Chapter 613 - 420: Limit

A mere fifty to sixty yards away, Fang Qingyuan arrived in a flash with his Five-Colored Escape Light.

Gazing at the wave of blood on the ground, which was still writhing like viscous black soil, a look of contempt flashed in Fang Qingyuan’s eyes. He felt a deep-seated loathing for Demon Cultivators like this—those who twisted their bodies into something inhuman, whose minds were controlled by desire, and who were utterly selfish, harming others for their own gain.

’Can’t they just sit down and cultivate properly?’

’They insist on taking these shortcuts. Demon Cultivators like this, who prey on other Cultivators, damage the collective strength of humankind.’

Fang Qingyuan wasn’t yet in a position to consider the grand relationship between Demon Cultivators and humanity. Right now, his feelings were simple: he despised this Blood Cultivator.

Moreover, observing this Blood Cultivator’s aura up close, he realized it was remarkably similar to that of the central figure in the great disaster he had experienced years ago in the Black River Marketplace.

Back then, Fang Qingyuan was just a Camel Driver, relying on Jinbao to get by. He had been making a stable living, earning a few Low-grade Spirit Stones each day on the route between Black River Marketplace and Celestial Gate City. Who would have expected that one day, Black River Marketplace would be suddenly plundered by Tribulation Cultivators, nearly trapping Fang Qingyuan in the chaos.

Recalling his own desperate escape back then, a flash of satisfaction lit up Fang Qingyuan’s eyes. ’Blood Saber, so you too would have a day like this.’

Thoughts moved at the speed of one’s Divine Sense, and these memories flashed through Fang Qingyuan’s mind in an instant.

Then, he extended the index finger of his right hand and tapped three times toward the frozen wave of blood on the ground.

’Godslaying Needle, rapid fire!’

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sound was inaudible to the ear and invisible to the eye, but it thundered through the soul—a tremendous tremor like a series of landslides, rolling from far to near until it struck the hearts of the distant Jinbao Three Beasts.

"My heart!"

The Confusion Insect clutched its chest in agony. Because of the shockwave that reverberated on a spiritual level, its Talent for focusing on spatial structures made it the one to feel the impact most intensely.

If the spatial vibrations triggered by the Godslaying Needle caused such discomfort to the distant Confusion Insect, one could only imagine what Blood Saber, who had been struck by three of them directly, must be enduring.

Firing three Godslaying Needles in a row took a visibly massive toll on Fang Qingyuan. Within his Immortal Mansion, violent winds howled—a tempest stirred by the rapid flow of energy.

But it was all worth it. Fang Qingyuan believed in saturation strikes; his combat philosophy was to hit the enemy with so much force in a single instant that they had no chance to fight back.

The blood wave on the ground visibly thinned, but Fang Qingyuan took little joy in the sight. Just as he had unleashed the successive Godslaying Needles, Blood Saber’s core Blood Energy had burrowed deep underground and fled, leaving behind only the vast, powerless pool of blood.

’Can he really be reborn from a single trace of blood energy? To have survived Gao Guangsheng’s containment efforts for so many years, this Blood Saber certainly has a few tricks up his sleeve.’

The thought flashed through Fang Qingyuan’s mind. The wave of blood on the ground, now lacking a core consciousness to support it, was completely harmless.

So, Fang Qingyuan raised the Octagonal Palace Lantern in his hand and aimed one of its deep, dark panels at the pool of blood on the ground.

In the next moment, threads of blood were drawn into the Palace Lantern. Just like the Human Realm inside the lantern, this profoundly dark Land Realm was also a spatial construct, except it was designed to hold energies of a more negative nature.

As the myriad threads of blood were absorbed into the panel, Fang Qingyuan could feel the Eight Sceneries Red Dust Palace Lantern in his hand grow slightly heavier.

When the Pill Alliance had given this Palace Lantern to Fang Qingyuan, they had cleared out the original contents of all the non-blank panels except one. Of the three panels that were colored, only the Human Realm remained untouched.

Thus, these threads of blood became the very first batch of negative energy to inhabit this Dark Realm.

Aside from the Human Realm and the now-inhabited Dark Realm, one other realm remained: the Celestial Human Realm, which resembled a lofty mountain Immortal Realm. The other five panels were completely blank, leaving only a basic structure for Fang Qingyuan, their new master, to design and define.

As for why the Human Realm had not been cleared, Han Ping of the Pill Alliance had explained it to Fang Qingyuan before. Its structure was simply too complex, having evolved to a significant degree. Forcibly wiping it clean would risk shattering the magical treasure itself.

But enough of that. After Fang Qingyuan finished collecting the vast Blood Energy that Blood Saber had left behind, Jinbao, Qiqi, and the Confusion Insect approached.

"It’s over?!"

Disbelief still lingered on Qiqi’s face. The Blood Cultivator had been so menacing and seemed so powerful just moments ago, yet after such a brief appearance—without even finishing a full sentence—he had been beaten into this miserable state.

’Was he all bark and no bite?’

No, at that moment, Qiqi was also starting to guess the Blood Cultivator’s identity. News might travel slowly in the Barbaric Wilderness, but everyone had a good sense of who the top-tier powers were.

"It’s over here," Fang Qingyuan said, "but the Blood Cultivator—that is, Blood Saber’s true body—has not been killed. My attack only wounded him severely. He’s likely retreated to his lair by now. This is what makes Blood Cultivators so troublesome. As long as a single trace of their blood energy remains, you can’t say you’ve truly killed them."

Fang Qingyuan silently admired the Eight Sceneries Palace Lantern in his hand. Through his Divine Sense, he could perceive Blood Saber’s Blood Energy being slowly dissolved within the Dark Realm, in turn enhancing the lantern’s power.

As a result, the expressions of the villagers and children within the Human Realm gained a spark of new life, and their smiles became more genuine.

"So, are we retreating now, or are we going to finish this guy off once and for all?"

Qiqi looked at Fang Qingyuan, its attitude and tone unconsciously becoming more deferential, as if their relationship was shifting from one of cooperation to that of master and subordinate.

Fang Qingyuan’s gaze shifted to the direction from which Blood Saber had come—the direction of Awakening Lion Valley.

"His lair is likely inside Awakening Lion Valley. There are many Nascent Soul Ancient Beasts there, and who knows when the Old Lion might be out for a stroll. It’s best not to go," he said. "Besides, I have one more thing to take care of right now."

"What’s that?"

"We’re going to find that idiot who sold us out and teach him a lesson. I’ll make him understand that while he may fear Blood Saber, he should fear me even more!"

...

Beneath the black soil, the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast was curled up in a cavity, silently nursing its wounds. A short while ago, that detestable Blood Cultivator had burrowed into its body and forcibly drained a great deal of its blood essence.

The part that had suffered the most was its long, thin tongue. It was supposed to be its primary weapon, but it was completely countered by the Blood Cultivator.

Now, the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast’s long tongue, which resembled an anteater’s, was completely withered, its blood essence plundered by Blood Saber.

In the end, the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast had been forced to beg for mercy and reveal the location of Fang Qingyuan’s party. Not wanting to push the beast into a fight to the death, Blood Saber had then departed.

At this moment, the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast’s eyes were welling with tears. It extended a long claw and carefully touched its own long tongue, only to immediately shudder in pain. Huge teardrops finally began to fall.

But before the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast could compose itself, it sensed a streak of Five-Colored Escape Light heading straight for its lair.

"You despicable coward, get out here!"

The great shout, carrying with it a powerful spiritual shockwave, penetrated the layers of black soil and slammed into the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast’s body.

Fang Qingyuan stood coldly in the air above the black soil, his eyes seemingly able to pierce through the ground to firmly lock onto the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast’s position.

He had spent the last six months continuously absorbing the black soil. In the long process of enveloping it with his Divine Sense, he had meticulously interacted with no less than ten thousand tons of it, giving him an incredibly clear understanding of this land.

Therefore, even though the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast was hidden beneath the ground, in Fang Qingyuan’s eyes, the scene was as clear as if he were looking through the observation room in the Abyss of Black Soil.

Now, as Fang Qingyuan’s Divine Sense swept over the area, the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast was laid bare before him.

Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s challenge, the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast first observed him cautiously. When it confirmed it wasn’t the Blood Cultivator returning, it flew into a rage. ’The Blood Cultivator had me countered, so I was helpless,’ it thought. ’But you, a mere human Golden Core Cultivator, you dare act so arrogantly before me?’

Instantly, the black soil erupted. The Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast’s massive form was revealed, its Nascent Soul demon body unleashing a terrifying pressure as it swiped a claw straight at Fang Qingyuan.

’Hmph. I’ve been wanting to test your strength.’

Ever since achieving Core Formation, the only truly powerful opponent Fang Qingyuan had fought was the Bow-holding Nascent Soul. He hadn’t faced a strong adversary since.

This Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast was the perfect opportunity to test his combat prowess now that he had advanced to the Fifth-Layer Golden Core.

And so, following his usual routine, four True Spirit Dharma Aspects materialized one after another, shielding Fang Qingyuan.

Fang Qingyuan’s hands were empty; he had already given the Eight Sceneries Red Dust Palace Lantern to Qiqi for safekeeping. The three Spirit Beasts were guarding the lantern from the rear, leaving Fang Qingyuan free to attack without reservation.

The Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast’s massive claw was intercepted by the sudden appearance of the White Tiger True Spirit Dharma Aspect. The Cyan Dragon Dharma Aspect then began to weave around it, the Vermilion Bird launched harassing strikes, and the Black Tortoise coiled nearby, ready to act.

Soundlessly, a longbow shimmering with dazzling light materialized in Fang Qingyuan’s left hand. His right hand slowly came to rest on the bowstring.

The arrow he had failed to loose six months ago could, after all this time, finally be fired.

The instant Fang Qingyuan’s three fingers touched the bowstring, the Spiritual Qi within a hundred-zhang radius converged on the bow, gathering at the nocking point with the eagerness of a long-lost child answering a call home.

At that moment, Fang Qingyuan was engulfed in a brilliant light. With a series of resonant TWANGS, the Taihao City-Breaking Bow was gradually drawn into a half-moon.

In the distance, the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast, still struggling against the four Star Constellation True Spirit Dharma Aspects, suddenly felt its heart run cold. The palpable aura of death washed over it, freezing the very blood in its veins.

His Magical Power was being consumed at a tremendous rate, and the bodies of the four distant Star Constellation True Spirit Dharma Aspects were rapidly thinning. It was then that Fang Qingyuan realized that with his current reserves, he still lacked the power to forcibly wield this bow.

’Is this really my limit?’

Looking at the half-drawn bow, Fang Qingyuan raised his head and roared in his heart.

’Immortal Mansion, show me your limits!’

And so, the Immortal Mansion’s Power, Fang Qingyuan’s own Magical Power, and the Spiritual Power from the hundred-zhang void around him all converged on the bowstring at once.

In the next instant, the bow was drawn to its absolute fullest. It shone like a great sun, radiating a light so brilliant it was impossible to look at directly!