On this day, a piece of news fell like a spark into a boiling pot of oil, first exploding across every inch of land in the Ten Demon Countries.
It then traveled along the communication network, transforming into Spirit Light indistinguishable to the naked eye, crazily spreading throughout the Eastern Domain, and even further into the vast and desolate Great Wilderness.
"The three Nascent Soul Demon Monarchs of Jiang Country were surrounded by Tribulation Cultivators outside Qingxi Market, yet were all slain with a single sword, and their Sect Spiritual Treasures and Nascent Soul Bodies were seized!"
Wherever the news reached, the first to boil over were the towns and markets of the Ten Demon Countries.
In "Black Wind City," adjacent to the border of Jiang Country, the city walls are built from massive, mysterious black stones and have long been shrouded in an elusive scent of blood.
In the largest tavern in the city, the "Drunken Immortal Tower," the originally noisy main hall suddenly became as if gripped by an invisible hand around its throat, falling silent instantly.
A Loose Cultivator dressed in a gray robe, his face ashen, shrank by a corner table.
Clutching a warm Communication Jade Scroll, his normally muddy eyes suddenly widened in shock, staring fixedly at the runes circulating on the jade scroll, his voice tinged with uncontrollable tremor, breaking the deathly silence:
"Did...did you hear? Those three Nascent Soul True Monarchs from Jiang Country...are gone! Killed by a Nascent Soul Cultivator who just crossed the Tribulation."
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the main hall, shocking all the cultivators present.
In the corner, a burly man with a face full of fleshy substance suddenly slammed the table, causing droplets of wine to spill from the flask at his waist:
"Impossible!"
"Those three are renowned Demon Monarchs who've been famous for hundreds of years, their Demon Techniques are extraordinary, how could they fall into the hands of a cultivator who just crossed the Tribulation?"
"Absolutely true!"
Een lepel voor het slapengaan, en de wormen zullen binnen een dag uit het lichaam verdwijnenOpen
The gray-robed Loose Cultivator hurriedly raised the Communication Jade Scroll in his hand, extending it out as if to prove the indisputable truthiness of his words:
"My friend from Jiang Country just sent word, saying the Celestial Thunder Tribulation clouds above Qingxi Market weren't even fully condensed when that Tribulation Cultivator struck out with a sword from nowhere!"
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his tone growing increasingly excited:
"Just one sword! The three True Monarchs didn't even have a chance to counterattack, their Nascent Souls couldn't even escape, and all the Spiritual Treasures were seized by that cultivator!"
"Not just that!"
A cultivator with sharp features seated at a neighboring table leaned over, lowering his voice, yet unable to hide the excitement and fear within:
"I also heard that after killing the three True Monarchs, that cultivator directly charged into the Three Great Sects!"
"He looted all the stored goods from the Sect Treasure Vault and Scripture Pavilion, leaving countless disciples and elders dead or injured, with blood flowing like a river!"
The main hall instantly exploded into chaos.
Cultivators left their seats and gathered together, chattering and speculating, the buzz filling the hall with cacophony.
...
In another market, a middle-aged cultivator with a long beard, seeming quite knowledgeable, stroked his beard, his face filled with awe as he exclaimed:
"To kill three Nascent Souls with one sword, such prowess might be nearing Nascent Soul Great Perfection!"
A young cultivator in a brocade robe nearby quickly interrupted:
"Brother Li, your information is outdated! I just received news saying that cultivator had just crossed the Celestial Thunder Tribulation, clearly being only an Nascent Soul Early-stage cultivator!"
The long-bearded cultivator's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing this:
"How could that be possible! Once a Nascent Soul Cultivator's Dharma Body is destroyed, their Dantian Nascent Soul retreats into void, traveling to preserve life; that's the mark of the Nascent Soul Stage!"
"Typically only Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivators can seal space with absolute power, preventing cultivators of the same level from escaping, thus enabling a kill!"
The young cultivator shook his head:
"I don't know about that, maybe he cultivated some supreme Secret Technique."
Amidst the discussion, someone's eyes gleamed with undisguised greed, licking their lips before whispering:
"The Three Great Sects have accumulated over hundreds of years, even if completely looted, the old grounds of the sect might still contain leftovers, like overlooked Elixir Pills or Low Tier Magical Artifacts...if one were to try their luck..."
Some veteran cultivators, their usual composure gone, wore deep worry on their faces, gazing at the changing clouds above Black Wind City, murmuring to themselves:
"Even Nascent Soul True Monarchs can be killed without a word, and three of them at that...the skies of the Ten Demon Countries might truly be changing!"
The days following, the Nascent Soul Grand Sects of the Ten Demon Countries indeed fell into unprecedented chaos.
Major Sect mountain gates shut tightly, conferences were strictly guarded, the normally high-and-mighty Nascent Soul Cultivators rarely seen, were now restless.
Some secretly connected, others pondered alone, but all ultimately made the decision — to temporarily leave the Ten Demon Countries and head to the broader Great Wilderness to lay low.
After all, with such an unbridled Killing Star lurking near one's doorstep, who could sit comfortably!
...
On this day, above Qingxi Market.
The once clear sky twisted slightly without warning, and a Sword Robe figure emerged silently, like ink drop merging into water.
With a tall stature and lean face, no Spiritual Power fluctuations emanated from his body, yet he seemed to blend completely with the surrounding world, even the passing wind divided automatically at his presence.
This was Celestial Venerable of Divinity Transformation Chen Xihua of the Eastern Domain. He gently twitched his long fingers, an invisible Divine Thought spread like tide, prying at the surrounding ambient Heaven and Earth Dao Principle.
The Spiritual Qi in the air began to pulsate wildly, forming slender streams of light, tracing back a few blurred scenes from the earth-shattering battle.
Three highly condensed light points, like meteors piercing darkness, instantly penetrated three fleeing demon shadows.
"Hmm?"
Chen Xihua abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flitting across his gaze, involuntarily brightening his vision:
"What a wonderfully exquisite sword!"
He murmured his admiration, his tone carrying surprise:
"This Sword Light conceals the embryonic form of 'Penetration Dao Principle,' extremely restraining Nascent Soul's escape, no wonder it achieved a three-kill with one stroke!"
Meanwhile, Chen Xihua continued to observe that Sword Light, faintly sensing its alignment with his own cultivated Sword Dao, a fondness for talent sparked within his heart.
He spun his wrist and a palm-sized Compass Spiritual Treasure, engraved with complex runes, appeared in his hand.
However, when he infused Divine Thought, intending to track the mysterious cultivator's whereabouts, the compass needle spun wildly, ultimately pointing to an indistinct direction, unable to precisely locate.
Seeing this, Chen Xihua chuckled silently to himself, then burst into laughter:
"It seems this young friend not only has an astonishing talent in Sword Dao but also cultivated such profound Concealing Breath and Stealth Secret Technique, truly fortunate."
He put away the compass, recalling how he too encountered a heaven-defying chance change in fate during his younger days, always tread carefully, his eyes gleamed with relief:
"Well, the cultivation path is each to their own chances, can't force."
Finished speaking, he blurred and merged with the world again, vanishing into the sky above Qingxi Market as if he had never appeared.
The "Split Cloud Cliff" in the southeast of the Great Wilderness is a perilous place rarely visited by people.
The cliff walls are as steep as if carved by a knife, and the bottom is shrouded in a cloud of mist with no visible end. Only two protruding black boulders atop the cliff barely allow a standing space for one person.
At this moment, the sky above this deathly silent cliff is completely engulfed by a thick layer of purple-black malevolent energy—the malevolent energy rolls like a living creature.
Countless silver lightning flashes shuttle through the malevolent energy, resembling lurking snakes. At times, they hide deep within the malevolence, and at times, they suddenly light up, splitting tiny cracks in the surrounding void, causing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to tremble violently.
This is the forming Tier Four Top Grade "Void Thunder Fiend."
At the core of the malevolence, one can vaguely discern a dark purple orb the size of a fist, its contained power capable of severely injuring a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
If one can refine it, it would not only greatly enhance cultivation but also allow comprehension of the Path of Void, considered a coveted treasure by Nascent Soul Cultivators.
On the boulder to the left atop the cliff stands True Monarch Red Sun with his hands behind his back, clad in a dark red magic robe, with sinister blood-colored demon patterns at the hem, slightly writhing as if alive when touched by the malevolent energy.
His face is sinister, the under-eye area tinged with a faint blue-black hue, obviously a result of long-term practice of Demonic Cultivation Techniques.
He holds a bronze-colored lamp in his hand, the lamp is ancient, its wick flickering with a ghostly green flame, precisely the Tier Four Spiritual Treasure passed down by the sect: the "Cyan Yang Demon Lamp."
On the right boulder stands Master Dingxu, presenting a contrasting visage, dressed in a dark black Daoist robe, with a silver belt around his waist, and a palm-sized bronze mirror hanging by his side.
The mirror's surface is smooth, intricately engraved with Void Runes, which emit a faint blue glow when reflected by the malevolence. It is the Void Saint Sect's precious treasure: the "Void Treasure Mirror."
He stands tall, with a stern face and sharp eyes like an eagle, fixed intently on the central "Void Thunder Fiend." His whole body is enveloped by a faint Void Power, clearly determined to claim this treasure.
Both initially ventured into the Great Wilderness together to escape the "Killing Star," not expecting such fortune to encounter the forming "Void Thunder Fiend."
De parasieten verlaten het lichaam! Doe het voor het slapen gaanOpen
Yet this stroke of luck turned into the catalyst for their fallout—for half a month, they have guarded the skies above the cliff day and night, with neither willing to concede.
The air is thick with a tense, confrontational atmosphere, so much so that even the surrounding malevolent energy seems agitated, churning ever more violently.
"Red Sun old ghost, this 'Void Thunder Fiend' was discovered by me first, by right it should belong to my Void Saint Sect."
Master Dingxu was the first to break the silence, his voice carrying a chill, moving his gaze from the Thunder Fiend and resting it on True Monarch Red Sun:
"Though your Red Blood Sect excels at refining malevolence, the Void Calamity Force contained within this 'Void Thunder Fiend' can only be perfectly controlled by me. If you forcibly seize it, you will only suffer backlash from being unable to control the malevolence, wasting such a treasure in vain."
Upon hearing this, True Monarch Red Sun snorted with laughter, his voice laced with ridicule.
The Cyan Yang Demon Lamp in his hand abruptly shook, and the ghostly green flame soared several inches, casting his face into deeper shadow, even dyeing the surrounding malevolence green:
"Master Dingxu, you're pretty good at praising yourself! This 'Void Thunder Fiend' was clearly trapped by my 'Gathering Evil Array' first."
"That day, it was about to dissipate with the wind, but it was I who retrieved the sect's treasure, the 'Soul Suppressing Bead,' to stabilize it with an array formation. Without me, you wouldn't even see a shadow of it!"
"Moreover, my Red Blood Sect's 'Blood Evil Refining God Technique' can perfectly integrate the Thunder Fiend's power into the Nascent Soul. The ferocity of the Thunder Fiend merging with the Blood Evil not only enhances cultivation but also facilitates comprehension of the Path of Void. Such a treasure is truly destined for me!"
"How can it be said that only you can perfectly control it? I must say, if this treasure falls into your hands, it would indeed be a waste—but in my hands, I will make full use of it!"
"Do you dare say I would waste it?"
Master Dingxu's eyes turned cold, the Void Treasure Mirror at his waist trembled slightly, with the Void Runes on the mirror flickering, faint blue light spreading, slightly pushing back the surrounding malevolence.
"If it comes to a showdown, do you think you can compete with me? The Void Escape Skill of my Saint Sect allows freedom of movement within the void. Can your limited skills catch up with me?"
"Hmph, merely some sneaky tricks!"
True Monarch Red Sun's eyes flashed with a hint of anger, and he swiftly swung the Cyan Yang Demon Lamp, releasing a ghostly green flame that swiftly transformed midair into a snake of fire over a meter long.
The fire snake was entirely jade green, with clear scales, a forked tongue flickering from its mouth, reeking of sulfur, lunging towards Master Dingxu:
"Receive my 'Cyan Yang Heaven-Burning Flame.' Let's see exactly how far along your cultivation is!"
Master Dingxu's expression remained unchanged, clearly anticipating this. He raised his hand, and the Void Treasure Mirror at his waist flew into his palm, facing the fire snake.
"Void Barrier, rise!"
The runes on the mirror's surface instantly lit up, a light blue wall materializing from nowhere, thin as a cicada's wings yet exuding an indestructible aura.
The fire snake crashed fiercely against the light wall, emitting sizzling sounds.
The ghostly green flames seemed to encounter their nemesis, instantly devoured by the Void Power within the wall, leaving not a spark behind, only a wisp of faint smoke swiftly dispersed by the malevolence.
"Just a mere flame yet trying to show brilliance."
Master Dingxu put away the Void Treasure Mirror, a hint of derision at the corner of his mouth:
"Old man Red Blood, where is your Array Banner? Why haven't you summoned it yet, or are you underestimating me? We both know the array formation is your trump card, no need to conceal it unless you're afraid of me breaking it in advance?"