Chapter 42 The Demonic Monk Runs Rampant

Wan Yi had originally intended to use the Emperor-Slaying Art to instantly vaporize those two old fellows. But on second thought, having made such a grand spectacle tonight, wouldn't all his efforts be wasted if there was no audience to witness it?

With that in mind, he channeled the Emperor-Slaying Art, wielding the power of a spoken decree, and suppressed the cultivation realms of the two old men down to the Foundation Establishment stage.

In this way, he could not only fight the two old fellows right in front of the disciples of the Daning Sect, but he could also avoid exposing any of his own secrets.

At this moment, the two old codgers, Yao Cen and Ge Honggen, were completely dumbfounded, their minds reduced to a blank void.

Having stepped into the Emperor realm countless years ago, they had suddenly lost all their strength. Such a psychological disparity was impossible for anyone to accept.

While they stood frozen in a daze, Wan Yi was far from idle. Even as he spoke, he stepped out from the treasure pavilion.

Meanwhile, hearing the commotion atop the main peak, several elders residing at the foot of the Daning Sect mountain rushed over one after another.

Seeing this, Wan Yi's thoughts stirred, and he commanded the twenty puppets to charge forward to meet them. In an instant, the two sides dissolved into utter chaos; figures crisscrossed the sky and ground, spiritual artifacts and magic treasures flew haphazardly, and multicolored surges of energy bombarded the area in a wild frenzy.

Having issued battle commands to the puppets, Wan Yi grasped his long bone spear and lunged directly at Yao Cen and Ge Honggen.

Though the two old men were still somewhat dazed, they knew their lives were now on the line. Seeing their attacker bearing down on them, they hesitated no longer. Exchanging a glance, they closed in from the left and right in a pincer movement.

The moment blades clashed, the two old fellows grew even more bewildered. All of their offensive techniques landed upon the adversary with zero effect! They were reduced entirely to being beaten and suppressed.

The Daning Sect elders who had rushed to reinforce them witnessed all this while fending off the puppets.

The longer they watched, the more horrified they became. Their own lofty Emperor-realm powerhouses were completely powerless before this single opponent.

Due to the unique nature of the Emperor-Slaying Art, cultivators below the Emperor realm could not possibly perceive what was wrong with Yao Cen and Ge Honggen. In their eyes, the two men still possessed the cultivation base of the Emperor realm.

Seeing that his objective had been achieved and eyewitnesses had been successfully attracted, Wan Yi lost all interest in toying with the two old codgers. Just as he was about to wipe them out completely, Ge Honggen let out a sudden shriek!

"Wretch! It's actually you!"

Because of the previous chaos and his sudden, drastic drop in cultivation, Ge Honggen's mind had been in turmoil, preventing him from noticing the intruder's appearance.

Now, upon exchanging blows, he realized that his opponent was none other than Wan Yi, and he could not help crying out in shock!

That single outburst startled Wan Yi. For all his meticulous planning, he had overlooked this one detail: Ge Honggen had seen him before.

Seeing that the other man was about to expose his identity in the next breath, Wan Yi shouted in haste, "Silence!"

Bound by the power of his spoken decree, the words on the tip of Ge Honggen's tongue were forcefully choked right back into his throat!

Immediately afterward, a flash of crimson cut across the air, and the man's head parted company with his body!

Wielding the long bone spear and having severed Ge Honggen's head, Wan Yi spat, "Damn it, you talk way too much!"

With that, he turned his gaze toward Yao Cen and sneered, "Your turn!"

No matter how panicked Yao Cen had been earlier, he had managed to calm down by now. Too many bizarre things had happened tonight, and the person before him was the very source of all this weirdness.

Trapped by the Emperor-Slaying Art, unable to win in a fight and unable to escape, an intense desire to survive forced him to drop heavily to his knees.

He pleaded repeatedly, "Senior, I know not how we have offended you. I beg you to show mercy and spare my life, and I shall certainly..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Wan Yi's spear pierced straight through his neck. Amidst a gushing fountain of blood, Yao Cen lost his remaining vitality as well!

With a single vibration of the spear shaft, he lopped off Yao Cen's head as well.

Grasping both heads in his hands, Wan Yi raised his voice toward the distant Daning Sect elders, who were still entangled with the puppets: "If any of you wish to live, get the hell out of my sight!"

At that moment, seeing their two founding ancestors slain, the elders felt as though the sky had collapsed!

Because of the distance and the veil of night, they could not clearly make out the face of the executioner, but the murderous aura in the intruder's tone chilled them to the bone.

Exchanging terrified glances, they turned and fled without looking back!

Wan Yi did not order the puppets to pursue them. Instead, with a flick of his mind, he leaped into the air alongside the entire group of puppets.

The moment they plunged into the clouds, they vanished into the boundless night.

Reappearing shortly after, Wan Yi stood before the gates of the Soul-Reaping Department, holding two severed heads.

At that moment, Yan Wuji was pacing back and forth with a face full of anxiety.

Wan Yi's battle tonight was of monumental importance, as it would determine the future alignment of forces throughout the netherworld.

Just as he was sitting on pins and needles, a servant rushed in to report that Wan Yi had returned.

Overjoyed at the news, Yan Wuji strode quickly toward the front hall.

Upon entering the front hall, the first things to catch his eye were the two heads resting upon the table. Immediately afterward, Wan Yi's smiling face came into view.

Yan Wuji let out a long breath of relief before bursting into hearty laughter. He clapped Wan Yi on the shoulder and praised, "My brother, splendidly done!"

Wan Yi smiled in return, cupping his fists together. "I have lived up to your trust!"

Right at that moment, a panicked voice echoed from outside: "Reporting—Lord Prison Warden, this is terrible!

The Book of Life and Death has fallen into chaos on the page recording the Daning Sect! Just moments ago, for reasons unknown, many members of the Daning Sect suddenly perished, their lifespans abruptly exhausted!

Countless wandering spirits are roaming everywhere; I beg the Lord to issue an order for their arrest!"

Hearing this, Yan Wuji drew in a sharp breath. He took the Book of Life and Death from the subordinate, scanning its contents, his expression growing increasingly horrified!

After the shock subsided, he cast a peculiar glance at Wan Yi, though he said nothing further in front of outsiders.

Turning back to the chief clerk, he commanded, "Hear my decree: all ghost-catchers of the Soul-Reaping Department are to deploy immediately and capture the wandering souls of the Daning Sect!"

After the subordinate acknowledged the order and departed, Yan Wuji asked with a solemn expression, "Brother, what on earth did you do tonight?"

Instead of answering directly, Wan Yi countered, "Big Brother, with so many people dead, have I caused a huge disaster?"

Yan Wuji shook his head. "It's nothing. A cultivator's destiny fluctuates at every moment—either you kill them, or they kill you—so it will not be counted toward karmic retribution.

However, you must remember this: cultivators must never slaughter ordinary mortals indiscriminately. Otherwise, entangled in bad karma, heavenly punishment will be unleashed upon you!"

Wan Yi let out a long sigh of relief, patted his chest, and laughed. "That's good, that's good. Your expression just now scared the wits out of me; I thought I was in deep trouble!"

Feigning anger, Yan Wuji retorted, "You can still laugh? The only reason I looked like that was because *you* gave *me* a fright!

Brother, won't you tell me how on earth you and those twenty puppets managed to wipe out so many people from the Daning Sect?!"

Seeing that the other man was astonished by this feat, Wan Yi wore an enigmatic smile as he murmured softly to Yan Wuji, "It's a secret!"

To be continued...