Chapter 136: That Damned Xia Jiuxuan—Catch Him!

Two hours after Xia Jiuxuan’s departure, a series of formidable figures stood suspended in the air above the Feathering Sect.

"Xia Jiuxuan, I will reduce you to ashes! Ahhh!"

Kuang Guihu, the Sect Master of the Feathering Sect, was nearly driven mad by the sight of the shattered earth, the ground slick with blood, and the scattered severed heads. Everything the Feathering Sect had built was ruined in a single day.

"Are there any survivors? Get out here!"

Kuang Guihu roared. Only then did a few figures emerge sporadically from a corner of the main hall, weeping as they knelt before him.

"Where is that piece of trash, Xia Jiuxuan? Where did he go?" Kuang Guihu grabbed a disciple by the collar and bellowed in fury.

"R-reporting to the Sect Master," the disciple stammered, trembling, "Xia Jiuxuan took Elder Qin and Senior Brother Qin and fled. He not only killed the disciples left behind to guard the sect but also destroyed our Spirit Spring Pool."

"What!"

Kuang Guihu’s eyes bulged. The disciples left behind were no prodigies, and their deaths were a mere nuisance. But the destruction of the Spirit Spring Pool was equivalent to uprooting the very foundation of the Feathering Sect! This was completely unacceptable to him.

"Damnable scum! Where are the elders?"

"Sect Master, we await your command!" The thirty-six Great Elders of the Feathering Sect stood by respectfully.

"I don't care what methods you use, you must persuade the old Emperor of the Immortal Martial Dynasty to open the barrier. Then, kill—slay everyone you see, leave no one alive!" Kuang Guihu hissed with cold, murderous intent.

"This!" The elders exchanged glances, looking concerned. "Sect Master, if we slaughter an entire nation of the mortal realm, we risk drawing the suppression of the Holy Envoys."

The Martial Dao Holy Land governed the order of the human world. In principle, high-level cultivators were forbidden from slaughtering mortals.

"You may not be able to act, but I have no such fears." A voice interrupted as an old man descended into their midst.

"Lord Yang!"

This old man was Yang Guirong, the former Guardian of the Border. Since his retirement, he had returned to the mortal Yang family for thirty years, remaining detached from worldly affairs. However, in the secret realm, his grandson, Yang Kui, had been executed by Xia Jiuxuan before his very eyes. This was a grudge he could never let go.

"Do not call me 'Lord'; I am no longer a Guardian," Yang Guirong said. He radiated no spiritual power, appearing no different from an ordinary old farmer.

"Yes, Elder Yang." The crowd showed great respect.

"Elder Yang, this Xia Jiuxuan is lawless. I suspect he has been possessed by madness; if he is not removed, he will surely bring chaos to the world! Please, Elder Yang, take charge."

Yang Guirong remained calm, though his heart surged with infinite sorrow. "No need for empty words. He killed my grandson. Regardless of anything else, I must have his head. As for whether he is connected to the Holy Land, that is irrelevant. If there are consequences, I, Yang Guirong, will bear them alone. It has nothing to do with any of you."

"Our condolences, Elder Yang. We rely on you!"

With him as their backing, the members of the worldly sects no longer held any reservations and were ready to act without restraint.

"Elder Yang, that wretch also killed my grandson. I, Li, beg you to allow me to strike him down as well, to vent the hatred in my heart," Li Hengyang stepped forward, his eyes bloodshot as he bowed.

On the other side, Bai Wendao stepped out, looking utterly devastated. "Elder Yang, that scoundrel took my disciple, Qin Lingyuan. I hope you will allow me to accompany you so that I may rescue him."

"Very well. As long as you can convince the Emperor of the Immortal Martial Dynasty to open the barrier, today we shall settle all debts—blood for blood, grudge for grudge. No matter how many die, I, Yang Guirong, will take the responsibility!"

Yang Guirong had not realized Xia Jiuxuan had committed so many atrocities. He deserved to die—a thousand deaths would not be enough! As for the mortals who were about to die because of him, let it be considered atonement for Xia Jiuxuan’s sins!

"Elder Yang is righteous! All elders and talented disciples, hear my command: once we breach the Immortal Martial Dynasty, kill without mercy!"

"Kill without mercy!"

The masters of the hundred worldly sects gathered. Such a scene had not been witnessed in over a thousand years. And today, they had come together solely to kill Xia Jiuxuan.

...

Thousands of miles away, Xia Jiuxuan was mounted on a flying demonic beast he had seized from the Feathering Sect, having already reached the territory of the Eighteen Sects. These sects were connected, occupying an entire range of spiritual mountains in the Southern Region.

Xia Jiuxuan was the first to fly into the Clear Wind Sect.

"People of the Clear Wind Sect, listen well! I, Xia Jiuxuan, have arrived. Those who wish to kill me, come forth!"

His voice echoed throughout the entire sect. In an instant, over a thousand disciples flew out, gathering a hundred yards away from him.

"Damn it, how is he out already? Wasn't there three days left?" Everyone was stunned.

"This god of slaughter cannot be provoked, let's run!"

"Senior Brother Zhang said that Xia Jiuxuan obtained a great treasure in the secret realm and his strength is comparable to the Saint-Entering Realm. Everyone, do not attack him! Notify the Sect Master immediately!"

In a moment, not a single person dared to strike.

"Don't dare to move? Then get lost!" Xia Jiuxuan flew forward, and the disciples of the Clear Wind Sect scattered in fear.

Xia Jiuxuan expanded his spiritual sense and rushed toward the treasury. As before, he easily shattered the restrictions and plundered all the resources.

"You arrogant fool, take this!" As he walked out, he was met with a thrust of a great halberd.

"Young Master, don't!" "Young Master, that Xia Jiuxuan cannot be provoked!" the disciples behind shouted frantically.

"A bunch of cowards! A bumpkin from a mortal nation has you terrified like this? Watch me execute him!"

The halberd struck Xia Jiuxuan squarely in the head. Or rather, Xia Jiuxuan had no intention of dodging.

"Haha, trash!" Seeing his attack land, the young man laughed. For the past few days, the sect had been filled with legends about this "trash," and the young man had longed to make a name for himself by killing him.

*Clang!*

With a crisp sound, the young man was knocked backward by the recoil.

"What is going on!" The young man was horrified. How could this boy's body be so hard? He, a dignified Eighth-Level Mortal-Severing realm cultivator, could not even break his defense!

"Oh no!" The young man finally realized he had underestimated his opponent. The legends of the past few days were true! *Run!* He no longer dared to harbor any other thoughts and prepared to flee.

"Can you run?" Xia Jiuxuan curled his lip and flicked a strand of sword intent.

"Ah!" The young man was pierced through the chest by the sword intent and plummeted from the sky.

"Xia Jiuxuan, stop!" "He is our Sect Master's son, our Young Master! If you kill him, you will never meet a good end!" The remaining disciples watched in terror, attempting to block Xia Jiuxuan with their bodies.

"You want to die for him?" Xia Jiuxuan flew forward, his terrifying killing intent enveloping them. The crowd trembled, instinctively stepping aside.

On the ground, the Young Master of the Clear Wind Sect lay paralyzed, looking up at Xia Jiuxuan in terror. "Brother Xia, Big Brother Xia, Grandpa Xia, it was a moment of impulse, I was blind! Please, don't kill me, boo-hoo..." The young man wept, begging for mercy.

"Why didn't you consider this ending before you struck?" Xia Jiuxuan raised his sword and brought it down fiercely.

*Squelch!*

The blade pierced his chest, and the sword intent shredded his internal organs. The young man struggled in agony for a few moments before going still. Not one of the thousand disciples present dared to step forward to help.

"Get out!" Xia Jiuxuan couldn't be bothered to kill these low-level disciples; besides, some were innocent mortals, so he left them be and flew toward the Ancestral Hall of the Clear Wind Sect.

Guided by his spiritual sense, he found a statue. It depicted an old man holding a profound sword.

"Destroying you will sever the foundation of the Clear Wind Sect!" Xia Jiuxuan unleashed his sword intent, slashing wildly.

*Boom!*

The entire Ancestral Hall shook. The statue did not shatter but instead emitted a phantom image.

"Audacious wretch! How dare you offend this founder!" The phantom was the divine consciousness left behind by the Old Ancestor of the Clear Wind Sect.

"What a pathetic thing, daring to shout in my presence? Be suppressed!" Xia Jiuxuan roared, and a powerful divine sense surged forth.

"Die, villain!" The guardian consciousness had no self-awareness and thus did not fear Xia Jiuxuan’s mental pressure. It swung a sword, carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth, at Xia Jiuxuan. However, divine consciousness was ultimately just consciousness; before Xia Jiuxuan, it was nothing but dross.

*Bang!*

Before the sword could fall, an overwhelmingly powerful mental force crushed the old man's phantom into dust. From this point on, the Clear Wind Sect could no longer receive any guidance on inherited martial arts from this statue—it was effectively crippled.

After destroying the statue, Xia Jiuxuan flew to the next sect. Enter, loot resources, destroy the foundation! Whenever he encountered resistance, he would strike it down without hesitation. In just a quarter of an hour, he had already traversed five sects. None of these sects had any true experts guarding them, so they could not hinder him in the slightest.

It was not until he entered the sixth sect that he immediately stopped.

"There is a Return-to-Origin realm expert guarding this sect!" As soon as he entered, Xia Jiuxuan sensed a terrifying aura remaining deep underground.

"Flee!" Xia Jiuxuan did not hesitate. He channeled a high-level movement technique and bolted immediately. The so-called Return-to-Origin realm was a existence beyond the Sea-Splitting realm. Within the entire territory of the worldly sects, they were top-tier experts. Unless the people from the hidden sects acted, no one dared to challenge a Return-to-Origin expert.

Deep beneath the Luanfeng Sect, an old man sensed something amiss and snapped his eyes open. He expanded his spiritual sense, covering a radius of a hundred miles. Upon inspection, the old man was shocked. Among the eighteen sects, five had already had their foundations destroyed, and their resources looted dry.

"Where did this dog thief come from to be so arrogant!" The old man was furious. He had been in seclusion and should not have broken his retreat, but such a massive event left him no choice but to act.

*Whoosh!*

The old man shot out from underground, tracing the residual aura and chasing after him as if teleporting.

"Damn it, why is there an old monster guarding this one!" Xia Jiuxuan fled at full speed, riding a demonic beast across the sky toward the edge of the Southern Region. Behind him, the old man’s figure surged forward, moving much faster than the flying beast.

"All Sect Masters, return quickly! Five sects in our mountain range have been looted by a thief; he is fleeing toward the south!" While chasing, the old man used a sound-transmission jade to inform the Sect Masters of the Eighteen Sects.

In reality, the Eighteen Sects had received word from their disciples a quarter of an hour prior and were already rushing toward the area with a host of experts!

"Damnable scum, I am infuriated!"

"Chase him toward the south! We must capture him at all costs!"

Everyone was incensed. They had not expected that after committing murder at the Feathering Sect, Xia Jiuxuan would dare to continue his rampage and loot the Eighteen Sects! At this moment, their hatred for Xia Jiuxuan transcended all else.