Rumble!
A violent wail, accompanied by increasingly intense fluctuations of spiritual energy, rocked the air. Ouyang Haoze's eyes were blood-red; he had clearly gone berserk. Seeing this, the other two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Divine Martial Sect, Wu Zhichong and Duanmu Yuan, could no longer sit still.
"Senior Brother Ouyang."
Wu Zhichong was the first to step forward. Seeing Ouyang Haoze's current wretched state, he felt a tremor of fear and said in a low voice, "The Supreme Firmament Mirror is, after all, a matter of great importance..."
"I understand."
Ouyang Haoze glanced back at Wu Zhichong. The fury in his blood-red eyes quickly subsided, and he said calmly, "But that Demon in the formation is more important! He is proficient in formations at such a young age, and his cultivation level is not weak.
If he were to break through to the Perfection of Qi Refining one day, he might even be able to attempt Foundation Establishment."
"If I can kill a Foundation Establishment seed of a Demonic Sect, then sacrificing one Supreme Firmament Mirror is a worthy price!"
Buzz!
In mid-air, the Supreme Firmament Mirror let out a violent hum, as if it had a different opinion. However, Ouyang Haoze turned a deaf ear. It was just a Spiritual Treasure.
When you were useful, I'd call you 'Supreme Firmament Lord,' but when you're useless, what are you? Seeing that Ouyang Haoze's mind was made up, Wu Zhichong could only sigh and stop trying to persuade him. After all, Ouyang Haoze, at the great Perfection of Qi Refining, was the one in charge of the Divine Martial Sect's affairs this time.
Since he had made a decision, he would naturally bear the consequences. It was enough that he had tried to talk him out of it. Meanwhile, inside the market.
Lu Yang put away the mostly destroyed Blood Sun Sword Pellet and held the Innate Primordial Qi Myriad Spirits Banner, looking out at Ouyang Haoze beyond the market with an inscrutable expression.
"Junior Brother Lu, you're not dead?"
Fairy Feixia and Lu Yuanchun approached. One had a face full of pleasant surprise, while the other, besides feeling the relief of surviving a catastrophe, was also filled with apprehension toward Lu Yang.
"Brother Lu, you truly hide your talents well!"
Lu Yuanchun praised loudly, "By repelling Ouyang Haoze this time, the market is safe and sound. We can hold out long enough for the Saint Sect to get the news and send reinforcements!"
"Repel him? It's still too early for that."
Lu Yang shook his head.
"Indeed. Look at Ouyang Haoze's state. He has lost a great deal of qi and blood. This is more than just repelling him; he's clearly been heavily injured. This should serve as a profound lesson for him!"
Fairy Feixia clapped her hands and smiled. Hearing this, Lu Yuanchun also hurried to chime in with agreement. However, Lu Yang sneered at their reactions and said something astonishing, "Just repelling him?
How can that solve the problem once and for all? I have never been one to leave behind future troubles."
"It's better to just kill him. Simple and clean!"
"Kill... kill who?"
Ouyang Haoze?
For a moment, Fairy Feixia and Lu Yuanchun were stunned. Not even in their most optimistic imaginings had a scene like this ever appeared. That was a cultivator at the great Perfection of Qi Refining, a True Disciple of the righteous path!
Who could kill him? How could he be killed? In the next second, they saw Lu Yang take out the Profound Feminine Supreme Yin Treasured Jade that Lu Yuanchun had returned to him earlier.
He formed a hand seal, performing an art, and channeled his power into it as it rested in his palm. Following that, the treasured jade gradually melted under Lu Yang's control, finally turning into an orb of light, like a treasured mirror that was bone-white and transparent.
Under the illumination of this round light, figures began to appear in Lu Yang's eyes, each corresponding to a residual aura. Judging from the reactions of others, it seemed only he could see them. Fairy Feixia, Lu Yuanchun, Ouyang Haoze, Wu Zhichong, Duanmu Yuan... everyone who had fought here had left a residual trace of their aura in this place.
"So this is the Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art..."
It was the second divine ability from the Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art. The only difficulty lay in the external object required, so Lu Yang had mastered it in an instant after obtaining the treasured jade!
"Let's test its power."
Lu Yang lowered his eyelids and quickly locked onto a residual aura. It was Ouyang Haoze's. He grabbed it using the Profound Yin Form-Seizing Great Art.
"Profound Yin Form-Seizing..."
Lu Yang activated the divine ability. In the next moment, the orb of light formed by the Profound Feminine Supreme Yin Treasured Jade devoured Ouyang Haoze's aura, then reflected his image.
"... Nailing the head to claim a life!"
Immediately, Lu Yang brought his fingers together and slashed. With a "crack!", the orb of light split in two, and along with it, Ouyang Haoze's image was also cleaved in half from head to toe. Just to be safe, Lu Yang had slashed vertically.
At almost the same instant. Outside the market, Ouyang Haoze had just finished his conversation with Wu Zhichong. He turned his head to look at the market and, with a raise of his hand, threw the Supreme Firmament Mirror into the formation.
Although the Supreme Firmament Mirror struggled violently, his mind was made up to detonate it. But in the next second, Ouyang Haoze's movement came to an abrupt halt. Then, a bizarre slash mark appeared out of thin air on the top of his head.
It rapidly spread downwards, finally erupting in a spray of blood. He split apart. His corpse fell from mid-air, the remaining half of his face still etched with astonishment.
His eyeball twitched slightly, as if he still hadn't realized what had just happened.
"What's going on... I'm... dead?"
His consciousness dissipated in a state of bewilderment. And with Ouyang Haoze's control gone, the Supreme Firmament Mirror that had fallen into the formation calmed down. Lu Yang beckoned with his hand, and it flew over to him of its own accord.
In the Northern Frontier, at the Divine Martial Sect's main headquarters. Inside a brightly lit grand hall. This place was called the Soul Lamp Hall.
As the name suggested, it housed the soul lamps of the Divine Martial Sect's many higher-ups, including the Sect Master, elders, and even the True Disciples. As an old and established power in the Northern Frontier, the Divine Martial Sect had ruled the region for over a thousand years.
Its prestige was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and it was rare for any of its high-ranking members to perish. As a result, the disciples on duty here were mostly lazy, viewing this position as nothing more than a cushy job for collecting the sect's allowance. Today was just like any other day.
The disciple on duty was performing a routine check of the soul lamps. He entered the hall and swept his gaze across the room. Lit, lit, lit, lit, extinguished, lit, lit...
Hmm?
The disciple on duty blinked, then subconsciously turned his head back. He rubbed his eyes again, his expression gradually changing from casual to horrified.
"It's out, it's out... Senior Brother Ouyang's soul lamp is out!?"
His voice instantly spread. In the next second, a middle-aged Daoist appeared out of thin air in the hall. His gaze fell upon the extinguished soul lamp, his face a mixture of shock and rage.
How many years had it been? How many years had passed since a True Disciple of the Divine Martial Sect had fallen?
"Ouyang... Skull Mountain!?"
The middle-aged Daoist's face was ashen. He suddenly reached out a hand, summoning Ouyang Haoze's soul lamp. He channeled his magical power into it and actually managed to forcibly relight the flame!
Of course, the dead cannot be brought back to life. This reignited flame could not bring Ouyang Haoze back. At most, it could reveal the last scene he saw before his death.
Soon, the flame projected a scene. The middle-aged Daoist recognized it at a glance as the Primordial Saint Sect's market at Skull Mountain. Inside the market, a handsome and graceful young man was gazing into the distant sky.
That's him?
He killed Ouyang Haoze? A bone-deep hatred surfaced in the middle-aged Daoist's eyes. Because Ouyang Haoze was not just a True Disciple of the sect; he was also the most outstanding member of his Ouyang family's younger generation, a junior in whom he had placed great hope!
This hatred, this enmity, would not rest until one of them was dead!
"Hmm?"
Inside the Skull Mountain market, Lu Yang, who had just put away the Supreme Firmament Mirror that had willingly submitted to him, suddenly frowned. He looked up at the sky as a chill rose in his heart. He was very familiar with this feeling.
It was the feeling of one's own karma being manipulated by an external force. In his previous life, when the Heaven Mending Peak Master was divining his karma, he had felt something similar. Could it be that another Foundation Establishment Daoist Master was plotting against him!?
(End of this chapter)