Chapter 901: The Weakness

The red-robed elder and the twelve black-robed figures lying on the ground watched anxiously, hoping their Palace Master would save them and make this white-clad expert regret his actions and beg for mercy!

“Dongbo Xueying.”

The Evil Eye Palace Master strode through the void, glaring at Dongbo Xueying from afar. A sinister aura surged from his body, spreading in all directions. “This is the Eternal Sacred World. A mere outsider from the Seven Seas Sacred World dares to act so recklessly here? And you even dare to interfere with my affairs—your audacity is truly remarkable.”

“The Eternal Sacred World is divided into two domains. This is the Realm Ancestor’s Domain, not the Witch Ancestor’s Domain. You have no right to speak like this,” Dongbo Xueying replied with a shake of his head.

“Hmph, do you think just because you’re an Inner Hall Elder of the Taixu Temple, I wouldn’t dare kill you? That gives you the confidence to act so brazenly?” The Evil Eye Palace Master sneered. “You’re right—I won’t kill you. But while death may be spared, punishment is inevitable. I’ll strip you of all your treasures, let you experience the torments I’ve devised, and then return you unharmed to the Taixu Temple. I doubt even they would have anything to say about that.”

“You’re quite confident,” Dongbo Xueying nodded. “Let’s see if you have the strength to back it up. Oh, but first, I’ll deal with them. Since you’re already here, they’re no longer needed.”

As soon as he finished speaking—

*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*

The red-robed elder and the twelve black-robed figures widened their eyes in horror before their auras dimmed. Their sealed souls were utterly annihilated, and their bodies, under the power of the Panpo Diagram, dissolved into nothingness.

The Evil Eye Palace Master’s pupils contracted sharply, his face twisting into a vicious snarl as he bared his teeth at Dongbo Xueying. “Good. Very good. A mere youngling who’s only mastered the Dark World Sovereign’s techniques dares to act so arrogantly before me. I’ll make sure you understand—Witch Cultivators are not like the Destruction Fiends of the Star Pagoda.”

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

A terrifying pressure erupted from the Evil Eye Palace Master’s eyes as two streams of black mist shot forth. Upon closer inspection, these streams were composed of countless minuscule black-armored insects—over a hundred of them—swarming out of his pupils and charging toward Dongbo Xueying.

Simultaneously, the Evil Eye Palace Master’s body expanded dramatically, sprouting six additional arms. His skin turned ashen gray, covered in eerie eye-like patterns that pulsed with visible waves of black, malevolent energy.

“Die!” The Evil Eye Palace Master transformed into a streak of light, lunging straight at Dongbo Xueying.

The hundred black insects and the Witch-empowered Palace Master attacked in tandem—yet Dongbo Xueying remained motionless, watching calmly without any attempt to defend himself.

“Hmm?”

The Evil Eye Palace Master frowned in suspicion.

He had prepared countermeasures for Dongbo Xueying’s techniques. Despite his arrogant words, he took this battle seriously—after all, Dongbo Xueying’s *Heavenly Punishment Blade* was no joke. But this complete lack of resistance puzzled him. *Is he really this overconfident? If he won’t even fight seriously, victory will be even easier.*

Based on his intelligence, he had devised a meticulous plan to defeat Dongbo Xueying. In his view, while Dongbo Xueying’s offensive power was formidable, his youth meant he hadn’t had time to shore up his weaknesses—particularly his physical body, which paled in comparison to experts like the Evil Eye Palace Master or the Black Tortoise Fiend.

In truth—

Before cultivating the *Balong Legacy*, Dongbo Xueying’s physical prowess *was* a weakness. The Voidwalker lineage’s advantages diminished at the Unity and Chaos Realms, excelling only in *void-shifting* and spatial manipulation—making escape and evasion its true strengths.

But in raw physicality?

Ancient Cultivators, Supreme Warrior lineages, and Witch Cultivators reigned supreme, capable of forging bodies of terrifying might. After mastering the *Balong Legacy*, Dongbo Xueying’s physique had surged to Star Pagoda’s sixth-floor tier—his scales alone rivaled mid-grade Void Divine Armaments!

The *Vermilion Nightmare Legacy* enhanced illusions and the soul.

The *Balong Legacy* honed slaughter and the flesh.

“To not even fight seriously… how foolish.” The Evil Eye Palace Master’s countless eye-patterns began to glow ominously.

Then—

A piercing avian cry split the air as crimson mist flooded the battlefield, engulfing both the insects and the charging Palace Master.

“What?!” The plain-looking white-haired elder observing from afar stiffened, his gaze sharpening.

Behind Dongbo Xueying, a fiery-red avian phantom had materialized—its vast wings spread, radiating scarlet energy.

“The *Vermilion Nightmare Legacy*? An illusion?” The elder relaxed slightly. Illusions powerful enough to affect experts at the Evil Eye Palace Master’s level were exceedingly rare. “From what I know, the *Vermilion Nightmare Legacy* at the Unity Realm can barely influence weaker fifth-floor Star Pagoda experts.”

…

Reality proved otherwise.

The Evil Eye Palace Master was instantly ensnared in the illusion, struggling futilely—each time he broke free, the nightmare dragged him back under. Compared to Qi Hujun, who had been utterly helpless against Dongbo Xueying’s illusions, the Palace Master’s mental fortitude was no better—if not slightly worse.

Trapped in the illusion, he lost control of his venomous insects—mindless puppets that relied entirely on his will. Had they possessed intelligence, they would’ve been far easier to counter.

*Sizzle—*

Countless threads of rippling energy coiled around the insects and the paralyzed Palace Master, infiltrating his defenseless body and sealing his soul.

Dongbo Xueying exhaled, retracting his aura as the Vermilion Nightmare avian vanished into his body.

With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the Evil Eye Palace Master onto the grass nearby. The man jolted awake, eyes wide with disbelief.

*Defeated?*

*Just like that? I still had other techniques! My Witch Venom—he never even tasted it!*

“Battle isn’t just about your strongest aspect,” Dongbo Xueying said coolly. “It’s about your weakest. And to me, your mind *is* your weakness.”

To be precise—

The Evil Eye Palace Master’s mental resilience wasn’t *weak* by fifth-floor Star Pagoda standards. But against Dongbo Xueying, whose *Vermilion Nightmare Legacy* had been elevated to sixth-floor tier through his unparalleled talent in the Void Path, it *was* a fatal flaw.

Illusions struck directly at the soul.

No matter how mighty one’s body or techniques, if the mind fell, life and death belonged to Dongbo Xueying.

“An illusion… how?” The Evil Eye Palace Master still couldn’t accept it. He’d lost to an illusion—from another Unity Realm expert, no less.

“Impressive. Truly impressive.” The white-haired elder clapped slowly. “The *Vermilion Nightmare Legacy* shouldn’t be this potent at the Unity Realm. Yet you’ve pushed it beyond its limits. In illusions… across the Five Great Sacred Worlds and the Chaos Void, you now stand unrivaled among Unity Realm cultivators.”

Sixth-floor Star Pagoda experts at the Unity Realm were already vanishingly rare.

Before Dongbo Xueying’s rise, the Taixu Temple hadn’t produced a single one in this era. Even now, across all five Sacred Worlds and the Chaos Void, fewer than ten were known to exist. Among them, Dongbo Xueying was the sole master of illusions—earning him the undisputed title of *the strongest*.

“Before Tower Master Lei, such petty tricks are hardly worth mentioning,” Dongbo Xueying said with a faint smile.

Tower Master Lei—Lei Yan—was a legend far more renowned than Dongbo Xueying across the Five Great Sacred Worlds. Among the three major Sacred Worlds (Seven Seas, Eastridge, and Eternal), only five Unity Realm experts, including Dongbo Xueying, had reached the sixth-floor tier.

And Lei Yan?

For eons, he had been acknowledged as *the strongest* among them—a warrior who had clashed with Chaos Realm giants and proven his might time and again.

“Petty tricks? Even I couldn’t intervene fast enough to save my junior brother,” Tower Master Lei said with a sigh. “But remember—he is a disciple of the Witch Ancestor. Elder Dongbo, you cannot kill him.”

“I’m well aware,” Dongbo Xueying nodded.

The three Sacred Worlds had long-standing agreements when dealing with the two major sects. Even if high-ranking members committed grave offenses, execution was forbidden—punishment required negotiations between their factions.

Just as others couldn’t casually kill Dongbo Xueying, he couldn’t slay the Evil Eye Palace Master outright.

To violate this unspoken rule would defy the three Sacred Worlds’ order—not even the Taixu Temple could shield him from the consequences.

“I won’t kill him,” Dongbo Xueying said, lips curling. “As he himself said—*death may be spared, but punishment is inevitable.* I’ll strip him of all treasures, let him savor the Taixu Temple’s disciplinary torments, and return him *intact* when we’re done.”