"Indeed, even the Holy Daughter, who is untouched by secular concerns in others’ eyes, has her own selfishness and emotions."
Zhang Xuan nodded silently.
Ren Qiuyao, known for her great reputation in the Tianli Empire, was considered pure beyond compare. Not to mention others, even he had always felt she possessed a noble nature, unstained by the mundane.
But now, after using Love Silk to communicate with her Heavenly Destiny River, such thoughts vanished completely.
This seemingly aloof beauty actually harbored feelings for Crown Prince Yuanqing. No wonder she had consistently aided him, orchestrating attacks on Zhang Xuan multiple times, even disregarding Empyrean Kong shi.
Logically, rites and music should be unified, yet her assistance to Yuanqing clearly stemmed from personal motives.
"Since you have selfishness, I’ll help you amplify it..."
Zhang Xuan found a ripple in the river and instantly hundreds of strands of Love Silk surged into it.
It was exactly her feelings for Crown Prince Yuanqing; she liked him but dared not express it openly, deeply loved yet had to restrain herself, because he was the Crown Prince, the invincible powerhouse destined to inherit the throne.
"Now, to let you yearn in vain!"
Zhang Xuan sneered coldly, manipulating the Love Silk to affect the river, causing the ripple to expand increasingly.
As he delved deeper into Love Destiny, he understood the terror of a First Level Destiny.
One could manipulate emotions as long as there were feelings! However, if the destiny level was lower and the cultivation was not much different, it wouldn’t be so easy.
"No..."
Under his control, Ren Qiuyao, who had just been confident, turned pale, a sense of sorrow filling her heart.
This feeling was as if she had given her all, yet ultimately lost everything.
Her state of wandering changed, and the zither music naturally altered uncontrollably. The music, initially resonating in the ears of the Hu Ben Army, became utterly desolate.
In an instant, the three thousand Hu Ben Army lost the fighting spirit they had before, replaced merely by a sense of loss and sadness.
"Bad!"
Crown Prince Yuanqing did not expect the music, invigorating just a moment ago, to turn so dejected, as if daytime saw the invincible Chu Army but at night all sides were besieged.
In collective combat, what is most feared is the weakening of morale, also known as a defeat like a landslide.
Once the emotions of the three thousand Hu Ben Army began to descend, the united strength immediately plummeted precipitously.
"It’s time now!"
Without hesitation, Zhang Xuan thrust the soul-summoning sword, tearing open a pitch-black crack in the Phantasm Space.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
The Eternal Heart beat rapidly, countless strengths surged crazily along his arm.
With one sword, he consumed all of the Red Flame Demon Monarch’s Essence Pill completely. 𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝙤𝙢
In other words, this single sword contained enough strength equivalent to the total force exerted upon the self-detonation by a Pseudo Immortal like the Red Flame Demon Monarch.
Only due to the perfect coordination of the Eternal Heart with numerous organs like the Eternal Lung could it be achieved; no matter who it was, even a Bodhisattva would suffer from shattered meridians and lose combat capability upon execution.
While he unleashed all his might, the Hu Ben Army opposite lost combat power due to the music. This disparity immediately widened due to mutual weakening.
Crash!
The sweep of the sword qi caused three thousand Hu Ben Army to explode simultaneously, turning into flesh and energy.
"What’s going on?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
In his plan, the sword’s power was immense, but killing a third of them, making it impossible for them to gather into a formation again, would be considered a success; he never imagined annihilating everyone with one sword, leaving not a single escapee!
This was three thousand people with none escaping... It seemed extraordinarily bizarre.
"It should be their Qi Fortune; these people’s luck is just too poor. You see, many were killed even when the sword qi didn’t hit a vital point..."
The voice of Frost Demon Lord echoed.
Zhang Xuan glanced over and indeed found discrepancies.
Many Hu Ben Army had merely swept hair with his sword qi, logically speaking this kind of situation shouldn’t result in death, nor even hurt, yet inexplicably, these individuals all died due to dodging his sword qi and ended up being killed by their companions’ attacks.
Just like a nearby white-robed guard, the sword qi pierced only the palm, yet the fatal strike came from his companion’s sword that, upon dropping from above in death, penetrated through the eye and heart.
Such occurrences were abundant, giving a surreal sense.
"These people’s Qi Fortune was taken away..."
Zhang Xuan realized: "It was Crown Prince Yuanqing..."
So unlucky as to affect one person indicated bad luck, but spreading it over so many was evidently abnormal.
Only the Prince could drain Qi Fortune from so many simultaneously, and they would do so willingly.
Seems like while Zhang Xuan borrowed Qi Fortune from the Xuanji Sect, the Prince must have done likewise, yet not returning it himself but draining others’.
It’s uncertain how much he borrowed and whether it’s more than Zhang Xuan.
"Collect!"
Knowing this wasn’t the time for speculation, Zhang Xuan grasped with a large hand, causing a ripple in the Space ahead. Three thousand Hu Ben Army corpses and the post-explosion forces and equipment were instantly absorbed into the Suspended Realm.
An individual’s strength is limited, but when so many unite, it matches up to two Red Flame Demon Venerable!
This way, not only could the just-consumed strength be replenished, but a little excess was also saved.
This method of absorbing others’ strengths for personal use is extraordinarily defiant of heaven, requiring the special nature of the Suspended Realm and the Eternal Heart; nobody else could replicate it.
"Now it’s your turn..."
Having killed three thousand masters with one sword, Zhang Xuan turned his sword towards Ren Qiuyao still immersed in sorrow.
Opportunity knocks but once, hesitation leads to loss; failure to kill her quickly, once she stabilizes her emotions and continues to act as support secretly... Zhang Xuan’s danger level will double.
Scratch!
The sword qi flashed like lightning, slicing straight through.
"Ren Qiuyao!"
At that moment, Crown Prince Yuanqing was first to react, shouting angrily.
Utilizing some method, the voice carried a might that seemed to tear through the world, creating an illusion of undeniability, mandating compliance.
Hum!
Upon hearing the voice, Ren Qiuyao, lost in sorrow, unavoidably trembled slightly and blood spurted instantly from her mouth.
Though she spat blood, she broke free from the prevailing sense of loss, returning once again to her previous cold composure.
"You can actually manipulate my emotions?"
She raised her head to look at Zhang Xuan, eyes tinged with disbelief.
To reach her cultivation realm, while not entirely unruffled, emotions rarely plummet; yet facing the opponent for less than three breaths had diverted her attention and even led to the entrapment and death of three thousand Hu Ben Army... simply unbelievable.