Chapter 101: The Slaughter Continues

The two chose a spot to break the formation, deliberately leaving traces before slipping inside. The Heavenly Perception enveloped the entire sixth courtyard. Gazing at a room, Liu Junhuai’s eyes flashed with a ruthless, murderous gleam.

Inside the room were the Third Madam and his youngest son, Shen Lingyu.

“Looks like that bastard Liu Junhuai won’t be showing up today. After slaughtering so many in the Shen family yesterday, I really regret not letting your eldest brother kill him three years ago; it would have spared us yesterday’s disaster. Just watch— even if you get past this checkpoint, your father won’t have it easy with your grandfather. This time, the Shen family is going bankrupt, which is why they hired so many experts!” the Third Madam muttered incessantly.

Shen Lingyu said, “Enough, mother. You’ve been saying the same thing all day. Father was right— we were all idiots, stirred up by the eldest madam’s few words and ran to the other courtyard to make a fuss. Now look, that bastard is turning vicious on us, and the eldest madam keeps nagging!”

The Third Madam replied, “The eldest madam is cunning. Your eldest uncle is weak by nature, and she’s always afraid your father will snatch the family head position. She’s been scheming behind his back. When things go wrong, your father takes the blame. Now it’s payback time— that bastard is truly retaliating, and the whole Shen family will be finished. Let’s see who she’ll stir up next.”

Just as Shen Lingyu was about to speak, the door creaked open and Liu Junhuai and another appeared.

The Third Madam was terrified, letting out a sharp scream involuntarily. Liu Junhuai looked coldly at her heavily powdered, aged face without a word.

Shen Lingyu’s face twisted in sheer panic. He tried to flee but his legs had gone limp. “Seventh brother, it’s all a misunderstanding. I tried to stop it but couldn’t. Actually, it was the main branch stirring trouble behind the scenes. If you’re going to seek revenge, make sure you pick the right target!”

Mo Sitong, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward and slapped Shen Lingyu, knocking him to the ground.

The Third Madam lost control, sitting on the floor and cursing, “You ungrateful bastard! Why didn’t Linghan just slit your throat back then? The whole place is filled with our people; if you so much as touch my son, I’ll make sure you and that filthy bitch die without a grave.”

Liu Junhuai remained cold, wielding the Five Elements Chaos Blade. A flash of blade light, and the Third Madam’s head was severed, tumbling to the floor. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before falling still.

Shen Lingyu screamed in terror. A foul stench rose from between his legs. Liu Junhuai stepped forward and with a swift stroke, ended his cries abruptly.

Quickly gathering the two heads, Liu Junhuai pulled Mo Sitong to the door and casually dispelled the restriction, disappearing into the shadows of the courtyard.

The fourth courtyard was originally home to the Second Madam’s family. The eldest cousin Shen Jiayuan and fourth cousin Shen Qingyuan had both participated in beating the Lius that day. Shen Jiayuan had even torn Liu’s earlobe apart over a pair of earrings.

At this moment, the fourth courtyard held no Shen family members. Instead, it was filled with ambushers. Liu Junhuai’s Heavenly Perception detected over a hundred people, all without any formation.

Many Shen family members had already bowed their heads, which only fueled Liu Junhuai’s murderous intent. Whispering a few words to Mo Sitong, he circled to the side where foundation establishment cultivators stood. He gestured to Mo Sitong, and both stealthily entered the fourth courtyard.

With the first ambusher’s head falling, the slaughter began.

Liu Junhuai’s invisible blade net, carved by the Five Elements Chaos Blade, ruthlessly sliced throats and chests. The courtyard echoed with sounds of fierce battle.

Meanwhile, Mo Sitong weaved through a gap in the volley of spear strikes. The moonlight shimmered on her seven-satin brocade cloak, creating eerie afterimages.

Spears brushed past the cloak’s shadows. A few ambushers, failing to strike, scrambled to retreat and counterattack but found their weapons unresponsive.

Mo Sitong’s red silk ribbons coiled like serpents, ensnaring all the spears aimed at her. She leapt into the air three zhang high, her true energy coursing along the brocade, sweeping up several spears and throwing both men and weapons aside.

Their breath was crushed under her immense true energy. The seven-satin brocade emitted white light that wrapped around several necks. With muffled pops, several heads soared upward.

Without hesitation, Mo Sitong landed swiftly. The red silk surged like a tidal wave, sweeping over the stunned ambushers.

Within moments, dozens of ambushers fell, their ribcages shattered, screaming as they flew backward. The courtyard’s flowers and trees were smashed by the overwhelming true energy. The remaining ambushers could only flee desperately, powerless to fight back.

Seeing Mo Sitong’s unstoppable advance from the corner of his eye, Liu Junhuai finally relaxed. With a single strike, his blade energy, sharp as a knife’s edge, sliced beneath several heads.

The thick stench of blood filled the courtyard, stirring the ambushers’ fighting spirits. More rushed toward Liu Junhuai.

Heavenly Perception revealed countless figures approaching. Liu Junhuai sheathed the Five Elements Chaos Blade and began channeling transformation techniques. Flames rapidly surged into his palm, followed by a purple-red handprint brimming with destructive power.

With a thought, the purple-red handprint manifested a colossal hand that blotted out the sky.

Several cultivators who had just arrived were stunned by the massive hand looming above them. As they looked up, it descended upon them.

With a deafening crash, all beneath the hand were crushed into pulp.

The dozens of ambushers behind were terrified beyond words. Their bloodlust vanished instantly, and they instinctively retreated.

The hand rose again, its dazzling purple light resembling a gaping maw that engulfed the retreating crowd. With a thunderous blast, the crowd vanished, leaving behind a field of blood and gore.

The ambushers pursued by Mo Sitong froze mid-action, staring blankly at the looming hand as if their brains had shut down.

Mo Sitong pressed forward relentlessly. The seven-satin brocade shimmered, red silk entwining countless white lights that wrapped around necks. Heads popped off and soared into the air.

Thuds echoed as the dazed ambushers fell. More than half the group was gone.

Suddenly, a terrified scream erupted. The remaining thirty or so clutching their heads fled.

Liu Junhuai’s colossal hand struck twice more. No one remained standing in the courtyard.

Without pause, Liu Junhuai grabbed Mo Sitong and vanished in an instant.

The courtyard was left a ruin, debris swirling in the wild true energy, shrieking sharply in the air. The entire mansion was devoid of life.

A moment later, the first reinforcements arrived, running toward the courtyard where debris was still falling.

Over a hundred people had lasted only a few breaths before being turned into a mountain of blood and flesh. Dozens of reinforcements stood dumbfounded at the gate, no one calling out.

More reinforcements came, and after a few noisy moments near the gate, they fell silent in shock. Except for their heavy breathing, no one made a sound.

After a long while, amid the eerie silence, someone let out a wailing scream. Instantly, hundreds of shouts erupted. As the first turned and fled, the crowd scattered like a tide, leaving the courtyard gate silent once more.

From the sixth courtyard of the Shen family estate came desperate cries. Two headless bodies lay tossed aside. The Shen family members all wore expressions of terror, none comforting the weeping women.

Cheng Kele quietly approached Shen Bingwen, who was supporting Shen Ao, and made a gesture. Shen Bingwen helped Shen Ao to the main hall.

The hall was already filled with cultivators, and in the main seat sat Pamo Ji, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

Pamo Ji’s face was furious, brows raised one by one, veins bulging. “Who can tell me why no one detected his presence? Twice now, this bastard sneaked in as if no one was there. You lot are useless!”

Shen Jin trembled as he spoke, “This fiend has mastered an invisibility technique—he comes without a shadow and leaves without a trace. We don’t know how he discovered our formations, but he destroyed them all one by one. His ambush was meticulously planned: he first infiltrated here to sabotage the formations and killed Lingyu and his mother, then wiped out the ambushers in the fourth courtyard. By the time we discovered the situation, he had already completed the massacre.”

Cheng Kele lowered his head and said, “I arranged the defenses here. I carefully examined Liu Junhuai’s first infiltration and found no signs of profound cultivation, but I still gathered the Shen family here and set heavy traps in their former residence. I didn’t expect this man to have such powerful divine insight. He saw through all my arrangements. My mistake was severely underestimating his true strength, giving him an opening through my carelessness!”

Shizuo added, “That’s right, senior. This old fellow is extremely skilled at disguising his strength. The traces he left were clearly meant to mislead us. He has been preparing meticulously for three years and operates from the shadows, making it impossible to defend against him!”

Pamo Ji’s temper calmed slightly but he still seethed, “How many foundation establishment mid-stage cultivators has he killed in total? Is his cultivation truly only late foundation establishment?”

Cheng Kele said, “Three last night, six today, plus two at early foundation establishment.”

Shizuo looked toward Yun Jiezi and asked, “Junior Brother Yun, what do you think Liu Junhuai’s actual cultivation is? I’m certain he’s not late foundation establishment—could he have reached the Golden Core stage?” Saying this, Shizuo wiped cold sweat from his brow, startled by his own suspicion.