After a trip through the Underworld, her strength had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation. She was more than satisfied with her power, and even more enamored with this constant sense of growth. That feeling of achievement was beyond words.
"Song Wanníng, I bear you no grudges. Now that my physical body has been destroyed, let us call it even!"
The old white-haired man's Yuányīng darted about anxiously, his gaze sweeping in all directions, desperately seeking a way to escape.
"No grudges?"
Song Wanníng chuckled at his words.
Huo Mian did not require her attention for the moment, so she might as well start with this one.
"Were you not the one who ambushed me here? Even luring the Huo family over with the intent of taking my life? And now, on the verge of death, you speak of settling accounts between us?" She let out a humorless laugh.
Truly, there were people in this world whose shamelessness knew no bounds.
Song Wanníng's gaze slid toward Huo Mian, and she clicked her tongue. "This man wanted to snatch my treasures, yet fearing he couldn't win, he dragged you along as a scapegoat. And you actually fell for it. How foolish!"
Her words cut deeper than any blade. Already suffering in agony, Huo Mian nearly went mad upon hearing them. His bloodshot eyes glared at the old man's Yuányīng, wishing he could crush him to dust right then and there.
"I... I didn't expect her to be this powerful—"
For a moment the old man faltered, but quickly regained his bravado.
"I merely provided the information. You chose to move against her yourself. How is that my fault?"
He had only provided a location. Every decision afterward had been Huo Mian's alone. He could not be blamed.
"You—"
Huo Mian's fury surged. If the old man had only mentioned Song Wanníng's strength, he would not have been so careless. Instead, he had walked right into the Red Lotus Karma Fire, with no way to escape. At this moment, his hatred for the white-haired old man was absolute.
"Song Wanníng, I too was deceived. As for the Huo family's treasures, we no longer want them. If you let me go, my clan will never pursue this matter again!"
Huo Mian was at his wit's end.
A single clone was enough to drive the old man to despair. Now, facing both Song Wanníng and her clone, he knew victory was impossible. What treasure, what honor or pride—none of it could outweigh his life. He believed that if he yielded first, Song Wanníng would gladly accept.
But her sneer only deepened.
"From the very beginning it was your Huo family that pressed and persecuted us. I merely retaliated, and yet in your mouth, I have somehow become the bandit?"
Her eyes gleamed with an icy light.
Whether sect or clan, once they turned a blind eye to right and wrong and sheltered their own without reason, decline was inevitable. The Huo family's Ancestor hadn't even cared for reason before attempting to kill her. And now they dared to threaten her?
Utterly laughable.
"It is not a matter of the Huo family pursuing me. It is I who will now pursue your Huo family!"
With that, her clone launched its assault against Huo Mian.
"You—you will regret this, Song Wanníng!"
Huo Mian's eyes went wide as he forced himself to endure the agony and strike back.
Meanwhile, Song Wanníng's true body turned her attention upon the old man's Nascent Soul, her lips curving upward coldly.
"Heaven itself once gave you a chance, yet you insisted on delivering yourself here."
Had the old man walked away, how would he have come to this end?
"You... you cannot kill me. If you do, the Bai family will never forgive you!"
The old man was terrified, panic overtaking his expression. Now he was nothing more than an eggshell with no shell to protect it, fragile and easily crushed. If Song Wanníng chose to strike, it would all be over.
"Heh."
Song Wanníng actually laughed at that. Even at this point, he was still trying to use his family to threaten her?
"Do you think I will give you the chance to let the Bai family know the truth? They will only believe you perished in some dangerous land. You are destined to die here today."
With that, she no longer held back. Her hand swept forward.
The old man's teeth clenched until they cracked. Terror and unwillingness consumed him. He refused to accept this fate, flailing wildly, desperately trying to send out a message.
But the heavens roared with thunder. A bolt of Nine Heavens Divine Thunder descended upon him.
Heaven's thunder was the bane of the Primordial Soul.
"No—!"
The old man's despairing scream echoed, the next instant swallowed by divine lightning.
"Ahhh—"
His agonized cries split the air. Yet in less than three breaths, silence fell. He was utterly drowned within the divine thunder. When the thunder dispersed, there was no trace left of him.
On the other side, Huo Mian had been beaten to a pulp by the clone. His face was swollen, his bones shattered in many places. Yet thanks to his years of body-tempering, he endured better than the old man. If not for the Red Lotus Karma Fire binding him, even the clone would not have taken him so easily.
Song Wanníng glanced over. The black karmic aura once thick upon Huo Mian's body had nearly been burned away. After so much torment, he was now at his weakest. The perfect moment to strike. She raised her hand, rapidly weaving seals. With a flick of her wrist, a space-time rune appeared in the air.
Though outwardly the same, its power was far greater now, for her comprehension of space and time had reached a new height.
She lifted her sword, cold light flashing in her eyes, and slashed toward Huo Mian. The rune fused with the true essence of sword dao, carrying a mysterious aura as it struck him.
Huo Mian tried to dodge, but it was futile. Regret alone filled his heart. One wrong step had led to endless mistakes. From the moment the Red Lotus Karma Fire clung to him, his defeat was sealed. As the rune struck, Huo Mian felt as though, within an instant, he had witnessed his entire life pass before him.
Blurred shadows of memory flashed by too quickly to be seen. In a blink, his hair turned completely white, his organs withered, and his lifespan came to an end. Bewildered, he staggered as pain from his burning Primordial Soul wracked his body, nearly knocking him off his feet.
But Song Wanníng and her clone pressed the attack relentlessly, not giving him a single breath. Fist and kick rained down, his decaying body unable to resist. Even a casual strike nearly sent him to his grave. His body's rapid aging and his fading strength filled him with dread. The woman before him was nothing short of a Monster.
"Spare me. I will pay any price!"
Huo Mian was terrified of death.
He wanted to live.
"You are the first one to ever offer compensation."
Song Wanníng let out a soft laugh.
She had heard countless pleas, insults, and bargains before death, but few like this.
"Unfortunately, I live by the same creed as your kind."
She had never believed in the repentance of her enemies. If allowed to live again, those who should have died would only turn their blades upon her.
Her sword gleamed cold as ice.
One decisive slash.
The Red Lotus Karma Fire surged, consuming Huo Mian completely.