Hong Huang Melee, Power of Slaughter

Stepping onto the land of Hong Huang once more, Li Yi couldn't help but sigh, a touch of helplessness in his tone. It was almost comical, but in all the time since the world's creation, Li Yi had never truly relaxed and toured the Hong Huang continent.

The first time, he had to refine Essence Blood, so he casually chose a desolate mountain, erected a stone tablet, and sat in meditation for over a million years to heal. After absorbing the Essence Blood, he left immediately. The second time, while en route to the East Sea, he was preoccupied with finding a vessel for his clone and couldn't settle down. After that, he established his manor in Penglai and cultivated in seclusion for a million years.

Only now, to temper his Sword Dao, did Li Yi, after a million years, set foot on the Hong Huang continent again. Li Yi decided to travel in simple attire, barefoot with his hair unbound, to blend into the Hong Huang world in the most natural state. He wanted to feel the primordial pulse of the Hong Huang land, observe the evolution of all things, and experience the vicissitudes of the mortal world to perfect his Sword Dao.

Carrying his sword, clad in a single garment, barefoot, a solitary figure with unbound hair, wandering the world.

Just as Li Yi embarked on his journey of tempering, the eerie silence that had gripped Hong Huang for over two million years was finally broken. The major powers of Hong Huang—the Demon Domain, the Fierce Beast Domain, the Three Clans Alliance, the Ancient Gold Sacred Dynasty, the Fire Worship Sacred Dynasty, the Heaven and Earth Sacred Dynasty, the Limitless Sacred Dynasty, the Eternal Sacred Dynasty, and the Darkness Sacred Dynasty—seemed to have reached a mutual agreement. With lightning speed, they began conquering surrounding smaller and medium-sized forces.

Hong Huang instantly plunged into a chaotic era of heroes emerging and clashing. Earth-shattering battles echoed throughout Hong Huang from time to time. Initially, even many Golden Immortals dared not leave their abodes, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire. Later, they grew accustomed to the sounds.

After the major powers made their move, those smaller and medium-sized forces possessing Grand Unity Golden Immortals also couldn't resist joining the fray. They revealed their long-hidden fangs and unleashed their blades upon weaker forces.

In an instant, blood stained the rivers and mountains, and corpses littered the land. Even Grand Unity Golden Immortal powerhouses began to fall, and the number of fallen Golden Immortals was uncountable. As for Mystic Immortals and Heavenly Immortals, they were utterly reduced to cannon fodder.

Times create heroes. In this era of bloodshed, countless prodigies perished, erased from history. Many heroes, however, ascended to the divine altar, treading on piles of bones.

The Blood Demon of the Demon Domain, the Wolf King of the Fierce Beast Domain, Old Ancestor Lu Ya, Old Ancestor Yin Yang, Old Ancestor Qian Kun, Old Ancestor Cang Qiong, Ancestor Tun Tian, Old Ancestor Golden Body, and Old Ancestor Heavenly Snake were the prominent figures of this period. Each had blood-soaked hands, their fearsome reputations unmatched.

Due to the vast disparity in strength between smaller and medium-sized forces and the top-tier powers, they formed alliances to avoid being annexed and to ensure their survival. Among these, the Eastern Alliance and the Southern Alliance were the most powerful.

After another 500 years of turmoil, Hong Huang was completely carved up by these eleven forces. However, 21 Grand Unity Golden Immortals perished in this catastrophe, along with tens of thousands of Golden Immortals, and countless Mystic Immortals and Heavenly Immortals.

During this period, Li Yi frequently mingled with the battle groups, honing his Sword Dao through hunting. As Li Yi was only at the peak of the Mystic Immortal realm, he went unnoticed in battle groups numbering in the millions. Moreover, most people didn't know each other. Li Yi's presence was like a drop of water merging into the ocean, utterly insignificant.

Furthermore, no one would have imagined that someone would go to war for the sake of tempering. It was far too dangerous. The vast majority of Mystic Immortals and Heavenly Immortals were forced onto the battlefield; no one wanted to die, let alone be cannon fodder. If Li Yi's actions were known, people would surely shout, "He's courting death!"

In truth, Li Yi walked a tightrope between life and death throughout this thousand-year war, sustaining countless injuries, big and small. There were even several times when his physical body was directly and severely wounded by weapons. If not for his divine ability, "Sword Light Flying Wings," which allowed him to escape quickly, Li Yi would have had to summon his Main Body. However, doing so would have disrupted all of Li Yi's plans.

As the saying goes, the greater the effort, the greater the reward. Constantly being in the heart of battle, facing attacks from all directions, a single misstep could lead to annihilation. This forced Li Yi to strike faster, harder, more accurately, and more efficiently.

After deduction and summarization, Li Yi created three new sword techniques based on his original three, bringing the total to six. These three new sword techniques were: "Sword Dominates the World," "Ten Directions Annihilation," and "Instantaneous Samsara."

However, these three sword techniques were not his greatest gain. His greatest gain was comprehending a power of death, which Li Yi called the "Power of Slaughter."

At that time, the battle group Li Yi had infiltrated was defeated. The entire group scrambled to escape. Li Yi, relying on "Sword Light Flying Wings," fled quickly, as he always did, and usually managed to escape. This was because the enemy saw no point in sending a Golden Immortal to eliminate a mere foot soldier. But unexpectedly, this time, the enemy had set up an ambush formation, intending to capture everyone.

Once trapped in the formation, countless cultivators attacked. Li Yi, caught off guard, was instantly struck by several magical treasures, sustaining severe injuries. In this critical and highly tense moment, Li Yi instinctively unleashed his sword moves along the trajectory that would inflict the greatest damage. At this moment, a power of death from the unseen realms was drawn forth and amplified his sword, greatly increasing the power of his strike. Since there were no Golden Immortals in the ambush, Li Yi forcefully carved a path through the encirclement.

Afterward, Li Yi repeatedly recalled the trajectory of his sword moves at that moment, imitating them tens of millions of times and constantly testing them on the battlefield. After immense hardship, Li Yi finally managed to draw upon this power of death smoothly.

Because this power possessed strong corrosive properties and immense destructive force, and its power grew with the intensity of killing intent, Li Yi named it the "Power of Slaughter."

The constant tension of fighting for survival for extended periods also greatly enhanced Li Yi's willpower. His soul and divine sense were also converted by two-thirds. With a little more effort, they would fully transform into liquid willpower. At that point, combining the six sword techniques with the Power of Slaughter to form a single Sword Dao would mark his advancement to the Golden Immortal realm.

At the base of Buzhou Mountain, within a mysterious cave shrouded by a primordial formation, twelve drops of blood exuding boundless pressure were continuously absorbing the Heaven-Opening Fiend Qi seeping from underground.

Beside the twelve drops of Essence Blood sat a white figure. For over a thousand years, the Main Body had been meditating there, occasionally opening its silver-white eyes to observe the runic inscriptions appearing on the Essence Blood before closing them to deduce. At some point, the same runic inscriptions began to flash on the Main Body's own form, a terrifying display of power.

With the eleven forces having finished dividing the territory, Hong Huang once again fell into an eerie calm, as if awaiting the arrival of the next, more devastating catastrophe.

Li Yi, meanwhile, resumed his journey, preparing to break through to the Golden Immortal realm.