Chapter 051: The True Slaughter

“Wind sweeps away the remnants!”
“Wild sand fills the skies!”
“Raging waves crash!”
With each thunderous shout, swift and cunning sword techniques struck out amid the blaze.
Man and sword fused as one, the sword contained the man, and the man embodied the sword.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Cold gleams pierced the air, sword shadows interwove, blossoms of steel filled the heavens.
Splurt, splurt, splurt...
Columns of blood erupted, mist of crimson enveloped, the stench of iron assaulted the senses.
At this moment, Mu Tianhen was like an elusive phantom, chilling the hearts of all. More like a demon from hell, merciless in his harvest of lives.
Wherever he passed, none survived. The deaths were horrifying: some decapitated, some pierced through the heart, some cleaved in half, others hacked into pieces...
In short, anyone struck by Mu Tianhen’s sword perished without a complete corpse.
“A demon! He’s a demon!”
“Run!”
“I don’t want to die...”
Cries of anguish echoed through the night, reaching up to the clouds; figures fled in panic, directionless and desperate.
Yet no matter how fiercely they wished to live, how desperately they retreated, none could escape Mu Tianhen’s killing blade.
In this moment, not only the lowly victims, but even the powerful Mu family members—those who had themselves slaughtered many—were frightened by Mu Tianhen’s massacre.
They all halted, watching Mu Tianhen as he struck again and again, reaping lives. It seemed their understanding of him had returned to unfamiliarity.
Those trapped within the illusion were shocked, but reality’s witnesses were even more terrified.
All who watched Mu Tianhen treating lives as weeds upon the bronze plate felt their hearts tremble, sweat trickling down their cheeks, soaking their robes.
Especially the thirty-some family representatives, whose faces were pale as death, convinced this nightmare would soon come true. They would be slain by Mu Tianhen’s merciless hand.
They firmly believed Mu Tianhen had cultivated demonic arts, fallen deeply into the abyss, utterly consumed by inner demons, with no consciousness of his own.
All that remained was endless slaughter.

Not only outsiders, but even the Mu family itself thought so.
Even Mu Qianyuan, the elder who had lived hundreds of years, dared no longer call Mu Tianhen a normal man. He had never seen such cruelty.
To butcher humans as if chopping vegetables—who but the demon clans could do such a thing?
Thus, Mu Qianyuan glanced at the figure before the bronze plate, eyes still tightly shut, his heart torn.
He hoped Mu Tianhen would grow stronger, strong enough to lead the Mu family to unprecedented heights, to become the foremost family in Shunan City.
But he did not wish for Mu Tianhen to gain strength in this manner.
For if so, Mu Tianhen would no longer be the person he knew, but a terrifying fiend who knew only slaughter.
Perhaps he would become a puppet of the inner demon, a tool for murder.
In such a case, not only would the Mu family fail to prosper, but they would likely be ruined, even annihilated.
At this time, anyone who stabbed Mu Tianhen could kill him outright, ending this dreadful nightmare.
Because Mu Tianhen’s consciousness was wholly immersed in the illusion, unable to evade any real-world attack.
Yet Mu Qianyuan was unwilling, and would never allow others to ambush Mu Tianhen. He still harbored a slim hope, that Mu Tianhen could break free from the inner demon.
Among all, only Mu Tianxue cared not whether Mu Tianhen was controlled by inner demons or had become a devil.
She wanted only for her brother to live, and even if he became a demon, she would remain by his side. Even unto death, she would not retreat.
However, Mu Tianxue failed to notice that many had already marked her as a dangerous threat. After all, her sudden eruption in the illusion had terrified many.
Even though she was still an ordinary person yet to awaken her martial veins, everyone knew that with Mu Tianhen’s full support, Mu Tianxue would soon become a practitioner.
And, as she had shown in the illusion, would become a formidable slayer.
If anyone were to attack Mu Tianhen now, they would surely take Mu Tianxue as well, snuffing her out in the cradle to eliminate future threats.
Yet all understood that, with their current abilities, they could not harm the siblings in the slightest.
For Mu Qianyuan and the other Mu family experts were present; anyone who tried would find only death. Unless the attacker’s cultivation surpassed Mu Qianyuan’s.
But such a possibility was slim, for every family’s patriarch would not act lightly, preferring to observe. Protecting their clan from annihilation was their duty.
Unless the family faced imminent peril, they would not intervene.
Their inaction, however, did not mean their families would remain passive. On the contrary, many clans began to mobilize.
In an instant, Shunan City became abuzz with activity and tension.

Families summoned their people, some remained in reserve, others headed to the Mu family’s training ground. All wished to see what was happening.
As the crowd grew larger, Mu Qianyuan edged closer to Mu Tianhen’s body. He knew trouble could erupt at any moment.
He had to ensure nothing happened before Mu Tianhen returned.
With no patriarchs appearing, no matter how many came, none dared act rashly. For a fifth realm Sky-Scrying master was not someone they could oppose.
Thus, Mu Qianyuan effectively deterred the masses and protected Mu Tianhen.
Returning to the illusion, Mu Tianhen and his sword had annihilated over two thousand, bodies piled high, only a few Blood-Burning stage experts still fleeing desperately.
Sadly, in Mu Tianhen’s eyes, their speed was far too slow, and he needn’t fear any would escape.
Yet Mu Tianhen did not wish to waste time, for much awaited him.
He continued swinging his sword with blinding speed, slaughtering the last twenty or so, ending the massacre.
Mu Tianhen glanced at Mu Qianyuan and the others, then at the still-burning flames, his killing intent undiminished, and spoke to the other three: “Follow me. We’ll wash in blood every family involved in this affair!”
With these words, Mu Tianhen took the lead, leaping away, racing toward the nearest enemy clan.
Behind him, Mu Tianxue and the others wasted no thought, instantly using their movement arts to follow closely.
No one could have foreseen that this night would not mark the Mu family’s destruction, but that of over thirty clans!
The moment they struck against the Mu family, their fate was sealed.
Arriving at the enemy family’s compound, Mu Tianhen did not wait to see if anyone would resist—he charged in, slaughtering every person he encountered!
Perhaps infected by Mu Tianhen’s ferocity, Mu Tianxue and her companions also entered slaughter mode, sparing no enemy.
Innocence meant nothing—such talk was nonsense!
Victory crowns the king, defeat brands the villain; this truth is eternal, for when they attacked the Mu family, they spared no one either.
Therefore, Mu Tianhen cared not who he met, each fell beneath his sword.
Suddenly, wails and cries echoed throughout the compound, and figures collapsed into pools of blood.