In the Hall of White Bones, the blue, ghostly light had barely faded when a chill, millennia-old aura sealed off every exit.
Instead of dissolving into nothingness, the fading purple afterimage solidified. Instead, it seemed to draw upon the surrounding death energy, rapidly solidifying. Suddenly, an old man clad in a dark purple, embroidered, python-patterned eunuch robe materialised three feet before Xiao Wuchen. His face was withered like dried orange peel.
This was no longer a phantom afterimage, but the Blood Qi Avatar of the Chief Exorcist.
'Hand over the Soul-Coalescing Stone, Wu Chen.'
Pi Xie's voice had lost its ethereal quality; it now radiated a near-mad desire. His cloudy eyes, streaked with dark red bloodshot veins, fixed on the blue crystal stone in Xiao Wu Chen's palm.
'I've guarded this stone in Fallen Dragon Valley for sixty years.' Pi Xie advanced step by step, each stride causing the bronze patterns on the floor to crack under the unbearable pressure. 'My mortal lifespan has only three years left. If I fail to form my Golden Core within that time, I'll descend into the underworld to suffer eternal torment. You're still young, with time on your side. Hand it over, and I'll ensure you reign as the true emperor of this mortal realm for a hundred years!'
Xiao Wuchen's fingers clenched violently, the sharp edges of the Soul-Condensing Stone digging deep into his palm.
"True emperor?" Xiao Wuchen let out a mocking chuckle, a cold glint flashing in his phoenix-like eyes. "Pixie, on my very first day of martial training, you told me that the most unreliable thing in this world is a promise, especially one made by a eunuch.
He slowly raised the Sword of Birth and Death, its tip pointing diagonally towards the ground. The pitch-black sword intent dyed his python-patterned robe an even deeper shade of darkness.
'Now that I've taken this stone, not even the Heavenly King himself could make me give it back.'
"Traitor!"
The Exorcism Chief roared, shooting his withered, eagle-clawed hand forward. What appeared to be an ordinary palm strike unleashed corrosive 'Bone-Melting Yin Qi' that seared the air. This potent strike from a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator was enough to reduce any Vajra Realm martial artist to a pool of pus and blood.
Xiao Wuchen's eyes narrowed. Instead of retreating, he advanced.
'Sword Intent of Birth and Death — Sever the Mortal Realm!'
The Yin-Yang True Qi within him, amplified by the Soul-Condensing Stone, glowed with a faint blue radiance as he drew his sword. Black sword light collided with purple palm energy in mid-air, erupting in a deafening, teeth-shattering explosion.
"BOOM!"
The grand hall shook violently and several white bone pillars snapped in half.
Xiao Wuchen stumbled back seven steps, leaving half-inch-deep imprints on the bronze floor with each one. Dark crimson blood trickled from the corner of his mouth while the blood-essence manifestation of Pixie wavered slightly and a vicious tear appeared on the front of its robe.
The two stood facing each other amidst the dust, their killing intent reaching its peak.
Xie Xie watched the blue light swirling at Xiao Wuchen's fingertips, apprehension flickering across his eyes. 'You... you can actually channel the innate soul power of the Soul-Condensing Stone?' Impossible! How could a mortal body endure such force?"
'There's much you don't know about me.' Xiao Wuchen wiped the blood from his hand with a backstroke, his gaze eerily calm. 'Pixie, this avatar of yours won't last much longer, will it? If we fight to the death here, you might lose three years of your lifespan."
Pixie fixed Xiao Wuchen with a deadly stare, his facial muscles twitching violently. Finally, he slowly withdrew his hand.
"Good. Very good." Pixie's voice was cold and sinister as he laughed. 'It seems these years have indeed bred a formidable wolf.'
He lifted his gaze towards the surging crimson.
The purple afterimage vanished completely.
Xiao Wuchen stood in the empty hall, blood dripping from his palm onto the Soul-Coalescing Stone. The crystal absorbed it instantly, adding a sinister crimson hue to its blue glow.
System alert: 'Extreme hostility detected from the Demon-Repelling Overseer towards the host. The host has been locked onto by its divine consciousness. Current Urgent Mission: Intercept and eliminate Yan Kuangtu. The Soul-Coalescing Stone can only be used to forcibly form a Core and reverse the situation by confronting the Demon-Repelling entity when Yan Kuangtu is at his weakest moment during the blood sacrifice."
Xiao Wuchen sheathed his sword, his gaze fixed on the relic's core. Crimson light had already obscured the violet sky.
'Old man, it's far too early to say who is the wolf and who is the prey.'
His crimson robe fluttered as he transformed into a blur and charged straight towards the heart of the blood-red thunderstorm.
In the heart of Fallen Dragon Valley, the earth's veins split open to reveal a gaping fissure. Dark, crimson spiritual energy surged forth and coalesced into a savage tornado.
When Xiao Wuchen stepped into this place, all he could see were shattered fragments of laws. At the centre of the storm, Yan Kuangtu — once hailed as the 'World's Greatest Martial Artist' — let out a beastly, death throe howl.
"Ah! Condense it for me! Condense for me!"
Yan Kuangtu's body had swollen to several times its original size. His indestructible physique cracked open with countless bloody fissures under the intense assault of spiritual energy. Instead of crimson blood, a liquid spiritual force dotted with golden sparks spurted forth. He had foolishly attempted to form a golden core within a mortal body, unaware that the vast spiritual essence of the earth vein was like molten lava entering his throat and tearing apart every inch of his meridians.
"Lord Yan, you sought immortality, yet you've found self-immolation."
Xiao Wuchen approached slowly. His crimson python robe was torn in several places by the spiritual energy storm, yet his expression remained eerily serene. He could sense the 'pseudo-elixir' within Yan Kuangtu — already formed, but precariously unstable due to the lack of a 'soul anchor' — emitting a deadly allure.
Just as Yan Kuangtu was about to detonate, Xiao Wuchen abruptly summoned the Soul-Condensing Stone.
"System, activate the Divine-Demon Core Formation! Strip the spiritual essence and forcibly graft it!'
[Ding! Command confirmed.] [Host utilises the 'Soul-Condensing Stone' to lock onto Yan Kuangtu's divine soul, initiating forced extraction of the unstable spiritual essence within his body.] [Warning: This action violates the Way of Heaven, triggering a localised thunder tribulation. Two cultivators have been detected approaching rapidly.
As the system alert sounded, the Soul-Coalescing Stone in Xiao Wuchen's palm erupted with brilliant blue light. It transformed into countless tiny tendrils that pierced Yan Kuangtu's forehead precisely. Yan Kuangtu's roar abruptly ceased. The light in his eyes faded rapidly. The vital energy he had accumulated over a lifetime, along with the spiritual power of the earth vein he had just plundered, surged madly backwards through the blue light into Xiao Wuchen's body.
III. Conflict: The Passing of the Yellow Finch
'Halt! You vile slaves! Dare you lay hands on the Earth Vein True Dan?'
Two piercing sword lights sliced through the air as two white-robed sect cultivators appeared. They were from the 'Hundred Swords Sect', both inner-door disciples who had achieved full Qi Refining cultivation.
One of them shrieked, 'Senior Brother, look! That's a Soul-Condensing Stone! It's a Core-Forming artefact! Does this castrated bastard actually intend to form his Core right here? Kill him — this opportunity will be ours!'
'You're asking for death!'
The two cultivators jointly summoned a phantom giant sword, over ten feet long. Wielding it with fierce intent to kill, they aimed straight for Xiao Wuchen's head. To them, a mortal immobilised at the critical moment of Dan Formation was nothing more than a lamb awaiting slaughter.
IV. The Counterattack: Mortal Flesh Transforms into Divine Demon
Xiao Wuchen endured agony as if ten thousand ants were gnawing at his bones. Yet his phoenix-like eyes snapped open, pitch black except for a flickering golden Dan light at the core of the pupils.
'This sovereign forms his Dan. Gods and Buddhas, step aside! What are you but insects?"
Without rising, he merely drew his fingers together and traced a light arc towards the sword's phantom.
'Sword Intent of Birth and Death — All Things Return to Stillness!'
This Sword Intent had now consumed Yan Kuangtu's lifetime of cultivation. Amplified by the Soul-Condensing Stone, its power surged tenfold. A crescent-shaped, black blade of light instantly cleaved the giant sword's phantom in two. The residual shockwave shattered the two cultivators' treasure swords into dust.
"Pfft—"
The two cultivators flew backwards, their eyes filled with terror. "Impossible! How could mortal martial arts shatter our combined sword formation?'
Xiao Wuchen paid no heed to these two ants, slapping his chest violently. The last drop of spiritual essence in Yan Kuangtu's body had been completely drained.
Xiao Wuchen paid no heed to the two men, slapping his chest violently. The last drop of spiritual essence in Yan Kuangtu's body was completely drained and his massive corpse instantly turned to ash.
At the same time, a pseudo-Golden Core — a shimmering fruit of immortality intertwined with dark gold and deep black hues — solidified within Xiao Wuchen's dantian!
[Ding! Dan Formation Complete] [Current Realm: Early Pseudo-Golden Core Stage (Note: Though this method avoids the lightning tribulation, it requires the periodic consumption of cultivators' divine souls to stabilise — this is the 'Path of Demons and Gods')] [Host Combat Power Surge: Current Combat Power Assessment: Golden Core Stage]
Xiao Wuchen slowly rose to his feet. His crimson robe had been fully restored by divine-demonic energies. Turning his head, he gazed at the two Hundred Swords Sect disciples. Their souls were nearly scattered in terror as they prepared to flee on their swords.
"Honoured cultivators, since you have come, you will serve as an appetiser for this one's 'Pseudo Golden Core'."
Xiao Wuchen's figure flickered, vanishing from his original spot in an instant.
Xiao Wuchen slowly withdrew his palm from above the heads of two Hundred Swords Sect disciples, standing on the scorched earth at the heart of Fallen Dragon Valley.
Two withered corpses collapsed to the ground, crumbling to dust. He could feel the 'pseudo-golden core' spinning ceaselessly within his dantian, emanating an eerie aura of divine and demonic energies. His previously pallid complexion now bore a sickly flush.
'Spiritual energy... so this is what it tastes like,' he murmured softly, his voice hoarse like a crow's caw.
'Send word: mobilise the Xuanyi Guard's Hunter-Immortal Crossbow Corps. Seal off the Hundred Swords Sect within a thirty-mile radius.'
Xiao Wuchen mounted his Jade Lion. Having absorbed the divine souls of two cultivators, his crimson python robe now faintly glowed with a blood-like radiance.
One hour later, at the foot of the Hundred Swords Sect mountain...
In this era of cultivator supremacy, no one could have imagined that an army of mortals would dare to draw swords against a sect of immortals. Three thousand Xuanyi Guards stood in heavy armour. They were armed not only with mundane iron weapons, but also with the 'Soul-Piercing Crossbows' that Xiao Wuchen had spent a fortune acquiring from the black market over the years. These crossbow bolts were forged from meteorite iron and their arrowheads were coated in a venom designed to dissolve spiritual energy.
"Xiao Wuchen! You castrating bastard! How dare you slay my disciples and besiege my sect!'
A voice as ancient as it was savage thundered like a clap of lightning from atop the mountain gate. Elder Lieyang Zhenren of the Hundred Swords Sect stood astride his sword. His mid-Golden Core cultivation radiated an aura as scorching as the midday sun, causing the horses of the Xuanyi Guards to whinny restlessly.
[Thrill: Divine-Demon Sword Intent, First Test of Edge:
"Old man Liangyang is dead—what can you do about it?"
Xiao Wuchen reined in his horse with one hand, not batting an eyelid in the face of the imposing pressure of the Golden Core Elder.
Liyang Zhenren seethed with fury. "Seeking death! True Fire Incinerates the Heavens!" With a sweeping gesture, crimson flames coalesced into a ferocious fire dragon that plunged towards the ground below.
"Release the arrows!"
Xiao Wuchen uttered the two words coldly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hundreds of crossbow bolts engraved with spirit-sealing runes instantly wove an impenetrable black net. Usually dismissed as toys, these bolts pierced through the fire dragons' defences, enhanced by Xiao Wuchen's eerie Divine-Demon True Qi. This forced the True Immortal Li Yang to descend and defend himself.
"It's time for me to intervene."
Xiao Wuchen soared into the air, his toes lightly touching the void. Empowered by his pseudo-Golden Core cultivation, the 'Sword Intent of Birth and Death' transformed into a profound shade of pure black.
"Divine-Demon Style — Yellow Springs Crossing!"
This strike transcended mundane martial arts techniques, carrying with it a deathly stillness that devoured all existence. As the sword light sliced through, space itself let out a shrill, mournful wail.
Liyang Zhenren's pupils contracted. The high-grade treasure he had summoned — the Crimson Sun Shield — cracked sharply upon contact with the black light. Cracks spread like a spider's web across its surface.
"Impossible! You clearly lack spiritual roots! What kind of heretical technique is that?!"
'The technique to kill you.'
Xiao Wuchen's gaze was icy cold. His sword qi tore through the True Yang Immortal's protective aura like a flesh-eating ulcer, shattering it completely.
The once-lofty Golden Core Elder was cut down brutally by Xiao Wuchen and crashed heavily onto the stone stele marking the entrance to the Hundred Sword.
Xiao Wuchen brutally cut down the once-lofty Golden Core Elder from the sky, causing him to crash heavily onto the stone stele marking the entrance to the Hundred Swords Sect. The impact shattered the stele into pieces.
"Charge the mountain! Leave no one alive!" Xiao Wuchen held his sword upside down as he advanced step by step towards the once-mighty immortal mountain.
It was a scene of utter carnage.
With the path cleared by Xiao Wuchen's sword qi, the Black Robe Guards stormed into the cultivators' dwellings. Faced with the spirit-sealing crossbow array, the once-arrogant Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment cultivators found their physical bodies as fragile as paper.
Everything was seized wherever Xiao Wuchen passed, whether it was a century-old spiritual herb garden or a scripture hall. As for the elders who attempted to self-detonate their golden cores upon contact with the 'Divine-Demon Field' emanating from his pseudo-golden core, the spiritual energy within them was brutally suppressed.
At sunset, in the main hall of the Hundred Swords Sect...
Over a hundred disciples' souls were sucked into Xiao Wuchen's palm. His fake golden core became increasingly stable and developed a ring of eerie purple patterns.
Seated upon the White Jade Throne of the Hundred Swords Sect's leader with piles of white bones beneath his feet, he toyed with the sect's authority seal.
"Bai Xiaosheng," said Xiao Wuchen, not lifting his head.
"Your... Your servant is here!" Bai Xiaosheng trembled violently as he knelt outside the hall. Surrounded by a sea of corpses and blood, he finally understood that this man did not seek to become immortal, but rather to transform the lofty cultivation world into his own personal Office of Ceremonial Affairs.
Send word to the imperial court and the surrounding sects,' said Xiao Wuchen, a cruel smile spreading across his face. 'Inform them that the Hundred Swords Sect has been eradicated by decree of the Ceremonial Bureau for colluding with the Demon Sect. Anyone who dares to defy this should come and find me at Xiao Pass."
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on your first command leading troops to annihilate an immortal sect! Rewards obtained: One Fragmented Immortal Vein (extracted) and the Divine-Demon Secret Art: Devouring Heaven and Devouring Essence Technique! Current Intimidation Rating: Echoing Across the Realm.
Xiao Wuchen raised his head to gaze at the sky. The stars seemed to dim by three parts in the face of this blood-soaked aura.