*Thud*
Between the muffled sounds of devious giggles and cackles, Taixuan heard a soft, barely audible thud as clearly as one would recognize the day.
A single thud that should've disappeared within the shadows of the danger that loomed around him like a reaper's scythe, rang in his mind like heaven's decree.
Mere seconds felt like countless eternities as he bore the weight of seeing his cherished son fall to the ground, and that too, in such a cruel condition.
His eyes trembled as he tried to refuse to believe the reality itself, calling it out as if it were a cloth of a dream that had covered his eyes.
Words struggled to come out of his throat as his whole body began to tremble violently in disbelief.
He brought both of his hands close to his face and covered his eyes, cutting himself off from reality as faint cries escaped from his mouth.
The world around him had gradually lost its sound and its meaning to him.
Threads of Qi shimmered into existence, slithering like serpents across his flesh—growing wilder, heavier, as if feeding on the despair within him.
"Wu...Sheng..." Thoughts crawled out of his mouth in a trembling voice.
Twin rivers of blood slipped from beneath his palms, trailing down his face to paint his beard a savage crimson.
Unbeknownst to what was happening down below at the ground, the masked man shouted at the top of his lungs, delivering a final blow to Taixuan's mind.
"Here," He shouted and tossed the body-less head of Wusheng towards him and continued, "it's a farewell gift from me."
For several moments, the head spun in the air, creating a downhill arch before finally falling near Taixuan with a soft, yet equally crackling thud.
As soon as it hit the ground, the head nearly shattered from the impact and splashed the ground with crimson as a part of the face instantly became unrecognisable.
It then rolled towards Taixuan's feet, slightly touched his toes, and stopped altogether.
Feeling a sudden touch on his feet, Taixuan lowered one of his hands—revealing the bloodied eyes where his sclera had completely been painted dark crimson.
His gaze naturally fell to the ground, but that only made him stumble backwards.
Disbelief.
Fear.
Remorse.
Confusion.
Regret.
Grief.
And most of all - Anger.
With just a single glance at the miserable state of the face that Taixuan himself had fed with his own hands all his life, all sorts of emotions surged into his mind like a ferocious flood and drowned his consciousness almost instantly.
Taixuan as well, did not struggle at all and gave in to his emotions willingly.
Why?
Because his true world—his son—had already perished, and there was no need for him to respect the current world that had betrayed him in such a cruel way.
In that instant, as if the seal that had been holding onto his anger, shattered into pieces, and all that remained within him was nothing but anger.
Within his body, his qi began to surge at a terrifying speed, running wild as it pleased under the influence of his instincts.
Around his body, a layer of the atmosphere began to outline his body as the space and time itself mended to his will.
Ignorant of the current situation, all the experts gathered around Taixuan gradually ceased their laughs and sneers, preparing to strike him down.
However, the masked man standing atop the giant logs felt somewhat uneasy.
"Brothe—"
As the man tried to speak, he abruptly stopped as his vision changed all of a sudden.
For some reason, he found himself falling to the ground even though he could see his body standing just the way it was mere seconds ago.
A sharp pain suddenly struck over his neck, awakening him from what seemed like a premonition with hoarse, sounds, gasps that piqued everyone's attention.
He grabbed his neck and fell to his knees remembering the faint but clearly visible aura of two crimson eyes like that of a demon that loomed around him in the shape of "death".
That is exactly when Taixuan finally let go of the last thread that was tying his mortal body to him.
In a split second, his Qi went berserk and surged out of his body like a ferocious monster that had been patiently waiting for such a day to come when the leashes that had been holding him from running rampant were to loosen.
The other sect experts that surrounded the area and Taixuan, felt a sudden surge of chill run down their spine as they sensed a huge wave of qi surging in the vicinity as if someone was calling upon the energies of the heaven and earth altogether.
Their eyes darted towards Taixuan in response, and were taken aback as they could not believe their eyes because what they could see, was nothing ordinary.
The Qi that they'd been sensing up until now was coming out of none other than Taixuan as they saw a bright crimson color overwhelm the entire vicinity, spreading like an apocalypse all around them, with its concentration being highest around him.
For a moment, everyone could see the picture of a majestic golden lion within his energy, however, it soon crumbled apart under the pressure of his crimson qi, making it seem as though a being that shouldn't have been touched was mistakenly enraged by them.
Taixuan on the other hand, could not handle his grief any longer.
Broken by the acts of fate, he felt a strangely familiar feeling return to him as though it were his own.
Fragments of a distant memory that were filled with nothing but sadness and grief along with a strange sense of familiarity.
Overwhelmed by all things, his mind finally snapped as his voice thundered throughout the earth:
"WUSHENG!!"