Chapter 1501 The Despicable Price

The battle erupted suddenly! So sudden that the people of the Shi Clan couldn’t react in time. When they set out, the strategist had once said, “I have 70% confidence that there won’t be many people from the Li Clan stationed at Pear Blossom Slope, and it’s uncertain whether there will be any Supreme experts among them!”

It was well-known that Commander Diwu Qingrou never made absolute statements. When he said he had 10% confidence, the matter could be done because he said… he was confident!

When he said he had 70% confidence, it was basically a sure thing for others!

Moreover, the people of the Shi Clan knew that this operation was purely a decision made by the command to appease their anger and sorrow. Firstly, it allowed the Shi Clan members to vent their anger by killing; secondly, it was the cheapest merit delivered to their hands. In the future, when they annihilated the Li Clan, the battle at Pear Blossom Slope would be crucial when it came to discussing merits and rewards!

Everyone came with enthusiasm and murderous intent, but they never dreamed that the enemy had laid an ambush here, as if they knew everything in advance!

How did the enemy know about the ambush here after so many previous changes in formation, which were meant to be bewildering? How could they be certain that they were going to attack this place?

A sixth-rank Supreme from the Shi Clan was injured right from the start, and he was now desperately defending himself against a sixth-rank Supreme and two fifth-rank Supremes from the Li Clan. He cried out in anguish, “Why? Why is there an ambush here?! Who leaked our information?”

His voice resounded through the sky, carrying his grief, frustration, and the extreme rage of feeling betrayed!

The eighth-rank Supreme from the Li Clan led the charge, his figure swift like the wind, and his face filled with a chilling murderous intent. He advanced relentlessly, striking with full force at every opportunity. The two seventh-rank Supremes from the Shi Clan were already at a disadvantage in terms of strength, and one of them was killed right at the beginning, leaving the other overwhelmed.

Despite their desperate resistance, the number of their subordinates dwindled!

Amidst the flying blood, more and more people from the Shi Clan fell. In just a short time, only five or six of the original sixty-plus members remained, all wounded and barely holding on!

The seventh-rank Supreme’s eyes were filled with fury! Suddenly, he roared, “Stop! I have something to say!”

In the time it took to utter these six words, another fourth-rank Supreme was hacked to pieces by seven or eight swords.

The eighth-rank Supreme from the Li Clan waved his hand, and more than fifty Li Clan members formed a large circle, surrounding the five remaining Shi Clan members. He spoke calmly, “In the world of martial arts, it’s either life or death. At this point, what else do you have to say?”

The Shi Clan’s Supreme stood tall, blood streaming down his forehead, but he made no effort to wipe it away. Instead, he glared fiercely at the Li Clan’s eighth-rank Supreme and asked harshly, “Life and death are common in the martial world, and I, as a junior, never expected a peaceful end when I entered this realm! But today’s events are too strange, and I want to die with clarity! Lord Li, I only want to ask you one question!”

The Li Clan’s Supreme’s black beard fluttered, his eyes narrowing as he said, “Ask! If I can answer, I will!”

The Shi Clan’s Supreme laughed heartily and looked up to the sky, “Good! I, Shi Yunmo, believe in Lord Li Jinglei! Today’s situation leaves no hope for survival! As long as I can die with understanding and clear the doubts in my heart, I won’t need Lord Li to do anything; I will end it here myself!”

He paused, then asked word by word, “How did you know about the attack on Pear Blossom Slope this time?”

Not waiting for an answer, he added, “Was someone betraying us?!”

This operation was top secret! If there was no leak beforehand, Shi Yunmo believed that no one could guess Diwu Qingrou’s deployment.

So, his suspicion immediately fell on a possible mole.

The Li Clan’s eighth-rank Supreme, Li Jinglei, was about to answer when he suddenly had a thought and chuckled, “Yunmo’s guess is correct. Someone did inform us of your plans in advance. At this point, there’s no need for me to hide anything.”

Shi Yunmo slowly nodded, his eyes bloodshot, “Thank you, Lord Li! May I ask… who is this person?”

The remaining five members of the Shi Clan looked at Li Jinglei’s face, their eyes filled with seething hatred.

Dying in battle was not frightening! But dying because of betrayal was the worst kind of injustice, and no martial artist could tolerate such a death!

Especially when they were dead, but the one who betrayed them was still enjoying life. That was even more unbearable!

Li Jinglei’s gaze flickered as he said, “Your Shi Clan seems to have a grudge against the Chen Clan, doesn’t it?”

Shi Yunmo’s body shook, “The Chen Clan?!”

Li Jinglei nodded faintly, speaking with a touch of sadness, “There are some things I don’t want to do, but you came to attack my Li Clan. So… even though this method is a bit ruthless, I have no choice but to accept the… hmm, intelligence from the Chen Clan!”

Above, Chu Yang couldn’t bear to listen any longer.

“The elder of the Li family is truly shameless! It was clearly Mo Tianji’s scheme, yet he insisted that the Chen family had leaked the information. What is most infuriating is that these five people are certain to die, with no chance of survival. Why couldn’t he just tell them the truth and respect their lives as they faced a heroic death? Why must they die with resentment in their hearts?”

Dong Wushang’s eyebrows furrowed, and he said, “Boss, I can’t stand this old man! Given the opportunity, I will surely strike him down with a single blow!”

Chu Yang slowly nodded, “I don’t object to you striking him down with one blow, but you may not have the opportunity. He might not live long enough to see you swing your blade.”

Dong Wushang snorted, his right hand gripping the hilt of his knife tightly. His character could not tolerate Li Jinglei’s deception of those doomed to die.

He felt that this was not just shameless and despicable; it was an infinite baseness deep within one’s heart! The baseness of human nature! The baseness of one’s true self!

——

Shi Yunmo was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed sorrowfully, “So that’s how it is… And here I thought we were all in this together… Hahaha… What a joke! The world of martial arts, the nine great families! Hahaha… A joke! A joke!”

He laughed hysterically as his aura terrifyingly surged.

Across from him, Li Jinglei had been enjoying the show when he suddenly jolted and shouted, “How dare you, you insolent brat!”

He lunged forward and urgently shouted, “Everyone, disperse!”

Shi Yunmo laughed mournfully, “I said I would end it myself! I kept my promise! Hahaha… People of the Li family, come join me in death! Let’s not be lonely on the road to the underworld! Hahaha…”

With a loud laugh, a tremendous boom shook the earth and sky.

A blinding white light burst out, followed by a deafening explosion!

He self-destructed!

Shi Yunmo’s chosen method of ending his life was self-destruction!

The power of a seventh-grade supreme self-destructing was simply astounding! The four Shi family experts around him were instantly blown to pieces. The violent explosion spread, and nearly twenty Li family experts who couldn’t dodge in time screamed and turned into smoke.

Li Jinglei tried his best to block the explosion but could only protect two sides. He was blown away by the fierce blast, his face flushed.

After the explosion, Shi Yunmo had turned into pieces of flesh. The ground within 500 feet was devoid of snow, leaving a deep, dark pit with wisps of green smoke rising from it. It appeared bottomless, resembling a passage leading to the underworld, a sinister and eerie sight.

Li Jinglei looked up to the sky and roared in fury, “Damn it! Damn it all!”

In a situation where the outcome was all but certain, the enemy had unexpectedly resorted to self-destruction! This was an absolute disgrace! Li Jinglei felt as if he had lost all face. Out of seventy-two men, only eighteen had died in battle, while nineteen had perished in the explosion! Such a misstep was simply unforgivable! Li Jinglei wished he could slap himself several times in anger.

“This is the fate of those with a despicable nature!” Above, Chu Yang and the others were on a large tree that swayed violently due to the explosive blast. If not for Chu Yang and the others using their cultivation to protect themselves, the tree might have collapsed. Chu Yang looked down, his gaze cold, “The enemy was doomed. If Li Jinglei had acted immediately after the explanation, none of this would have happened. He could have stopped this self-destruction.”

“But his nature is too vile. After lying and striking down those who were certain to die, he even wanted to watch their despair and grief to increase his own pleasure. That gave the enemy the chance to self-destruct!”

Mo Leier slowly nodded, “That’s right, since he wanted to defeat them, he must have wanted to see the results.”

“So, this self-destruction is entirely Li Jinglei’s responsibility!” Chu Yang shook his head and sneered coldly, “What a joke. In such an intense battle, only eighteen people died, but an unexpected self-destruction that should not have occurred killed nineteen! How ironic…”

…

“If Mo Tianji knew about this, I’m afraid the old fellow would have to swallow a bitter pill,” Dong Wushang said with a hint of schadenfreude.

Chu Yang frowned and shook his head, “Would Mo Tianji be willing to punish someone like this? He’d want to keep him around to make such situations happen more often…”

Mo Leier suddenly burst into laughter.

——

Below, the remaining members of the Li family were in disarray. Out of the original seventy-two, only thirty-five were left. Gritting his teeth, Li Jinglei finally remembered Mo Tianji’s words: “Retreat quickly after the battle!”

With a wave of his hand, he commanded, “Retreat!”

The thirty-five men didn’t even bother to collect the bodies, they simply retreated swiftly and entered Pear Blossom Slope.

——

Elsewhere,

Chen Jianlong was feigning an attack a hundred miles away at the snowy edge of Bai Xueya, restraining the enemy’s strength. Amidst the wind and snow, he faintly heard the earth-shattering cries coming from the direction of Pear Blossom Slope, but merely assumed that the battle had begun and paid it little attention.

It wasn’t until a fierce explosion resounded that Chen Jianlong’s brows furrowed tightly. This wasn’t right; the explosion was unmistakably the result of a powerful expert self-detonating. And it had to be an expert of at least the fifth or sixth rank of supreme.

…

However, according to intelligence reports, the enemy’s garrison didn’t even have a single supreme-level expert. How could there be such a startling self-detonation?

Could something have gone wrong?

Chen Jianlong’s brow creased as he let out a heaven-piercing howl. Several supremes by his side joined in the chorus, their voices echoing for hundreds of miles.

On the other hand, Xiao Zhengyan furrowed his brows as well: Why was the assembly signal being sent now?

Immediately, he waved his hand and commanded, “Abandon this front and head over to see what’s happening!”