Mu Jinyu indeed killed Wu Dayong in a fit of rage, but did not scatter his soul; instead, he preserved it.
He wanted to see if Xie Chenkun's words were true or false, with how many lies mixed in, and whether Wu Dayong was their sacrificial pawn!
"Soul Search!"
Mu Jinyu looked at the struggling phantom silhouette in his palm, his expression icy and unmoved, softly uttered, and then performed the Soul Searching Secret Technique.
Instantly, Mu Jinyu's vast Divine Sense swept into the soul within his palm.
Wu Dayong's soul, when Mu Jinyu employed the Soul Searching Secret Technique on it, immediately contorted with greater anguish, his already phantasmal appearance seemingly on the brink of collapse.
The Soul Searching Secret Technique, as its name suggests, is used to probe the memories within a person's soul.
However, a person's lifetime of memories is immensely complex and vast. Wu Dayong had lived at least seventy to eighty years, possibly even a century, so Mu Jinyu could not possibly scrutinize from the beginning of memory to the end of his life.
Not only is the effort limited, but also Wu Dayong's soul's condensed state cannot sustain for that long—probably seeing merely one-tenth would cause complete collapse!
Therefore, Mu Jinyu directly jumped to Wu Dayong's memories from two hours ago.
There he saw Zhou Yun leading the Blood Sword Sect to attack Heavenly Sword Faction, breaking through the Protective Shield, invading the faction, and engaging in conversation with Xie Yuan and others.
Then he saw Xie Chenkun refusing steadfastly, declaring he had already left Heavenly Sword Faction to attend the Hidden Dragon Conference in the Dayan Dynasty.
Finally, it was Wu Dayong himself revealing the truth.
He also saw the moment Xie Chenkun's eyes [displayed rage or anguish], and Wu Dayong's smug and vile expression...
Mu Jinyu, combining the memories from Wu Dayong's soul search and his own experience, confirmed that Xie Chenkun and others had indeed not wronged him.
"Sigh..."
Mu Jinyu sighed softly, gently clenched his palm.
"Bang!"
The soul of Wu Dayong in his palm, clutching his head, persistently struggles and rolls in agony, silently screaming.
And with Mu Jinyu's sudden tight grasp, the soul was instantly crushed.
Afterwards, Wu Dayong's soul transformed into a scattering stream of shimmering dots, fading away like sand slipping through fingers, disappearing into the world.
Only then was Wu Dayong truly dead!
"You all go back and rest first, I'll check on the Sect Leader and them."
Mu Jinyu, with a complex expression, paused quietly before tidying his emotions and turning to Wen Rou and the three women.
"Okay."
Jian Ruyan and Wen Rou were unaware of what Mu Jinyu saw in Wu Dayong's soul search, but after spending time together, they understood his nature and sensed his current mood was not good.
However, seeing that he intended to meet Xie Chenkun, it seemed the Heavenly Sword Faction's leadership had not deliberately tried to betray him; Li Daochen and Wu Dayong's affair should only be an accident.
So they all responded compliantly, and entered Number One Courtyard.
Mu Jinyu waited until they returned to rest, fully composed himself, and with a calm demeanor, soared towards the Elder's Grand Hall!
After Xie Chenkun and others took his Healing Pills, their injuries improved, so they naturally wouldn't foolishly wait at the entrance for him to return.
Instead, they returned to the Elder's Grand Hall to count the casualties and losses, and decide how to deal with the Blood Sword Sect.
Just as Mu Jinyu arrived at the entrance of the Elder's Grand Hall, he heard an elder say: "The statistics are complete; this time, with the Blood Sword Sect's provocation, casualties are as follows: Outer Sect Disciple deaths totaling three hundred eighteen, serious injuries five hundred sixty-seven, minor injuries seven hundred ninety-four..."
"Inner Sect Disciple deaths totaling one hundred thirty-seven, serious injuries two hundred seventy-eight, minor injuries three hundred ninety-seven..."
"Among the Elders, Outer Sect Elder deaths totaled forty-six, Inner Sect Elder deaths twenty-four, Supreme Elder deaths seven..."
Because the elders were just taken by the Blood Sword Sect, Mu Jinyu gave them premium Healing Medicine for their injuries, so basically there were no serious or minor injuries anymore.
They only counted the deceased elder numbers.
Mu Jinyu felt immense sorrow hearing these statistics.
After all, the calamity between the two sects, indeed started because of him.
And these statistics were not mere cold numbers but vivid lives.
They could have lived, but perished due to his reckless actions.
Of course, if he could have exited seclusion earlier, they might have escaped calamity.
Ultimately, it was he who owed these people.
"You've arrived, come on in..."
At this moment, Xie Yuan's hoarse voice was heard from within the Elder's Grand Hall.
Mu Jinyu, not hiding his presence as he arrived at the entrance, had naturally been detected by Xie Yuan and others.
Upon hearing Xie Yuan's call, Mu Jinyu knew he was being summoned inside, his face pallid, as he trudged forward with stiff, unrecognizable legs, moving inside.
Due to the significant loss of elders, the positions originally filled to capacity now had many vacancies.
Xie Yuan gestured to a chair beside him, indicating for Mu Jinyu to sit next to him.
Mu Jinyu walked slowly to sit beside Xie Yuan, then quietly said: "I'm sorry, it's all because of me that these things happened, they could have lived..."
The assembled elders, initially agonizing, resentful, and murderous after hearing the casualty statistics, fell silent with complex expressions upon Mu Jinyu's arrival and apology.
Their resentment and murderous intent largely targeted the Blood Sword Sect.
Ultimately, the disciples and elders perished under their blades.
The Heavenly Sword Faction had stood in the Yan Kingdom for so many years, inevitably experiencing conflict and expansion at the cost of casualties; periodic large-scale skirmishes with other sects occurred over resource dominance.
So the disciple and elder casualty extent here was within their tolerable range.
Towards Mu Jinyu, they felt only complaint.
Complaining about Mu Jinyu forcibly taking the Blood Essence Crystal, prematurely stoking enmity between Heavenly Sword Faction and Blood Sword Sect, complaining that despite reaching the Third Layer of the Fanxu Realm, he studied the "Killing Character Secret Technique," nearly becoming a cripple, causing them needless disaster without gaining benefits.
Fortunately, Mu Jinyu successfully mastered the "Killing Character Secret Technique," emerged from seclusion, and eradicated numerous Blood Sword Sect elders and elite disciples.
Thus, the casualties were wholly acceptable, with the Blood Sword Sect's destruction, leaving Heavenly Sword Faction to rule Yan Kingdom, deemed worthwhile.
Hearing Mu Jinyu's regretful words, Xie Yuan asked: "Are your girlfriends alright?"