Chapter 119: To Cut the Weeds, One Must Uproot Them; to Slay an Immortal, One Must Exterminate the Lineage

The two are superior, one is in the middle, like a grinder, inextricably entangled. To Jieli, this seemed like cultivation, but in reality, it was fraught with peril; her consciousness was constantly bombarded by Bingheng’s lecherous thoughts.

She had a way to counter this—by utilizing the protection of the consciousness formation. Once in danger, she could command her consciousness to return. However, she had not anticipated that the relocated site would be in Eastern Ocean Valley. She regretted agreeing to move from the Headless God Forest to this place. Here, in the dilapidated underground cave, a formation had been carved specifically to restrain consciousness and souls; once trapped, escape was impossible. Even when she commanded her consciousness to return, it remained unresponsive.

“Jieli, what good does it do you to follow Jia Youke? Follow us two young masters, and we guarantee you glory, wealth, and that your family will not be suppressed. Why hesitate? Open your mind and withdraw the protection of the immortal artifact within your body!”

Jieli resisted with all her might. It was too late for regrets; she wanted to cry, but could not. Once her consciousness was invaded and a restrictive spell was placed upon her, she would become nothing more than a slave and plaything for the Zhang family young masters. She had once told Jia Youke that she had a backup plan and preparations in place, but now that seemed laughable. Even with the protection of the sole immortal artifact in her body, she would rather self-destruct than face such danger. But what about her consciousness and soul? Once trapped and bound, she would be forced to obey others upon her return.

“Stop!” Jia Youke let out a roar, his consciousness erupting; his shattered will filled the air in every direction!

“Run, don’t worry about me!” Jieli cried out. She was trapped, with no hope of rescue.

“I will report this to the valley and expose your crimes!” Jia Youke roared again. Bingheng laughed loudly and said, “Do you think I’m a fool, to place a soul-binding curse on her? This is merely a transaction. Once I tire of the game, the restriction will naturally be lifted. Otherwise, with so many people undergoing dual cultivation of consciousness with me, wouldn’t I leave behind too many handles and ruin my hobby of loving the new and loathing the old?”

As his lecherous laughter echoed, Jia Youke was about to turn back to plead for help when the sky turned black. A massive formation talisman lit up, sealing the area. He circled around, finding no way out; when he tried to force his way through, he was struck and paralyzed throughout his body. He was only at the mid-stage of the Immortal Body realm, and his consciousness was not strong. This blow caused him immense pain. Even though he requested the consciousness formation to retract, his soul remained trapped, unable to break free. For such sudden emergencies, the consciousness formation would have dedicated immortals to monitor it, ensuring the safety of the user, but that would take a long time.

Seeing this, Wuyun clutched his chest and sighed, “How vicious. Without the means of a Peak Great Immortal, there is no escaping this.” He stroked his own soul, which was marked with various runes, and added, “Fortunately, I didn’t go in with that fool, or I’d be suffering for nothing!”

He closed his eyes and communicated for ten days. The entire Eastern Ocean Valley, including heaven and earth, shook violently. This intense shaking moved countless powerhouses of the Hundred Flower Valley because the remnants of the formations in the spatial cracks of the Piaoyi Great Immortal Sect were frequently stirring. If they collapsed, that would be fine, but what if descendants of the Piaoyi Great Immortal Sect arrived? What if a descendant capable of controlling this formation returned?

Amid the tremors, the formations hidden in the mountain walls of the underground cave were shaken out, only to be destroyed by a surge of malevolent energy. Upon being rescued, Jia Youke seemed to hear something and roared, “The Sect Master of the Piaoyi Great Immortal Sect is here! Let the immortal formation aid me!”

Countless surges of malevolent energy poured in. At Jia Youke’s gesture, they struck the two consciousnesses and souls, instantly obliterating them. Once these were erased, Pan Fei and Bingheng, inside the cave of the consciousness formation, clutched their heads and screamed madly as they were teleported out by the formation, only to be saved by the three ancestors waiting outside.

“You little brats are courting death!” the three ancestors roared in unison, going berserk!

After saving Jieli, Wuyun dragged the weeping Jia Youke back to the immortal artifact where Taifeng was located. As soon as they arrived, Taifeng, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly leaped up and grabbed Jia Youke by the throat.

Taifeng squeezed with both hands, pinning Jia Youke’s stone-hard body.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Wuyun couldn’t fathom what a Profound Immortal at the early stage, who had lost his magic power, could rely on to oppose him.

The next second, Wuyun frowned. Jia Youke was squeezed so tightly that his chest split in two; half his legs ran off, while half his head was held aloft by Taifeng. Seeing this, Wuyun scolded, “You’re an Immortal Body; don’t you know how to fight back? Did you cook and eat all the immortal arts you learned?”

Jia Youke sobered up from the joy of Jieli’s rescue and said sorrowfully, “My lord, I’m used to it. This is a Profound Immortal—a being who could electrocute us just by glaring. I…”

“Trash!” Taifeng tried to kick Jia Youke to pieces, but the latter suddenly expanded his immortal body to a hundred feet, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow. After Jia Youke reassembled his body, Taifeng ran a short distance, roaring as his body grew to the same size as Wuyun’s, charging forward like a small cannonball directly at Wuyun’s face.

“Who gave you such courage!” Wuyun reversed his right hand, slowing the incoming cannonball as if it were on a treadmill, unable to break free no matter what.

“Hi!” Taifeng shrank again, becoming as small as a bullet, and after accelerating, he passed straight through Wuyun’s palm and slammed into the wall of the immortal artifact. A peanut-sized hole in Wuyun’s palm began to heal slowly.

Shrunk to the extreme, Taifeng relied on his own weight and the various malevolent energies within his body to fight Wuyun. When he jumped out again, he made a snapping sound as he collided with a plate. Even Wuyun, hiding behind the plate, trembled from the impact. What does it feel like for a high-speed object to hit a metal surface harder than itself? Moreover, before the impact, the formation patterns inside the plate had activated, making it even harder. Wuyun flipped the iron plate over, revealing a deep dent. He felt a pang of heartache and used a bit of magic to slowly heal the dent.

And what of Taifeng? After the collision, he reverted to his original form, over thirty feet tall, becoming a mass of shattered metal that ruptured the entire space. In particular, the malevolent energy and soul lake that surged from his body pierced through the obstacles, stopping only inches from Wuyun’s body. At this moment, Taifeng’s soul was filled with terror. His Undying Body, which he had painstakingly cultivated for so many years, was gone in a single collision.

“Condense!” Taifeng, unwilling to give up, roared, trying to reassemble his shattered body in front of Wuyun. To his surprise, a ball of flame emerged from Wuyun’s head and circled above him, burning away more than half of it.

When the mangled body finally stopped twitching, Taifeng glared with hateful eyes and hissed, “Are you not afraid that my father will tear you into ten thousand pieces, roast your souls, and ensure you never reincarnated?”

His threatening words made Jia Youke, who had just pulled his body back together, shiver, while Wuyun replied, “If it weren’t for the descendants of the Piaoyi Great Immortal Sect, you would already be dead.”

Taifeng was confused. Wuyun continued, “To cut the weeds, you must dig up the roots; to kill an immortal, you must exterminate the sect. I am sparing your soul only because I am concerned about your Immortal King father. Therefore, your life and death depend on your father’s attitude.”

Having said this, Wuyun pointed his finger, and a ball of black mist coiled around Taifeng. Without another look, Wuyun snapped his fingers, and the local artifact spirit teleported him out of the immortal artifact.

The space outside was desolate. The three ancestors stood to one side with the two Zhang family young masters behind them. On the other side were the administrators of the consciousness formation, followers of the Immortal King, and various retainers and servants—over a thousand people—floating in a castle in the air.

“The main players have arrived. By rights, since the incident happened here, it is our responsibility. However, the elders of the Hundred Flower Valley Enforcement Hall summoned our true selves for a meeting, which delayed us and led to the current situation.” The speaker was a middle-aged man dressed as a martial general. Looking closely, one could see a totem carved on his forehead—a soaring immortal bird, similar to a phoenix. It was the Peak Great Demon-level Falling Heaven Dark Phoenix. He waved his hand in a gesture of invitation, but his brows were tightly locked, as he sensed the weak thoughts of Young Master Taifeng slowly emanating.

The three Zhang ancestors were overjoyed; getting approval from the master of this place to attack here was the best outcome. Just as they were about to repeat their old tricks and surround them, Wuyun made a ‘stop’ gesture. A woman appeared from the Great Immortal’s cave. She walked hesitantly behind Jia Youke and remained silent. Just as Jia Youke was about to comfort her, Bingheng shouted angrily, “The three of them are in cahoots! They ambushed Pan Fei and me. The evidence is irrefutable. According to the laws of the Hundred Flower Valley, they should be executed, and their souls hung in the Heavenly Ridge to be ground to dust!”

“Do you think you can survive by talking so much?” Wuyun said with a flippant expression. He pointed to the general who had spoken earlier and said, “Young Master Taifeng said, either he dies, or the Zhang family dies. You choose! Now is the time to verify your loyalty.”

“I am Tuba, the number one fierce general under the seat of the Questioning Immortal King, a Falling Heaven Dark Phoenix immortal beast! I advise you to release our young master immediately. Otherwise, in heaven or on earth, you will face a fate worse than death!”

Just as Tuba finished speaking, Taifeng’s soul appeared in the palm of Wuyun’s hand, as if being sheltered inside the immortal artifact had been of no use. When the black mist on Taifeng grew heavy, Taifeng shrieked, “Uncle Tuba, will you just stand by and watch your nephew die without a grave? My father has only one son; I cannot die!”

The words were full of threats. Tuba waved his hand, intercepting the other brothers who wanted to rush forward to rescue him, and shook his head: “Little Tai, it is not that your uncle won’t save you, but if I kill the Zhang family, the Valley Master will definitely hold me accountable. Although this Zhang family has no Immortal King, their family head is a confidant of the Valley Master and cannot be killed!”

He tried desperately to explain, but Wuyun smiled and pointed to the empty space, saying, “Well done, sending a Grade Four immortal artifact to my position. Very well, let’s meet in life and death.”

Wuyun waved his hand, and the second ancestor’s chest suddenly exploded. The Heaven-Covering Triple-Pattern Bag, which had been suppressing the Heaven-Shattering Treasure Jar, exploded; the violent impact directly blew the second ancestor into a cloud of mist, which vanished. In the mist, the seventh and eighth ancestors repeatedly cast spells, trying to summon the second ancestor’s soul, but to their shock, the soul of the Zhang family’s second ancestor had also disappeared.

This was a powerhouse at the mid-stage of the Profound Immortal realm! Who could suppress him in a single round? Even an Immortal King would struggle to kill him without three or five moves. Yet Wuyun had ruthlessly detonated a Grade Five immortal artifact to perish with his greedy foe. And the immortal soul—could it even be extinguished by an explosion?

This move left the scene in total silence. Jia Youke and the Jieli beside him trembled slightly. Only the black horse, Hantuo, acted as if nothing had happened; he whistled, glanced at Tuba, and said in a horse’s voice, “Senior, I feel much better now. You should cause more explosions around here to speed up the recovery of my soul in this space.”

Wuyun ignored him and instead said to Jia Youke, “In the future, be decisive in slaughter. Strike first to gain the advantage.”

Having said this, he looked at the space in front of him. A spatial crack appeared at his side—the interference from the explosion had caused the Grade Four immortal artifact gauntlets Tuba had used for his hidden attack to be misaligned. The exposed gauntlets erupted with infinite power, attempting to envelop Taifeng’s soul in his opponent’s hand, but Wuyun held it up in a show of defiance, rendering the effort futile.