138: Fourth Generation: Overlord (Thirty-Four)

At the perfect moment when he exposed the other's thoughts and created a momentary gap in his mind, Xu Yuan moved!

All his previous advances, parries, and counters seemed to have been just to close this final distance and wait for this moment of mental lapse!

The two figures were now within arm's reach!

Xu Yuan discarded his saber—the weapon had already fulfilled its mission and turned to dust while neutralizing the Leaf Blade Storm.

He used his fingers as a blade, with an extremely refined purple-gold light swirling at the tips. The Saber Intent that could cut through everything was more than ten times stronger than when he killed Shen Qiu from a distance!

The Saber Dao Realm tempered through a thousand trials in his previous life, combined with the majestic Spiritual Qi of his Perfect Dao Foundation and the brilliant Imperial Fortune of this life, perfectly fused into this one finger!

This finger discarded all flourishes, leaving only pure speed, power, and destruction!

"Die."

No roar, no shout, only a cold word declaring the final judgment.

A finger pointed at Xiao Huan's brow!

Fast!

Faster than thought!

Sharp!

Sharp enough to pierce through the Void Realm!

Xiao Huan felt an unprecedented crisis of death seize his Divine Soul. He desperately wanted to retreat and defend, but his body couldn't keep up with the speed of that finger!

He finally realized what a fatal mistake he had made!

The opponent was not a weakling to be toyed with, but an Ancient Vicious Beast that had hidden its claws!

"No—!! I am willing..."

The desperate roar and plea for mercy had just escaped his throat.

*Puff!*

A soft sound, like a ripe fruit hitting the ground.

Xu Yuan's finger had already pierced Xiao Huan's brow, cutting off all his unfinished words.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Xiao Huan's eyes widened, filled with extreme fear, resentment, absurdity, regret, and... a hint of despair from finally understanding.

He finally understood how ridiculously wrong he was.

This young man was not a lucky person relying on secret techniques; he was a true... monster!

And his own underestimation and greed were the keys to Hell.

The finger's power exploded!

Xiao Huan's head burst open like a watermelon, red and white matter splashing everywhere!

The Divine Soul within didn't even have a chance to escape before being strangled into the most basic Origin energy particles by the overbearing Purple Extreme Imperial Fortune and supreme Saber Intent, dissipating into the world.

The current head of the Xiao Family, a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator—Xiao Huan,

Dead!

Xu Yuan slowly withdrew his finger, not even looking at the headless corpse falling from the sky.

He floated in the air, his black armor spotless, with only a drop of blood slowly dripping from his fingertip, reflecting a demonic luster in the sunlight.

His gaze swept over the Xiao Family Cultivators below, who were in total chaos and despair due to the instant death of their Family head, and the Great Shang soldiers charging up the mountain.

A cold voice rang out across the battlefield again, carrying an unquestionable majesty:

"Xiao Huan has been executed!"

Xu Yuan's cold voice, like a final judgment, echoed over the blood-soaked Qinglan Mountain:

"Xiao Huan has been executed!"

These five words were the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely shattering the remaining psychological defenses of all Xiao Family Cultivators and private soldiers.

Their Family head, their strongest reliance, a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, was... was actually insta-killed in a single encounter by that god-like, demon-like Shang King?!

Panic exploded like a plague!

However, Xu Yuan's next command plunged them directly into the Avici Hell!

His eyes were like eternal ice, sweeping over those pale, trembling Xiao Family members who had even begun to kneel and beg for mercy. His voice had no fluctuation, yet it carried a chill that froze the Soul:

"The Xiao Clan rebels are beyond forgiveness!"

"Hear my command:"

"All members of the Xiao Family, whether direct or collateral, whether Cultivators or Mortals, whether men, women, old or young—"},{

He paused and spat out the three words destined to dye Qinglan Mountain red with blood:

"—Kill them all!"

Not a single one left!

Regardless of gender!

Regardless of age!

Regardless of whether they are immortals or Mortals!

This was an extermination in the truest sense!

"Your Majesty!" Beside him, the Third Elder Wang Zhengqing's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he instinctively wanted to speak.

Such a harsh command, perhaps... but before he could speak, he was stopped by a cold look from Xu Yuan.

There was no room for discussion in Xu Yuan's gaze, only an unquestionable decision.

He was not bloodthirsty by nature, but he knew well that for a great Noble Family like the Xiao Family, which had been entrenched for a thousand years and had deep roots, as long as a single spark remained, it could reignite in the future and become a hidden danger to the foundation of the state.

He wanted to use the Xiao Family's blood to completely extinguish all rebellious hearts in the Southeast!

He wanted to use the most cruel means to tell all potential enemies what the consequence of rebellion was!

To be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself, to those who follow him, and to the entire future of Great Shang!

"Understood!" The commanding generals and the leader of the Shadow Guards below were chilled to the bone, but none dared to defy the imperial will, and they answered in unison.

In the next moment, an even more cruel massacre began.

Having lost their Family head and core resistance, and hearing this extermination order, the remnants of the Xiao Family completely collapsed.

"Mercy! Your Majesty, have mercy!"

"We are willing to surrender! We are willing to serve as beasts of burden!"

"The children are innocent! We beg Your Majesty for mercy!"

Cries, pleas, curses... all sorts of sounds intertwined, forming a dirge of despair.

However, the only response they received was the cold blade, heartless Spells, and Xu Yuan's black-armored figure floating in the air, watching everything indifferently.

The Imperial Guard soldiers faithfully executed the command, forming battle arrays and clearing every corner of Qinglan Mountain like a comb.

The Shadow Guards were like ghosts, precisely hunting down any core members of the Xiao Family who tried to hide or escape.

Fire rose among the pavilions and buildings; those were the final burial places for those who resisted to the end.

Blood stained the bluestone steps, gathering into streams and flowing down the mountain.

The once beautiful and Spiritual Qi-filled Qinglan Mountain had now turned into a living Hell.

Xu Yuan floated quietly in the air, indifferently watching the slaughter in the mountains.

He could clearly feel that as the Xiao Family Bloodline was severed, a vast and pure Luck, mixed with intense resentment and dissipating spiritual energy, was rising from this blood-soaked land like invisible wolf smoke, shooting straight into the clouds, and then being instinctively absorbed and swallowed by his Purple Star Emperor Body, which was like a bottomless abyss.

However, this new Luck was completely different from the dynastic Luck he had absorbed before.

It not only contained the thousand-year accumulation of the Xiao Family and the essence of the local Spiritual Vein, but it was also mixed with the unwilling resentment of countless newly dead, the soaring Blood-red baleful aura, and various negative energies like despair and curses generated when a clan is exterminated.

They were like maggots on a bone, entwined in the Luck, trying to erode Xu Yuan's Divine Soul and defile his Dao Foundation.

If it were an ordinary Cultivator, even one at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, rashly absorbing such mixed and impure energy containing great Karma and resentment would, at best, defile their Dao Heart and stall their cultivation, or at worst, lead to Qi Deviation and mental derangement.

But feeling the spiritual power in his body slightly restless due to absorbing this special Luck, Xu Yuan's lips curled into a cold arc.

The Purple Zenith Imperial Fate Art operated on its own, converting these "resources" into pure spiritual power and Imperial Fortune, nourishing his Dao Foundation and Divine Soul.

The consumption from forcibly breaking the array and killing Xiao Huan was rapidly recovering, and even his cultivation Bottleneck showed signs of loosening.

He slowly closed his eyes, letting the mountain wind blow his hair, his black armor reflecting a cold luster under the glow of blood and fire.

His heart was like eternal black ice.

The path to hegemony is paved with bones!

The emperor's throne is stained with blood!

Xu Yuan's Dao Heart was as firm as a rock, without the slightest hesitation.

This path is destined to be a sea of corpses and blood. If he couldn't even withstand this bit of resentment and baleful aura, how could he talk about taking charge of the world and attaining the Golden Core?