"So what now? Jin Buhui, you have been viewed by Yin Yu as a traitor to the state. Not only will you be cut in half at the waist, but your soul will also be rent! Resurrection will be impossible. These common folk you treasured now hate you to the bone, scorned by thousands upon thousands. Is this worth it?"

Jin Buhui was once again bewildered, then laughed self-deprecatingly and shook his head: "A man does what he does; why regret it? I have a clear conscience in this life. As for what others think or see, it has nothing to do with me. I am not a true Confucian scholar concerned with posthumous fame."

Zong Shou paused, then was momentarily speechless. If this fellow didn't care much himself, what more could he possibly say?

Yet, Jin Buhui had also seen through him. The current prosperity and wealth of the Eastern Lin South Wind were built entirely upon the plunder of wealth from all other regions of the Cloud Realm, siphoning off the treasures of the Five Continents and Twelve Islands through trade.

And at this time, Da Qian was far from ready to unify the Cloud Realm. Once the entire Central Cloud Land was swallowed, Da Qian's financial burden would increase a hundredfold—the cost would outweigh the benefit.

The sects and local gentry of those regions were beyond the current power of Da Qian to suppress or eliminate. By annexing Da Shang, these tumors would be integrated as well.

The national policy previously set by Zhang Huai was to seize all the fertile lands first, restore the vitality of Jiangnan, and then slowly move toward other territories.

Jin Buhui knew clearly that if Da Shang fell into chaos, Zong Shou would temporarily stand by and watch, which is why he had been so unrelenting, desperately trying to persuade Yin Yu.

But given the situation now, saying more was useless.

Sighing, Zong Shou's expression grew wistful.

"Today Da Shang is about to perish; do you still wish to stop me?"

"Do you really have the confidence to execute Yin Yu?"

Jin Buhui showed a look of surprise, then dismissed it: "As you wish! Yin Yu still shows no signs of wanting to recuperate and rest, engaging in endless military aggression. Having the Twelve Town-Guarding Bronze Men has made him decisive; he is pouring all his effort into purging corrupt nobles. However, Da Shang's foundation is already rotten. This may be effective for a time, but within a few years, it will return to its original state. By exerting too much force, he is unknowingly pushing the aristocratic families and powerful clans too far. If this continues, destruction is inevitable within a few years. This world will ultimately descend into great chaos. The illness is terminal; it cannot be saved. Dying sooner is better than dying later—"

"That is good then! As brothers, we should not end up disagreeing and drawing blades against each other in the end."

Zong Shou forced a smile, keeping his expression as calm as possible: "I possess the Life and Death Nether Flowers here, which can revive you, but in return, Buhui, you will never be able to cultivate again in this life. The other method is to protect your entry into the cycle of reincarnation. Your memories from this life will be erased, but your spiritual roots will remain immortal, allowing you to pursue the Great Dao of longevity in the next life. Which do you choose?"

Jin Buhui’s soul-body trembled slightly, and he stared blankly at Zong Shou. After a long while, he gave a bitter laugh: "The latter, then. In the next life, Jin Buhui will never serve as some damned official again. I will quietly cultivate, and achieving long life and everlasting vision will be the proper path."

His voice grew hoarse: "But before that, Buhui still wishes to ask Your Majesty to grant me one final request—"

Zong Shou’s eyes widened slightly, then he nodded solemnly: "I promise you! Within ten years at most, I will sweep across the six directions! Ensuring the people of the Cloud Realm suffer no hunger and no pain of warfare. I will bring an end to the wars in this realm."

Before the words had fully faded, Jin Buhui’s face softened with satisfaction, and he chuckled softly: "A month ago, Yin Yu hung my head here. He said he wanted me to watch personally whether Da Shang would flourish or decline in a few years. It seems that will not be possible!"

His voice grew weaker. Zong Shou knew this was a lingering effect of the earlier soul-rending punishment.

His foundation was damaged; having the strength to speak these words to him was already the limit of what Jin Buhui could manage.

He also knew that Jin Buhui's primal spirit was shattered, like a leaky sack. Unless a soul-dwelling object could be found, it would not last long. After some time, it would naturally dissipate. Even a Saint Venerable of the Ultimate Realm could only delay the time slightly.

But if his soul was placed in an object, it would interfere with his reincarnation.

Zong Shou suddenly flicked his sleeve, drawing Jin Buhui’s primordial spirit into his sleeve, temporarily protecting it with True Qi.

Even reincarnation would have to wait until after Yin Yu and Zuo Xin, those two principal culprits, were executed!

At this moment, a deeper sorrow swelled in Zong Shou’s chest. A slight redness appeared in his narrow phoenix eyes.

With a weng sound, Zong Shou reached out and summoned the Spirit Refining Sword into his hand.

Then he looked at the tightly closed city gates and the massive ten-thousand-jin iron barrier before him, and instead of anger, he laughed.

A clear whistle resonated endlessly, traveling a hundred li, encompassing the entire Imperial Capital.

"I come here today only for the life of Yin Yu! Anyone who dares obstruct me will be killed without mercy!"

A streak of purple sword light fell with the sound, fiercely hacking at the city gate, immediately accompanied by a loud hong resonance.

The entire earth trembled slightly for a moment. Where the sword light passed, it was unstoppable!

It directly pierced the protective spirit array, cleaving a gap in the million-jin gate slab.

The entire city gate was split in two.

The common folk and pedestrians preparing to enter or leave the vicinity had long scattered, scrambling away.

However, on the street behind the gate, thousands of neatly armored soldiers were rushing toward the entrance. Swept away by the lingering might of that single sword strike, flesh and blood scattered instantly. A full half of the Da Shang armored troops were annihilated by the sword light, and the ground was scored with a sword mark a hundred zhang deep.

Yet, the protective spirit array of the Imperial Capital was indeed extraordinary. After being breached, it recovered completely in just a brief moment.

But the breach would not stop Zong Shou; the Star Dragon Pearl had already scattered into the city along with the sword light.

With a single flash, he broke through the void and entered the Imperial Capital.

Ignoring everything else, he strode directly toward the direction of the Imperial Palace, not too fast, not too slow, walking as if strolling leisurely, as if afraid of catching the numerous garrison troops and immortal cultivator retainers within the Imperial Capital unprepared.

Yet, the entire city was silent, and Zong Shou met no resistance on his path.

Only when Feng Hua Palace was visible in the distance did Zong Shou hear the sound of iron hooves in his ears.

Tens of thousands of cavalry thundered along the Imperial Road. Several military generals rode ahead, one of whom leaped into the air. His long spear gathered the momentum of tens of thousands of cavalrymen, displaying a style reminiscent of those mounted generals in the Qin Emperor’s tomb—fierce and sharp, scaling toward the Saint rank as he charged.

"Chief of the enemy nation, how dare you invade our Imperial Capital! Kill!"

Zong Shou did not spare the man a glance. A silver light slid out from his sleeve.

It streaked a thousand zhang and left a line of blood in the void, causing the vast spear shadows to suddenly scatter and collapse.

The spear-wielding general fell toward the ground with a blank expression. Between his brows was a snow-white hole as wide as a finger, and his previously excited eyes gradually faded.

The silver light finally struck the bluestone ground with a duo sound.

It was a small silver knife, which did not penetrate the earth. It was clear that the force Zong Shou used was neither a fraction more nor a fraction less—it was perfectly measured.

In the battle of the subterranean palace that day, only three of the Parent-Child Falling Leaf Knives remained.

However, enhanced by the Wing of Profound Manifestation and augmented by the Six Gods Blade Control Art, even a magical flying knife nurtured for only four days possessed the power to slay this general!