The plane landed smoothly at Donghai Airport. Long Xiao had not informed Lin Xuan of his return, wanting to surprise her.
After exiting the airport, Long Xiao bid farewell to Professor Lu. He considered asking for Professor Lu's contact information, but Professor Lu said, "No need for contact details, we'll meet again in the future."
Watching Professor Lu leave in a taxi, Long Xiao took out his phone, intending to contact Lin Xuan.
Before he could even dial Lin Xuan's number, a news report appeared on the airport's large screen.
"A transport vehicle belonging to a Japanese pharmaceutical company was involved in an accident on South Third Ring Road, resulting in the body of a woman falling out. Police have rushed to the scene..."
As the camera panned to the female body, Long Xiao's hand trembled, and the phone slipped from his grasp. He never expected the deceased woman to be Lin Xuan.
After a brief moment of shock, Long Xiao immediately hailed a taxi and sped towards the accident site.
Upon arriving at the crash scene, a crowd had already gathered. Several police officers were investigating, and Lu Tianxing, with a pale face, knelt beside Lin Xuan.
Long Xiao pushed through the onlookers. Hearing someone approach, Lu Tianxing looked up and saw Long Xiao.
"Long Xiao?"
Long Xiao suppressed his grief and rage, nodded, then knelt beside Lin Xuan, taking her ice-cold hand and continuously channeling his life force into her body.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes passed. There was no sign of her waking up.
"Who did this?" Long Xiao roared, looking at the injuries on Lin Xuan's body.
Lu Tianxing shook his head and said, "The investigation is ongoing. According to surveillance footage from along the route, the vehicle came from the Jidao Tower."
Long Xiao nodded and said, "I understand. Director Lu, please keep an eye on Lin Xuan for me. I'm going to Jidao Tower."
Lu Tianxing nodded, "Don't worry."
Long Xiao stood up as a Toyota sedan pulled over to the roadside. A Japanese man got out of the car.
"Wulang, who is responsible for this?" Long Xiao asked.
Seeing Long Xiao, Wulang was momentarily stunned. "Brother Long, you're back."
"Who killed my wife."
"I came here precisely to inform Director Lu that this was the work of Kotsuta Kyuji."
Long Xiao nodded. "I understand. Give me the car keys."
Wulang handed the car keys to Long Xiao. Watching Long Xiao's retreating back, Wulang sighed and muttered, "Jidao Tower is finished."
Inside Jidao Tower, Kotsuta Kyuji was slapped to the ground by Qingyuan.
"Didn't I warn you not to touch anyone related to Long Xiao?"
"Lord Qingyuan, Long Xiao has been missing for a long time. To control Donghai, we must first control Xuan Xiao Company."
"You're treating my words like wind! You want to die, but don't drag the shrine down with you..."
As Qingyuan was shouting, someone burst through the door. "Lord Qingyuan, it's bad! The surrounding buildings are disappearing."
Looking out the window, Qingyuan and Kotsuta Kyuji were shocked to see the surrounding structures becoming increasingly ethereal, gradually vanishing from sight as if being erased.
"Someone is setting up a magic array outside! Quickly, get out of here!" Qingyuan yelled and rushed out of the office.
Long Xiao had utilized all the materials he had for setting up magic arrays. For added security, he had chosen a demonic array.
As the Fire Spirit Stone, serving as the array's eye, was thrown to the ground, all surrounding buildings vanished, leaving only a gray, misty expanse outside Jidao Tower.
With a long saber in hand and clad in a coarse cloth cultivator's robe, Long Xiao stood before Jidao Tower. His five elemental energies and demonic aura emanated outward, his body beginning to shimmer.
Qingyuan and Kotsuta Kyuji reached the ground floor. Seeing Long Xiao, they realized escape was impossible and turned to flee back inside.
Long Xiao did not pursue them. He slowly dragged his saber and entered Jidao Tower.
The purge began from the first floor. The saber swung, and there were no shouts of combat, no sounds of fighting, only the crisp cracking of bone being severed by the blade.
After thoroughly clearing the first floor, Long Xiao found the electrical control room and cut off the power, destroying all power supply facilities.
The elevator stopped. Long Xiao ascended to the second floor via the stairs.
Several pieces of jade inscribed with mystic formations were thrown to the ground. The stairwell entrance vanished, replaced by a solid wall.
It was a one-sided slaughter. One strike per person. The disparity in power was too great; no one had a chance to retaliate.
Kotsuta Kyuji and Qingyuan hid on the eighteenth floor. Four shrine experts brought by Qingyuan were stationed there, intending to use them to hold Long Xiao off for a few minutes, granting them time to escape.
Long Xiao ascended floor by floor, clearing each one, and soon reached the eighteenth floor.
As he emerged from the stairwell, Long Xiao tossed the jade in his hand to the ground. The four experts standing in the corridor turned green as they saw the stairwell entrance disappear. They thought, "He's determined to eradicate us all!"
"Long Xiao, do you truly intend to kill us all?" one of the Japanese experts asked.
Long Xiao nodded. "I warned you long ago, whoever dares to touch my wife, I will destroy their entire family."
"But we didn't touch your wife; Kotsuta Kyuji did."
Long Xiao glared. "You misunderstand. China is my home, and the Chinese people are my family. You are Japanese. If the Japanese harm my wife, the 'entire family' I speak of refers to Japan."
"Long Xiao, you are too arrogant! You think you can destroy our entire nation by yourself?"
"I alone cannot destroy it, nor would I attempt to. However, you are in league with Kotsuta Kyuji. The Kotsuta family must be destroyed, and the shrine must also be destroyed. You must all die."
Long Xiao's words left no room for negotiation. One of the Japanese experts said, "Kill him."
The four Japanese experts, wielding their sabers, lined up and charged towards Long Xiao.
These four experts were all at the Great Perfection stage of the Earth Realm, nearing the Heaven Realm, and held high positions within the shrine. They had accompanied Qingyuan to Donghai and were treated as honored guests by all Japanese people, who would bow to them before greeting them.
Long Xiao looked at the charging Japanese experts with disdain. He waited until their sabers were about to strike his head before making his move.
Long Xiao's long saber swept horizontally, and a bloodline appeared on the necks of the four Japanese experts.
The four sabers lost momentum, their descent slowing. Long Xiao took a step back, evading the falling sabers. Without even glancing at the fallen experts, he walked back into the corridor.
A group of samurai emerged, their chests bare, displaying a desperate, all-out fighting stance.
Long Xiao swung his saber, and the dozen samurai in front were cut in half at the waist. The samurai behind them stopped in terror.
Before they could react, Long Xiao swung his saber again.
With just three swings, Long Xiao dealt with all fifty-plus samurai.
Observing the situation from a distance, Qingyuan and Kotsuta Kyuji, terrified, retreated back into a room.
Qingyuan slapped Kotsuta Kyuji and roared, "Tell me what to do! Are you going out, or am I?"
Kotsuta Kyuji knew the situation was dire. He hadn't been Long Xiao's match before, and he certainly wasn't now.
"Does it matter if we go out? We have no escape."
Qingyuan kicked Kotsuta Kyuji in the lower back and said, "Get out there and apologize..."
Before Qingyuan could finish, Kotsuta Kyuji slapped him across the face and shouted, "What good will an apology do? If apologies work, you go apologize and let him let you leave!"
Qingyuan was stunned. He hadn't expected Kotsuta Kyuji to strike him.
As they were arguing, Long Xiao kicked open the door and entered.