Destroying You Without You Even Knowing (Please Vote)

The snowstorm blanketed the sky, twisting into a gigantic vortex. The thick leaden clouds overhead seemed to be drawn along with it, beginning to spin as well.

The bone-chilling air grew ever denser. Some chunks of shattered corpses and ice that had fallen to the ground were swept up by the freezing wind, crumbling layer by layer until they became powder.

An Lan stood suspended in midair, forming hand seals with one hand. Beside her, the ice-spike Dharma Treasure spun rapidly in response.

On the ground, the raging flames burning around Gong Ze looked like a tiny flame in the freezing wind, as if they could be extinguished at any moment by the ice and snow that froze everything beneath the heavens.

The colder the weather, and the heavier the snowstorm, the stronger An Lan became.

Here, she only needed to use one measure of strength to mobilize twice the power she could normally wield. In Great Qian, where the four seasons were as warm as spring, she was not particularly conspicuous, and her strength could not even rank among the top. But here, on her home ground, combined with the ice-spike Dharma Treasure, everything was completely different.

She was immersed in this place. With every movement, she could effortlessly draw upon the power of heaven and earth.

Without meaning to, she thought of the past. Back then, a great figure from Great Zhen had once invited her to visit Great Zhen, but she had refused. If she had gone to a place like Great Zhen, whose environment suited her better, perhaps she would have possessed this level of power long ago.

However, if she had gone there and lacked the tempering she received in Great Qian, perhaps she would not have attained her current ability to wield tremendous power with such ease.

In the midst of battle, she rarely lost focus—but now she did.

Coming back to herself, her eyes narrowed, and killing intent burst forth. As she formed hand seals, the ice spikes circling beside her transformed into a streak of blue-gold light, shooting into the sky and vanishing into the black clouds that filled the heavens.

With a thunderous boom, lightning stretching for a hundred li suddenly appeared within the black clouds. The snowstorm grew faster and more violent. Threads of blue-gold lightning gathered continuously among the snowflakes, finally transforming into lightning serpents that writhed wildly within the leaden clouds.

Gong Ze looked up, deep shock filling his eyes.

This was absolutely not power An Lan should have possessed.

They were all cultivators of the same realm. Why had An Lan suddenly become so powerful?

Even with all the enhancements from the weather and environment here, it was absolutely impossible for her to possess such strength.

The only possible explanation was that terrifyingly powerful Dharma Treasure.

The treasure's might was even greater than he had expected. During their earlier clash, it had forced him into a disadvantage and sent him fleeing in panic, yet it had not displayed its true might at all.

Gong Ze drew a deep breath. He understood that earlier, he had merely been defeated; he might not necessarily have died.

Now, he could not escape. He was doomed.

Before Great Li noticed and reacted, An Lan had enough time to kill him countless times over. That was why she was not in the least bit anxious.

All he wanted now was to send the information out before he died: Great Qian had acquired a new Dharma Treasure of immense might, one that could link with the power of heaven and earth—no, it could even be said to command the power of heaven and earth.

There had never been any information about this Dharma Treasure before.

Moreover, a Spirit Transformation Qi Refining cultivator could control it.

An Lan counted as an expert in Great Qian, but she was still an expert who could not rank among the top. The true powerhouses were all stationed in key regions to stabilize the overall situation and could not be dispatched at will. The slightest movement from them would attract countless eyes and trigger a chain reaction.

Great Li was the same. As long as the dispatched force would not affect other areas or draw too much attention, Gong Ze was already the strongest power that could be mobilized freely.

Did Great Li possess similar treasures? Yes—and their might far exceeded that of the treasure in An Lan's hands. But those were national treasures, strategic existences meant to serve as deterrents. They would not be brought out lightly.

Using a Dharma Treasure of that level was not something an ordinary expert could even hope to activate.

As for lower-grade treasures, they could not possibly affect such a vast range so effortlessly.

Moreover, Great Qian might possess more than one Dharma Treasure with such power. If there were only one, Great Qian might not have dared let An Lan bring it alone to the Wasteland.

He had to find a way to send this information out.

But as that thought surfaced, Gong Ze suddenly understood why An Lan had previously done nothing but pursue and kill him, destroying his mount, his Dharma Treasures, and everything on his body, without ever unleashing the treasure's true power.

An Lan had been making sure he could not transmit the news.

And now, as long as he died, Great Qian would have countless ways to prevent Great Li from learning the truth.

An Lan had used the terrain to hunt him all the way here. In the end, his true essence had run dry, and he had been exhausted to death in the snowy wilderness. It would be perfectly reasonable.

Gong Ze's eyes nearly split with rage. His heart was filled with unwillingness. He could no longer send the news, and he did not even know what this Dharma Treasure was called.

"An Lan, before I die, can you tell me the name of your Dharma Treasure?"

An Lan hovered in the air and answered indifferently.

"One Day Cold."

Gong Ze looked up at the black clouds where lightning churned, yet he could not help praising it.

"What a One Day Cold. After all these years, for the Qian Emperor to bestow such a Dharma Treasure upon you... your An Family is finally going to rise."

The moment he said this, a flash of light suddenly appeared in Gong Ze's mind.

The An Family...

"Your Dharma Treasure was forged from materials obtained by your An Family, wasn't it?"

An Lan said nothing. She merely waved her hand, and blue-gold lightning tore across the sky and crashed down.

The lightning swept across the land like a plow. Wherever it passed, countless enormous ice crystals, dozens of zhang high and gleaming with crystalline light, burst from underground amid booming sounds. As the lightning swept through, several li in every direction transformed into a forest of ice crystals, waves of chill radiating outward.

Gong Ze rushed into the air. His entire body turned cold as he watched this scene. Countless bolts of lightning still waited in the black clouds overhead, seemingly unable to wait any longer to descend.

With a furious roar, the armor covering his entire body suddenly shattered, revealing his skin. Lines of fiery patterns spread from where his heart lay, extending across his whole body. Then they flowed down from him, transforming into liquid-like flames that coiled around his body.

A crack appeared across his chest as well. Blood continuously spilled out in time with his heart's pumping. It seemed to transform into fuel for the flames, causing the scarlet fire to swell constantly in might, while his aura rose in a straight line.

"You severed your divine bridge and shattered your qi sea, but it's useless. You won't escape the Wasteland."

An Lan said this when she saw what he was doing, but she remained where she was, not daring to pursue recklessly.

Gong Ze's hair had already transformed into flames, and his eyes seemed to be burning. In truth, his entire body was burning.

He was burning away everything he possessed, all so that he could briefly obtain power far beyond his original strength.

He grinned.

"I never planned to escape back. And I never planned to live."

The words had barely left his mouth when he suddenly turned into a streak of fire. In the blink of an eye, he was more than a dozen li away.

An Lan knew Gong Ze was certain to die. She had no intention of continuing to force him. After burning away everything like this, he would ignite himself and turn to ashes in no time.

All she needed to do was follow from behind, keeping her distance, and witness Gong Ze's death with her own eyes.

The snowstorm carried her forward. Though she was not as fast as Gong Ze, she would not lose track of him.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, she saw from afar the streak of light formed by Gong Ze descending toward the ground.

Gong Ze trod on flames and looked down at the mountains ahead, his gaze growing ever more resolute.

He had once read many records and examined countless files. He had always believed that the Jinlan Mine on the Wasteland was unusual. Even this year, despite the Wasteland's upheaval, its countless dangers, and the gathering of forces from all sides, Great Qian had not forgotten to come and trade for Jinlan Ore on schedule.

The person who came was still An Yue.

He was one of the outstanding members of the An Family's younger generation and direct line, someone with hope of taking over the An Family in the future.

Now An Lan had come as well, carrying a never-before-seen Dharma Treasure whose might was completely different.

He felt that his faint, hazy judgment had been correct. Those idiots in the Shadow Division had poured all their energy into figuring out how to flee and save their lives, completely failing to take this seriously.

Great Qian had definitely researched the Jinlan Ore and discovered something. Moreover, only this place produced it in the greatest quantities, and the Jinlan Ore produced here was even more unusual.

Gong Ze gritted his teeth and endured the immense pain. Descending from the sky, he unleashed all his strength and slammed a blow into the entrance of the mine.

The liquid flames transformed into a river and surged toward both sides. In an instant, they melted the snow covering the ground, turning it into steam that rose into the air. The earth itself melted beneath the terrifying flames, becoming roiling magma.

Gong Ze did not stop. He continued burning and bombarding along the edge of the mine.

This was a special semi-Blessed Land. Only the section where the entrance lay was connected to the Wasteland, and the true passage in and out was that narrow entrance, the only place linked to the Wasteland.

He intended to sever this connection now, smash apart the place where they joined, and make this semi-Blessed Land completely break away from the Wasteland and plunge into the endless void.

He was nearly dead. All he wanted now was to verify whether his guess was right before he died.

If he had guessed wrong, An Lan would certainly stand by and watch. She would not risk her life against him in this situation. Even if he died, he would at least have settled this ridiculous obsession and doubt before his death.

If he had guessed correctly, An Lan would certainly fight to stop him with everything she had.

Even if he died afterward, the people of Great Li would surely learn what he had done before his death and might then investigate until they uncovered the truth.

His cheeks had already begun to cave in, and his entire body had grown thinner by a full circle. Even his flesh and blood had begun to burn.

His flames and bombardment had already turned the outskirts of the mine into a river of magma. The mine had begun to tremble, and the connection was becoming unstable...

An Lan, who had arrived late from behind, saw this scene. Her pupils suddenly widened, and unconcealable shock and fury appeared on her face.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, she unleashed all her strength. Within the black clouds overhead, bolts of blue-gold lightning surged like mighty rivers descending from the heavens, continuously striking the place where Gong Ze stood.

Gong Ze neither dodged nor resisted. He merely threw back his head and laughed wildly.

He had guessed correctly. All this time, Great Qian had researched every material it could find, indiscriminately—useful or useless.

It was a pity that Great Li's Lihuo Academy was still far too weak, utterly unable to keep up with Langya Academy...

Since it could not keep up, it had not valued those seemingly useless things. Today, Great Qian had finally found something useful among countless useless materials and forged a terrifying new Dharma Treasure.

But it no longer mattered. From today onward, Great Qian would never be able to obtain this material again. He believed that the sparse Jinlan Ore produced elsewhere could never possibly have the same effect.

He threw back his head and laughed, watching the lightning strike his body. In an instant, his body was torn into pieces, and he died a violent death.

However, after his body was torn apart, it transformed into flames and flew into those flames and the magma. His flesh and blood were added to them, causing the fire to burn ever more fiercely as its color began to change from scarlet to a dazzling orange-red.

Visible to the naked eye, the mountain range containing the Jinlan Mine began to slope downward...

Number one, please vote monthly, and please vote with all kinds of tickets. The data during a new book's release period is quite important...