Once upon a time, in an era when the three titans of the northern Jade Purification Alliance were still the Shangqing Sect, Clear Void Moral Sect, and Four Clarity Sect, the Shangqing Sect was indisputably the leading Daoist gate of the North. They boasted over twenty Proven Longevity Practitioners, thirty-six divine avatars guarding the Sect's Mountain Gate, and fifty thousand cultivators. When they all practiced together, their breaths roared like thunder, their talismans fell like rain, and the weather within a thousand miles changed color in response.
At that time, the Primordial Demon Sect, one of the super great sects of power and influence in the Northern Region, was already showing signs of instability, sowing the seeds of division. In contrast, the Shangqing Sect was in its heyday, which was a mockery to them. Therefore, the two sects were in constant conflict. The Primordial Demon Sect, relying on its deep roots and the great Thunderbolt Tribulation, summoned countless Sky Demons from other domains to create the "Demon Thunderbolt Tribulation." This uprooted the Shangqing Sect, but the Primordial Demon Sect itself also suffered a great loss of Primordial Qi and was kicked by the Eastern Magic Sovereign, leading to its collapse.
The last Thunderbolt Tribulation was too distant for Yu Ci, but one thing was certain: during the long-term conflict between the Primordial Demon Sect and the Shangqing Sect, they both targeted each other's weaknesses, and various unique skills and secret techniques emerged in large quantities during those thousand years of confrontation.
The Lifeless Tribulation Star Soul-breaking Divine Light was one of the most famous among them. In the teaching process of Old Master Zhu, it was said that its method came from an external teaching. It seemed grand and vast, but it was actually the most sinister, targeting the Divine Soul. Once contaminated by the Starlight Tribulation Force, all methods of soul departure and reincarnation could no longer be used. One could only be trapped in their own body, subjected to constant damage from the Starlight Tribulation Force, and live a life worse than death.
Yu Ci held a grudge against Xiao Fuyun for forcing him into the poisonous swamp that day and decided to make a clean break, so he showed no mercy. There was a sudden burst of noise from the surrounding Rune Array, and most of the Rune Patterns twisted and exploded. The rocky ground cracked, revealing Xiao Fuyun's twisted face, which looked as if it had been smeared with dirty blood.
At this point, Xiao Fuyun was no longer his arrogant self, he was like a blood man in the ravine. His body had shrunk by two sizes, showing the heavy consequences of the Demonic Self-Sacrifice Technique. He was now furious and filled with lingering fear. The fear Heart Demon that he had just suppressed with the Rune Array was once again raging, making his eyes gray and his mind unclear.
With just this, his Taoist Foundation had crumbled, and the Thousand Thunderbolt Tribulation was no more.
Yu Ci was a man of revenge, but not a sadist. Seeing Xiao Fuyun's state, he exerted force on the hilt of the Xi Guang Sword and said, "Answer my questions promptly, and I can help you die sooner!"
The excruciating pain of a blade tearing through his flesh brought a flicker of sanity back to Xiao Fuyun. Under the combined internal and external onslaught, he teetered on the brink of collapse. His heart was filled with resentment that offered no relief, and he could only sweep his lifeless eyes across the scene. Yu Ci knew that Xiao was on the verge of breaking down. He sent a few questions to Xiao using the Soul-Shaking Technique, and sure enough, there was a response. The two communicated solely through their Divine Souls. Although Xiao was in a terrible state and his information was somewhat chaotic, Yu Ci was fairly satisfied.
At that moment, the sound of a Sword Howl came from outside the sky, growing from distant to near. Yu Ci looked up and saw that it was Di She and Ye Ming, among others, who were fighting, chasing and fleeing, and had returned to this place.
At this point, the seven Cultivators from Half Mountain Island had the upper hand. Sword Light crisscrossed and flew around, causing Di She and the others to break out in cold sweats. Everyone was wounded, but Di She, despite being trapped, had also pulled out his real skills. His Polar Light Secret Method made him almost invisible, holding Ye Ming back while repeatedly issuing harsh cries, presumably to call for help from his fellow sect members who were left behind.
Looking for someone else? That person had long since disappeared...
Shaking his head, Yu Ci casually took off the Storage Ring that Xiao Fuyun had just handed over. After a brief inspection to confirm its authenticity, he prepared to fulfill his promise to end Xiao's suffering quickly. Just as he was about to act, a voice rang in his ear:
"Let me take two items from inside first."
Yu Ci paused. The voice was soft and pleasant, but it carried an immense authority. Especially considering how close it was, yet he couldn't sense the speaker's presence at all. This eerie feeling was like a cold thread winding around his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Who was it?
Yu Ci suppressed his urge to draw his sword. If he couldn't grasp the other's presence, drawing his sword would be useless—besides, his Xi Guang Sword had already been corroded by Xiao Fuyun's blood and fire, turning it into a joke.
But then he saw a faint green light appear out of nowhere on the devastated platform, hovering over the half-dead Xiao Fuyun. A light mist spread from it, and when it swept over him, Yu Ci felt a slight dispersal of his Qi and Blood.
"Polar Light Primordial Magnetism!"
Which powerful figure from the Light Demon Sect was this? Such a faint green light should be a means of transmitting voice over thousands of miles, while the person himself could be hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
Understanding this, Yu Ci said indifferently, "To gain without labor seems unbecoming of a person of your stature, Daoist friend."
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As for what that stature was... Yu Ci was still pondering.
The person didn't seem annoyed, and after a moment of silence, he replied indifferently, "To kill for wealth is also not honorable."
Yu Ci was unfazed: "If the tiger preys on man, man can also prey on it. Are we only allowed to be victims and not fight back? There's no such rule in the world. Huh?"
He suddenly felt something was off, and then the person spoke again: "This 'Bright Wheel Gathering Yuan Talisman Array' was set up by me personally to maintain Xiao Fuyun's Primordial Qi. However, it inadvertently restricted his movements and led to his current predicament, indirectly making me the villain. Given this, it's only fair that I take two items."
"Haha, yes, Daoist friend, you're... annoying!"
With a sharp rebuke, Yu Ci released his newly formed Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman, scattering the green light in front of him. Did this person take him for a fool? Initially, this person was full of authority, but then started to argue with him, contradicting himself. It was clear that he was just trying to buy time! His identity was almost revealed...
Yu Ci glanced once more at the tumultuous sky above, then abruptly shouted, "Di Tianluo is almost here, friends of Half Mountain Island, be careful!"
His voice echoed through the valley, resonating with the combatants in the sky above, ensuring they heard his warning clearly. Regardless of their reaction, he had done his part. Grinning, he turned to leave, but not before giving Xiao Fuyun a final, satisfying blow.
The Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman rose, and in Xiao Fuyun's wide, vacant eyes, a faint light suddenly ignited.
"Scoundrel!"
The word rasped from Xiao Fuyun's cracked throat, hoarse and grating, causing Yu Ci to stiffen. In that moment, he saw the green light in Xiao Fuyun's eyes intensify, while his body unnaturally emitted Blood Light. The previously halted Demonic Self-Sacrifice Technique suddenly restarted, burning his flesh and blood to generate immense power, lunging at him.
"Strike!"
With a shout, the Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman transformed into a streak of light, tearing through the Blood Light and bisecting Xiao Fuyun. Immediately after, Xiao Fuyun's body exploded into a cloud of blood, engulfing the entire floating platform.
Yu Ci reacted instantly, using the Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman to shield himself as he jumped from the platform, not slowing down in the slightest. The sound of rushing wind filled his ears, but his thoughts were increasingly clear, "That Di Tianluo is ruthless. His previous aid to Xiao Fuyun was not out of kindness. Now that Xiao Fuyun is useless, he remotely controls him, using the Demonic Self-Sacrifice Technique to harm others... He intends to pin the blame on me!"
He was falling rapidly, but the blood mist above was condensing even faster into a mass of Blood Light, diving down at an even greater speed. From the cliff that was only a hundred meters high, Yu Ci had barely fallen halfway when the Blood Light caught up.
Yu Ci glanced back, slightly frowning. He prepared to take action, but a cold voice from the sky shouted, "Daredevil demon!"
A celestial river-like Sword Light poured down, instantly shredding the Blood Light. Although it didn't completely annihilate it, it prevented it from regrouping. The Sword Light clearly came from the side of Half Mountain Island, showing that they had full control of the situation.
Yu Ci felt slightly relieved. He adjusted his posture in mid-air, slowing his descent. Looking up, he saw someone from afar looking back, their eyes clear but filled with confusion. They hadn't figured out his identity yet.
"I should make contact with the cultivators of Half Mountain Island next, to establish some rapport..."
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt lighter, and a brilliant, indescribable light shone down. His heart trembled as he looked up, but all he saw was an unidentifiable light. In that instant, he felt as if he had lost three pounds.
But the next moment, this strange lightness rapidly transformed into an irresistible pressure, descending from above. The abrupt shift from light to heavy, the grinding of Yin and Yang, made Yu Ci feel as if his Qi and Blood were evaporating at an alarming rate, and a sense of weakness overcame him.
What was more alarming was that this drastic change had even affected his Aura Transformation. In the central core of his Dantian Organ, the previously stable Aura was showing signs of dispersal.
"Is this the Polar Light Primordial Magnetism?" Compared to this, how could Di She not feel shame and wish for death?
Yu Ci took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fluctuations in his Qi and Blood. Thankfully, the speed at which the Life Death Talisman in the Inner Void of his Heart absorbed the Primordial Qi of heaven and earth had not decreased, swiftly filling the deficit. Despite his discomfort, he was still holding on.
Twenty more feet downwards, and he would reach the bottom of the cliff.
However, at this moment, another tremor came from above. Within the aurora colors that obscured all sight, a thin figure arrived, crossing the void. Without a word, he pressed down with a single finger.
The slender finger's point caused the Primordial Magnetism raging within Yu Ci to suddenly escalate, tearing apart Yu Ci's Protective True Evil with its fierce magnetism, threatening to turn his organs upside down.
In the eyes of the thin figure, such Primordial Magnetism should have been enough to warp someone of Yu Ci's Cultivation Level beyond recognition. Yet, instead of hearing Yu Ci scream in agony, he heard him burst out laughing:
"Even if you keep silent, your noise is still noise!"
Before his laughter had ended, Yu Ci opened his eyes in anger. The Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman soared into the sky, swirling around before flying towards the thin figure. Even in such a situation, wherever the Sword Light reached, it still targeted a critical point of the thin figure's Aura Transformation. Its precision was astonishing. Naturally, this only made her angrier. She growled, "Seeking death!" and transformed her finger into a palm, slamming down.
The Primordial Magnetism went wild, shattering the Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman. Yu Ci was sent crashing down towards the bottom of the cliff, his fate unknown. However, in the instant before, there was a ringing sound in the void, and an invisible sword Qi energy streaked across the sky and vanished.
Only the thin figure could see that her Polar Light Primordial Magnetism had been split open by a tiny crack. She felt something and touched her forehead, feeling a damp sensation on her fingertips.
"A Shattered Pill Strike? Is he really this fierce?"
The thin figure was somewhat puzzled. Her spiritual perception was innate and highly sensitive, and she always felt that something was off. She didn't bother to wipe the blood from her face and opened her Red Fire Demon Eyes to look below.
Before she could make sense of the situation, a rumbling sound echoed, and the ground within a ten-mile radius collapsed. The massive sinkhole even swallowed the surrounding mountains and cliffs, causing them to tilt and collapse, and dust rose a thousand meters into the air as the earth split and the mountains crumbled.
This scene left the thin figure stunned, but she was the first to recover. She was the closest to the sinkhole, and the rich Geng Metal Qi that surged like a tidal wave instantly washed over her, the overwhelming pressure of the sword making her heart palpitate.
"A secret Sword Cultivation hideout?"
She squinted her eyes, but her gaze was directed behind her. With such a grand spectacle, it might be a great tomb that had never been revealed, but it would be difficult to monopolize.
...