Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2005 Chapter 964: Evil News (Part 3)

With a final, concentrated effort, Shen Shouxing could have driven his blade home to rupture the heart veins.

Had he done so, Shen Tuao would have been mortally wounded, if not killed outright.

Instead, Shen Shouxing abruptly shifted his momentum, swinging his sword toward the unsuspecting Xun Ziyou.

Xun Ziyou had maintained a degree of caution toward Shen Shouxing throughout their journey,

but his focus had wavered slightly after the grueling struggle to suppress Shen Tuao.

Consequently, the sudden betrayal caught him off-balance.

By the time Xun Ziyou could react, the lethal sword light of Shen Shouxing was already racing toward his vital organs.

This was a calculated ambush from a Golden Core Peak Cultivator;

even if the others had sensed the danger, they were powerless to intervene.

However, his ingrained survival instincts saved him; in that split second between life and death,

Xun Ziyou managed a desperate instinctive lunge to the side.

The blade missed his heart by a mere few inches, burying itself in his shoulder instead,

where the violent sword qi began to tear through his muscle and bone.

Forced to prioritize his own life, Xun Ziyou abandoned his restraint on Shen Tuao and leaped backward.

Left without support, Elder Bear could no longer hold Shen Tuao down and was forced to retreat several meters.

Free from his shackles, Shen Tuao slowly rose to his feet.

In an instant, the four figures stood in a tense deadlock, divided into separate factions, each radiating killing intent

and watching the others with extreme wariness.

Xun Ziyou touched the bleeding wound on his shoulder before fixing a frigid stare on Shen Shouxing,

his voice dripping with ice:

“Elder Shen, what is the meaning of this?”

Shen Shouxing’s face remained mask-like, though he felt a pang of frustration.

This Elder Xun was far too alert; he had waited the entire journey for a single opening, and even then,

the man had managed to dodge a killing blow.

Had the strike landed, the sword qi would have shredded his heart, ending his life then and there.

Shen Shouxing looked at Xun Ziyou in silence. Since the veil had been lifted,

there was no longer a need for deception, so he replied calmly:

“For the future of my Shen Family, I’m afraid I must ask Elder Xun to remain here forever

at the base of this Solitary Mountain tomb.”

Xun Ziyou showed no shock, his eyes as sharp as blades. “So, this entire catastrophe

really was a plot by the Shen Family?”

“Was it your family that engineered the mining disaster,

trapping and slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Mining Cultivators,

only to use this tomb to seal the pit,

ensuring those miserable souls would never see the sun again, even in death?!”

Fury burned in Xun Ziyou’s voice.

The color drained from the faces of everyone present, and Mo Hua’s heart skipped a beat.

Shen Shouxing’s eyes darkened as he remained quiet.

“Your silence is a confession, then?” Xun Ziyou narrowed his eyes and let out a mocking laugh,

“The Shen Family truly possesses a terrifying audacity; an entire mine, so many innocent lives... discarded so casually...”

Xun Ziyou studied Shen Shouxing once more. “You were the one in charge of Solitary Mountain. Despite not reaching the Feather Transformation Realm,

you climbed to the rank of a Powerful Elder within the Shen Family. It must have been due to some monumental service.

I imagine that service was the betrayal and massacre of these Mining Cultivators, wasn’t it?”

“Was the mining disaster of the past planned and carried out by your hand, Elder Shen Shouxing?”

Xun Ziyou’s voice was freezing, trembling with suppressed rage.

Following his accusation, a suffocating silence fell over the chamber.

No one dared to speak.

Even if they hadn't known the truth before, seeing the mass grave of tens of thousands inside the tomb,

the swarms of corpse ghosts, and the literal mountain of remains had planted seeds of suspicion in their hearts.

Yet, no one had dared to voice it.

Ignorance was a fragile shield, a way to avoid the inevitable.

Now that it was spoken aloud, confirming the Shen Family’s atrocities,

the situation had turned into a fight to the death.

The Shen Family could never allow them to leave with this secret.

The tragedy at Solitary Mountain, involving the deaths of over ten thousand Loose Cultivators,

was a crime so heinous it would shatter the Shen Family’s very foundation.

The Taoist Court would be forced to act, and the family would be hunted by all, their name forever ruined.

It was clear now that Shen Shouxing never intended for a single soul to walk out of Solitary Mountain alive.

Fan Jin felt a chill run down his spine, his heart sinking with dread.

His darkest premonitions had been realized; they were trapped in a nightmare.

Beside him, Master Gu was shivering, his blood boiling with indignation.

Grit-toothed and shaking with fury, he forced out the words:

“Tens of thousands of Loose Cultivators at Solitary Mountain,

lured to their deaths and left to rot in this dark, abyssal pit...”

“Shen Shouxing, how do you sleep at night? Do you not fear... divine retribution?”

Shen Shouxing’s expression didn't change, but a muscle in his forehead twitched—

a sign of internal turmoil, as if he were trying to suppress a buried memory.

The images of the Mining Cultivators he had betrayed, the looks of confusion,

the sheer helplessness and despair on their faces, threatened to break through his mental seals.

He had made those choices. He had ordered the slaughter.

A crack formed in Shen Shouxing’s soul.

Yet, his voice remained detached and cold. “I... had no other choice.”

Xun Ziyou let out a derisive sneer.

Ignoring the contempt, Shen Shouxing let out a weary sigh:

“In a Great Family overflowing with geniuses, fighting for a way up is an ordeal you cannot possibly comprehend

unless you are part of it.”

“Especially for those of us from humble origins or illegitimate lines,

those of us on the fringes of power. Climbing the ladder is harder than reaching the heavens.”

“All the rewards are reserved for others.”

“You are left to scrounge for the scraps they discard,

all while being expected to bow low and show endless gratitude...”

A flash of resentment and agony flickered in Shen Shouxing’s eyes.

“Having lived through that, I refused to accept such a fate,

nor do I want my children or grandchildren to suffer as I did.”

“Therefore, I had to rise, regardless of the cost.”

Xun Ziyou remained quiet for a moment before asking softly, “So, the lives of tens of thousands of Mining Cultivators

were simply the stones you used to pave your path upward?”

“I had no desire to kill them,” Shen Shouxing stated coldly.

“I am not a man who delights in murder, but they became a burden,

an unmanageable problem. As things escalated, that massive number of Loose Cultivators

would have turned into a desperate mob.”

“The Shen Family could not support them. There was only one logical solution... to bury them with the mountain.”

Master Gu’s anger flared. “Your family stole their land and seized their mines,

driving them to the brink of starvation, and then you blame them for being a ‘burden’?”

Shen Shouxing replied, “They were the ones who abandoned the mountain.

They were the ones who sold the mines.

Those shortsighted Loose Cultivators traded their only means of survival for a quick profit.

How is that the fault of the Shen Family?”

“You...” Master Gu’s chest heaved with rage, his finger trembling as he pointed at Shen Shouxing, unable to find the words.

Xun Ziyou said coldly, “No justification can excuse the mass murder of so many people.”

Shen Shouxing paused, then sighed softly. “They... were of no use...”

“For our mining operations, the Shen Family uses massive spiritual machinery.

Their manual labor was redundant.”

“They were penniless; there was no profit to be squeezed from them.”

“Their only value was their history at Solitary Mountain,

and they sold that for a pittance.”

“Think clearly: what purpose did they serve?”

“Furthermore, those starving Loose Cultivators were becoming a source of instability,

which made it impossible for me to let them remain.”

“Keeping them alive offered no gain to the Shen Family, the Taoist Court,

Solitary Mountain, or the peace of the Qian Learning state.”

“Cultivators must advance, Great Families must expand,

and the world of Cultivation must thrive. Such progress is always built upon the bones of the weak.”

“This has been the way of the world since the dawn of time.”

“It is merely a matter of who sees it and who does not.”

“Those who see it are too weak to change it;

those who don't see it, or choose to look away, simply do not care...”