Chapter 143: The Dong Family's Forbidden Technique

With a furious roar, the Great Elder's aura abruptly skyrocketed. Essence blood, soul, and Nascent Soul origin—he ignited all three forces at once, transforming them into surging magical power that flooded his limbs and bones. His aura climbed higher and higher, like a trapped beast tearing through chains that had bound it for years.

"Great Elder, you're..."

The Third Elder beside him stood stunned, but as the words left his mouth, he took in the scene before him. He glanced at the blue-robed figure in the distance, then back at their bloodied and battered clansmen. In an instant, his mind cleared.

He asked no more. His hands rapidly formed incantation seals as his magical power circulated madly. A burst of pure spiritual energy gushed from his dantian, resonating with the Great Elder's turbulent aura. The two forces intertwined and merged, like two rivers flowing into the same sea.

The Great Elder's aura surged again, crossing a threshold in one fell swoop to rapidly approach the Middle Nascent Soul Stage.

Meanwhile, the Third Elder's hair turned from black to white in a flash. Wrinkles crawled across his face and his aura sharply decayed, leaving him looking as if every drop of his essence blood had been drained away.

Yet he held on. Behind him, the last surviving cultivators of the Dong Family made their move.

"All disciples, heed my command! Execute our Dong Family's forbidden technique!"

Following the Third Elder's hoarse roar, every Dong Family cultivator raised their hands. Stream after stream of magical power trickled in from all directions, piercing the air to sink into the Great Elder's body.

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core—no matter their stage of cultivation, as children of the Dong Family, every single one of them burned themselves at this moment without a sliver of reservation.

The Great Elder finally broke through the barrier.

Brilliant golden light shot from his eyes. Covered by boundless spiritual energy, the fractured longsword in his hand hummed fiercely; the spiritual light along its blade exploded with such intensity that the weapon nearly tore itself from his grasp.

He drew his sword. And cleaved outward.

Golden sword light tore across the vast sky, painting the mountains and rivers in a single color. A tearing shriek ripped through the void as sword qi raged wildly, looking as though it meant to cleave heaven and earth in two.

This was his all-out strike. A blow delivered at the cost of his physical body, his soul, his magical power, and the lives of every last clansman. He was absolutely certain that even a late-stage Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator would have to retreat from its sheer edge.

He had never planned to survive. The sons of the Dong Family had no reason to cower and flee from a fight.

In the distance, rogue cultivators were startled by the golden light. As they watched from afar, their expressions changed drastically.

"Look at that golden light!"

"What terrifying sword qi! Almighty experts are fighting—hurry, run!"

No one dared to approach.

The golden light dispersed, and the mountains and rivers returned to dead silence.

Everyone from the Dong Family held their breath, staring fixedly at where the sword light had fallen. But there was nothing there. It was as if no one had been standing there to begin with.

A trace of dread silently spread.

The Great Elder stood at the bow of the ship, his face pale as paper. There was not a single shred of magical power left inside him. As he stared at that empty space, the unyielding resolve in his eyes finally cracked.

A voice sounded behind him, neither loud nor soft.

"Not bad."

He whipped around.

Jiuyou was standing a mere three feet behind him. His gray robes snapped in the wind, yet the hems were pristine, untouched by even a speck of sword qi. The terrifying momentum of that strike had seemingly never reached him at all.

The Great Elder opened his mouth, but in the end, only let out a hoarse laugh.

"Hahaha... the heavens truly mean to destroy my Dong Family."

His body began to disintegrate. From his limbs to his torso, he shattered bit by bit, like dead wood weathering away.

"I... have no regrets."

He took one last look at that blue-robed figure. Then his body shattered completely, crumbling into ashes that scattered in the wind.

Jiuyou didn't even look at him.

His gaze crossed the ship's rail, falling on the crowds aboard the dozen or so flying ships behind.

The Third Elder collapsed to his knees on the deck. His breathing was incredibly faint, yet he still propped himself up to stare in Jiuyou's direction.

"When the Patriarch returns... he will definitely... avenge us..."

With his last word, he could hold on no longer. He pitched forward and collapsed, his eyes wide open, never to close again.

In a corner of the ship's cabin, a little girl huddled in her mother's embrace, her voice tiny.

"Mother, I'm scared..."

Her mother did not speak. Her hair had already turned completely white; the clan's grand technique had drained almost every drop of her vitality. She looked down at the child in her arms and reached out, gently stroking the crown of the girl's head.

Then, she closed her eyes. A water spike silently slashed through the air, first piercing the girl's body before running clean through the mother's chest. The two of them collapsed in each other's embrace, looking as though they had merely fallen asleep.

This exact scene played out simultaneously across the Dong Family's last dozen flying ships. Some knelt alone; some grasped the hands of those beside them; some closed their eyes; some smiled and gazed off into the distance. Bloody lights flashed across the decks, then quickly faded into darkness.

No one cried out. No one begged for mercy.

Jiuyou hovered in the air. He watched for a moment, then raised his hand and waved. Behind him, the Nether Capital Gate rumbled open. Countless dead souls were yanked out by an invisible force, surging into the gateway like a rising tide.

The mountain winds picked up once more, blowing away the last lingering warmth from the decks.

The dozen flying ships hung silently in midair. Not a single sound remained.

...

Several hours later, the moonlight spilled down.

Seven or eight streaks of glowing light shot over from the distance. They bypassed the Dong Family's shattered mountain gate, swept past the deep secret passage entrance in the Central Courtyard, and finally hovered in the sky above the dozen ruined flying ships.

Wildfires devoured the wreckage as thick smoke billowed into the sky. The stench of blood mingled with the acrid scent of char, permeating the valley. Corpses lay piled on top of one another. The decks were so soaked in blood that it had dried into a dark, crusty brown, splintering into fine cracks underfoot with every step.

Dong Yanwei stood at the very front, his gaze sweeping across the scene below. His body tipped slightly forward, as if his spine had just been crushed by some invisible weight. He slowly sank to his knees, his kneecaps slamming into the scorched earth with a dull thud.

"Dead... they're all dead..."

His voice was hoarse, sounding as though it had been burned.

"The children of my Dong Family... they're all dead."

He clenched his fists so tightly his nails dug into his palms, yet he felt no pain.

"Second Brother... Great Elder... Third Elder... and Bingyi..."

He couldn't go on.

A short, plump cultivator stepped forward, wanting to offer a word of comfort, but a gray-clothed cultivator on the other side tugged at his sleeve. The gray-clothed cultivator gently shook his head. The plump cultivator opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Among the group, a young man in black robes stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His face was entirely placid. As his gaze swept over the mountains of corpses and seas of blood below, a flash of coldness flickered through his eyes.

"They were nothing but a burden anyway. It's better that they're dead."

He turned his head and looked at the kneeling Dong Yanwei.

"Dong Yanwei."

Dong Yanwei snapped back to his senses. He blinked forcefully, forcing back the tears brimming in his eyes. Turning around, he dropped to one knee before the young man in black.

"Supreme."

The young man in black didn't spare him a second glance. His gaze settled on the ruined wasteland in the distance.

"I have already inspected your clan's territory. I have a rough idea of the killer's identity."

He paused, retrieving a blue medicinal pill from his sleeve. Spiritual light flowed across its surface, giving off a deep, heavy fragrance.

"Do you want revenge?"

Dong Yanwei raised his head. When his eyes landed on that pill, they filled with shock.

"A Nascent Soul Nurturing Pill."

He gritted his teeth. Without a shred of hesitation, he nodded heavily.

"I do."

The young man in black tossed the pill to Dong Yanwei and turned to leave.

Dong Yanwei caught the pill. His palm clenched into a tight fist, veins bulging.

He knelt there in place, his head bowed, and did not rise for a very long time.