Chapter 23: A Life for a Life

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A scream, far more miserable than anything heard earlier, echoed in the ears of Situ Haonan and Bai Wan. For some reason, both men felt the world grow abruptly quiet, the anguished cry ringing clearer and more chilling in their hearts.

"Jian'er!" Situ Haonan howled, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He was utterly restrained by Qin Shuang, unable to move a single muscle. His own flesh and blood, tortured before his very eyes, yet as a father he could do nothing—did not even have the chance to risk his life in retaliation.

"Heh, does it hurt?" Qin Shuang’s eyes burned crimson, his face twisted beyond recognition, making him all the more terrifying. "Did you know? Just now, my brother died like this in front of me. I only regret I arrived a step too late..."

Bang! Another explosion—Situ Jian’s right hand burst apart. Mouth agape, he tried to scream, but no voice came forth. His face contorted grotesquely; to a stranger, he would be utterly unrecognizable as Situ Jian.

Extreme agony, without release—even the power to cry out denied!

"Senior, I beg you, please kill him," Bai Wan, still clinging to reason, understood that they could not possibly resist this man. Seeing the five corpses behind Qin Shuang, Bai Wan knew that Situ Jian was doomed; the only mercy left was to plead for a swift end to his torment.

"Death?" Qin Shuang looked coldly at the three. "I swore in my heart that the pain my brother suffered would be repaid a thousandfold!"

"Senior... please, I beg you, kill him." Situ Haonan was sobbing, unable to speak coherently. Although his hatred for Qin Shuang ran deep, he could not even move, and could only plead as Bai Wan did, asking for release for Jian’er.

"With ninety-one wounds, he only needs to endure nine more, and he may die." Qin Shuang smiled cruelly. "Rest assured—I have strengthened his soul. He will last through all one hundred."

Crack! Situ Jian’s lower leg suddenly fractured, while Qin Shuang stood unmoved, tormenting the grandmaster of the Great Ascension stage with mere thought, inflicting a fate worse than death.

"I forgot to inform you," Qin Shuang said abruptly. "Before execution, I heightened his sensitivity to physical pain."

"And with each new wound, this sensitivity increases exponentially!"

This single sentence struck terror into the hearts of both Golden Immortal masters. To perceive pain so sharply, and for each injury to intensify it further, until the soul itself could no longer bear it and simply disintegrated—such a fate was almost unimaginable.

Yet, for a cultivator of the Great Ascension stage, a soul should never have lasted this long. As Qin Shuang said, he had strengthened it.

What did this mean? Situ Jian must endure all one hundred tortures before being allowed to die!

"I’ll die with you!" Situ Haonan suddenly mustered all his celestial energy, intent on self-detonation and taking Qin Shuang with him.

Whether Qin Shuang died or not, Haonan could no longer bear to watch.

"Want to self-destruct? Not so easy." Qin Shuang waved a hand; Situ Haonan felt his celestial energy drain away like floodwaters, unable to summon even a trace.

"Remember—you must watch him, until his death." At this moment, Qin Shuang’s mind was wholly consumed by vengeance, using every method he could devise to torment the murderer of Lei Shan.

Never before had Qin Shuang felt the agony of losing someone dear, especially right before his eyes.

Bai Wan, too, could not bear it any longer; he squeezed his eyes shut. Facing a master so vastly superior, all he could do was close his eyes and refuse to witness the cruelty.

"Father..." Situ Jian called faintly, his voice hoarse and forlorn, his eyes devoid of life. "Kill... me!" With great difficulty, he uttered two words, then only moved his lips, unable to make another sound.

"Jian’er..." Situ Haonan’s heart was bleeding; this was no different from having his heart carved out slice by slice. "Your father is useless, unable to help you at all." Tears streamed down the face of the Golden Immortal; few would have ever witnessed such a sight.

Far away, Qin Shuang suddenly exhaled, clarity returning to his mind. Situ Jian's misery and Situ Haonan’s pain were fully etched into his memory.

"Lei Shan, is this enough for you?" Qin Shuang asked silently.

Bang! Situ Jian’s left arm exploded—

Bang! Before he could feel the agony, his right arm detonated—

Crack! His lower leg snapped—

In less than a single breath, Situ Jian endured the last eight tortures from Qin Shuang. Then, his soul and spirit core shattered in succession, and his soul dispersed, dying utterly.

To suffer the final eight torments in an instant, his soul destroyed—that was perhaps the best fate Situ Jian could have hoped for.

"Thank you, Senior..." Bai Wan knew that Qin Shuang had shown mercy; otherwise, who knows what further torment Situ Jian would have suffered in those last moments.

With Situ Jian dead, Bai Wan felt the restrictions lift, his body suddenly light.

"I’ll kill you!" Situ Haonan, now able to move, could no longer restrain himself. He charged at Qin Shuang, his superior celestial sword already destroyed, relying only on self-detonation for a chance to drag Qin Shuang down with him.

"Haonan, don’t!" Bai Wan tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Bang! Before he even reached Qin Shuang, Situ Haonan’s body exploded, his soul and spirit core annihilated. Qin Shuang, meanwhile, was untouched.

"Two down..." Qin Shuang murmured. "Six of my brothers died tragically. Don’t think repaying just one life is enough."

Bai Wan froze. Two were not enough? Then...

"Senior..." Bai Wan suddenly called out. "Senior, as Lord of Lotus City, I offer my life as atonement. Please, spare my fellow cultivators of Lotus City from further slaughter."

"You?" Qin Shuang frowned. "A second-level Golden Immortal—you think your life can compensate for my four mortal brothers?"

Bai Wan was stunned. On the Endless Continent, mortals were the lowest form of life. Even among celestial beings, Golden Immortals, and ordinary cultivators, mortals were deemed insignificant. It was nearly a universal truth.

Yet as Qin Shuang declared it, Bai Wan dared not question.

"I tell you—whether mortal or immortal, one life repays one life."