I Came, I Saw

As Li Ji'an slowly approached, Guangling's face lit up with smug delight.

"Fifth Uncle, this is Heaven's Will! Hahaha..."

The old man clenched his teeth, his eyes practically spitting blood. "Ah! Sooner or later, you'll destroy the Lineage! The Lineage's ruin will be all thanks to you. I'll wait for you in the Yellow Springs, where you can answer for your crimes..."

With that, the last shred of magical power in his dantian burst forth.

Boom!

But he was already at the end of his strength. The blast had less than a tenth of its usual power, and only sent Guangling flying ten yards away. The old man himself collapsed completely, unable to move a muscle.

As Li Ji'an closed in, the old man still refused to reveal the Lineage's secrets to a lowly insect like him.

No matter how bitterly the members of a Lineage fought among themselves, he had only ever wanted the Lineage to flourish for generations—not to give outsiders a chance to take advantage of them, much less Blood Slaves like this.

Resentment, sorrow, and despair filled his heart, and the deathly pallor on his face deepened.

He slowly closed his eyes, waiting for death to come.

Whoosh! Yet just as his eyes were about to shut, the unexpected happened.

Li Ji'an held his flying sword and was almost at the old man's side when he suddenly twisted his wrist and, in a flash, slashed at Guangling.

Guangling had already exhausted his magical power, and he was still in the aftermath of surviving the calamity. He had never imagined that the insect in his eyes would dare attack him, so he had not been on guard in the slightest.

Splurt! One sword took his head clean off, spraying blood ten feet into the air.

Even as his head hit the ground, his face still wore the smug expression from moments before.

"Brother Li!" The other four were stunned once again.

In the melee just now, they had acted to protect themselves, finally breaking through the shackles of "immortals" and daring to resist.

But now, they had been completely unprepared.

The Immortal Master who had slapped their emperor and come to guide them had just been killed by Li Ji'an!

The old man abruptly opened his eyes wide, staring at Li Ji'an in disbelief.

An insect from the Land Abandoned by Heaven had slain the "Immortal Master" sent to guide them, and remained so calm and composed.

If he had any choice, he would have warned his Lineage: This boy must not be allowed to live!

"I ask, you answer. Otherwise, I'll make you wish you were dead." Li Ji'an walked over to the old man and looked down at him, his tone indifferent.

"Hahaha... Cough, cough... I never thought I'd live to see the day when an insect looked down on me like this..." The old man let out a bitter laugh, overcome by sorrow.

He didn't even bother to respond to Li Ji'an.

Not only were the mortals of the Land Abandoned by Heaven unworthy of speaking to him, even the mortals of the Heavenly Azure Domain who couldn't cultivate were unworthy—let alone someone daring to look down on him with such outrageous superiority!

The next moment, the old man bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, using his Natal Blood Essence to strike at every meridian in his body, intending to blow himself apart.

"Stubborn fool!" Li Ji'an said with a cold laugh, caught off guard. He pressed a palm against the old man's crown.

So he intended to blow himself up with his own blood and qi.

But compared to Li Ji'an's blood and qi, the old man's paltry amount was insignificant.

In an instant, the old man felt a powerful wave of blood and qi nourishing his meridians. His own meager Natal Blood Essence couldn't shake them in the slightest.

And then the blood and qi that had been nourishing his meridians turned into countless fine, hair-thin needles of qi. They rampaged through his body without restraint, bringing unbearable pain.

Li Ji'an, a body cultivator, understood the body's meridian network far better than the old man, a law cultivator. He also knew exactly how to inflict the most excruciating pain.

Without magical power, a law cultivator's body was barely stronger than a mortal's.

"Why are Blood Slaves taken?" After letting him experience level-five pain, Li Ji'an spoke again.

"Hmph! Insect."

"Aah!" The pain rose to level six.

"Which Lineage are you from?"

"How dare a mere insect question an immortal?"

"Aah!" The pain rose to level seven.

"What is the Land Abandoned by Heaven?"

"Pah! If you've got the guts, kill me!"

"Aah!" The pain rose to level eight.

"What are body cultivators and law cultivators? Is the martial path you taught us body cultivation?"

"Dream on if you think you'll force information out of me!"

"Aah!" The pain rose to level nine.

"How far is this place from the Cultivation World?"

"Kill me!"

"What happened to the Blood Slaves you took away before? And what became of a woman named Ning Sujin?"

Only after the old man had endured blades gnawing at his bones and a thousand needles piercing his heart did he finally let go of his once lofty airs as an immortal.

Still, Li Ji'an had underestimated the resolve of cultivators.

The old man would rather die than reveal anything about his Lineage. He answered only what he chose to.

To make him take their group out of this sandstorm region, Li Ji'an had no choice but to compromise. He promised that if the old man took them out of there and into the Cultivation World of Cangyun Prefecture, he would grant him a quick death.

The other four remained shaken for a long time.

"Immortals" could not only be slain—they could suffer, and beg for mercy!

Only after the old man fed spirit stones into the flying boat and controlled it with his Spiritual Sense did they board once more. Five days later, the endless yellow sands finally came to an end.

The five looked upon a desolate, lifeless wilderness, yet felt the same joy they would have at seeing a lush green oasis.

Once the flying boat landed, Li Ji'an drew the blood and qi from the old man's body. His life force faded in an instant.

"Pah!" Zhao Shuyao was the first to step forward and smash his head with a palm strike.

Then the other three stepped forward as well, each leaving their own mark on the old man's body with their respective methods.

A smile appeared at the corner of Li Ji'an's mouth. He understood that they were making a show of their allegiance.

Turning his gaze from the old man's body, Li Ji'an looked toward the distant horizon, organizing everything he had learned about this world in his mind...

The Heavenly Azure Domain!

The Desolate Ridge Wasteland in the southernmost part of Cangyun Prefecture...

The old man's Lineage was at the northernmost edge of Cangyun Prefecture, tens of thousands of miles away.

He was a Ninth Level of Qi Condensation cultivator.

The two masked cultivators were promising new members of their Lineage at the Fourth Level of Qi Condensation.

Guiding Immortal Master Guangling was a prodigy of their Lineage, at the Eighth Level of Qi Condensation.

"Kirin Body Cultivators, Eternal Law Cultivators, Nether Soul Cultivators..."

"A land of absolute spiritual barrenness, abandoned by the Heavenly Dao... And the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty isn't the only place like this."

After standing there for a long while, Li Ji'an slowly exhaled. A speck in the distance caught his eye and gradually grew larger.

"The Cultivation World, here I come!"

After dealing with the old man's corpse, Li Ji'an had them bury the Storage Bags and flying swords they had taken from Guangling and the others.

Then he prepared to lead the four of them east.

Roar! Just as they were about to leave, a beast's roar rang out.

"A Spirit Beast?" The five turned around and saw a canine beast the size of a calf.

There were quite a few Spirit Beasts in the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty, and the five of them had eaten plenty.

At the peak of his previous life, Li Ji'an had also searched all across the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty for Spirit Beasts, hoping to find something special about them. In the end, he had come up empty-handed.

The Spirit Beasts of the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty were wild animals carrying certain special bloodlines. Many could nourish blood and qi and strengthen the internal organs.

They were also considerably stronger than ordinary wild beasts,

but only to a point. Martial Artists above the Blood-Exchange Realm could kill Spirit Beasts as easily as reaching into a bag.

"Careful! This isn't an ordinary Spirit Beast. If I'm not mistaken, it's a demon beast!" Li Ji'an warned.

"A demon beast?"

At the word "demon," which was normally paired with "immortal," all four grew wary.

Roar! The canine beast snarled again, threatening the five while repeatedly glancing at the old man's corpse on the ground.

Tomorrow's update may be delayed.