085 The Beginning of the Slaughter

East Sea.

Above the vast blue waters, a colossal stone Buddha, a thousand feet tall, stood majestically atop a lush, verdant island. The Buddha’s left hand pointed to the heavens, its right touched the earth—a solemn and grand sight.

Atop the stone Buddha’s head sat a monk in meditation. He was plump, with large ears and a round belly, dressed in a tattered purple-gold robe, resembling a smiling Maitreya. The monk gazed serenely toward the east, a gentle smile on his face. “Pang Yue of the Demon Talisman Sect… intriguing,” he murmured.

…

Outer Sea.

Pang Yue and Jin Yuege journeyed together, encountering many cultivators from Spirit Devouring Island along the way. These cultivators, along with members of the Wang Clan—a powerful family from the East Sea—were hunting and battling across the sea. Within less than a thousand miles, it was common to stumble upon groups engaged in fierce magical combat.

Gradually, Pang Yue learned the reason behind the Wang Clan’s actions: Over twenty years ago, the clan’s patriarch took a stunningly beautiful concubine, who bore him twins—a boy and a girl, both possessing exceptional spiritual roots and deeply cherished by their father. Unfortunately, during the princess’s travels in the Outer Sea, she happened to cross paths with several elders from Spirit Devouring Island, who were conspiring together.

The elders, upon seeing the delicate and alluring Wang princess, could barely restrain their hunger. Her noble status only heightened her appeal, making her a delicacy beyond compare. Although the Wang Clan had dispatched a Golden Core elder to protect her, he was outmatched, and the elders of Spirit Devouring Island devoured the princess alive.

Perhaps a quarrel erupted during the fight; the Spirit Devouring Island elders went further, capturing the gruesome scene in a jade slip and sending it to the Wang Clan afterward.

The Wang Clan was instantly enraged!

The patriarch dispatched more than twenty Golden Core elders, recruited rogue cultivators from the East Sea, and assembled an army of over ten thousand cultivators, marching straight for the Outer Sea.

Spirit Devouring Island had ruled the Outer Sea for years. Beneath its lord were eighteen Golden Core elders and thirty-six branch islands, each guarded by at least one advanced Dao Foundation disciple, defending the main island.

Both sides launched a bloody war across a hundred thousand miles of ocean. The Golden Core elders held their positions, not yet joining the fray. Meanwhile, Qi-devouring and Dao Foundation cultivators fought ferociously, their lives hanging by a thread.

Many cultivators made their names in this battle, honing extraordinary skills and earning rewards from both factions. Some quietly amassed wealth, looting countless storage bags amid the chaos. But most perished between the blue sky and sea.

On this day—

Pang Yue and Jin Yuege encountered another group locked in combat. Spirit Devouring Island had only three on their side, while the Wang Clan boasted over ten.

Yet, the advantage lay with Spirit Devouring Island.

A rotund cultivator, round as a ball, wielded immense magical power—nearly at Dao Foundation’s peak. He summoned a cloud of black sand, swirling through the air, billowing like smoke, echoing with ghostly wails, trapping the Wang Clan’s group in a corner.

This black sand, once breaking through a cultivator’s protective aura, would poison and kill them instantly.

The Wang Clan countered with ten white coffins, sending dozens of zombies flying to resist the sand’s onslaught, struggling desperately, on the verge of collapse.

In a blink, another Wang Clan cultivator was struck by the black sand. His skin blackened, and he plummeted from the sky.

Two Spirit Devouring Island spectators darted forward, seized the corpse, tore it apart mid-air, and devoured it. Their savage, beast-like ferocity chilled the Wang Clan’s hearts.

At that moment, a Wang Clan cultivator saw a distant light streak across the sky—clearly not from Spirit Devouring Island. He cried out, “Fellow Daoist, lend us your aid! The Wang Clan will reward you handsomely!”

Pang Yue, disgusted by the gruesome spectacle moments before, halted his flight and laughed, “Let me do a good deed today!”

A black sword light floated forth.

The two Spirit Devouring Island cultivators, still feasting, saw the sword light split in two and rush toward them. They sneered, unleashing their own powers to defend.

Suddenly, the sword light quivered, its speed multiplying tenfold.

Thunder roared.

A bloody line appeared on each of their brows; they split in two and fell into the sea.

Silence.

Everyone stared in shock, disbelief etched on their faces. None expected a passing cultivator to slay two Dao Foundation Spirit Devouring Island elders with a single sword stroke.

Such swift sword light! Such murderous intent!

Joy blossomed on the Wang Clan’s faces.

The fat cultivator’s expression shifted. He hastily recalled his black sand to protect himself, then barked coldly, “Fellow Daoist, mind your own affairs!”

“You’ve sullied my sight—you deserve death!” Pang Yue replied with a light laugh. His sword light surged, attacking the fat cultivator.

Furious, the fat cultivator roared, “Do you think Spirit Devouring Island is made of mud?!”

He sent a stream of black sand colliding with the sword light.

The sword light quivered, splitting into nine. One strand tangled with the black sand; the other eight sliced toward him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sword and sand clashed, ringing with the sound of metal on stone.

In a blink, the sword light shattered the black sand.

The fat cultivator screeched, face twisted with malice. In his death throes, he unleashed a torrent of black sand in all directions.

The next moment, eight sword lights descended, slicing him into a heap of flesh.

Black sand scattered, striking the protective auras of those nearby.

The sand’s sharp force pierced several Wang Clan cultivators’ auras, entering their bodies.

Their faces darkened; their vitality faded.

Suddenly, Pang Yue felt a jolt in his heart and turned to Jin Yuege.

On Jin Yuege’s shoulder, the little parrot’s green feathers began to blacken, its weak life force flickering like a dying candle.

Its tiny eyes looked at Jin Yuege in panic—mixed with confusion, pain, and a hint of unwillingness.

Jin Yuege’s gaze met Pang Yue’s, her face bitter. “I… failed to protect it…”

“No, it’s my fault,” Pang Yue replied, shaking his head, his expression darkening, murderous intent surging from him.

A Wang Clan cultivator flew forward to thank Pang Yue.

Suddenly, a sword light flashed past, splitting him in two.

The other Wang Clan cultivators recoiled in shock and anger.

Before they could speak, a black line of sword light swept through them, breaking their protective auras like paper.

Pang Yue sheathed his sword, laughing at himself, apologetically saying to Jin Yuege, “I shouldn’t have meddled.”

Jin Yuege remained silent for a moment before saying, “Let’s go.”

She had poured her feelings of parting and grief into the little parrot—never expecting that after only a few days, they would be parted by death.

Both were deep thinkers; the loss of a small beast would not move them to excessive sorrow.

But their mood… was undeniably grim.

The Wang Clan’s cultivators were truly unlucky.

They never imagined their savior would be a reckless demon sect cultivator.