The farther he went toward Kunlun's main peak, the lower the temperature dropped and the harsher the wind and snow became.
The endless snow quickly swallowed the footprints behind him.
Traces unlike those of ordinary beasts appeared frequently here, telling of the danger posed by the Molting Beasts lurking in the area.
Ordinary people—or even ordinary Martial Dao cultivators—could barely take another step here.
Unless you really were Heaven's own darling, with opportunities dropping into your lap while you sat at home, don't spout such foolish nonsense as "opportunities go to the worthy."
Going by Yuan Tianzong's own experience, he had never believed that kind of bullshit.
Opportunities weren't something you waited for. You had to seize them!
Along the path where the footprints had disappeared, one Molting Beast after another lay sprawled in the snow, their heads turned every which way. They couldn't stop Yuan Tianzong's progress.
As he set foot in this secluded place, far from the bustle of the cities, all he could think about was the desire to break through in cultivation. Whoever dared to stand in his way, human or monster, would be killed!
Walking on and stopping now and then, Yuan Tianzong furrowed his brow, wondering whether he could obtain a cultivation art here.
After searching for several days, he had gradually made his way toward Kunlun's main peak, "Heavenly Pillar." Ever since the phantom of the South Heaven Gate had stretched across the sky above Kunlun, it had not appeared again.
Many people suspected that someone had already taken the opportunity it offered—or perhaps a mirage was simply a mirage.
Such a magnificent sight could not have appeared out of nowhere. It had to portend something.
Yuan Tianzong believed this without a doubt.
What worried him most now was that someone might have gotten to the opportunity first—and that they were shrewd enough not to let a single word of it leak out.
If that were the case, he could turn all of Kunlun upside down and still accomplish nothing but waste his time.
Fortunately, his anxiety vanished not long afterward.
The opportunity had appeared right before his eyes, plain as day!
Golden Mist—more of the Golden Mist that had appeared not long ago.
But this time, it was extraordinary in scale.
He looked up at the towering Heavenly Pillar peak. It was almost entirely shrouded in Golden Mist that had suddenly billowed into view. From afar, the golden peak resembled a ladder reaching up to the heavens, stretching straight toward the edge of the sky!
Without pausing, Yuan Tianzong broke into a sprint. The gale howled past his ears, and a black streak raced across the snowy ground at astonishing speed.
In the corner of his eye, the sun, its light already fading, was about to disappear. The Golden Mist shrouding Heavenly Pillar grew ever more dazzling.
And Yuan Tianzong wasn't alone.
At that very moment, countless Martial Dao cultivators came rushing from every direction, while Molting Beasts that had been lurking in the snowy mountains also emerged to attack.
Humans and beasts crowded onto the same track. As day and night traded places at dusk, the stage for slaughter was set!
ROAR!!
The mountains split and the earth cracked as avalanches raged!
A group of Snow Apes, each over two meters tall and filled with ferocious malice, exploited the terrain, using avalanches to kill human martial artists one after another. Then they tore into their flesh, drinking their blood and devouring their sinews!
The glacier beneath their feet suddenly burst apart. Ferocious Snow Snakes sprang out and swallowed a human whole, drawing cries of terror from the crowd.
Birds of prey dived from the sky, carrying people into the air as a rain of blood scattered below.
As Yuan Tianzong fought his way forward, he furrowed his brow slightly. For some reason, he felt that these Molting Beasts were less eager for the Golden Mist than the humans before him.
Were they just bloodthirsty by nature?
Yuan Tianzong gave it no further thought and punched a Snow Ape that lacked the sense to stay out of his way to death.
That might have been fine, but the moment he killed it, the surrounding Snow Ape clan turned their attention toward him. Never ones to forget a grudge, they all charged at Yuan Tianzong with roars.
"Beasts! You don't know when to give up!"
With the opportunity right before him, Yuan Tianzong had no desire to deal with them. But they insisted on making trouble for him.
Then he'd wipe out their clan!
As murderous intent rose, his surging true qi swept outward like an invisible sea!
ZZZT!
"My sword!"
"My saber!"
The humans within a hundred meters cried out in alarm. The swords and sabers in their hands had flown away against their will, then gathered around a man surrounded by Snow Apes as everyone watched in shock.
At that moment, the Snow Apes finally realized that the human before them was no easy target.
The Snow Ape leader growled low, and its clanmates stopped and retreated.
"Retreat? Too late!"
Swords and sabers swirled around Yuan Tianzong, their afterimages swift as the wind.
The moment he charged into the Snow Ape horde, a scene of overwhelming, visually stunning slaughter began!
SPLURT!
SPLURT!
SPLURT!
Blades tore through flesh, and blood bloomed again and again like flowers.
The Snow Apes had powerful bodies and tried to fight back, but whether they stretched out their muscular arms or their claws and fangs, hard as Vajra, anything they dared to thrust forward was mercilessly severed!
A Snow Ape, shielded by its clanmates, broke through the formation of blades and charged at Yuan Tianzong, overflowing with hatred. The next instant, a punch killed it.
You might think you'd made it through the gauntlet, but you'd never know that Yuan Tianzong, born in the Dharma-ending era, excelled at close-quarters combat!
He had reached the Grandmaster realm in the Dharma-ending era. In that age, when Heaven and Earth Origin Energy had run dry, his body had undergone a transformation, surpassing the mortal body!
The people nearby were stunned by the slaughter before them!
"So strong!"
"What terrifying combat prowess! He's cutting down Snow Apes like vegetables!"
"He controls dozens of swords and sabers? What realm is he in?"
"He must be some rich guy who's had his body enhanced with technology. Otherwise, there's no way he could do that!"
"Must be nice to be rich..."
Seeing his kin slaughtered like this, the exceptionally tall Snow Ape chieftain reined in its ferocity, knelt, and kowtowed. It was remarkably intelligent.
But the flying blades were colder than the wind and snow. They swept past and severed the ape's head!
In less than ten minutes, nearly a hundred Snow Apes lay on the ground. Their blood had stained the entire snowy field red, with limbs strewn everywhere and few bodies left intact.
The bloodied swords and sabers hit the ground.
The figure strode away over the snow, leaving behind a crowd still in shock and already losing the will to compete.
Come on, man. You expect me to fight someone like that for the opportunity?
The best strategy was to defeat the enemy without fighting.
And in the Martial Arts World, the strongest were undoubtedly those who struck directly at one's Dao heart, leaving you with no desire to even make a move.
Yuan Tianzong was clearly an expert at that.
The Dharma-ending era should have been a pivotal moment on the road to prosperity, but his arrival shattered the Dao hearts of those who fancied themselves prodigies.
He was an insurmountable mountain. Whenever people thought of him, they lost all motivation to cultivate.
He rushed straight toward the summit of Heavenly Pillar.
The number of human martial artists and Molting Beasts around him dwindled. Every one of them had fought their way out of the chaos and emerged as a powerful contender!
Yuan Tianzong had absorbed the Golden Mist once before and knew full well that it had an extraordinary effect on improving the spirit. Just as he was about to sit down and circulate his true qi to refine it, the sight higher up caught his attention.
Compared with the hazy Golden Mist before him, the Golden Mist in the Heavenly Lake at the mountaintop blazed like fire!
Yuan Tianzong abruptly stopped and stared. One golden light after another appeared out of thin air, a sight of breathtaking beauty.
Suddenly, what seemed like the sound of flowers blooming echoed through the air.
One golden lotus after another rose from the Heavenly Lake, visibly unfolding in a beautiful, crystalline, mysterious glow. They filled the lake.
The mysterious golden lotuses seemed to come in different grades, ranging from large to small. Some opened to reveal many petals, while others had far fewer.
When a golden lotus grew beyond a certain size, intricate Dao patterns of unknown meaning began to drift around it!
A great fortune!
The earth shook. Yuan Tianzong leaped into the air and shot toward the Heavenly Lake at a speed like never before!
"I am Zhong Wanli of Yin Xu Mountain! Whoever dares to fight me for this opportunity will die!"
At his domineering declaration, every living creature around the Heavenly Lake turned to look. Amid flashes of lightning, an old man charged toward them, four swords circling him and forming the shape of a thunder dragon, his aura astonishing.
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