"What? Are you saying that the members of the Six Great Sects, including the two Martial Saints I sent, are all dead?"
At the Profound Celestial Sect's encampment in the Northern Wilderness Forest.
Xuan Tianxin looked on in utter disbelief.
He had expected to receive the good news of the Carefree Sect's annihilation after three days.
But he never expected…
…that the news would be of his own forces being completely wiped out.
"Y-yes, Ancestor! The Carefree Sect is too treacherous! They… they actually raised eight terrifying Fifth Tier Barbarian Beasts! And these beasts… they're sentient! They can use arrays! The moment the array activated, the world filled with horrifying flames. What's even more terrifying is that there were eight massive pillars! The two Supreme Elders were struck by one of those giant pillars the moment they appeared. They died instantly, incinerated into ash… It was such a gruesome death…"
The disciple delivering the report was still trembling with shock.
If he hadn't been so timid and held back from the front lines—and later, too terrified to even enter the array—he never would have escaped with his life to deliver this report.
But the horrific scene was seared into his memory, impossible to forget.
It was just too horrifying.
"Hmph! That young bastard! Allying himself with Barbaric Beasts… He's openly betraying the Human Race! Death is too good for him!"
Xuan Tianxin, however, was consumed by rage.
Some array.
Some giant pillars.
He didn't give any of it a second thought.
All he registered was that his men had been killed by eight Fifth Tier Barbarian Beasts.
Fifth Tier Barbarian Beasts.
They were the equivalent of Martial Saints.
Although Barbaric Beasts lose some of their innate advantages by Tier Five, their numbers far exceeded the Martial Saints he had dispatched.
Killing all his men…
…wouldn't have been difficult for them.
"Damn it!"
He waved a hand, dismissing the messenger.
But Xuan Tianxin's mind was in utter turmoil.
'That brat, Yang Xiao.'
'He killed my descendant, Xuan Shangqing.'
'And humiliated me time and time again.'
'This feud…'
'I truly can't endure it any longer.'
'But there's nothing I can do to him.'
'And now this. I finally got a chance to take my revenge, to wipe out his Sect while he was away at the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, but I never expected…'
'…it to end like this.'
"I cannot let this stand!"
Xuan Tianxin growled, his voice low and constant.
Fury seared through him.
'But no matter how I think about it…'
'…the only option left is for me to act myself.'
'But if I make a move myself…'
"That old fool Master Pure Yang definitely won't sit idly by. Hmm? Wait a minute. He's so pedantic, so hopelessly bound by convention, not like me at all… I have a plan."
Xuan Tianxin's eyes lit up as a vicious scheme suddenly formed in his mind.
He immediately issued his orders.
Summoning all the senior members at the encampment.
"I have decided to pour all our strength into destroying the Pure Yang Sword Sect. Therefore, you will take all remaining forces—every last one of them—and attack the Pure Yang Sword Sect's main headquarters. In three days, I expect to hear good news."
Upon hearing Xuan Tianxin's words,
the few remaining senior members of the Profound Celestial Sect were all stunned.
"Ancestor, the Pure Yang Sword Sect is the most powerful Sect in the Celestial Cloud Region, after all. Isn't attacking them now a bit too hasty? Besides, after the assault on the Carefree Sect, our losses were…"
a Half-Step Martial Saint ventured, mustering his courage.
But before he could finish, Xuan Tianxin shot him a piercing glare. "Insolence! Are you trying to defy me?"
"N-no, I wouldn't dare."
The Half-Step Martial Saint, whose name was Qingming, instantly bowed his head.
"Hmph. Then get a move on!"
Xuan Tianxin was fuming.
'This was a mere Half-Step Martial Saint, someone who normally wouldn't even be qualified to stand in my presence.'
'And now, he dared to question me.'
His already foul mood soured even further.
'It's all because of that little bastard Yang Xiao. If he hadn't killed so many of my disciples and grand-disciples—if he hadn't killed Qing'Er—would I be left with only such useless subordinates?'
The thought of Yang Xiao...
...filled Xuan Tianxin's heart with unbearable hatred.
The Profound Celestial Sect was now severely weakened. Aside from himself—an ancestor who had surpassed the Martial Saint Level—they had no Martial Saints left. They had either been obliterated by Yang Xiao…
…or had fallen during the attack on the Carefree Sect.
They were even short on Half-Step Martial Saints.
Otherwise, in his current state of fury, if someone dared to question him…
…Xuan Tianxin would have likely struck them down long ago.
Killed them without a second thought.
A mere Half-Step Martial Saint.
In the past, would he have even given one a second thought?
Killing one was of no consequence.
But now…
…he couldn't afford to kill them.
Every one he killed would be one less man he had.
As he thought this, Xuan Tianxin's hatred for Yang Xiao intensified.
Meanwhile, the Half-Step Martial Saints no longer dared to utter another word.
They obediently went to rally the troops.
To attack the Pure Yang Sword Sect.
Compared to the Carefree Sect,
they were actually more willing to face the Pure Yang Sword Sect.
That sect, once the greatest of all, had a glorious history,
but now, it was just as hollowed out.
Previously, due to a rebellion,
the die-hard loyalists of the Pure Yang Ancestor had been completely wiped out by the Zeng and Huaa Families.
Most of those who remained were neutral factions.
And there weren't many of them left, either.
They were the ones who had surrendered early.
Their own strength was nothing remarkable.
On top of that, the traitors had all been eliminated by Yang Xiao.
Their remaining strength, they estimated,
was likely even less than that of their own Profound Celestial Sect.
With this thought in mind, the remaining Half-Step Martial Saints felt a great deal more relieved.
Meanwhile, the Pure Yang Ancestor, who had been keeping watch outside the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion,
had also just received a vague report.
He learned that the Profound Celestial Sect had previously gathered a large force to annihilate the Carefree Sect.
'The Carefree Sect…'
'…the one founded by Yang Xiao.'
He was immediately unable to sit still.
However, he soon investigated and discovered that the entire force that attacked the Carefree Sect had been wiped out.
He was both shocked and delighted by the news.
"The Profound Celestial Sect must have suffered disastrous losses this time. Still, for so many to die… what a senseless slaughter!"
Just as Master Pure Yang was lamenting this,
he noticed the Profound Celestial Sect mobilizing its forces on a massive scale once again.
This time…
…it was an all-out mobilization.
However, the direction they were marching…
…didn't seem to be toward the Carefree Sect in the east.
Instead, it was to the west.
'Don't tell me… are those bastards planning to attack my Pure Yang Sword Sect?'
The Pure Yang Ancestor was stunned.
He immediately used every means at his disposal to investigate.
And he discovered…
…that his suspicions were correct.
His heart lurched.
'That damn bastard. To think he'd stoop so low.'
The Pure Yang Ancestor was furious.
Although he vaguely sensed something was off, and though he was deeply disappointed in the current generation of his Pure Yang Sword Sect,
still…
…that was his Sect, after all.
With a flash,
he vanished from his spot,
speeding toward the Pure Yang Sword Sect.
At the same time, a powerful aura erupted from the Pure Yang Sword Sect's grounds and shot into the sky.
It was, in fact, a sword.
The Celestial Yang Sword.
Of the two powerful auras Yang Xiao had sensed before,
one belonged to the Pure Yang Ancestor.
The other belonged to this very sword, the Celestial Yang Sword.
Previously, the Pure Yang Ancestor had arrived in a hurry and without the Celestial Yang Sword. He had also been severely injured, which had allowed Xuan Tianxin to take advantage of his weakness and develop the intent to kill.
But this time,
he had brought the Celestial Yang Sword with him.
His goal…
…was clearly to prevent Xuan Tianxin from making another move against him.
What the Pure Yang Ancestor never could have imagined, however,
was that once Xuan Tianxin sensed his departure with the Celestial Yang Sword, he had no intention of confronting him head-on.
Instead, with a flicker of movement,
he shot off toward the Carefree Sect to the southwest.
Compared to his old rival, the Pure Yang Sword Sect, the one he truly wanted to destroy was the Carefree Sect.
And the one he hated most of all was Yang Xiao.
'I'm making a move myself this time. I refuse to believe that your paltry Carefree Sect and a few Fifth Tier Barbarian Beasts can stop me!'
he snorted coldly to himself.
Killing intent radiated from Xuan Tianxin.
And this time…
…could the Carefree Sect possibly withstand his wrath?