Blood Debt! (Seeking Collections and Votes!)

In the clearing outside the Earth Armor Dragon's lair, the people of the Iron Ox Tribe stared blankly at the scene not far away.

The cave that had sheltered them for the past eight days had now transformed into a massive furnace.

From where they stood, they could clearly see endless flames burning out of thin air within the cavern, scorching the stone walls of the half-mountain until they glowed a deep red.

If not for the rolling waves of Lunar True Water providing a cooling effect, the mountain walls would likely have already begun to flow with magma.

Yet, thick smoke billowed from the cave entrance and shot straight into the sky, resembling a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"This... this..."

Zhamu, Qingshi, the Blind Man, and the others looked at each other, dumbfounded.

"Is this... really just caused by Brother Zhou's cultivation?" Zhamu found it hard to believe.

"Even for a Xiantian lifeform, this kind of commotion is too exaggerated." The Blind Man, Qingshi, and the others had their eyes wide as saucers. The Blind Man rubbed his eyes, feeling as though his own eyes had grown larger over these past few days.

"Mm." Xiangcao nodded.

She had been the one guarding the entrance to the cave where Zhou Hao was cultivating, and it was she who had sensed something amiss and immediately ordered the tribespeople to evacuate.

"Could he really be doing it all in one go, stepping directly into the Xiantian realm on his first attempt?" Xiangcao looked on with anticipation, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the mountainside.

That was the location of the cave where Zhou Hao was cultivating, and also where the water and fire were most intense.

Inside the mountain, the water and fire seeped through the thick rock, forming a massive circular pattern on the smooth outer cliff—half fiery red, half ash-gray.

The pattern resembled two fish chasing each other's tails, possessing a unique and profound mystery.

Seeing some tribespeople wanting to rush back in to retrieve their belongings, Iron Ox hurriedly had Zhamu and the others hold them back.

"If the items are destroyed, so be it. As long as everyone is safe, we can just buy more when we reach Jade Dragon City." Iron Ox shouted, "Zhamu, take everyone to the Mountain Forest Camp first. We'll set off once Brother Zhou finishes his cultivation."

They could afford to huddle in the cave for these past few days, but the Black Sly Beasts could not.

Zhamu and his men had fenced off a plot of land in the forest to keep the Black Sly Beasts there.

It was fortunate the beasts weren't in the cave; otherwise, in the panic of their escape, the creatures would surely have been either burned to death by the flames or frozen by the Lunar True Water.

If they had to walk the tens of thousands of miles to Jade Dragon City on foot, they might not even arrive in a year.

"Understood." Zhamu agreed, and Qingshi, the Blind Man, and others helped organize the crowd.

"Xiangcao, let's keep our distance and stand guard as well." Iron Ox pondered for a moment. "This small mountain is only about two hundred zhang tall, and most of its interior has been hollowed out.

Brother Zhou is drawing upon Lunar True Water and Solar True Fire to cultivate the Chiming Nine Heavens Map. If the entire mountain collapses, we'll be caught in the aftermath."

"Alright." Xiangcao agreed, thinking it made sense.

At this moment, the cave was filled with such intense flames and freezing water that even a Great Demon could not enter.

As Xiangcao took Zhuzi's hand and prepared to leave with Iron Ox and the others, she heard Zhuzi pointing at the sky and shouting, "Big bird! Big bird! Auntie, there's a big bird in the sky!"

"A big bird?" Xiangcao, Iron Ox, and the others looked up.

They saw that a massive avian creature had appeared above them at some point.

Under the sunlight, the feathers of the creature shimmered with a cold, metallic luster.

On its back, two figures were visible. The young man among them raised the long sword in his hand and slashed directly downward.

Chi chi chi~~~

Dozens of Sword Qi threads, like blood-red silk, whistled down from the sky.

"No!" Iron Ox's eyes turned bloodshot instantly. "Dodge! Everyone, dodge!"

But caught in such a sudden catastrophe, how could the ordinary tribespeople—unlike seasoned warriors like Zhamu or the Blind Man—react with such speed?

"Ah!" "No!" "Ah!"...

Various shrill screams rang out.

Those silken Sword Qi threads sliced through the bodies of nearly a hundred Iron Ox tribespeople in an instant. Some were struck by multiple threads, their bodies severed into several pieces.

"Zhamu!" Iron Ox lunged forward.

When the Sword Qi descended, Zhamu had pushed his fellow tribesmen out of the way, only to be struck diagonally across the shoulder by the energy. He was now coughing up blood, his breath fading away.

It wasn't just Zhamu; the Blind Man had an arm severed, and Qingshi had a gaping wound across his chest and abdomen, his internal organs spilling out...

In an instant, the area was filled with wails, and the ground was stained red with blood.

In the blink of an eye, the people of the Iron Ox Tribe had been plunged into a living hell.

"You killed the Young Master of my Black Hand Tribe and thought you could escape? Today, not a single one of you Iron Ox tribespeople will live!" A cold, sharp voice descended from the sky, belonging to the young man who had wielded the sword.

Seeing the young man, Ren Liang trembled and stammered, "Ye, Ye, Elder Ye Feng..."

"Renzha?" Ye Feng also spotted Ren Liang, who was shaking like a leaf. "Motai Jie is dead, yet you survived. Speak! Who killed Motai Jie and Black Wind?"

The entire Iron Ox Tribe didn't even possess a single Xiantian lifeform; Ye Feng did not believe that the Great Demon Black Wind could have died at their hands.

Yet, he had inspected the battlefield outside the Iron Ox camp, and Black Wind, Motai Jie, and the hundred Black Armor Guards had indeed died there.

Wiping out the Iron Ox Tribe was a trivial matter; finding the murderer of Motai Jie and Black Wind was the top priority.

"Go to hell!"

A silver-glinting arrow whistled through the air, streaking from the ground toward Ye Feng.

"A lowly commoner at the Postnatal realm dares to try and harm a noble Xiantian being?" Ye Feng scoffed, casually batting the arrow aside.

Following the trajectory of the shot, he spotted Xiangcao, her face streaked with tears.

"Motai Jie gave his life for you, didn't he? How fitting."

A lecherous glint rose in Ye Feng's eyes. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. Once I wipe out the rest of your tribe, I'll take you back with me. What Motai Jie couldn't finish, I shall do in his stead."

Ye Feng raised his longsword, preparing to slaughter the remaining members of the Iron Ox Tribe, when a sudden bang echoed out.

The cave, already billowing with thick smoke, had reached its limit under the alternating extremes of heat and cold, causing the stone walls above to shatter and collapse in a cascade of rubble.

"Hm?" Ye Feng noticed a massive breach torn into the mountainside, where a figure seemed to flicker amidst a swirling vortex of water and fire.

The burly figure behind him, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke: "An epiphany during breakthrough?"

"An epiphany?" Ye Feng paused, squinting to get a better look.

Inside the cavern, crimson flames and deep azure water flowed like two massive Taiji fish, rotating around the young man's hands.

Between the young man's palms, two miniature stars—one Lunar, one Solar—orbited each other as if in a celestial chase.

"This, this..." Ye Feng's face drained of color in shock. "Could this be the legendary Chiming Nine Heavens Map?"

In all of Ye Feng's memory, the only cultivation technique capable of drawing upon the two supreme stars while manifesting water and fire was the legendary supreme method for Gods and Devils body refinement: the Chiming Nine Heavens Map.

When he had first begun his cultivation, he had attempted to practice it himself, but he hadn't even been able to pass the very first threshold.

Body refinement practitioners could crush Qi-refining practitioners at the same level precisely because the requirements for body refinement techniques were monstrous; insight, aptitude, and soul strength were all indispensable.

Countless cultivators reached the Xiantian realm or even the higher Purple Mansion realm in Qi-refining, yet remained unable to even enter the door of body refinement.

He is having an epiphany? He has already grasped a sliver of the Dao that governs the heavens and earth? Jealousy ignited in Ye Feng's heart like a sudden flare.

Even at the late Xiantian stage, he had only just reached the realm of Heaven-Man Unity, yet this youth in the cave was not only practicing the supreme God and Devil refinement method, but had also surpassed Heaven-Man Unity to reach the legendary realm of the 'True Meaning of the Dao'...

"Must destroy him!" A vicious light flashed in Ye Feng's eyes as he slashed his sword toward the cave wall.

Ssssss!

Countless blood-colored threads sliced through the air, surging toward the cave.

Xiangcao panicked, drawing her bow to fire four arrows in rapid succession, but the great demon Golden Winged Eagle swatted them away with a flap of its wings.

"No!" Xiangcao could only watch in horror as the sword-qi threads vanished into the cave.

Whoosh!

As the sword-qi cut through the stone and entered the space within a few yards of Zhou Hao, it suddenly encountered an invisible barrier.

The Taiji diagram formed by the power of water and fire rotated before Zhou Hao, possessing an invisible grinding force. The blood-colored threads of sword-qi spun a few times within the vortex before silently dissipating into nothingness, failing to even touch Zhou Hao's body.

"I don't believe it."

Losing face in front of Commander Yuan, who stood nearby, caused Ye Feng's temper to flare. He let out a cold snort, preparing to unleash another wave of sword-qi.

"Move aside."

As soon as the burly figure spoke, Ye Feng hurriedly dodged, retreating to the tail of the Golden Winged Eagle.

Whoosh!

A streak of crimson-gold light was hurled by the burly figure, shooting directly into the cave. It only paused when it struck the water-fire Taiji diagram in front of Zhou Hao, revealing itself to be a five-foot-long Red Gold Copper Rod.

Unlike the previous sword-qi, which was intangible, the Red Gold Copper Rod was a physical object imbued with immense force. Though it was hindered by the invisible grinding power of the Taiji diagram, it ultimately pierced through.

Zhou Hao, who had been immersed in his epiphany, was jolted by the impact. He was instantly ripped from his state of 'no-thought' and opened his eyes.

"Cutting off my opportunity!" Zhou Hao's gaze turned icy. He threw a punch, slamming it into the tip of the Red Gold Copper Rod.

Shoo!

The Red Gold Copper Rod flew back like a released arrow, moving several times faster than when it arrived, only to be caught by an arm covered in blood-red demonic patterns outside the cave.

"Damn you!" Zhou Hao was filled with hatred.

For a cultivator, cutting off one's path to enlightenment was akin to killing one's parents—a feud that could not coexist under the heavens!

"Kid, did you kill Motai Jie?" The voice from outside the cave made Zhou Hao realize instantly that the Black Hand Tribe had caught up.

"I killed him," Zhou Hao replied coldly, immediately beginning to circulate the Lunar and Solar energies within his body.

The Cloud Seal patterns that had plagued him for two lifetimes had vanished, and he had gained a tremendous benefit, allowing him to grasp a sliver of the profound and mysterious 'Dao'.

"I will step into the Xiantian realm first, then kill you both." Through the breach in the cave wall, Zhou Hao could see the two figures standing atop the massive avian beast.

"Draw!"

The Lunar and Solar energies already fully ignited within Zhou Hao's body instantly flooded every part of his being.

The Lunar and Solar energies, which were originally like water and fire, were guided by his divine sense to entwine and gradually merge like a Yin-Yang Taiji fish.

Deep in the endless void, separated by countless layers of worlds, the two massive supreme stars—the Solar Star and the Lunar Star—each descended a sliver of Solar True Fire and Lunar True Water. They appeared directly on either side of Zhou Hao, and the power of water and fire in the world was spontaneously drawn and condensed.

"BOOM!"

The entire mountain peak, faced with this power, shattered and exploded as if tons of dynamite had detonated within its heart.

The shattered mountain rocks scattered in all directions, freezing into ice mid-air under the frigid power of the Lunar True Water, only to be pulverized and incinerated as the flames swept through.

In the blink of an eye, a mountain peak was reduced to endless powder, with dust swirling like smoke.

Through the haze, the phantoms of the Moon Rabbit and the Three-Legged Golden Crow appeared dreamlike, circling around Zhou Hao in the center.

"Water and fire descending from the heavens to gestate the Xiantian..." Ye Feng stood dumbfounded behind the burly figure, watching as the Solar True Fire and Lunar True Water were integrated into the young man's body. The skin exposed on his entire frame radiated a mesmerizing luster, as if he were the most perfect crystal in heaven and earth.

He, he just stepped into the Xiantian realm like that? Ye Feng refused to believe it.

It had been at least a thousand years since anyone in the entire Great Wild Plains had been heard of becoming a Xiantian being by relying on the Chiming Nine Heavens Map.

Although this was the first time Ye Feng had witnessed such a miraculous sight with his own eyes, he had studied the methods of the Chiming Nine Heavens Map and knew what kind of phenomena would occur during a breakthrough; this could not be faked.

"Zhou Hao, he killed Brother Zhamu, and so many, many tribesmen!" Xiangcao's mournful cry reached him.

At this moment, Zhou Hao had shed his mortal coil and stepped into the realm of Xiantian beings.

With the aid of the Lunar True Water and Solar True Fire, he had even achieved a perfect Xiantian God and Devil body.

Hearing Xiangcao's voice, Zhou Hao opened his eyes.

There were no longer any mountain peaks or stone walls to obstruct his view.

Below, the Iron Ox Tribe looked like a scene from a blood-soaked purgatory, causing Zhou Hao's eyes to split with rage.

The Lunar Divine Pattern and Solar Divine Pattern on his back instantly surged with power.

Boom! Boom!

A massive fire dragon and a massive water dragon manifested out of thin air, immediately charging toward the Golden Winged Eagle in the sky.

Zhou Hao himself shot forward like an arrow.

Blood debts... must be paid in blood!