Chapter 54

Chunhua let out a sharp hum, flying back into Xie Zhefeng's hand once again.

An Wuxue wore a dazed expression.

Inner demons take root in the heart, and soul fragments cannot be completely eradicated, but by doing this, Xie Zhefeng had truly temporarily expelled the turbid qi from his divine soul and suppressed the inner demon.

Yet the agony of soul-splitting was something even the lonely spirits of the dead could hardly endure. Xie Zhefeng had been cruel enough to inflict this upon himself, tearing his own soul apart while fully conscious.

Truly, this man was worthy of being the only person in the present world to ascend to immortality through the Ruthless Dao.

Amidst his turbulent thoughts, a complex tangle of emotions washed over him.

Once his inner demon was suppressed, Xie Zhefeng reverted to his usual cold and detached demeanor, unmoved by anything in the world.

His bizarre behavior just moments ago had indeed been caused by the torment of his inner demon.

Only, that pair of eyes looking at him still seemed as deep as an abyss, veiled in a hazy mist.

His junior brother finally withdrew his gaze and looked down at the blood-stained Chunhua sword in his hand.

The soul-splitting had been too painful; Xie Zhefeng's hand gripping the sword was still trembling slightly.

Qiao Yin and the others were blocked outside the barrier formed by Xie Zhefeng's spiritual power, unaware of what had transpired on this side. Neither the cultivators of the Twenty-Seventh City nor Zhao Duan made any rash moves.

The turbid qi of the four directions had been gathered here, and the immortal cultivators seized the opportunity to cut off the surrounding turbid qi. The abducted mortals within the peaks had already been relocated, and the corpses of demonic cultivators littered the ground. In the vast mountain peak, only this single spot retained the presence of living beings.

As for the woman in lavish garments, she was merely a puppet with a remnant soul. She was passable when fighting those below the Tribulation Passing stage, but gained no advantage against those above it, which was why Zhao Duan had never been able to completely crush the Twenty-Seventh City. She was difficult to deal with because she was linked to the sword array; the harder Xie Zhefeng struck, the more spiritual power the woman could draw from the sword array.

Since Xie Zhefeng did not make a move, the woman in lavish garments could not approach either. Compelled by incantations, she stood there with a vacant expression.

Having suppressed his inner demon, he did not attack the woman in lavish garments. Instead, he dismissed the barrier that blocked Zhao Duan and the others, gripped Chunhua, and walked over step by step.

Standing behind him, An Wuxue did not see that the moment Xie Zhefeng turned around, his eyes were left with nothing but cold, unadulterated intent to kill.

Zhao Duan had just wanted to hurl abuse at Xie Zhefeng, but seeing him walk over with such unperturbed detachment, he suddenly felt his severed arm throbbing with an extraordinary, searing pain.

Putting on a brave front, he blustered, "W-What do you want? If you kill me, the sword array is finished!"

Qiao Yin cried out, "Immortal Friend Xie, do not be rash!"

Qiao Ting frowned. "Such a waste of breath. Since this Immortal Friend Xie is at the peak of the Tribulation Passing stage, just kill Zhao Duan and search his soul."

Zhao Duan's cheek twitched, and he said viciously, "There is a curse placed upon my divine soul! The moment you attempt a soul search, it will shatter itself, and you will get nothing!"

"I knew it," Qiao Ting curled his lip. "Could you really know such a curse? What kind of person is actually helping you behind the scenes? If there were no one, you wouldn't even be able to touch the threshold of practicing turbidity!"

"Bah! I alone am enough to make all of you bow your heads in utter defeat and disarray!"

Unwilling to concede defeat in words, Qiao Ting opened his mouth to retort, but Xie Zhefeng suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The next instant—

Chunhua hummed, the sharp blade imbued with the spiritual power of the peak Tribulation Passing stage, carrying the sound of tearing wind as it lunged fiercely toward Zhao Duan's chest!

This sword strike was far too fast and decisive; Zhao Duan had no time to dodge. Panicked, he formed hand seals to gather all his spiritual power in a desperate defense before his chest.

Yet the spiritual sword showed no intention of pausing whatsoever. Xie Zhefeng pressed down with two fingers, pouring in more spiritual power, and the sword tip pierced through the protective seal as if cutting through paper, plunging directly into Zhao Duan's chest!!!

Zhao Duan let out a cry of agony, his entire body hurled backward by the剑气 (sword Qi).

In the blink of an eye, before anyone could fully react, Chunhua had pierced straight through Zhao Duan's chest, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Spiritual power surged out from Chunhua, transforming into chains that crawled all over Zhao Duan's body.

Unable to move, Zhao Duan coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood, his face and neck drenched in crimson.

Screaming in agony once more, he roared, "Are you insane?! Do you no longer care about the Netherworld Sword Array?"

An Wuxue had not expected Xie Zhefeng to strike with such unhesitating ruthlessness, and hurriedly ran forward. "Immortal Friend Xie..."

Xie Zhefeng's expression softened slightly, though he did not withdraw his sword.

He explained to An Wuxue, "To uncover a spirit's memories, a soul search is not the only method."

Without a soul search, then...

An Wuxue's gaze shifted to the spirit pouch at Xie Zhefeng's waist.

That spirit pouch was specially used by Xie Zhefeng to store the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit, and it had even stayed in his own possession for a period of time.

"Are you going to kill him and use the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit to reflect his life before and after death?"

"What? You dare kill me? What Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit—"

Xie Zhefeng shook his head. "That will not reflect complete memories."

An Wuxue thought so as well.

If it only reflected the moments before and after death, once they killed Zhao Duan, they might end up seeing only the scene of themselves killing him, yielding no useful information whatsoever, let alone anything about the heart of the array.

Qiao Ting looked slightly startled. "The Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit is a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth, rumored to be cultivated in the Immortal Venerable's immortal abode on Falling Moon Peak. How does it come to be in Immortal Friend's possession?"

Ignoring him, Xie Zhefeng simply said to An Wuxue, "In addition to reflecting a life before and after death, the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit can also discern resentment. As long as there is a trace of resentment, it can read what is contained within that resentment. If you kill him, the resentment after his death will only be a single portion, naturally revealing nothing. But if the resentment is forged from the soul itself, into thousands upon thousands of portions..."

Then, pieced together, it would likely be just as effective as a soul search, allowing them to view Zhao Duan's entire life.

In a state of panic, Zhao Duan cried out, "What do you mean? Let me go! Even if you kill me, I will have no resentment, and you will get nothing!!"

Qiao Ting blurted out in astonishment, "You hold a grudge even if someone merely scolds you, and you claim you'll have no resentment after being killed? Nobody makes up lies like this!"

"You—Ah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Zhao Duan suddenly let out a heart-wrenching, miserable scream.

Yet Chunhua remained embedded in his chest, its spiritual power pinning him securely to the ground.

Xie Zhefeng flicked two fingers, sending forth a piercingly cold sword light—he actually directed that sword light straight into Zhao Duan's glabella, shearing off a piece of his soul!

—no different from what Xie Zhefeng had done to himself just moments before.

Faced with the agony of a split soul, even Xie Zhefeng had turned pale and trembled all over for a good while; how much worse would it be for Zhao Duan!

Zhao Duan's blood-soaked face twisted into a grotesque knot, his screams continuous, eyes bulging, pupils trembling violently.

Clearly, the pain had reached its absolute limit.

After that single instance, his screams dissolved into miserable groans as he stammered in terror, "I... Ah! I'll tell you, ah..."

The immortal cultivators of the Twenty-Seventh City were even more taken aback by Xie Zhefeng's vicious methods. All of their expressions shifted, and none dared to speak.

Qiao Yin opened her mouth, but ultimately just turned her face away.

Xie Zhefeng did not stop.

With another flick of his fingertips, the icy sword light descended once more into Zhao Duan's glabella.

"Ah—!!!!"

"I'll talk, ah, I'll tell you—!!!!"

"Save me..."

"Ahهههههههههههههههههههههههه!! [Trans: representing endless shrieking]"

"Stop, q-quick, stop—Ahهههههههههههه!! [Trans: representing endless shrieking]"

"..."

How much time had passed?

To An Wuxue and the others, it was merely a fleeting moment; but to Zhao Duan, it was a torment stretching across every waking second.

Qiao Yin, Qiao Ting, and the others stared with aching eyes until they realized they had been holding their breath for so long that they didn't even dare to blink.

Xie Zhefeng's expression remained unchanged, his dark pupils cold and detached, utterly devoid of ripples.

It was not as though An Wuxue had never shattered anyone's divine soul before.

Back when South Crane fell and Falling Moon was in peril, he had stood at the supreme peak of the two realms after passing his tribulation. To make an example of a chicken and awe the monkeys, he too had crushed the souls of petty scoundrels to establish his authority.

Yet he would either simply slice off a fragment of the opponent's split soul or directly shatter their entire divine soul; that had always been enough to deter his enemies.

He had never engaged in such a slow, thousand-cuts execution.

He stood there dumbfounded, let alone the others.

Amidst Zhao Duan's agonizing screams and desperate pleas for mercy, absolute silence reigned in all directions, even the sound of the wind suppressed by those hoarse shrieks.

Until finally, Zhao Duan could no longer even scream.

As countless soul fragments drifted away, Xie Zhefeng turned his head to look at An Wuxue.

"The Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit is in the spirit pouch at my waist. Could you help me take it out to inspect him?"

The last time this man had asked him to fetch the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit, it had been an unquestionable, commanding gesture. Yet now, while seamlessly reducing Zhao Duan's soul to powder piece by piece without a change in his expression, he suddenly shifted to an exceptionally gentle and accommodating tone.

Feeling a bit dazed, An Wuxue stepped forward in a trance and reached out to retrieve the spirit pouch from Xie Zhefeng's waist.

As he drew close, the scent of blood and the bone-chilling aura emanating from the Cold Immortal Venerable enveloped him. Frowning, he quickly snatched the pouch, stepped back, and drew out the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit.

Zhao Duan's pupils had already dilated, his gaze blank and dim, utterly lifeless. The blood that had previously covered his face and neck had long since dried, while Chunhua remained pierced through his chest.

As An Wuxue stepped forward, his movements paused.

"Can Immortal Friend not do it himself?" The last time, this man hadn't touched the tree spirit either.

What was the meaning of this? Asking him to do the dirty work, and now getting addicted to having him substitute?

"I... am not conveniently positioned to use it."

Yet another identical excuse.

Too lazy to waste his mind pondering the twists and turns within this man's head, An Wuxue gripped the faint-golden glowing Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit and brought it close to Zhao Duan's glabella.

The very instant it drew near, a monstrous wave of resentment—darker and thicker than any turbid qi—erupted from Zhao Duan's glabella!

That was the resentment emitted by every single fragment of his soul under the torment of soul-splitting!

Amidst the billowing black Qi, Xie Zhefeng silently formed hand seals behind An Wuxue, shielding him so he would not be disturbed by the resentment.

Suddenly, Xie Zhefeng recalled that within the Cloud Sword illusion, Senior Brother had indeed held the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit for quite a while.

At the time, driven by a nameless intuition, he had tested Senior Brother with the tree spirit, only to dismiss his doubts because the tree spirit had shown no reaction.

Thinking back now, he had truly been foolish.

Residing within the shell of Suoxue was Senior Brother's own soul, naturally familiar with the contents of many ancient texts—knowing full well that the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit would only take effect once.

Whether Senior Brother was "accidentally" pushed into the illusion by someone or had used the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit in advance, everything he had painstakingly done was simply to avoid him.

Intertwined with the golden light, the black Qi churned as Xie Zhefeng spoke, his voice hoarse, "Back at Cloud Sword Sect, I actually tested you with the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit."

An Wuxue's expression froze.

Xie Zhefeng watched with his own eyes as Senior Brother's gaze instantly turned vigilant, his tone hesitant and guarded. "What is the Immortal Venerable talking about...?"

The sword Chunhua had pierced straight through Zhao Duan's chest, yet Xie Zhefeng felt a sharp pain in his own.

He spoke in a low voice, "At times, you are far too sharp and clever, which was why I grew suspicious. In truth, the Soul-Nourishing Tree Spirit gave no reaction to you; during this past period, I was merely led astray by the obsessions of my inner demon."

Senior Brother seemed momentarily stunned.

"My inner demon has been temporarily suppressed," he continued. "I will not... mistake you for Senior Brother anymore. For all that happened before, please forgive me."

Senior Brother did not wish to reveal his identity to him; so what if he heard the ringing of the bell?

He did not dare to acknowledge it.

Against the backdrop of light and shadow, he caught sight of a fleeting flash of relief and relaxation upon Senior Brother's face.

"Immortal Venerable jests. Given Immortal Venerable's standing, it was only natural to doubt and test me. I have trespassed and offended repeatedly, yet Immortal Venerable spares my life—it is I who should be profoundly grateful."