Chapter 40: The Last Day of the Idle Cloud Sect

“Jiang Ning!”

With someone shouting his name, all eyes turned to the three figures who had fallen to the bottom of the mountain.

“It really is Jiang Ning!”

“Jiang Ning, come and meet your fate!”

...

Yang Zhengfeng had also noticed the commotion at this moment. Together with the master of the Six Paths Sect, his gaze swept over Jiang Ning and his companions. On Yang Zhengfeng’s face, endless murderous intent erupted.

“No matter who stands behind you, today you’ll all stay here!”

He muttered to himself. Though he didn’t know who the old man in the hemp robe was hiding behind Jiang Ning, today he had activated the grand formation, determined to perish together with his enemies.

The master of the Six Paths Sect glanced at Jiang Ning, but he had no time to pay him any heed. He was facing Yang Zhengfeng and the overwhelming powers unleashed as the grand formation fused with the terrain—a decisive battle was upon them. Yang Zhengfeng had held back this final move until now.

Merging himself into the formation, death energy naturally leaked out, dispersing into the world. In other words, this was a fatal move. Once used, it would result in death.

But a final, desperate counterattack was terrifying; one misstep, and he too might fall here.

“If this is your choice, then I will accompany you to the end!”

His voice thundered like a storm, shattering all magic and gathering strength to meet the challenge head-on.

Such was the obsession of a cultivator: if he shrank back now, his Dao heart would forever bear a flaw. Faced with life and death, he had to pour all his strength into this battle.

...

“What the hell is going on?” Jiang Ning felt chaos all around him. He looked up and met Yang Zhengfeng’s gaze, which sent a shock through his heart and made him extremely uneasy.

To be stared at by an old monster at the Divine Demon realm, almost snatched away to be used for pill cultivation—anyone would feel apprehensive.

“It seems we’ve managed to escape together with Miss Lin,” Li Zhenyu said with a fan in hand, still putting on airs with his refined speech, making Jiang Ning’s skin crawl.

Lin Qian said nothing. Her beautiful eyes looked upward, knowing this was the final battle and the aftermath might reach them. Without hesitation, her graceful figure touched lightly in the air, riding a rainbow to retreat.

Jiang Ning and Li Zhenyu also withdrew at the same time.

At that moment, disciples of the Six Paths Sect surged forward like madmen.

“Jiang Ning! Come and meet your fate!”

“Jiang Ning, today you must answer for what you did before!”

Jiang Ning: “???”

A huge question mark appeared above his head.

Who were these people? He had never met them—why the violence right from the start? When had he offended such a group?

Li Zhenyu remained calm and ethereal, retreating alongside Jiang Ning.

“Who are you?!” Jiang Ning called out, retreating as the disciples of the Six Paths Sect pursued relentlessly, as if driven by deep hatred.

This struck Jiang Ning as odd. These people were only at the mid-stage of the Awakening realm—not his equal, nothing to fear. But who wanted trouble at such a moment?

Besides, when had he ever offended this whole group? He was utterly confused.

“You dare ask who we are?”

“We are disciples of the Six Paths Sect!”

“You insulted our female disciples, suppressed our brothers, slew our direct disciples—do you still not know who we are?”

“You have the nerve to ask us who we are?”

One by one, the disciples of the Six Paths Sect raged as if they could tear the sky apart.

While the battle behind was poised for its final strike, these disciples acted as though they’d seen their mortal enemy, charging in to kill.

“What the hell, this isn’t my doing!”

Jiang Ning was speechless. Hadn’t he just escaped danger, only to be hunted right away?

Li Zhenyu remained serene, not saying a word.

Even the disciples of the Idle Cloud Sect, who had been fighting for their lives, now looked at Jiang Ning, believing he had caused some great disaster. Many of them harbored resentment.

But knowing their own strength was lacking and drained by the fierce battle, none stepped forward.

They all believed Jiang Ning was the cause of the calamity that befell Idle Cloud Sect.

...

Just then, Yang Zhengfeng began to move!

The entire Idle Cloud Sect seemed like a small world refined by him. Death energy surged, and with every motion he manipulated the forces of heaven and earth, crashing towards the master of the Six Paths Sect.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The master of the Six Paths Sect was undaunted. All the great Dao converged within him, and he had his own trump cards. Now, with all his cards revealed, he summoned a stone tablet, on which ancient Dao energy flowed. Its aura made it nearly equal to his life-bound spiritual artifact.

At the same time, his spiritual consciousness joined the battle, standing before him. It was as if two people fought together—one man and one artifact, bearing down like a mighty army. Every move carried overwhelming momentum, as if drums thundered in everyone’s hearts, shaking their spirits.

“I told you, your formation has flaws—it can’t withstand me!”

The master of the Six Paths Sect thundered, repeatedly emphasizing the formation's weakness. He wanted Yang Zhengfeng to doubt himself during the battle, causing his Dao heart to collapse and ensuring his defeat.

At that moment, Yang Zhengfeng’s eyes narrowed.

“Today, no one will leave!”

The formation around them began to distort space. Suddenly, everyone felt the spiritual energy in the air stagnate.

“Space is sealed!”

Jiang Ning, possessing the body of a celestial spirit, evaded the pursuit of the Six Paths Sect disciples and, together with Li Zhenyu and Lin Qian, hurried toward the gap in the formation blasted open by heavenly thunder.

They wanted to escape this deadly place quickly, but found they couldn’t! The formation had sealed off the space—they had nowhere to run!

Yang Zhengfeng had finally succeeded in merging with the formation, activating it to seal the space.

“Since the momentum of Idle Cloud Sect has run its course, dust shall return to dust, earth to earth—let us all be buried in this land…”

At this moment, Yang Zhengfeng seemed to see through all things, becoming much calmer.

“Madman! You’re a madman!” The master of the Six Paths Sect was clearly unwilling to die here. He attacked madly, white light flashing, countless threads weaving.

But now Yang Zhengfeng seemed to have become one with the Dao, untouchable. The formation sealed the space, slowly shrinking and devouring…

Death energy is the opposite of life energy—it can destroy all things.

Several disciples of the Six Paths Sect, chasing Jiang Ning, were suddenly enveloped by death energy spraying up from underground. In agony, they were reduced to dust, struggling only briefly before vanishing from the world.

The elders beside Yang Zhengfeng regained clarity at this moment. Seeing the scene before them, they were terrified.

Even those at the Divine Demon realm could not withstand so much death energy.

“Ah!!!”

The grand elder of Idle Cloud Sect howled at the sky. As they regained their senses, they understood what had happened.

“No!!!”

All the elders' eyes shattered with despair. Previously out of control, they now realized they had become living formation nodes, and that Idle Cloud Sect was about to be utterly destroyed today!

All disciples—everyone within Idle Cloud Sect—despaired beyond measure.

This was the end of Idle Cloud Sect.