Chapter 531 - 538: Slaying the Mahayana

A trip to the Netherworld had brought about a world-shattering transformation in her power.

She was extremely satisfied with her current strength and loved the feeling of her power constantly growing.

The sense of accomplishment was indescribable.

"Song Wanning, I have no grievance or enmity with you! Now that my physical body has been destroyed, let’s just call it even between us!"

Old Man Bai’s mind raced as his eyes darted around, desperately searching for an escape route.

"No grievance or enmity?"

Song Wanning actually laughed when she heard that.

’Huo Mian doesn’t need my attention right now, so I’ll start with this one!’

"You were the one who ambushed me. You even went out of your way to lure the Huo Family here. Wasn’t it all for the sake of taking my life?"

"And now that you’re about to die, you want to call it even?"

She gave a speechless laugh.

’Some people in this world are unbelievably shameless.’

Song Wanning then looked over at Huo Mian and clicked her tongue. "This man wanted to steal my things, but he was afraid he couldn’t beat me, so he went and found you to be his sacrificial pawn."

"And you actually fell for it. How stupid can you be!"

The words were meant to kill his spirit, not just his body. Huo Mian, already in agony, nearly went mad upon hearing this.

His bloodshot eyes glared at Old Man Bai’s Nascent Soul. He wished he could charge over right now and grind his bones to dust.

"I—I didn’t expect her to be this powerful either—"

Old Man Bai felt a flash of guilt, but he quickly became defiant again.

"I only provided the information. You were the one who wanted to capture her, what has that got to do with me?"

He had only provided a location. All the decisions were made by Huo Mian himself, so no one could blame him.

"You—"

Hearing this, Huo Mian wanted nothing more than to strangle Old Man Bai.

If the old man had mentioned even a fraction of Song Wanning’s true strength, he wouldn’t have underestimated her. He wouldn’t have been immediately afflicted with the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, leaving him unable to even flee.

At this moment, he hated Old Man Bai with every fiber of his being.

"Song Wanning, I was deceived too! We don’t want the treasure anymore. If you just let me go, our Huo Family will drop the matter completely!"

Huo Mian was out of options.

A single clone had been enough to push Old Man Bai to a dead end. Now, facing both Song Wanning and her clone, he didn’t believe he could win.

Treasure, honor, face—none of it was worth more than his own life.

He thought that by extending this olive branch, Song Wanning would eagerly accept.

Little did he know, this only deepened the scorn in Song Wanning’s heart.

"From the very beginning, it was your Huo Family that cornered and persecuted us. I was merely fighting back. How have you twisted it to make me sound like the villain?"

A chill flashed in the depths of her eyes.

’Whether it’s a Sect or a family, as soon as they start blindly protecting their own regardless of who is right or wrong, they’re bound to decline.’

’The Huo Family’s ancestor came to kill me without even trying to distinguish right from wrong, and now this one thinks he can threaten me?’

’How laughable.’

"This is no longer about the Huo Family coming after me. Now, I am coming after the Huo Family!"

As she spoke, the clone beside her charged toward Huo Mian.

"You—you will regret this! Song Wanning!"

Huo Mian was stunned. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he launched a counterattack.

Meanwhile, Song Wanning’s true self turned to Old Man Bai’s Nascent Soul, a slow smile spreading across her lips.

"Heaven gave you a chance, but you just had to come knocking on death’s door."

’If Old Man Bai had just left, he never would have ended up like this.’

"You—you can’t kill me! If you do, the Bai Family won’t let you get away with it!"

Old Man Bai was thoroughly terrified now, his eyes filled with panic.

At this moment, he was like a fragile egg without a shell, utterly at her mercy.

The moment Song Wanning made a move, it would truly be the end for him!

"Hah."

Song Wanning let out a derisive laugh.

’Still trying to scare me with his family, even now?’

"Do you really think I’ll give you the chance to let the Bai Family know how you died?"

"They’ll just assume you died in some treacherous ruin. You are fated to die here today."

With that, she showed no more mercy, waving a hand toward Old Man Bai.

Old Man Bai gritted his teeth so hard they felt like they would shatter. Terror and indignation consumed him.

Unwilling to accept his fate, he frantically searched for an escape route, trying to send a message out.

But then came a great roar from the sky as a bolt of Nine Heavens Divine Thunder descended directly upon him.

Heavenly Thunder was the bane of all Divine Souls.

"No—"

Old Man Bai screamed in despair, and in the next instant, he was engulfed by the Divine Thunder.

"AHHH—"

His agonizing scream echoed across the desolate landscape.

Just three breaths later, all sound ceased. He had been utterly annihilated by the Divine Thunder.

When the Divine Thunder dissipated, not a trace of Old Man Bai remained.

Turning to Huo Mian, he had already been beaten black and blue by the clone, his body riddled with shattered bones.

However, having deliberately tempered his physical body in the past, he was far more durable than Old Man Bai.

If he weren’t being suppressed by the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, the clone would have had a much harder time subduing him.

Song Wanning looked at Huo Mian and saw that the black karmic miasma that had once surrounded him was now almost completely burned away.

After so much torment, Huo Mian was at his weakest. This was the perfect time for her to strike!

She raised her hands and quickly formed a series of hand seals.

Then, with a wave of her hand, a Space-Time Rune materialized in mid-air.

Though it looked the same as before, the power of this Space-Time Rune was on a completely different level.

This was because Song Wanning’s comprehension of space-time had already reached a new plane.

She raised her Longsword, a cold light flashing in her eyes, and slashed down at Huo Mian with all her might.

The Space-Time Rune merged with the Sword Dao True Realm, exuding a profound aura as it struck Huo Mian.

Huo Mian tried to dodge, but he was powerless to do so. All that remained was endless regret.

One wrong step led to a cascade of failures.

From the moment the Red Lotus Karmic Fire had ensnared him, his defeat was sealed.

The moment the Space-Time Rune descended, Huo Mian felt as though he was witnessing his entire life flash before his eyes in an instant.

The images were so blurry and fleeting that he couldn’t even make them out.

In but a moment, his hair turned completely white. His organs withered and aged, and he instantly reached the end of his natural lifespan.

Huo Mian was dazed for a moment before the pain in his Divine Soul assaulted him again, causing him to convulse and struggle to stay on his feet.

But Song Wanning and her clone struck again, giving him no quarter.

The flurry of fierce blows was already more than he could handle.

Worse still, his body was aging rapidly; a single casual punch nearly sent him to his grave.

The decay of his body and the decline of his stamina filled him with terror.

’This person before me... she’s a monster.’

"Let me go! I’m willing to pay any price!"

Huo Mian was truly afraid of death.

He wanted to live.

"You’re the first one to offer compensation."

Song Wanning chuckled lightly.

She had heard plenty of insults and pleas for mercy, but offers of compensation were rare.

"Unfortunately for you, I believe in the same philosophy you do."

’Never trust an enemy’s repentance or pleas for mercy.’

’Once your enemy gets a new lease on life, you’ll be the one who ends up dead.’

She gripped her Longsword, her eyes filled with nothing but an endless, cold stillness.

She swung her sword, and Huo Mian, already enveloped by the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, had no hope of escape.