I just praised you, you little rascal, and now you’ve gone belly up! Do you know how rare an opportunity like this is for me? You just quit like that? This is truly intolerable! If a man can bear it, the Sword cannot!

When forbearance gave way to an insatiable need to suckle, the shift was natural: the Sword began frantically drawing upon Ji Bowen’s very essence of life and soul force! You bastard, you ruined the Sword’s good time, and the Sword will utterly annihilate your soul!

Ji Bowen, of course, understood the state of his body best. As he sensed this, his heart was utterly shaken. This was not the time before; his thoughts spun rapidly, and the notion of "preserving the green hills means no shortage of firewood" surfaced. With a great roar, he shouted: "Disintegrate*…" and then frantically circulated his core technique, intending to escape the Saint Infant, hoping for a day when he could return for revenge! "... But he discovered with despair that his body was now completely beyond his command! That abominable Sword had somehow sunk to the position of his Dantian, piercing his Saint Infant and impaling it onto the blade itself, greedily absorbing his vital spiritual energy and soul essence at an impossibly fast rate.

The Saint Infant, that marvelous existence both tangible and ethereal, was supposed to be invulnerable to almost anything, yet here, at this very moment, it was being so concretely pierced… and he could not detach it in the slightest!

Ji Bowen had the chance to disintegrate and escape moments ago, but he did not take it.

Now he wants to do so, but it is already beyond his reach. The affairs of the world are always so esoteric!

As for the reason this situation arose, it was simple: after the Yan Huang Blood absorbed that massive amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy, its inherent power had far surpassed Ji Bowen’s! Furthermore, the vast majority of the spiritual power absorbed was energy that Ji Bowen himself had already refined; their attributes were almost entirely identical. Leveraging the sheer abundance of origin power the Yan Huang Blood now possessed, it was using surplus to overcome deficiency, clamping down on Ji Bowen so tightly that he couldn't move an inch. Any resistance was meaningless; it would only result in further energy loss!

And so, under the gaze of all witnesses, a scene of extreme strangeness unfolded!

Ji Bowen’s body slowly floated up, suddenly suspended mid-air. Then, the entire body began to visibly and rapidly wither, shriveling down until it became a desiccated mummy, yet it continued to shrink. Finally, with only a faint pu sound—much like someone accidentally letting out a flatulent puff—the entire body vanished in the air, turning to nothingness!

The spiritual energy between heaven and earth finally ceased its turbulence!

Only one Sword remained, its cold light flashing, frozen in the air!

This astonishing turn of events left everyone dumbfounded!

What was that?

They had clearly seen Ji Bowen preparing to self-detonate moments before—no, he had apparently already unleashed the self-destruct technique, causing everyone to retreat hundreds of feet again. But they never imagined that the so-called ultimate self-destruction of this Saint Venerable would be less impactful than an ordinary person farting—at least that stinks for a while...

What kind of spectacle was this!

While everyone was still reeling in stunned bewilderment, the Sword, which had been lingering ostentatiously in mid-air, let out a clear, resonant cry. Everyone had the illusion: that sound was filled with humanity! Filled with a sense of profound satisfaction. This feeling was truly marvelous beyond measure!

Could a Sword actually emit emotions akin to a human’s?

Moreover, that Sword Cry was laced with the sound of a person letting out a satisfied burp after a huge meal...

Then, the Sword shot upward into the sky, and a beam of infinitely brilliant sword light, like a colossal pillar reaching from earth to heaven, materialized abruptly in the air! It was as thick as a house and stretched for hundreds of zhang! A distant remnant mountain range was pierced by a resounding shhh with a perfectly round, transparent hole!

Only then did the Sword quietly descend, flying back of its own accord into Jun Moxie’s hand. It even flipped a few somersaults in his grip, like a child eagerly seeking affection...

Then, it abruptly vanished... gone without a trace!

Having feasted, it was naturally time to digest. This is true for men, and it is true for Swords, too...

A sharp glint flashed in Jun Moxie's eyes. He hadn't expected the Yan Huang Blood to gain such a massive bounty this time! No wonder it was so eager to voluntarily burrow into the Hongjun Pagoda to digest and absorb the gains...

The amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy obtained from Ji Bowen was undeniably vast, and its purity was not bad either. However, "not bad" was a matter of degrees. Compared to the energy of the Yan Huang Blood itself, there was still a gap, let alone comparing it to the purest heaven and earth spiritual energy within the Hongjun Pagoda world. Therefore, it still needed to further separate the essence from the dross of the newly acquired spiritual energy to truly transform it into its own most perfect energy, and all of this required a process!

Assimilating within the Hongjun Pagoda could greatly shorten this process!

This was the first time the Yan Huang Blood, since achieving Sword Soul status, had actively requested to enter the Hongjun Pagoda world! In the past, every time it emerged, it was like a naughty, playful child, reluctantly summoned only when forced.

With this, the grand situation was decided!

The three Saint Venerables and two Saint Emperors who had narrowly escaped the freezing embrace of the Profound Ice and the scorching torment of the Alien Flames stood by, utterly crestfallen. They had not lifted a finger from beginning to end!

Gu Han walked over with a face full of complexity, tinged with a profound sense of regretful desolation, leading the others.

Jun Moxie slowly rose from the ground, his complexion still as pale as paper. His internal organs felt as though they were being torn apart by excruciating pain. In his mind, it felt as if someone was incessantly slicing with a sharp little knife. His meridians throughout his body throbbed with a pain that suggested they might fracture and collapse at any moment, and his bones and sinews ached with a spasmodic agony, as if hammered by iron.

Yet, Jun Moxie remained outwardly calm, his gaze sharp yet placid. His spine was straight, projecting an air of effortless detachment.

"Senior Gu's complexion seems quite poor. With a major war imminent, now is the time to rest well. Senior Gu's strength is renowned as the pinnacle of the Xuanxuan Realm. If illness prevents you from participating in this battle, the Xuanxuan side's chance of victory will certainly diminish even further..." Jun Moxie smiled faintly as he spoke. Poor complexion? Seeing forty-two of his brothers killed right before his eyes without being able to intervene, how could Gu Han's complexion possibly be good?

Nonsense about pinnacle strength! If he truly were the pinnacle, would this brat dare to be so arrogant? As for resting... how could he have the mood to rest now? Let alone being ill, even if he were truly sick, he would have to push through it—he would die on the battlefield fighting the alien races if necessary!

To be honest, Jun Moxie's admiration for Gu Han came from the heart. Looking at Gu Han's face, which seemed drawn and rigid, and the deep teeth marks biting his lip, drawing fine trails of blood, one could imagine how much Gu Han cared for his brothers. He cared deeply, too deeply!

But for the sake of the greater picture, Gu Han had no choice but to stand by!

This was not retreat; rather, it was an extremely rare display of courage!

The torment in Gu Han's heart was certainly no less than Xia Changtian’s! It might even be stronger! At least Xia Changtian had avenues for release, putting into action everything he wished to say and do. But Gu Han could only bury everything deep within his heart, even having to force a conciliatory smile and compromise!

Ultimately, it was his own brothers who erred first, and since they erred, they must bear responsibility! Facing Jun Moxie’s domineering stance, for the sake of the continent and all living beings, Gu Han had no choice but to yield!

Jun Moxie had resolved from the beginning: if Gu Han and the Three Great Holy Lands truly intended to intervene and protect their own people, he would immediately rally his forces and return to the Heaven’s Punishment Forest without a second glance!

Don't be ridiculous! Does this young master really have some damned obligation to guard the continent and protect the populace? If I can’t even protect my own brothers, you expect me to suffocate myself guarding the world? Compromise? Nonsense! The great righteousness of the world? Even bigger nonsense!

Does this young master have so little to do that he would gamble with his brothers' lives? The Heaven’s Punishment lineage has already paid too much for this continent; can people truly be that shameless?

But Gu Han, in the end, did not let Jun Moxie down again!

"Lord Jun! That is too much! Your actions are far too excessive..." Gu Han’s face seemed to age several hundred years in an instant; the wrinkles on his face and the white hairs on his head all became apparent, completely changing his former image of graceful refinement—he looked like two different people.

"Too much? Has it really gone too far?" Jun Moxie laughed strangely, "No! It's not enough yet..." He pointed to the other five people, "Are there not still others who haven't died?! The primary culprit has been brought to justice, but what explanation have the accomplices given yet?..."

"Lord Jun, are you truly intent on killing them all before you are satisfied?" Gu Han breathed heavily in anger, his eyes fixed intently on Jun Moxie's face, "Jun Moxie, can you not consider the impending great war and preserve a bit more of our own strength?"

Such words were almost bordering on pleading!

Anger flared anew in Jun Moxie's heart, and he felt the urge to explode. Now they remember to consider the war, hoping to preserve their strength? Why didn't that damned Fu Changtian remember to do that? If he had offered aid, would the Heroic Alliance have suffered such heavy casualties? Would all eight Saint Venerables have perished? Would the Eagle King have been sacrificed?

But...

Jun Moxie silently met Gu Han's gaze; both remained silent.

In Gu Han's eyes was deep heartache, and a sliver of sincere, pleading hope.

A strange stirring moved Jun Moxie’s heart. He let out a gentle breath, still maintaining his icy demeanor, "The main culprit has been dealt with. I have no interest in continuing to entangle myself with those minor characters. I will spare them for the time being. But after the war, these individuals must still give me an accounting! I cannot tolerate such selfish and arrogant habits!"

He turned his back and slowly said, "They will not be killed for now! If they are fortunate enough to survive the war, their first choice is to commit suicide before my brothers' graves to atone; their second choice is to kneel and beg for forgiveness before my brothers' graves! They may choose freely! Of course, you can also choose to retreat to the deep mountains and gamble on whether you can escape my pursuit..."