C38 They Once Again Came to the Kunlun Sect

Witnessing Martial Marquis's escape, Qin Buyi swiftly pursued him.

Lan Wenhao and Zhang Yuan, observing the situation, ceased their attacks.

Exchanging glances, the trio simultaneously set off in pursuit of Martial Marquis.

"Killing Swordsmanship: Slaughter!"

Qin Buyi, wielding the Killing Saber, struck towards Martial Marquis.

"Clang!"

In a frantic move, Martial Marquis conjured the Immortal Slaying Sword from within, positioning it behind him for protection.

As Qin Buyi drew closer, a look of anguish flickered in Martial Marquis's eyes.

He retrieved a crimson fruit from his storage ring and swallowed it whole.

The fruit's potent life force surged through Martial Marquis, alleviating even the severe damage to his Divine Consciousness.

Biting his tongue, Martial Marquis expelled a mouthful of vital blood, his flight speed surging dramatically.

From afar, Lan Wenhao, witnessing Martial Marquis consume the red fruit, remarked to Zhang Yuan with a hint of envy:

"The Kunlun Secret Realm's wealth is truly staggering. A single Qilin Fruit, produced once in a millennium, and yet every Void Refining Early Period warrior has one."

Zhang Yuan, still irked by Lan Wenhao's earlier interference, responded with a dark scowl, "It's the Woo family that's rolling in riches, not me. I don't possess such treasures."

Qin Buyi watched as Martial Marquis's speed abruptly soared, soon reducing him to a mere speck before vanishing from sight.

After a futile chase in the direction of Martial Marquis's disappearance, once his presence was no longer detectable, Qin Buyi reluctantly halted and coldly turned to face the three relentless pursuers.

Yinyue and her companions also stopped, their gazes fixed on Qin Buyi. Zhang Yuan boldly stepped forward, challenging, "You've slain members of the Kunlun Secret Realm; are you aware of your transgression?"

Zhang Yuan's accusation was met with Qin Buyi's contemptuous look, as if he were staring at an imbecile. To his dismay, Lan Wenhao's expression mirrored the same sentiment.

But what truly unsettled him was the subtle hint of agreement in the eyes of Yinyue, the goddess he revered.

Lan Wenhao snickered under his breath, "You seem like an idiot. I can make a Martial Marquis in the early stages of Void Refining beat a hasty retreat. What can you possibly do?"

Zhang Yuan's cultivation was so advanced that he could hear even the faintest sound of a mosquito's wings, so Lan Wenhao's barely concealed mockery was crystal clear to him.

Despite his irritation, Zhang Yuan didn't engage with Lan Wenhao. The more pressing matter was Qin Buyi, who was clearly severely wounded after his clash with the Martial Marquis.

Qin Buyi fixed his gaze on Zhang Yuan and uttered two words with disdain: "Moron."

With his Killing Saber at the ready, Qin Buyi braced himself for the impending battle.

"You're asking for it!" Zhang Yuan spat at Qin Buyi, his voice tinged with rage.

He expelled four small swords from his mouth, which swiftly expanded to about ten feet in length. Zhang Yuan bellowed,

"Kunlun Secret Skill: Immortal Slaying Sword!"

"Kunlun Secret Skill: Immortal Slaughter Sword!"

"Kunlun Secret Skill: Immortal Ending Sword!"

"Kunlun Secret Skill: Immortal Trapping Sword!"

"Kunlun Secret Skill: Immortal Killing Sword Array!"

The quartet of flying swords surged towards Qin Buyi.

"Clang!"

"Clang!..."

As the flying swords closed in, halfway to Qin Buyi, a folding fan suddenly swept in from the side.

The fan struck the flying swords with rapid precision, deflecting them back towards Zhang Yuan.

"Lan Wenhao, you!"

Zhang Yuan glared at Lan Wenhao, who stood there with an air of disheveled elegance, and shouted in fury.

With a grin, Lan Wenhao advised, "Calm down. Anger could be the death of you, you know. Just like that—snap—and you're gone."

Yinyue, observing the scene, silently scoffed at Zhang Yuan's livid expression, thinking, "No one could understand what you're saying without at least a sixth-grade education."

From a distance, Qin Buyi watched the conflict reignite and heard Lan Wenhao's telepathic message:

"I'll hold him off. Mr. Qin, you should get out of here and tend to your wounds. Lan Tianhe is my seventh brother, and I am Lan Wenhao of the Lan family."

"A member of the Lan family?" Qin Buyi mused internally.

During his conversation with Lan Tianhe, the notion of the Lan family offering assistance didn't make much of an impression on him. The intelligence Lan Tianhe provided was somewhat useful, but the other items, such as the black card and the Sound Transmission Jade Talisman, were of little value. Lan Tianhe hadn't reached out since then, and he assumed the issue had been laid to rest. However, when Lan Wenhao stepped in to intercept the Kunlun Secret Realm's pursuers on his behalf, Qin Buyi recognized that Lan Tianhe's words were not empty promises. It became clear through Lan Wenhao's actions that the Lan family held him in high regard. Internally acknowledging the debt of gratitude, Qin Buyi sent a telepathic message to Lan Wenhao: "Thank you."

Qin Buyi made a swift departure, knowing he had another task to attend to before seeking a place to heal his wounds. Zhang Yuan, witnessing Qin Buyi's exit, was consumed with fury. He confronted Lan Wenhao, "Is your Lan family seeking to make an enemy of my Kunlun Secret Realm?" Lan Wenhao responded coolly, "Stop trying to pin unwarranted accusations on us. My Lan family has no desire for enmity with your Kunlun Secret Realm. Besides, any hostility that exists is between the Fire Cloud Secret Realm and the Kunlun Secret Realm, not us."

Night fell.

After leaving, Qin Buyi soared towards Kunlun Mountain. Guided by his memory, he swiftly located the Kunlun Sect. Hovering above the sect, a fierce determination glinted in his eyes. The grudge between him and the Martial Marquis was beyond reconciliation, and a confrontation with the Kunlun Secret Realm was inevitable. The system had tasked him with the destruction of the Kunlun Secret Realm within a year, with the threat of elimination upon failure. More than seven months had elapsed.

With less than half the time remaining, weakening the Kunlun Secret Realm's power now would alleviate some of the pressure later. Qin Buyi descended and singled out a disciple who appeared to hold a significant rank within the Kunlun Sect. Seizing the disciple, he pressed the keen edge of his Killing Saber to the young man's throat. "Tell me," Qin Buyi demanded, "who currently leads the Kunlun Sect?"

The disciple gulped, and upon recognizing Qin Buyi's face, his expression turned ghostly pale.

He remembered that face all too well. It was the same man who, seven months prior, had captured him and demanded to be led to the Treasure Vault.

After escorting him there, he was swiftly knocked unconscious. By the time he came to, the Kunlun Sect had been ransacked.

Even the Vice Sect Master was dead...

For the past seven months, everyone in the Kunlun Sect had been scrimping and saving. He, a true disciple who had secured his position through bribes of Spirit Stones, had nearly been stripped of his title.

Had he not spent a hefty sum of Spirit Stones at a crucial moment, he would have undoubtedly lost his status as a true disciple.

Just when the Kunlun Sect's supplies had arrived and life was beginning to look up, this harbinger of doom returned.

Remembering that the Vice Sect Master had perished at this man's hands, the true disciple, Lang Ye, wisely chose full disclosure, revealing the current state of the Kunlun Sect to Qin Buyi.

With a swift "Bang!" Qin Buyi's hand, sharp as a blade, struck Lang Ye unconscious.

As darkness closed in, Lang Ye's final thought was a desperate hope that upon awakening, the Kunlun Sect would remain as it had been in days past.

Qin Buyi gleaned from Lang Ye that Woo Ping, a member of the Woo family, had recently taken over the reins of the Kunlun Sect following Woo Ba's death, with his cultivation reaching the pinnacle of Defication.

The sect's upper ranks were filled with six other individuals, all direct descendants of the Woo family.

"Seven people in total?"

Qin Buyi made a mental note of this. He had no plans to spare any of them.

As for the remaining disciples and peripheral members of the Kunlun Sect, Qin Buyi had his own plans, save for those who were foolish enough to cross him.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Vice Sect Master, Woo Ping, was in his residence, smiling contentedly at the supplies within his storage ring.

The resources provided by the Martial Marquis were sufficient to sustain the Kunlun Sect for a full year.

Yet, as Woo Ping distributed the supplies, he covertly skimmed off a third for himself.

The Kunlun Sect, though still managing to scrape by for another year, was now enduring days plagued by hunger and lack of clothing.

"Bang!"

The door to the dwelling was violently kicked in, and Qin Buyi strode through the entrance, the Killing Saber gripped firmly in his hand.

Woo Ping's eyes narrowed as he regarded the intruder, his voice dark with menace, "Who are you?"

"Your executioner."

As Qin Buyi spoke, he drew the Killing Saber and struck at Woo Ping.

"You've got some nerve! A mere mid-stage Deification, utterly oblivious to the danger you're in," Woo Ping spat furiously.

"Killing Swordsmanship: Slaughter!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Woo Ping summoned his Flying Sword to meet the assault of the Killing Saber head-on.

"Thud, thud, thud."

The clash of metal sent a massive force through the Flying Sword, forcing Woo Ping to stagger back three steps before he could stabilize and shed the overwhelming power.

"Killing Swordsmanship: Soul Dispersing!"

The Killing Saber in Qin Buyi's grasp began to fade, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

The blade reappeared in Qin Buyi's mind, his Divine Consciousness furiously channeling into the Saber's core.

Infused with Divine Consciousness, the Killing Saber glowed golden, radiating an aura of unyielding and pure intent to kill.

Now palm-sized and golden, the Killing Saber materialized once again before Qin Buyi.

"Slash!" he commanded in a low growl.

"Swoosh!"

In an instant, the Killing Saber was before Woo Ping, piercing into his sea of consciousness.

Inside Woo Ping's mind, the Killing Saber relentlessly slashed.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

"Boom!"

Each strike of the blade resonated with a thunderous roar within Woo Ping's skull.

"Ah!"

As his sea of consciousness was ravaged, waves of excruciating pain washed over him.

Woo Ping's agonized screams filled the air as he knelt, pounding his head with clenched fists.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

...

On the ninth strike, a splintering sound echoed from Woo Ping's sea of consciousness.

"Crack!"

The initial fracture was swiftly followed by a second, then a third.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

"Boom!"

Woo Ping's sea of consciousness, unable to bear the burden, shattered in an instant.

"Bam!"

The light faded from Woo Ping's eyes as the breath of life within him slowly ebbed away.

Qin Buyi was not taken aback by this turn of events. The Martial Marquis had survived the Soul Dispersing attack because he was at the Void Refining Stage. Even so, his sea of consciousness was shattered, and he was likely now tucked away in some corner, licking his wounds.

It was Woo Ping, at the pinnacle of Deification, who would have truly been a marvel to survive such a potent Divine Consciousness assault.

Qin Buyi stepped forward, removed Woo Ping's storage ring, and also transferred Woo Ping's flying sword into the system's storage space.

Departing from Woo Ping's abode, Qin Buyi moved on to his next destination.

"Chi!"

At the rear of the Kunlun Sect's mountain, an elder's face twisted with terror as he watched the young man with the blade, his body slowly collapsing to the ground.

"Chi!"

Inside the Kunlun Sect's Treasure Pavilion, a newly appointed elder was meditating when he abruptly opened his eyes to the sight of a blade piercing his heart.

Struggling, he tried to turn his head, desperate to see his assailant, but his strength failed him, and his head drooped lifelessly.

"Chi!"

In the Kunlun Sect's Artifact Hall, the Hall Master had been vigilantly guarding since the last theft.

A streak of cold light cut through the darkness, and blood spurted uncontrollably from the Hall Master's throat.

He clutched at his throat desperately, as if to stave off the inevitable.

Seconds later, his hands fell limp, and he was utterly devoid of life.

Qin Buyi removed the storage ring from the Artifact Hall Master's body and turned to leave.