The first to bear the brunt was the Xia family members. Their Essence Energy was already depleted and they had been enervated of their essence, vitality, and spirit. With the array’s sudden suction, their bodies immediately bled as many of them collapsed to the ground.
Apart from Zhou Wen and Old Master Xia who weren’t affected, even Xia Xuanyue’s Essence Energy began to drain.
“Old Master, please let Xuanyue off. She won’t make the same mistake again,” Xia Liuchuan pleaded.
Old Master Xia had Xia Xuanyue’s head in one hand; yet, she couldn’t move at all. Even the Mythical sword in her hand dropped to the ground as her eyes were filled with horror.
Old Master Xia said calmly, “Don’t think that you can do whatever you want just because you were born into the Xia family. The world is cold and heartless. Any mistake can lead to the downfall of a family. As the future leader of the Xia family, if you don’t even understand this, you have no right to lead the Xia family.”
“Please give Xuanyue another chance.” Xia Liuchuan slammed his head on the ground.
“Rules are rules. A volcano won’t stop erupting because of your pleas, and time won’t stop flowing because of pity. Rules have no feelings, and they are the most straightforward. It looks like you still don’t understand what kind of cruel world you will face as the future leader of the Xia family.” Old Master Xia didn’t have any intention of letting Xia Xuanyue off—Xia Xuanyue’s Essence Energy was almost drained dry.
Xia Liuchuan’s body trembled as he suddenly looked up. The Evil-Slaying Sword in his hand erupted with extreme strength as he stabbed at the golden light of the array.
“Liuchuan!” Ah Cheng’s expression turned even uglier. He wanted to stop Xia Liuchuan, but it was already too late.
Clang!
The power of the Evil-Slaying Sword and the augmentation of Xia Liuchuan’s protective armor failed to slice through the light barrier.
Xia Liuchuan was alarmed, but in the next second, the Pure Hook Sword in his other hand slashed out as well. The two swords slashed at the array in a frenzy, but it only caused the golden barrier to sway. It failed to slice through it.
Instead, his Essence Energy was absorbed by the array, causing the golden light barrier to become even more terrifying.
Old Master Xia looked at Xia Liuchuan coldly and asked, “Little Chuan, I dote on you the most. Are you going to betray me now?”
“I only hope that you can spare Xuanyue. She’s my sister.” Xia Liuchuan’s swords didn’t stop as he continued slashing at the barrier.
“Seems like I need to reconsider the heir to the Xia family.” A cold glint flashed across Old Master Xia’s eyes as he clenched his fists.
Suddenly, a sword beam slashed over. Old Master Xia raised his hand and grabbed it. The golden sword beam was sucked into his palm and vanished instantly. Instead, the Essence Energy on Old Master Xia’s body became even more majestic.
At the same time, a suction force pulled Xia Xuanyue out. It was Zhou Wen’s Demonic Astral Wheel.
“You people from a large family sure know how to have fun. You can even make it sound so dignified by killing your descendants. You’ve really broadened my horizons today.” Zhou Wen pulled Xia Xuanyue to his side, but she wasn’t in a good state. Her Essence Energy was constantly depleting, and she was almost drained dry.
Zhou Wen summoned the Heaven-Opening Scripture. The scripture floated above his head, emitting an invisible force that blocked the array’s suction force, preventing any Essence Energy in a tiny area around him from being sucked into the array.
“To be able to withstand the power of the Heaven and Earth Origin-Returning Array, your talent and the Essence Energy Art you cultivate, as well as your Life Providence and Life Soul, are indeed extraordinary.” Old Master Xia didn’t mind the sarcasm in Zhou Wen’s words. All he did was stare at the Heaven-Opening Scripture above Zhou Wen’s head and ask, “That’s your Life Soul, right? What’s its name?”
“Why should I tell you, you old sicko?” Zhou Wen said with a smile.
“It’s fine. Even if you don’t tell me, I’ll find out soon,” Old Master Xia said as he spread out his palm. All the Essence Energy in the Heaven and Earth Origin-Returning Array gathered towards his palm.
Instantly, there were tragic cries. Many of the Xia family disciples who were struggling died as they spat out blood. Their bodies were instantly sucked dry as they lost their essence, vitality, and spirit.
As for Old Master Xia, after absorbing so much Essence Energy, his aura became extremely terrifying. The Essence Energy that seeped out of his body seemed to condense into something corporeal as it swayed on his body. The cracked Essence Energy made his skin seem transparent.
Be it Xia Liuchuan and Ah Cheng, who were outside the Heaven and Earth Origin-Returning Array, or Zhou Wen and Xia Xuanyue inside the array, they all felt their blood run cold.
It wasn’t that they had never seen a dead person, but more than ten thousand Epic experts had died tragically. Furthermore, they were members of the Xia family. They had never seen anyone so crazy.
“Old Master... Why are you doing this... This is destroying the Xia family...” Xia Xuanyue really couldn’t understand why Old Master Xia would do this.
There were more than ten thousand Epic experts. Even among the six families, there weren’t many who could gather that number of Epic experts.
Furthermore, they had been nurtured by Old Master Xia himself. Now, he had personally killed them. Xia Xuanyue couldn’t figure out why.
“With me around, the Xia family will never be destroyed. So what if there are more than ten thousand Epic experts? I spent such a huge price to nurture them. They were originally only used as a stepping stone for my advancement to the Mythical stage. Now that their mission has been completed, they have died a worthy death.” The Essence Energy in Old Master Xia’s body was as terrifying as a volcanic eruption. Furthermore, his body seemed to be becoming younger. Even his white hair was gradually turning black.
“Advance to the Mythical stage?” Xia Xuanyue couldn’t comprehend. Was it right to sacrifice so many people just to advance to the Mythical stage? Furthermore, among the ten thousand Epic experts, although most of them didn’t share the Xia surname, many of them were blood-related members of the Xia family.
“If one doesn’t enter the Mythical stage, they will ultimately be mortal. No matter how powerful they are, there will be a day when they die. Only by advancing to the Mythical stage can one break through the shackles of life-like dimensional creatures and become a higher life form... Unfortunately, the human body is too weak. Their talent is too poor. Even someone as talented as me can’t rely on the strength of a single person to advance to the Mythical stage.”
Old Master Xia explained indifferently, “I’ve studied many Essence Energy Arts and combined them with the Great Emperor Sutra passed down in our Xia family. I’ve finally found a path to advance to the Mythical stage. It’s to pile up sand into a tower and refine rocks into gold. I gathered the bloodlines, talents, Life Providences, and Life Souls of many geniuses into one, allowing me to break through the limits of humanity and advance to the Mythical stage. This is the only path I can take now.”
Zhou Wen was dumbfounded when he heard that. He finally knew why the Xia family had secretly attacked so many talented youths. It was all because of Old Master Xia.
Zhou Wen originally imagined that Wang Mingyuan’s advancement to the Mythical stage was already very ruthless, but compared to Old Master Xia’s method, Wang Mingyuan’s advancement was as holy as an angel.