Above the Western Sea, mana fluctuations raged as an Immortal-Demon War continued.
The entire sea had been dyed blood-red, as though it had become a Blood Sea. Countless corpses and magical treasures fell from the sky.
On the seabed of the Western Sea, Zhu Yin hid quietly and scavenged from the battlefield. He did not loot indiscriminately, instead selectively taking corpses and treasures in proportion—for every hundred thousand items, he took only a thousand. This neither drew attention nor prevented him from accumulating a considerable haul over time.
With the immortals and demons fighting fiercely, neither side had the leisure to care about the seabed. Who would have thought that a Great Principle expert was quietly "cleaning up the battlefield" below?
Five hundred years later, the Immortal-Demon War finally came to an end. The Immortal Court Estate had been breached, and the immortals were either slain or scattered in flight. Yet Zhu Yin never showed himself, because several Demon Clan Great Principle experts still guarded the sea surface. In particular, the great demon who had breached the Immortal Court Estate had already reached the Late Great Principle realm and was extremely powerful.
Zhu Yin knew well that acting rashly now could easily expose him and even entangle him in troublesome karma. Steadiness came first; that was the path of cultivation.
Besides, he had already made enough. There were too many corpses and spiritual treasures to count, and his goal had been achieved. There was no need to take risks.
With that thought, he transformed into a stream of water and silently departed without alerting anyone.
At the border between the Western Sea and the Western Continent, Zhu Yin suddenly stopped. His gaze pierced through the void, where he saw a figure before the Heaven and Earth barrier—familiar, yet unfamiliar.
Familiar because he had seen this person before; unfamiliar because the two had never truly spoken.
This person was the expert who had once guarded the Immortal Court Estate, Ancestor Xuanxin, an Early Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal cultivator.
He had narrowly escaped the battle and unexpectedly hidden in the remote Western Continent. Resources here were scarce, and few experts paid it any attention, so fleeing here had indeed been a clever choice.
While Zhu Yin silently praised him, his heart wavered somewhat.
He knew that Ancestor Xuanxin was severely wounded and had less than a tenth of his former strength remaining. However, the man still possessed two Medium-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, both quite valuable. Zhu Yin hesitated briefly, but ultimately could not resist. At the instant the other was about to pass through the Heaven and Earth barrier, he suddenly struck.
"Such a rare opportunity would be a terrible waste to let pass!"
He unleashed the Superior Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Wither-and-Bloom Whip. It contained endless Wither-and-Bloom Law, and the moment it was used, heaven and earth turned bleak as all things withered.
At the same time, the Medium-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Spell-Breaking Nail, moved soundlessly toward its target.
Though Ancestor Xuanxin was grievously wounded, he had not let down his guard. The instant he sensed danger, he immediately brought out two spiritual treasures: the Azure Sea Pearl and the Soul-Seizing Drum.
The Azure Sea Pearl stirred towering waves, while the Soul-Seizing Drum thundered, attacking the heart and seizing the soul.
However, such methods were of little use against Zhu Yin. He was already stronger than Ancestor Xuanxin, and he also possessed the Pure-Cleansing Bell, a treasure that protected the Primordial Spirit. The Soul-Seizing Drum could not harm him at all.
The Wither-and-Bloom Whip lashed out, instantly drying up the azure sea. The Wither-and-Bloom Law overwhelmed the Water Law and directly affected Ancestor Xuanxin.
Ancestor Xuanxin's expression changed drastically. The Soul-Seizing Drum he had relied upon was utterly useless, while the Wither-and-Bloom Whip possessed tremendous power, its attacks surging like a tide.
Though at a disadvantage, he remained calm and brought out another High-Grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure... a Mystic Compass.
The moment the compass appeared, the Heaven and Earth Laws fell into chaos, as though Heaven-Earth had been overturned and the Eight Trigrams reversed. It temporarily disrupted Zhu Yin's law-based attack.
Zhu Yin smiled faintly without the slightest panic. He brought out the High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Mystic Light Heavenly Plow, and a force of sharpness slashed toward Ancestor Xuanxin.
This Edge Law was unstoppable. It tore through the void directly, and even the compass could not withstand it for long.
Seeing this, Ancestor Xuanxin did not dare be careless. He hurriedly summoned the phantom of a massive turtle shell, barely blocking the attack.
The moment he saw the Mystic Light Heavenly Plow, he understood that this treasure belonged to the Slate-Horn Azure Ox Clan. Its offensive power was extraordinarily strong, and it had once accompanied the rise of the Demon Clan. Doubt immediately filled his heart: Could Zhu Yin be a member of that clan?
Before he had time to think further, the Spell-Breaking Nail launched a sneak attack from behind, shattering his protective radiance and forcing him to hastily use a spiritual treasure to defend himself.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Taking advantage of the opening, Zhu Yin swung his massive axe. Ancestor Xuanxin could not evade it at all and was split in two by a single blow, his Primordial Spirit severed along with his body.
A small remaining fragment of his Primordial Spirit tried to flee, but it was captured by the Great Cauldron of Vitality that Zhu Yin had prepared long ago and directly suppressed.
His blue robe fluttered in the wind. With a light sweep of his sleeve, Zhu Yin collected Ancestor Xuanxin's treasures as well.
As for that trace of remnant soul, he did not spare it either. He simply erased it completely, lest it leave behind future trouble.
Since the karma had already been forged, he might as well uproot the problem entirely. When calamity rose again in the future, even if Ancestor Xuanxin revived from the River of Time, Zhu Yin would no longer be the man he once was and would have nothing to fear from him.
And Ancestor Xuanxin's true form... a Spiral Tortoise ten thousand zhang long, had also become excellent material for refining treasures.
After dealing with everything, Zhu Yin prepared to continue onward and return to the Western Lands.
However, at that moment, turmoil rose once more above the Western Sea...
A world-shaking roar suddenly came from the depths of the Western Sea.
Violent Rain Law spread between heaven and earth. Dark clouds pressed down overhead, and torrential rain poured down as though a tear had been ripped open in the sky.
A wild and domineering voice echoed throughout the entire Western Sea. "Demon Clan bastards, thanks to you for destroying the Immortal Court and saving my Witch Clan the trouble of acting. Now, by the order of Ancestral Witch Roushou, I have come to take over the Western Sea. Those with any sense should get lost at once!"
His tone shifted as he raised his voice. "The Dao Ancestor once decreed that the Demon Clan governs the heavens while the Witch Clan governs the earth. The four islands of the Western Sea belong to the earth, so they naturally fall under the Witch Clan's control!"
"I am the Witch Clan's Great Shaman... Rain Master. I will give you three breaths to withdraw. Otherwise, do not blame me for being ruthless and washing the Western Sea in blood!"
As his words fell, heaven and earth shook again, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth splitting apart.
Killing intent surged into the heavens. Giant waves rolled across the sea, each tens of thousands of zhang high, and the entire Western Sea began to churn. Even the land along the shore could feel the tremors. Clearly, the Witch Clan and Demon Clan had failed to reach an agreement and had begun fighting in earnest.
At this moment, beyond the distant Heaven Realm barrier, Zhu Yin stopped and lowered his head in thought.
Logically speaking, he should have hurried back to the Western Lands now.
But the Witch-Monster War had just erupted, and all the Demon Clan's upper echelons were tied down. They had no time to concern themselves with the remaining Immortal Islands of the Western Sea. Most of the immortal and demon corpses left upon those islands would be destroyed in the war, leaving not even bones behind.
At this thought, a resolute glint appeared in Zhu Yin's eyes. He turned around and set out west once more.
He intended to slip into the battlefield and see whether he could find an opportunity to gain something. If he succeeded, he profited; if he failed, he lost nothing. If he did not investigate, he would never feel at ease.
Of course, he would not be foolish enough to actively involve himself in the great war. Instead, he would hide to one side and observe in secret. If he found an opportunity, he would take advantage of the chaos for some gains; if the situation turned unfavorable, he would immediately retreat without being greedy.
On the seabed of the Western Sea, Zhu Yin returned to that familiar place once again.
At this time, corpses were piled like mountains across the seabed. Witches and demons slaughtered each other without cease, while the remains of immortals and demons were caught in the fighting and shattered into pieces.
Taking advantage of the Wu-Demon melee, Zhu Yin began quietly collecting corpses. He took only a little each time, accumulating his gains bit by bit. By relying on this method, he collected more than a hundred thousand corpses.
There were over a million corpses across the battlefield, so no one noticed his minor actions. Besides, both sides had already killed until their eyes were red. Who would care whether a few corpses had gone missing?
The same method still produced remarkable results.
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