Chapter 33: Violet Eyes!! Violet Eyes

Su Xin had indeed given his all.

In the mere dozens of breaths since he had activated the Forbidden Art of God-Extinction, he had first annihilated the three Void-Breaking stage experts of the Pang family with unstoppable force, then charged into the battlefield to critically wound Pang Shaoqing. Following that, he forced the peak Void-Breaking expert An Cang and three Yinglong Guards to focus their efforts on him.

He had still managed to severely injure An Cang and slay two of the three Yinglong Guards.

It could be said that within these short dozens of breaths, he had pushed himself to the absolute limit of what he was capable of.

Thud!

Su Xin and the two fallen Yinglong Guards tumbled to the ground.

Su Xin was completely drained. The aftermath of using the forbidden art left him unable to even stand back up.

"Two Yinglong Guards killed?"

Long Jiu, the captain of the Yinglong Guard squad, saw the corpses of the two guards and his expression darkened.

The Yinglong Guards were the most formidable unit controlled by the Tianyan Imperial Family, and every member was not easily cultivated. Losing two at once was a significant blow to the royal family.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and finish that brat!" Long Jiu barked.

An Cang also sensed Long Jiu's irritation. His master had spent a great deal of effort and persuasion to secure this squad from the capital; if two were dead, even that person would find it difficult to account for the loss.

"It’s this brat..." An Cang’s eyes surged with killing intent as he looked down at the immobilized Su Xin, preparing to strike him down.

But suddenly...

BOOM!

A terrifying aura erupted from the center of the battlefield. It was cold, grim, and suffocating. The air within a hundred-foot radius seemed to solidify completely.

"What?"

The Yinglong Guards, who had been relying on their battle formation to surround and suppress Su Baichen, looked up in astonishment.

They saw Su Baichen—who had been barely holding on under their assault—standing there with his hair and robes billowing. His eyes were icy, staring at them like the gaze of a god of death, and the surrounding area had plunged into a deathly silence.

In that moment, a chill ran through their hearts, and the hair on their bodies stood on end.

"You forced me to break the first seal. You... deserve to die!" Su Baichen’s voice was frigid.

Whoosh!

He took a single step, and a streak of light flashed.

The Yinglong Guards, including their strongest captain, Long Jiu, were unable to even track Su Baichen’s movement. An endless aura of death washed over them, as if a primordial beast had opened its gaping maw to swallow them whole.

BOOM!

With a deafening sound, four figures were sent flying, spitting blood—including Long Jiu. As for the other three, they had already become cold corpses, falling lifelessly to the ground.

"How is this possible?" Long Jiu was struck by sheer terror.

Even with three men sent to deal with Su Xin, they still had seven Yinglong Guards led by him. With their battle formation, they could usually trap even the most formidable peak Void-Breaking experts. Yet now... in one strike, three were killed and four were severely wounded.

"Void-Breaking stage invincibility? Or is this Nirvana stage combat power?" Long Jiu stared at Su Baichen in disbelief. The next moment, he shouted, "Retreat!"

He didn't hesitate. Facing the current Su Baichen, if they didn't flee now, none of them would make it out alive.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Su Baichen’s voice remained cold and sharp, laced with astonishing killing intent, as if he were a demon from hell. He stood in the void, not moving a single step, yet the long spear in his hand slowly thrust forward.

The thrust was clearly into thin air, but the moment the spear moved—*whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!*—a figure appeared out of thin air in front of the fleeing Long Jiu, An Cang, the four surviving guards, and even the severely wounded Pang Shaoqing, who was still sitting on the ground.

It was Su Baichen, and his spear thrust toward them all simultaneously. Despite not moving an inch, a "Su Baichen" appeared before each of them.

*Squelch! Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!*

The spears pierced through their bodies.

Long Jiu, An Cang, Pang Shaoqing, and the four guards all showed expressions of terror and disbelief as they slumped to the ground, lifeless.

"This..." Su Xin watched, inwardly stunned. Every Void-Breaking expert on the field was dead. What kind of power was this?

After killing them all, Su Baichen seemed to step forward to check on Su Xin, but he stopped abruptly.

"Pah!"

A mouthful of black blood sprayed from Su Baichen’s lips, and his face twisted violently. Dense, strange black markings spread like spiderwebs from his heart, covering his entire body and face in an instant, making him look hideous and terrifying.

He hunched over, his eyes turning scarlet, and he let out a silent, soul-piercing scream. Most terrifyingly, he began to claw desperately at his own flesh.

"Father!"

Though Su Xin lay on the ground, he saw his father’s crazed, distorted, and helpless state. He felt as if his heart were tearing apart, yet he could do nothing. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and the sheer exhaustion caused his consciousness to fade into darkness.

***

When Su Xin woke up, it was already the next day.

"Father!"

Su Xin opened his eyes to find himself in his room, with the maid Red Shirt attending to him.

"Young Master, you’re awake." Red Shirt looked relieved and helped him sit up.

As he moved, Su Xin realized his body was hollow; he couldn't sense a single drop of spiritual energy or any strength at all. He was weak to the extreme.

"The side effects of the forbidden art are even greater than I imagined," Su Xin mused. He had used the Forbidden Art of God-Extinction once before to kill Zhao Tianlei, but that had been quick. This time, he had fought to the absolute limit until his body could no longer hold on. The consequences were vastly different. He estimated he wouldn't recover for several days.

"Red Shirt, how is the family?" Su Xin asked.

"Don't worry, Young Master. The Pang family's attackers were sudden, but the Su family reacted quickly. Under the leadership of the elders, they held off the offensive and organized a counterattack. By dawn, the intruders had been repelled," she replied.

"And Father?"

"The Patriarch seems to be injured. After repelling the attackers, he returned to his quarters and hasn't come out since," Red Shirt said.

"Help me up," Su Xin ordered.

Outside the room, several guards bowed immediately. Su Xin insisted on being taken to his father’s residence.

In front of the study, guards blocked his path. "Young Master, the Patriarch has ordered that he is not to be disturbed by anyone."

"Let him in," Su Baichen’s voice echoed from within.

The guards stepped aside, and Su Xin entered the study. The room was dark, and a lone figure sat slumped at the desk, illuminated by a flickering candle.

"Father," Su Xin whispered.

As Su Baichen looked up, Su Xin was shocked. His father’s once handsome and scholarly face was now sallow and withered, his cheeks sunken, his hair disheveled and streaked with gray. He looked as if he had aged decades overnight.

"Father, what happened to you?" Su Xin started forward.

"Stop!" Su Baichen barked. "Don't come any closer. Just stand there."

Su Xin froze, his heart burning with anxiety. "Father, last night..."

"I know what you want to ask, but don't ask! I won't tell you!" Su Baichen interrupted. "Your strength is still too weak. You only possessed Void-Breaking combat power because of that secret art. Without it, you aren't even the strongest in the Sea-Transformation stage. You aren't qualified to know these things yet."

"However, you have immense talent and an unfathomable bloodline. Your potential is far greater than mine. Soon, you will enter the Tianyan Palace to cultivate, and your progress will be swift. When your strength is sufficient, I will tell you everything."

"Father, what level of strength is 'sufficient'?"

"When the day comes that you can trample the entire Situ family under your feet with your own strength, you will be qualified to know," Su Baichen said.

"Trample the entire Situ family?" Su Xin was stunned. That family had a Nirvana stage ancestor!

"I understand," Su Xin said, his gaze firming.

"Go," Su Baichen waved him off.

As Su Xin left, Su Baichen sat in the shadows, his face contorting in pain again. He swallowed several pills in one go to dull the agony.

"Purple Eyes!" Su Baichen hissed, his eyes filled with unprecedented madness and hatred. "Purple Eyes!"