Chapter 134: The Death of Qian Xunji
The air in the secret chamber was thick, heavy, and smelled faintly of aged incense and old power. It was a room built beneath the Supreme Pontiff Palace, soundproofed with the most advanced techniques, a place where no scream could ever escape.
"No… From the moment you fell for that waste, for another man, you already betrayed me." Qian Xunji's voice was a low growl. He roughly grabbed Bibi Dong's wrist, his fingers digging into her skin like steel bands.
Bibi Dong, her spirit power completely sealed by Qian Xunji's specialized technique, was just an ordinary person with a slightly stronger physique. She was powerless. He threw her onto the large, ornate bed without any resistance.
"No! Don't… Teacher, I beg you…" Bibi Dong clutched the crimson robes at her chest, scrambling backward until she hit the cold, carved headboard. She curled up in the corner of the bed, her body trembling violently. Her pupils were wide, filled with a sickening mixture of fear, despair, and the faint sheen of tears.
This wasn't her teacher. This was a monster.
"Bibi Dong, you are mine." Qian Xunji's voice had lost all its usual warmth, all the pretense of the noble Supreme Pontiff. It was raw and possessive. "From the moment you awakened your twin spirits, your destiny was already sealed. You belong to me. You belong to Spirit Hall. You were never allowed to love anyone."
He calmly took off his ornate, Nine-Curved Purple-Gold Crown and tossed it aside. He began to tear off his crimson-gold pontifical robe, revealing the shining, golden armor he wore underneath.
Qian Xunji walked toward the bed with a cruel smile. The aggressive, predatory look in his eyes was undisguised, and it made Bibi Dong's blood run cold.
"Qian Xunji."
Just as Qian Xunji was about to take his final step, to fully transform into the "Secret Chamber Douluo," a sudden, cold voice echoed through the sealed room.
The voice was not loud, but it cut through the oppressive silence like a blade of ice.
The smile on Qian Xunji's face instantly froze.
One must know that as a Level 95 Titled Douluo and the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall, he was an absolute authority in the entire Douluo Continent's Spirit Master world. Besides his father, the High Priest Qian Daoliu, it had been unknown how many years since anyone had dared to call him by his full name.
Moreover, this was his secret room. It was buried deep within the most heavily guarded Supreme Pontiff Palace, its entrance known only to him. To enter this place… the newcomer was truly, and terrifyingly, ill-intentioned.
Qian Xunji's attention was instantly drawn away from Bibi Dong. He spun around, his spirit power erupting.
Bibi Dong, seeing that momentary distraction, took the opportunity. With a desperate sob, she tried to roll off the far side of the bed to escape.
Qian Xunji merely snorted coldly, "Insolent." Without even looking, he struck her on the back of her neck with a sharp hand chop.
Then, without hesitation, his body blurred. He burst through the solid, reinforced-iron door of the inner chamber, appearing in the small antechamber outside. His spirit power instantly rose to its peak, and his 6-winged angel spirit half-manifested behind him, bathing the dark room in a holy, yet menacing, golden light. He stood cautiously on guard, his senses scanning every shadow for any movement.
Back in the room, Bibi Dong felt her vision go black. Her body went completely limp, and she fell back onto the soft mattress, her eyes slowly closing. The last tears of ultimate despair overflowed, tracing paths down her cheeks.
A person, no matter who they are, can only truly see their own heart when facing death or absolute despair.
"Qin Xuan."
At this moment, the person Bibi Dong thought of was not the "waste" she had risked everything for, Yu Xiaogang. It was Qin Xuan.
It was the man who had warned her. The man who had seen through her teacher. The man she had argued with, dismissed, and resented. In her final, fading moment of consciousness, she seemed to see his cold, handsome figure standing in the darkness.
He was right.
Tears of regret overflowed from her eyes as she slipped into unconsciousness.
"It's you?" Qian Xunji stared ahead as the secret room's main iron door, the one leading to the outside world, slowly creaked open. A figure holding a long, slender sword appeared in his sight.
Drip, drip.
Fresh red blood dripped from the sword's tip, splattering silently onto the stone floor. The sword-wielding figure slowly stepped out of the darkness and into the golden light of Qian Xunji's aura, revealing a flawless, handsome face, completely devoid of emotion.
"You seem quite surprised," Qin Xuan said, his voice calm.
Qian Xunji's gaze darted around the antechamber with considerable apprehension. He ignored the bodies of his personal guards, who lay slain in the hallway beyond the door. He did not answer, but instead asked, "Where is the Second Offering? Didn't Jingni come with you?"
He knew Qin Xuan. He was a genius, but he was still young. He would never dare to come here alone. His only true fear was the terrifying Second Offering, who was loyal to Qin Xuan.
Qin Xuan did not answer. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "I came for the Holy Maiden."
Upon hearing this, and seeing no one else, Qian Xunji burst into laughter. The tension in his shoulders eased, replaced by a cold, arrogant fury. "It seems the Second Offering didn't come. A fatal miscalculation."
"Although I don't know how you found this secret room, you shouldn't have come, and of all things, you shouldn't have come alone."
"My good 'second brother,' since you've come, then stay here forever."
As he spoke, he fully summoned his Seraphim Spirit. Two yellow, two purple, and five black spirit rings revolved around his body, pulsating and flashing with dazzling, overwhelming light.
"Must it be this way?" Qin Xuan said calmly, his grip on his sword tightening.
"Yes! Qin Xuan, you had a path to heaven but didn't take it; you chose to come to hell where there was no gate! You should have died two years ago!" Qian Xunji shouted, his face twisting with rage.
"But don't worry. Afterwards, I will inform the Second Offering that it was someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who ambushed and killed you. Then I will mobilize the entire Spirit Hall's power to avenge you and wipe their sect from the map. Your death will be very useful."
With his right palm open, his Angel Spirit radiated a sacred, purifying aura. The 5th spirit ring on his body lit up, and a golden vortex appeared in front of his palm. A golden light sword, humming with terrifying power, gradually emerged from the center of the vortex.
"Qin Xuan, give me your life! Fifth Spirit Ability—Angelic Sacred Sword!"
The golden light sword was grasped in his hand. Just as Qian Xunji was about to remotely throw the Angelic Sacred Sword at Qin Xuan, a ghostly cold voice echoed from the shadows beside his ear.
"You don't have this chance."
As the words fell, a chilling "thump" sound was heard.
Qian Xunji's body froze. The Angelic Sacred Sword in his hand wavered.
His chest… had been pierced by a pure white, crystalline sharp blade.
Strangely, no blood flowed from the wound; instead, a frosty mist spread from it, freezing his armor and his flesh.
With a crisp clink, the Angelic Sacred Sword fell from his nerveless grasp and shattered on the ground. Qian Xunji's pupils constricted instantly. "This… how… how is this possible…"
Ignoring Qin Xuan, who stood opposite him, he incredulously looked down at his chest, which had been pierced from behind by the sharp blade. He didn't need to guess; he knew who had done it.
His consciousness began to blur. Even at this moment, Qian Xunji still couldn't believe that someone dared, or could, kill him here.
So, he circulated his spirit power, using his last bit of strength to roar, not with his voice, but with a Spirit Power transmission aimed at the heavens, at the Elder Hall where his father resided.
"The one who killed me, it was Qin Xuan and Jingni! Father, avenge me… Ah!"
Jingni, her form shimmering as she appeared from the shadows, snorted coldly and ripped the ice blade from his back. Qian Xunji screamed, a true sound of agony, and fell to the ground with a thud, his spirit power dissipating.
Qin Xuan walked over, his face impassive as he looked down at the fallen Supreme Pontiff. "Do you think the High Priest can hear you in this place?"
"Of course… he can!" Qian Xunji choked, blood and ice shards spilling from his mouth. "Although this secret room is soundproof, it cannot block… spirit power transmissions from a Titled Douluo! Haha… Qin Xuan, you're finished! My father won't let you go! Spirit Hall… won't let you go…"
After speaking, he burst into a gurgling, bloody laugh. This was a sign of his internal organs, frozen and then shattered, rupturing completely.
"Did you think I hadn't anticipated this?" Qin Xuan waved his hand.
A black figure, like a shadow detaching itself from the wall, appeared beside him, kneeling on one knee. "Lord Qin Xuan." It was Mo Ya.
Qin Xuan said, "Let me introduce you. This is Mo Ya, my subordinate. He has the ability to completely block sound, and spirit power transmissions. As soon as you saw me, he had already activated a layer of soundproofing around this entire chamber. Your voice, and your little spirit message, cannot get out."
"Otherwise, do you think I would just appear before you like this?" Qin Xuan crouched down, his face close to Qian Xunji's.
"But now it seems you are even dumber than I imagined. I thought you would call for help the moment you sensed someone. But you didn't. You were too arrogant. Too careless."
"My only regret… is that I didn't kill you when you proposed going to the City of Slaughter back then…" Qian Xunji was gasping for air, his voice gradually weakening until it was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
[Qian Xunji's resentment + 88888]
[Qian Xunji's resentment + 288888]
[Qian Xunji's resentment + 288888]
"But the problem is you didn't, isn't it?" Qin Xuan smiled, a cold, terrifying smile. "You should know that ever since you tried to have me killed, there has been an unending feud between us."
"But rest assured, my dear 'elder brother,' I will take over Spirit Hall for you in the future. I will lead Spirit Hall to a glory you could never even dream of."
At this point, Qin Xuan half-crouched, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "And your family… I will take good care of them too. I will personally care for your 'wife' and 'children'."
[Qian Xunji's resentment + 288888]
[Qian Xunji's resentment + 888888]
[Qian Xunji's resentment + 1888888]
"So… you had it all planned out…" After hearing Qin Xuan's words, Qian Xunji's eyes widened in a final, apoplectic fury.
His golden pupils were wide open. The phrase 'I will personally care for your wife and children' echoed repeatedly in his dying mind. He didn't understand that the word 'wife' (wife) could also encompass children in some contexts.
But that didn't stop him from understanding Qin Xuan's sinister, venomous intentions. He would take everything.
Thinking of this, he didn't know where he found the strength. As if in a final burst of energy, his body convulsed, and he suddenly extended his right hand, not for Qin Xuan, but to try and detonate his own spirit rings.
But Jingni delivered another sword strike, piercing his heart.
At the same time, Qin Xuan also drew his sword; it was almost an unconscious, instinctive swing. His Changming Sword sliced cleanly through Qian Xunji's throat, silencing him forever.
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