Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

However, under the purification of the nameless sword's power to ward off evil, they melted and evaporated rapidly, like ice and snow encountering a raging fire, eventually turning into wisps of black smoke that dissipated into the air.

Amidst the billowing black smoke, two illusory figures slowly emerged.

One of the figures, dressed in a golden Taoist robe, with a dignified face, was the sect leader of the Xuanqi Sect. The other figure, dressed in a dark black Taoist robe, was tall and thin with a sinister face; he was the cave-guarding elder, Zhong Yuanzi.

Their figures were semi-transparent, clearly remnants of vengeful spirits, with empty and bewildered eyes, as if they had not yet fully awakened from their long slumber.

The sect leader's gaze slowly shifted, landing on the nameless blade in Li Yuan's hand. When he sensed the familiar aura of the Golden Vein Earth Beast within the blade, his eyes suddenly cleared, followed by a surge of frenzied greed.

"Golden Vein Earth Beast..."

"It's the aura of the Golden Vein Earth Beast! My immortal artifact! My immortal artifact is still here!" He let out a frenzied roar and pounced on Li Yuan.

Li Yuan easily dodged to the side, unleashing a slash that forced the sect leader back. Looking at the sect leader before him, who had become a vengeful spirit yet remained obstinate, he coldly said, "You are already dead, and your Xuanqi Sect has long been destroyed."

"How long are you going to remain so stubborn?"

"What do you know!"

The sect leader roared, his face contorted with madness, "Once we forge a celestial artifact, my Xuanqi Sect will become the number one artifact sect in the world!"

"If I can go down in history, then the sacrifices of those miners and those disciples will have been worthwhile."

"I did nothing wrong!"

His words seemed to touch upon the remaining fragments of memory in this space, and blurry images slowly emerged in the surrounding air.

He saw that the Xuanqi Sect had mobilized the entire sect to set up a massive refining array in the desolate valley.

The sect leader stood at the center of the formation, his hands forming a hand seal, activating the formation in an attempt to completely refine the Golden Vein Earth Beast.

However, the power of the Golden Vein Earth Beast after its berserk transformation far exceeded their expectations, and it resisted fiercely during the refining process, causing the formation to begin to go out of control.

The sect leader's expression changed drastically. Seeing that the formation was about to collapse, he did not hesitate to push his closest disciple into the formation with a palm strike.

The disciple let out a desperate scream as his body rapidly melted in the flames, turning into pure blood energy that was absorbed by the Golden Vein Earth Beast.

Unfortunately, the situation did not reverse. The blood energy made the golden-veined earth beast even more ferocious. The sect leader gritted his teeth, his eyes flashed, and taking advantage of Zhong Yuanzi's inattention, he struck him in the back with a palm, pushing him into the formation as well.

"Sect Master, you—!"

Zhong Yuanzi turned back to look at him in disbelief, her eyes filled with shock, and her venomous voice echoed throughout the valley, "I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

His body burned in the flames, turning into a black aura of resentment that coiled around the golden-veined earth beast.

"roar!"

The Golden Vein Earth Beast let out a deafening roar, its power surging once more, finally breaking free from the array's restraints and lunging towards the sect leader.

In the deep valley, the sect leader and the golden-veined earth beast fought a desperate battle, the heavens and earth darkening in the process. The final result would be that both would be severely injured and perish together.

The entire mine collapsed in the explosion of the formation, burying everyone in endless darkness.

Looking at those images, Li Yuan slowly closed his eyes.

"He brought this upon himself; for his own selfish desires, he caused the deaths of hundreds of people in the entire clan."

He opened his eyes, looked at the sect leader's distorted face, and said coldly, "You dare call yourself the leader of a sect? You dare dream of being remembered in history? Your so-called sacrifice is nothing but an excuse for your own greed and ambition!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

The sect leader roared, his figure contorting violently, "I have no selfish motives! Everything I've done is for the sect, for the future of the Xuanqi Sect!"

"Those disciples are fortunate to be able to sacrifice themselves for the sect; they should feel honored!"

He waved his hands and roared hysterically.

Just then, countless illusory figures suddenly appeared in the surrounding air.

Some of those figures were dressed in the coarse cloth clothes of miners, some in the Taoist robes of Xuanqi Sect disciples, and some in the attire of elders.

They were all pale-faced, their eyes filled with resentment, staring intently at the sect leader.

Those are the wronged souls who were killed by the sect leader.

They had wandered in this space for thousands of years, and now they finally regained their memories and recognized the true face of their enemy.

"Sect Master... do you still remember me? I'm your personal disciple... and you actually pushed me into the formation with your own hands..."

"Sect Master... I'm an elder who's followed you for twenty years... and you've sacrificed me too..."

"Give me back my life..."

"Give me back my life!"

Countless vengeful spirits, emitting mournful howls, surged towards the sect leader like a tidal wave.

The sect leader's expression changed drastically. He wanted to resist, but his strength had already been almost completely depleted. Faced with the siege of countless wronged souls, he was powerless to resist. He was torn and pulled by those vengeful spirits, and his figure became fainter and more transparent.

But he continued to scream frantically, "I did nothing wrong! I did nothing wrong!"

"I did it all for the sect, for the Xuanqi Sect!"

Li Yuan looked at him, shook his head, and sheathed his sword.

"Stubborn to the end, unrepentant to the death, a person like you truly doesn't deserve any sympathy."

The vengeful spirits tore at the sect leader piece by piece, devouring him completely. The sect leader's figure grew fainter and fainter amidst the tearing of countless vengeful spirits, eventually turning into a wisp of almost invisible black smoke.

But within that wisp of black smoke, a pair of greedy eyes remained fixed on the nameless knife in Li Yuan's hand.

He let out a final roar and lunged at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan did not draw his sword, but simply extended his finger and gently touched the wisp of black smoke that was rushing towards him.

A streak of silvery-white starlight flashed, splitting the black smoke in two.

The sect leader's figure twisted and struggled in the starlight before finally disappearing completely.

In his final moments before vanishing, a strange sense of satisfaction appeared on his face, as if dying by this divine weapon was an honor.

Li Yuan withdrew his finger, looked at the empty air, and remained silent for a moment.

Behind him came Wu Yu's cheerful voice: "Hey, Brother Li, what are you daydreaming about? We're done and ready to call it a day."

"Shouldn't we start thinking about how to get out of here?"

Li Yuan turned around, looked at Wu Yu, who was covered in blood but still grinning, and then looked at the others who were also covered in wounds but had all breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Um."

"That's a wrap."

He looked up at the sky above the mine, obscured by layers of rocks.

Although he couldn't see them, he knew the stars were always there.

After the vengeful spirits completely dissipated, the cold and oppressive feeling in the mine also lessened considerably.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Some people plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, while others leaned against the rock wall, taking out healing pills and putting them in their mouths.

Wu Yu lay flat on the ground, limbs outstretched, staring at the cave ceiling, letting out a long sigh of relief: "Damn it... it's finally over..."

Only Li Yuan, holding the nameless sword, stood still, his gaze sweeping around, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Even though the vengeful spirits had dissipated, he keenly sensed that the space in this mine was still chaotic. The distorted feeling of space, as if being kneaded by an invisible hand, which made him feel nauseous, had not completely disappeared.