# Chapter 849: Unyielding Soul
"Xuanyuan Wentian... you will... surely... meet a bad end!!"
Xiao Yun struggled in pain, Tianxia Diqi right beside him, their unborn child still in her womb, yet he couldn't even reach out to touch her.
"Is that so... Unfortunately, you people who are about to die will never get to see it!"
Xuanyuan Wentian's very breath carried a chilling rage and murderous intent. He had come here today with two primary objectives: first, to seize the Lunhui Jing, and second, to eliminate Xiao Yaohou and Feng Xue'er, the two who posed a threat. He hadn't overestimated himself, but he had underestimated Xiao Yaohou's strength, nearly costing him his life and leaving him in an utterly miserable state.
Although he had regained control of the situation and held everyone's lives in his hands, the lingering fear and humiliation made his fury far outweigh any satisfaction.
Xuanyuan Wentian stepped forward, his demonic eyes fixed intently on Xiao Yaohou: "Xiao Yaohou, you are far stronger than that useless Demon Emperor, actually stepping into the Divine Path before I did... But once you're dead, no one under heaven will be able to threaten me!"
"I originally only intended to cripple you, to let you live long enough to see the day I dominate the Illusion Demon Realm, to watch you witness the Illusion Demon Realm submit at my feet!"
"But now... I want you dead right now!" With a roar, Xuanyuan Wentian's Eternal Night Demonic Sword swept up black light, stabbing toward the immobilized Xiao Yaohou.
Bound within the dark cage, Xiao Yaohou could not move. Facing approaching death, she said nothing, her eyes as calm as still water, without even a hint of fear. If there was any emotion to speak of, it was only heavy resentment and unwillingness.
"Sister Xiao Yaohou!" Feng Xue'er struggled desperately but could only close her eyes in despair.
"Stop!" Tianxia Diyi's eyes were split wide, his roar nearly tearing his throat.
Chi—
The dark energy tore a long black scar through space, then suddenly halted there. Xuanyuan Wentian's hand slowly clenched, his face still twisted: "Hiss... I almost forgot the important matter. You can't die yet until you hand over the Lunhui Jing."
Xiao Yaohou: "..."
"Tell me, where is the Lunhui Jing?" Xuanyuan Wentian reached out to Xiao Yaohou, his voice low and heavy. Though everyone was already trapped like fish in a net, that didn't mean he could find the Lunhui Jing after killing them all. He had never even seen the real Lunhui Jing, let alone be able to track it by its aura.
Xiao Yaohou's cold eyes pierced like daggers: "Even if you kill all of us, you'll never find it."
"Hehehe, is that so?" Xuanyuan Wentian's lips curled into a grin as sinister as a demon's: "Excellent. There are so many people here. If I slaughtered them all at once, that would be far too boring. Since you choose to be stubborn, let's play a game instead. I will tirelessly ask you the same question, and you can choose not to answer. But... every time you harden your mouth, I will tear one of these people into pieces! Let you see clearly how they die without a complete corpse because of your stupidity!"
"Xuanyuan Wentian... you despicable, vicious demon!" Tianxia Diyi was nearly grinding his teeth to powder.
"Sister Xiao Yaohou, don't tell him, don't worry about us!" Feng Xue'er continued to struggle fiercely.
"Ridiculous!" Xiao Yaohou slowly raised her eyes, sneering coldly: "Since we're doomed to die, why would I fear your threat of death? The Lunhui Jing is the sacred artifact of my clan. How could a vile creature like you be worthy to touch it!"
Xiao Yaohou's gaze made Xuanyuan Wentian extremely uncomfortable. His mouth twitched, then he smiled even more darkly: "Good... very good! This makes it more interesting! I have plenty of time now. Let me see how long you can maintain that expression."
His gaze suddenly shifted away from Xiao Yaohou, landing on the person behind her: "So then, who should we start with... Heh, a game, of course, should progress step by step to be fun. Let's start with... the most useless one!"
Xuanyuan Wentian's eyes locked onto the person with the weakest profound strength. With a sinister grin, he reached out and sucked that person toward him.
That person, also the one with the weakest profound strength among all, was...
Xiao Lingxi!!
Amid her terrified scream, she was pulled by an irresistible, icy force to Xuanyuan Wentian's front. She had originally been protected in the very back with Cang Yue and Xiao Lie. Though everyone had already embraced the certainty of death in the current situation, no one expected that Xuanyuan Wentian's first target would be Xiao Lingxi.
"Lingxi!"
"Little Aunt!"
"Ah!!!"
This scene made Xiao Lie scream in despair, tears instantly streaming down his aged face, and made everyone's eyes fill with pain, their hearts as if torn apart. Their reactions made Xuanyuan Wentian's pupils blaze with black light, an endless pleasure surging in his heart... This was exactly the sight he most wanted to see!!
"Ha ha ha ha ha..." Xuanyuan Wentian couldn't help but throw his head back in wild laughter. He was glad he hadn't, in his fury just now, slaughtered everyone outright. Otherwise, how could he enjoy such intensely gratifying pleasure right from the start?
He raised his hand wreathed in black qi, saying with excruciating slowness: "Xiao Yaohou, watch carefully. Watch as she turns into bloody shreds under my hand... Tsk tsk, little girl, after you descend to hell, don't blame me. You could have died a quick death, but because she insisted on being stubborn with me, you'll die without a complete corpse, ha ha ha ha!"
Amid the laughter, Xuanyuan Wentian's hand slashed down toward Xiao Lingxi's head.
"Stop!"
"Little Aunt!"
"No!!!"
The cries were heart-wrenching and desperate, but their bodies were pinned within the dark cage. Beyond shouting, they couldn't even mount a momentary obstruction.
In their dilated pupils, Xuanyuan Wentian's hand descended toward Xiao Lingxi's crown. They could only close their eyes in pain, feeling as if icy blood flowed through their shattered souls...
"Ah... ah!!!!!"
A piercing scream erupted, but... it wasn't Xiao Lingxi's scream! It was clearly...
Xuanyuan Wentian's voice!?
Xiao Lingxi, who had closed her eyes awaiting death, sensed death's approach... but afterward, she felt no pain. Even the aura of death seemed to vanish, while an unexpected scream rang in her ears. She opened her eyes in confusion...
Xuanyuan Wentian's hand still hovered above her head, fingers curled, but the black qi had vanished. His other hand was clutching his own head tightly, his face contorted, his body twisting, and from his mouth came bursts of agonized roars, as if he were enduring immense pain.
Everyone opened their eyes, staring blankly at the suddenly transformed Xuanyuan Wentian, none knowing what had happened.
"Im...possible... ugh... ah... ahhhhh!"
Xuanyuan Wentian felt as if his soul were being stabbed by ten thousand blades. The hand gripping his head had fingers twisted nearly to breaking, almost piercing into his skull.
"Im...possible..." He howled in agony: "I clearly... already... suppressed you... uwaaaaa..."
"What's happening?" Xiao Yun asked dumbly.
"Could it be... a power backlash?" Tianxia Diyi murmured, but immediately rejected the idea: "No... this doesn't look like a power backlash at all..."
Plop!
"Ah... aah... ah..." Xuanyuan Wentian fell to one knee, his body convulsing violently in pain, the joints of his fingers as stark white as bone, as if enduring the cruelest torture in the world.
Xiao Lingxi, closest to him, was frightened pale... At this moment, Xuanyuan Wentian, still writhing in agony, seemed to suddenly realize something. His eyes, nearly rolled white from torment, fixed fiercely on Xiao Lingxi: "It's... you... it's you!! I'll... kill... you!!"
He raised his right hand and lunged at Xiao Lingxi.
"Ah!!"
"Wuaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
Two screams—one from Xiao Lingxi, startled again, and the louder one from Xuanyuan Wentian. Instead of reaching Xiao Lingxi, he crashed face-first to the ground, both hands clutching his head as he rolled back and forth like a jackal with broken legs and a shattered nerve, unable to rise. The roars he emitted were as agonizing as if they came from the deepest hell.
Brushing against death time and again, completely ignorant of what was happening, Xiao Lingxi's face was drained of all color. She cowered back in terror, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest.
"What... is going on? Is heaven's retribution descending?" Xiao Yun and the others were completely stupefied.
"Ugh... ahh... ah..."
Xuanyuan Wentian's rolling and struggling continued, but his screams suddenly became intermittent. At that moment, a voice suddenly reached Xiao Lingxi's ears.
"Lingxi... quickly... go..."
The voice was extremely weak and hoarse, carrying profound pain.
That vague, almost unintelligible sound struck Xiao Lingxi like a thunderbolt. A figure instantly flashed through her heart and soul.
"Brother Fen..." Xiao Lingxi unconsciously murmured, then shuddered violently, crying out excitedly: "Brother Fen! Is that you... is that you!!"
Xiao Lingxi's call pierced like a fatal sword into Xuanyuan Wentian's heart and soul, making his body convulse sharply. He rolled even more violently, his roars even more agonizing. Where he rolled, he left behind rows of startling sweat marks.
"Fen Jue...chen!?" Xiao Yun and Tianxia Diyi couldn't believe their ears. Tianxia Diyi exclaimed in shock: "Could it be that Fen Juechen's soul was not completely annihilated by Xuanyuan Wentian?"
"Go quickly... go..." The hoarse voice grew even weaker and more pained.
As Xuanyuan Wentian's body lost control and his soul writhed in agony, the power of the dark cage began to drop drastically. Feng Xue'er, who had been struggling all along, felt the pressure suppressing her profound energy suddenly weaken. She sharply gathered her qi, and with a resounding phoenix cry, the black qi on her body scattered, and phoenix flames blazed all around her.
Regaining her freedom, Feng Xue'er quickly channeled her profound energy, pulling Xiao Lingxi behind her, then shot a phoenix arrow at Xuanyuan Wentian.
Boom!!
Xuanyuan Wentian screamed as the phoenix flame sent him tumbling far away. Unable to gather profound energy to protect himself, his entire body was instantly engulfed in phoenix flame, burning fiercely. Feng Xue'er charged like lightning, summoning all her phoenix flame power, sending blast after blast of sky-scorching phoenix flame at Xuanyuan Wentian.
This was the first time in her life she burned phoenix flame without any mercy, without any compassion!
In the blink of an eye, flames filled the sky, and the area around Xuanyuan Wentian had become a sea of phoenix fire. Yet Feng Xue'er's attack didn't stop. A massive Burning Star Demon Lotus descended from the sky, blooming mercilessly within the phoenix flame sea.
Boom!!!
A black light suddenly flashed within the sea of fire, forcibly tearing apart the Burning Star Demon Lotus. Through the gap torn in the flame sea, the Eternal Night Demonic Sword shot upward, carrying Xuanyuan Wentian, who appeared barely breathing. Then, with a flash of black light, the demon sword quickly fled southward.
"One day... I will... send you all... to hell!!"
Xuanyuan Wentian's weak voice, filled with endless hatred, came from afar. Feng Xue'er was about to give chase when suddenly darkness swam before her eyes. Her body sank sharply, nearly falling to the ground.
Her desperate attack after breaking free from the dark cage had severely aggravated her previous internal injuries. In her current state, chasing down Xuanyuan Wentian, carried away by his demon sword, was utterly impossible.