In the pitch-black room, the old Daoist's words were laced with a cold, sinister evil.
Struck by the Floating Dust, Master Sun could feel the life force gradually draining from his body.
He felt as if his very life was being siphoned away. He raised a trembling left hand and pointed at the old Daoist.
"Heretic... You're a heretic! You evil Daoist!"
"A heretic?" The old Daoist roared with laughter. "Compared to a depraved father like you, I'm hardly evil. You're far more twisted than I am! To save your own skin, you sacrificed your own daughter's life to pave your way. Now, tell me, who's the real heretic?"
The old Daoist slowly withdrew the Floating Dust from Master Sun's body.
With every inch he pulled, Master Sun convulsed.
"Why did I ever listen to a wicked Daoist like you?"
Master Sun's eyes began to glaze over. He turned his head to look at his daughter in the coffin, a sudden moment of clarity dawning on him in the face of death.
"You never intended to help me. All you wanted was to use my hands to obtain the lifespan you desired."
The old Daoist yanked the Floating Dust free. He glanced at the lifeless body of Master Sun on the floor and said coolly, "Ah, people... They covet far too much in this life. The moment greed enters your heart is the moment you become a tool for me to use. You have no one to blame but yourself."
With that, the old Daoist slowly approached the coffin. His eyes glinted with avarice as he gazed at the slumbering Miss Sun.
"Such a beautiful woman, what a pity to have a father as foul as sewage. Since I'm going to kill you anyway, you might as well provide one last benefit."
As he spoke, the old Daoist actually began to reach for the outer layers of Miss Sun's clothing.
"I haven't been with a woman in a long time. My skills in harvesting Yin to supplement Yang are a bit rusty. You'll do nicely to help me get reacquainted."
A lewd, vulgar smile spread across the old Daoist's face.
Just as he was about to reach out, the old Daoist suddenly felt the hairs on his body stand on end.
The temperature in the room had already dropped significantly; an ordinary person would have needed to wear several extra layers upon entering.
Yet even in this frigid environment, the old Daoist could feel his hair bristle.
'This is too strange,' he thought.
A sound of something slicing through the air echoed out.
The sound was followed by the crash of the door being thrown open.
In that critical moment, the old Daoist flung his Floating Dust forward, only to find it instantly entangled with a Longsword.
Following the blade of the Longsword with his eyes, he saw a figure whose face was obscured by a black cloth, their features hidden.
The old Daoist could see the intruder's eyes, and in them, he detected a trace of excitement—an excitement that seemed to be directed at the coffin beside him.
"To think that after so many years in the Jianghu, I would be spied upon in secret. Well then, you can leave your life behind!"
The old Daoist sneered. He channeled his power into the Floating Dust, and a tremendous force wrapped around the Longsword, intending to drag Shen Bai closer.
Just then, the old Daoist saw a fist wreathed in golden light growing larger and larger in his vision.
THUD!
Along with the heavy sound, the old Daoist's head spun as a searing pain erupted across his face.
Shen Bai's punch had caved in the left side of his cheek.
Shards of shattered bone poked through his skin, and blood gushed freely.
The old Daoist collapsed to the ground, staring at Shen Bai with eyes full of terror.
Shen Bai said nonchalantly, "And here I thought you were supposed to be tough. You can only take one punch."
The old Daoist's face was a mangled wreck, but upon hearing Shen Bai's words, his eyes flew wide open.
"Who in the world are you? I know every expert in Shengyun County, but I've never seen you before."
"I've never seen this Swordsmanship or Fist Technique. Who are you?!"
Shen Bai smiled. "Who I am is none of your business. Don't move, or I'll be forced to kill you."
As he spoke, Shen Bai's gaze fixed upon the coffin.
The chilling aura from the coffin was growing steadily more intense.
As the cold Qi billowed out, Shen Bai could see that Miss Sun's face, inside the coffin, had become completely devoid of color.
"It seems this Locust Tree harms people through illusions," Shen Bai mused, rubbing his chin.
Seeing this, an idea suddenly struck the old Daoist. 'He wants to destroy the coffin?'
He scrambled to get up, using both his hands and feet.
But the next moment, a bloodcurdling scream escaped his lips.
The Longsword flashed across the old Daoist's arms. With a spray of blood, both limbs fell to the floor.
Shen Bai glanced back coolly. "I told you to behave. I'll let it slide this time by just taking your two arms. Next time, it'll be your legs. And if there's a time after that, it'll be your head."
The old Daoist's face was drenched in sweat. He writhed on the floor, his eyes fixed on Shen Bai with venomous hatred.
"You're finished! You're a dead man!"
Shen Bai said slowly, "I'm a dead man? Because you, a man with no arms, say so?"
"Without me to suppress it, that coffin will be the death of you!"
The venom in the old Daoist's eyes deepened.
At that very moment, Shen Bai noticed his surroundings suddenly begin to change.
"Hee hee, hee hee hee hee..."
A chilling, eerie laugh echoed through the room.
Immediately after, Shen Bai saw a figure shift from a blur into sharp focus.
A woman in Red Attire, a red veil covering her head, was gliding gracefully toward Shen Bai.
The woman's hands, visible outside her sleeves, were as pale as paper, and her black fingernails were steadily growing longer.
The old Daoist burst into laughter, spraying blood from his mouth. "You're done for! You're done for! That's made from a branch of the thousand-year-old Locust Tree! It's teeming with resentment. Even a single twig is a paranormal entity! You can't possibly withstand it!"
A flash of sword light flared, and a righteous, brilliant Qi erupted from the Longsword.
In the midst of the sword light, the bride, Hongyi, dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
A wisp of Evil Qi appeared before Shen Bai, which he promptly absorbed.
The surrounding scenery disappeared. Cracks appeared on the coffin, and it shattered, scattering across the floor.
The cold Qi gradually dissipated, and in an instant, the room's temperature returned to normal.
The old Daoist's laughter died in his throat. He stared at Shen Bai, his face a mask of utter shock.
"How is that possible?"
"Not even an expert at the Daoist Scripture Realm could do that! Are you... in the Three Treasures Realm?"
"Impossible! I know every Three Treasures Realm expert in Shengyun County, and no new ones have appeared recently. How can this be?"
Shen Bai smiled faintly. "We can discuss what's possible or not later. Right now, I'm particularly interested in something else. So, you'll have to bear with a little more... inconvenience."
'A little more inconvenience?'
The old Daoist was baffled.
Two more flashes of sword light flickered past.
Immediately after, the old Daoist felt a sharp pain in his legs. When he looked down, he saw both of them detach from his torso.
"AAAAH!"
The old Daoist screamed again.
Shen Bai grabbed the old Daoist by the collar and slowly walked out of the room, speaking as he went.
"What can I say? I had to cut off your legs, just to be safe. It's only a couple of legs. Is there really any need to scream so pitifully?"
The old Daoist: ?