I Want to Ask When Master Can Return (3K)

Above the Weapon-Refining Grounds, Xiaoyao's Dao body transformed into countless droplets of Dao-law light, invisible to the naked eye, and scattered down like rain.

After vanishing into thin air this time, he never emerged from the restricted area again.

At the same time.

Tan Lin, whose remnant soul lay hidden within a secret place in the Central Region, let out a long breath of relief at the sight.

If this had dragged on for another year, he truly might not have been able to endure it.

But he knew that, at least in this game of hide-and-seek, he had temporarily won.

Next, it would depend on when he went to the Human Emperor Hall in the Central Plains. There, he would face the Undying Daoist and possibly Xiaoyao Heavenly Venerable, who might truly emerge from the restricted area, merge with that fragment of true soul, and fight for his next life.

Worth mentioning was that, at this moment, the Causal Line between him and Xiaoyao Heavenly Venerable darkened considerably once more.

In an instant, many black fireflies sprouted from that line as well. Although such fireflies would shrink dramatically after being refined by the Soul Pearl, they still gave him a slight recovery.

Southern Region of Eastern Wasteland.

North of Ancient Yan Kingdom, Vast Mountain Range.

Inside the Drill Tower, whose restrictions had collapsed and which had been connected to the outside world for over a year.

At this moment, within the small world on the first floor, compared to a year ago, that desolate and deathly region was now brimming with far more life.

Yet bones also lay piled high all around.

Countless cultivators entered the tower one after another, fighting and tempering themselves here.

Some rose to prominence, and naturally some fell. Most of those who died were independent cultivators, while those who "rose" were generally children of great families protected in secret by attendants and elders.

Rustle... Rustle...

The wind and sand here were as fierce as ever.

Within a forest of weathered boulders, a seemingly fair clash at the Other Shore level had just ended.

"Ha! Ha..."

Li Qingjue, who had worn a bronze mask in public since some day a year ago, panted heavily, a streak of bright red blood spilling from the corner of her lips.

The dharma robe she wore over her inner garments, acquired from looting corpses, was now torn in many places, revealing numerous fresh wounds. They were bloody and ghastly, some so deep that bone was visible.

Drip...

Blood trickled down as searing pain surged from every limb and bone, piercing deep into her soul.

Yet she did not even furrow her brow. Her gaze toward the front was like ice that had endured ten thousand years, cold and ruthless.

Thud...

Opposite her, a richly dressed young master from a great family collapsed with a crash. Having fought until his strength was exhausted, he had fainted.

He came from a minor family in the Northern Region of Eastern Wasteland, but he was his clan's current King Body and possessed exceptional dharma artifacts. He was indeed formidable among his peers, and Li Qingjue had not won this battle easily.

Her cultivation was actually a step below his; she had not yet reached the peak of the Other Shore realm.

"Young Master?!"

Almost the instant the youth fell, two furious and alarmed voices thundered in from beyond the boulder forest.

Auras at the Peak Other Shore level carried their figures down from the sky, their eyes instantly locking onto the still-standing Li Qingjue.

The newcomers were an old man and a burly man, both attendants of the youth.

The old man had white hair and beard, his face gaunt and withered, but his actual cultivation had already reached Peak Dragon Transformation. Though his vitality had somewhat declined, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

The other was a middle-aged man.

His limbs were thick and heavily tempered. Even with his realm suppressed to the Sea of Reincarnation Secret Realm here, a faint divine radiance still seeped from the bones of his limbs.

Whoosh...

The old man locked Li Qingjue in place with his aura, while the burly man immediately checked the youth's condition.

"Young Master is unharmed. He merely fainted from exhaustion..."

Seeing that the youth was indeed all right, the old man relaxed slightly and sighed.

"Young Master is still too young and proud. He insisted on tempering himself here alone. Whenever the two of us drew even slightly near along the way, he would only glare coldly at us... After this defeat, I fear it may leave a shadow in his heart..."

Before his words had even faded, he gave the burly man a look.

The burly man immediately understood. He cracked his knuckles and walked toward Li Qingjue with a savage grin.

"Young Master Han is the Qilin of our Tao Family. As a King Body, how could he possibly lose? Once Young Master awakens and sees your corpse, he will naturally know that when his strength was exhausted, you forced yourself through grave injuries and died—not that he was defeated..."

Boom!

As he spoke, the burly man suddenly attacked.

He threw a punch, divine power surging wildly. The air ahead exploded, and Divine Marks wove together as a divine fist as large as a hill came crashing down.

Li Qingjue took a light breath where she stood.

Having long grown accustomed to the ugly faces of these so-called great families over the past period, she was not surprised by the pair's reaction. She had naturally been on guard.

The rudimentary form of the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art had been driven to its limits the moment the two appeared.

At that moment, she brought out the Black Armor Shield she had obtained from Cang Yuhang of Tyrant Blood. Without dodging or evading, she met that hill-sized Divine Mark fist head-on.

Dong...

The instant fist and shield collided, waves of divine power swept outward, making the entire boulder forest shudder violently.

Dust and sand rose in every direction, swallowing the figures within.

An instant later, the Divine Mark fist seal dispersed amid the sandstorm, while the divine shield remained utterly unmoved.

The burly man stared at the Black Armor Shield, shock rising in his heart.

She possessed such a divine weapon, yet had not used it despite suffering severe injuries during her earlier battle with their young master. She had relied entirely on her own strength to contend with him. How powerful was this girl's Dao heart?

But before he could dismiss her any longer.

Li Qingjue had already formed a profound hand seal with both hands. Black light coiled around her fingertips, forming a tiny invisible vortex that reached toward the fist he had yet to withdraw.

"You're courting death!"

The burly man's eyes flashed with viciousness.

His actual cultivation was at the Third Heaven of the Four Extremes. It would have been one thing if she used that shield defensively, but she actually dared to clash with him head-on?

A mantis trying to stop a chariot!

He simply increased the force of his fist by another thirty percent and drove it out again.

Bang...

Yet the moment fist and palm met, his expression changed drastically!

Though he had not activated any arts or divine abilities with this punch, the immense force tempered by the Four Extremes remained. Yet now, it felt as though his fist's power had vanished into the sea.

The divine power surging through his fist and arm was being frantically dissolved by the bizarre vortex of divine power at her fingertips!

What frightened him even more was that a cold, sinister force flowed backward through his arm's meridians, crazily eroding the divine power and vital essence within him!

"What demonic art is this?!"

The burly man cried out in horror and tried to pull back.

Only then did he realize that his arm seemed to be stuck to a magnet, making it impossible to break free for the moment.

"What a vicious little wretch!"

Seeing this, the old man narrowed his eyes. No longer standing idly by, divine power surged within him as he cast an art to besiege her.

Rumble...

In the next instant.

Earth-yellow Divine Marks shot from beneath his feet into the ground, sealing off the surrounding space first and preventing Li Qingjue from escaping.

At the same time, he used this divine art to disrupt the circulation of Li Qingjue's divine power.

Even as he cast the technique, his body flashed like lightning, and he struck toward the crown of Li Qingjue's head with one palm.

His palm wind was fierce, Divine Marks swirling around it with a shriek that tore through space. He clearly intended to kill her in a single blow!

"Get lost!"

Li Qingjue's voice was hoarse and icy from her previous severe injuries, and it also carried a suppressed ferocity.

Over the past year or so, she had devoured and refined the Tyrant Blood essence left behind by Cang Yuhang's corpse. Her Mortal Body had transformed several times and was no longer what it once was.

Facing two opponents alone, she maintained the Black Armor Shield while using her other hand as a sword. A jet-black sword gleam condensed from all her essence burst forth like a venomous snake striking from its den, stabbing straight toward the old man's face.

This sword was swift, precise, and ruthless, displaying the full extent of the Sea of Reincarnation Secret Realm. It contained her boundless killing intent and viciousness.

The old man had not expected her to still have strength left. In his haste, he withdrew his palm and stood firm, earth-yellow Divine Marks appearing beneath his feet to defend against the blow.

Bang...

The sound of metal striking metal rang out.

Li Qingjue did not force the issue after her strike failed, then abruptly pulled back, catching both the old man and the burly man by surprise.

Just as the two thought she was truly retreating.

In the next moment.

An earth-shattering killing aura suddenly erupted.

Boom...

A broken battle spear emerged from Li Qingjue's Sea of Reincarnation after the Black Armor Shield, piercing through the void and shooting straight toward the two.

"Not good!"

At the sight, both the old man and the burly man paled. They no longer had the leisure to obey the ironclad rules of this place.

The burly man no longer suppressed his cultivation. His aura climbed rapidly, exceeding the limits of the Sea of Reincarnation Secret Realm. He then unleashed overwhelming battle power and knocked the battle spear aside.

Drip...

Li Qingjue's old wounds split open, and blood flowed down.

Having activated two extraordinary divine weapons in succession, she was nearly at the end of her strength.

Her body swayed where she stood, but she did not panic. She immediately swallowed a precious medicinal pill, and a trace of color instantly returned to her pale face beneath the bronze mask.

This pill had also come from Cang Yuhang's feathered dharma artifact. There had originally been three bottles, but after her use, only half a bottle remained. It showed just how many brutal battles she had endured over the past year.

"Little wretch, you deserve to die!!"

After knocking aside the battle spear, the burly man fully exposed the aura of the Four Extremes Secret Realm. He suddenly let out a long roar toward the sky, bloody tears falling from his eyes as he shot toward Li Qingjue.

Death awaited him either way. Before the laws of the formation revealed their killing intent, his only chance was to kill that little girl!

He was fast, but the laws of the small world manifested even faster.

Bang...

A law puppet descended from the sky and slapped him with one hand, turning his soaring body into a pile of mangled flesh!

Yet strangely, even after he had become a pile of mangled flesh, a trace of his origin aura still remained within that mass of blood and meat.

And after killing him in a single strike, the law puppet did not immediately disperse. It simply stood silently where it was.

The old man's face turned as pale as gold paper. His hunched body trembled like a sieve, and he could not summon even the slightest thought of releasing his cultivation.

He picked up his unconscious young master and prepared to leave, but Li Qingjue had already raised the broken battle spear once more.

Whoosh!

The battle spear brutally pierced through the shell and origin of both the old man and the youth.

Blood scattered across the sky.