Nine Dragons Stone

"Right Envoy Sima—he killed Right Envoy Sima."

"Kill him! Avenge Right Envoy Sima!"

"Kill him! If we don't kill him, the Alliance Leader won't spare us either! Kill him!"

"Kill him!"

Right Envoy Sima's death not only filled the Supreme Alliance members with terror, but also stirred their bloodlust. It showed just how harsh Guan Yutian's rule was.

A ferocious smile curled across Fang Xuan's lips. He stamped his foot, his blood and qi surged, and a wave of heat radiated from his body. The temperature throughout the entire mountain valley seemed to rise several degrees.

"Die."

He threw a punch. The chest of the nearest Supreme Alliance member instantly caved in. The man was sent flying before he could even scream, crashing heavily into a nearby tree.

Fang Xuan possessed the tremendous strength of six horses. Even without using any technique, no one could stop him with that monstrous power alone.

Killing.

Leaping.

Punching.

Killing again.

Fang Xuan charged into the crowd. His body moved like an ape, his fists struck like dragons, and his killing aura grew increasingly grim while his momentum became ever more imposing.

Fang Xuan treasured this rare battle, mainly because he wanted to gain real combat experience. True combat was not a sparring match. Compared to this, the fights among the Fang Family disciples in Myriad Phenomena Garden were nothing more than children playing house.

Fang Xuan remembered that the world of Eternal Life was a world that devoured people. Humans devoured humans, and the immortal world devoured them even more ruthlessly.

Cultivating immortality had never been easy. One could only press forward bravely and fight without end. There could be no pause on the path of immortality; it was like rowing against the current—if one did not advance, one fell behind.

These hundreds of Supreme Alliance members came at him with blades and spears. A moment's hesitation would not necessarily kill him, but it would leave him wounded. There was no room for luck. This was also the best battlefield for tempering his will.

This was not Fang Xuan's first time killing someone, but it was his first time in such a chaotic battlefield. After entering the Yuhua Sect, battles would certainly never be lacking, so this was the perfect chance to temper his martial path.

He punched and dodged, taking lives with fierce boxing techniques. In mere moments, life after life vanished beneath his fists. With every life that faded, Fang Xuan's mind grew sharper, and he sensed the aura of departed souls.

Fang Xuan had to remember this feeling, because he did not want to be the one lying dead someday.

Although Fang Xuan had great stamina and unmatched brute strength, he was repeatedly placed in danger under the siege of hundreds from the Supreme Alliance. Before entering the Mystic Divine Realm, blades and swords were still lethal to him.

Even so, his neck and hands were covered in cuts from blades and swords. Fortunately, none of them were fatal.

"Young hero, be careful!" Surpasses Hua Tuo cried out.

The moment Fang Xuan was distracted, a flash of blade light like a waning moon appeared behind him and hacked viciously toward his neck, unstoppable as a ghost or god.

"Hmph!"

Fang Xuan twisted his body into an uncanny posture and kicked backward with his right leg. The surrounding air seemed to be squeezed away in that instant, forming a vacuum that emitted a strange buzzing howl.

Bang!

The tremendous force of six horses swept through the air. The Supreme Alliance member who had launched the sneak attack screamed as Fang Xuan's kick tore him in half at the waist.

At that moment, the Supreme Alliance members surrounding him could no longer endure their terror. Their faces were filled with fear, and the blades and swords in their hands fell to the ground.

"Monster! A monster!"

"Run! Run! I don't want to die!"

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Fang Xuan also stopped attacking. He did not pursue the fleeing Supreme Alliance members.

"Y-Young hero, are you all right?" Surpasses Hua Tuo asked cautiously.

"I..."

"Bleurgh... bleurgh..."

Surpasses Xi Shi clung to a nearby tree and vomited repeatedly, staring at Fang Xuan with terror on her face.

Fang Xuan also noticed that the entire mountain valley was strewn with severed limbs and broken arms, while blood flowed everywhere.

His own body had long since been dyed crimson, and the thick stench of blood assaulted his nose and mouth.

There was nothing to be done about it. Having too much strength was not always a good thing; at least in a fight, it made things excessively bloody and brutal.

Suppressing his nausea, Surpasses Hua Tuo cupped his hands toward Fang Xuan. "Thank you for your help, young hero. Without you, this old man would have been in grave danger. I have no way to repay you, so please..."

"You do."

"Hm?"

A smile appeared at the corner of Fang Xuan's lips. Combined with the blood covering his body, it made him look especially terrifying.

"If you wish to repay me, give me the Nine Dragons Stone."

Surpasses Hua Tuo's heart sank. "Young hero, you came for the Nine Dragons Stone as well."

"Correct. I hope you can part with it, Senior," Fang Xuan said with a smile.

Looking at the corpses scattered across the ground, Surpasses Hua Tuo took a deep breath and said darkly, "The Nine Dragons Stone is a supreme divine artifact. I hope you will use it with caution, young hero. Old woman, go fetch the box from beside my bed."

"Old man, you..."

"Go!"

Surpasses Xi Shi wiped the filth from the corner of her mouth and hurried into the room. Before long, she returned carrying a carved wooden box.

Surpasses Hua Tuo took it from her, reluctance written across his face, but he still handed it to Fang Xuan.

Fang Xuan opened the wooden box. A dense spiritual aura of heaven and earth spilled out, and just one wisp of it made his entire body feel refreshed. Even the wounds on him showed signs of healing.

Good stuff.

Snap!

Closing the box, Fang Xuan cupped his hands and said, "Thank you. Sorry for the disturbance. For your own safety, Senior, you should move away as soon as possible. The Supreme Alliance is powerful, and Guan Yutian's martial arts are formidable. Two fists cannot defeat four hands. There is no need to make a pointless sacrifice."

With that, he turned and left. In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared.

"Old man, why did you give him the Nine Dragons Stone?"

Surpasses Hua Tuo replied irritably, "What else could I have done? Look at all these corpses. That man is just as ruthless and vicious as the Supreme Alliance. If we hadn't given it to him, the two of us would probably be lying here too."

"Th-then what do we do now?" Surpasses Xi Shi asked worriedly.

"Move."

"Do we really have to move?" Surpasses Xi Shi asked reluctantly.

"We must. The Supreme Alliance lost so many people; they will never give up. We need to leave before Guan Yutian has time to react."

"Oh! Then where are we going? How about..."

Surpasses Hua Tuo suddenly raised his voice and said decisively, "No."

"I haven't even said where yet."

"Hmph, isn't it Immortal in Wine? I would rather die than go to him. After all these years, he still can't forget you. Does he think this old man is dead? Hurry up and pack."

"Hmph!"

Surpasses Xi Shi snorted and did not continue arguing with Surpasses Hua Tuo. She turned and returned to the room to pack their things.

Surpasses Hua Tuo stood where he was, gazing toward the direction Fang Xuan had left in with a complicated expression. He muttered, "Troubled times indeed! I wonder whether this man's appearance will be good or bad for this already chaotic martial world. Sigh..."

After leaving, Fang Xuan found a river and washed the blood from his body.

He opened the wooden box and held the Nine Dragons Stone in his hand. The stone was the size of a fist, entirely white like jade, with naturally formed dragon-shaped patterns on its surface. Of course, what drew Fang Xuan's attention most was the strange energy within the Nine Dragons Stone.

"So this is the Nine Dragons Stone. According to the ancient legends, the Nine Dragons Stone ascended to heaven upon thunder jade, formed from a dragon's afterbirth and divine soil known as Resting Earth. That was how this Nine Dragons Stone, one appearing every five hundred years, came to be. It can greatly increase one's cultivation and grant immortality."