The Eternal Sin-Chapter 28: Letting Others Die for One’s Gain.

"Since you have come all this way, why not stay?"

Those words drifted out like a breeze before a storm.

The masked invaders did not respond. They stood silently, weapons lowered, yet their bloodlust seeped into the air.

Meanwhile, the remaining Jade Heart Plantation cultivators reacted as though a lifeline had been thrown into a drowning sea. Their eyes lit up as they looked toward the newcomer.

"Heavens, Vice Manager Yuan is finally here!"

"Vice Manager Yuan, punish these thieves for us!"

"Vice Manager Yuan, has the sect dispatched reinforcements?"

Shouts overlapped chaotically, some filled with relief, others with desperate hope, as if the mere presence of this man could reverse the tide that had already drenched the ground in blood.

The leader of the invaders, the Golden Demon masked cultivator, suddenly laughed. "Vice Manager Yuan, is it? You want us to stay? That depends on your ability."

Vice Manager Yuan also burst into laughter. He rubbed his round belly with one hand. "A thief questioning the host’s ability. How amusing."

As his words fell, the smile on his face vanished. He formed a hand seal and pressed his palm against a formation node that had been shattered earlier.

"Not good. Stop him!" Masked Cultivator Fifteen shouted in alarm. The Golden Demon masked cultivator moved almost simultaneously, his body surging forward like a streak of light.

Yet he was still a breath too slow.

Cracked lines of light twisted and reconnected. Runes that had gone dim shifted and rearranged themselves with a low, buzzing hum. Greenish-blue light erupted outward, spreading like flowing water and sealing the space in an instant.

In a blink, everyone except Vice Manager Yuan was trapped inside the formation barrier.

The Golden Demon masked cultivator roared and slashed downward. A ten-foot sword shadow, condensed from dark elemental energy, smashed into the barrier. The impact sent ripples coursing through the formation. A tiny crack appeared on the surface of the formation, only to mend itself a breath later as if nothing had happened.

The remaining masked cultivators attacked together. Treasure weapons, talismans, and techniques struck the barrier in succession, but the formation merely rippled like water disturbed by falling stones, never truly breaking.

Number Fifteen cursed under his breath. "Damn it. This is a dual-resurrecting type formation."

"What does that mean?" a masked cultivator beside him asked with a frown. Even the Jade Heart Plantation cultivators strained their ears. None of them had known of such a thing.

Number Fifteen spoke grimly. "This kind of formation has two functions. The first activates normally, while the second activates after the first is destroyed. Earlier, the formation’s purpose was to prevent outsiders from entering. Now it has changed to prevent those inside from leaving."

His voice turned regretful. "If we had dismantled the nodes properly instead of simply breaking them, this would not have happened. Now the nodes are outside the barrier. We cannot interfere at all."

He let out a long sigh. "The only way out is to destroy it with pure force."

The Golden Demon masked cultivator listened in silence. Their intelligence had never mentioned such a formation. Still, he did not find it difficult to accept.

’Plans are made by men, but circumstances surpass men.’

He lifted his head and glared at Vice Manager Yuan before turning his gaze toward the cowering spirit farmers.

"Kill them all."

At his command, the masked cultivators moved without the slightest hesitation.

Spirit farmers screamed as the slaughter resumed. Many fought back desperately, unleashing every technique they had left. Others collapsed under heavy wounds. The rest fled toward the barrier, pounding against it and screaming Vice Manager Yuan’s name.

"Save us, Vice Manager!"

"Please, let us out!"

"Just open a gap. I will throw myself out!"

"Vice Manager Yuan! I will be your dog! Please!"

Blood splattered across the glowing formation surface like rain. Outside, Vice Manager Yuan’s face grew red. Sweat beaded across his bald head as he waved his arms frantically.

"Everyone, hold on a little longer," he shouted. "The formation needs time to recover. Reconstruction makes it harder to control. I will get you out soon."

Despair spread among the trapped cultivators. Many could already feel the limits of their strength approaching, their bodies trembling from exhaustion and injury. Yet, with no path of retreat, they continued fighting with clenched teeth and bloodshot eyes.

The Golden Demon masked cultivator laughed loudly and called out, "Vice Manager Yuan, how about this? Let us leave, and we will spare your people."

The effect of his words was immediate. The eyes of the remaining spirit farmers lit up once more as they turned pleading gazes toward Vice Manager Yuan.

Vice Manager Yuan shook his head slowly. "Impossible. I cannot betray the trust my superiors placed in me. These people are brave and righteous. They would never agree to such a deal."

Inside the barrier, several cultivators screamed in disbelief.

"Vice Manager Yuan!"

"Please reconsider!"

"Brave your mother! Open the fucking formation!"

"You fat pig, what nonsense are you spouting!?"

Curses rained down, yet Vice Manager Yuan ignored them all.

Bodies continued to fall as the slaughter intensified. Nearly half of the Jade Heart Plantation cultivators were slaughtered. The remaining survivors begged more desperately than before.

"I am sorry," Vice Manager Yuan said, his face filled with sorrow. "Just hold on a little longer."

Yet his heart burned with delight. ’Die! Die faster! Only I will become the hero who saved the core resource point. All the credit and rewards will be mine alone. You lot can just die!’

He could have saved them all but chose not to, for that would not benefit him.

Then a thought struck him.

’If everyone dies, will that not be suspicious...? I will save a few.’

The formation rippled once more as a beam of greenish-blue light descended from above and wrapped around a single figure. With a soft flash, she was extracted from the barrier and placed beside Vice Manager Yuan.

She was a woman with abundant fruits, her robes torn and stained with blood. Vice Manager Yuan’s eyes lingered on her curves, and lust shone openly as he felt a familiar itch in his loins.

She was a woman he had coveted for a long time.

’Hehe, this truly is killing two birds with one stone,’ Vice Manager Yuan thought, his tongue passing slowly over his lips.

For a moment, a perverse impulse ran through him. He even considered pushing her down right here and taking her.

He swallowed hard and suppressed it.

’Not now. There are still enemies.’

Inside the formation, the remaining cultivators erupted with renewed hope.

"Please, save me next!"

"I am the senior here. Save me first!"

"Vice Manager, let me go first. I will personally bring my cute sister to thank you!"

"I have a cute mother—"

Vice Manager Yuan had enough of their nonsense. He raised his hand. "The formation needs more time. Hold on and keep fighting."

The hope that had just ignited was extinguished like a candle drowned in cold water.

With no alternative, the survivors fought on like trapped beasts, their attacks growing more desperate and reckless.

Time passed in a blur of blood and violence until, at last, only two Jade Heart Plantation cultivators remained standing amid a sea of corpses. Of the invaders, only five masked cultivators were left, the Golden Demon masked cultivator among them, striking the barrier again and again in fury.

Vice Manager Yuan narrowed his eyes. ’Perhaps I should save one more. Mm, someone capable of surviving until now will be useful. Saving him will also make him loyal.’

He began forming another hand seal to extract a second survivor.

Splash.

Something warm hit his cheeks.

Vice Manager Yuan blinked in confusion. Raising his hand, he touched it. His fingers came away slick and thick.

Blood.

Vice Manager Yuan’s pupils shrank violently as he turned his head.

The woman he had just "saved" was still sitting there, but her head was gone. Her neck was a gory fountain of red, her body twitching once before toppling over, dead.

Before he could react, cold metal kissed his neck.

As the blade started to pierce into his flesh, Vice Manager Yuan caught a glimpse of its cold, mirror-like surface.

Reflected within was a figure obscured in deep shadows, wearing a half-burnt golden Buddha mask.