For a moment, cold sweat broke out behind Fan Wu and the other two Sacred Sovereigns. Cang Gou in particular, his face flooded with relief, secretly thought how close a call that had been — he had nearly been swayed by Shi Huo's words into joining forces with him.
If that had truly happened, the humiliation of kneeling here would likely have included him as well.
"They really… knelt down!"
Ten li away, the assembled Demon Kings' eyes went wide, their jaws nearly dropping to the ground in shock. The Stone Spirits, by contrast — the ones who had been restrained by them — were exhilarated, secretly reveling in the satisfaction.
The Dharma Body let out a cold chuckle. "If you don't want to die, release us immediately. Otherwise, I'll make sure every last one of you dies a wretched death!"
The Demon Kings and the Eight Great Sacred Envoys started at this. They exchanged glances, then hastily scrambled away from the Stone Spirits, not daring to bully them any further.
Even a being like Shi Huo had knelt at a single word from Zhang Ruoxi. How could these Demon Kings dare continue their insolence? Their hearts churned with dread, not knowing what fate awaited them.
Only then did the Stone Spirits and the Dharma Body shake themselves off, rising together to gaze toward the spot ten li away.
Over there, Shi Huo still knelt on the ground, seemingly unable to believe what had just happened. The black flames in his eyes flickered violently, his mind on the verge of collapse.
He, a Sacred Spirit, one of the four great Sacred Sovereigns of the Ancient Land — forced to kneel at the mere words of a young girl? This humiliation was almost more than he could bear.
"Roar…" Shi Huo roared in fury, struggling hysterically to stand. But at some point a faint red glow had enveloped him, shrouding him in a binding force that rendered him completely immovable.
Clang…
Ruoxi leveled the Tianxing Sword at Shi Huo's chest. With that single movement, the sky underwent a dramatic shift as wind and clouds surged, and even the enormous female phantom standing behind her sprang into motion.
The colossal sheathed long sword was drawn from the phantom's scabbard, aimed from afar toward where Shi Huo knelt. Her beautiful face, magnified countless times, wore an expression of cold detachment.
"The might of heaven and earth!" Fan Wu's expression changed. He raised his head to stare at the sky, his mouth filled with a bitterness worse than chewing bitter lotus.
If he had still been wondering just how much of the Tianxing power Ruoxi had inherited — even harboring a small desire to resist — that thought had now completely vanished. The only thing he needed to consider was how to survive under Zhang Ruoxi's hand.
A single sword strike that drew upon the might of heaven and earth — this undoubtedly proved that the Tianxing bloodline had completely awakened. Given enough time, Zhang Ruoxi would surely become the second Tianxing, the nemesis that would make all Sacred Spirits tremble with fear.
"What… what are you doing!" Shi Huo's face changed wildly, his voice cracking with horror. Realizing the enormous gap between himself and Zhang Ruoxi, he could no longer maintain his composure. His flame-like eyes blazed with unease and terror as he shouted harshly: "I am Sacred Spirit Shi Huo! Don't even think about killing me!"
"Sacred Spirit Shi Huo — a tyrant without mercy, addicted to slaughter. I, Zhang Ruoxi, descendant of Tianxing, hereby seize his Sacred Spirit Origin, strip him of his Sacred Spirit power, and hope that all Sacred Spirits under heaven… take this as a warning!" Zhang Ruoxi's expression was blank, her tone indifferent.
"What?" Shi Huo's eyes went wide as he blurted in disbelief: "You want to seize my Sacred Spirit Origin?"
Zhang Ruoxi did not answer. The Tianxing Sword in her hand simply thrust forward.
At the same time, the colossal female phantom behind her drove her own enormous sword into Shi Huo's body.
Shi Huo's body was incomparably tough. Even if Fan Wu, Luan Feng, and the others — fellow Sacred Spirits — were to strike him, they would find it difficult to wound him in the slightest. In terms of sheer physical resilience alone, he surpassed even the Stone Spirit race.
Yet this formidable body was as fragile as tofu before the Tianxing Sword.
Without any apparent effort, the Tianxing Sword pierced straight through Shi Huo's chest.
"No!" Shi Huo cried out in anguish, staring wide-eyed at his own chest. Panic finally set in, and he blurted: "No! You cannot take my Sacred Spirit Origin! I am Sacred Spirit Shi Huo! I refuse to accept this!"
Hss, hss, hss…
The sound of the Tianxing Sword piercing into Shi Huo's body rang out, making Fan Wu and the others all turn deathly pale. Hearing that sound, they could almost feel it themselves — as if feeling that blade sink into their own bodies.
Luan Feng's delicate frame trembled violently, her smooth back already drenched in cold sweat.
"No, no, my lord! Shi Huo was wrong! Please, my lord, give Shi Huo a chance to mend his ways! Shi Huo will absolutely never commit evil again!" Seeing that resistance was futile and that his own origin power was beginning to loosen, Shi Huo finally broke and began to beg for mercy.
He was a Sacred Spirit. He had his own pride. If he had not been driven to utter desperation, how could he have abased himself so?
Fan Wu and the others watched this unfold, a wave of sorrow washing through their hearts.
But Zhang Ruoxi was utterly unmoved. The Tianxing Sword had been driven almost entirely into Shi Huo's body, all the way to the hilt.
"If you had known this would happen, why did you act as you did in the first place!" Ruoxi's beautiful eyes turned cold and sharp, and she gave the sword a violent shake.
BOOM…
A tremendous explosion erupted. A man-sized hole blasted through Shi Huo's chest, piercing clean through from one side to the other.
Shi Huo shuddered violently, and his once-mighty aura rapidly withered.
As the Tianxing Sword trembled, something resembling a heart was flicked out by the blade. The heart seemed to still be beating violently, emitting a deep thumping sound, and within it was contained a power that inspired mortal terror.