for not having an accomplice!

But so what?

When someone has powerful backing, you need evidence to move against him!

Now that Tianluo Sect had been annihilated, where could evidence be found? Logic alone couldn’t convict him.

Ling Jinsong and Yue Mingxi both depended on him to find the Immortal Land and let the miraculous herb advance, so they could ascend to the Luminous Realm and become immortals.

What drives events is not logic or principle, but interest.

Before achieving his goal, Qin Yue could be considered the Supreme Elder of Zhaoyang Sect!

Looking at the horrific scene, Qin Yue expressionlessly took off the ruined hooded cloak and black mask, tossing them onto Xue Song’s mangled corpse.

He threw out a ball of deep violet flames, burning everything.

Then he produced an identical set of equipment from his person and slowly dressed.

These old men were all suspicious and solitary. No one else was present in the core area of the cave.

This left him ample time.

He could calmly deal with the scene, and completely empty the cave of anything valuable!

The former inner elder was wealthy beyond measure—Qin Yue saw many supreme herbs simply lying about.

Without windfall, wealth does not grow. The old bastard had added fuel to his cultivation career.

...

Ling Jinsong returned to his Daoist hall, his anger not yet dissipated.

The ancestral rule that the criminals of the Ice Abyss could not be pardoned applied to all, but there was another rule for the sect master—every generation must properly support the sect’s evil cultivators, help them as much as possible, and protect them at critical moments, or lose the qualification to ascend!

He could not understand why such a strange rule existed. Even he had thought that, should his cultivation path be blocked, he might try an evil method to find a new way.

But still, he could not comprehend why the founder, revered as a deity, would leave such a command.

If it were not spoken by the founder himself in the ancient image stone that only the sect master could see, and if he weren’t certain of the stone’s authenticity, he would never believe it.

Of course, these matters were not so important to him; he didn’t care much.

As long as Qin Yue could help him recover the Immortal Land and advance the Ninefold Resurrection Polygonum to become a tenfold immortal herb, what did it matter if he were a demon sect spy?

He, as sect master, could guide him to immortality!

From ancient times, defectors were many.

Thinking thus, he stood and walked toward the secret chamber. After some hesitation, he activated a device.

A light screen projected in the void, dotted with stars at various locations.

He quickly found Qin Yue’s map jade slip, which was currently “resting” in Qin Yue’s cave.

Ling Jinsong exhaled and murmured, “The old bastard is just forcing things! If he’s right, then no one in this world is trustworthy. Young Qin dared admit his connection with Hu Yan, and when I said Tianluo Sect was destroyed and Hu Yan could be spared, he openly stepped forward to thank me in public. Such a broad-minded person, yet the old bastard calls him a spy—preposterous…”

His eyes flashed coldly as he muttered, “Could he be after the Ice Abyss people in Qin’s cave? Well, old dog, if you really provoke me, I’ll expose your crimes to Yue Mingxi and have him personally clean house!”

...

Dao Realm experts are not so easy to kill.

In fact, out in the human world, cultivators at the Qi Absorption level are already considered masters.

They can walk on walls and break stone.

Living in their own circles, they can make a name for themselves, enjoying prosperity.

Those at the Void-Gazing or Subtle-Insight stages are undoubtedly regional overlords, true big shots.

Like An Miaochu, the Northern Grandmaster, who, after leaving one of the Ten Sacred Lands’ major sects, founded her own sect and established her influence.

To Qin Yue, newly entered into the world of cultivation, she was like a magistrate to the common folk—lofty, unattainable, and revered!

As for Rift Realm or Luminous Ascension Daoists, they were legendary beings.

They could soar through the skies and wield supreme sorcery.

Before coming to Zhaoyang Sect, Qin Yue never imagined he could so quickly possess the ability to single-handedly slay one of these powerful cultivators.

Upon reflection, it all came down to the Nether Escape Technique and the little cauldron he acquired by chance.

The former was surely an unparalleled art not of the mortal world. As his realm grew, he increasingly sensed its “incompatibility” with himself.

To be precise, his current realm was far below what this supreme technique deserved.

At first, it was like a space that could shelter him; then he realized it was a vehicle, and gradually, he discovered it could drive very fast.

After consecutively eliminating Qiao Cheng, Sheng Lin, and now Xue Song, a Rift Realm peak expert, Qin Yue finally understood—it was a starship, capable of carrying him across the stars!

When fully unleashed, his speed made Dao Realm masters move like lagging frames in a video—jerky and slow.

Of all martial arts, speed is invincible.

Even those with divine powers appeared as clumsy giants before the Nether Escape Technique.

They could hurt him, even kill him, but they simply could not touch him!

Last night, his gains at Xue Song’s Daoist hall were immense—not only did he clean out every valuable item from the cave, he even visited Xue Song’s herbal garden.

This time, he truly emptied it!

He didn’t spare a single Dao-level herb or even those at the Art Realm; he even dug three feet deep—literally.

He excavated the rare soils that nurtured the medicinal plants and stored them in the cauldron, into his spiritual sea.

He resonated with the cauldron, able to draw life essence from its herbs at any time.

This was the proper path of cultivation.

He was ready to break through to his own... Sixteenth layer of Void-Gazing!

Qin Yue had expected news of Sheng Lin and Xue Song’s deaths to spread today, causing a sensation.

But from dawn till dusk, there was no movement. He was puzzled, but soon understood.

Once these people entered seclusion, it could last days, weeks, or even years. Their disciples would never dare disturb them.

Especially at Sheng Lin’s hall—Qin Yue had left no trace. Xue Song’s hall had a fire, a few deaths, but his disciples didn’t know their elder had gone out to pursue someone, nor that he’d met with Ling Jinsong.

The death of a powerful alchemist and some apprentices was a significant event, but none dared investigate carelessly.

As for Ling Jinsong, he couldn’t be bothered with those people. To him, only one thing mattered: the arrival of the Immortal Gate envoys, so he could take Qin Yue to the forbidden zone!

For this, he even paid a private visit to Yue Mingxi.

There was no deep hatred between them; once, they were close brothers in the sect. But the struggle for the sect master’s seat had driven them apart, and lately, due to Qin Yue, further tensions arose.

When they met, Yue Mingxi was cold.

“The sect master’s sudden visit—what brings you?”

“Mingxi, it’s been decades since we drank together, hasn’t it?” Ling Jinsong smiled, unconcerned by Yue’s attitude.

Yue Mingxi frowned, and asked again, “Do you have business?”