Chapter 36: All the Women of the Yang Residence Are Sent to the Tribunal House!

With his bitter vengeance achieved, Shen Yan felt a clarity and vitality within himself, as if the years of pain pressed deep in his heart had finally found release.

Within the great hall, only a handful of the Yang clan remained. They cowered like frightened rabbits, heads bowed and bodies trembling. The stench of blood was enough to make these once-privileged women retch with nausea, and the muffled cries of their kin rendered them too terrified even to glare at Shen Yan with hatred.

Facing these women of the Yang family, Shen Yan’s gaze was cool and indifferent, as if he were some divine being looking down from above.

After a long silence, when most of the Yang men had perished and the punished women had fallen silent, Shen Yan conjured a vast prison of water from the mansion’s own sources, sealing the survivors within.

He had business yet to attend to: to pursue the two cultivators who had slipped away so suddenly.

The night was moonless, but stars shone bright. With the lingering trace of their magical energy, Shen Yan, riding his crane, swiftly caught up with the pair who had tried to flee in secret.

“And where might you two be heading?” he inquired.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had overtaken them. A sweep of his spiritual sense confirmed both were only at the early stages of Qi Refining. Shen Yan stepped forth to block their path.

“Who are you?” The two were startled, but Old Xu, shrewd with age, quickly feigned terror and asked, “Was it you who killed Zhou Shun?”

He made no pretense of hiding his identity or feigning ignorance; for Shen Yan to have caught up so quickly in the darkness, he must have left some means behind. Lying would only hasten his own death.

“It seems you two are sensible. Yes, I killed Zhou Shun and that woman Ling Qian as well,” Shen Yan nodded, not bothering to disguise the truth. “And as for the rest, every man and woman of the Yang family has been dealt with by my hand.”

At his words, the two men stiffened. Suddenly, Old Feng lashed out with his palm towards Shen Yan and, in the same motion, tried to retreat.

“Courting death!” Shen Yan’s gaze chilled. The Flowing Cloud Sword flashed, easily shattering Old Feng’s palm strike. Just as he was about to kill them both, Old Xu dropped to his knees and cried, “Senior, spare us! Please, have mercy!”

Old Feng, his soul nearly fled, saw the sword and lost all thought of escape. He too fell to his knees, kowtowing desperately.

Shen Yan paused, considering for a moment before asking, “Do you have anything left to say?”

Kneeling, Old Xu replied respectfully, “For Senior to have slaughtered the Yang family in a single night, surely there must be a deep grudge. But Senior, you must be careful: the Yang family’s eldest daughter, Yang Yun, is a true disciple of the Jade Immortal Sect overseas. If word of this reaches her, trouble may be unavoidable for you.”

Though outwardly pledging loyalty, Old Xu was in fact subtly threatening Shen Yan. With the Yang family gone, only they held news of Yang Yun. If Shen Yan killed them here, he would lose this information.

Unfortunately, Old Xu could hardly imagine that Shen Yan was no mere enemy of the Yang family.

“There’s no need for you two to concern yourselves with that. If there’s nothing else, then you may take your leave from this world,” Shen Yan said coldly. To cut the weeds, one must pull out the roots; he well understood this principle. He summoned the Primordial Ice to finish them off.

“Please, wait—” Old Feng cried out in panic, fearing Shen Yan would strike too quickly. He hurriedly produced a piece of beast hide from his robes. “Senior, we have a treasure to offer. Please, take a look.”

Shen Yan glanced at him in puzzlement, accepted the hide, and found it was a map—specifically, a map of Jinzhou Prefecture, with a heavy red circle drawn about Tianzhu Mountain.

“A map of Jinzhou Prefecture? What sort of treasure is this?” Shen Yan sneered.

“You are unaware, Senior. This map points to the hidden abode of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. My brother and I have served the Yangs for over a decade, seeking this very cave dwelling,” Old Xu hurried to explain, hoping to seize the last chance for survival before Old Feng could monopolize the credit.

“How laughable. If there were a predecessor’s cave in Jinzhou, would you really be the first to find it? This is the domain of the Jade Immortal Sect—any such place would have been discovered long ago. Do you think two early-stage Qi Refiners could hope to claim it?” Shen Yan scoffed at their story; he had read widely on the Law Transmission Peak of Jingyun Island. In the cultivation world, there were indeed hidden abodes and forbidden trial grounds, some even restricting entry by cultivation level. Yet all such places were firmly held by the great sects. It was laughable to think that two unaffiliated cultivators could approach, let alone seize any opportunity.

Even the sect’s own disciples fought tooth and nail for entry—why would they let outsiders covet such treasures? Did they think immortals were all kindly and benevolent?

“You misunderstand, Senior. This cave belonged to our ancestor, and because of his unique cultivation method, the Jade Immortal Sect has never discovered it,” Old Xu and Old Feng hurried to explain, panic rising as they saw Shen Yan’s disbelief.

“Is that so?” Shen Yan was half-convinced. If this were true, then there might indeed be rare spiritual treasures or cultivation methods hidden within—a significant boost to his own strength if he could obtain them.

“We swear by Heaven itself: if we lie, let us die terrible deaths!” Seeing his attitude shift, Old Feng and Old Xu both raised their hands and swore oaths, desperate for mercy.

“I might be persuaded to spare you,” Shen Yan mused, stroking his chin. After a moment, his eyes brightened. “But before that, you must do something for me.”

The two exchanged glances, shared relief at their narrow escape, and hastened to reply, “Please, tell us what you require, Senior.”

Shen Yan recounted his actions in the Yang mansion with understated brevity. The two men broke out in cold sweat, terrified by the ruthlessness of someone who appeared so unremarkable.

To kill is one thing, but to annihilate even after breaking the spirit—such cruelty was beyond comprehension. If he turned such methods upon them...

Both men shivered involuntarily, and whatever petty schemes they had evaporated at once.

“As I said before, the Yang men are to be utterly exterminated, and the women sent to the Magistrate’s Bureau of Jinzhou,” Shen Yan declared, his gaze sweeping over them. “I am a man of my word. Are you willing to help by delivering the Yang women to the Magistrate’s Bureau, so they may taste the world’s most dreadful suffering?”

Old Feng and Old Xu glanced at each other; with no choice but to bow to circumstances, they both nodded in agreement.