Chapter 030 - In This Life, I Won't Tolerate Any Humiliation!
Fury surged within Yun Xiao, a tempestuous inferno that threatened to engulf everything in its vicinity. They had the audacity to indulge in a sumptuous feast, while he, the unsuspecting prey, was supposed to be meeting his tragic end in some forsaken hut within the Sword Pavilion!
The opulence that festooned every inch of the Red Molten Pavilion—a sickening contrast to his humble abode—only fueled the fire burning in him.
"Yun Xiao!" The name reverberated within the pavilion's walls, leaving the members of the Wu Family almost unable to trust their own eyes. Wasn't he supposed to be their prey, suffering in agony at this very moment? How had the rabbit stumbled into the wolf's den?
Even Wu Wu, the distinguished Third Sword Venerable, could not contain his disbelief, rubbing his eyes vigorously as if expecting the scene before him to change.
"It really is him!" Wu Jianxiong exclaimed, his cup of wine crashing onto the floor in his shock, a broken testament to the unbelievable turn of events. His disbelief wasn't rooted in fear, but in the sheer audacity of Yun Xiao’s presence. How had Yun Xiao managed to evade assassination, let alone have the gall to stand before them at the heart of the Third Sword Peak?
"Check outside, see if there are others with him." Wu Wu commanded, his face darkening, as he kicked the exquisite jade table before him aside, advancing towards Yun Xiao with a menacing stride.
"Yes, sir!" A few of the Wu Family's Sword Cultivators bypassed Yun Xiao to carry out the order. Even if Yun Xiao was alone, they could still trap him within the pavilion.
"No one's there!" Wu Jianxiong reported, his voice tinged with shock.
"Only him? Alone?" Wu Wu paused, before his stern face broke into a laugh, a sound that was soon echoed by the laughter of his family.
"Oh, Yun Xiao, did you come to our Third Sword Peak intending to engage in a verbal battle with us all by your lonesome?" Wu Wu managed to sputter between fits of laughter, shaking his head in sheer disbelief. He tried to find the words to describe this audacious young man, but found himself at a loss.
"Father, this little rabbit practically delivered himself to our doorstep on this dark and windy night. I say we have ourselves some fun with him for half the night!" Wu Jianxiong remarked with a wicked grin.
"First, let's chop off his hands and feet to prevent him from escaping using a Sovereign Sword," Wu Wu's wife suggested coldly.
At this, Yun Xiao's anger soared to new heights, his voice echoing ominously through the pavilion, "You intend to mutilate me?" he glared at them, his eyes a raging storm.
"What else did you expect? A reasoned discussion? Fool, this is a sect of the Immortal Path, where blood is a common sight, not some village brawl!" Wu Jianxiong retorted, taking over for his mother.
"A place of bloodshed, you say? Then let's add some more to the mix!" Yun Xiao declared, his eyes flashing with a fierce storm of thunderous anger and electric wrath.
The Wu Family continued their sinister laughter, unaware of the gathering storm before them.
Suddenly, from within his robes, Yun Xiao drew a small, dark sword, a harbinger of the tempest that was about to unleash.
"Sword Heart!!" A sudden proclamation echoed menacingly in the room, sending an involuntary twitch through Wu Wu's eyelids. The laughter that had been bubbling among his family ceased abruptly, leaving in its wake faces that were an eerie canvas of shock and disbelief. The revelation was staggering. Zhao Xuanran had entrusted her lifeline, the precious Sword Heart, to this young greenhorn, Yun Xiao. A chill trickled down their spines as they recalled that this seemingly na?ve youth harbored a propensity for ruthless slaughter.
"Yun Xiao! Control yourself!" Wu Wu bellowed, desperately trying to rein in the escalating tension. "That Sword Heart of yours can only harm one person. And mark my words, the rest of us will retaliate without mercy, tearing you to shreds!"
"No need to take it to this extreme, Yun Xiao. Using the Sword Heart means breaking all bonds, putting everyone close to Zhao Xuanran in grave danger," Wu Jianxiong tried to reason, his voice tinged with a hint of fear.
"Who the hell said anything about exchanging lives with you idiots?" Yun Xiao shot back, a sinister smirk playing on his lips.
HUM! With a resonant sound that reverberated ominously, another formidable force materialized beside Yun Xiao. His Heaven Burial Sword Soul, a complementary entity to the Sword Heart he already wielded. Now armed with both the Sword Heart and his Sword Soul, he had turned into an embodiment of impending doom, a sight that was unsettling enough to make Wu Wu take a step back, his face etched with lines of deep concern.
"Think you can escape?" Yun Xiao's cold laughter pierced through the tense atmosphere. Without another word, he thrust the Heaven Burial Sword Soul onto the black Sword Heart nestled in his left hand. A symphony of crackling and buzzing ensued as the dormant power of the Sword Heart, a culmination of a Sect Master's lifelong swordsmanship, erupted fervently.
A terrifying wave of murderous intent, metamorphosed into a black tidal wave, engulfed the entire Red Molten Pavilion. Emerging from n0v@lbin☆, this material harbors clandestine details.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, the Sword Heart didn't go on a killing spree as anticipated. Instead, it began to hum, its dark sword intentions and rays transforming into a torrential river, flowing eagerly into the waiting Sword Soul. The normally serene azure Sword Soul now resembled a living entity that had just received a tremendous boost of power, vibrating intensely as it absorbed the newfound energy.
Humming and resonating, the Sword Soul exhibited a surreal display of might. The merging streams of black energy spiraled around it, morphing it into a powerful twister that was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. The innate deathly power of the Heaven Burial Sword Soul burst forth, dominating the opulent hall of the Red Molten Pavilion, turning it into a gruesome representation of the underworld where death pervaded every corner. Even the core of the Sword Soul, which bore a resemblance to a cerulean lotus bud, seemed to bloom, revealing intricate patterns of mountains, rivers, celestial bodies, and foliage, illuminating a world within itself.
In the midst of the chaos, Yun Xiao, the young man dressed in pristine white, held the merged Sword Soul and Sword Heart, a fusion more potent than the sum of its parts. His heart swelled with unexpected joy as he realized the exponential increase in destructive power.
"I never imagined that Heaven Burial could assimilate the Sword Heart, unleashing a force far surpassing the original capabilities of the Sword Heart!" he exclaimed, his face reflecting the ecstasy of a formidable discovery.
He could feel it—an unparalleled surge in power coursing through him, turning him into a being far removed from an ordinary Cultivator, more akin to a demon devouring heavens and earths with unbridled power.
Turning to Wu Wu's wife, his eyes now a ghastly swirling pool of black and azure, he sneered with demonic glee, "You wanted to sever my limbs, did you?" His piercing gaze, now resembling that of a ferocious demon, fixed itself onto Wu Wu's trembling wife, promising retribution of the most horrific kind.
"There might be some misunderstanding..." The woman's face had already turned several shades paler, a clear indication of the dread taking over her.
BOOM! A vortex of azure and black, reminiscent of a tempestuous dragon, erupted directly from Yun Xiao's hand. In that moment, the air grew thick with the scent of impending death, sending a few of the Wu family's younger generation hurtling through the air to collide violently with the walls.
It was the Sword Heart fueling the fury of the Heaven Burial Sword Soul! With just a casual flick of his wrist, the Sword Soul charged towards the woman, seemingly possessed by an ancient bloodlust.
"Wu Wu, save me!!" The woman screamed in terror.
"You send assassins to kill me, disturb my cultivation, and then refuse to compensate me, eh?" Yun Xiao stated more than asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He had decided to settle this debt personally. First order of business, absorbing the Sword Souls!
The reason the remains of the Wu Family hadn't been annihilated was the existence of the Sword Souls within their bones. Yun Xiao employed Heaven Burial to breach their skeletal remains one by one, ingesting the soon-to-disintegrate Sword Souls en masse.
Heaven Burial resembled a greedy behemoth, feasting eagerly, assimilating the Sword Souls one after another, starting from Wu Jianxiong's eleven-layer Sword Soul, to Wu Wu's nineteen-layer Sword Soul. The entire Wu Family had been consumed completely, their deaths laid bare for all to witness.
Once finished, Yun Xiao counted carefully, "Fifteen-layer Sword Aura, not bad." This method of absorbing Sword Souls would definitely filter out impurities. So, reaching fifteen layers of Sword Aura was more than satisfactory.
In the whole Azure Spirit Sword Sect, only Ye Guying and Zhao Xuanran surpassed fifteen layers of Sword Aura among the disciples. Yet, in a mere few days, Yun Xiao had managed to catch up.
"At least there's some gain." Still, Yun Xiao was far from appeased, his countenance clouded with dissatisfaction. Because of the Wu Family, his little black beast was now at death's door, a sight that pained him immensely. His anger flared anew, intolerable and uncontainable.
"In this lifetime, how can I tolerate any form of humiliation?" Yun Xiao exclaimed, his voice echoing fiercely in the chamber. So he began to loot the Red Molten Pavilion unabashedly. The Pouches of Holding carried by Wu Wu and his ilk alone contained tens of thousands of Spirit Stones.
"Eat up!" Yun Xiao commanded the little creature. "They drained your strength, don't hold back." Half-asleep, the little being gobbled thousands of Spirit Stones, finally regaining its vitality and transforming back into the little black beast.
"I'm back in full force!" Blue Star stretched languidly. Before it could gather its wits, Red Moon had already taken control, scouring the ground for more nourishment. The delicacies tributed by various mortal nations were still partially available, offering a feast of rare flavors and aromas.
"Gurgle, gurgle!" The little black beast's stomach seemed like a bottomless pit, devouring everything from the delicious dishes to the jade table, and even the precious gems and spirit crystals embedded in the walls and ceiling, all imbued with spiritual energy, were ingested without reservation.
"Right! We traveled a great distance to kill them, exhausting our minds and increasing our kill count for nothing. Indulging in a little feast isn't too much, is it?" Yun Xiao chimed in, not remaining idle, assisting in the thorough pillaging of the entire Red Molten Pavilion.
In the dim light of night, a scene of audacious plunder unfolded, twinkled with an audacious sense of whimsy and grandeur. The once resplendent mansion now stood stripped of its golden splendor, reduced to mere rocks and timber, a shadow of its former grandeur.
"Let's skedaddle!" Yun Xiao declared with flamboyance, accompanied by his equally notorious beastly companion. The two swaggered towards the exit, ready to shake the dust from their feet and be done with the place.
As they approached the entrance, Yun Xiao's gaze fell upon the pair of golden lions that adorned the gate. Even under the moonlit sky, they shone with an impressive and intimidating gleam. "If only these were perched atop the royal palace of Cloud Nation, imagine the grandeur they would add!" Yun Xiao couldn't help but muse aloud, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
His mood soured as he recalled the indignity he had faced earlier. "Blue Star, Red Moon! I was in the middle of my cultivation, earnestly preparing for tomorrow's Grand Conclave, and yet I've been rudely dragged here, tainting my luck. Gobbling up these golden lions isn't too much, is it?" The humor in his tone could not fully mask the underlying bitterness. The attempt on his life had left a deep imprint, provoking his anger and resentment.
Blue Star chuckled mischievously, aligning perfectly with Yun Xiao's rebellious spirit. "Not at all. In fact, I'd say bringing down the entire mountain wouldn't be crossing the line!" It admired Yun Xiao immensely for his audacity and pluck.
"Go dimwit, eat up!" Blue Star ordered, finding joy in the unfolding chaos. Before Yun Xiao could even make a move to lift the golden lions, Red Moon swooped in, gnawing on one with gusto.
Yun Xiao was left stunned and somewhat at a loss, witnessing the beast devouring what could have been a magnificent treasure. "I... I didn't mean literally!" he exclaimed, the situation quickly spiraling into absurdity. In the blink of an eye, the formidable golden lions were now sporting gaping holes in their chests, their once mighty appearance severely compromised.
"Go ahead, finish your meal. But afterwards, craft some Heavenly Dao Sariras with a golden lion flavor for me," Yun Xiao instructed with a resigned sigh, anticipating a sizable addition to his collection of Heavenly Dao Sariras that night.
Feeling a twinge of satisfaction, Yun Xiao stretched leisurely, his mood slightly improved. "It's a fair trade for the assassination attempt on my life, I suppose," he mumbled to himself, feeling a little less aggrieved.
"Let's move," Yun Xiao declared, resuming his bold stride away from the place. But, not more than a few steps later, he halted abruptly.
"What now?" inquired Blue Star, a hint of exasperation in its voice.
"That bastard babbled nonsense about me all day, tarnishing my reputation. I haven't settled this score yet!" Yun Xiao said, recalling all the grievances he had with the Third Sword Venerable.
Blue Star rolled its eyes dramatically, "My brother in the Heavenly Dao, you've already robbed him blind, slaughtered his entire family, and devoured his treasures too. What more do you want?"
"It's not enough! My Dao Heart won't be at peace unless I settle this!" Yun Xiao proclaimed, his face showing stern determination. Without further ado, he turned back, setting several points of the Red Molten Pavilion ablaze with fierce flames. Under the crisp autumn sky, the flames slowly rose, engulfing the entire pavilion, a fierce blaze that lit up the night sky conspicuously.
A symphony of collapsing structures rang through the night, as pillars, screens, courtyards, and tassels were consumed by the fire, a spectacle of destruction and untamed fury under the moonlit sky.
Watching as the fire engulfed everything before him, Yun Xiao finally felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him. The cataclysm that unfolded here would undeniably send shockwaves through the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, adding fuel to the anticipatory blaze that was the upcoming Grand Conclave.
But who could possibly suspect that Yun Xiao was the mastermind behind this act of chaos and arson? It seemed no one had a vivid enough imagination to fathom such a scenario. Normally, even a person with the strongest Sword Heart could at best kill a single adversary, not annihilate an entire family.
Blue Star piped up, its voice tinged with a mischievous lilt. "Well, you've plundered and burned your way through. You're just missing one thing to complete the tyrant's handbook. Feeling better now?"
"What thing?" Yun Xiao asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"You know, playing the tyrant, murder, pillage, ra—" Blue Star replied, tiptoeing around the euphemism with a sarcastic grin on his face.
"Nope, no way! There's some lines you don't cross, especially as a cultivator." Yun Xiao's face scrunched up in pure refusal.
But annihilating whole families and robbing people blind is fine...? Blue Star and Red Moon exchanged a glance, an awkward silence settling between them.
As the inferno continued its dance of destruction, nearing them with each passing second, Yun Xiao spun on his heels, disappearing into the cover of darkness.
"They are coming." No sooner had he reached the foot of the mountain than he looked up to see numerous sword rays soaring towards the burning pavilion. The Third Sword Peak was plunged into utter chaos, a cacophony of noise erupting from the panic-stricken crowd.
The reflection of the raging flames flickered in Yun Xiao's eyes, steeling his resolve with every heartbeat., "Whoever seeks to kill me, I shall obliterate. This is my vengeance, my satisfaction. This is my path as an Immortal!
"Anyone who disagrees can hold their tongues!" With a resolute nod to himself, Yun Xiao declared, "Let's go! Time to head back home and find Senior Sister Zhao for a well-deserved drink to toast to the second half of the competition."