Old Freak Zhaixing's trembling finger pointed straight at Xiao Jietian. His lips parted as though to curse or roar, yet no sound emerged—his throat seemed gripped by an invisible iron hand, strangling every syllable before it could form.
His pupils dilated sharply. All color drained from his already pallid face in an instant.
Bang!!
His body shuddered violently, then collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been severed. His head struck the dirt with a dull, heavy thud. No further movement followed.
Xiao Jietian slowly withdrew his palm, gaze indifferent as he regarded the lifeless corpse sprawled in the dust.
The old monster's soul had been utterly pulverized the moment the palm print landed.
True—Soul Scattered!
Such was the terror of a supreme soul-type Dou Technique. Against an ordinary Dou Technique there might remain a slim chance for the soul to flee; against this, none whatsoever.
Yao Lao: …Are you speaking of me?
Han Feng: I feel personally attacked.
"A Dou Zun… simply died like that?" Han Xue and Hu Jia stepped forward to stand behind Xiao Jietian. They gazed down at Old Freak Zhaixing—blood-soaked, eyes vacant and glassy—and asked uncertainly.
"Of course," Xiao Jietian replied with a faint smile. "The kind where soul and spirit are utterly extinguished. Why not ask him yourself whether he can still answer?"
The two women moved closer. Hu Jia cautiously nudged the corpse with the toe of her boot. No response.
"Wow… he's become a zombie!" Xiao Jietian appeared beside them, lightly touching their shoulders as he spoke in an eerie, deliberately ominous tone.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Both girls shrieked in unison—high-pitched cries worthy of self-defense training manuals.
Hu Jia reacted with lightning speed. She executed a graceful backflip, putting instant distance between herself and the body, wings of Dou Qi already forming behind her.
Han Xue, meanwhile, threw herself straight into Xiao Jietian's embrace like a startled octopus—arms locked around his waist, face buried against his chest, legs instinctively clamping tight as though he were the only safe branch in a storm.
Hu Jia: ? ? ? ? ?
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. Observing the utterly shameless contentment on Han Xue's face, she suddenly realized her own wits had fallen behind.
Oh, very good. Heart-to-heart with sister, yet you play little mind games behind her back and don't even call her when there's fun to be had!
"Enough, enough—I was only teasing," Xiao Jietian said gently, patting Han Xue's back. "This fellow is thoroughly dead. Soul scattered to nothingness. You are cultivators—how can you fear such a thing?"
"Girls are naturally afraid of corpses," Han Xue replied sweetly, voice muffled against his chest.
Hu Jia drifted back to his side, rolled her eyes dramatically, and crossed her arms.
"Hmph. Childish."
Then she cast a playful sidelong glance at Han Xue—who subtly winked back, as though to say: Did you learn something, sister?
"Alright, come down now. Time to collect the spoils," Xiao Jietian murmured, softly patting Han Xue's waist.
Han Xue released him without clinging, sliding down gracefully and smoothing her robes.
Hu Jia immediately leaned in, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Quick—let's see how rich a Dou Zun's collection truly is!"
A Dou Zun—a realm she once dared not even dream of—now lay dead at their feet.
Xiao Jietian gave a casual wave.
Old Freak Zhaixing's spatial ring immediately slipped from his finger and flew into Xiao Jietian's palm. With a light gesture he shattered every protective restriction within, confirmed there were no hidden secondary storage artifacts, then beckoned to the two women.
Thus the three of them calmly divided the old monster's inheritance—right in front of his cooling corpse.
If Old Freak Zhaixing could have risen at that moment, he would likely have leapt up and howled:
"You are not even human! Dividing my possessions before my very corpse—what difference is there from defiling the dead? Why not simply scatter my ashes while you're at it?!"
...
Meanwhile, in a gloomy, fog-choked valley far away—
A massive black palace loomed like a crouching beast.
Within one of its deepest secret chambers, two old men—one robed in black, the other in white—sat facing each other across a stone table.
Thump thump!!
"Reporting to the Heavenly Venerates—your subordinate bears urgent news!"
After the knocks came a voice trembling with deference from beyond the door.
The two elders opened their eyes simultaneously.
"Enter!" the black-robed elder rasped.
The heavy obsidian door slowly swung open.
A figure clad head to toe in tight black armor strode inside. He advanced to a respectful distance, then dropped heavily to his knees. His entire frame quivered faintly.
"Speak," the white-robed elder said indifferently.
The armored man felt an invisible mountain pressing down upon him. He bowed his head even lower, body rigid against the ground.
"Reporting to Black and White Heavenly Venerates… Heavenly Venerate Zhaixing… his… his… his Soul Jade Tablet has shattered!!!"
The man's voice shook so violently that the words came out broken and disjointed.
"What?!"
Heavenly Venerate Black shot to his feet. His aura erupted uncontrollably—violent and wild.
The armored man was instantly hurled backward like a rag doll.
Bang!
He crashed against the far wall. The entire stone surface caved inward; rubble rained down. His body slid lifelessly to the floor.
"Old Black, what are you doing? Restrain your aura," Heavenly Venerate White said in a deep voice, placing a steadying hand upon his companion's shoulder.
Heavenly Venerate Black hurriedly suppressed his killing intent.
When he reached out with Dou Qi to draw the armored man closer for questioning, he discovered the man was already dead—killed instantly by the uncontrolled outburst.
"Annoying," Heavenly Venerate Black muttered darkly, flinging the corpse aside.
"Old Black, you must temper that rage of yours," Heavenly Venerate White said, patting his shoulder once more before continuing. "Did Old Ghost not set out to capture Xiao Jietian and the remnants of the Xiao Clan? How could he perish so inexplicably? With those country bumpkins from the backlands, it should have been impossible for them to slay him. Even if the two of us joined hands, killing him would be no easy task."
Heavenly Venerate White's eyes narrowed as he analyzed the situation with cold rationality.
"Could another power have intervened? The Pill Tower, perhaps… or those people?"
"I do not know," Heavenly Venerate Black growled, arms crossed tightly. "But Old Freak Zhaixing stood at the peak of five-star Dou Zun. Even against someone a single star above him, if he could not win he could still have fled. The fall of a Heavenly Venerate must be reported. The rest is for the Hall Master or Vice Hall Master to handle—it has nothing to do with us."
Neither man entertained even the slightest thought of avenging Old Freak Zhaixing.
Among the Heavenly Venerates of the Hall of Souls, relations were nothing more than those of cold colleagues—or worse, rivals constantly stepping on one another in their climb toward greater power.
"Mm. The higher-ups will investigate regardless," Heavenly Venerate White said indifferently. "They may yet summon us to act. After all, Old Freak Zhaixing was elevated to Heavenly Venerate from our branch."
He nodded to himself, already anticipating that while they would not be blamed, the matter would inevitably fall upon their shoulders.
"Truly useless trash," Heavenly Venerate Black spat gloomily, face dark with displeasure. "To die on such a simple mission!"
Heavenly Venerate White cast him a sidelong glance and spoke slowly:
"It seems… the waters of the Central Plains are about to be thoroughly stirred. A great change is coming."