"Activate the Execution Platform of God!"
Under everyone's gaze, Qin Wudao formed seals with his hands, and the Execution Platform of God erupted with a boundless bloody light. Three blood-stained chains shot out, transforming into blood dragons tens of zhang in length that tore through the sky.
The first chain bound the Skyfire Sect Elder who had been nailed to the ground by the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun. The second chain, exuding immense pressure, suppressed the Heaven's Chosen of the six major sects. The third chain agilely burrowed into the ground, dragging out the barely breathing Chu Jiangqiong.
In total, thirty-four figures now hung suspended around the Execution Platform of God. They struggled ceaselessly, but it was futile. Terror contorted every face.
"Qin Wudao, what are you doing?!" The powerhouses from the six sects, having broken free from the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun, flew towards the Execution Platform of God, their voices filled with uncontrollable fury.
"For tens of thousands of years, your sects have repeatedly attacked the Great Qin Empire, causing countless people of Qin to die in battle! This blood debt shall begin to be repaid with them!" Qin Wudao, his face devoid of expression, manipulated the blood-dragon chains and placed the Skyfire Sect Elder onto the Execution Platform of God.
The hovering guillotine blade, as if sensing the aroma of blood, began to quiver faintly, emitting series of draconic hums.
"Qin Wudao! Do you dare lay a hand on the disciples of the six sects?!" the Sect Elders shrieked, their faces aghast. Unbridled ferocity shone in their eyes, yet they dared not act rashly, terrified that the God-Execution Blade would fall and execute the Skyfire Sect Elder.
"Today, I shall execute you all to display the might of the Qin Country! In the days to come, I will eradicate the six sects and conquer the six nations, offering their remains in sacrifice to the heroic souls of Qin!" Qin Wudao declared icily. His black hair danced wildly, and his eyes blazed with a light that seemed to pierce the nine heavens.
"Execute!" Qin Wudao roared, giving the Sect Elders no chance to reply, his killing intent erupting towards the heavens.
"Execute!"
"Execute!"
"Execute!"
...
Heaven and earth boomed, and waves of slaughterous sound echoed through the Void, as if the heavens themselves were enraged, seeking to strike down those who dared defy their will.
"No... Don't kill me!" the Skyfire Sect Elder shrieked, kneeling on the ground and wailing incessantly as death loomed. "Your Highness, spare my life! I can swear a Heavenly Dao Oath that from this day forward, I will never oppose the Great Qin Empire again!"
"I am only three hundred years old, in the prime of my life! I don't want to die..."
At this moment, all semblance of a powerhouse's dignity was cast aside, leaving only abject cowardice, terror, and despair.
BOOM!
The God-Execution Blade fell.
Blood sprayed, dyeing the Execution Platform crimson.
Severed heads, enormous and staring, tumbled through the air before rolling across the ground.
This... How dare he?!
The other Sect Elders stared at the glaring blood on the Execution Platform of God, all utterly stunned.
He, Qin Wudao, had actually executed an Elder of the Skyfire Sect!
Since the founding of the six great sects, when had they ever suffered such a humiliation?
A sect powerhouse could die on the battlefield; that was merely a matter of inferior skill. Beyond anger, there would be no other sentiment. But to be forced to kneel at a chopping block, to be beheaded by a guillotine—that was tantamount to grinding the faces of the six great sects into the dirt and trampling them underfoot!
"What wouldn't I dare to do?" Qin Wudao sneered, waving his right hand once more.
With the exception of Chu Jiangqiong, the Heaven's Chosen from the other sects now knelt upon the Execution Platform of God. The blood-drenched God-Execution Blade was poised to fall again.
"No... Your Highness, let's discuss this!" the elders of the six great sects cried out, panic seizing them as they saw their own Heaven's Chosen kneeling on the Execution Platform. If that blade fell, their sects would face a devastating gap in their lineage of talent!
"When it comes to our nation's blood debt, there is nothing to discuss!" Qin Wudao stated. Without a flicker of hesitation, he issued a mental command, and the God-Execution Blade descended once more.
BANG!
A torrent of blood erupted. Following the Skyfire Sect Elder, more than a dozen new souls were reaped upon the Execution Platform of God.
"Qin Wudao, you're courting death!" the sect powerhouses roared. This act had thoroughly enraged them. Boundless bloody light erupted from their forms as they surged towards the Execution Platform of God. Their sects' Heaven's Chosen had been executed; they bore the primary responsibility for this catastrophe. Only by killing Qin Wudao could they hope to atone for their failure. Otherwise, even if they survived the battlefield, unimaginably harsh punishments—far crueler than death—awaited them upon their return to their sects.
The Celestial Gang Sect Elder was the most frenzied among them, for Chu Jiangqiong was still bound upon the Execution Platform of God. Compared to the other Heaven's Chosen, Chu Jiangqiong was by far the most important.
"You wish to attack His Highness? Did you ask for our permission?" the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun thundered, spurring their warhorses forward to shield the Execution Platform of God. Like an immovable God Mountain, they repelled all incoming assaults.
"Out of our way!" the Celestial Gang Sect Elder bellowed, directly igniting his blood essence. Bathed in sanguine light, his power surged dramatically. The Void itself seemed unable to bear the strain, emitting a sharp CRACK as if it would shatter and annihilate all existence.
"Bring it on!" The eyes of the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun flashed. Overwhelming slaughter intent roiled through the sky. Their black capes billowed, and the scimitars in their hands blazed with a dazzling, incandescent light, weaving a brilliant tapestry of blade-light in the Void.
BOOM!
Beneath the Nine Heavens, the crescent moon manifestation vanished.
Instantly, a deafening roar shook heaven and earth. Resplendent light scattered in all directions, like an exploding moon, engulfing everything in its path.
An area of the Void several hundred zhang in radius shattered into nothingness. Vicious Void power radiated outwards, compelling the other sect powerhouses to fall back repeatedly, dodging the volatile aftermath. Their eyes remained glued to the epicenter of the blast.
Who was victorious? Or had both sides suffered grievous losses?
Several minutes later, the residual shockwaves dispersed, and the Void calmed, revealing the scene within. The Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun stood unharmed, enveloped by the light of a crescent moon. In contrast, the Celestial Gang Sect powerhouses who had faced them were either dead or grievously wounded, all bereft of their ability to fight.
The Void fell silent, disturbed only by the ragged breathing of the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun.
"They're on their last legs! Kill them!" the Golden Sun Sect Elder perceived the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun's weakened state and yelled with excitement. Exchanging glances with the other sect powerhouses, they reinforced their formation and launched another assault.
This time, the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun offered no resistance, standing silently in the Void.
Upon the Execution Platform of God, Qin Wudao positioned Chu Jiangqiong on the block. With his hands clasped behind his back, he gazed towards the distant battlefield.
"If you don't kill me, you still have a chance to live!" Chu Jiangqiong said weakly, his eyes fluttering open. A desperate longing for life flickered within their dim depths.
I don't want to die either! I'm a Heaven's Chosen with a special constitution! My future path of cultivation is destined to be a wide, open road. Even if I can't break through to the Great Emperor Realm, I can still aspire to become a king among those in the Saint Realm!
"Still threatening me, even now?" Qin Wudao chuckled.
BOOM!
The words had barely left his lips when, from behind Hangu Pass, an arcane pillar of light erupted, spanning heaven and earth. An overwhelming pressure, capable of collapsing the Void and dominating the world, radiated outwards, making it difficult for everyone present to breathe.
"A Heaven Realm powerhouse!" the Sect Elders exclaimed, their expressions falling and their hearts sinking. By empowering their battle formation, they could at best unleash the might of an early-stage Heaven Realm cultivator. Yet, judging by the oppressive aura, the newly arrived powerhouse was clearly far beyond a mere early-Heaven Realm Martial Artist.
"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."
The pillar of light fractured, revealing Jia Xu's figure, exuding boundless might. As his words fell, a mystical power permeated the sky, violently flinging all the sect powerhouses outwards.
"Now, it's your turn," Qin Wudao murmured simultaneously on the Execution Platform of God.
As Chu Jiangqiong watched with eyes full of despair and bitter unwillingness, the God-Execution Blade descended.
With this single strike, a Divine Body perished!
Blood, shimmering with golden light, splattered across the entirety of the Execution Platform of God.