Chapter 99: Three Seconds of Judgment

“Thud!”

His crippled body hit the ground, dissolving into a puddle of gelatinous green sludge, barely clinging to the last vestiges of life.

What made it more despairing was the low-grade Immortal Treasure [Plague Cloud Curtain] he had nurtured for a hundred years—forcefully ripped away by this sword strike!

The dreamy green curtain, like exquisite glass, fluttered in the air, exuding a heart-stopping aura of plague and poison Dao.

Xia Baiqian, swift of eye and hand, snatched it in one motion.

“Hmph, not a bad harvest.”

With a light snort, her mood lifted. Spiritual power surged in her palm as she suppressed the treasure’s instinct to return to its master, holding it firm.

After all, it was an Immortal Treasure. Ordinary storage rings could not contain its might.

Unless one possessed Chu Huaizhou’s Jiuyao Xuanyuan Ring, or Leng Qingqiu’s ability to open a separate pocket space.

Otherwise, it had to be carried while unrefined.

Tu Tianyi’s sludge-like body twitched slightly, letting out a faint, shrill wail:

“No… my Immortal Treasure… Chu Huaizhou! You will die a horrible death!!”

This spoils alone—this one low-grade Immortal Treasure—was worth all the effort of this journey.

In fact, seizing this treasure had always been part of the plan.

Though eighth-grade pills were rare, there was still a chance to refine them.

Immortal Treasures, however, all dated back to the ancient era when the path to immortality still existed, passed down from the upper realm.

Only the Seven Great Immortal Sects, the Five Demon Sects, and some deeply hidden large secret realms possessed such treasures.

Extremely precious.

This was evident from the fact that even Chu Huaizhou, with his foreknowledge of fate and top-tier strength, only had a single low-grade Immortal Treasure among his disciples—and that was Leng Qingqiu’s.

Such was the rarity of an Immortal Treasure.

Thus, two and a half seconds passed.

Then, Chu Huaizhou turned his gaze to the Green-Eyed Patriarch, who had been keeping his head down, pretending not to exist.

The Patriarch had kept his head low all along, so he had witnessed everything. Their eyes met.

Chu Huaizhou chuckled, saying:

“Green-Eyed Patriarch, time’s almost up.”

“Green-Eyed Patriarch, I find that you really like to cling…”

Swoosh—

A flash of sword light.

An ordinary sword strike—no earth-shattering force, no dazzling spiritual energy fluctuation—just so fast that its trajectory was invisible.

The Green-Eyed Patriarch’s awkward smile froze on his face. A hair-thin line of blood slowly appeared at his neck.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the next second—

Plop!

His head rolled off, his demonic body collapsed, and even his soul was annihilated under this mundane sword strike!

Thus, three seconds ended!

Chu Huaizhou let out a long breath. His aura receded like a tide, plunging back to early Nascent Soul in an instant.

Crack—

He looked down at the Startled Swan Sword in his hand. The blade issued a groaning under the strain.

As his cultivation regressed, it seemed to have completed its mission. Dense cracks spread like a spiderweb.

Even though it was a low-grade Spiritual Treasure, forged from sky-external fine iron, supplemented with Sun True Flame Stone, Nether Spring Cold Bone Stone, Golden Jade Breaks Illusion Stone, and other materials…

After bearing the weight of super-standard sword techniques multiple times, it was nearing its limit. The entire sword seemed ready to shatter into dust.

Chu Huaizhou estimated that it could endure at most one more infusion of Transcending Tribulation stage spiritual power before it would be reduced to fragments.

‘Sorry, Startled Swan Sword.’

He sighed inwardly. After returning, he would definitely find top-tier materials to reforging it. He couldn’t let it break here.

Not only was it a companion that had been with him since his sister’s guise, but it was also a Spiritual Treasure gifted by Leng Qingqiu.

If he failed to cherish it and she saw the damage, he shuddered at the miserable fate awaiting him.

Yes, Chu Huaizhou began to phantom-pain.

With the major demon cultivators here mostly dealt with, and the sect-protecting grand array shattered by his sword—though it was auto-repairing and had already re-sealed the area—its effectiveness was greatly diminished. It could no longer hold back two Mahayana-stage experts.

Nothing here could threaten her anymore.

He could rest assured. The rest would be left to Bai Li and Xia Baiqian.

Chu Huaizhou’s vision went dark. His figure wavered. Every time his cultivation surged,

Bai Li had anticipated this. She appeared beside him a step ahead,

using her soft body…

The trapped cultivators and commoners in the pit had no idea how high the stakes of the battle had been.

What were Mahayana stage or Immortal Treasures? Far beyond them.

They only knew that after decades of barely surviving in this sunless demon lair, they had expected to die today—yet the opposite happened.

Chu the Sword Immortal and his disciples descended like immortals, crushed the Nether Sect, and saved them.

Those Golden Core demon cultivators who once lorded over them, torturing and killing at will,

were now kneeling like quails, foreheads pressed to the ground, not daring to breathe.

The Green-Eyed Patriarch had been killed with one strike. Sect Master Tu Tianyi was reduced to a puddle of sludge, his Immortal Treasure violently seized!

What else could small fry like them do but kneel and beg for mercy?

Bai Li’s earlier domain was still in effect.

A faint moon glow, like a thin mist, enveloped everyone, slowly repairing their damaged meridians and depleted spiritual power.

This healing was a domain side effect—not particularly strong, but for a group of people below Nascent Soul, malnourished for years,

the effect was terrifyingly powerful.

The people in Pit Number One moved toward Chu Huaizhou, while those in other pits tried to converge.

Those who couldn’t squeeze through knelt far away, facing the white-robed figure, and bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Sword Immortal Chu, for saving our lives!”

The voices started scattered, but soon swelled into a torrent, echoing within the pit.

Chu Huaizhou tried to raise his hand, to tell them not to kneel, no need for such ceremony.

But he remembered that Bai Li had cast an illusion—his movements were invisible from outside—and his arm was too tired to lift. So he gave up.

The most sincere gratitude of nearly a hundred thousand people coalesced into substance, turning into strands of wish-power drifting toward Chu Huaizhou, Bai Li, and Xia Baiqian.

Tu Tianyi watched as his decades-long scheme not only failed but also paved the way for others.

His grief and rage nearly reached the peak. At this moment, even the fear of death was forgotten.

Perhaps because Chu Huaizhou’s power was too overwhelming, everyone present forgot one thing.

The Dao wielded by Tu Tianyi was named [Decay].

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