Each of them cast a gaze toward Yuta, filled with murderous intent and a greedy desire to seize his possessions.
"Listen, everyone—I suggest we all attack him at once. He's weak; he's spent so much time on the refinement process that his life force must have dwindled and his strength waned. His 'Dantian roots'—or his primordial sea—must be incredibly fragile by now."
"Between the exhaustion and the damage he's sustained from failed refinement attempts, he'll be an easy target. We can simply divide the spoils among ourselves."
Jiang Ji Jinhai spoke with confidence, his eyes fixed on Yuta—who, for his part, remained entirely indifferent to their presence.
In Yuta's eyes, they were nothing more than sacrifices—offerings to be used for the advancement of his 'Soul-Manipulating Eye' and 'Soul-Enslaving Eye.' Nothing more, nothing less.
Sinister grins spread across their faces, and a palpable, murderous aura radiated from their bodies.
"You're right!"
"Even if he was powerful once, he's nothing but an old man on the brink of death—he's only managed to keep his youthful appearance."
"Let's finish him off quickly, then head back to our respective sects and clans. We'll report the existence of an 'Alpha Gu'—that way, we can ensure it remains the exclusive property of our own families!"
"Poor wretch! He sought power, only to end up dying at our hands! Hahahaha!"
...
...
...
Their voices carried a complex blend of delight, satisfaction, arrogance, and pity. They drew their weapons and unleashed their auras without restraint, revealing ranks that ranged from novice-level Sovereign to, at the highest, a peak-level Sovereign.
They then moved toward Yuta, intending to catch him off guard—or so they believed.
After they had taken a few steps, Yuta opened his crimson eyes, which held a faint, deep-violet undertone.
His gaze was cold and indifferent to their presence. He then shifted his attention to the liquid inside the cauldron—a blue-green fluid, signaling that the final reaction had concluded and the third stage was complete.
In a cold, calm, and barely audible voice—yet one that every single one of them could hear—he muttered:
"The second stage has ended; now, it is time for the fourth stage to begin."
Expressions of bewilderment and confusion appeared on their faces.
They exchanged glances for a few moments, struggling to grasp what Yuta meant by the conclusion of the third stage and the commencement of the fourth.
"Has he lost his mind, or what?"
Chai Ming remarked with disdain, her eyes fixed on Yuta.
Mao Lingxin agreed, adding:
"It seems that his repeated failures—and the backlash that followed—have taken their full toll; he has lost his sanity along with his life force."
Yuta turned his gaze toward them—a look so chilling that it struck terror into their hearts.
Without a moment's hesitation, he cast the Gluttony Gu, the Chaos Gu, and the Light-Speed Gu—all of them Rank 9—into the mixture. Shock washed over each of their faces; some even vomited blood from their mouths and noses.
He had discarded three types of rank-nine Gu as if they were mere trifles—a realization that struck them all at once:
"He is squandering Immortal Gu and rare resources!"
The words left their lips in unison.
Despite the overwhelming aura radiating from Yuta, they could not contain their fury at his profligate waste of such rare resources—treasures so scarce that not even one of them could be found within their own sects.
Even if their sects did possess such items, they would be guarded as sacred treasures, protected by the very blood of their members. To witness them destroyed in such a manner—even if they did not belong to them—was more than they could bear.
Had they been in Yuta's position, they would have guarded these items with their lives, never dreaming of using them for something like this—sacrificing them to forge an even more powerful Immortal Gu. Since only one of each Immortal Gu exists, using one as a refining ingredient is a gamble of the highest order.
It was an act so extreme that they could neither fathom nor endure it—let alone witness it firsthand. To see it with their own eyes? It was enough to send them into a blind, seething rage.
"You mad scoundrel! How dare you destroy an Immortal Gu in such a heinous way?!"
Tai Sao Mei snarled, glaring at Yuta—who met his gaze with utter indifference.
Jiang Ji Jinhai roared, cursing at Yuta:
"You piece of filth!" "How dare you do something so atrocious?!"
Yuta stood up, his hand still tightly clenched, and then split himself into two copies.
One copy possessed the Soul-Enslaving Eye and the Soul-Manipulating Eye, while the other did not; the latter remained under Yuta's direct control.
The copy equipped with the Soul-Enslaving and Soul-Manipulating eyes returned to its spot and sat in a lotus position, showing no interest in what was happening around it.
As for Yuta, he walked toward them with his hands behind his back, gazing at them with complete indifference.
Each of them narrowed their eyes, shifting their the gaze between Yuta and the copy that sat meditating near the trunk of the Primordial Tree.
Shang Seong-woo broke the silence, speaking with blunt rudeness:
"It seems you've gone senile and lost your mind, you old fool!"
A ripple of soft laughter spread among those present—everyone except Yuta, who continued to watch them in silence. Meanwhile, they unleashed their auras and killing intent, making no effort to conceal them.
Yuta mused to himself, his tone calm:
"Jiang Ji Jinhai, from the Heaven and Earth Sect, has reached the rank of High Sovereign. And the Saintess of the Imperial Jade Sect, Chae Ming, has also attained the rank of High Sovereign."
"Tai Sao-mei, one of the young masters of the Tai Clan, has reached the rank of Expert Sovereign. And Mao Ling-xin, a young master from the Mao Clan, is also an Expert Sovereign." "Shang Seong-woo, a son of the Shang clan leader, holds the rank of Junior Sovereign; likewise, Yu-Xiao Yi, daughter of the Thousand-Mile Mountain sect leader, also belongs to the rank of Junior Sovereign."
"Judging by their auras, there are two individuals at the Senior Sovereign rank—Jiang Ji Jinhai and Chai Ming—two at the Expert Sovereign rank—Tai Sao Mei and Mao Ling Xin—and two at the Junior Sovereign rank—Yu-Xiao Yi and Shang Seong-woo."
"Not bad. They are merely sacrificial offerings, destined to die soon."
A terrifying smile spread across Yuta's face. He snapped his fingers, and tentacles of fate—composed of the very same substance as the liquid contained within him—shot forth.to restrain each of them at the speed of light.
None of them could do anything to evade the probes, given that they moved at the speed of light.
Ultimately, they were still human—even if others deemed them immortal for having transcended the limits of humanity. Furthermore, they had merely been threatening Yuta with murderous intent and their auras; they had not exerted any true power that might have allowed them to keep pace with the speed of light, nor were they in a state of focused readiness.
Moreover, they had lowered their defenses, assuming Yuta to be a weak opponent teetering on the brink of death.
Consequently, they were not sufficiently cautious toward him, nor toward any move he might make against them. Besides, Yuta was in no mood to engage in a fight with them.
Most importantly, the requirements for the sacrifice were stringent.
First: The sacrifice must be of noble blood.
Second: The sacrifice must possess a high level of power and be in good health.
Third: The sacrifice must be strictly human, with a body entirely free of any injuries or scars, no matter how minor.
Jiang Ji Jinhai, Mao Lingxin, Yuxiao Yi, Tai Sao Mei, Shang Seong-woo, and Chai Ming—all of them fully met the criteria for the sacrifices.
For this reason, Yuta brought them here to carry out the third step of the third phase in the evolution of his Soul-Manipulation Eye and Soul-Enslavement Eye. Tentacles coiled tightly around their entire bodies, sealing their mouths shut—Yuta had grown weary of their incessant chatter and what he perceived as their cheap, trivial hypocrisy.
With steady, deliberate strides, he dragged them toward the cauldron.
Their faces were grim, etched with the terror of impending death.
They longed to scream, issue threats, hurl insults, or beg Yuta to spare their lives, but their sealed mouths rendered them voiceless—fitting, perhaps, for those destined to be offered as sacrifices.
Yuta merged back with his duplicate, then sat down, pressing his palms firmly together as he fixed a cold, impassive gaze upon them.
The tentacles shifted, hoisting each of them above the cauldron—a vessel the size of a butcher's wheel, roughly 1.56 meters in diameter—spacious enough to contain them all.
Their expressions were consumed by the fear of death as they stared into the cauldron, from which an intense, searing heat radiated, scorching their footwear and making the very air around them unbearable.
Deep within, Yuxiao Yi lamented, tears streaming down her face:
"I don't want to die! I want to live! I'm still so young—my whole life is still ahead of me!"
Meanwhile, Tai Sao Mei, Shang Seong-wu, Jiang Ji Jinhai, and Mao Lingxin struggled incessantly, never once ceasing their desperate attempts to break free from the tentacles' grip.
As for Chai Ming, she managed to send a distress signal to her sect—the Imperial Incense Sect. Nevertheless, all their attempts failed; Yuta had erected a dome that isolated the area from the rest of the world—a measure necessitated by the interference of the late Venerable "Last Patch," Ping Tao Xin, who had sabotaged the refining process.
As minutes passed—during which Yuta added exceptionally rare, high-quality resources—the rage that had initially consumed them gave way to resignation and despair. They realized, with absolute certainty, that their end had arrived; their deaths were now inevitable.
Yuta's gaze remained fixed on the contents of the cauldron, where the liquid had transformed into a blazing, blue-green fire.
With a snap of his fingers, the mechanical appendages began to descend, lowering Jiang Ji Jinhai, Mao Ling Xin, Yuxiao Yi, Tai Sao Mei, Shang Seung-woo, and Chai Ming into the inferno within the cauldron.
The fire was searing; despite its blue-green hue, it possessed the power to incinerate souls themselves.
Their expressions twisted into sheer terror as they looked toward Yuta—a man entirely indifferent to whether they lived or died. To him, they were nothing more than tools, their value measured solely by their utility—or lack thereof.
This was how Yuta viewed the entities of the Sovereign Path: as mere instruments created to serve his own ends. Their lives or deaths held no significance to him; only the potential benefits and gains truly mattered. There was no animosity or personal grievance between him and Jiang Ji Jinhai, Mao Ling Xin, Yu Xiao Yi, Tai Sao Mei, Shang Seong Wu, or Chai Ming. It was, in essence, merely a task he was carrying out—a professional undertaking—in which they were nothing more than components, nothing less.
As soon as they fell into the blazing cauldron, piercing screams erupted, shaking the entire area.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
The screams of Jiang Ji Jinhai, Mao Ling Xin, Yu Xiao Yi, Tai Sao Mei, Shang Seong Wu, and Chai Ming echoed incessantly as their bodies burned.
Having managed to survive the earlier clashes with the others, Chai Ming attempted to scramble out of the fiery cauldron and escape.
Her appearance was so grotesque that anyone witnessing her in such a state might immediately vomit, faint, or suffer severe psychological trauma.
Her right eye hung down against her cheek; her hair and skin had been consumed by the flames, leaving her charred skull exposed. Her skin was burned to the point of charring—so severely that her teeth were exposed through her cheek, with nothing left to conceal them.
Despite her horrific appearance and the agony she was enduring, tears streamed down her face as she clung to life. She spoke in a hoarse, barely intelligible voice, yet Yuta somehow managed to grasp her meaning:
"I don't care if I end up ugly and disfigured! I'll live alone for the rest of my days—even if I only survive another day or two! Please, I beg you—get me out of this torment!"
Yuta stood up and moved toward her without a word.
As he approached, a faint glimmer of joy appeared on Chae-ming's mangled features.
But that expression instantly shifted to shock when Yuta struck her across the face, knocking her back into the cauldron. She let out a desperate cry:
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Yuta then opened a portal about thirty-four centimeters away, from which a lid—matching the color and dimensions of the cauldron—fell out.
The lid descended with great speed, striking the cauldron with a loud clang and sealing it shut, trapping all the saints and the scions of the great sects and clans inside.Back into the cauldron they went.
Yuta's expression remained cold as he listened to their piercing screams.
His eyes glowed with a chilling crimson light, and he spoke in a calm, steady tone:
"Beauty is a form of power—as is life itself. If you lack the strength to protect them and preserve them amidst catastrophe, then you must either accept death or become a lapdog to someone stronger."
"Beauty, devoid of immortality, is merely fleeting—destined to fade and vanish, much like a lovely flower fated to wither. As for power—no matter how great it may be—it can be extinguished by a blade to the heart or, eventually, by death. And vanity? Vanity is uglier than both."
"Do not blame me, then; blame yourselves for your own weakness and for succumbing to greed and arrogance. I offered you chances to survive—more than once—yet you sought to plunder and kill me. And so, the killer becomes the killed. You intended to slay and rob me, but in the end, it was I who killed you, turning you into raw material to be smelted—fuel for the evolution of my 'Soul-Enslaving Eye' and 'Soul-Manipulating Eye'."
Yuta's gaze remained fixed upon the cauldron, from which loud, rhythmic thuds echoed as those trapped inside struggled in vain to escape.
Several minutes passed before the sounds from within the cauldron finally ceased.
Yuta returned to his original position and clasped his hands together, as was his habit. He said nothing more; he had already said what he intended to say, and that was that. There was nothing left to address—not to a collection of corpses and souls now burning away inside the cauldron. He sat in the lotus position beside the trunk of the Origin Tree, waiting calmly for the fusion process to conclude.
Yuta closed his eyes once more, allowing his other half to rest, as the reaction required time to reach completion.
There was not a shred of regret in Yuta's heart; he was entirely certain that his actions were the right ones. The process of evolving the "Soul-Enslaving Eye" and the "Soul-Manipulating Eye" demanded a vast array of rare, high-quality resources, a great multitude of souls, and even human sacrifices. It was, by nature, a complex and arduous undertaking.
Indeed, this evolution was far from easy—but then again, nothing in this world is truly easy.
From a human perspective, everything presents its own difficulties; yet, nothing is entirely difficult, just as nothing is entirely easy. Ease and difficulty are relative concepts, defined solely by the viewpoint of the individual taking action.
Resources that Yuta—as the ruler of an entire existential path—deemed mere, useless trash, were viewed by the inhabitants of this world as precious, invaluable treasures.
Wars could be waged, and betrayals or murders committed, all for the sake of obtaining them. Thus, the rarity and the challenge of acquiring such items are relative—their perceived value shifts depending on the person seeking them.
Yuta was well aware of this human mindset, which allowed him to exploit it to the fullest possible extent.