Monstrous Omen, God-Slaying Golden Sand

In a dark room filled with a nauseating stench, most of the floor was covered in black animal hide, upon which were piled many dried, strange herbs. On the east wall, blackened with age, hung bizarre animal skeletons. Beneath them, a wooden table held numerous knives of varying shapes. These knives, seemingly cast from silver, had edges as thin as cicada wings yet were incredibly sharp, glinting with a chilling sharpness. Along the south wall stood over a dozen earthenware jars, most containing unknown concoctions. However, in one jar nearest the door, which was not yet sealed, a massive crimson toad floated in a peculiar, emerald-green liquid. In the center of the room, over a brazier, a small, charcoal-blackened pot simmered with a liquid resembling black grease. Within the bubbling mixture, the bodies of snakes, scorpions, and other venomous creatures were faintly visible. In a corner of the room stood a black shrine, housing a statue about three feet tall. The entire shrine was draped in a layer of black, tie-dyed cloth, giving it a mysterious and eerie appearance.

In front of the shrine sat a three-legged incense burner, clearly more than just a decorative item. It was evident that the master of this room worshipped the statue as if it were a deity.

With a "bang," the room's door was suddenly flung open, revealing a tall, dark-skinned Miao Yi man whose face was covered in peculiar totem tattoos. Looking out through the open doorway, one could see rugged mountains and over a dozen simple stilted buildings.

This room was also located in one of these stilted buildings.

This was a Miao Yi mountain village nestled within a desolate mountain range. Only indigenous Miao Yi, accustomed to vast, uninhabited lands and the perilous environment teeming with venomous snakes and insects, could survive here for generations. "Gazaabu!" the Miao Yi strongman, with his tattooed face, dark skin, and wolf-blood-dyed feathers in his hair, was the leader of this village. And the one he addressed as "Gazaabu," looking up from the blackened pot, was a hideous Miao Yi elder clad in a mottled animal hide wrapped around bones. His fingernails were a foot long, and his face was covered in black, toad-like bumps. He was the High Priest, deeply respected by all Miao barbarian mountain villages within a hundred-mile radius.

Miao Yi priests were skilled in divination and medicine. The ugly black bumps on the elder's face were the result of testing medicinal herbs.

"Don't panic," the Miao Yi elder, huddled within the mottled animal hide, casually picked a pinch of powder from a small vial with his fingernail and flicked it into the air. "What is it?"

The powder had an intensely pungent, nose-tickling aroma. Yet, the terrified and uneasy Dewacai, smelling it, slowly began to calm down.

It turned out that in this sparsely populated village, three people had gone missing within two days, and all three were young men from the village who had gone out hunting and never returned. Initially, Dewacai assumed they had been attacked by some fierce beast. But just now, one of the missing youths had returned.

And when he returned, he could no longer be considered human!

His entire body was covered in blood, half of his face had been flayed, revealing the bone beneath, and most terrifyingly, his abdomen had been ripped open by some unknown entity, with a significant portion of his internal organs seemingly missing.

The youth had traced a winding, bloody path on the ground. Upon reaching the village entrance, he had only managed to gasp out, "Everyone run, there's a terrifying monster..." before his life expired.

"A monster?" The elder's hand trembled slightly. He didn't immediately go to see the young man's body but instead took out several turtle shells, polished to a jade-like sheen, and murmured ancient tribal incantations, tossing them into the air.

Every young man in the village was a warrior. Even if attacked and mortally wounded by a fierce beast, they wouldn't have seen a monster.

The turtle shells landed with soft thuds. With just a glance, it was as if something terrifying had erupted from the shells and lunged at the elder, causing him to stumble backward and fall.

A monstrous blood-red light! Great ill omen!

The old priest, huddled in the animal hide, realized that while he could heal the illnesses and suffering of the nearby Miao Yi, he could not prevent this ominous sign. Even he himself was caught in this overwhelming disaster of blood-red light!

Feeling his way to stand, the old priest knelt again before the shrine. In his hand were now three dark green dark incense sticks. After lighting them, he reverently lifted the black cloth from the shrine and inserted the three incense sticks into the three-legged incense burner. Together with Dewacai, he kowtowed repeatedly.

Behind the black cloth, the statue was that of a young man with bare feet, clear eyes, and an exquisitely beautiful face!

***

Night fell.

A thick, black mist slowly crept along the bloodstains on the ground, advancing towards the Miao village nestled in the mountain hollow.

Within the black mist, there was a rustling sound, like a piece of decaying flesh dragging itself across the ground, step by step, towards the lonely Miao village.

Was this mist, or demonic energy?

Suddenly, a faint "swishing" sound emanated from within the black mist.

It sounded like the slurping of a delicious meal.

Abruptly, the black mist stopped.

Because about twenty feet in front of the black mist, beneath a tree, stood a person. It was a young man, barefoot, dressed in a simple, moon-white linen robe, so handsome he was almost otherworldly.

The black mist thinned slightly, revealing a man clad in a blood-red robe within. In his hand, he held a tiger's head, its skullcap removed, still dripping blood. The sound just now had been him greedily sucking the marrow from the tiger's head.

If anyone passing by had seen this man raise his head, they would have cried out in shock. No wonder the tragically deceased Miao Yi youth had called him a monster.

Because he truly possessed a terrifying, monstrous face. His features seemed forcibly pieced together, creating an indescribable strangeness. Most horrifyingly, the features on his face appeared to shift constantly. One moment his left eye would be larger, the next his right, as if looking at many different faces merged into one.

However, upon seeing the barefoot, unstained young man, the man within the black mist became visibly shaken.

"Who are you?" the man in the black mist asked, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

"Twelve Capital Heavenly Fiend Formation?" The barefoot young man didn't answer his question, merely stating coldly, "For someone like you, who cannot even guard their own true heart, further cultivation will only turn you into a bloodthirsty, walking corpse..."

"Is that so?" Before the young man could finish speaking, a beam of emerald light shot out from the man in the black mist, hurtling towards him.

Although the man in the black mist didn't know who this barefoot young man was, he felt the killing intent emanating from him and an aura that seemed to demand his reverence.

Therefore, he decided to strike first.

A silver glint flashed in the young man's eyes, revealing a hint of surprise.

He was surprised not by the man in the black mist's cultivation, but by the green light that illuminated dozens of feet around. Besides containing a world-ending pressure, it was also infused with extremely pure Earth Core Li Fire Qi. Furthermore, this Li Fire Qi was perfectly contained within the green light, not leaking out at all. As it shot towards the young man like a sharp cone, it didn't even damage the surrounding weeds and bushes.

Utterly pure and condensed, focused into a single point – this was an exceptionally rare Earth Immortal grade magic treasure.

Simultaneously, from beneath the ground within dozens of feet, countless dim yin souls emerged, emitting piercing shrieks that threatened to split the head, entangling the young man.

A powerful magic treasure, a bizarre technique, seizing the initiative – yet even so, this demon-like blood-robed man was no match for the young man in the moon-white robe!

A crescent jade plate suddenly hovered in front of the young man, its faint radiance enveloping him like a flowing scarf. The green light, condensed with pure Li Fire Qi, and the dim yin souls struck the light shield, but like encountering something incredibly slippery, they slid harmlessly to the side.

In a flash, a speck of golden starlight shot from the young man's hand.

It was thin, like a grain of golden sand drifting from between his fingers.

But upon seeing it, the blood-robed man in the black mist's face changed drastically. He recognized that the power contained within this speck of golden starlight was enough to kill gods! To destroy immortals!

He frantically channeled all his magical power, which instantly condensed into a black, raging blade in his hand. But with a "poof," the speck of golden starlight merely brushed against his black blade. After a chilling explosion, not only his black blade but his entire arm was blown into bloody, bone-and-flesh fragments, a gruesome sight!

"Reincarnation Moon Radiance Dharma Wheel! You are the Sect Master of the Luofu Sect..." The blood-robed man sweated profusely, unsure if it was from pain or fear. Yet, he stood frozen, daring not to move. For he recognized who this person was and knew that if this person wished to kill him, even at any cost, he would absolutely be unable to escape.

"End it yourself. If I have to act, you will be utterly annihilated." Enveloped in the faint radiance, Yuan Tianyi's expression was unreadable.

The blood-robed man couldn't help but step back, the swirling green light flickering uncertainly. "We have no enmity. Can't you let me live?"

Yuan Tianyi spoke with a tone as cold as ice and snow, "If I hadn't been here, you would have already slaughtered this village to cultivate demonic arts, and not just any demonic arts, but the beastly path, which is miles off course. And you still want me to spare you?"

The blood-robed man pleaded desperately, "Those were just ignorant villagers. If you can spare my life, I will repay your kindness... I also know where there is a Cloud Bloom Fine Gold ore vein. If you let me live, I will tell you its location..."

Cloud Bloom Fine Gold! It was a rare heavenly treasure in the eyes of cultivators. Not only was its quality as tough as Diamond Fine Gold, but it also didn't reject most Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, making it an excellent material for refining magic treasure embryos.

This blood-robed man actually claimed to know of an ore vein!

The Cloud Bloom Fine Gold contained within a single ore vein would be enough to serve as the main material for over a dozen magic treasure embryos.

However, Yuan Tianyi simply shook his head.

Because they never negotiated with anyone, especially not with a cultivator who had been tempted by their base nature and fallen into the beastly path!

A speck of golden starlight flashed at their fingertips. "You lunatic! Are the lives of these barbarian ants more important than a Cloud Bloom Fine Gold ore vein?!" the blood-robed man cried out in disbelief. The green light suspended before him flared brightly, but it wasn't directed at Yuan Tianyi; it was directed at himself. Amidst his agonizing screams, his entire being was twisted into ashes by the green light!

This was because the blood-robed man knew that Yuan Tianyi always kept their word.

And Yuan Tianyi's cultivation left him no room for resistance.

Therefore, this demon-like blood-robed man could only take his own life before Yuan Tianyi could kill him!

"If someone respects me an inch, I'll return a foot; if someone bullies me a foot, I'll retaliate a zhang. This is the rule of my Luofu Sect. If people regard me as a god, how can I treat them like ants?" Yuan Tianyi said lightly, as if speaking to the blood-robed man, or perhaps to himself.

With a ding, the emerald green magic treasure, which had condensed the purest and most solidified Earth Core Li Fire Qi, dimmed and fell to the ground.

Crossing several zhang in an instant, Yuan Tianyi picked up the two-foot-long, crystal-green ruler. When they turned around again, everyone in the entire Miao Yi mountain village was already kneeling on the ground, utterly devout.