Taishu Xuan’s killing intent was as biting as a cold winter wind.
The little Demon Race monsters, still immersed in their joy, felt Taishu Xuan’s murderous aura—yet burst out laughing.
“Come on, you Human Clan scum! When you can’t win, you flip the table? That’s all you people can do!” Jie Shui shouted, forcing himself to stand tall.
“Kill us! Even if you kill us, your teammates can never be brought back! Just wait for the wrath of the entire Battle Desolation Sect!”
Lin Gang finished yelling and exchanged a high-five with Jie Shui in perfect sync.
Gan Ruǎnruǎn glanced at Taishu Xuan, then swept her gaze over the audience below, casually spitting out two words: “Heh heh.”
Though just two words, the disdain and contempt, the calm and fearlessness in her tone, made them far more furious than a string of personal insults ever could.
A Miao scratched his head with a foolish smile: “Didn’t we finish fighting already?”
“We did. The next battle has nothing to do with us,” Jiang Ke’er replied with a smile.
“Nothing to do with you?” Taishu Xuan’s face twisted in a crazed grin.
“Si Lian isn’t here—there’s no mother hen to protect you now! But I won’t kill you. I’ll drag you back to be made into medicine, gouge out your eyes bit by bit, cut off those noisy tongues, rip out your hearts and livers… You should never have been born into this world, this is your fate!”
Taishu Xuan laughed maniacally again, then licked his lips, his aura spreading out as he slowly walked toward the little monsters.
He repeated in a chilling voice, “Today, none of you are leaving.”
“That’s right. Today, none of you are leaving.”
“?!” Taishu Xuan’s eyes widened abruptly, searching for the source of the voice.
But the voice seemed to come from everywhere! Like an echo, it filled every corner of the world!
As if suddenly remembering something, Taishu Xuan’s face changed drastically.
He threw a punch skyward, his surging true essence flying high—but as if it struck something, only ripples spread in the air.
“A formation Barrier?!”
The crowd below the Arena was utterly dumbfounded.
The reporter who had been fiddling with the Broadcast Crystal jumped in fright, exclaiming in panic, “No wonder the crystal signal won’t transmit—it’s blocked by a Barrier! But who did this? Why?”
“You’ve all witnessed the Bagpipe Squad’s trump card. None of you are leaving today.”
Si Lian’s voice was like that of an eternal deity, her words brimming with absolute authority.
“Auntie Si Lian?” The little monsters trembled with delight.
“Auntie’s so cool, ahhh!” Jie Shui shouted, tears streaming down.
Even if they’d guessed at Si Lian’s motives earlier, they never expected her to pull off something this big.
Jiang Ke’er gazed at the purple-red Barrier slowly forming in the sky, her blood surging with excitement.
“Si Lian, just you?” Taishu Xuan tried to suppress his unease and sneered, “With me here, there are two Human Clan Venerables present. Don’t overestimate yourself.”
Si Lian smiled. “To be honest, that’s true.”
“And… do you even know what you’re doing?” Taishu Xuan glanced at the panicked crowd of innocent cultivators around the Arena, suddenly emboldened.
“There are so many innocent civilian cultivators here! What you’re doing is insane, utterly heartless, no different from massacring a city! If you dare go through with this, all of Shenzhou will hunt you down—even the Demon Race won’t protect you!”
Si Lian didn’t answer.
Taishu Xuan saw a layer of light appear around the little monsters, isolating them from the world inside the Barrier.
“Extermination Immortal Array.” Taishu Xuan’s voice trembled even more, “You… how cruel…”
To unknowingly step into another cultivator’s formation array—was the most perilous situation any cultivator could face.
It was as good as certain death!
The array was set up by the enemy and could be controlled to attack, amplify one’s own power, and shield chosen targets at will.
This array stretched for miles, completely enclosing the Arena—an extravagant setup, impossible to arrange in just a day.
In other words—
She had planned all of this in advance.
From the first day Taishu Xuan fell into her trap, she’d begun laying out the array.
She knew this battle would be incredibly tough, that the Bagpipe Squad’s trump card would be revealed, so…
She’d already decided—all witnesses had to die!
“If I kill you all, no one will know I did it.” Si Lian chuckled softly, appearing at the little monsters’ side.
A chill ran down Taishu Xuan’s spine.
“Auntie Si Lian!”
With her arrival, the little monsters felt completely reassured; their worries and doubts from minutes before vanished into thin air.
They were not abandoned children—far from it.
Si Lian had proven, with her actions, just how important they were to her.
“Ahhh—!”
Taishu Xuan suddenly went berserk, attacking Si Lian with all his might—but every blow was blocked by the shield of light surrounding the little monsters.
Taishu Xuan was indeed a Venerable, but against an eighth-grade array that had taken half a month to prepare, he was powerless.
Si Lian waved her hand lightly, and clouds formed beneath the little monsters, lifting them gently.
“Let’s go.”
They slowly drifted into the distance, moving outside the Barrier.
Behind them, a flood of curses and roars rang out.
But as Si Lian moved farther away, those voices turned into wails and pleas for mercy.
Expressionless, Si Lian led the little monsters beyond the edge of the Barrier.
She raised her hand and gently pressed her palm toward the Barrier.
The once dome-shaped Barrier collapsed like soft dough, flattening into a thin layer.
The fate of everything inside… could only be imagined.
Jie Shui shuddered and whispered, “Are they… really all dead?”
Si Lian smiled faintly and crooked her finger.
Instantly, the remaining array materials flew in from all directions and returned to her storage pouch.
“What do you think?”
“I think they’re dead.”
“Of course they’re dead,” Si Lian squinted her eyes and flashed a wicked smile.
“Should I leave them to take up arms and kill our Demon Race kin after the war starts?”
“…Y-yeah,” Jie Shui scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.
“Dummy,” Jiang Ke’er tapped Jie Shui’s head.
“They’re not dead. They’re crippled, and their memories of the last fifteen days are gone.”
“Eh?” Jie Shui didn’t understand.
Si Lian looked at Jiang Ke’er in mild surprise. “How did you figure it out?”
“I can read arrays. That wasn’t an Extermination Immortal Array, but a Spirit Subduing Array, right? It harms the soul and damages one’s cultivation foundation,” Jiang Ke’er said.
“Little clever ghost—nothing gets past you.” Caught in her lie, Si Lian smiled wryly and rubbed Jiang Ke’er’s head hard.
The group returned to the Hotel. Outside, traffic bustled and people strode by with swords in hand, heads held high and strutting proudly, clearly unaware of what had just happened by the Arena.
“This piece of junk!”
In the hotel lobby, the clerk kept cursing about the Arena’s lost broadcast signal, furiously kicking the crystal player as if that would fix it.
Jiang Ke’er smiled and crushed the Recording Crystal in her pocket—Si Lian had forgotten about it, but she remembered, and had taken it from the broadcaster.
Now, nothing could go wrong.
“Let’s go.”
Gan Ruǎnruǎn swung onto the back of a Shun Wind Colt, patting the space behind her to invite Jiang Ke’er up.
There were only four Shun Wind Colts, so the petite Jiang Ke’er had no choice but to share with Gan Ruǎnruǎn.
“Which city are we going to now?” Jiang Ke’er asked curiously.
On horseback, Si Lian raised her wine gourd, wiped her mouth, and her cheeks flushed rosy red.
Slightly tipsy, she narrowed her eyes and gave a relaxed smile.
It was the first time Jiang Ke’er had seen her like this—her smile was carefree and a little silly, nothing like her usual cold and shrewd self.
“We can go anywhere,” Si Lian drawled lazily.
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