Chapter 157 - 154: Please Go on a Killing Spree

Mo Qianqian’s expression fell drastically. The Dean of Tai Xuan Academy was simply too fast, and her cultivation was also at the Ninth Level of Tongyou Realm. Furthermore, she stood at the absolute pinnacle of that realm. He was no match for her at all!

"Mo Qianqian, hand over the great treasure, and I’ll spare your life!" the Dean of Tai Xuan Academy shrieked in an ancient female voice. She tore through the crowd and charged straight at him.

"The world harbors righteous energy, and the Vast Firmament settles it all!"

Right at that moment, an elder’s sonorous voice rang out. The crowd watched as a white-haired elder in gray robes flew toward the Ling family’s Martial Arts Arena at an astonishing speed. Surging righteous energy billowed around the man. Despite his unkempt attire and disheveled hair, he exuded an aura of holiness and awe-inspiring justice.

As the white-haired elder rushed in, a terrifying pressure instantly enveloped the area. Wielding a long spear, he charged toward the Dean of Tai Xuan Academy and thrust the weapon straight ahead. It was as if the entire void had been frozen in place.

"He’s here!" Mo Qianqian was instantly overjoyed.

The newcomer was none other than the Sect Leader of the Vast Sect, Li Haoran! Mo Qianqian had started to wonder if the Sect Leader had been delayed by some matter since he hadn’t shown up. Fortunately, he had arrived at the critical moment. The man hadn’t lied to him.

"Li Haoran!!!" Seeing him, the Dean of Tai Xuan Academy contorted her face into a vicious grimace. Her eyes bulged, shooting forth a piercing glint. She immediately drew the short broadsword at her side. Gripping it with her right hand, she spun backward, pressing her left hand against the flat of the blade to block Li Haoran’s spear.

CLANG!

An ear-piercing clash of metal echoed through the heavens and earth, deafening the crowd as a powerful blast of energy erupted. The onlookers watched in shock as the Dean of Tai Xuan Academy was sent flying backward by the impact. Only the figure of the disheveled elder remained standing in the void where she had been.

"Li Haoran! The Sect Leader of the Vast Sect that was annihilated fifty years ago!"

"How is this possible? Isn’t he dead? How is he still alive?"

"Quasi-Space Spirit Realm! He has returned to his peak and gone even further than he did fifty years ago. He already has one foot out of the Tongyou Realm!"

"So strong! Even the Dean of Tai Xuan Academy isn’t his match."

The older generation of cultivators cried out in astonishment. Patriarch Ling and the heads of the other major families in particular all furrowed their brows. Many of them had secretly participated in the annihilation of the Vast Sect back then. At the time, they believed the entire sect had been thoroughly wiped out. Little did they expect that its leader was actually still alive.

"How is this possible? I killed you with my own two hands! How can you still be alive?" The repelled Dean of Tai Xuan Academy wore an expression of sheer disbelief.

"Is it possible that the person you killed wasn’t actually me?" Li Haoran stood in the void, looking around.

By now, everyone present had temporarily ceased fighting. Li Haoran’s imposing aura was simply too overwhelming. Moreover, the sudden appearance of a figure supposedly killed fifty years ago left them all in deep shock.

"Li, you beast! Are you finally done hiding from me?"

At that moment, the old man standing opposite Patriarch Ling suddenly tore off his Human Skin Mask, revealing the face of a woman. Although her face was lined with quite a few wrinkles, her features were still well-defined and striking. It was easy to imagine that she had been an absolute beauty in her youth. Unfortunately, time was unforgiving.

Mo Qianqian was surprised once more. Just as he had suspected, the "old man" who had given him the mask was indeed connected to Li Haoran—and most likely romantically.

"Vast Sect’s Thousand-faced Chief! You aren’t dead either!" the Dean of Tai Xuan Academy’s pupils constricted.

"The female thief, the Thousand-faced Chief! Li Haoran’s mistress—she’s not dead either!"

"No wonder Cheng Zifeng knew the Vast Spear Technique, and Mo Qianqian also knows the Vast Spear Technique! The people of the Vast Sect weren’t completely wiped out after all!"

The group of elders exclaimed in rolling waves of shock. The younger generation, however, was entirely bewildered. This was ancient history, events from decades past that they knew nothing about.

"I went to the Southern Wilderness and only recently managed to escape..." Li Haoran responded guiltily to the Thousand-faced Chief before turning his gaze to Mo Qianqian. "Not bad, kid. You didn’t disappoint me too much."

The crowd was rendered speechless. Mo Qianqian was such a monstrous genius, yet he "didn’t disappoint him too much"? What kind of backhanded praise was that?

"I humbly request Sect Leader Li to go on a killing spree," Mo Qianqian replied.

The corners of everyone’s mouths twitched. A killing spree. He really dared to say that out loud.

Li Haoran was equally speechless. Ignoring Mo Qianqian, he turned his head back to the Dean of Tai Xuan Academy. "You old hag. Today, it’s time to settle the score for the destruction of my sect."

"Hmph! Li Haoran, I could destroy you fifty years ago, and I can still destroy you today! Second Elder, Third Elder, help me kill Li Haoran! The rest of you, kill Mo Qianqian!" The Dean of Tai Xuan Academy scoffed coldly as the aura radiating from her body began to climb steadily.

Surprisingly, her aura also peaked at the absolute summit of the Ninth Level of Tongyou Realm, just a hair’s breadth away from breaking through.

"Quasi-Space Spirit Realm! The Dean of Tai Xuan Academy’s cultivation has actually reached the Quasi-Space Spirit Realm too!"

The crowd was shocked all over again. The Quasi-Space Spirit Realm, strictly speaking, was not a true cultivation realm. However, breaking through from the Tongyou Realm to the next stage—the Void Spirit Realm—was incredibly difficult. Even among cultivators at the Ninth Level of Tongyou Realm, there was a vast disparity in power. Some had reached the absolute peak, merely a sliver away from a complete breakthrough. They could transcend at any moment, or they might remain stuck at that bottleneck forever. This state was known as the Quasi-Space Spirit Realm. But the power of a Quasi-Space Spirit Realm expert was far beyond what any ordinary Ninth Level of Tongyou Realm cultivator could hope to rival.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The Dean of Tai Xuan Academy and two elders immediately charged at Li Haoran. Those two elders were both at the Eighth Level of Tongyou Realm. Meanwhile, the rest of her forces lunged toward Mo Qianqian. Li Haoran frowned and rushed forward to intercept the Tai Xuan Academy trio.

"Well..." Seeing this, Mo Qianqian was instantly speechless.

He had thought that Li Haoran’s arrival would turn the tide of the battle for him. Instead, Li Haoran was pinned down, and Mo Qianqian still had to face a massive swarm of Tai Xuan Academy experts on his own.

Fortunately, all the cultivators charging at him were below the Seventh Level of Tongyou Realm. Judging by the Dean’s orders, the Grand Elder of Tai Xuan Academy must not have come. Otherwise, the ones rushing him would likely be much stronger. However, even if their highest cultivation was only the Seventh Level of Tongyou Realm, there were still four or five of them. And surrounding him were another eight to ten cultivators at the Sixth Level of Tongyou Realm. His situation was still incredibly dire.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The chaotic melee erupted once again. Surprisingly, Li Haoran and the Tai Xuan Academy trio fought to a stalemate, while Mo Qianqian was completely surrounded by multiple experts at the Seventh and Sixth Levels of Tongyou Realm.

CLANG!

Mo Qianqian smashed his spear forward, clashing directly with a Tai Xuan Academy cultivator at the Seventh Level of Tongyou Realm. The impact sent him stumbling back a short distance, while his opponent was forced to a dead halt. At the same time, Mo Qianqian’s Spirit Body wielded a sword, intercepting and clashing with another incoming Seventh Level of Tongyou Realm expert.

But in that split second, another person ambushed Mo Qianqian from behind, thrusting forward with a razor-sharp saber. With no time to dodge, Mo Qianqian had no choice but to thrust out his left palm and catch the blade barehanded, forcibly halting the long saber in its tracks. As a Body Cultivator, his flesh was inherently formidable. This desperate grab only caused his palm to bleed; it didn’t sever his hand.

SWISH!

However, at that very moment, a suffocating sense of crisis suddenly washed over Mo Qianqian.