Watching the Abyssal Monarch flee in such a wretched state, especially upon hearing the words, “Pavilion Master, you’re on a mission,” although Darhao’s insight was relatively limited, he knew that anyone capable of making his own sovereign flee in terror must possess the power of a supreme expert. Combining this with the terms “Pavilion Master” and “mission,” he immediately deduced: “The Blood Blade Tavern, a Pavilion Master-level assassin?”
“How is this possible? A Pavilion Master-level assassin coming after me?” Fear gripped Darhao’s heart. A Pavilion Master-level assassin was second only to the Grand Pavilion Master—the Blood Blade Divine Emperor, the number one assassin in both the Divine Realm and the Abyss!
“But if even His Majesty fled, it must indeed be a Pavilion Master.”
“Who issued the mission against me, and how did they manage to enlist the Blood Blade Pavilion Master?” Darhao felt despair and resentment. The gap in power was simply too vast, leaving him with no hope.
Dongbo Xueying looked at him and asked, “Darhao.”
“Pavilion Master, Pavilion Master,” Darhao knelt, prostrating himself with exaggerated reverence, even bordering on sycophancy.
“Tens of thousands of years ago, you must have captured the soul of a transcendent named Chi Qiubai, correct?” Dongbo Xueying continued. “And his wife’s soul as well. I ask you, where are their souls now?”
The reason for his inquiry was simple—Dongbo Xueying’s World Domain had already scanned the surroundings but failed to locate Changfeng’s soul. That was why he had spared Darhao instead of eliminating him immediately.
Darhao froze. “Chi Qiubai?”
“You haven’t forgotten, have you?” Dongbo Xueying’s voice was icy.
Darhao studied the Blood Blade Pavilion Master before him—a cold, masked figure clad in dark red robes, with two spiraling horns protruding from his head, exuding an aura of sinister darkness and destruction. Normally, life auras couldn’t be faked, and Darhao had no idea that the robes of the Blood Blade Pavilion Masters possessed the ability to disguise such things.
He made his judgment and spoke, “Pavilion Master, were you hired by Dongbo Xueying?”
Dongbo Xueying frowned. “I’m the one asking the questions here.”
Darhao felt reassured.
The figure before him radiated an aura of dark destruction, clearly a supreme expert from the Dark Abyss. Moreover, as a Blood Blade Pavilion Master, Darhao couldn’t fathom Dongbo Xueying—despite his prodigious talent—holding such a position. After all, he’d only heard that Dongbo Xueying’s combat prowess at the Third Heaven Tier was comparable to the Fourth Heaven Tier. He certainly didn’t believe Dongbo Xueying could fake a life aura either.
However, he did acknowledge Dongbo Xueying’s immense potential and status as a direct disciple of the Blood Blade Divine Emperor, which might explain why a Blood Blade Pavilion Master would intervene on his behalf.
“Pavilion Master, killing me would be as easy as crushing an insect,” Darhao chuckled darkly. “From what I know, Dongbo Xueying is a man of deep loyalty and righteousness. After much thought, among all the enemies I’ve offended, he’s the only one who could possibly persuade someone like you to act! If I simply told you the truth, you’d likely kill me without hesitation.”
“Hmm?” Dongbo Xueying let out a low growl, his voice laced with killing intent.
“Now, now, Pavilion Master, don’t scare me,” Darhao said, actually standing up on his own. “Kill me if you must, but if you want to know Chi Qiubai’s whereabouts, you’ll have to swear an oath—witnessed by the Will of the Abyss!”
The Will of the Abyss held terrifying deterrence over all denizens of the Dark Abyss.
Even experts from the Divine Realm or the Material World dared not lightly swear oaths under the Will of the Abyss while within the Dark Abyss, for violating such an oath here invited the most horrifying retribution.
“If you refuse to swear, then killing me won’t get you—” Darhao smirked.
Boom!
Dongbo Xueying’s right hand lashed out like a tsunami of force, obliterating Darhao’s Great Demon God body. Yet, Taihao Force also infiltrated Darhao’s form, preserving his True God Heart. In an instant, that True God Heart was forcibly sealed away.
His body shattered.
Dongbo Xueying now held a minuscule True God Heart—Darhao—in his palm.
Gazing coldly at the tiny figure in his hand, Dongbo Xueying spoke, “Foolish creature. You dare provoke me? I heard this Chi Qiubai was merely a transcendent, not even a deity! For someone like me, resurrecting him from the River of Time wouldn’t even be difficult. Yet you tried to use this to extort an oath from me? Do you know the cost of angering me?”
Trembling in terror within Dongbo Xueying’s grasp, Darhao still managed to retort, “Resurrect from the River of Time? But you don’t even know Chi Qiubai! You wouldn’t recognize him!”
“If I can’t, others certainly can. At worst, I’ll have Lord Dongbo send over a World Deity clone,” Dongbo Xueying said. “It’s just a minor inconvenience. Now, where is Chi Qiubai’s soul? If you refuse to speak, you know there are fates far worse than death.”
Darhao knew all too well.
The Abyss had no shortage of methods to torment souls.
“You have one breath to answer. After that, it won’t matter anymore,” Dongbo Xueying said indifferently.
Struggling with despair, resentment, and terror, Darhao—a demon born and raised in the Dark Abyss—understood his fate was sealed.
“I’ll talk, I’ll talk,” Darhao bowed his head. “I only ask that the Pavilion Master grant me a swift death.”
“Speak,” Dongbo Xueying commanded coldly.
From the palm, Darhao spoke meekly, “Chi Qiubai’s will was incredibly strong—he held on for a long time. Thirty thousand years ago, the Howling Devil Cult Leader was collecting souls with extraordinary willpower, the stronger the better. I traded a batch of souls, including Chi Qiubai’s, for rewards. What happened after that, I don’t know.”
“The Howling Devil Cult Leader?” Dongbo Xueying pressed. “And his wife’s soul?”
“Her will was ordinary. I tortured her to death,” Darhao said flatly. “I’ve told you everything. I trust the Pavilion Master will honor his word.”
“Of course.”
Dongbo Xueying’s voice then echoed in Darhao’s True God Heart. “Actually, you guessed wrong about my identity.”
Darhao froze. Wrong? Not hired by Dongbo Xueying? Then who? He’d racked his brain and concluded only Dongbo Xueying could summon such a powerful figure, especially one seeking the souls of Chi Qiubai and his wife. Yet he was mistaken? Unless… unless…
A terrifying possibility dawned on him.
“Boom.” Dongbo Xueying clenched his fist, crushing Darhao’s True God Heart.
Whether Darhao had realized the truth or not mattered little to Dongbo Xueying. With his True God Heart sealed, Darhao couldn’t relay any messages. Still, Dongbo Xueying had dropped that final hint out of sheer fury—for Elder Brother Changfeng, for the generations of Xia Clan transcendents and countless mortals who had perished because of the Devil God Cult.
The Devil God Cult, devoted to the Great Demons of the Dark Abyss, had committed atrocities without restraint. Throughout Xia Clan history, countless transcendents and even deities had yearned to eradicate them. Only after becoming the Material World Lord did Dongbo Xueying finally purge the last remnants of the cult from the Xia Clan.
“The Howling Devil Cult Leader?” Dongbo Xueying lifted his gaze toward the distance.
With a single step, he vanished, leaving Darhao’s existence truly extinguished.
At the same moment—
Through the Blood Blade Tavern’s internal system, Dongbo Xueying first issued a mission to kill “Darhao,” then immediately accepted it himself. Issuing and accepting his own mission—this was his way of tying up loose ends. As for whether his identity might be exposed, he had no concerns. The Blood Blade Tavern’s operational rules never investigated the identities of mission issuers or assassins.
Many assassins in the Blood Blade Tavern operated under simple codenames, their true identities kept secret. Of course, if one chose to reveal themselves, that was their own doing. Some assassins even maintained multiple codenames to further obscure their identities.
This was Dongbo Xueying’s first time acting as an assassin, and he had chosen a codename: “Flying Blade.”
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