The moment Xiao Yan's words fell, silence descended over the entire Yunlan Sect. Yun Yun instinctively tightened her grip on her sword. Though she was not particularly scheming, she clearly understood the implications of Xiao Yan's offer. Sure enough, the Yunlan Sect disciples were stunned for a moment before joy crept into their faces.
"Is what the lord said true?" someone asked.
"My greatest virtue," Xiao Yan said coolly, glancing at them, "is that I keep my word. As long as you kill your Sect Master, I naturally won't lay a hand on you. Of course, you're free to die alongside her too—I won't stop you."
"Go on, make your choice. Will you perish with this decaying sect, or raise your hands against your Sect Master?"
Huff… Everyone turned their eyes to Yun Yun. Many of their expressions were conflicted, but those looks of hesitation soon turned into murderous intent. Yun Yun could even feel that the Dou Qi of a dozen elders behind her had already begun to stir—they were ready to strike at any moment.
Indeed, Yun Yun had always treated the Yunlan Sect's members well. But so what? Humans feared death—especially these young, inexperienced disciples. The elders were no different. Once passionate in their youth, years of comfort and power had eroded their courage. Now, faced with the choice between loyalty and survival, they leaned toward the latter.
In their eyes, if sacrificing one person could preserve the entire Yunlan Sect, then so be it—so long as that person wasn't themselves.
"Yun Leng! What do you all think you're doing?" shouted one of the few still-loyal elders. "Do you truly intend to raise your hands against the Sect Master?"
"We're doing what's best for the sect!" Yun Leng tore off his usual facade of virtue and replied without hesitation. "That man said it himself. Kill Yun Yun, and the Yunlan Sect will be spared. Would you rather we all die just to protect one woman?"
Hearing this, Xiao Yan merely chuckled disdainfully. This old bastard was as shameless as ever. Clearly betraying his Sect Master for his own survival, yet he dressed it up in noble rhetoric—twisting the narrative so it seemed like Yun Yun was the one who had brought this disaster upon them.
"He's right! Elder Yun Leng is right!"
"We all remember how well Sect Master treated us, but now, for the sake of Yunlan Sect's future, we must choose to sacrifice her. We have no choice!"
"For the future of the sect, we beg the Sect Master to embrace death!"
"Please, Sect Master, embrace death!"
The resounding, unified voices caused Yun Yun to instinctively step back. Her gaze swept across the crowd—those very disciples she had personally nurtured over the years—yet now, they uttered the cruelest words that shattered her spirit. Her strength drained as though it had been ripped from her limbs.
With a sorrowful smile, Yun Yun slowly raised her longsword and placed it against her own throat. She had lived her whole life for Yunlan Sect. Everything she had done was for its benefit. And now, this was the end that awaited her. Truly ironic.
The sharp blade slid across her fair neck. As blood splattered, Yun Yun's body collapsed heavily to the ground. In her final moments, she looked toward Xiao Yan—not with hatred or resentment—but with a hollow despair and unprecedented stillness.
"Teacher!" Nalan Yanran rushed forward, holding Yun Yun's body as she tried desperately to stop the bleeding at her neck. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't halt the passing of life. She could only watch helplessly as the person who had cared for her most in this world slipped away—unable to do anything to stop it.
"The dignified Sect Master of Yunlan Sect… driven to suicide by her own disciples. What a joke…" Xiao Yan gently shook his head as he looked at Yun Yun's corpse. In this world, if there was anyone capable of saving Yun Yun, it would be him. Using the power of the Flame of All Living Beings and the Life-Death Heavenly Mark, he could have pulled her back—even from death.
But why should he?
This wasn't the Path of Samsara. He wouldn't be moved by one woman. Maybe she was pitiable, maybe innocent—but the world had no shortage of the pitiful. She had chosen Yunlan Sect. That alone sealed her fate. Letting her keep her corpse intact was the most mercy he could offer.
"Alright, mourning time is over. Now, let me send you all on your way." Xiao Yan raised his head and smiled at the remaining disciples of Yunlan Sect. As he lifted his hand, scarlet blood-light burst from the cracks in the earth. The eerie sight left those who had believed themselves spared frozen in place.
"Lord Xiao Yan, didn't you say… if we killed the Sect Master, you'd spare us? You can't go back on your word!" one disciple cried out, desperation creeping into his voice. Surely someone of Xiao Yan's status wouldn't stoop to deceiving them?
"I did say that," Xiao Yan replied, his eyes filled with mockery. "But I said if you killed Yun Yun. She committed suicide. What does that have to do with you?"
In the next instant, countless pillars of blood-red light shot up from the cracks, enshrouding the entire Yunlan Mountain.
Still holding Yun Yun's body, Nalan Yanran slowly closed her eyes. In her final moments, regret filled her heart. If only she hadn't acted so arrogantly back then—maybe things would have turned out differently.
Bathed in that blood-red light, every person atop Yunlan Mountain aside from Xiao Yan exploded into grotesque fragments. Even Yun Shan, who had reached the Dou Ancestor level and was deep in secluded cultivation within the depths of the sect, met the same fate. A thick mist of blood and shattered flesh replaced the white clouds that once shrouded the mountain, transforming it into a true hell on earth.
Had Hun Dai'er been present, she would have recognized the array that turned all of Yunlan Sect into a sea of blood—it was none other than the Soul Clan's Devouring Spirit Annihilation Formation. After devouring the souls of Hun Tiandi and the others, Xiao Yan had naturally inherited knowledge of this cruel and bloody formation from their memories.
Using such a formation against Yunlan Sect was, in truth, like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken. But Xiao Yan didn't care. Everyone caught in the array would suffer an agonizing death—and more than that, their souls would be utterly extinguished. It was true annihilation—soul and body.
From the beginning, he had never planned to spare Yunlan Sect. Maybe they hadn't yet harmed the Xiao Family in this life—but that did nothing to lessen the deep disgust he felt toward them. In fact, he hated Yunlan Sect even more than the Nalan Family. So how could he possibly allow them to survive?
(End of Chapter)
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