The Quest for Immortality Chapter 2257: Sudden Upheaval

The human heart conceals immense desires.

From these desires in the human heart emerges the impurity of profound evil, incubating deep within the Sea of Consciousness, merging flawlessly with heart and mind, much like a poppy flower unfurling, relentlessly expanding. Safeguarded by the Divine Lord’s Divine Skills, it evades detection, even slipping past the Heaven Void.

Everything was supposed to be flawless at first...

Except for that cursed rascal Mo Hua of Taixu Gate, who shaped Divine Thought into a blade, slicing through the Sea of Consciousness in a single strike—those venomous desires would never have surfaced into the view of these ancestors.

"That accursed brat deserves a thousand deaths!"

Elder Shen clenched his teeth at once, "The truth is out, we must act without delay..."

His right hand, concealed in his sleeve, abruptly paled, morphing into a demonic claw that ruthlessly tore off his own left arm, ripping through skin and muscle to pull out a piece of White Bone from the bloody carnage.

Elder Shen chanted a malevolent incantation.

Faint red glows danced on the White Bone, as though Formation Patterns were igniting.

But in the next moment, a sword gleam abruptly slashed down, cleanly lopping off Elder Shen’s right arm amid spurting blood, halting his incantation mid-chant.

Elder Shen endured a severe backlash, coughing up blood as he whipped his head around to spot the Feather Transformation Realm Elder Shen from Qian Taoist Sect, sword leveled at him.

Around him, Formation Arts Elders from Qian Taoist Sect had erected a Formation, locking down the entire area.

Multiple Feather Transformation Realm Sword Cultivation Elders from the Shen Family also aimed their swords at Elder Shen, boxing him in tight.

Elder Shen spoke coolly, "We’ve fully probed the Solitary Mountain City incident in my Shen Family and found your tracks, Elder Shen."

"Acting on the Old Ancestor’s command, I’ve been watching you closely. Refrain from any rash actions; I can spare your life to face the Old Ancestor’s interrogation."

"Make one wild move, and ten thousand swords will carve you apart right here. Choose wisely."

Elder Shen bared a grin, blood staining his mouth, his tongue twitching.

"Seeking death!"

Elder Shen’s eyes flashed coldly, driving his sword forward in a blaze of icy light; the tip punched through Elder Shen’s tongue and out the back of his skull, foul blood trickling down the blade, etching the ground like acid.

Still, Elder Shen’s tongue writhed on, producing strange, archaic sounds.

Elder Shen’s pupils contracted; he barked swiftly:

"Unite your strength! Erase him utterly!"

The encircling Qian Taoist Sect elders held nothing back, unleashing a barrage of sword and Taoist arts to slay Elder Shen on the spot.

Bathed in blood with a longsword skewering his tongue, Elder Shen flashed a wicked smile, his tongue persisting in motion as he rasped two words.

These words came out muffled yet reverberated hauntingly in every listener’s heart:

"Too late..."

The White Bone from Elder Shen’s severed left arm abruptly fractured, red light blazing fiercely as the Formation Patterns atop it fused into the void, serving as a "key" linking to the Large Formation.

Then blue light erupted, and Elder Shen vanished in an instant.

The lethal strikes from Qian Taoist Sect elders hit only air, missing their chance to annihilate Elder Shen.

Elder Shen burned with fury but felt utterly helpless.

Yet right as Elder Shen invoked the fifth-grade Large Formation to teleport away.

Atop the Sword Observation Tower, the Shen Family Old Ancestor’s face grew icy; with a casual wave, a strand of Sword Qi dissolved into the void, reemerging above Mount of Tao to cleave space itself mid-flight, bisecting Elder Shen—who was fleeing but not yet fully escaped.

Elder Shen’s Escape Skill was brutally interrupted.

His bisected body twisted horrifically under the spatial rift and chaos, mangled into a gory, warped abomination.

Even then, Elder Shen clung to unlife.

His twin flesh segments pulsed with vitality, squirming to reunite and flee onward.

In Dongxu Hall, the one-eyed Old Ancestor bellowed instantly:

"Filthy cur!"

With a bare-handed grasp, the void quaked; a massive Bronze hand coalesced around Elder Shen.

It clenched, shattering the void alongside Elder Shen’s flesh clumps—bones snapping, meat pulverizing, his vile blood vaporized by Void Power.

The Feather Transformation Realm "Elder Shen" perished utterly, reduced to nothing, no corpse or bone or drop of blood left in existence.

But after destroying Elder Shen, the one-eyed Old Ancestor showed no relief.

It felt less like slaying a foe and more like squashing a blood-soaked worm.

And precisely as Elder Shen’s flesh and blood were eradicated.

A thunderous "buzz" echoed across heavens and earth.

This was Spirit Roar.

Born from a Large Formation’s activation, as countless Spirit Stones fuel torrents of Spiritual Power, roaring like ocean surges.

It signaled the fifth-grade Mount of Tao Large Formation reactivating.

This Spirit Roar, like before, boomed massively, rattling souls to indicate full-powered operation.

The skies lit up again, blanketing the world.

Vast Void Power swirled overhead, majestic and terrifying.

Yet this time, the glow varied from prior displays.

The Formation merely hummed along, devoid of killing intent.

Onlookers and cultivators alike wore baffled expressions at this mystery.

While the Heaven Void Ancestors’ faces twisted in horror, foreseeing disaster.

Before, the Formation ran to counter Heaven Void Dharma Phase clashes, safeguarding sword discussion disciples—chiefly Taixu Gate’s prodigy Mo Hua.

As well as shielding Mount of Tao spectators from the dread Spirit Tide of such battles.

Though guarding Mo Hua irked these ancestors, it followed the Formation’s standard protocol, leaving them no grounds to protest.