I just praised you a few times, kid, and you caved? Do you have any idea how rare this opportunity is for me? You just cut it off like that? This is truly intolerable! If a person can’t stand it, the sword certainly can’t!

With no recourse left and nothing left to absorb, the sword naturally shifted to frantically draining Ji Bowen’s own vital essence and soul power! Damn you, you ruined the grand occasion for this old sword; I’ll let you be utterly annihilated!

Ji Bowen, being most intimately familiar with his own body’s condition, registered the shift with profound shock. In that instant, the situation was drastically different from before. A thought flashed through his mind—better to live to fight another day. He roared, "Disintegrate *…" and desperately channeled his cultivation method, intending to flee his nascent soul, hoping for a chance at future revenge! "…

But he discovered with despair that his body was no longer under his control! That detestable sword had somehow settled deep within his Dantian, piercing his nascent soul and impaling it onto the blade itself. It was now draining his life energy and soul essence with unimaginable speed.

The nascent soul, an ethereal entity almost impervious to harm, was currently being pinned and pierced so tangibly… and yet, it could not break free!

Ji Bowen had the chance to disintegrate and escape just moments ago, but he didn't.

Now that he wanted to, he found himself utterly trapped. How mysterious are the ways of the world!

The reason for this predicament was simple: after absorbing so much ambient spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, the Yanhuang Blood had far surpassed Ji Bowen’s own strength!

Furthermore, the vast energy absorbed had mostly been refined into pure essence by Ji Bowen, meaning the attributes were almost identical. Leveraging the immense primal force now held by the Yanhuang Blood, it was overpowering Ji Bowen, holding him utterly still. Any resistance was pointless and would only result in further energy depletion!

So, before the eyes of all observers, the most bizarre scene imaginable unfolded!

Ji Bowen’s body slowly floated up, suddenly suspended motionless in mid-air. Then, his entire form began to visibly decay at an alarming rate, shriveling inward, slowly turning into a desiccated husk. It continued to shrink until finally, with a faint, almost inaudible poof, like someone accidentally letting out a muffled fart, the entire body vanished into thin air, utterly erased!

The turbulent spiritual energy between heaven and earth finally settled.

Only a single sword remained, its cold light flashing, frozen in the air!

This astonishing turn of events left everyone staring in stunned silence!

What in the world was that?

They had clearly seen Ji Bowen preparing to self-detonate—no, he had already enacted the self-destruction technique, forcing everyone to retreat hundreds of yards again. But who would have thought that the Holy Venerable’s supposed ultimate self-destruction would yield less power than a common fart? At least a fart lingers for a while…

What kind of spectacle was this!

While everyone was still frozen in awkward disbelief, the sword, still poised dramatically in mid-air, let out a clear, resonant cry. Everyone experienced the same illusion: the sound was inexplicably imbued with humanity! It carried a distinct note of utter satisfaction. The sensation was truly marvelous!

A mere sword emitting emotions like a human being?

Moreover, that sword cry seemed to carry the contented burp one lets out after a hearty meal…

Then, the sword shot towards the sky, and a magnificent beam of sword light—like a colossal pillar reaching heaven and earth—formed in the air! It was as thick as a small house and stretched for hundreds of feet! A remnant mountain in the distance was pierced through with a clean, perfectly round aperture with a sound like "*…"

Only then did the sword quietly descend, flying autonomously back into Jun Mo Xie’s hand. It even did a few tumbling flips in his grip, like an excited child throwing a playful tantrum…

And then, it abruptly vanished… leaving no trace behind!

Having eaten its fill, it naturally needed time to digest. The same is true for men, and the same is true for swords…

A sharp gleam flickered in Jun Mo Xie’s eyes. He hadn’t anticipated that the Yanhuang Blood would reap such an enormous harvest this time! No wonder it was so eager to dash into the Hongjun Pagoda to process the intake…

The amount of spiritual energy seized from Ji Bowen was undoubtedly vast, and its purity was decent. But "decent" was a relative term. Compared to the energy inherent in the Yanhuang Blood itself, there was still a gap, let alone compared to the purest ambient energy within the Hongjun Pagoda world. Therefore, the newly acquired energy still needed refinement—separating the essence from the dross—to truly become perfect energy for itself, and all this required time!

Assimilation within the Hongjun Pagoda could drastically shorten this process!

This was the first time the Yanhuang Blood, since achieving sword-soul status, had actively requested entry into the Hongjun Pagoda world! Every prior summons felt like dragging a mischievous, reluctant child who preferred playing outside.

Thus, the general situation was settled!

The three Holy Venerables and two Holy Emperors who had narrowly escaped the freezing of the Profound Ice and the incineration by the Exotic Fire stood nearby, completely disheartened. They hadn't intervened from beginning to end!

Gu Han, his face a mask of complexity laced with profound regret, led the others over.

Jun Mo Xie slowly rose from the ground. His complexion was still deathly pale; his internal organs felt as if they were being torn apart. His mind felt as if a sharp, small knife were constantly slicing at it, and every meridian in his body throbbed with pain, threatening to snap at any moment. His bones and sinews ached with convulsions like fire.

Yet, Jun Mo Xie remained outwardly composed, his gaze sharp and serene. His back was ramrod straight, projecting an air of casual indifference.

“Senior Gu’s complexion doesn’t look very good. With a great battle looming, this is precisely the time to rest well. Senior’s strength is said to be the pinnacle of the Mystic Realm; if illness prevents you from joining this fight, the Mystic Realm’s chances of victory will surely diminish…” Jun Mo Xie said with a faint smile. His complexion not good? Seeing his forty-two sworn brothers slaughtered before his eyes and being unable to intervene, how could Gu Han’s complexion be good?

Pinnacle of the Mystic Realm, my foot! If he truly were the pinnacle, would this kid dare to be so arrogant? As for resting… who has the mood for rest now? Forget being ill—even if he were genuinely sick, he’d have to push through it, dying on the battlefield against the foreign races if necessary!

Honestly, Jun Mo Xie’s admiration for Gu Han was heartfelt. Looking at the pinched, strained expression on Gu Han’s face, the deep teeth marks biting into his lip that drew beads of blood, one could imagine how deeply Gu Han cared for his brothers. He cared immensely!

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

This was not cowardice; it was an extraordinarily rare form of courage!

The agony Gu Han felt could not have been less than Xia Chang Tian’s! Perhaps even stronger!

At least Xia Chang Tian had outlets for his anguish, executing everything he felt he needed to say or do. But Gu Han had to bury everything deep inside, even having to smile and concede under pressure!

Ultimately, his own brothers had erred first, and they must bear the responsibility for their mistakes! Facing Jun Mo Xie’s dominance, for the sake of the continent and the common people, Gu Han had no choice but to yield!

Jun Mo Xie had decided from the start: if Gu Han and the Three Great Holy Lands truly intended to intervene and protect their own, he would immediately gather his forces and return to the Heavenly Punishment Forest without a backward glance!

What a joke! Did he have some sacred obligation to guard the continent and protect the populace? He couldn’t even protect his own brothers, yet he was expected to stifle his pride to safeguard the world? Compromise? Nonsense! Worldly justice? Even more nonsense!

Does this young master have nothing better to do than gamble with the lives of his brothers? The Heavenly Punishment lineage has already sacrificed too much for this continent. Can people truly be that shameless?

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

“Lord Jun! You’ve gone too far! Your actions are far, far too much…” Gu Han’s face seemed to age hundreds of years in an instant; the wrinkles and white hairs suddenly became prominent. It was a complete contrast to his former elegant bearing; he looked like a different person entirely.

“Gone too far? Have I truly gone too far…?” Jun Mo Xie let out a strange laugh. “No! It’s not enough yet…” He pointed to the other five figures. “Aren’t there still people alive who haven’t paid? The main culprit has faced justice, but the accomplices haven’t settled their accounts yet…”

“Lord Jun, do you really intend to kill them all before you are satisfied?” Gu Han gasped in fury, his eyes fixed intensely on Jun Mo Xie’s face. “Jun Mo Xie, can’t you consider the upcoming war, and preserve some of our own strength?”

Such words were bordering on pleading!

Jun Mo Xie’s anger flared anew; he felt the urge to erupt. Now they think of preserving strength for the coming war? Why didn’t that damned Fu Chang Tian think of that? If he had offered aid, would the Heroic Coalition have suffered such devastating casualties? Would all eight Holy Venerables have perished? Would the Eagle King have sacrificed himself?

But…

Jun Mo Xie looked at Gu Han silently, neither speaking.

Gu Han’s eyes were filled with heartbreak, and a glimmer of sincere, pleading hope.

Something shifted inexplicably within Jun Mo Xie’s heart. He let out a light breath, yet remained unnervingly cold. “The principal culprit has been dealt with, and I have no interest in continuing to tangle with minor figures. I will spare them for the time being. But after the war, these individuals must still answer to me! I absolutely cannot indulge such selfish arrogance…”

He turned his back and slowly stated, “Not killed—for now! If they are fortunate enough to survive the war, their first choice is to commit suicide before my brothers’ graves as atonement; their second choice is to kowtow and beg forgiveness at my brothers’ graves! They may choose! Alternatively, you can choose to flee deep into the mountains and gamble on whether you can escape my pursuit…” (To be continued)