bookbashuk Chapter 345 Han Lian Kneels and Begs for Mercy
Chapter 345 Han Lian Kneels and Begs for Mercy
Don't miss this exciting chapter: Chapter 345, Han Bailian, kneels and begs for mercy (full text available). Click here.
One moment, the plaza still held the chaotic spiritual energy of the fierce battle, the cultivators' spiritual power flowing freely according to their cultivation techniques, subtly resonating with the outside world. The next moment, all connections to the outside spiritual energy were brutally severed! It was as if they had been suddenly thrown from a room filled with air into a vacuum!
"What's going on?!"
"My spiritual energy... isn't flowing smoothly! Could it be another of Chen Anran's tricks?"
"No, it's not like before! It's that all the spiritual energy in the world... has vanished!"
Exclamations of surprise and horror instantly replaced the previous arguments and confrontations. Whether they were disciples of Longhu Mountain, swordsmen of Qingcheng, cultivators of Wutai Mountain, members of the Feng and Jiang families, or even Qi Lan, Huiming, and Chen Anran, everyone's expression changed drastically at this moment.
The essence of cultivation lies in absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and refining it for one's own use. Suddenly losing the replenishment of external spiritual energy is like an ordinary person being choked. Although it will not lead to suffocation, the suffocation and panic of being isolated from heaven and earth, as well as the fear of subsequent depletion of spiritual energy, are enough to shake the mind of any cultivator.
Even more unsettling is that the fog seems to block out perception. The cultivator's normally sharp spiritual senses and divine awareness become sluggish and blurred in this thick fog, as if veiled by a thick gauze. Looking around, it is difficult to discern a person more than three steps away; only indistinct outlines and suppressed breathing can be heard in the fog.
"A formation? Or some kind of great supernatural power?" Feng Wenyuan lowered his voice and hurriedly asked Jiang Yan beside him, while signaling the Feng family disciples to shrink their formation and support each other from all sides.
Jiang Yan's expression was grave as he gripped the mechanism's key mechanism tightly. "Unlike ordinary formations... there are no traces of its formation, and the spiritual energy has been drained so thoroughly and rapidly—it's unheard of!"
After He Qingyun's initial astonishment, a strange emotion, which he himself did not fully understand, flashed deep in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a greater unease.
This turn of events was not in his plan!
He Qingyun shouted sternly, "Don't panic! Form a defensive formation! Beware of the Cloud Hidden Sect's tricks!"
He subconsciously attributed this strange change to Chen Anran, after all, the methods the other party had just displayed were too unpredictable.
Han Bailian's old face tightened, his spiritual senses extending outwards with all their might, but to no avail. He was filled with doubt and unease, vaguely sensing that this was far beyond Chen Anran's capabilities, but chaos was exactly what he wanted. He immediately raised his voice: "Fellow Daoists, hold on! This must be the work of the Cloud Hidden Sect's evil magic, trying to throw me into disarray! Do not scatter, gather around me and my junior nephew He!"
However, the panic caused by the dense fog and the vacuum of spiritual energy could not be easily quelled by words. The cultivators from the small and medium-sized sects and the rogue cultivators who had been spurred on were already divided in their minds, and now they were even more disorganized. Some people subconsciously moved towards the location of He Qingyun and the others that they remembered, while others looked around in panic and wanted to leave the square, but because their vision was obstructed, they bumped into each other and caused more commotion.
"Third Senior Sister, Second Senior Sister, protect yourselves and stay close to me."
Chen Anran had just finished speaking.
In the square, the all-encompassing gray-white fog suddenly surged and contracted, as if being gripped and squeezed by an invisible giant hand.
Then, a terrifying scene that everyone will never forget unfolded—
Behind He Qingyun, nearly a hundred disciples from Longhu Mountain, swordsmen from Qingcheng, cultivators from Wutai Mountain, and various rogue cultivators... whether they were Foundation Establishment elders or Qi Refining disciples, whether they were forming a defensive formation or looking around in panic, all their movements froze at this moment.
Their skin, muscles, and bones seemed to be instantly "decomposed" and "purified" by some incomprehensible and irresistible supreme rule.
There were no screams, no struggles, and not even a full expression of shock could be shown.
Puff puff……
A series of slight yet densely packed muffled thuds, like ripe berries being crushed at once.
Clumps of "blood beads," varying in size, dark red in color, with slightly wriggling surfaces, and exuding a strong stench of blood and residual spiritual energy, floated in the spot where they had been standing. Some were as small as pigeon eggs, others as large as fists, and inside, one could vaguely see tiny fragments of meridians or lingering spiritual energy.
Nearly a hundred cultivators were instantly reduced to beads of blood!
The next moment, these blood beads seemed to be summoned by the same invisible source, trembling together, and then transformed into streaks of scarlet light, tearing through the thick fog and shooting towards the direction of the Cloud Hidden Sect!
The flowing light, like a torrent of blood, poured down into the mountains and forests, disappearing without a trace.
The entire process was so fast that it exceeded everyone's reaction limits.
The thick fog still lingered, but in the center of the square, the once densely packed "punitive" camp was now largely empty. Only He Qingyun, Han Bailian, and a few other Longhu Mountain elders and disciples who happened to be standing at the edge, seemingly "forgotten." They stood frozen in place, their faces still bearing the traces of the panic or ruthlessness of the previous moment, now completely frozen by boundless fear, their pupils dilated, and their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Dead silence.
The deathly silence was even more thorough and chilling than when the previous four statues of gods had appeared.
"Uh...ah..."
A suppressed sob, as if squeezed from the depths of a throat, broke the silence.
It is Han Bailian.
The elder of the Han family in the lake, who had always maintained a mask of graciousness and shrewdness, now had every wrinkle on his face twitching wildly. His legs buckled, and with a "thud," he knelt down without regard for his image or hesitation, banging his head against the ground in the direction of Chen Anran and the Cloud Hidden Sect's mountain gate, the blows resounding loudly!
"Spare me! Master Chen, spare me!" Han Bailian's voice was sharp and distorted, filled with unprecedented terror and humility. "I was blinded by greed! I was blinded by greed! I shouldn't have listened to the lies of that treacherous beast He Qingyun! I shouldn't have coveted Sect Leader Su and the Yunyin Sect! I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong!"
He abruptly looked up, tears and snot streaming down his face, mingling with the dust from the ground, a disheveled and utterly lost sight of his former composure. He pointed a trembling finger at He Qingyun, who stood beside him like a clay sculpture, his face deathly pale, and shouted hoarsely:
"It was him! He Qingyun was the mastermind behind it all! He killed Zhang Tianshi! He harmed his junior sister! He had long coveted the Yunyin Sect... He is the real culprit! I was coerced and deceived by him! Master Chen, please see the truth! Spare my life! The Han family is willing to give everything to compensate the Yunyin Sect! I swear a solemn oath to never again be an enemy of the Yunyin Sect! Spare my life—!"
Han Bailian spoke incoherently, spilling out everything about his conspiracy with He Qingyun, He Qingyun's act of killing his master, and his covetousness towards Su Wan and the others. Faced with the terror of life and death, all notions of family dignity and the reputation of a noble family were utterly crushed.
With each word he spoke, He Qingyun's face grew darker. Strangely, He Qingyun neither stopped him nor refuted him. He simply stood there, his body trembling slightly, and a faint blood-red glow emanated from beneath his skin.
Feng Wenyuan, Jiang Yan, Qi Lan, and the others were both shocked and furious. Although they had suspected it beforehand, hearing Han Bailian's confession with their own ears still sent a chill down their spines.
He Qingyun's ruthlessness and ambition have reached such a level!