Thirteen Golden Elixir cultivators formed a circle. How big could the area be? The moment the Armored Cultivator stepped into the void, he was in close contact with these thirteen. The Golden Elixir cultivators were quick to react. When the Void Mirror Plate was destroyed and the Limitless Vacuum Soul-searching Demon Transforming Method backfired, they responded immediately. They were connected by Aura, and the thirteen Gathering Killing Intent was a natural course of action.
Unfortunately, their enemy was faster. The shattered fragments of the broken mirror disc had not yet fully dispersed, and the Armored Cultivator had already raised a finger. In that instant, the surrounding thirteen felt as if this finger was thrusting towards their foreheads!
The fingertip wrapped in a fine metal mesh seemed to possess a kind of magic. Xiao Fuyun, Ji Long, and Lian Chang, the three cultivators with the highest cultivation levels, also felt a strong suction force, even a direct Power of the Decree pulling them towards it. Their Heart-Minds, refined over decades, were shaken and for a moment, they were horrified and unconsciously wanted to retreat. When they regained their senses a moment later, they realized that the Combined Force Situation of the Thirteen Golden Elixir Cultivators had been almost completely destroyed, and even worse, three people had lost control of their Heart-Minds and were rushing towards the fingertip like fools.
Like disciplining naughty children, the Armored Cultivator leisurely pressed his finger on the foreheads of the three, one by one, without making a sound. The three cultivators were all shocked, and then the tops of their skulls exploded. Three fist-sized lights burst out from the Blood Light, which were the Mechanisms of the Cauldron of the three cultivators. However, they were unable to condense the substantial Golden Elixir and were extracted from the Lower Abdomen Dantian by the Armored Cultivator's finger. They were naturally dead beyond death.
Watching the scene before him, Xiao Fuyun felt as if his blood was about to freeze. Three Initial Stage of Golden Elixir cultivators died like dogs, and an irresistible fear exploded from his heart, spreading throughout his body in an instant. His only remaining rationality was spinning around one question: "Golden Elixir Upper Level? Vacuum Walking? Or..."
"Retreat, retreat, retreat!" Ji Long, who was rarely able to give orders, had already changed his tone, and in the end, he was almost inaudible. Who knows how many people could hear him clearly.
At this time, the sensing green light of the Limitless Vacuum Soul-searching Demon Transforming Method had just faded, as if the newcomer had swallowed it. The three Golden Elixirs were nowhere to be found, and it was unknown how they were put away. At this time, the Armored Cultivator did not move, but simply hooked the extended finger.
"Ah..."
Two more Golden Elixir cultivators made strange sounds. Their chests seemed to be filled with air, swelling to the limit of the flesh body, followed by a bang. The boiling Blood Qi did not explode in the chest, but shot out from the brain. Both of their faces exploded into tiny pieces of flesh, and the Spirit was split open. Similarly, two Golden Elixirs flew out and were collected by the Armored Cultivator.
Screams echoed, and as five Golden Elixir cultivators fell dead in an instant, panic finally erupted. The surrounding thirty or so Nature-Connecting Cultivators were in disarray, fleeing in all directions, but none could escape beyond a hundred meters. It was as if an invisible demon lurked in the air, eviscerating these cultivators, leaving their bodies strewn across the ground.
"This, this is..."
Perhaps it was the extreme fear that stimulated potential. A moment of clarity suddenly emerged in Ji Long's boiling mind: "This is the Ten Orientation Hell Ghost Shaking Technique, one of the Great Mystical Powers of Shocking Gods and Grieving Ghosts!"
This Great Mystical Power had no flashy sound or light effects, nor did it display the might of moving mountains and filling seas. However, every bit of its force targeted the inherent fear within the spirit, using this emotion as a lever to control the Divine Soul, Qi, and Blood of the target. It could give life or take it away. It could be said that most of the cultivators lying dead on the spot had been literally scared to death!
Ji Long understood the essence of it, but it did nothing to alleviate the desperate situation before him. On the contrary, a deeper sense of despair welled up within him: "Such a Great Mystical Power that controls others' Divine Soul Vitality must belong to a Taoism Immortal who has gained the Tao of Longevity... How could this be?"
Great fear resides between life and death. It's precisely at the moment of complete despair that the power of the Ten Orientation Hell Ghost Shaking Technique is most apparent.
In an instant, Ji Long's Qi and Blood flowed backward, and his meticulously forged Heavenly Demon Seed Core shattered. As death approached, a blood-red light appeared before his eyes, followed by the sound of a sword cutting through the air, quickly fading away.
Demonic Self-Sacrifice Technique.
Xiao Fuyun truly was willing to give everything. Just for this, he was stronger than me! With this final thought, Ji Long succumbed to eternal darkness. Lian Chang, who had fallen earlier, had already experienced a Dao Foundation Collapse, leaving no signs of life.
As the azure Light Pillar connected heaven and earth, illuminating a hundred miles, Yu Ci was observing the situation of the Rakshasa Sect a few dozen miles away through the Fish-Dragon. The moment the Light Pillar flashed, he grunted, his sleeve's Divine Bronze Mirror instantly became scorching hot, even slightly trembling. An Azure Blade Light Mist spontaneously dispersed, its color almost identical to the Light Pillar, enveloping his entire left arm.
"Over there, at the Eastern Orthodox Sect!"
Even if Yu Ci were a fool, he would know that where the Light Pillar shone, there must be an object deeply related to his Treasure Mirror. Without hesitation, he immediately drove the Fish-Dragon towards that location. However, the azure Light Pillar came and went quickly. The Fish-Dragon had only flown halfway when the Light Pillar dissipated. What followed was a streak of Blood Light piercing the sky, transforming into a rainbow and flying past, just brushing past the Fish-Dragon.
Under the gloomy sky, the Blood Light was a very conspicuous target. Not to mention the Fish-Dragon, even Yu Ci, who was farther away, could vaguely see it. Of course, for clarity, the Fish-Dragon's perspective was superior:
"Is that... Xiao Fuyun?"
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
In a fleeting glimpse, Yu Ci saw that the figure enveloped in Blood Light was none other than Xiao Fuyun, who was previously unchallenged. At this moment, his whole body seemed to be burning with crimson flames. At a glance, it seemed as if he had been burned to a crisp. However, the Primordial Qi around him was unusually violent. Clearly, this was a desperate move to stimulate potential in a short period.
The speed of the Blood Light was so fast that it was even faster than the Fish-Dragon by a fraction. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the horizon, leaving Yu Ci unable to gather more information. After a moment of shock, Yu Ci drove the Fish-Dragon forward again, but with utmost caution. The journey of dozens of miles passed in an instant. When the situation fully appeared before the Fish-Dragon's eyes, even the courageous Yu Ci couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart.
Looking down from high above, there was a vaguely visible circular area composed entirely of human bodies. More than forty cultivators lay radiating outwards, including twelve Golden Elixir cultivators. Not a single one had managed to escape beyond a hundred meters.
Yu Ci took a sharp breath, calculating that the time from the rise of the Light Pillar, which should have been the beginning of the change, to now was only about fifty breaths. If it was only from the beginning of Xiao Fuyun's escape, the time would have to be cut by more than half. What was even more shocking was that he did not feel any excessive vibration of Primordial Qi. These cultivators, who were even higher in cultivation level than him, had been slaughtered like pigs and dogs, silently, utterly annihilated!
However, the murderer was nowhere to be seen.
"To slaughter more than forty Eastern Orthodox Sect cultivators like pigs and dogs, this is clearly beyond the abilities of a Golden Elixir cultivator. But it can't be... wasn't it said that within this Sword Garden, those above the Golden Elixir cultivator would be subjected to the backlash of the Sword Immortal's seal off, and if not careful, they would perish?"
This was precisely why the Sword Garden Grand Gathering capped the cultivation level of attending sword cultivators at the Golden Elixir Stage. Of course, there were indeed reckless people in the world who, despite the Sword Immortal's seal off, would rush in regardless. However, the pressure they would bear would be thousands of times heavier than that of a Golden Elixir cultivator. When it came to actual combat, they might even be inferior to a Golden Elixir cultivator.
With these thoughts, the identity of the killer and their Cultivation Level became even more elusive and perplexing.
Yu Ci, , did not waste any time. While deep in thought, he controlled the Fish-Dragon, making it circle the scene hundreds of times. He examined the dozens of corpses in detail, inhaling a cold breath: there were virtually no signs of external forces applied to the bodies. It was as if they had stirred their own Qi and Blood, causing their own downfall - what kind of sorcery was this?
At this moment, Yu Ci had a sudden, extremely unsettling feeling. This feeling came out of nowhere, and after a moment of bewilderment, he suddenly realized the problem: such a huge disturbance, yet neither the Pan Emperor Sect nor the Rakshasa Sect's Cultivators showed any reaction. The two sects were only thirty to forty miles away. Even if the Fish-Dragon was fast, how far could it have left them behind?
No, it was not that there was no reaction, but that all reactions were deliberately erased.
As this thought emerged, a chill ran through his heart. Without hesitation, he controlled the Fish-Dragon to flee. But it was too late. Above the forty or so corpses on the ground, there was a sudden eruption of resentful spirits, instantly forming a menacing and fierce energy that affected a radius of ten miles.
With just over forty people, the resentment was so strong. It could be imagined how much they suffered at the time of death. Especially before death, all the vivid memories of this life were recalled, some common memories were even more vivid and clear. Through the Divine consciousness starlight that Yu Ci placed deep in the Fish-Dragon's Divine Soul, it suddenly pierced through the void, like a giant seal, imprinting it directly onto Yu Ci's Divine Soul.
In this instant, Yu Ci finally understood the reason for the tragic death of all the Eastern Orthodox Sect Cultivators. But he would rather not know!
The Armored Cultivator had left a trap before leaving: the Ten Orientation Hell Ghost Shaking Technique he used, after killing many Cultivators, was still lurking in the undissipated resentment of these people. It only erupted when there was an intrusion of external life force.
This was originally prepared for all the stalkers, but the Pan Emperor and the Two Sects of Rakshasa's Cultivators seemed to have been cautious early on and did not come forward. Only Yu Ci, who knew nothing, fell into the trap. In an instant, Yu Ci experienced the death of all the deceased again, and it was forty times as intense.
Fear, boundless fear, like a tidal wave in the dark night, instantly engulfed him.
Blood splattered from all of Yu Ci's facial orifices. Such extreme emotions instantly ignited his entire Qi and Blood. This was not just a shock at the Divine Soul level, but involved the most primal instincts of the human body, a more profound level. Even if he transformed into the Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form, he could not escape. His Divine Soul suffered a heavy blow.
In a fleeting moment of disorientation, Yu Ci, the lone Spirit, suddenly realized that his Heart-Mind had retreated unknowingly into the Inner Void of the Heart. It was no surprise, for ever since cultivating the Primordial Root Qi Method, the Inner Void of the Heart had been his Taoist Foundation and the ultimate target of destruction by the Ten Orientation Hell Ghost Shaking Technique. At this moment, the Inner Void of the Heart was struggling on the brink of collapse, with the moonlit lake and the Fish-Dragon within it, contorting grotesquely. Life signifies birth, collapse signifies death, and between life and death lies the source of boundless fear.
Yu Ci's life force, akin to the flickering light of a tiny candle, was on the verge of being extinguished by the Black Fear Tide. It seemed to be only a matter of time. However, at this moment, his Heart-Mind became clear and transparent. This transformation stemmed from a single thought:
I am different!
For others, the line between life and death is a great despair, a great terror. But for him, where is the despair? Where is the fear? He had slain countless formidable enemies with his sword over the past decade. What he relied on, wasn't it this thin line of Spirit between life and death? This was not a numbness to life and death, but an understanding of it:
Life and death are but a flip of the palm, creation and destruction are upside down. Why fear life when opportunities lie within?
As this enlightenment rose, a Divine Light shone down on the Niwan organ. Yu Ci appeared in the Inner Void of the Heart, without a sword in hand, but with a Sword aura in his chest. With a single sweep, the resentment and fear of more than forty Cultivators melted away like snow in boiling water. The reversal of life and death was happening in an instant.
With a thunderous roar, the crumbling Inner Void of the Heart reassembled, and a thread of Divine Light began to sprout.
At that moment, in a distant mountain range, ten heavily armored Cultivators were slowly flying low. On the leader's armor, Rune Patterns suddenly lit up, followed by a phrase:
"He truly is an outstanding individual."
This murmuring echoed within the armor, slightly leaking out and causing Elder Ma and others nearby to skip a beat. The Sect Master was known to be sparing with his words, often remaining silent for months or even a year. His speaking now was indeed a rarity. As they were still surprised, they heard another phrase:
"May you rest in peace."
With these words, the Armored Cultivator flicked a finger, and a speck of Starlight shot up into the sky, disappearing in an instant.
In just a moment, hundreds of miles away, Yu Ci, who was barely hanging on and even gradually awakening, was suddenly jolted. A speck of Starlight swooped down from the sky, instantly penetrating the crown of his head and into the reassembling Inner Void of the Heart. It was as if thousands of stars had lit up all at once, an irresistible pressure bore down on him. He didn't even have time to utter a sound before his body was pressed dozens of feet into the ground, sealed within the thick layer of earth, silent.
This chapter is slightly longer, making up for the previous shortfall. As for the missing chapter, it may not be possible today, but it will definitely be done by tomorrow at the latest... What? You're asking about interest? Uh, well, I must be off...
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