Immortal Venerable's Order
Chapter 73: Feelings of Unwillingness

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Feelings of Unwillingness

Cultivators self-destruct only out of sheer desperation. If there’s even a glimmer of hope, no one would choose self-detonation to end centuries of cultivation.

Generally, a cultivator cannot self-destruct unless they’ve reached the Golden Core Stage. Once at that stage, if they face a formidable opponent, they might choose self-detonation to avoid being killed easily and to take their enemy down with them.

The damage from a cultivator’s self-detonation is vast and powerful enough to ensure that cultivators of the same level cannot escape, and it can easily annihilate them.

Yamanouchi Jiro, being a strong cultivator at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, would create an explosion equivalent to a small nuclear bomb if he self-destructed successfully.

"Boom..."

Yamanouchi Jiro’s round body shattered the ice layer confining him. His cracked skin and exposed capillaries clearly showed that he could explode at any moment.

Yan Rufeng understood the dire consequences of Yamanouchi Jiro’s potential self-detonation, and at this critical moment, he acted.

"Swish..."

The Heart Sword was drawn, with a sword hum that echoed through the skies, swiftly aimed at Yamanouchi Jiro’s dantian like a beam of light.

"Puff..."

Yamanouchi Jiro felt a sweet pain in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

A large sword wound appeared in Yamanouchi Jiro’s dantian, causing a surge of spiritual energy to pour out. With his Nascent Soul dead, the spiritual energy naturally returned to the heavens and earth.

Once a cultivator’s Nascent Soul is destroyed, they become as vulnerable as ordinary people. Despite Yamanouchi Jiro having cultivated for hundreds of years, with his Nascent Soul dead, he was doomed to die soon even without Yan Rufeng killing him.

Yamanouchi Jiro’s once glossy skin aged rapidly in visible increments. In less than a minute, he was left with just a thread of life.

"Why, why can’t I even self-destruct?" Yamanouchi Jiro’s raspy voice asked.

"Because you are not strong enough," Yan Rufeng replied coldly.

"Ha-ha..."

Yamanouchi Jiro laughed into the sky.

"Who would have thought that after dominating the world for centuries, I would fall into your hands?" Yamanouchi Jiro roared in despair.

"Yamanouchi Jiro, do you have any last words?" Yan Rufeng asked.

Yamanouchi Jiro lowered his head in thought for a long time before saying, "Yan Rufeng, after my death, please do not massacre the cultivators of Japan."

"Heh!"

Yan Rufeng said indifferently, "I, Yan Rufeng, disdain killing them. Besides, you won’t produce any more strong cultivators." Yamanouchi Jiro was startled fiercely, "What do you mean by that?"

"You must be curious as to why the spiritual energy in Huaxia is denser than in Japan, aren’t you?" Yan Rufeng questioned back.

"Huaxia is the origin of the ancestral vein. Given the changes in the Heavenly Dao, it’s normal for spiritual energy here to be denser," Yamanouchi Jiro said.

"Huaxia being the origin of the ancestral vein is true, but Japan is not far from Huaxia. Aren’t you curious why there are no discovered Spirit Veins in Japan?" Yan Rufeng asked again.

The time-pressed Yamanouchi Jiro fell silent. He didn’t want to die with regrets and asked, "Why is that?"

"Three months ago, I destroyed all the Spirit Veins within Japan," Yan Rufeng replied honestly.

"Destroyed..."

"Ha-ha..."

"All the Spirit Veins of Japan are destroyed. Now Japan is finished..."

Yamanouchi Jiro’s vision blurred as he was on the verge of death.

"It turns out, as they say, ’Evil gets its due retribution. It’s not that the time hasn’t come, it’s just that it hasn’t arrived yet. This is all retribution...’

"Ha-ha..."

All of Yamanouchi Jiro’s remaining spiritual energy dissipated, and his laughter ceased abruptly.

The wind blew, raising swirls of yellow dust that soon covered Yamanouchi Jiro’s corpse.

Yan Rufeng stood amidst the wind and sand, absorbing the spiritual energy Yamanouchi Jiro had left behind. As the Five Elements Qiankun Cultivation God Art began to operate, the spiritual energy swirling in the desert sky surged toward Yan Rufeng.

"Heh, I’ve broken through..." Yan Rufeng smiled faintly.

At this moment, Yan Rufeng had absorbed all the spiritual energy of this domain. Looking inward at his dantian, he saw that he now had an additional Nascent Soul within him.

Yan Rufeng’s dantian now contained two Nascent Souls and three Golden Cores. The spiritual energy Yamanouchi Jiro had accumulated for centuries had not even elevated Yan Rufeng’s level by one tier.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Yan Rufeng thought, "It’s time to go back."

In the early morning, the remnants of the moon had not fully faded, and the silver dawn revealed a reddish glow. The glazed tiles on the roof of the Dragon Abyss Sect’s great hall glittered under the morning light.

Yan Rufeng stood outside the hall, waiting for the people from Shushan Sword Palace to arrive.

Today was destined to be an extraordinary day. Before long, hundreds of people gathered outside the Dragon Abyss Sect’s mountain gate. No need to ask; they came early not for anything else but to witness the two matches between Yan Rufeng and the Shushan Sword Palace, as well as Yamanouchi Jiro.

However, they didn’t know that Yamanouchi Jiro had already been slain by Yan Rufeng.

Among those gathered outside the Dragon Abyss Sect’s mountain gate, some had already found spots with better views and set up their livestream stands, placing several phones there while waiting. No need to ask; these must be the popular webcasters from major platforms.

Of course, aside from the webcasters from various major platforms, reporters from all major media outlets also converged here, all eager to get first-hand news. Surprisingly, even television crews arrived with mobile live broadcast vans, driving towards Dragon Abyss Sect.

The crowd grew larger, with over ten thousand people gathering outside Dragon Abyss Sect’s mountain gate, chatting away in bustling excitement.

Unexpectedly, some people even set up stalls outside the Dragon Abyss Sect, selling cigarettes, alcohol, beverages, and snacks.

In the distance, a young man dressed in a Taoist robe bowed and said, "Master, should we go over and challenge him now?"

"Qing Feng, no rush,"

an old man carrying a whisk stroked his beard and spoke slowly.

"Master, your cultivation is profound, and your mana is boundless. I believe that even without making a move, your presence alone could kill Yan Rufeng. I don’t understand why we don’t just challenge him directly but wait here instead," Qing Feng questioned in confusion.

"Heh!"

The old man laughed, "Qing Feng, you are still too young. Haven’t you noticed that Yamanouchi Jiro hasn’t arrived yet?"

"Yamanouchi Jiro?"

"Master, you plan to let him strike first?" Qing Feng asked.

"Ha-ha..."

"You’re starting to understand a bit," the old man laughed.

Qing Feng scratched his head in confusion, "Master, do you have other intentions?"

"Of course, when Yamanouchi Jiro is about to defeat Yan Rufeng, I will step in and make Yan Rufeng hand over the Heavenly Union Treasure Sword," the old man said.

"Master, why do that? Isn’t that helping the Japanese?" Qing Feng asked righteously.

"You don’t understand; that’s called saving Yan Rufeng’s life," the old man said with a tinge of disappointment.

"Saving him? Does Master not wish to avenge my two senior brothers?" Qing Feng asked, grief-stricken.

"Qing Feng, your senior brothers’ deaths will surely be avenged," the old man said.

"Then why save him?" Qing Feng was confused.

"Hmph..."

The old man snorted coldly, "First we save him, then we cripple his cultivation."

"Oh, I see," Qing Feng suddenly understood.

The old man gazed intently at the richly spiritual Dragon Abyss Sect and thought, "This place’s spiritual energy is even denser than my Shushan Sword Palace. Yan Rufeng, what merit do you have to establish a sect and enjoy this blessed land alone? Once I cripple you, this Wolong Abyss will belong to my Shushan Sword Palace. Ha-ha..."