Blood Spirit Sect

Beneath the stone cliff, a Fourth Grade Golden Spirit Grass swayed gently.

The spirit grass's leaves were a vivid emerald green, edged with a faint ring of gold.

Sunlight spilled over it, refracting into fine, scattered golden motes.

At the roots, spiritual energy gathered into a faint mist; drawing close, one could catch a scent both crisp and heavy.

This was a Golden Spirit Grass over a thousand years old!

The effects of this Golden Spirit Grass were quite peculiar—unlike ordinary spirit herbs that enhanced spiritual energy, it could directly temper a cultivator's physique.

Legend had it that if one could refine the entire plant using a secret method, a cultivator's physical body could rival a Profound Grade spiritual artifact!

At that point, ordinary blades would struggle to wound them, and even the spiritual energy impact of a Primordial Core Realm cultivator could be withstood to some extent.

Among Fourth Grade Spirit Grasses, such efficacy was truly extraordinary!

Bai Ye's gaze fell on the Golden Spirit Grass, but before he could reach for it, two figures swept in like shadows.

On the left, a middle-aged man in red robes bore a scar running from his brow to his jaw, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.

On the right, a scrawny youth clutched a dagger flickering with green light, the blade reeking of potent poison—clearly no good sort either.

"Get lost."

The red-robed middle-aged man glanced at the swaying Golden Spirit Grass, and his eyes lit up.

Then he spoke again, his voice like ice: "I'll give you three breaths to leave. This Golden Spirit Grass is mine."

The words had barely fallen.

A vast pressure of spiritual energy erupted from him, surging outward like a crashing wave!

The air froze instantly; even the moss on the stone cliff curled up under the force!

This was unmistakably a Seventh level of Primordial Core powerhouse!

The scrawny youth's face went pale, and the hand gripping his dagger trembled violently.

He was merely at the First level of Primordial Core—before a Seventh level, he didn't even qualify to resist.

The moment the red-robed man finished speaking, he turned without hesitation, pushed his spiritual energy to the limit, and dove into the dense forest, vanishing in the blink of an eye, not daring to look back.

Bai Ye, however, stood his ground, his gaze calm as he watched the red-robed man, as if utterly unaffected by the terrifying pressure.

"Looking for death!"

The red-robed man's eyes blazed with killing intent.

He had assumed this youth in the gray-blue robe would be as sensible as the gray-robed cultivator, but it seemed he was a tough nut to crack.

The next moment, he raised his right arm, fingers curling as if grasping something, and slammed a palm strike through the air at Bai Ye!

Violent spiritual energy gathered in his palm, condensing in an instant into a massive blood-red palm, over ten feet wide!

The giant palm was wreathed in wisps of blood mist, carrying a chilling, yin-cold aura that seemed to devour the surrounding spiritual energy as it bore down on Bai Ye!

Where it passed, loose stones on the ground trembled and floated up, the spectacle fearsome!

This strike appeared casual, but it was the Profound Grade High palm technique Blood Shadow Palm he had cultivated for years, already at Peak Mastery. An ordinary Fifth level of Primordial Core cultivator struck head-on would have their meridians shattered and die on the spot!

Bai Ye's eyes sharpened, but he didn't retreat half a step.

He took a deep breath, the muscles in his right arm bulging slightly, and punched out in return!

No flashy moves—just pure spiritual energy unleashed!

A fist imprint, blazing red like molten magma, suddenly materialized, wreathed in faint golden flames!

That was the phenomenon of Sky Burning Fist reaching Peak Mastery, where spiritual energy resonated with the laws of heaven and earth!

The moment the fist imprint appeared, the air around it sizzled and burned, charging forward with unstoppable momentum to collide with the blood-red giant palm!

Crack—!

A crisp sound rang out as the blood-red palm shattered like glass, the blood mist ignited by the golden flames on the fist imprint, scattering into a shower of sparks.

But the blazing fist imprint, undiminished, howled through the air toward the red-robed man!

"What?!" The red-robed man's pupils contracted, shock flashing across his face for the first time.

His Blood Shadow Palm had been at Peak Mastery for years; even a Sixth level of Primordial Core cultivator would need to summon a magical artifact to barely block it. This youth before him clearly had the spiritual energy fluctuations of Mid Primordial Core—how could he shatter his palm technique with a single punch?

Could it be that the other party had cultivated an Earth Grade High fist technique and reached Peak Mastery?

In his shock, Bai Ye's form had already flickered before him like a ghost!

Wind Chasing Shadow Stepping pushed to its limit, his figure left an afterimage in place while his true body appeared a mere ten feet from the red-robed man.

Before the man could react, a second blazing fist imprint condensed, denser and more violent than the last, aimed straight at his chest!

"Damn it!" Alarm bells rang in the red-robed man's heart, and the chill of death enveloped him instantly.

Without time to think, he yanked a blood-red jade token from his robes and poured spiritual energy into it frantically!

That token was a life-saving artifact specially made by the Blood Spirit Sect, normally nourished with blood essence. In a crisis, crushing it could form a blood-colored barrier equivalent to an Eighth level of Primordial Core defense.

The token shattered with a crack, transforming into a translucent blood-red shield that wrapped tightly around the red-robed man.

The shield shimmered with eerie runes, faint bloodlight flickering across its surface, giving it an air of resilience.

But the next second—

Boom—!

The crimson fist imprint slammed solidly into the blood-colored shield!

A thunderous roar erupted as the shockwave of Spiritual Energy rippled outward, shaking dust loose from the stone walls!

The blood shield shuddered violently, its surface instantly crawling with dense cracks that spread like a spiderweb!

Crack!

In less than a breath, the shield could no longer hold and shattered with a deafening blast!

Pfft—!

With the shield gone, the residual force of the fist imprint crashed straight into the red-robed middle-aged man's chest.

He reeled as if struck by a heavy hammer, spewing a mouthful of blood. His body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string, smashing through three ancient trees as thick as an arm's span before finally stopping. At the broken trunks, blood mixed with wood chips splattered everywhere!

The red-robed man lay prone on the ground, his chest caved in a large hollow, his breath faint. The arrogance in his eyes as he looked at Bai Ye was long gone, replaced only by bone-deep terror!

"No... you can't kill me!" He struggled to lift his head, his voice hoarse. "I am an elder of the Blood Spirit Sect! If you kill me, the Blood Spirit Sect will never let you go!"

The Blood Spirit Sect, one of the ten major powers in Azure State, was known for its ruthless methods and fierce protectiveness of its own.

It was said that whenever a sect disciple was killed outside, regardless of who the culprit was, the sect would retaliate with full force, even if it meant annihilating an entire sect.

Bai Ye's gaze was indifferent, as if he hadn't heard a word.

He took a step forward, his figure moving like the wind, and in an instant, he stood before the red-robed man.

"The Blood Spirit Sect... is that supposed to impress me?"

With those cold words, the third fist slammed down!

This punch had no flourish—it struck directly at the red-robed man's head.

Squelch—!

Red and white splattered everywhere. The red-robed man didn't even have time to scream before he fell silent forever.

Seventh level of Primordial Core, an elder of the Blood Spirit Sect—dead in three punches.

And Bai Ye hadn't even gone all out; from start to finish, he had only used the power of Core Formation Sixth Level.

If such a feat were to spread, it would shake every cultivator in Azure State!

Just as the red-robed man's life force was severed, a sudden change occurred.

From his corpse, a faint, almost invisible thread of blood drifted up.

The thread was as fine as a strand of hair, glowing with an eerie red light, as if alive. With a whoosh, it coiled around Bai Ye's wrist, then sank into his skin and vanished.

Bai Ye frowned slightly, lifting his hand to look at his wrist. The skin there was smooth as before, but he could clearly feel a faint, elusive connection—as if the thread hadn't disappeared, but had merely hidden itself within his flesh!