Extracting Spiritual Roots!

At this moment, Liu Peiyuan had no words to describe the turmoil in his heart. This spatial shard was not large, measuring only about five hundred zhang across. The air was thick with a nauseating stench of decay, the sharp tang of urine, and a repulsive medley of foul, unrecognizable odors. The bluestone pavers beneath his feet were slick with thick, dark red blood. Dry bones littered the ground, surrounded by motionless bodies strewn about without a breath left in them. A few men and women still clung to faint threads of life, their eyes staring hollowly forward. Every one of them had been stripped of their cultivation after the power of their spiritual roots was brutally devoured through wicked methods. They lay sprawled on the stone like simpletons, drooling helplessly. Devouring the spiritual roots of others to cultivate was no different from the vile ways of evil cultivators! Moreover, their bodies were covered in wounds so appalling that even a seasoned elder like him found them sickening. It was hard to imagine the inhumane torture they had endured before their spiritual roots were ripped away. Liu Peiyuan stood frozen, his hands and feet cold as ice, mouth slightly agape, eyes blank. He wanted to take another step forward, but his legs felt filled with lead, unable to budge an inch. He could not fathom how many horrifying deeds the Liu clan had committed behind his back during the millennium he had spent in seclusion. Only after several long breaths did the old man steady his mind and force himself forward with great difficulty. The further inward he walked, the more harrowing the surroundings became. More and more cultivators lay sprawled across the stone, and each was stronger than the last. They were kept like slaves, reared like cattle. A raging fire burned in the elder's chest, his cheeks and eyelids twitching violently. Quickening his pace, he soon came upon a stone slab. Suspended above it was a young woman, chains driven through her four limbs, hanging in midair with lifeless eyes. The stone bed below was drenched in blood. Her robes hung in tatters, and her body was covered in grievous wounds. Her primal energy was bound, leaving her body rigid and immobile. Yet her consciousness had remained sharp and clear the entire time, even while she was powerless to move. She knew everything that was happening, yet could do nothing to stop it. Just as it had been years ago, when those scoundrels from Ziyang Palace had tormented her. Yu Sui'an moved her eyes, and when she saw the old man, she thought salvation had finally arrived. Two trails of bloody tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. Witnessing this, Liu Peiyuan clenched his teeth until the muscles in his jaw bulged. He knew this was the woman Youming had spoken of. Just then, her eyes widened fully. She strained with all her might to turn her gaze sideways toward the old man. Her bloodshot eyes were blurred with tears, overflowing with silent pleading. Liu Peiyuan let out a furious roar: "Beast!" He knew she was begging him to let her go. Terrifying pressure erupted from the enraged elder, and within an instant, the entire space began to shatter! *Rumble!* To think this dark, damp pocket of space was where his own descendant traded for his so-called natural talent! To the outside world, Liu Yunxuan was the young master of the Ancient Liu clan, elegant, poised, and as gentle as jade. Yet behind closed doors, he concealed the sinister cruelty festering at the bottom of his heart in this wretched pit. Such conduct... was worse than that of a beast! Liu Peiyuan had spent more than half his life playing the dog to others. He had killed too many people to count. He had slain innocents without a second thought... Yet seeing this—rearing cultivators as livestock for nourishment, all to sustain the false veneer of a peerless genius—sickened him to his core. Never underestimate the depths of human filth and wickedness! As the pocket of space fractured, the light from the outside world broke in, appearing glaring and harsh. Yet the light shining down upon them brought no warmth to these broken, vacant souls. Low whimpers rose from several throats as people used what little strength they had left to bury their heads into their chests. As if doing so was the only way to spare themselves a shred of agony. Once, they had all been proud darlings of the heavens, yet now... Yu Sui'an's heart steadily sank. The old man had not moved to save her the moment he appeared. That meant he had reservations. If he truly intended to rescue her, he would not have simply shattered the boundary just now! Feeling the light fall across her face, she found it scalding and blinding for the very first time. A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Yu Sui'an's lips. She understood. This light... was only dragging them from one abyss into another. The light that should have been warm now pricked her like needles. Bloody tears trailed down her cheeks as Yu Sui'an stared desperately at the old man, the plea in her eyes undeniable. The killing intent within Liu Peiyuan's heart had reached its peak, yet at this very moment, he hesitated. Just an instant ago, his only desire had been to slaughter Liu Yunxuan! And yet... He recalled that Youming had gone out of his way to mention this woman, and had even spoken with Liu Yunxuan alone in secret for so long. The only reason the entire Liu clan had been spared from extermination was undoubtedly tied to the woman before him. Torn between the pitiful shred of justice in his heart and cold reason, he hesitated. Faced with the survival of the entire Liu clan, he chose the latter. Surveying the gruesome sight one last time, Liu Peiyuan turned away with grim resolve. Watching the old man turn his back, Yu Sui'an felt her heart plunge into the freezing depths. Her eyes glazed over with numbness and utter despair. She had believed he might save her, only for hope to end like this. The elder raised a hand and cast a ray of spiritual light, sending pure primal energy into her merely to preserve her dying breath. Her spiritual root had already been extracted; she would never cultivate again. She refused to let those who cared about her be dragged into ruin on her account ever again. With absolute resolve to die in her eyes, she did not circulate her cultivation method to absorb the incoming primal energy. Liu Peiyuan sighed. For a moment, he could not even tell whether that wisp of primal energy was meant to save a life, or merely to soothe his own conscience. *Rumble! Crack, crack!* As the space collapsed, the old man vanished in silence without uttering a single word. Before departing, he displaced every servant within Liu Yunxuan's residence and cast a restrictive barrier outside that barred all prying eyes. *Boom!* "No one is permitted within a thousand zhang of this place!" A low roar resonated across the heavens, instantly reducing the entire Liu clan to terrified silence. *Whoosh!* Within a lavish bedchamber, Liu Yunxuan was the first to regain consciousness, though his severe injuries left him paralyzed on the bed. Suddenly! His eyes filled with terror as he looked at the old man standing beside his couch. Everyone else in the room was blasted backward by the elder's sheer aura. The old man stomped his foot violently onto his chest. In an instant, the bed beneath Liu Yunxuan collapsed into dust, and the bluestone floor cracked and shattered like a spiderweb. Feeling the colossal killing intent rolling off the elder, Liu Yunxuan nearly lost his wits from sheer fright! "Speak! What did the Blood Venerable say to you?" "Do not dare hide a single word—tell me everything!" Terror-stricken, Liu Yunxuan scrambled to confess everything, his voice trembling with stark horror. The erratic flicker in his eyes betrayed that he already knew his secret had been laid bare.