The situation changed abruptly, and all the disciples looked up fearfully, their throats feeling as if they had thorns lodged in them, unable to even cry out.
Ren Yuanhao leaped forward swiftly. Fang Moyu initially thought he was going to deliver the final blow to Mo Qiancheng. To his surprise, he merely retrieved the corpse of Qi Daxian, who had died a gruesome death on the wooden platform, and left without even glancing at Mo Qiancheng.
"If you were still alive now, you'd surely tell me, 'I wish I'd cast a divination for myself too,' wouldn't you?" Ren Yuanhao pulled the black saber from Qi Daxian's chest. The blade was as sharp as ever, and the drizzle that passed over it seemed unable to wash away its stains.
"How is that possible? What… what have you done to me?"
Mo Qiancheng tried to gather his internal true qi, only to find himself unable to even perform the most basic Qi gathering. His true qi was like disordered dark clouds drifting across the horizon, scattering with the wind.
Seeing this, he suddenly understood, a hint of pain flashing across his face. "Kid, I never thought you'd come up with a method like this to counter my 'Thunderous Sound,' and disrupt the circulation of true qi within me. What a shame~"
Mo Qiancheng suddenly stood up, gripping his sword, and tilted his head back, swallowing a small, earthy-yellow pill.
His complexion instantly shifted from deathly pale to flushed red, his sword-wielding hand began to tremble violently, and even his voice carried a deep tremor. "What a shame you didn't choose to kill me directly just now!"
As soon as the words left his lips, Mo Qiancheng tore open his upper garments, his bulging muscles continuing to swell as if containing boundless power!
"Not good, it's the 'Must Die Within a Day Pill'!"
Fang Moyu's expression changed drastically. Ren Yuanhao knew of this type of pill, which could completely extract one's potential before death. After consuming it, regardless of victory or defeat, death was certain within a day, beyond the reach of any medicine.
Ren Yuanhao furrowed his brow. He should have thought of such a thing sooner, but in his subconscious, his first instinct had been to retrieve his friend's body.
"Ren Yuanhao, oh Ren Yuanhao, you were meant to be a monster roaring through the world, but today you will die in the Scarlet Heavens Sect, at the hands of Mo Qiancheng!" Mo Qiancheng laughed loudly, his condensed true qi surging back into his body, showing signs of a breakthrough!
"This is…!" Fang Moyu was greatly perplexed.
"Junior brother, I never truly broke through to the Enlightenment realm; I've been stuck at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm for fifteen years. I never expected that at the brink of death, I would have to rely on this 'Must Die Within a Day Pill' to break through. It's truly ironic."
"This is my final battle, and you are not preparing to respond with a higher-level engagement!"
Mo Qiancheng gathered all his true qi into his dantian's golden lotus and stepped forward. There was an隐隐 sound of wind and thunder. Fang Moyu raised his sword to cleave downwards, his Skyflame Saber Technique pushed to its limit. The saber's shadow moved, yet before it could strike, it was caught between Mo Qiancheng's two fingers. The Water-Severing Sword was about to decapitate him.
Seeing this, Ren Yuanhao clapped his hand, leaping out like a spring. The Limitless Blade swept upwards. This saber strike could have blocked Mo Qiancheng's sword, but unexpectedly, the long saber was almost wrenched from his grasp.
*Rrrrriiiip!*
Though the sword strike was slightly hindered and its trajectory deviated, it still sliced through Fang Moyu's shoulder, cleanly severing his left arm. Blood splattered, and the severed limb twitched on the ground. Mo Qiancheng showed no mercy, gathering qi in his palm and striking Mo Qiancheng's chest fiercely. Mo Qiancheng grunted, flying backward like a kite with a snapped string.
The wine gourd at his waist rolled slowly to Ren Yuanhao's front. The wooden stopper seemed to be shaken by the true qi and immediately flew off the opening. The clear wine trickled out, as if trying to cleanse the bloodstains on the ground.
Ren Yuanhao picked up the wine gourd and looked at the elder who had lost an arm. His heart trembled inexplicably, and his mind buzzed as if hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes were swirling within his skull.
"Why didn't you finish him off with another strike?"
"You could have ended the battle, why show such womanly kindness? Are you afraid to act, or are you simply too overconfident?"
"All these consequences are due to your decisions, leading to this situation step by step. Look at these dead people, they were all friends who fought alongside you! You deserve a thousand deaths."
Negative emotions flooded his mind like a frenzy. A remarkably clear voice was inciting him, but this voice was not from the system.
"Let's trade."
"Trade what?"
"Let me resolve everything. You are too weak."
"Who are you?"
"I am you, and yet not you. I want to become you, or change you."
"Why should I believe you?"
"The weak have no choice, unless you want to watch all these people die before your eyes, and then mourn at their graves one by one, regretting your current choice. So, are you ready?"
"If it's necessary, then come~"
…
Mo Qiancheng's true qi had reached a critical point, a point called Enlightenment. Unfortunately, even reaching a new realm would not halt the approach of death.
He would die, no matter what, within 24 hours. Therefore, within those 24 hours, he had to kill these remnants for the Scarlet Heavens Sect and choose a successor for his legacy. He did not have much time.
Holding his sword, his figure like white mist, he instantly flashed before Ren Yuanhao. Before him was his formidable enemy; if this man was not eliminated, the Scarlet Heavens Sect would have no future!
However, just as his Water-Severing Sword was about to strike, Ren Yuanhao sharply raised his head, his blood-red eyes seemed to absorb all the light as if a giant dragon were drinking water.
His eyes seemed to reflect a living hell.
This gaze… Mo Qiancheng had seen it before. It was when he was still young, and his master was fighting an unparalleled master. That master had such a gaze, and with one sword strike, he had gravely injured his master. From then on, the Scarlet Heavens Sect declined, and his master, due to this injury, could never step into the Enlightenment realm. He lived in melancholy and died with resentment.
This gaze completely evoked the deepest fears within him and made him feel, for the first time, the pressure his master had faced that day!
But this man had clearly exerted all his strength before, and was already like a catch in his pocket. Why could he now exude such an oppressive power?
Could it be that this man harbored more secrets?
"If cultivating the Dao is not about pursuing transcendence beyond the mundane, but about wanting to lord over ordinary people, I'm sorry, I cannot agree."
Ren Yuanhao's voice was like the thousand-year snow on a cold mountain, chilling to the bone. Mo Qiancheng felt like facing a great enemy and wanted to retreat, but felt a powerful suction force erupting from Ren Yuanhao's left hand!
"You disregard the life and death of your disciples, fueling them with evil intentions, misleading them, this is your first crime. You cunningly plotted, intending to disrupt the order of Yun Jin City, this is your second. You, driven by personal desires, have continuously abused your imagined enemies and slaughtered innocent people, this is your third. For these three crimes, I will settle the score with you!"