“Enough! My decision is made.” Jin Yao’s gaze bore into Xi Yun, his voice stern. “Xi Yun, is this Celestial Palace under my command, or is it merely an extension of Yun Xiao’s will?”
“Forgive my presumption, Your Grace,” Xi Yun replied, his face paling as he quickly bowed in apology. Despite his dissent, with the events having transpired as they had, the matter was already settled.
“Chong Zhao, take Master Song Feng’s remains back to your sect. Your sins are hereby pardoned, and this matter will not implicate your sect, Miao Miao. In three years, I will await you at the Celestial Palace.”
Jin Yao’s tone was gentle, yet the hall remained silent as all eyes shifted to Chong Zhao, who stood at the center, head bowed, gripping the empty robe.
“Chong Zhao! Express your gratitude to His Grace for his great mercy!” One of the sect masters urged loudly.
“Pardon my sins? Spare Miao Miao?” A cold laugh cut through the quiet, sharp and biting. “Jin Yao, Celestial Emperor, your benevolence knows no bounds, does it?”
Standing in the center of the hall, Chong Zhao slowly turned to face Jin Yao, his eyes crimson and seething with derision.
“A-Zhao…” Fu Ling’s heart tightened as she tried to approach him, only to be held back by Hua Hong’s frown.
“Don’t go near him, girl. Something’s very wrong with him…” Not far off, the corners of Wenyu’s mouth curled into a growing smile. At last… the time had come.
“Chong Zhao, how dare you!” Xi Yun’s voice thundered before Jin Yao could respond, his face red with anger.
But Chong Zhao didn’t spare him a glance, his gaze fixed on Jin Yao, his eyes filled with seething rage. Slowly, a shadowy black aura began to intertwine with the red in his eyes.
“Demonic energy! Your Grace, this youth’s resentment has led him down the demonic path; he must not be allowed to live!” Xi Yun exclaimed, alarmed at the sight of Chong Zhao’s darkening aura. Without warning, he drew his sword and slashed toward Chong Zhao.
A flash of divine light blocked the strike, Jin Yao stepping forward to shield Chong Zhao.
“Your Grace!” Xi Yun’s face flushed with indignation.
“Chong Zhao! Cease this madness!” Jin Yao’s voice was heavy. “Your master gave his life for you. If you fall to the demonic path, how can he rest in peace?”
“Having caused my master’s death, how dare I continue to call myself his disciple? I hereby sever my ties with my sect and disown my master’s teachings!” Chong Zhao’s voice was emotionless as he cast a cold gaze toward his fellow disciples of Miao Miao. “Hear me now—all ties with Miao Miao are severed.”
“Junior Brother!” “Senior Brother!”
Eryun and the other disciples of Miao Miao looked on in horror and grief at Chong Zhao’s apparent descent, helpless in the face of his defiant declaration.
“My cultivation and spiritual veins come from the path of immortality—a path that binds me, that stops me from avenging my master, from defying the order of the immortals. My spirit veins are shackles, my immortal bones a cage. Today, I return these to you all!”
With a roar, Chong Zhao leapt into the air, his immortal sword shattering into countless fragments. With a fierce cry, the shards of his sword shot into his body, slicing through his veins and shattering his immortal bones.
“A-Zhao!” Fu Ling’s pupils contracted in horror as she rushed forward to stop him. Yet Chong Zhao’s eruption of energy had reached the pinnacle of the Immortal Lord stage, and the violent spiritual energy radiating from his broken body filled the hall, assaulting everyone within—immortal and demon alike. Each sect master moved to contain the fury of his rampaging energy, which could harm even seasoned cultivators.
As the whirlwind of energy subsided, a dull thud echoed as Chong Zhao fell to the ground, his body covered in blood, yet still standing through sheer force of will. His immortal bones shattered, his spiritual veins severed, his eyes now glowed with a dark, malevolent energy, tenfold stronger than before.
It was the ritual of shattering bones to return to mortality, the ultimate defiance—casting away his immortal essence to embrace the demonic.
“My immortal bones are broken, my spirit veins severed. From this day forward, I am no longer an immortal. Should you choose not to kill me now, know that one day I shall personally bring justice upon those who forced my master’s death.”
The youth, once a figure of purity and righteousness, now stood as a sinister force, as though born from the very depths of the netherworld. His chilling gaze swept over the hall, filling even Jin Yao, with his millennia of cultivation, with a momentary sense of dread at the unbridled vengeance burning in his eyes.
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