From another point of view, the battle between Jian Huiyin and Wu Juntian had been so fast that, once it ended, the only true battlefield had been theirs.

The only other thing that could be called a fight was the great elder of the Eternal Sovereign Sect running toward the Red Tiger. But upon arrival, he caught a glimpse, from the corner of his eye, of his powerful sect leader being cut in half. Stunned, he couldn't react, and the Tiger simply crushed him with a single paw, defeating him effortlessly.

The great elder was a cultivator at the 2nd level of the Golden Core, while the Tiger had just become a third-level beast. However, as with all beasts, it was naturally stronger than cultivators of the same level, and after so much training, combat experience, and techniques taught in the sect, it had already surpassed the great elder in strength.

With the enemy stunned, a single paw was enough to take him down helplessly.

As for Aotian's main body and the other disciples, they were still waiting for the enemy sect's elders to attack, but they too were frozen in shock at the fate of their sect leader.

'Killing the general really can end a battle,' Aotian thought, looking strangely at the completely paralyzed battlefield.

Shaking his head, he hesitated no longer. Since they weren't coming, he would go to them.

With his main body, he charged toward the elders of the Eternal Sovereign Sect, awakening his fellow disciples, who quickly snapped out of their awe at their sect's overwhelming power and followed him to engage the enemy elders.

Runes glowed on the disciples' bodies as they used Refiner-Tier techniques, and then they attacked without mercy… or rather, with mercy. They only incapacitated them, without killing or crippling, as per the orders of the sect leader, Tian Zhu.

They were allowed to kill only if their lives were at risk, even in the slightest, but with their current power, there was no danger at all.

In just a few moments, even as the enemies began to wake and try to fight back, the roughly thirty Foundation Establishment elders were defeated without even scratching anyone from the Infinite Dao Sect — it was a battle without suspense. There were also a few smarter ones who simply dropped to their knees and surrendered, begging for mercy, but they were beaten too.

Inside the Eternal Sovereign Sect, upon witnessing the crushing defeat outside, tens of thousands of people tried to flee in all directions. However, powerful Golden Core auras pressed in from every side, making escape impossible.

The inner elders of the Infinite Dao Sect had stepped out of hiding.

…

Thousands of miles away, the Heavenly Poison Sect was also facing an unprecedented crisis in its history.

Despite there being only a little over ten outer disciples from the Infinite Dao Sect attacking, all of them were at the Foundation Establishment realm, a true hammer crushing ants.

At the center of the battlefield stood Bai Yan, dressed in his luxurious black robes with golden patterns, symbolizing his status as a core disciple of the Punishment Pavilion, swaying lightly in the wind.

At that moment, he was stepping on the face of the furious, humiliated, and terrified leader of the Heavenly Poison Sect.

But despite his apparent dominance, his gaze was confused.

'How can he be so… weak?' His face was filled with perplexity.

The man who had been the source of his fears for most of his life, the one he had always wanted to kill but seemed unreachable, now lay defeated at his feet, subdued without effort.

Even the poison the man had taken pride in — the very same that had killed Bai Yan's parents — dissipated easily upon contact with the defensive runes shielding Bai Yan's body.

He couldn't help but raise his hand, staring at it in disbelief. Only then did he realize that it wasn't his parents' killer who was too weak, but rather that he, over the past few months, had become so strong that he could hardly comprehend it.

Finally, his mind seemed to process that this was reality, not just another one of his dreams.

Tears began to stream from his eyes as he stared at his mortal enemy, lying beneath his feet like a dead dog. But there was no happiness in his heart, only a sorrow and pain deeper than anything he had ever felt.

It was only at that moment, with the man's life and death in his hands, that he realized killing him wouldn't bring his parents back. They were gone forever.

He had always been so busy running, taking care of his sister, and thinking of revenge that he had never had time to grieve for his parents' loss, had never truly accepted that they were gone forever, and that not even the killer's death could bring them back.

His heart felt shattered, and his eyes were lifeless, when a small, warm hand held his.

Lowering his gaze, he saw his sister's tear-filled eyes looking at him with a gentle smile.

"Brother, end this. Only by overcoming this can we step out of the shadows and have a new chance to live. Remember, mom and dad may be gone, but we still have each other. And now we also have Uncle-Master Lie, my master, and everyone else from the sect. Our parents would want us to be happy and not lose hope. We must live well, for the life they gave for us."

Bai Jingjing spoke softly. Tears streamed from her eyes, but her gaze remained firm.

Despite being just a child, who shouldn't understand anything about the world, she had gone through so much and had been forced to mature quickly, both for herself and for her brother. Thus, her words carried more wisdom than many older men.

Bai Yan seemed to awaken upon hearing that and looked at his little sister.

His eyes then scanned the surroundings, where all the members of the Heavenly Poison Sect had already been subdued by his fellow disciples, who now watched in silence. He also saw the elders of the sect preventing people inside the enemy sect's barrier from escaping.

Finally, his gaze turned to a figure leaning against a tree in the distance, arms crossed, calmly observing him. The long scar over the man's eye made his face look extremely fierce, even without showing anger.

That was Lie Zheng, the leader of the Punishment Pavilion, and his master.

'... Only by overcoming this can we step out of the shadows and have a new chance to live again…'

His sister's words awakened memories of a conversation he had with his master when he became his disciple.

.

..

…

"You were a swindler, stealing, deceiving, moving through the shadows, doing whatever it took to fight for your sister's life, correct?"

"Yes, master."

"Your sister is safe now, and you will no longer live that life. You had your reasons, and fortunately, you didn't take them to the extreme, or we wouldn't even be talking here. But past sins cannot be erased so easily, do you understand?"

"That… yes, master! What should I do?"

"You moved through the shadows and learned to deceive, to manipulate… you learned to read people's hearts…"

"…Those are things that led you down an unjust path, both for yourself and for others, but now you will use what you learned to protect the sect, to find the truth amid lies, and to bring reason when doubt and evil cloud the hearts of those you protect. Being my disciple is more than growing in glory, applause, and authority. It is a duty and a burden. Are you willing to change who you were, into someone you never imagined you could be? To atone for your sins by preventing others from sinning?"

…

..

.

'I am willing!' Bai Yan declared firmly in his thoughts.

At that time, he had confirmed with hesitation and uncertainty, and his master seemed to notice, but said nothing.

This time, however, he looked at his master firmly, flames burning in his heart. From the intensity of his gaze, his master seemed to understand the message, as a small satisfied smile appeared on his fierce face.

Taking a deep breath, Bai Yan felt all the weight and uncertainty leave his heart. Now there was only conviction in his eyes.

Turning to his sister, he smiled softly.

"Jingjing, your brother is fine now. Thank you." He patted her head before pointing at the furious and humiliated leader of the Heavenly Poison Sect, still under his foot. "Do you want to deal with him? You spent practically your whole life in pain because of him. This revenge is as much yours as it is mine, if not more," Bai Yan asked, looking at her seriously.

But Jingjing only shook her head.

"Brother, as long as you end this grudge, I am satisfied," she spoke with a firm gaze.

She didn't feel the need to kill him with her own hands, but she had no intention of letting him live by any means. Jingjing was kind, but that was the man who had ruined their lives.

"Good." Bai Yan nodded, and without hesitation, fired a ray of energy from his finger. The strike pierced the man's abdomen, just below the navel, where the dantian was.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!"

A violent, heart-wrenching scream echoed through the mountain.

Bai Yan lifted his foot from the sinister man's head, who curled up like a shrimp as he screamed.

Destroying the dantian wasn't only about cultivation. The dantian was where vital energy resided, and as a cultivator grew in power, his vitality strengthened and leaked more slowly from the fortified dantian.

But once broken, the cultivator could no longer store or manipulate spiritual energy, and his vital energy began to escape rapidly. That was why crippled cultivators died so quickly.

Of course, there were different levels of damage, and some cripplings didn't necessarily lead to quick death, only preventing cultivation. But what Bai Yan did was the kind that caused a rapid, though not immediate, death, in addition to being extremely painful.

He would let him suffer for a few hours, enough time to watch everything he had built be destroyed before all his vital energy drained away.

Crouching down, Bai Yan pulled the storage pouch from the man's waist and, without giving him any more attention, left him writhing on the ground.

Lie Zheng, who had watched everything while leaning against the tree, pushed off the trunk with his shoulder, standing upright and walking forward.

It was time to process the gains and deal with the captured enemies.