Ye Family Ancient Estate.
The azure longsword condensed by Shan Hu carried unparalleled sword intent, instantly defeating Ancestor Blood Corpse's "Black Mamba Life Snatch," its momentum unchecked as it thrust straight towards the Ancestor's chest.
Ancestor Blood Corpse was completely horrified. He had never witnessed a True Essence artifact so solid; this power was simply impossible for an Early Foundation Establishment cultivator to possess!
"Blood Shadow Escape!"
In the nick of time, Ancestor Blood Corpse disregarded the pain in his heart and violently spat out a mouthful of vital blood. The vital blood transformed into a crimson barrier in the air, while his body flashed rapidly backward like a phantom, narrowly dodging the fatal strike.
Boom!
The azure sword light pierced the blood barrier, and the unleashed sword intent instantly shattered the barrier. The sword light continued forward, striking a century-old tree in the ancient estate's backyard.
Snap—!
The thick, ancient tree was cleaved in two, its upper half crashing down. The cut was smooth as a mirror, emitting the charred smell of True Essence combustion.
Although Ancestor Blood Corpse had evaded the strike, the cost was immense. The expelled vital blood depleted the majority of his True Essence, and in the instant of evasion, the azure sword intent grazed his left shoulder, leaving a deep wound visible to the bone, from which foul-smelling blood continuously flowed.
"Who in the world are you?!" Ancestor Blood Corpse's voice was filled with terror, his earlier arrogance completely gone.
Shan Hu dismissed the True Essence longsword, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze indifferent: "I said, you are too weak to know."
He took a step forward, and the gravel beneath his foot burst open. Shan Hu's figure appeared before Ancestor Blood Corpse as if teleported, moving too fast for the Ancestor to react.
Ancestor Blood Corpse was terrified, instinctively throwing his most relied-upon weapons—the two human-skull walnuts—at Shan Hu's face.
These two walnuts were refined from the skulls of young boys and girls, soaked in ten thousand years of corpse poison. They were as heavy as fine steel and lethally toxic, capable of corroding ordinary artifacts upon contact.
Shan Hu didn't even look, just gave a dismissive smile.
"Noisy."
He raised his hand, spread his five fingers, and met the two black walnuts with his palm.
Buzz—!
The moment the two walnuts touched Shan Hu's palm, they emitted a wail, as if hitting an invisible celestial wall. The corpse poison condensed on them instantly dissipated, and their dark surface luster rapidly faded.
Ancestor Blood Corpse felt the spiritual connection between himself and the two artifacts being instantly severed by a dominant force!
"This is impossible! My Natal Artifacts!" he screamed in horror.
The next second, Shan Hu's five fingers slightly closed, making a sharp cracking sound. The two incredibly hard walnuts, impervious to steel, were directly crushed into fine powder, which scattered in the wind.
This scene utterly shattered Ancestor Blood Corpse's psychological defense.
"Spare me! Senior, spare me! I didn't know you were…"
Ancestor Blood Corpse hastily knelt, begging for mercy, attempting to seize a thread of life with a low posture.
Shan Hu's eyes were cold and unmoved. Dealing with such evil cultivators, mercy was the height of folly.
"Too late."
Shan Hu pushed his right palm forward. A pale azure True Essence vortex condensed in his palm, containing a power where boundless vitality and destruction coexisted.
"Eternal Life Soul Suppressing Seal."
This palm strike contained the essence of the Azure Emperor Eternal Life Art—the truth of suppressing all evil and filth.
The azure vortex instantly imprinted itself on Ancestor Blood Corpse's forehead.
Ancestor Blood Corpse's scream was cut short before it was fully uttered. His body, starting from his forehead, visibly shriveled, withered, and disintegrated at a rapid pace.
The Mid-Foundation Establishment evil cultivator, under this one palm strike from Shan Hu, did not even last a second. He turned into a pool of foul-smelling blood, his Nascent Soul completely suppressed and dissipated into the universe.
The Capital's foremost evil cultivator, Ancestor Blood Corpse, had fallen!
In the corner, Chen Tiannan watched everything unfold, scared out of his wits, his pants thoroughly soaked. He scrambled and crawled, trying to escape this living hell.
"Don't run!"
Shan Hu flicked his finger. A True Essence energy bolt shot out, accurately striking Chen Tiannan's knee.
"Ah—!"
Chen Tiannan let out a pig-like shriek of pain. His knees were shattered, and he fell heavily to the ground, unable to move again.
Shan Hu walked to the remains of Ancestor Blood Corpse and retrieved an antique-looking spatial storage pouch from the blood puddle, putting it into his own bag.
Then, he released a burst of True Essence, lightly brushing it over the entire courtyard. All the filth left behind by the Blood Corpses and Ancestor Blood Corpse was instantly vaporized and purified by this True Essence. Together with the shattered pieces of the courtyard wall, they turned to dust and merged into the ground.
The courtyard of the Ye family's ancient estate, save for the old tree severed by the sword Qi, was only left with a faint residual smell of blood, as if the fierce battle had never taken place.
Shan Hu looked towards the depths of the ancient estate, sensed that Ye Qingcheng and Qin Wan'er were safe and sound, and nodded slightly before turning to walk into the underground palace.
"It is time to collect the Ye family's true repayment."