The surrounding fell silent, as if waiting for what might happen. Shen Yuan's tempest falcon wings unfurled behind him, their dark feathers shimmering with an eerie red light. The moment they emerged, the temperature around him plummeted, freezing the very fabric of space. A deathly chill swept through the battlefield, creeping into the bones of the 10,000 vassal army of Fengyue. Fear rooted itself deep in their hearts as they instinctively recoiled.
Their instincts screamed at them to flee, but how could they? They were elite cultivators of Fengyue, handpicked to bring down a single first layer Nirvana Realm cultivator.
Yet, as they gazed upon Shen Yuan, a part of them couldn't help but wonder…
Had they made a mistake?
A smirk crept across Shen Yuan's lips. He turned to his five companions, his voice sharp as frost. "Don't destroy their bodies. I'm going to use them."
The five warriors stiffened. They exchanged uneasy glances, each one wondering just what Shen Yuan planned to do. But there was no time for hesitation. With a flick of his hand, Shen Yuan signaled the slaughter to begin.
Like wraiths, his companions moved—silent, swift, and merciless. In mere moments, over two thousand vassals fell. The weakest among them, those in the first and second layers of Nirvana Realm, didn't even have the chance to react before death claimed them.
Then in an instant, Tang Jiyan disappeared again from his position, reappearing behind a Nirvana Realm cultivator who was at the 5th layer. His Qi sword flashed—and in the next moment, the man's head fell before he could even register the attack.
Shi Meixiu danced between her enemies, her slender fingers tracing delicate arcs through the space. With every movement, a throat was slit, a heart was pierced, a body fell.
Dong Chen and Guo Bohai ripped through the weaker cultivators like wild beasts, while Xiang Xiaoli elegantly weaved through the battlefield, each attack clean and merciless.
The vassals couldn't even scream before they were silenced. Leaving only 1000 Nirvana Realm cultivators behind who were at the peak of Nirvana Realm and Shen Yuan's prey.
The battle-space was now filled with the smell of blood. Shen Yuan took a deep breath as if taking comfort in the copper smell of the blood.
Even his five companions got disgusted by this act of his, while the remaining peak Nirvana Realm cultivators seemed to see not a cultivator but a damn demon. Even a woman with peculiar makeup who seemed to be their leader stepped back a few meters.
Then the woman with peculiar makeup composed herself. Her gaze hardened, and she shouted, "Five hundred out of you remaining, attack him together, rain down your martial techniques and other arts on him at once!"
She thought herself clever. She believed Shen Yuan would be unable to move from the platform due to the constraints of the first phase. If they overwhelmed him now, they could end this before his terrifying power grew further.
Five hundred peak Nirvana Realm cultivators surged toward Shen Yuan. Yet, he did not move. He did not even raise his guard. He did not even look at them.
His five companions hesitated, their eyes narrowing with concern. Why wasn't he defending himself?
Then, in a blink, the answer revealed itself.
The 500 cultivators froze in place, their bodies trembling as if the very essence of life had been ripped from them. A suffocating silence followed. And then, as one, they crumbled—soulless corpses collapsing like marionettes with cut strings.
At the heart of the fallen, Shen Yuan stood, his body wreathed in a dark blue fire so deep in hue that it was nearly black. He exhaled slowly, his cold crimson eyes locking onto the remaining cultivators.
The woman leader shuddered violently. She recognized this flame.
"I-It can't be...!" she stammered. "You… you've reached Level Three of the Void Fire?!"
Shen Yuan tilted his head, amusement glinting in his eyes. "Oh? You know what the void fire is? Then you should understand what that means."
Then seeing the horrifying scene, one of the remaining peak Nirvana Realm cultivators turned to the woman in panic. "What's the difference between Level Two and Level Three?"
The woman swallowed hard before answering. "Level Two affects the spirit—it burns away one's vitality and energy. But Level Three… it erases the soul itself. The spirit is nothing more than a shell that contains the soul, the spirit could be referred to as an astral body, like the physical body, but is just incorporeal"
A deathly silence fell over the battlefield.
"The soul," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "is made of akasha—the fundamental information that constructs reality. Universes, souls, even the specific concepts of Elysian cultivators domains… all of it is made of akasha. Once burned, there is nothing left. No reincarnation. No afterlife. Just… oblivion."
The remaining peak Nirvana Realm cultivators recoiled, dread sinking into their bones. If they had known Shen Yuan wielded such an ability, they never would have dared to attack him.
Terror took hold. They had underestimated him. Even the royal family of Fengyue feared this man, and now they understood why.
Then, they turned to flee, but were blocked by Shen Yuan's five companions. So as a desperate moment they tried to self destruct their body.
Shen Yuan took a step forward, his wicked smile widening. "Oh no, you don't, I won't let you waste your use here."
With a flick of his fingers, sparks of dark blue fire ignited around them. One by one, they screamed and fell, their bodies empty like a puppet, their very essence erased from reality.
At last, the battlefield was silent. 10,000 vassals—all gone.
The woman leader desperately tried to open a spatial rift, hoping to escape. But she was too slow.
A wave of icy yin qi surged forward, locking her in place. Shen Yuan's voice was like death's whisper in her ear. "You're not even a peak Nirvana Realm cultivator. You're of no use to me. You can disappear, don't worry I won't erase your soul, I will only destroy your body, the suffering of your karma.. Would be really entertaining."
The yin qi consumed her in an instant, shattering her body into frozen dust.
As the last remnants of his power faded, Shen Yuan's tempest falcon wings disappeared. His eyes, once glowing with an unnatural crimson hue, returned to their usual light purple hue. His five companions landed beside him, their expressions unreadable.
Guo Bohai spoke first. "How did you advance the Void Fire so quickly, isn't it some legendary technique of Fengyue?"
Shen Yuan gazed into the distance, his voice calm. "I didn't advance it quickly. I had an enlightenment. When the Twin Soul Sect Masters allowed me to experience their domains… and from Sect Master Xue Linghun's Death Domain, I understood something fundamental and secretly infused a little energy of his death domain with my void fire and then it reached the level three. Though I doubt sext master Xue Linghun didn't notice that, he probably allowed me to do it."
Realization dawned on his companions. It wasn't cultivation that had allowed him to progress—it was the enlightenment he gained from witnessing the domain of death itself.
A faint smirk played on Shen Yuan's lips as he turned his gaze far across the cosmic sky. "I know you can see me, little prince. I hope you enjoyed the slaughter show. he-he-he."
Then, he chuckled darkly. "Oh, and the Nether Dragon Scripture I said I would use? That was a lie. I never planned on revealing that, yet. I only mentioned it so you'd spread your divine sense here to watch me. And now… I know where you were."
Far away, in the dying universe, the prince's eyes shot open. His expression twisted in fury, and he slammed his fist into the qi platform beneath him. Cracks splintered through the surrounding space.
"That bastard…" he growled.
He knew, Shen Yuan had outplayed him.
Behind him, Bai Chen approached. "I warned you to be wary of him. This was your mistake."
The prince exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. "Yes… I underestimated him. But that doesn't mean you can speak to me that way."
Bai Chen said nothing, only falling into deep thought. Shen Yuan had revealed much about his power. But there had to be a way to counter him.
He just needed to find it before it was too late. Before Shen Yuan reached the Elysian Realm cultivation.