Chapter 20: Those Who Offend the Heavenly Dao Sect Shall Be Killed Without Mercy

Silence.

A silence like death itself.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were witnessing.

This... how was this possible?!

A Foundation Establishment cultivator — suppressed with a single casual raise of the hand?

In that moment, a tidal wave of shock crashed through the hearts of all who watched.

They had assumed the Heavenly Dao Sect would be obliterated beneath the fury of the Linglang Sect's Foundation Establishment Elder — yet the outcome was the complete opposite.

Every cultivator of the Linglang Sect was as fragile as a child before Su Bai.

"Master is so cool!" Behind him, Xiao Lingxi's beautiful eyes glistened with emotion, her heart pounding wildly.

After all, everything Master had done — he had done it for her.

"Master is so powerful!" Zhuge Feng exclaimed in awe.

He had long known that Master was formidable, yet seeing him act with his own eyes still left him utterly stunned.

"Incredible. It seems my choice was the right one." Xiao Yan quietly clenched his fist.

Liu Yanran — in three years, you are destined to lose!

"Master... when will I ever reach Master's level of strength... then I could go look for my sister, couldn't I?"

Ye Qingyao murmured softly, her eyes reddening as a single teardrop finally slid down her delicate cheek.

Her sister's plight had never left her thoughts.

Su Bai's arrival had rekindled her hope.

"You... just who are you?!"

The old man struggled desperately, his face pale with terror as he cried out in alarm.

The pressure bearing down on him was overwhelming — he could not move a single inch.

He had once caught a glimpse of the Patriarch, yet even the Patriarch had never exuded such crushing dominance!

"Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, Su Bai. Do I really need to say it a third time?" Su Bai said calmly.

"You... you... a Core Formation True Master?!" The old man's eyes went wide, as though he had seen a ghost.

A Core Formation True Master founding a sect would have no difficulty joining the Immortal Alliance — they could recruit countless disciples with ease and extend their influence across a thousand li.

Yet this man in front of him had chosen to occupy a single small hilltop?

"The Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect is actually a Core Formation True Master?"

"Heavens! The Heavenly Dao Sect actually has an expert at the Core Formation True Master level?"

"Holy shit — a Core Formation-level faction's sect arts should allow fifty circulation cycles per two hours, right?"

"Hiss~~ The Heavenly Dao Sect has been hiding quite deep. They actually have a Core Formation-level expert holding down the fort."

"They say the Linglang Sect's Patriarch also broke through to Core Formation. Doesn't that mean the Heavenly Dao Sect is now on the same level as the Linglang Sect, which has three hundred years of history?"

The onlookers at the foot of the mountain gasped one after another upon hearing the old man's words.

After today, the name of the Heavenly Dao Sect would resound throughout Yunshui City!

"Boy, even if you are a Core Formation True Master, you cannot kill I!" the old man snarled through gritted teeth, putting on a bold front despite his fear.

"Behind I stands the Linglang Sect, and the Linglang Sect also has Core Formation powerhouses!"

"Furthermore, behind our Linglang Sect stands the Lingxiao Sect as our backer!"

"The might of the Lingxiao Sect is not something you can afford to provoke!"

The old man spoke with outward ferocity but inward cowardice, forcing the words through clenched teeth.

He was confident that merely invoking the Lingxiao Sect's name would make the other party hesitate.

After all, that was one of the Immortal Alliance's top five hundred!

"Heh. The Lingxiao Sect?"

At those words, a mocking curve appeared at the corner of Su Bai's lips.

"So what if I kill all of you? What can the Linglang Sect do to me? What can the Lingxiao Sect do to me?"

"You..." The old man was left speechless, his chest heaving violently with rage.

At the same time, the disciples of the Linglang Sect erupted in furious shouts:

"Release us, or you will die a miserable death!"

"Our Master is a Late Foundation Establishment great cultivator!"

"Arrogant! Utterly contemptuous!"

"If you know what's good for you, release us immediately — our Linglang Sect might still consider letting your Heavenly Dao Sect off the hook."

"And hand over Xiao Lingxi, or the Lingxiao Sect will never forgive you!"

These Linglang Sect disciples had grown accustomed to throwing their weight around under the banner of the Linglang Sect and the Lingxiao Sect. How could they endure such humiliation?

They immediately began clamoring, attempting to use their sect's prestige to pressure Su Bai into restraint.

In the past, whenever they invoked the Lingxiao Sect's name, no matter what the situation, it could always be resolved.

Unfortunately, today, the one they faced was Su Bai.

Faced with their clamoring, Su Bai paid them no heed whatsoever, his expression cold and indifferent.

Let the name of the Heavenly Dao Sect, from this day forward, stand firm beneath the heavens!

His words drifted like a cold current, sweeping from the mountainside all the way down to the foot of the hill.

"Since you are all so eager to die, you have no one to blame but yourselves."

"From this day forth — those who offend the Heavenly Dao Sect, no matter who they are, shall be killed without mercy!"

With those words spoken, a terrifying killing intent erupted, sweeping across the entire sky!

"Kill!"

The moment Su Bai's voice rang out, heavenly flames ignited simultaneously on every single person — including the Linglang Sect's Foundation Establishment Elder — and all the disciples alike.

In a moment, every last one of them was incinerated to ash. Then a gust of wind rose, scattering countless motes of dust that drifted away toward the Linglang Sect's own territory.

He had chosen cremation because Su Bai refused to let the blood of his enemies stain his sect territory.

Because they were not worthy.

The battle ended with extraordinary swiftness.

In the blink of an eye, the Linglang Sect's force of over a hundred, who had arrived with such fierce momentum, were all dead.

Those around them stared blankly at the scene, unable to recover for a long while.

They could not believe that Su Bai had truly slaughtered every last member of the Linglang Sect's party.

And he had done it with such thunderous decisiveness.

This was absolutely the biggest news in the entire Great Zhao Empire!

Someone had actually dared to provoke both the Linglang Sect and the Lingxiao Sect!

Those two immortal sects would surely go berserk — it would be a miracle if they didn't wipe the Heavenly Dao Sect off the map!

"A storm is coming!"

"I wonder whether the Heavenly Dao Sect can withstand the retaliation of those two factions."

"If the Heavenly Dao Sect does hold on, then Yunshui City will finally have a great sect to call its own."

"The Linglang Sect is one thing, but the Lingxiao Sect... difficult! Difficult! Difficult!"

The onlookers murmured among themselves in hushed tones, their eyes filled with both worry and anticipation.

Su Bai, however, paid no mind to what anyone else was thinking. With a wave of his hand, he collected over a hundred storage bags and a single storage ring.

When he had unleashed the heavenly flames, he had carefully controlled their range and intensity, preserving all of these items intact.

When his divine sense swept through the one storage ring, he immediately spotted mountains of gold and silver piled high within.

And in the corner, he even spotted Spirit Stones gleaming with radiant light!

Spirit Stones were the most precious cultivation resource — treasures of extraordinarily concentrated Spiritual Energy, their value far surpassing gold.

One Spirit Stone could easily be exchanged for a thousand gold taels, but if you tried to trade a thousand gold taels for a single Spirit Stone, you would be laughed out of the room — or worse.

A single low-grade Spirit Stone was enough to sustain a Foundation Establishment great cultivator's training for many days, greatly accelerating their cultivation speed.

As for those in the Qi Refining Stage... without a solid financial foundation, they truly could not afford such luxury — it was simply too extravagant.

Among the hundred-odd storage bags, Su Bai had not found a single Spirit Stone, though there was no shortage of gold and silver taels.

Inside the storage ring, however, there were a full forty Spirit Stones!

"This old fellow really scraped together quite a fortune. A man practically at death's door, and he still hoarded this much — why not give it to his disciples to improve their cultivation instead?"

He shook his head, then immediately divided the several dozen Spirit Stones evenly among his four dumbstruck disciples — exactly ten each.

After all, he had no need for Spirit Stones in his own cultivation. The stronger his disciples became, the stronger he himself would grow.