Upon landing, Qin Yang looked at the human-shaped charcoal on the ground and sighed. "Why wouldn't you believe me? Is trust between people in this world really so poor?"
When he used a Skill Book to learn something, the speed was terrifying. Even the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture had taken no more than the time of a meal for him to comprehend everything he could at his current stage. Ever since forging his Dao Foundation, further insights would naturally emerge as his divine soul grew stronger...
It was only a blue-grade secret technique. Naturally, reaching the point where he could successfully cast it had been frighteningly fast.
Did that guy really think that everything he had comprehended in such a short time was worthless trash?
Experience-based assumptions really did kill people...
The Lightning Attraction Secret Technique was indeed terrifyingly powerful once it had accumulated enough force. That single strike had consumed a full third of his True Essence. By comparison, an ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator would likely have exhausted all his True Essence to unleash that thunderous blow.
"Forget it. You did chase me down, but in the end, you did assist me. I can't let you lie exposed in the wilderness..." Qin Yang muttered to himself, taking out a coffin and placing Steward Qiu's charred corpse inside...
Then...
He stored it in the Storage Bag specially reserved for holding coffins...
Giving him a proper burial was only natural. But Steward Qiu had been loaded with wealth, carrying several Magical Artifacts, and he had been a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator. If Qin Yang killed a monster and did not touch the corpse, was he even human?
Only after touching the corpse and then burying it was it customary.
This place was at least one or two hundred li away from those three great powers, but who knew whether they might be watching, or whether they might see him touching the corpse.
Ever since he had truly obtained the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture, Qin Yang had realized that this skill was far more powerful than he had imagined—so powerful that he could not understand it.
It was better not to let anyone else know, especially experts whose spiritual radiance could nearly blind him with a single glance.
After packing everything away, Qin Yang mounted the Purple Crane again. Before it could take flight, a deafening roar exploded through the air.
BOOM!
The blast deafened Qin Yang. Golden stars burst before his eyes, his head turned muddled, the flow of True Essence within him stagnated, and it felt as though a thousand-pound weight were pressing down on him, leaving his entire body limp and weak.
After a while, he recovered slightly. When he looked up, his pupils suddenly contracted.
The secret realm's phantom in the sky was like a shattered painting, broken into countless fragments. After some fragments shattered, trails of flowing light remained behind, like meteors streaking across the heavens before vanishing beyond the horizon. Others turned into nothingness, their phantoms dissipating as though swallowed by an invisible maw.
The secret realm had finally collapsed...
When an entire secret realm collapsed, all that could be seen here was its phantom. Yet the aura leaking from the remaining cracks made Qin Yang feel as if he could not breathe, as though he were about to die and have both body and Dao vanish.
The silence, the destruction, the helplessness of everything returning to nothingness, the resolute eradication of all life—before such an overwhelming tide, anyone would feel the despondency of human strength eventually reaching its limit.
No wonder even a demon as unfathomably powerful as the Banyan Tree Demon had not hesitated to cut off its arm to save its life, seeking only to escape as soon as possible.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" A sigh sounded beside Qin Yang.
Qin Yang spun around warily. At some unknown moment, a disheveled old man had appeared beside him. He had a large nose, small eyes, grease still clinging to his lips and beard, and he smelled of... poorly roasted chicken.
Qin Yang could tell from the scent alone that the chicken had been overcooked...
But he had no mind to care about that now. Every muscle in his body tensed, his heart pounded wildly, and even the flow of his True Essence accelerated.
When had this old man arrived? He was standing right beside him, yet Qin Yang had not sensed him in the slightest. He had only realized there was someone nearby after the old man spoke!
An expert!
An expert at least two major realms above him—at minimum, a Divine Sea Grand Cultivator! "It is quite magnificent," Qin Yang answered honestly, then casually asked another question. "What are those meteors? And those phantoms that vanished?"
"Those flowing lights are spiritual artifacts that developed sentience and fled on their own after the secret realm shattered. As for the phantoms that disappeared, they represent portions of the secret realm that broke apart and completely returned to nothingness. They may drift into the void, or vanish entirely. In any case, they are gone forever and will be very difficult to see again." The old man seemed to recall something, and the sigh on his face deepened.
"Very difficult means there is still a possibility?"
"They may drift through the void for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years. If they have not completely returned to nothingness, and if they are fortunate enough to drift into this world, they may fall back to the earth again. Who knows? Or perhaps they will disappear forever..."
"Senior, aren't you going to seek those treasures? I heard they were left behind by Purple Firmament Dao Lord." Qin Yang asked probing questions, inwardly wishing this old man would leave quickly. Having such a great expert standing beside him was pressure enough to make anyone uneasy.
"They are merely a few spiritual artifacts. There were only a handful of Treasure Artifacts, and those three already intercepted them. Besides, leaving aside such external objects, the greatest treasure is right beside me. Why seek what is far when it is near?" The old man turned around and stared at Qin Yang with a genial smile.
"Cough, Senior must be joking..." Qin Yang's heart tightened, and he forced out a dry laugh.
"Rest assured, others cannot see through it. Only because I possess a divine ability can I see the vigorous life force in your Storage Bag, soaring straight into the heavens. Such extraordinary vitality rivals precious medicinal herbs. I am old and do not value external possessions, but I do value treasures like this."
Qin Yang groaned inwardly. He had only just become a nouveau riche—was he about to return to square one overnight? "Senior, are you planning to kill for treasure? Could you just take the treasure without killing me?" Qin Yang put on a bitter face, praying that this man was not a bloodthirsty sort...
"Bullshit!" The old man's face darkened. He suddenly straightened his back, his expression proud. "I am a Dao Sect Preacher. How could I commit such a shameless deed?"
"Dao Sect?"
"It is the Dao Sect—the sect of the Great Dao!" The old man wiped his mouth, and with a shake of his body, his filthy robe instantly transformed into a green Daoist robe. His messy hair became a Daoist bun, and with white hair and white beard, he assumed the bearing of an immortal sage who had attained the Dao.
"Oh, please forgive me, Senior. This junior judged a gentleman with the heart of a petty man. I knew Senior was an enlightened master—how could you possibly rob the belongings of a little fellow like me, who has only just reached Foundation Establishment? If you were going to rob anyone, it would at least be those three great powers..." Qin Yang breathed a sigh of relief and immediately showered the old man with flattery, placing lofty hats upon his head as though they cost nothing...
"Hmph. Even those three are not worthy of being robbed by me!" The old man stroked his beard and laughed heartily.
At last, someone was flattering him. The old man was feeling pleased with himself when he suddenly heard Qin Yang speak again.
"Then, Senior, do you wish to buy some? I would not mind selling you some."
The old man's smile instantly froze. He turned to stare at Qin Yang, his feelings complicated.
Damn it, he had been led into a ditch by a junior...
Robbery was too lowly and crude. What difference would there be between that and a reckless brute? But if he stole it...
If those three bastards found out and spread word of it the next day, would his reputation not truly stink throughout the streets, making him worse than the petty rat-like thieves of the marketplace...
Wouldn't that make him the sort of rat who stole candy from children, a rat worse than rats?
"Senior, do you want to buy it? Trading something for it works too. Senior can give whatever you see fit. I would not mind exchanging some with you."
The old man knitted his brows as he looked at Qin Yang's face, sincere yet carrying a trace of anticipation...
It was like a little brat in the marketplace, hair tied into a skyward braid, holding up candy with complete sincerity and asking whether he wanted to buy it...
If he truly cheated this junior, would that not be the same as dragging his own dignity down and tossing it into a cesspit, then throwing in two rocks to pin it down...
The old man's face scrunched up as though he were constipated, and a faint sense of shame even rose in his heart.
"I... I cannot afford it..."
Thank you, God's Red Dress and War Heaven Mad Demon, for the 500 Qidian Coin rewards.
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