Chapter 1727: Public Execution |
Fang Chen slowly shifted his gaze away from Ji Sheng and looked toward the others.
The robes on these cultivators were tattered beyond repair. Their magical properties had long since vanished, turning them into nothing more than ordinary clothes. However, the insignias on them still allowed him to identify their origins—Taiyi Immortal Sect, Ten Thousand Star Palace, Blood and Flesh Divine Palace, Rulai Monastery.
Together with Ji Sheng, the core disciples of the five top-tier factions of Fangcun Realm had all been captured alive.
Abbot Wufa looked at Ji Sheng and the others with mild surprise. "Oh? Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable, these people are…?"
The local cultivators of Mingwang Star behind him were also curious.
Mingwang Star had already been ruled by the awakened demons for many years, while Fangcun Realm and Shenwang Realm had only recently sent reinforcements. Thus, the local cultivators here had never truly encountered cultivators from there.
"They? Over the past few years, we've captured them alive, core disciples from Fangcun Realm and Shenwang Realm." The Yuanyang Saintess answered on behalf of the Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable.
The crowd was shocked.
"Core disciples from those two realms?!"
More than twenty core disciples were captured alive and brought to Mingwang Star. Such a feat was beyond their imagination. After all, these core disciples each commanded Immortal Boat Formations and were terrifying existences in their own right. Though their personal cultivation might not appear high, when it came to controlling Immortal Boat Formations, ordinary cultivators were like mud compared to clouds in contrast.
"And bringing these prisoners here, your intention is…?" Abbot Wufa asked thoughtfully.
"They have a core disciple named Wang Ye, don't they? He's currently hiding on Mingwang Star, and he killed eight of our core disciples, as well as a group of your monks from the Kudu Monastery. So Yuanyang and I figured we would respond with triple the number," the Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable said with a faint smile.
As he spoke, he suddenly walked up to Ji Sheng, grabbed his chin, and turned that blank, dazed face toward himself. "Tell me, do you think your Senior Brother Wang Ye will come to save you?"
"Second Senior Brother…?"
Focus returned to Ji Sheng's lifeless eyes. He stared in silence at the Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable for a long time before finally recognizing him.
"Pah!"
Ji Sheng spat at his face the next moment.
The saliva didn't land on the Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable's face; instead, it was vaporized by an unseen force.
The Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable lifted Ji Sheng and turned him around, smiling faintly. "Everyone, take a look. The core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace truly have backbone. Honestly, I admire it."
Ji Sheng hung limply in his grip like a dead dog, completely unable to resist. His body had already been sealed by a powerful force.
When nearby cultivators learned that he was a core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace from the Fangcun Realm, their emotions became complicated.
Setting aside the current opposing factions, seeing a core disciple reduced to such a state allowed them to truly feel just how brutal the war of the past centuries had been. Fortunately, they themselves were in a post-war region where conflict had not reached for many years.
"You couldn't find my Second Senior Brother, so you take it out on me? Is this all you Fallen Immortals are capable of? Heh…" mocked Ji Sheng with a strained grin.
The Yuanyang Saintess licked her lips, her eyes carrying a trace of greed. "Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable, he has quite the mouth on him. Why not let me devour him? Perhaps that Wang Ye fellow won't be able to stand it and will crawl out from whatever dark corner he's hiding in, no longer playing the rat."
The Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable chuckled softly. "Yuanyang, be patient. Since we've agreed to execute them publicly, we should follow the original plan."
He then looked toward Abbot Wufa. "Abbot Wufa, we'll need the Kudu Monastery to handle this matter. Spread the word. In one month, Yuanyang and I will publicly execute these cultivators from the Fangcun Realm and the Shenwang Realm. I hope that when the time comes, any cultivator on Mingwang Star with the time and interest will come and observe."
Abbot Wufa's expression shifted slightly. He pressed his palms together and chanted, "Amitabha. Leave it to this humble monk. The news will surely be spread far and wide."
From that day on, the bells of the Kudu Monastery rang continuously, echoing across Mingwang Star. Every cultivator who heard the bells also heard Abbot Wufa's voice in their ears. The message was straightforward, an invitation for all cultivators to attend the execution. The location was the Fire Spirit Valley of the Kudu Monastery.
The valley was rich with subterranean fire veins and served as a place for the temple's monks to temper their minds. Any monk who advanced to the Fusion Realm had to enter Fire Spirit Valley for one hundred years of cultivation to solidify their Buddhist heart. The flames there not only burned the flesh but also had a tremendous impact on the soul.
Those below the Fusion Realm who entered by mistake would either die or have their souls completely destroyed, leaving no chance even to become wandering souls.
As the temple bells continued to ring, countless immortals flocked to Fire Spirit Valley. They came from all over Mingwang Star. Some appeared to have submitted to the fallen ones, accepting their rule. But in truth, they were forced by circumstances, drifting with the waves for survival. Others had genuinely defected, having once fought for the fallen ones and now living comfortably on Mingwang Star. Many also brought along their descendants.
These youths had only heard of core disciples before. They had never actually seen one. Now that they learned that twenty-four core disciples from the Fangcun Realm and Shenwang Realm would be executed in Fire Spirit Valley, they naturally wanted to witness the spectacle. They wanted to see whether these core disciples were truly as amazing as they had learned. Thus, in a short time, the number of cultivators gathered in Fire Spirit Valley, young and old, had already reached into the millions.
Fang Chen and Old Sheng stood at the outskirts, looking toward the center of the valley.
Twenty-four stone pillars stood tall at its center. Ji Sheng and the others were nailed onto them by the Kudu Monastery's demon-subduing spikes. Ordinarily, the fire poison there would not have affected them. But around the pillars sat three hundred monks of the Kudu Monastery. The weakest among them was at the first transformation. They sat cross-legged, chanting scriptures continuously.
Under the influence of these incantations, the fire poison around the pillars became increasingly intense. From time to time, flames would surge upward, engulfing one of the core disciples.
Even though these core disciples did not want to lose their composure before such a massive crowd and tried to grit their teeth, the fire poison burned directly at the soul. The pain was unbearable. They could only release it through agonized screams.
This unbearable torment went on for days, over a dozen times per day. All twenty-four core disciples—including Ji Sheng—had long since lost their robes. Their skin had been burned away layer by layer, their bodies drenched in blood, like being coated in red paint. In some places, the fire poison had burned deep enough to expose the bone.
In such a state, combined with their intermittent screams, there was no trace left of their former dignity as core disciples.
Old Sheng remained expressionless, but his peripheral gaze couldn't help drifting toward Fang Chen.
That was because he recognized Ji Sheng.
