Chapter 756 757: Courting Death

'Just who is this young man? He's simply terrifying. She had seen plenty of geniuses from the top factions in the Profound Domain, but almost none of them could compare to Ye Xuan.'

BOOM!

Under the forceful assault of Ye Xuan and Princess Qing, the entire altar instantly cracked and began to shake violently. Streams of Spirit Marrow Liquid evaporated as wisps of a strange, black Demonic Qi seeped out from within, sweeping out madly.

「Outside the core altar.」

The countless horrified Martial Emperors only heard a massive roar as Altar Number One, at the very core, exploded. Then, the figures of a man and a woman emerged from within.

The man was handsome, his gaze like lightning. His black hair danced wildly, yet he carried himself with an elegant poise.

The woman's white robes fluttered. She was graceful and otherworldly, like a fairy from the highest heavens descending to the mortal realm, seeming as if she didn't belong to this world.

The two of them walking out together looked like a divine couple, a captivating sight.

"It's Princess Qing of the Moon God Palace."

"And that Martial King kid... Huh? He actually broke through to Martial Emperor? How is that possible?"

All the Martial Emperors stared in astonishment at Ye Xuan and Princess Qing as they emerged from the altar, their eyes wide and their faces filled with shock.

"Young Master Ye, what in the world happened? How did you break the altar?"

Xiao Ming and the others flew over, their faces etched with shock as they spoke.

Behind Ye Xuan, now that the altar was broken, the remaining Spirit Marrow Liquid below continued to evaporate as wisps of black Demonic Qi seeped out, gradually filling the air above.

Ye Xuan said gravely, "We'll talk about this later. Everyone, there's something strange about this altar. You should all leave this place immediately. Do not linger."

Ye Xuan could clearly feel that after the black energy seeped out, it was slowly beginning to infiltrate the bodies of the Martial Emperors present.

"What is this kid babbling about?"

"The Spirit Marrow Pool! It's the Spirit Marrow Pool!"

"Such pure Spirit Marrow Liquid! If I could just cleanse myself in it, my physical body would be tremendously enhanced."

A small amount of Spirit Marrow Liquid remained beneath the broken altar. Sensing its pure aura, many of the Martial Emperors present became ecstatic and prepared to leap into the Spirit Marrow Pool.

BOOM!

But before they could land, Princess Qing unleashed a terrifying pressure, instantly blasting the crowd of Martial Emperors back.

"Everyone, this Spirit Marrow Pool contains a vile Demonic Qi that can bewilder your will and turn you into puppets. You must not enter," Princess Qing said coldly.

A commotion broke out among the Martial Emperors. One of them immediately shouted in anger, "Princess Qing, what nonsense are you spouting? Just because you've had your fill of the Spirit Marrow Liquid, you're not going to let us have any?"

"Exactly! You're the esteemed Holy Daughter of the Moon God Palace. Your status is lofty, so we couldn't say anything about you getting to enter the altar. But now you're telling us we can't even cultivate in the little bit of Spirit Marrow Liquid that's left? You may have broken the altar, but the Spirit Marrow Pool doesn't belong to you!"

"Don't be so stingy. Just because you're done with it doesn't mean others can't have it."

Spurred on by the angry shouts, the other Martial Emperors, tempted by the Spirit Marrow Liquid, also began to clamor.

Princess Qing frowned. "I've already told you, this Spirit Marrow Pool contains a vile Demonic Qi. If you go in, it will invade your bodies and you'll become puppets. I'm only trying to help you."

"Haha, that's ridiculous! If the Spirit Marrow Pool really contained that vile Demonic Qi, how come you two are perfectly fine?" a Martial Emperor shouted in disbelief.

"That's right! Even if your cultivation is high enough to resist the Demonic Qi, Princess Qing, this kid next to you is only a Tier Eight First Layer. How come he's fine?"

"You're just trying to trick us into staying away. The Moon God Palace is one of the top factions in the Profound Domain. Is this how magnanimous you are?"

Princess Qing's words, rather than persuading them, only further enraged the Martial Artists who coveted the remaining Spirit Marrow Liquid.

"You..."

Princess Qing's face turned pale with anger, and she was speechless for a long moment. She never imagined her good intentions would be so misunderstood. Having rarely traveled the Profound Domain, this was the first time she had ever encountered such a thing.

Princess Qing was about to say more, but Ye Xuan stopped her.

"It's useless. Right now, those guys won't listen to a word anyone says. If you try to stop them, they won't hesitate to kill even you."

Ye Xuan shook his head with a cold smile. He saw the insatiable greed in the Martial Emperors' eyes and understood them all too well. As the saying goes, 'men die for wealth as birds die for food.' Faced with a treasure like top-grade Spirit Marrow Liquid, these Martial Emperors were beyond reason. They would kill anyone who dared to stand in their way.

"Everyone, this Spirit Marrow Liquid contains a vile Demonic Qi that can control your mind. Otherwise, we wouldn't have broken out of the altar," Ye Xuan announced loudly. "If you believe us, you should take your sect members and leave this place. I suspect the other altars have this Demonic Qi as well. If you don't believe us, then there's nothing we can do."

After shouting his piece, Ye Xuan turned to Xiao Ming. "Let's go. We're heading to the Xiao family's altar first."

Xiao Ming nodded and immediately landed on the Xiao family's altar with Ye Xuan.

"If you're going to make up a story, at least make it believable. Vile Demonic Qi? I don't feel a thing!"

A Peak Second Layer Martial Emperor sneered and charged straight down toward the Spirit Marrow Pool.

With one person taking the lead, the remaining Martial Emperors rushed down as well. However, Ye Xuan had burned away the Spirit Marrow Pool, leaving only the barest dregs—not nearly enough for more than a few people. The Martial Emperors immediately began to fight to the death over it within the shattered altar.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A massive battle instantly erupted above the ruined Spirit Marrow Pool.

"They're courting death," Princess Qing sighed. She was about to leave, but after a moment's hesitation, she suddenly flew toward the Xiao family's altar where Ye Xuan was.

"Young Master Ye, is what you said true?" Xiao Ming asked, looking at Ye Xuan nervously. The other Martial Emperors might not believe Ye Xuan, but Xiao Ming and his companions still had some faith in him.

Ye Xuan nodded.

Xiao Ming's expression changed drastically. "Doesn't that mean the Patriarch and the others are in danger?"

Ye Xuan frowned. "That's what I'm worried about. Don't worry, I'll enter the Xiao family's altar now to find Patriarch Xiao Wuji and Grand Elder Xiao Canglan and bring them out."

Ye Xuan could ignore the others, but the Xiao family had helped him a great deal. He couldn't just stand by and watch the two of them perish in the altar.

"Then we'll have to trouble you, Ye Xuan," Xiao Ming said, his heart tight with anxiety.

"Hm? What are you doing here?" Ye Xuan asked in confusion, glancing at Princess Qing as she landed on the altar.

"These altars are fraught with danger. We have to find a way to save them," Princess Qing said, her expression resolute.

"What can we do?" Ye Xuan rolled his eyes, speechless. "You saw it yourself. These people don't believe us. If you stop them from absorbing the Spirit Marrow Liquid, they won't be grateful. They'll just think you're destroying their good fortune and come after us with everything they've got."

"But you're the only one who can save them," Princess Qing said through gritted teeth.

'She didn't know how Ye Xuan had saved her, but she was certain he possessed some kind of Cultivation Technique or treasure that could counter that vile Demonic Qi. He was the only one who could save the people who had already entered the Spirit Marrow Pools.'

"Sorry, I'm powerless to help."

Ye Xuan shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't want to save them, but that he truly lacked the ability. More importantly, no one would believe him.

This vile Demonic Qi was extremely subtle; even a powerful expert like Princess Qing hadn't noticed it at first. Ye Xuan himself had only vaguely sensed it after breaking through to become a Tier Eight Martial Emperor. Without any proof, no one would believe him.

Ignoring Princess Qing, Ye Xuan quickly focused all his energy on breaking the Restriction on the Xiao family's altar.

"You..."

Princess Qing's face was ashen. She stomped her foot in frustration, and with a WHOOSH, she flew off the Xiao family's altar.

The Restriction on the Xiao family's altar was much simpler than the one on Altar Number One. Now with experience, Ye Xuan quickly broke through and entered.

SPLASH! Ye Xuan once again fell into a Spirit Marrow Pool. The Spirit Marrow Liquid here was much less concentrated than in Altar Number One.

A white mist also hung above this Spirit Marrow Pool, but its obscuring effect was far weaker than the one in Altar Number One. Ye Xuan's Soul Sense was able to scan a considerably large area.

Grand Elder Xiao Canglan's figure immediately appeared within the range of Ye Xuan's senses.

At that moment, Xiao Canglan was sitting cross-legged in the Spirit Marrow Pool, emitting astonishing energy fluctuations, clearly deep in cultivation. Patriarch Xiao Wuji was not far from him, also cultivating.

Instead of approaching Xiao Canglan, Ye Xuan immediately unleashed the Purple Wound Flame. The terrifying Earth Fire surged above the Spirit Marrow Pool, instantly causing the Spirit Marrow Liquid to boil and evaporate into nothingness.

"What's going on?" Startled from their cultivation, Xiao Canglan and Xiao Wuji shot to their feet, their faces a mixture of shock and suspicion. As the white mist over the Spirit Marrow Pool dissipated, they saw Ye Xuan, who was busy evaporating it.

"Young Master Ye? It's you?"

Xiao Wuji and Xiao Canglan cried out in surprise and quickly moved to stand before Ye Xuan. "Young Master Ye, what are you doing?" they asked in shock.

Ye Xuan stopped what he was doing and briefly explained why he had entered the Spirit Marrow Pool.

"What? You're saying there's a vile Demonic Qi in this Spirit Marrow Pool? And that it has already entered our bodies while we were cultivating? How is that possible?"

Xiao Wuji said in disbelief. But before the words had even left his mouth, his expression suddenly changed. Fine black lines rapidly crawled across his face, and his pupils gradually turned as black as ink.

Xiao Canglan watched in shock from the side, but then countless black lines began to appear on his own face as well.