Twelve sword lights, sharp and unstoppable, instantly shredded the two massive palms. The remaining sword energy clashed with the illusory light butterflies like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep. Violent energy waves immediately overturned the great hall.
The auras of the five grandmasters fused, darkening the sky as their terrifying power swept outward. Above the nearby estates surrounding the Royal Duke's Manor, more than a dozen figures rose into the air, watching from afar.
"Stop... Bai Ye, listen to your father. Stop now. I promise you an explanation for this matter. If you continue fighting, it'll be too late once the grandmasters from the palace arrive," Yan Yuheng pleaded. As a royal family member, he knew certain secrets. Currently, there were seven supreme grandmasters in seclusion within the royal capital. If this escalated further, it would be difficult to contain. Attacking the Royal Duke's legitimate wife in the capital would leave both his royal brother and the Holy Land of Hongyu with no choice but to show no mercy to Bai Ye.
At this moment, the two black-robed enforcers and Princess Lin also looked grim. The three of them had barely managed to withstand Bai Ye's attack, leaving a cloud of dread hanging over their hearts.
"No need!" Bai Ye's voice was icy. Today, she was determined to kill her opponent.
As she spoke, another sword lotus appeared, and the two sword lotuses intertwined, spiraling upward. They transformed into a river of sword energy over a hundred meters long, looming over the Royal Duke's Manor.
At that moment, the air was filled with the sound of swords ringing. The sharp auras locked onto the three below, and the terrifying pressure made the other grandmasters who intended to intervene stop in their tracks and retreat hastily, leaving behind a chorus of exclamations.
"A supreme grandmaster?"
"Isn't that Bai Ye, the Great Elder of the Qingling Sect? Why has she come to the Royal Duke's Manor on a killing spree?"
"Retreat immediately!"
At this moment, Princess Lin's expression froze completely, her eyes filled with disbelief. "A supreme grandmaster... how is that possible?"
Bai Ye did not respond. With a slight flick of her jade-like hand, the hundred-meter-long sword energy river, like a heavenly river, descended.
The two black-robed grandmasters were utterly terrified. Faced with a supreme grandmaster's killing blow, they dared not confront it head-on and instantly retreated.
This left Lin Shuxian, pale with fear. She was locked onto by the supernatural power and had no time to escape. She could only channel her own abilities, combining them with her divine weapon to form a massive jade Ruyi, which shot upward. Countless palm-sized illusory light butterflies surrounded the jade Ruyi, rushing into the sword energy river like moths to a flame.
The harsh sound of metal clashing rang out in all directions. The radiant jade Ruyi lasted only three breaths before shattering. Lin Shuxian's face turned pale as she spat out blood. That divine weapon had been nurtured with her essence, and its destruction dealt her a severe blow.
"Your Highness, save me!" Lin Shuxian cried out desperately. Yan Yuheng sighed softly and rushed forward, but he was instantly sent flying by the sweeping sword energy river.
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Shrouded by the sword energy, Lin Shuxian's face turned deathly white, her eyes filled with despair.
"Mother! Please, spare her!"
"Mother, no!"
Just as she thought she was doomed, Bai Ye raised her jade hand, and the supernatural power suddenly froze.
"I'll give you one last chance. How much were you involved in my mother's death?"
The cold question sent a shiver down Lin Shuxian's spine. Her lips trembled as she spoke, "If I tell you, will you let me go?"
Bai Ye remained silent, her jade hand moving slightly, and the frozen sword energy river began to stir again.
"Wait, I'll talk... I'll talk! Your mother was a member of the Anti-Demon Alliance. I exposed her, but it was the emperor who ordered the poisoning—it had nothing to do with me..."
"So it was you! You vile, jealous woman! How dare you?!" Yan Yuheng's face turned ashen as he pointed at Lin Shuxian, trembling with rage.
"Jealous? Yan Yuheng, you're nothing but a coward, a lowlife. I must have been blind to marry you. If you weren't biased, how could this have happened? I am the only daughter of the Third Elder of the Holy Land of Hongyu, of noble birth. Yet after marrying into your Royal Duke's Manor, I was treated worse than a concubine from commoner stock!"
"Shut up!" Yan Yuheng, enraged, spat out a mouthful of blood. The onlookers in the manor exchanged uneasy glances.
Watching the two bicker, Bai Ye's patience wore thin. With a surge of the sword energy river, she brought it crashing down, tearing them apart.
And with that, the Royal Duke's legitimate wife perished.
Yan Feiyu and Yan Miaoyin collapsed to the ground, frozen with fear.
Yan Yuheng stood there, dazed, lost in thought. The guards and enforcers of the manor looked at Bai Ye with eyes full of terror, unsure of what to do.
Bai Ye glanced around, then turned and left without looking back. Along the way, everyone moved aside to clear a path for her.
The two black-robed grandmasters exchanged glances toward the palace, puzzled as to why the reinforcements had yet to arrive.
Leaving the Royal Duke's Manor, Bai Ye felt a wave of confusion. Killing one enemy hadn't brought her much relief, only deeper sorrow. Pausing for a moment, she turned toward the palace on her right.
"Emperor Yanchen of the Great Yan Dynasty!"
Before her words had even faded, a surge of demonic energy rose from the palace, and the sky instantly darkened. A suffocating pressure swept over.
"An apocalyptic-level demon? A grandmaster?"
Bai Ye's expression shifted slightly as she carefully concealed her aura and leaped onto a nearby tall building to observe.
In the direction of the palace, a scarlet demon several thousand meters tall roared toward the sky, its demonic might shaking the world. Seven towering figures of grandmasters floated in the sky, constantly attacking the demon.
In an instant, terrifying energy waves spread, turning countless magnificent buildings into rubble.
"Has a demonic disaster broken out?"
Bai Ye's face grew serious. Although she had just stepped into the realm of supreme grandmasters, she was still far from matching a grandmaster, like a child compared to an adult.
"I should leave..."
Casting one last glance at the palace, Bai Ye prepared to depart, when her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a faint crimson light approaching, filled with demonic energy.
"A demon?!"
Bai Ye steadied herself, and two illusory sword lotuses appeared in front of her.
"Junior Sister?"
The crimson light dissipated, revealing a bewitching figure.
"Red... Senior Sister Hongfeng?"
Bai Ye's mouth parted slightly in shock.
"I sensed a familiar aura here earlier and came to check it out. I didn't expect it to be you, Junior Sister."
Liu Hongfeng, draped in a light veil and wearing crimson crystal shoes, had a seductive smile on her face, her expression full of joy.
"Senior Sister... you've changed so much!" Bai Ye was taken aback. It had only been two or three months since her senior sister had left, yet her appearance, aura, and strength had undergone a complete transformation.
"And you, Junior Sister, have transformed from an innocent girl into a graceful fairy," Liu Hongfeng laughed softly, her face radiant with happiness.
"Not as beautiful as you, Senior Sister..."
Bai Ye blushed and lowered her head. Liu Hongfeng smiled, taking hold of Bai Ye's arm.
"Let's leave the city. It's no longer safe here."
"Alright!"
With a flash of crimson light, the two disappeared from the scene.
Moments later, the towering demon within the palace vanished instantly.
A roar of anger followed, and a few moments later, hundreds of powerful martial artists soared into the sky.
"Find that demonic cultivator!"
"Yes, Patriarch!"
Like locusts, countless figures scattered across the sky.