The human heart had always been vulnerable to adversity.

Wu Xun hadn’t just used psychological warfare to turn Li Muchen’s friends and allies against him. He’d even painted Li Muchen as the primary culprit behind their misfortune!

It was more than just cruel. It was insidious to the extreme!

But no one dared to disregard it, because Wu Xun was from Limitless Palace!

“Everyone, do you really think that you could have avoided disaster today even if Fellow Daoist Li hadn’t stepped forth?” Mo Lanhe said gravely. “Do you really think that if you lowered your heads, Wu Xun would have refrained from exploiting you, and that you wouldn’t have had to go to your deaths in that Star grave?”

The group fell silent, their expressions shifting and uncertain.

Only Yun Qiaojun nodded. “You’re absolutely right, Senior. I won’t back down!”

“I won’t either,” said Liu Tianchen.

Fu Lingyun shouted, “Whether we live or die, I’m sticking with Daoist Brother Li!”

Wen Xiuran pursed her lips and remained silent, while Xiao Chi’s face was ashen.

Their Dao Protectors’ expressions shifted, too.

Off in the distance, Wu Xun laughed. “How about this? I promise that if you help me fight Li Muchen, we’ll be even. I guarantee that all of you will be allowed to leave safely.”

“What nonsense!” Mo Lanhe shouted. “Who was it that only just promised that whoever lost had to explore the Star Grave? And who was it that went back on his word? Who was it who didn’t dare to spar with Fellow Daoist Li? Wu Xun, your guarantees aren’t even worth a dog’s fart!

“You’re no more than an Unfettered Realm disciple, but you think your connection to Limitless Palace means you can act with abandon and abuse others as you see fit. A bastard like you will inevitably meet with disaster sooner or later!”

Mo Lanhe had been suppressing a bellyful of fire, so when he cut loose, he cursed Wu Xun out to his heart’s content.

Wu Xun’s smile was nowhere to be found.

He glanced coolly at Mo Lanhe and said, “I have a prominent background, so I can indeed do whatever I want. What of it?”

He paused, then said, “It’s a pity, but you’re already doomed. You won’t get the chance to see what happens to your friends, family, and sect now that you’ve implicated them.

“Let me make myself perfectly clear. When I leave the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone, I’ll eradicate everyone connected to you!”

Mo Lanhe’s face was ashen.

Wu Xun grinned, then looked at Su Yi. “Well, Li Muchen? Are you willing to let her go now?”

His voice was tinged with mockery.

Su Yi flipped his wrist, and the sealed Lu Zhu floated into the air. He still held her aloft by the throat.

Lu Zhu said in a quavering voice, “Senior Apprentice Brother, why aren’t you saving me?”

Wu Xun smiled. “Relax. Li Muchen is about to let you go like a good little boy.”

Bang!

He’d only just said this when Lu Zhu exploded into pieces, like a popped paper lantern. Her ashes quickly scattered to the wind.

It happened so suddenly that everyone present was dumbstruck. Their eyes widened with disbelief.

Wu Xun, in particular, was caught off guard, and his expression changed dramatically. How dare he!?

Su Yi brushed off his clothes, then said casually, “I forgot to tell you, but threats have never been effective on me.”

Wu Xun roared in fury. “Kill them! Kill every last one of them!”

The nearby experts of Limitless Palace charged, including a dozen or so Heavenly Monarchs. Not one of them dared to be negligent.

But then, Su Yi swung his sleeve.

Boom!

Heaven and earth shook, and the massive, semicircular Star Grave split, starting from the base.

A streak of dazzling silver light shot into the firmament.

Upon closer inspection, it was a broken saber.

When the saber appeared, heaven and earth shook, and a dense, calamitous power surged throughout the surrounding area, as dark as ink.

The Heavenly Monarchs’ courage instantly failed them.

They’d suppressed their cultivation bases and used various secret arts to avoid the detection and backlash of the Laws.

Yet now, when that calamitous power surged forth, all of them felt as if the Laws were targeting them.

Their hair stood on end, and their souls practically left their bodies for sheer panic!

“What’s going on?” Wu Xun’s expression shifted, but before he could respond, Su Yi raised his hand, pulled the broken saber into his grip, and swung it at one of the Heavenly Monarchs.

Boom!

Calamitous power surged forth. Saber qi poured down from the nine heavens.

The Heavenly Monarch was none other than Lu Zhu’s Dao Protector, Meng Huai. He was the first to charge, as he was eager to avenge Lu Zhu.

But when that saber qi fell, Meng Huai was like duckweed in turbulent seas. His body was quickly torn apart.

Most brutal of all, the broken saber devoured his soul. Not even his Eternal Source was left behind.

But Su Yi had already moved on, launching a dozen strikes in rapid succession. Each strike took the life of a Heavenly Monarch.

In the blink of an eye, all of the Dao Protectors were dead. Not one escaped.

Su Yi cut them down as casually as if he were chopping vegetables.

Wu Xun looked as if he’d been struck by lightning. He was completely gobsmacked, overcome with fright. A dozen Heavenly Monarchs died, just like that?

Yun Qiaojun, Liu Tianchen, and the others gaped. They were completely overcome with astonishment.

None of them had anticipated that, after that lengthy silence, Li Muchen would create an instantaneous maelstrom of destruction!

Where did that broken saber come from? How could it control the calamitous power of the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone? And why can Li Muchen wield it?

Those Heavenly Monarchs couldn’t even fight back. He destroyed them like clay chickens and porcelain dogs!

Liu Tianchen’s heart shook. When he killed Xue Sheng, his Dao Protector died inexplicably. I wouldn’t have guessed that Fellow Daoist Li would pull off an even bigger upset this time...

Fu Lingyun stood there in a wide-eyed daze. All of this just didn’t feel real; she felt as if she were dreaming.

Waves of emotion coursed through Mo Lanhe’s heart. He felt as if he were witnessing a miracle!

“Run!” Wu Xun and the other Limitless Palace disciples turned to flee. Some even went so far as to activate their Nine Luminaries Medallions for fear that if they waited, it’d be too late.

Including Wu Xun!

A wealthy man didn’t sit beneath the eaves. How could they knowingly put themselves in danger?

Their Dao Protectors, all of them Heavenly Monarchs, had just died. Their will to fight collapsed with them. How could any of them dare to fight Li Muchen now?

Fleeing the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone was their only hope of survival.

But then, all of their eyes widened in shock. They’d tried to activate their Nine Luminaries Medallions, only to discover that they no longer worked!

Dense, calamitous power had completely enveloped the entire area, severing their connection to the outside world—and blocking the medallions’ power.

“How is this possible!?” someone cried out as they mentally broke down.

Wu Xun’s face was deathly pale. He felt a chill in his hands and feet.

He was an unparalleled monster of Limitless Palace. Although he’d faced numerous obstacles throughout his lifetime of cultivation, none had ever been lethal.

Moreover, given his background, no matter what he did or where he went, he could act as he saw fit. If he wanted wind, it was windy, and if he wanted rain, it rained.

He could never have imagined that he’d meet with disaster here in the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone!

Su Yi silently appeared beside Wu Xun. “Do you really think that an impressive background means you can do whatever you want?”

Wu Xun shuddered. “How... How dare you!?”

That’s right. How dare he? None of the disciples of Limitless Palace understood. He’s just an Unfettered Realm cultivator of the Literati Continent, and his sect of origin is the weakest around. Where does he get the guts to attack us?

Isn’t he afraid of reprisal? And of implicating his entire sect?

Su Yi took a sip of wine. “I planned to endure in the name of keeping a low profile, but you just kept on provoking me. I had no choice but to fight back. You can’t blame me for this.”

Wu Xun’s expression shifted erratically. “I admit defeat! Can you leave me a path to life? No matter your conditions, I’ll agree to them!”

Su Yi shook his head. “All I want from you is your death.”

Wu Xun’s face was ashen. Suddenly, Su Yi turned and broke his wrist. A talisman fell out of his grip.

Su Yi plucked it from midair and examined it. It was golden, with the name “Huangting” carved on its front in plain, ancient characters.

The phrase “like the descent of a sovereign” was carved on the back.

“This is your life-saving trump card, right? If it’s as I suspect, this talisman contains a wisp of Heavenly Sovereign Wen’s will,” said Su Yi. “I can tell that your position in Limitless Palace is far higher than Lu Zhu’s. She certainly didn’t have anything like this.”

When he lost his life-saving treasure, Wu Xun completely broke down, roared, and attacked with all his might.

But Su Yi sent him flying with a slap, shattering his cheekbone and leaving his face red and swollen. Wu Xun shrieked like a slaughtered pig.

The onlookers’ hearts quivered just watching him. Li Muchen wasn’t using any sort of external treasures. He was effortlessly suppressing Wu Xun, the monster in sixteenth place in the Unfettered Ranking, with nothing but his own strength.

“If we die, you’re finished, too!” Wu Xun shouted hysterically, his eyes bloodshot and his face hideously contorted. “That goes for your companions, their families, friends, and sects, too. All of them will die!”

Su Yi’s eyes flashed with mockery. This is the unparalleled monster of Limitless Palace? If not for his powerful background, an idiot like this would have died countless times over by now.

Suddenly, Su Yi asked, “Did Limitless Palace send you here purely in search of good fortune, or do you have other goals as well?”

Wu Xun froze, stunned, then roared, “Want to know? Beg me!”

Su Yi waved his hand.

Bang!!!

Wu Xun’s soul scattered.

There was no longer any need for Su Yi to hold back his strength, so killing even an “unparalleled, heaven-defying monster” like Wu Xun was as easy as could be.

In truth, crossing cultivation levels and killing Divine Wandering Realm cultivators had long since ceased to be a challenge.

“Why must you kill us all? Do you understand the consequences of a grudge with Limitless Palace?” someone roared in fury.

Su Yi laughed and said nothing. He’d opposed Heavenly Sovereign factions way back in the God Domain. How could he concern himself with such paltry threats?

Without any further delays, Su Yi got to work, slaughtering the disciples of Limitless Palace down to the last man.

Then, he stood there, hands behind his back, and gazed at the broken saber hovering beneath the dome of heaven. His gaze was full of lamentation.

The weapon fragment sealed beneath the massive star grave was a powerful killer weapon, but it wasn’t long for this world.

Earlier, Miss Baa Baa Black Sheep had transmitted a message to him. She said that a fragment of a vicious weapon lay at the bottom of that Star Grave. It wasn’t a Heavenly Sovereign-level weapon, but it was utterly strange, with the power to direct the calamitous power of the Laws of heaven and earth.

However, she also said that if he used it, it would provoke a backlash. It wouldn't be able to withstand the power of the Laws, and it would quickly be destroyed.

Ultimately, the weapon was incomplete. If he brought it to the outside world, even Heavenly Monarchs would drool over it. It was a grand stroke of good fortune.

However, if he used it here, it would inevitably be destroyed.

Su Yi hadn’t planned on using it. He’d hoped to put it away for later, but circumstances had forced his hand.

When Wu Xun reneged on his initial agreement, Su Yi decided that the loathsome, untrustworthy bastard had to die, even if it meant sacrificing this grand stroke of good fortune!