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Di stood there, surrounded by the corpses of his enemies, his body drenched in blood that was not his own. The darkness clung to him, as if the world itself feared getting too close.
His eyes… They held neither mercy nor rage. They were like two bottomless voids, stripped of all human emotion. A faint reflection of light revealed a predatory glint within them, like the eyes of a beast lurking in the depths of the night.
His smile?
It was not the smile of a human.
It was the smile of a predator savoring the final moments of its prey.
But not everyone was willing to be prey.
In the blink of an eye, the composure of the Shu Family Head shattered. He stumbled back, then took another step, before turning and running at full speed, disappearing into the darkness without hesitation!
Di didn’t care.
A frightened dog was not worth his time.
But the Lian Family Head, seeing his companion choose survival over pride, realized that fighting was no longer an option. Staying here meant death—and he had not lived all these years just to die like this!
He spun around, attempting to flee, but—
Whoosh!
A black mist condensed from nowhere, swirling around him like a malevolent vortex!
“M-Mercy! No…! NO!”
His screams were inhuman. It was as if his very existence was being torn apart from within, as if his soul was being devoured by an abyss with no bottom!
Then—
A chilling silence.
Everything vanished.
Only traces of lingering dark energy remained in the air.
The old man and the fat cultivator from the Han Family gasped in utter horror. They dared not stay for even a single second longer!
Without thinking, they turned and ran back the way they had come, their steps stumbling, their breaths ragged, as if death itself was crawling after them!
But—
Di did not chase them immediately.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly, as if he found the scene amusing.
Then…
A wicked smile spread across his lips, brimming with bloodthirsty delight.
Whoosh!
He lunged.
And in the darkness, the hunt began.
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Running was not a choice—it was a primal instinct burned into the very souls of the old man and the fat cultivator.
But no matter how hard they fled, there was no escape.
Whoosh!
Di vanished into the shadows—only to reappear in front of them, as if he had materialized from thin air!
“Ahhh—!!”
The old man froze, his feet rooted to the ground. He felt his heart stop, his breath hitch, and cold sweat drench his entire body.
But the fat cultivator?
He had no luxury to freeze in fear. Driven purely by survival instinct, he spun around and ran with everything he had.
But—
“Going somewhere?”
Di’s voice was low, yet carried an unbearable weight.
In an instant—
Boom!
His hand emerged from the darkness, clamping down on the fat cultivator’s entire head. His fingers dug into the soft flesh as if it were mere clay.
“AAARGH!!”
It was not a scream—it was a desperate plea. But no one was there to listen.
CRACK!
In one motion, Di crushed his skull with a single hand!
Blood and brain matter splattered into the cold night air, the massive body collapsing onto the ground like a broken puppet, its limbs twitching in their final death throes.
The old man panted heavily, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He knew—he was next.
“P-please… Please! Don’t kill me!”
He fell to his knees, hands outstretched in supplication.
But those abyssal eyes did not know mercy.
With a single step, Di closed the distance—then reached out, slowly, as if savoring the moment.
“No—!”
His words were cut short.
SHLURP!
Di’s hand plunged into his chest, tearing out his heart in an instant!
The old man froze, his eyes filled with vacant emptiness.
Then—
His body began to wither.
Within mere seconds, he was reduced to an empty husk, his skin pulled taut over brittle bones, as if he had been drained of everything.
Di slowly pulled his bloodstained hand back, glancing at the corpses before him without emotion.
One by one… they fell.
But there was still one left.
The Shu Family Head.
---
Deep in the forest.
The Shu Family Head ran with all his might, stumbling between trees, his breaths ragged, his heart threatening to burst from terror. The darkness swallowed him, but he was not alone within it.
Something else was there… something inescapable.
He stopped abruptly.
Not from exhaustion, but because he understood a horrifying truth—running was pointless.
Di was behind him.
Slowly, trembling, he sank to his knees, then lowered his forehead to the muddy ground.
“I know… you were watching.”
No response came, but the air grew heavier, as if an unseen hand was pressing down on his throat.
“Ever since the array was repaired, I felt eyes watching me.”
He lifted his head slightly, his eyes glistening with a mixture of desperation and profound realization.
“You don’t need to kill me. I have something you can use.”
The silence stretched, but Di did not strike him down.
Shu swallowed hard and continued quickly:
“I understand how the array works. I know a bit about artifact refinement. I can complete the repairs… and make it work for you.”
The silence was suffocating, creeping into his bones like an icy chill.
Then finally, a voice colder than death itself spoke:
“You think your life is worth something?”
A violent shiver ran down Shu’s spine, but he forced himself to answer.
“It’s not my life that has value… but what I can offer you.”
A long moment passed, stretching like an eternity.
Then, in a voice as merciless as the abyss, Di spoke:
“You live.”
Shu gasped, as if returning to life after drowning in the depths of death.
Di turned away, but his final words sliced through the air like a blade:
“But remember… one betrayal, and it will be the last thing you ever do.”
And then, he disappeared into the darkness.
Shu remained on the ground, his body shaking, his eyes wide open.
He had survived…
But at what price?
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