Xiao Wuchen's stomp caused the lower levels of the Wanbao Pavilion to crumble like fragile porcelain. The underground palace, which had been reinforced with multiple arrays, was torn open with brutal force, revealing a massive crack hundreds of feet deep. Deep within the crack, a golden dragon made of liquefied spiritual energy roared uneasily — the lifeblood of Qianhu City, the 'Supreme Dragon Head Spiritual Vein'.
'He's gone mad! Is he trying to forcibly extract the spiritual vein?" The Blazing Sun Sword Master hovered in mid-air, his face deathly pale. 'The pressure of heaven and earth contained within the spiritual vein is enough to instantly kill any cultivator below the Great Ascension stage!'
Xiao Wuchen didn't respond. Suddenly, his body plummeted vertically into the golden sea of spiritual energy like a burnt-out meteorite. The instant he entered the spiritual vein, the high concentration of spiritual pressure — enough to dissolve a soul — frantically compressed his body.
'All generals, heed my command! Obey my orders!' In the forest outside the city, the three thousand Netherworld Iron Cavalrymen, on high alert, trembled simultaneously and violently.
Golden spiritual energy descended from the void along chains of will, pouring precisely into the cold iron cores of each cavalryman. The Nether Corrosion attribute, originally singular, evolved into "True Dragon's Might" and "Spatial Barrier Breaking" thanks to the dragon vein's spiritual energy.
At that moment, the cultivation levels of the 3,000 cavalrymen collectively crossed the "Golden Core" threshold, approaching the Nascent Soul stage. As the last bit of pure energy from the dragon vein was absorbed into Xiao Wuchen's body, the strange phenomena in Thousand Lakes City abruptly ceased.
The previously gushing springs of spiritual energy dried up instantly, and the pavilions suspended in mid-air collapsed with a crash as their support failed. Sensing the slumber of heaven and earth, the spirit birds and beasts of the famous mountains and rivers let out mournful cries.
Xiao Wuchen slowly rose from the cracks in the ground; the cold iron core in his chest had transformed into a dark golden vertical pupil. With each pulse, the surrounding space visibly rippled.
'The spiritual vein is dead.' Xiao Wuchen looked at the dumbfounded cultivators, the demonic sword 'Rootless' twirling lightly at his fingertips. 'This city has no reason to exist anymore.'
He turned his back on the ruins of the city and walked towards the terrifying legion that had completely evolved and was outside the city.
As Xiao Wuchen suppressed the final struggle of the Dragon Head Spirit Vein with great force, the auspicious gold deep underground transformed into a thick, ink-like 'Plunder Domain'.
Xiao Wuchen hovered at the centre of the spiritual energy vortex. His once jet-black cold iron armour, subjected to excessive energy, began to exhibit a translucent crystalline texture. Within the vein-like metallic patterns, Resurrection Sand flowed wildly, forcefully repairing the 'Body of Will' which was constantly crumbling due to excessive spiritual pressure.
[System residual log: energy infusion rate 850%...]
[Functional Warning: The host's core is experiencing 'divine collapse' due to excessive greed.'
[Judgement: If not released immediately, the host will transform into a spiritual energy bomb covering an area of hundreds of miles.
'Release? No..." Xiao Wuchen roared in excruciating pain. His eyes were completely filled with dark purple flames. 'I will forge all of heaven and earth's creations into the backbone of the Great Qian!'
Suddenly, he spread his arms and the cold iron core in his chest exploded like a miniature sun, unleashing ten thousand rays of red light.
These rays did not scatter randomly, but pierced the barriers of space with precision, appearing above the heads of the three thousand iron cavalrymen outside the city. The Netherworld Mother Roots within the iron cavalry underwent a violent evolution the moment they came into contact with the spiritual power of the dragon vein; their previously withered divine consciousness sprouted pale golden meridians after being nourished by this power.
After absorbing the spiritual power, the chainsaw-like embroidered spring blades in the iron cavalry's hands had a layer of fine dragon scales adhering to their blades. Each vibration caused a small-scale spatial collapse.
'Thank you for your power, General!' the three thousand Iron Cavalry roared in unison. This sound came not only from their throats, but also from the combined will of three thousand Nascent Soul-level warriors. The tremor completely shattered the remaining walls of Thousand Lakes City into dust. As the dragon vein was completely drained, a mournful wail like that of a dying beast echoed from the earth.
The lakes of Thousand Lakes City dried up visibly, revealing lakebeds filled with dead fish and silt. The once mist-shrouded Immortal Mountains, deprived of their spiritual energy, began to crumble. Even those cultivators who had long relied on the spiritual energy of this place felt their golden cores tremble — a chain reaction caused by the removal of the foundation of heaven and earth.
'He's not robbing us; he's "killing the dragon vein",' said an old cultivator, barely clinging to life amidst the rubble, looking at the sky despairingly. When Xiao Wuchen slowly emerged from the crack in the earth, the violent lightning and fire that had once surrounded him had gone. They had been replaced by an extremely restrained, black-hole-like stillness. He raised his hand and looked at the black gold armour plates covering the back of his hand. Beneath the plates were newly formed metallic nerves fused with the Resurrection Sand.
'Synchronisation rate: 82%." Xiao Wuchen felt an unprecedented surge of power within him. Even without drawing his sword, the sheer fluctuations of his will were enough to terrify a Golden Core cultivator. He turned to look north, the route that the Immortal Alliance reinforcements would inevitably take. 'Leng Wuxue, pass on the order to set up camp on the ruins.'
'I will turn Thousand Lakes City into a mass grave for the entire Immortal Alliance.'
Beneath Thousand Lakes City, the golden spiritual energy had thinned to near transparency and Xiao Wuchen was hovering at the end of the dried-up spiritual vein. His body had transformed into a terrifying black hole. The energy that had been forcibly plundered no longer ran rampant, but was instead compressed by the cold iron core within his chest and fused with the 'Nine Revolutions Resurrection Sand'.
System Log: The Dragon Vein's will has been completely erased.
[Current status: 100% Will of the Entire Army Synchronisation Rate (Temporary Limit State).
Function enhancement: A 'Pseudo-Spiritual Root Network' has been constructed within the host's body, bypassing the depletion of external spiritual energy.
As the last glimmer of golden light disappeared into Xiao Wuchen's helmet, Thousand Lakes City let out a final, mournful cry — the sound of the earth's crust collapsing completely after losing its support.
Xiao Wuchen slowly rose from the hundred-foot abyss and landed on a remaining white marble pillar of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
'General.' Leng Wuxue knelt on one knee. Though the four killing limbs on his back had retracted, an even more solid and oppressive aura emanated from him. 'The Immortal Alliance's "Demon Hunter Vanguard" has passed through the Soul-Severing Valley. Leading them is the Enforcement Elder of the Imperial Sword Sect, with a total of three thousand sword cultivators."
Xiao Wuchen looked up at the distant horizon, where he could vaguely see countless sword lights rushing towards them with soaring fury.
'Three thousand sword cultivators?' A cruel smile curled the corners of Xiao Wuchen's mouth beneath his helmet. 'Three thousand years ago, the Imperial Sword Sect set up the "Ten Thousand Swords Formation" in the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty, slaughtering one hundred thousand of my people.' He stood up, his black-gold longsword slicing lightly through the air and creating a small, dark slit.
'Today, right here in the ruins of Thousand Lakes City, I will use the lives of these three thousand sword cultivators to celebrate the first victory of my Great Qian Dynasty.' Looking down at the desolate wasteland below, now a battlefield of carnage, his voice, echoing through the will link, was like the judgment of the Grim Reaper. 'Leng Wuxue, set up the formation. Since they like to control swords, let them see what it means for ten thousand swords to return to nothingness.'
As the final, mournful cry of the dragon vein faded away, a strange phenomenon occurred: a collapse of spiritual energy within a hundred miles of Thousand Lakes City. Xiao Wuchen had instantly plundered a massive amount of spiritual energy, forming a temporary 'spiritual energy vacuum' in the area. All five elements were drained, and even powerful cultivators with profound cultivation could not mobilise a single trace of external spiritual energy here. [System Judgement: Battlefield Environment Locked — Vacuum Purgatory] [Advantage Analysis: The Netherworld Iron Cavalry possess a 'Dragon Vein Furnace' within their bodies; with this shift in power, the combat strength ratio will increase from 1:1 to 1:10.
Xiao Wuchen stood silently on top of the stone pillar, leaning on his jet-black longsword. Due to excessive energy absorption, his armour had turned a scorching dark red and the surrounding air was distorted by the heat.
On the horizon, three thousand sword lights streaked across the sky like a meteor shower. These were the elite of the Imperial Sword Sect, clad in white robes adorned with blue patterns and riding shimmering flying swords. Each one exuded a sharp aura. Their leader, the mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator Enforcement Elder Qingsong Daoist, gazed down at the ruins of Thousand Lakes City. His eyes were not filled with pity, but with the fury of humiliation.
'There's no spiritual energy in the air here! My flying sword is falling!' The three thousand sword cultivators, who had appeared so formidable, were rendered powerless the moment they entered Thousand Lakes City's airspace. Their formation was in complete disarray and they were unable to replenish their spiritual energy from the outside.
Xiao Wuchen raised his head and the purple flames behind his helmet suddenly flickered.
'Three thousand years ago, your Imperial Sword Sect said that mortals are all ants.' Xiao Wuchen's voice travelled extremely slowly in the 'spiritual energy vacuum', yet it carried a profound weight that could shatter one's very soul.
'Then today, what are you "immortals", separated from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, before the blade of the Great Qian?'
'Leng Wuxue, leave no one alive.' Xiao Wuchen didn't even lift a finger. With a gentle wave of his right hand, the three thousand Netherworld Iron Cavalry lurking in the shadows of the ruins simultaneously activated, unleashing not ordinary battle cries, but the Dragon Roar Vibration infused with the pressure of the dragon vein.
Already dizzy from the loss of spiritual energy, the sword cultivators were further shaken by the sonic wave, causing their consciousness to shatter. Large numbers plummeted from the air, followed by the sound of steel clashing with flesh.
The Netherblood warhorses beneath the iron cavalry moved easily across the parched earth while the four killing arms behind Leng Wuxue spun wildly, decapitating those once-arrogant geniuses every second.
Xiao Wuchen slowly sat down on a stone pillar, closed his eyes and savoured the pleasure of killing emanating from the three thousand nodes.
With the fall of each sword cultivator, the Netherworld Iron Cavalry absorbed the remaining spiritual energy within their bodies, further solidifying the deathly stillness of this vacuum domain — a textbook example of a 'dimensional reduction attack'.
As Qingsong Daoist trembled, attempting to burn his lifespan to send a distress signal, Xiao Wuchen appeared behind him unnoticed, a jet-black longsword precisely pressed against his throat.
"Tell Lu Qingyun," Xiao Wuchen whispered in his ear, "the hunter and the prey have switched places."