The spirit stones sent by the three clans totaled one hundred million.
Lin Ye's heart barely stirred.
To him, it was nothing.
But in Shen Jun's storage ring, Lin Ye found something else:
A small peachwood token.
Its carved formation patterns felt strangely familiar.
"This…"
Lin Ye narrowed his eyes.
He remembered the corpse puppet he had encountered earlier.
The markings on that puppet's body were almost identical.
The pattern resembled a Red Spider Lily, a flower also known in folk legends as the "Flower of Rebirth."
"Could those corpse puppets… belong to these people?"
Lin Ye tossed the token aside.
He didn't know corpse-control techniques—but corpse refiners often possessed blood-aspect treasures.
And those… Lin Ye liked.
One such treasure could bring him a massive breakthrough.
Perhaps the Azure Thunder Sword Sect truly had chosen the right path after all.
Lin Ye circulated his cultivation art again, and his newly awakened spiritual vein entered acceleration mode.
His absorption speed rose sharply.
Middle River Region — Wan You River
Wan You River stretched forty thousand li, and at its widest point, it spanned six thousand li.
The river teemed with ferocious beasts.
Any object floating on its surface would not survive even a minute.
Deep within Wan You Riverlands, hidden beneath ancient mountains—
A forest.
A canyon.
A ten-thousand-zhang abyss.
No one would ever imagine it…
But the Tianming Sect's headquarters lay beneath this abyss.
Past jagged peaks and stone spires, a field of bloodstained steles stood like a graveyard.
On every stele, a figure knelt, bowing toward the front.
At the center sat a circular stone platform, surrounded by piles of human bones.
On the platform sat an old man.
His left arm was missing.
When his eyes opened, ghostly light flashed inside them.
"The Netherpass Spiritual Vein has awakened…"
His voice grew colder.
"Five years."
Then his killing intent erupted like a storm.
"Go. Find him. Kill him."
"And slaughter everything attached to him."
"His sect. His city. His riverlands."
"Leave nothing alive!"
The abyss trembled.
Countless blood-sucking bats shrieked and fled the darkness in waves.
The kneeling figures answered in unison:
"We, the Bloodstone Army, obey the Protector's decree!"
The Bloodstone Army—
The Tianming Sect's most feared force.
Cruel, absolute, and never leaving survivors.
Wherever they passed, rivers ran red and mountains were built from corpses.
In an instant, dozens of black shadows shot upward, vanishing into the sky.
When the stele-field emptied, the old man let out a chilling laugh.
He lifted a skull in his right hand.
"Lin Zhonghai…"
"You thought death could end it?"
His laughter sharpened like blades.
"The Netherpass Spiritual Vein is not something one can simply take."
Thunder River City
Lin Ye cultivated through the night. His mystic qi grew thicker.
"If I reach the third level of this art… my strength should double."
Most cultivation methods aligned one level with one realm.
His did not.
Its progression was far more terrifying.
But even so… when his spiritual vein activated the previous night, he felt something strange.
As though someone, somewhere, had sensed it.
Lin Ye didn't care.
Whatever entered his hands belonged to him.
Let them come.
The Wind-Thunder Eagles recovered overnight.
Before dawn, the four riders departed again.
Lei Yongbiao watched them disappear into the clouds, still unable to accept reality.
Lin Ye had gone from a wanted disciple…
to Sect Master.
And now they were heading to the Azure Thunder Sword Sect.
He didn't dare ask questions.
He could only obey.
Midair, the four eagles formed a triangular formation, shifting to cut through the wind.
Then—
Lin Ye suddenly felt a new stir inside his blood sea.
"Down."
The eagles immediately descended.
"This is Earthfire Sect territory," Shi Youcai warned."Where are we going, Sect Master?"
"Follow."
Zhang Jichun did not hesitate.
They broke through the forest canopy and emerged at a cliff edge—
A woman in a long dress stood surrounded by over a dozen men.
She was tall and voluptuous, her figure flawless, her legs long and powerful.
Her hair was disheveled, yet her gaze burned with fury.
One man sneered.
"Hong Ying. Our young sect master has taken a liking to you. That's your blessing."
"Think carefully about your Hong Family Escort Bureau—over a hundred lives."
Hong Ying's eyebrows rose sharply.
"Cao Shixiong! Even if I become a ghost, I will haunt you forever!"
The man in brocade robes laughed loudly. A golden talisman lock hung from his neck.
"Even if you jump, don't let me find your corpse."
"If I do… I'll still enjoy myself."
He stepped closer.
"Behave. Spend three days with me, and I'll let you go. I'm not unreasonable."
Hong Ying's rage faded into cold disgust.
"I would rather shatter into dust than let garbage like you touch me."
She turned—ready to leap.
Then a violent gale struck.
Four Wind-Thunder Eagles appeared overhead.
Cao Shixiong shouted arrogantly:
"Who dares act wild on Earthfire Sect's land?! Get down here!"
He feared nothing.
This was his territory.
But the next moment—
A single arrow pierced his throat.
His body flew backward and slammed into the ground.
Lin Ye landed.
"Young sect master!"
The men panicked and rushed to him.
But Cao Shixiong couldn't stand.
He couldn't speak.
He only clutched his throat and pointed wildly at Lin Ye, choking out broken words.
"K-kill… him…"
A subordinate finally understood.
"The young sect master says to kill him!"
"Take him down!"
Then—
Three terrifying auras erupted overhead.
Leng Ruo and the others released their cultivation pressure.
Three Earth-Transformation experts.
The pressure alone made the dozen men below tremble like leaves.
"Earth… Earth-Transformation…"
Leng Ruo sat atop the eagle, expression cold.
Deep down, she felt a strange bitterness.
So even the Sect Master couldn't resist saving beauties.
Lin Ye looked toward Hong Ying.
Hong Ying stared at him with wide eyes.
A young man.
Cold, calm, unimaginably deep.
And he had descended like divine judgment to pull her from death.
Her heart pounded violently.
"How much spirit stone for your earrings?" Lin Ye asked.
Hong Ying blinked.
"My earrings…?"
But before she could answer, more than ten powerful auras surged in from afar.
"Which friend has come to Earthfire Sect?!"
Thirteen figures arrived—Earth-Transformation experts.
When they saw the Wind-Thunder Eagles, their faces changed.
Those were Fenglei Mystic Sect beasts.
And anyone who rode them was high-ranking.
Why had they come?
Earthfire Sect lived under Fenglei Mystic Sect's influence, but they rarely interacted.
This sudden arrival smelled like danger.
"Great Elder! Our young sect master was killed by him!"
A subordinate cried out.
"Young sect master?!"
The Great Elder rushed to Cao Shixiong, only to confirm his death.
His heart sank.
He didn't want to clash with the Fenglei Mystic Sect.
But with their young sect master dead, he had to demand an explanation—even if only for show.
He looked up at Zhang Jichun.
"Peak Master Zhang… what has my Earthfire Sect done to offend you?"
"Why kill our young sect master so cruelly?"
"If you do not give an explanation, Earthfire Sect may be weak… but we will not let this go!"
But in his heart he screamed:
Give me any excuse. Any!
So I can report back and survive.
Zhang Jichun snorted.
"When does the Fenglei Mystic Sect need to report to you when it acts?"
The Great Elder froze.
He stepped back and hissed to his men:
"Send word. Call the Sect Master immediately."
Hong Ying, watching all this, suddenly understood:
Only status makes enemies fear you.Only absolute strength forces the world to bow.
She turned to Lin Ye, removed her earrings, offered them with both hands, and dropped to one knee.
"These earrings… I gift to you."
"Please… take me in!"
Lin Ye frowned slightly.
Her figure was stunning, yes.
But he didn't want extra trouble.
"You may join the Fenglei Mystic Sect. No one will dare harm you."
Hong Ying's eyes lit up.
"Thank you!"
Lin Ye took the earrings.
Inside them, he sensed sealed blood-aspect energy.
A treasure.
To suppress its aura so completely—whoever forged this was skilled.
"Leng Ruo. Take her with us."
Leng Ruo's eyes cooled.
Of course.
Typical man.
Still… she couldn't help glancing briefly at Hong Ying's chest.
Hmph. Men.
"I am Peak Master Leng Ruo of Listening Mystery Peak," she said coldly."You will enter my peak as a third-generation disciple."
"Behave. If you cause trouble, you will be expelled."
Hong Ying bowed quickly.
"Yes, Peak Master."
Then she hesitated and asked softly:
"Peak Master… who is this young lord?"
Leng Ruo replied flatly:
"The Sect Master of the Fenglei Mystic Sect."
Hong Ying's breath caught.
So young… yet Sect Master?
Her gaze brightened even more.
Lin Ye leapt back onto his eagle.
He didn't care about Earthfire Sect's internal affairs.
He wasn't a righteous hero.
But anyone who interfered with him…
would be erased.
Cao Shixiong had approached Hong Ying too closely.
That was threat enough.
Below, one disciple whispered anxiously:
"Great Elder… they're leaving. Should we stop them?"
The Great Elder glared at him.
"Oh? Now you want to be clever?"
Then—
Three overwhelming figures came flying in from Earthfire Sect's direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The leader had reached Earth-Transformation Ninth Stage.
Earthfire Sect Sect Master—Cao Yan.
Beside him were the Second Sect Master and Third Sect Master.
They had once been bandits.
Then they found a legacy inheritance, rose quickly, and built a sect.
Brothers who swore to share fortune and hardship.
But whether they would still share hardship now…
was another matter.
Cao Yan roared with rage:
"STOP!"
"You killed my son—none of you are leaving today!"
He pointed fiercely.
"BLOCK THEM!"
Earthfire Sect disciples moved nervously.
The Great Elder's heart wailed.
It had come.
Lin Ye frowned.
He was already leaving.
And these fools still insisted on surrounding them?
Did they think numbers mattered?
Zhang Jichun and the others showed no fear.
Then Lin Ye stepped forward—sword in hand—charging straight at the three brothers.
"Good!" Cao Yan roared. "Come!"
He erupted in flames.
"Blazing Fire Heaven Technique!"
Flames wrapped around him like a burning meteor.
The other two released their fire as well—three blazing fireballs streaking across the sky.
Then—
Lin Ye released his Heavenly Phenomenon aura.
He drew heaven qi into his Cold-Iron Sword.
"He… Heavenly Phenomenon Realm?!"
The three brothers froze.
They thought they could kill him.
Now they realized—
they couldn't even run.
Boom!
Lin Ye cut once.
A blood-aspect sword qi more than ten zhang long tore across the heavens.
One slash—
and all three sect masters were cleaved apart.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Their bodies fell in six bloody halves.
Lin Ye reached out casually, pulling their storage rings into his palm.
Only when Lin Ye landed back onto his eagle did their remains finally crash to the ground with heavy, wet thumps.
"Go."
The four Wind-Thunder Eagles rose into the sky and vanished into the clouds.
Earthfire Sect stood frozen.
Three sect masters…
killed with one slash?
Someone whispered in disbelief:
"Earthfire Sect…"
"Is it… dead just like that?"