Prime One Church, in front of an apparently ordinary pavilion within the Taiyin Prefecture branch altar.
Cullen Chu bowed before the pavilion and said solemnly, "Master, a kill order has arrived from the Main Altar. This order was personally issued by Sect Master Mingtan—please take a look!"
"Bring it in."
The next moment, a deep voice sounded from inside the pavilion.
Cullen Chu straightened and walked inside, climbing to the third floor, where he saw a broad-faced middle-aged man sitting cross-legged—Monty, the branch master of Prime One Church's Taiyin Prefecture branch.
"Master!"
Cullen Chu respectfully presented the jade slip with both hands.
Monty nodded, waved his hand, and the jade slip landed in his palm. As he opened it, three lines of text and Ian Song's portrait floated above the slip.
"Who is this Ian Song? To think Sect Master Mingtan would personally issue a kill order for him?" Monty frowned in puzzlement.
Cullen Chu replied, "Master, I've already sent people to investigate. We should have news about him soon!"
Monty nodded in satisfaction. "Good, you've done well. I'll leave this matter to you. If you manage to kill Ian Song, I'm sure Sect Master Mingtan will reward you handsomely!"
"Thank you, Master!" Cullen Chu bowed again, but a flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes.
"You may go."
"Yes, Master!"
Cullen Chu exited the pavilion. Just as Monty was about to resume his cultivation, his expression changed drastically—he realized his yuanshen power was rapidly dissipating, and the rate was increasing with time.
Upon reaching Fusion-stage, the soul and Nascent Soul merge into a yuanshen—hence the name of the Fusion realm.
Instinctively, Monty thought of the jade slip Cullen Chu had just presented. When he enveloped it with his spiritual sense, he discovered a faint, almost undetectable cold aura within.
In that instant, he understood—he had been harmed by the disciple he trusted most.
The thought made him furious; he wanted nothing more than to kill Cullen Chu on the spot. But stabilizing his cultivation was more urgent. To his horror, no matter how hard he tried, he could not stop his yuanshen from collapsing.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on?"
Monty roared in fury. In just a few moments, a tenth of his yuanshen power had already dissipated. If this kept up, in at most a quarter-hour, his yuanshen would completely collapse—and once it did, he’d be nothing but a cripple.
"Wait—a seal!"
Suddenly, Monty remembered something. He frantically formed hand-seals, sending them into his yuanshen, trying to seal it and halt the collapse.
But to his despair, even with the seal in place, he couldn’t stop the collapse of his yuanshen.
Just then, a figure flashed—a handsome youth appeared before him.
"It’s you—Ian Song!"
At a glance, Monty recognized the youth as the target named in Sect Master Mingtan’s kill order.
"That’s right," Ian nodded.
"You tampered with it?" Monty demanded.
"Correct," Ian nodded again.
A fierce killing intent flashed in Monty’s eyes. He demanded angrily, "Why did you do this? And what exactly did you do to me?"
"Sect Master Mingtan wants me dead. I can’t beat him, so I have to take it out on branch leaders like you!"
Ian grinned. "As for why your yuanshen is collapsing, it’s simple—I coated the jade slip with Godbreaker Powder. Even an Immortal who’s exposed to it will see their immortal foundation collapse, so don’t waste your energy trying to fight it!"
"I’ll kill you!"
Boom!
Monty swung his fist at Ian. Even though his yuanshen was rapidly collapsing, the power behind this punch still far exceeded that of a late Soul-Split expert.
Ssshing!
The Ink-Black Sword left its sheath, turning into a jet-black sword light that collided with Monty’s fist in midair.
Crack!
The void shattered, opening a huge rift. Ian was blasted backward, his face darkening. He had thought himself invincible among Soul-Split cultivators and not far from early Fusion, but this clash made him realize there was still a significant gap.
"Not good!"
Monty had planned to press the attack and kill Ian, but the moment he mobilized his yuanshen, the rate of collapse doubled. In an instant, thirty percent of his soul power was gone.
"Escape!"
His figure flickered as he tried to use blink teleportation to flee, but just then, a sword light stabbed toward him.
The sword light looked ordinary but carried an aura that made him wary.
Helpless, he threw another punch to block.
He punched out again, sending Ian flying once more—but most of the remaining power in his yuanshen vanished in the process.
"Ian Song, if I survive this, I’ll skin you and extract your soul!" Monty roared, preparing to use blink teleportation again. This time, Ian didn’t stop him.
But the next moment, Monty’s face changed—he realized the surrounding space was sealed.
"Break!"
He swung both arms, blasting out with force.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The void trembled, and a massive black hole appeared. Monty stepped toward it.
But just then, a sword light that made his blood run cold appeared at his chest.
Blood-Soaked!
Squelch!
The sword light pierced through his chest, sending Monty staggering backward.
By the time he steadied himself, the torn-open void had already healed, sealing the space again.
He was left with only thirty percent of his original yuanshen power.
"I’ll fight you to the death!"
A vicious gleam flashed in Monty's eyes as he lunged at Ian.
"If you were at full strength, I’d be running for my life. But now..."
Ian met him with his sword. Fist-force and sword-qi collided in the void again and again, until the entire pavilion was torn apart and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"Ah!"
After a moment, a wretched scream full of unwillingness rang out, and a severed head flew into the sky.
Ian reached out and caught the head, murmuring to himself, "With Monty's head, I’m sure Tuoba Feng will have an easier time convincing the Fire God Sect’s master."
Two hours later.
The grand array covering the Taiyin Province branch vanished.
Soon after, word spread: the branch leader of the Taiyin Province branch of the Taiyi Sect had been killed, all Soul-Split experts were dead, and every disciple below Soul-Split had their cultivation crippled.
Even the treasure vaults were emptied, and not even the storage rings of the branch disciples were spared.
Royal City.
The same old inn as before.
Seeing Ian appear suddenly, Tuoba Feng’s face lit up with joy. "How did it go?"
"Here."
Ian tossed over a wooden box. Tuoba Feng opened it and found an angry, wide-eyed head inside.
"This is Monty's head!" Tuoba Feng stared at Ian in shock and suspicion. The Fire God Sect and Taiyi Sect were mortal enemies, and the sect kept detailed records of every branch leader's identity.
Ian nodded. "With this, you should be able to persuade your master more easily."
"Good. I’ll head back to the Fire God Sect at once!" Tuoba Feng put the head into his storage ring.
Several days passed in a flash.
A message from Taiyin Province reached the Taiyi Sect’s main temple.
When the news arrived, the entire Taiyi Sect was shaken, and even Sect Master Mingtan was left utterly stunned.