Chapter 394: Slaying the Golden Core (Part 2)

Bai Yeli’s eyes lit up.

‘A perfect chance!’

Without a moment’s hesitation, he channeled all his remaining power and thrust his sword straight at Liang Cheng’s heart!

This strike contained all the residual power from burning his Dharma Aspect!

The tip of the sword tore through the void, as swift as a fleeting shadow!

‘Now!’

Liang Cheng’s pupils contracted. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the Ling Frost Short Sword was already poised to strike.

Empowered by Sword Intent!

The Spirit Soldier was unsheathed!

A glint of cold light shot out from between his eyebrows!

The light was blindingly fast!

So fast that Bai Yeli could only register a flash of white light!

PSHHHT!!!

The Ling Frost Short Sword pierced through his Dantian!

At the same time, the tip of Bai Yeli’s sword came to a halt a mere three inches from Liang Cheng’s heart.

Just three inches short.

But he could thrust no further.

Bai Yeli looked down at his own abdomen.

There, a bloody hole passed straight through him.

Inside his Dantian, the Golden Core he had nurtured for five hundred years was shattering.

CRACK.

CRACK!

The sound of his Golden Core breaking apart echoed within his body.

It was the foundation of his five hundred years of Cultivation, the very source of his power as a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator.

It was all gone.

“You…”

Bai Yeli looked up at Liang Cheng, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Even at the moment of his death, he couldn’t understand how this young man had managed to hide a Spirit Soldier.

Before he could figure it out, the Ling Frost Short Sword pierced through his forehead, and his Sea of Divine Soul shattered!

Liang Cheng dropped to one knee in the void, gasping for air.

He was covered in blood, his body riddled with wounds.

‘I won.’

Leaning on his saber, he slowly got to his feet and walked over to Bai Yeli’s corpse.

He took the Storage Ring and tucked it away.

Then he looked up at his surroundings.

For a hundred miles in every direction, the scene was one of utter devastation.

The corpses of countless Sea Fish Demon Beasts floated on the surface of the water.

The battle had turned the world upside down.

Liang Cheng took a deep breath, using the Turtle Breath and Spirit Concealment Technique to mask his aura. After making sure no trace of it remained, he turned and strode through the air toward Lin Wu City.

‘A shame the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle was destroyed.’

‘The most important thing now is to leave this place. Who knows what other trouble might be lurking?’

‘Safety first.’

…

「True Martial Sect, Celestial Punishment Peak.」

The Guardian Disciple was making his routine patrol of the Life Plate Hall when his gaze swept across the Life Tokens. He froze on the spot, his face a mask of panic.

He saw that the seventh Life Token was covered in cracks.

The surface, once as smooth and lustrous as jade, was now dull and lifeless. Cracks spread from the center outward, resembling a dry riverbed.

The Guardian Disciple rubbed his eyes and leaned in for a closer look.

His face turned deathly pale, and he spun around and ran.

“Sect Leader! Something terrible has happened—!”

…

「A short while later, in the main hall of the True Martial Sect.」

The seven Elders were gathered, the atmosphere so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

Lying on the table was Bai Yeli’s Soul Token. It was riddled with cracks, its Soul Fire extinguished.

He was dead.

Bai Yeli—a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator, the head Elder of the True Martial Sect’s Celestial Punishment Peak, famous for five hundred years—was suddenly dead, just like that.

A Golden Core is indestructible, and so too is the body.

Because of this, the Life Token could only sense life and death; it couldn’t be imbued with a method to reveal the circumstances of his demise.

But among the Three Sects and Six Gates, how many Golden Core cultivators ever fell?

It was an event that hadn’t been seen in a thousand years!

“The Soul Token shattered half an hour ago.”

Elder Chen, who was in charge of the Soul Token Hall, spoke in a hoarse voice. “Senior Brother Bai said he was taking a trip to the Outer Sea. Who could have expected this tragedy?”

“The Outer Sea?”

Sect Leader Yun Jiuxiao’s white brows furrowed. “What was he doing in the Outer Sea?”

No one answered.

No one had questioned Bai Yeli when he left the Sect. Given his status and position, no one would have dared to stop him.

“Investigate,”

Yun Jiuxiao’s face was ashen. “Send people immediately. I want to see him if he’s alive, and I want to see his body if he’s dead.”

“At the same time, find out who he was in contact with before he left.”

“Whoever killed an Elder of my True Martial Sect, no matter who they are, they will be killed!”

…

Half an hour later, more than a dozen streaks of light shot up from the True Martial Sect. At the same time, several Communication Paper Cranes flew out silently, heading in various directions.

…

「Penglai Sect, Seventh Peak.」

Yao Guannan was meditating in his Quiet Chamber.

The Jade Talisman at his waist suddenly vibrated. He took it out and looked at it, his pupils shrinking.

‘Bai Yeli is dead?’

‘How is that possible?!’

He shot to his feet and began pacing back and forth in the Quiet Chamber.

Just yesterday, he had sent a message informing Bai Yeli that Liang Cheng had left the Sect alone and was heading south.

Knowing Bai Yeli’s personality, he was certain to have ambushed him along the way.

Logically, Liang Cheng should be the one who was dead.

But Bai Yeli was the one who died?

‘There are two possibilities.’

‘First, Lie Mountain secretly followed him and killed Bai Yeli.’

‘Second, Liang Cheng killed him himself.’

Yao Guannan stopped pacing, his expression uncertain.

‘If Lie Mountain followed him, could the fact that I sent a message to Bai Yeli have been exposed?’

‘If Lie Mountain finds out I colluded with an outsider to assassinate his disciple… with that overprotective personality of his…’

A chill ran down Yao Guannan’s spine.

‘But if Liang Cheng really was the one who killed him…’

‘No, that’s impossible.’

‘Before he disappeared, Liang Cheng was only at the Core Formation stage. Even if he made a breakthrough in the Secret Realm, how could he possibly kill a Golden Core Late Stage expert like Bai Yeli in just one year and three months?’

Yao Guannan took a deep breath.

‘Whatever the reason, I can’t act rashly.’

‘I have to investigate first.’

He walked to the window, watching the sea of clouds churn below, and gave a low-voiced order to the Disciple outside his door: “Go and find out what Lie Mountain has been doing these past few days. Has he left the First Peak at all?”

“Also, pay attention to any major events that have happened recently.”

The Disciple acknowledged the order and departed.

Yao Guannan stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze dark.

‘Liang Cheng…’

‘If you really were the one who killed Bai Yeli, then I’ll have to be even more careful. Even if Lie Mountain protects you, I’ll find a way to get the True Martial Sect to do the killing.’

‘Using a borrowed knife to kill someone—he had played that game his whole life. He was an expert at it.’

…

「First Peak.」

Lie Mountain was meditating.

Li Jianfeng walked over quickly, cupped his fists, and said, “Master, news has come from the True Martial Sect. Bai Yeli is dead.”

Lie Mountain’s body trembled.

“Who killed him?”

“It’s currently unknown.”

“Bai Yeli’s body was found in the Outer Sea.”