(29) Annihilation

"Master, there are still no clues about where this lady came from. We found a few people who confessed they saw a lady kill the young master, but they only said she was a striking beauty."

"Useless!" Xiao Guang, leader of the Lighting Clan, swung his sleeve and a lightning strike was released from his palms, burning the ground beneath it as angry sparks scattered. The clan leader's healthy and larger body from having been able to eat all kinds of luxurious foods these past years as a growing clan emitted a tense energy that frightened his servant into falling on his knees and lowering his head to the ground.

In a timid voice, "Master…it seems that recently, she has halted her attacks towards our bases. P-perhaps… she is afraid we will find her and has stopped before this problem becomes bigger."

Xiao Guang clicked his tongue and sat down angrily. His usually upright eyebrows formed into a frown and in a rough voice, ordered, "You idiot! It's clearly a strategy to lessen our guards so she could attack again! And even if she has decided to stop, I don't care how long it takes, I will make her pay for messing with the Lightning Clan! Tighten the security! If I find out another one of our bases has been brought down, I'll kill every last one of you!"

"Yes, Master!" the servant saluted with a drenched back before he quickly left.

"Dear husband, don't let this anger you so much that it'll affect your health," a sweet and gentle voice floated into his ear. Xiao Guang turned around to see a pretty woman with a voluptuous figure, wearing a luxurious pink dress as her long dark hair flowed behind her, decorated with finely detailed golden hairpins. Her full red lips enhanced her slick hooded eyes, which only made her look even more lovely and seductive. Her looks were completely to his taste, making him glad he secretly killed his old wife to satisfy her and make her his current wife. And behind her was a female servant who had a distinct mole underneath her plain mouth.

Xiao Guang smiled and the lines in front of his eyebrows vanished as he pulled her over to sit on his lap. "Fen'er, what are you doing here?" He held her right hand as her left arm wrapped around his neck.

Wu Fen pouted. "What, I can't even visit my husband in his study when I miss him?"

Xiao Guang kissed her cheek. "Of course, you can. You're all I need to dissipate my bad mood." He sighed.

Wu Fen glanced at her servant and she quickly retreated.

Wu Fen pressed her breasts against him as she asked, "What's wrong, dear? Have you already found that evil bitch who killed our son?" She clenched her left hand tightly as her pretty smile formed into a snare. If he found her already, she wanted to have a hand in killing this bitch.

Xiao Guang sighed and shook his head. "It's been a few years, but it's to no avail…" How was it possible to not find any clue on this woman? Is her background really big enough that even he can't figure out her identity? Xiao Guang had been having trouble sleeping lately due to this problem. If his deeds were known to the world, righteous cultivators may see him as a target. But he wasn't a bad person! Even if he only put up a fake front in helping others, he still did some good! He can't let this lone woman ruin the reputation he had built up all this time!

Wu Fen sneered. "That bitch dared to murder our son and even cut off his… and even disgraced his body! You have to teach her a lesson!" She couldn't sleep or eat properly for a whole year when she learned of her son's death. It took her a long time to birth a child so her heartache was not small.

Tears fell delicately from her smooth skin that had been treated with luxurious creams for years now after becoming the madam of a clan. "I've never done anything to offend anyone! I don't know why this happened to me!" She sniffed pitifully as if she was the most innocent person in the world and leaned into the clan leader's embrace.

Xiao Guang smiled and lowered his head to lick her tears. He kissed her neck and breathed in her scent. "Don't worry darling, I'll deal with everything. Eventually, we'll find clues. And when I do, I'll burn her with my lightning – afterall, no one can escape from lightning." He chuckled.

One of his people who escaped reported that this mysterious lady could cut lightning. At first, he was surprised. Not many people would even think about trying to cut lightning! But after a moment, he realized that even if she could, she wouldn't be able to cut his lightning of the purest form. He has already mastered the art of manifesting lightning using chi!

Xiao Guang carried the now giggling Wu Fen and took her to his bed. He could never resist her when she shows such a pitiful face. And he loves her more for giving a helping hand in growing his clan - so much so that he got rid of all of his concubines.

It would only take a few more years before he reached the top. He smirked as he pulled off his wife's outer gown.

As it neared dawn with the night still cold, devoid of any sunlight, a white shadow swiftly entered the Lightning Clan Residence without detection as the guards in the front gate yawned, feeling relaxed due to the upcoming birthday celebration. Who would think of attacking the residence when their clan is now known for being righteous?

Swish!

"Who's there?!" A servant wearing a light pink attire looked around vigilantly. There was a mole under her mouth. She sighed in relief and clicked her tongue. "Scared me for no reason." She cursed at the fallen leaf and did not see the figure on top of the tree observing her face.

Slice!

The servant fell down on her back with wide eyes without knowing how or why. Her acupuncture point was hit before she could scream and a stinging sensation appeared on her arm, where a cut was made by the blade of a sword. Suddenly, she felt an excruciating pain spread and immediate tears fell from her face yet she could not utter a sound. She tried to move her body but the most it could do was tremble.

"So you are the one who came and gave the poison to the doctor?" an extremely frosty voice could be heard.

The servant looked up to see a beautiful figure dressed in luxurious white robes. She looked like a moon goddess that descended from the sky as the moonlight shone from behind her. But her almond eyes were extremely cold and were the only features visible as a veil, tied above her ears, hid the rest of her features that were probably as beautiful and cold, making her suddenly resemble a demoness.

The servant felt a pressure on her abdomen as a quick punch hit her body and she coughed as she felt her insides churn. Her body curled in pain and she wanted to scream but not even sound escaped, only breaths of pain.

"Blame yourself for following the wrong master." Wu LiJing lifted her hand to draw out a quick invisible formation. "No matter how much you hope or beg, no one will see you. If I could, I would make you experience ten times the pain my mother had to go through." Wu LiJing smiled and the servant shivered as she felt another bout of pain, causing blood to seep out of her nails and she cried again without a sound.

With heartless eyes, "Don't worry, I'm going after your master too so you won't go alone."

Thunk!

Thunk!

Thunk!

The sounds of bodies falling on the ground echoed quietly throughout the silent night like branches that had broken and fallen from trees due to heavy winds. This wind, however, was swift and quick. The one hundred or so people in their sleep were unable to utter a sound as they were slowly being awakened by experiencing pain that seemed to pull their guts out of their bodies.

Wu LiJing poisoned anyone she came upon and used an invisible spell on their bodies that would only last for two hours, meaning she had to kill almost everyone by then. She didn't want these obnoxious pigs to die easily, so she didn't simply end their life with a quick slaughter. Having read up on different types of poison on her own time during her stay at the Divine Emerald Sect, she simply chose one before asking Jin RuiYing to help her purchase the Sucking Poison.

The Sucking Poison slowly drains out their host's blood from their toe and fingernails, one drop at a time, as an excruciating pain accompanies this slow bleeding. Gradually, it would start from the ends of their hands and feet, then towards their abdomen, the core of their powers. They would feel power slowly strip off as they tried to salvage what they could and circulate their inner chi in order to stop the poison. But this poison's job is to suck everything from one's body, slowly, until there is nothing left, including one's own inner strength - this results in transforming their bodies until their skin turns black and body deformed.

This poison is actually quite easy to cure with a mere drop of a well-known stewed grass. But she wasn't going to give it to them, would she? She also hit their acupuncture point to stop them from being able to move or make a sound lest they alert the others.

As the atmosphere grew colder with dawn almost arriving, the clan leader awoke from a good dream to a deathly scream. He frowned. What was going on? Today was his birthday, yet who was making such a big ruckus that it would even wake him up?! "Tung, what's going on?!" But his personal servant did not answer.

His wife stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes. "What's wrong, my lord?"

Then they heard another agonizing scream, as if someone was slowly dying, and Xiao Guang quickly summoned his sword, his heart palpitating. "Go back to sleep, I'll deal with this." Who dared to sneak into his clan today and seek death?!

The sky was still dim with barely any light as he stepped out vigilantly. He froze when he spotted Tung's male body a few steps away from his front door. His eyes widened as he quickly walked over. Tung's body was deformed, body parts bent in different ways, and colored black all over. This no longer looked like his personal servant… no, he looked like a monster. It was only because of his face that the clan leader recognized Tung. Still, Tung's nose was bent upwards, a trail of blood dripping down on his horrid face, with his mangled lips wide open as if he was calling for help.

Blood that looked darker than charcoal pooled underneath his servant and made the scene worse, with his wide eyes still open. Xiao Guang stepped back in shock as his hand trembled lightly – whether due to fear or anger, only he would know. Something has happened right under his nose yet he couldn't even detect anything! Who has infiltrated his residence?!

He ran outside and his eyes widened as he witnessed the bodies in his courtyard. His expensive courtyard that used to be bright and colorful - it was now dyed a disgusting color that resembled obsidian, reflecting the dark sky. His face paled and he felt his blood run dry.

In it laid more deformed bodies of his servants, guards, and even close family. Most of them were dead and seemed to have been purposely laid there while some were still alive. A few of them managed to move their pupils and stare at him with red eyes, rimmed with a color of death, that seemed to beg him to end their lives. Their bodies were quivering and slowly deforming as dark blood dripped into this puddle of black, creaking here and there.

Shhhhh… Drip. Drip. Drip.

As the bodies slowly bent at odd angles and dragged on the ground, it created a sound that caused him to take a step back.

Then he heard another scream, "Intruder! Murderer!" Xiao Guang ran as fast as he could while carrying his sword with seething teeth. A servant ran out of the room he arrived at, almost bumping into him, and he glanced inside. This was the bedroom for his right-hand-man! To show his rage and prowess, a strong pressure released from his body as he quickly took a step inside the room.

There was a slender figure inside, wearing white robes that did not have a speck of red. Her long straight hair flowed down her back with half loosely tied by a white ribbon. Her figure stood on top of a mountain of his most trusted aides, who were still moving slightly with wide eyes as blood trickled down the mountain like rivers and created a lake underneath her. His right-hand-man was at the top of this mountain, directly stepped on by the shoe of this woman, treating him like an insignificant weed.

A cold and ominous pressure was obviously radiating from the woman as he observed the silver sword in her hands. Who? He could not see her face due to her back facing the door.

With a heavy heart, his shaking hand gripped onto his sword. "Who are you?! Dare to break into my Lightning Clan! Identify yourself before I end you!" How was this possible?! Was it a mere woman who did all of this?! Was she a demon?! His eyes quickly glanced around, there was no one else.

The woman seemed to have frozen for a moment, tricking him into thinking that hearing his voice had frightened her. Just as his ego was about to rise, he heard a quiet, chilling chuckle from her that made his hairs stand. He pointed his sword at her in defense, but his arm shook like a baby's rattle, and his chaotic thoughts kept him from being in proper form should this seemingly demoness attack him suddenly.

"Speak, you demon!! What has my clan done to you for you to unjustly kill my subordinates like this?!"

Her chuckles vanished and her soothing voice could be heard. "You finally came out. I have been waiting since forever." She turned around and took off her veil, throwing it to the ground and staining it with black blood.

"T-the Ice Goddess?!" His eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. Then he clenched his teeth, suddenly unafraid once he found out this was only another human being, who couldn't be more frightening than a demon. "Why have you done this?! Have we done something to offend your Moon Sect?! I won't let this go without a proper explanation! I'll let the world know how vicious you are and then you'll be punished and judged!"

Wu LiJing stared at him with empty and hooded eyes, as though he was an insect that was beneath her mountain. She looked up with a finger slightly touching her chin, as if pondering on his words that didn't seem to be words. "Punished? Judged?" Her tone was soft yet oddly echoed within the room like a stable note on a qin. Then she showed a gentle smile, her voice deepening, "That's what I'm doing to you now. I'm punishing a murderer."

"My clan has never done anything to deserve this! We are a righteous clan who fights for justice!" His sword stabilized and knew he had a chance to win if his opponent was only a girl who wasn't even born yet when he established his clan! Who cares if she's from the Moon Sect?!

She suddenly laughed out loud as if what she heard was the funniest thing ever. "Clan Leader Xiao knows how to joke. I don't think I've ever heard a better one." She elegantly stepped down on the bodies to descend from her foothold and stood closer to him as he unconsciously took a step back.

Once she was close enough, he noticed her blood-stained hands even if her robes were clean, with even a few splatters even on her face, creating a devilish image. He quickly moved his eyeballs around in case there were any tricks involved as he tightened his hold on his sword. He was going to kill her, yet he somehow couldn't ignore the pressure that was emitting naturally from her body. How come he never felt this from her the last time he met her? His instincts were telling him that something was wrong.

"Miss Wu, just because you are from the Moon Sect, you think that you can break into my small clan? I will have to teach you a lesson instead of your master!"

At this moment, however, she was weaker than him! He could defeat her!

With that thought, he swung his sword and a strong attack was released, destroying the bed in front of them. He blinked and she was suddenly behind him, but he quickly bent down to dodge her swing and jumped away. Both exited the room and flashes that could be seen as chi attacks, created strong winds as they clashed.

Xiao Guang frowned. How was she able to fight head on with him?! She was only in the Third Tier! He scanned her body and his eyes widened. Impossible! He couldn't make out her level!

"Ugh!" He coughed as he stumbled back once he was hit by one of her attacks. He looked at the beautiful girl. "You! How did you do it?!" He was already at the high-stage of the Immortal Realm! How was it possible for her to be stronger than him?!

Wu LiJing stared at him with indifferent eyes and gave him the chance to breathe. Then she muttered as she let go of her sword that slowly floated into the air, and she lifted two fingers, "A Thousand Light Swords Illusion." A swirling amount of chi was released as silver swords formed out of thin air and lit the sky like stars in the night.

A wave of swords came down at him and Xiao Guang easily dodged the first half, but once he struggled to fend off the light swords, he grit his teeth in irritation and light yellow sparks could be seen emerging from his blade. The sparks that flew out connected, creating many lightning strikes that aimed for these silver swords at once.

Sparks reflected in Wu LiJing's dark eyes as she concentrated on her distant chi attack. "So you've finally used it," she whispered. How long has she waited for this moment? With a wave of her hand, another thousand light swords were created and immediately aimed towards the clan leader.

"You think a mere attack like this can stop me?!" Xiao Guang yelled and he laughed, destroying the last sword with another lightning attack. A silver sword returned to Wu LiJing's hands.

"No," she muttered. "Or it'd be too easy."

"I was going easy on you, but it seems you are seeking death! I am already known as the Lord of Lightning!" He raised his sword and lightning from the sky connected with his sword, creating a loud rumble. He smirked. "Even an Immortal Emperor Realm cultivator will have trouble with this attack!"

Wu LiJing readied her sword. A cool sensation covered her hands and also quickly spread to her sword, giving it a light glow. "Come," she said as her lashes fluttered calmly.

"Die!" He swung his sword down and a colossal bright strike fell down on the woman in white.

Slash!

Multiple sparks glided to the side and struck anything in its path as the huge strike of lightning was cut by a silver blade, creating the crackling sound of energy being torn into pieces.

As dark hair fell back into place peacefully, Wu LiJing stood with her back straight and she stared at him with indifferent eyes. "You… are weaker than I thought." There was a look of contempt on her face and his jaw dropped to the ground.

"Y-you! How?!" He pointed at her and stumbled back. He thought she had died for sure! Wu LiJing ran towards him and he panicked. It had to be a fluke!

"Sky of Lightning!" As he pointed his sword and released chi into the sky, lightning rained down on his target like vines made of pure chi. He smirked. Even if she could cut lightning, she can't cut this many! She may have taken him by surprise, but it didn't decrease his confidence in winning.

However, no matter how many strikes he released, she cut them all, leaving the grass and the surroundings as the pitiful target, turning everything into a charcoal color to match his servants and subordinates. It was as if he was simply throwing leaves at her instead of lightning and he was astounded. Even when he had embedded lightning into his sword, her silver blade was able to take his attacks head on.

No! He cannot lose! He side-stepped to dodge her swing and created a circle of lightning to flow around Wu LiJing, trapping her and striking whatever was in it's embrace. But she blocked and dodged with ease and even cut that circle into pieces, dispersing its power.

Feeling a quick drain in his powers, Xiao Guang released secret needles inside his sleeves. She was occupied so she shouldn't be able to dodge!

Cling! Cling! Cling! The five needles fell to the floor. With her sword moving faster than the eye could see, even mere needles could not graze her skin.

At last, Wu LiJing did something that completely crushed his pride - the pride that was built after all these years of being able to generate lightning and mastering its art. Instead of cutting through the lightning strikes Xiao Guang released, she met the lightning strike with the tip of her sword and swung the attack back with a lightning strike that hit him in the chest, causing him to fly across the courtyard back to where he came from.

She was able to use his own power against him as she deflected the strike back! From there, two lightning strikes met continuously, with one continuously cutting lighting and also deflecting it back, and another releasing constant strikes to cancel out the ones aiming for him.

Xiao Guang's hands trembled from the pain of having to face his own lightning. No! He cannot lose!

Two figures exchanged moves and lightning skills in the air, with loud sounds of colliding energy loudly proclaimed this mighty fight to the world, as more than one hundred strikes met.

Cough! Cough! "Y-you dare to disrespect me?! I am the leader of the Lightning Clan!" Xiao Guang clenched his aching chest as he coughed out blood and struggled to stand. His hair was cluttered as it flew everywhere and his robes were a bloody mess in contrast to the calm white figure. He then shouted as loud as he could while looking around, "Come! Someone come and teach this demoness a lesson! I'll reward you handsomely! Someone!"

She sighed and shook her head. "There are no more useful servants. I already poisoned all those worthy of such suffering. The rest… well, would they be willing to continue to stay?" She turned when she suddenly felt a fluctuation and stepped to the left as a sword flew past and cut a string of her flying hair.

"Dear!" A woman with seductive eyes ran over and hugged the clan leader. She could no longer stay hidden when she witnessed her husband in this condition. She glared at Wu LiJing. "You dare to do this to the clan leader of the Lightning Clan?!"

"Fen'er!" Xiao Guang felt his eyes redden. He really did choose the right wife. Wu Fen was willing to shield him from harm!

Wu LiJing's eyes focused on the woman's face and her grip on her sword tightened, with her knuckles turning white. The resemblance of those eyes and nose... An intense killing-intent was suddenly released, causing the couple to vomit out blood. "I'm tired of hearing the same words." LiJing felt an intense emotion surge inside of her - she wanted to kill.

"Stop! My wife cannot take this pressure!" Xiao Guang begged with his bloody lips as he shielded his wife.

Wu LiJing stared at him with eyes that seemed dead, yet still contained a calm anger that transmitted a slightly crazed energy. He shivered and coughed out more blood as he tightened his hold on his wife. Such crazy killing-intent could only be made when one has gone mad or has faced multiple life and death situations in their lifetime. Then he heard a small chuckle and the intense pressure disappeared.

Wu LiJing walked towards them and kicked the woman to the side. Then she kicked him to the ground before he could retaliate and stepped on his head. "What a great display of love for each other."

Then she lowered her voice. "You used my fathers secret manual but still cannot defeat me, his daughter who did not have to depend on it to become even stronger than you, who have cultivated for tens of years ahead of me." Her devilish smile widened. "What do you think about that?" she mocked and then let out a laugh like never before.

It was good she had experience dealing with lightning after going after their bases all this time. It has taught her how to direct them back and also perfected her skill of cutting lightning. She was confident she could still defeat him if she was a few stages lower than him.

"W-what?" He was confused as he groaned from the pain. But once the words were processed in his tiny mind, he finally realized who she was. "Impossible! Ah!" He felt his skull being crushed as his feelings of humiliation reached a new height.

Wu Fen threw herself towards Wu LiJing but with a chi attack from her palm, Wu Fen was thrown a few feet away and coughed loudly as she felt her insides a mess due to the heavy internal injury. "Who are you?!"

She paused as she stepped harder in Xiao Guang's head with lifeless eyes that turned extremely cold. "Who am I?" She pondered on that question. "The one stepping on your beloved husband's head?" She gently pulled a strand of her hair back and smiled sweetly. "Well, do you remember your ex-husband?" A dark glint appeared in her eyes as her eyelashes fluttered once she turned to look at Wu Fen.

"Or perhaps… your older brother?"