"What?!"
"That is all?"
Liu Peiyuan's voice spiked sharply, laden with sheer bewilderment.
Lying on the floor, Liu Yunxuan said in panic, "It's true, Ancestor! Yunxuan wouldn't dare lie to you!"
The old man clenched his jaw, veins throbbing on his forehead, his eyes flickering slightly.
In his perception, Liu Yunxuan had not lied.
Yet... he still could not fathom why that Lord would let them off after having them do something so simple.
Liu Peiyuan's gaze turned vicious. "Are you certain that was all? Did he say anything else?"
Liu Yunxuan lowered his eyes, pondering for a moment. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he looked up at the old man, desperate to speak yet terrified to open his mouth.
Seeing his hesitant manner, the old man's rage flared even higher. He kicked Liu Yunxuan's jaw, shattering it, and snarled under his breath, "What the hell are you looking at me for?! I asked if there was anything else!! Speak!"
Disregarding his agonizing injuries, Liu Yunxuan frantically sent a divine sense transmission: "Yes, yes, yes... The Venerable said... no matter what happens, you cannot intervene, Ancestor... Even... even if... the Liu clan is wiped out entirely..."
Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in the old man's eyes. It was as if he had suddenly grasped something.
He muttered absently under his breath, "He wants... to use our Liu clan as a whetstone!"
Liu Peiyuan slowly crouched down, fixing the young man with an intense stare, his voice deep and solemn. "Other than that, did that Lord say anything else? Did he permit the rest of the Liu clan to act?"
Liu Yunxuan had grown wiser this time and spoke in haste, dreading being a moment too slow. "None! Absolutely not!! What the Venerable said back then was, 'Once the news is leaked, do as you please with the rest, so long as Liu Peiyuan does not intervene.'"
Liu Peiyuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded, convinced his deduction was correct.
Standing up, the elder said grimly, "Send people to investigate that fellow named Li Guanqi."
Turning back to Liu Yunxuan, the elder's voice was bone-chilling. "If the Liu clan manages to resolve this matter, drag yourself to the Silent Spirit Abyss and face the wall in penance for a thousand years."
At the mention of the Silent Spirit Abyss, Liu Yunxuan's face drained of color, terror flooding his eyes.
Yet everyone in the Liu clan now knew that Liu Xiaochen had been stripped of his position as clan head, and he himself was no longer the young master of the Liu clan.
The old man before him was taking absolute control of the family!
Beneath Liu Peiyuan, everyone had no choice but to tuck their tails between their legs and keep their heads down.
Yet even after turning away, the old man's brows remained tightly furrowed. He did not believe Youming was doing this on a whim, or merely because he found it amusing.
Though in his memory Youming operated on logic beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals, he absolutely refused to believe that monster would engage in so many meaningless gestures!
A whetstone?
Such a scheme might be conceivable if someone else were orchestrating it, but Youming would never indulge in something so tedious...
There had to be another motive hidden behind this condition, one that no one could decipher.
At this stage, he had no choice but to comply with the instructions.
Entering the grand hall, Liu Peiyuan surveyed the elders assembled below, his gaze flickering slightly.
Soon, an order was handed down.
Boom! Crack, crack, crack!
The barrier Liu Peiyuan had placed over Liu Yunxuan's residence began to crumble, laying bare a scene that left everyone utterly dumbfounded!
Straining to hold his battered body aloft in the air above the courtyard, Liu Yunxuan stared fixedly at the shattering barrier, his face contorted with malice.
Everything inside was a secret he had hidden for so long...
And now...
Over a dozen figures stood poised, aiming shadow-casting stones directly into the chamber.
Liu Yunxuan licked his cracked lips, his gaze locked onto Yu Sui'an, whose saint-grade spiritual root had been extracted.
Madness danced in his eyes. This woman possessed the finest innate talent he had ever encountered in his life.
That peerless spiritual root had elevated the quality of his own spiritual root significantly!
"I'm truly... a little reluctant to let you go..."
Whoosh!
Liu Yunxuan suddenly darted to the woman's side, thrusting himself into the projection of the shadow-casting stones.
Yu Sui'an's frame trembled violently, her pupils shaking as if she were shaking her head with all her might.
The man's fingers lightly grazed her arm; even through her clothes, he could feel her trembling in terror.
In the next heartbeat, an excruciating pain struck her!
Snap!
Her slender arm was violently snapped in two, stark white bone puncturing through the skin, just like before...
The nightmarish memory made her shudder uncontrollably from head to toe.
Clang!
Liu Yunxuan had completely lost his mind!
"To hell with the refined gentleman! To hell with being gentle as jade! Damn it all to death!!"
Reaching out, he yanked the chains with both hands, hoisting the woman high into the air.
Tears burst from Yu Sui'an's eyes like a breached dam. She shut her eyes tightly, her lips quivering uncontrollably, her chest heaving violently.
Wearing a manic grin, Liu Yunxuan burst into wild laughter toward the surrounding shadow-casting stones.
"Hahahaha! Look! Look at this!"
"Behold my masterpieces! Every single one of them is a prodigy I spent so much effort hunting down!"
Watching this display, every Liu clan disciple thought he had gone mad. The elders holding the shadow-casting stones remained dead silent.
Their expressions were complex and varied, peculiar glints flashing in their eyes.
They knew that from this day forward, father and son would have their spines cursed and broken behind their backs by all who saw this.
Sensing their revulsion, Liu Yunxuan could not have cared less.
He had already resolved that if he executed the task assigned by the Blood Venerable flawlessly, he would find a way to leave with him!
Only an overlord of that caliber was worthy of his allegiance!
His ambitions had long been suppressed to the breaking point by this damn ancient clan, trapped and bound for ten thousand years.
Since the Blood Venerable wanted to watch, he would stage the full show!
Amid Yu Sui'an's agonizing screams, her bones were snapped one by one.
***
In the Domain Lord Realm.
Li Guanqi and Meng Jiangchu sat in an antique study.
A stick of priceless Mind-Calming Incense drifted with a refreshing, soothing fragrance. Setting down his teacup, Meng Jiangchu said impatiently, "I already told you she's fine. She's my precious daughter—would I lie to you?"
Seeing him growing annoyed, Li Guanqi hastily refilled his cup with tea and said with an appeasing smile, "Father-in-law, I'm only concerned... It's been seven or eight days now, and there still hasn't been the slightest movement..."
Meng Jiangchu did not pick up the cup, instead letting out a wet burp.
Good grief, this brat had practically stuffed him to the brim with tea.
Paying him no further mind, Meng Jiangchu instead recounted the events concerning the Purgatory Abyss.
Upon hearing this, Li Guanqi frowned at once. "So you're saying... just a single spike was enough to breach the sealing barriers of the first two layers?!"
"Is that thing really so formidable?"
With a solemn expression, Meng Jiangchu retrieved that bizarre dharma artifact.
In a heavy tone, he said, "Taken individually, the highest grade one of these could reach is likely only that of a half-step ancient treasure. But when all ninety-nine demonic spikes are combined, their might is in no way inferior to any spirit treasure!"
Li Guanqi's heart leaped in astonishment. Every spirit treasure under the heavens wielded unfathomable might.
A powerful spirit treasure was more than enough to tip the scales between life and death for two combatants of equal strength!
Chapter 633