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The ground shook violently, as though an earth dragon were turning beneath it. All around, buildings swayed on the verge of collapse.

Just then, a figure flashed into view above the crowd.

Li Houjin, [Celestial Zhenjue] of the Eastern Bian Li Clan.

"Let this place be still as undisturbed water."

His gaze indifferent, Li Houjin pointed his index finger at the shaking ground.

The next instant, a mighty power descended upon the violently trembling ground. Just as Li Houjin had declared, it became still as undisturbed water.

He had cast no Divine Ability or spell upon the ground. Merely commanding Heaven and Earth through his Heavenly Being Dao Status was enough to suppress the earth dragon's stirring here.

Such was the mighty power of a Heavenly Being.

"A Heavenly Being! It's the Li Clan's [Celestial Zhenjue]!"

"This Lower Cultivator pays his respects to [Celestial Zhenjue]."

"We pay our respects to the Heavenly Being!"

Once Li Houjin appeared and intervened, the surrounding Qi Refinement Perfected soon recognized him. Whatever their status, and regardless of any grudges against the Eastern Bian Li Clan, they all clasped their hands and bowed.

Standing among the crowd, Zhang Yuan whispered, "Didn't they say no Foundation-Building Heavenly Being would act today? Is the Eastern Bian Li Clan going back on its word?"

"Who the hell knows what's going on? Let's watch first."

Xiao Yuanjun shook her head, her three Divine Abilities itching to be unleashed.

Even with a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being present, she was determined to seize the [Iron Chain Baleful Force] for Zhang Yuan.

"Our Eastern Bian Li Clan is unlike the Western Bian Chu. We have always been known for keeping our word. If we say we won't act against you, then we absolutely won't."

Li Huixi spoke, answering Zhang Yuan's question.

The reason Li Houjin had appeared here was simple: the emergence of the [Iron Chain Baleful Force] had caused too great a disturbance. Left unchecked, it could overturn nearly half of the Bian Kingdom's Capital City.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Zhang Yuan said with a cold laugh.

If they truly were known for keeping their word, why had his Immortal Spiritual Root been gouged out?

Li Huixi turned a deaf ear.

Just then, with the earthquake suppressed by Li Houjin, the thing beneath the ground finally burst out.

It was an earth dragon over a hundred meters long.

Sunlight bathed its scales, yet its overall coloring was far from dazzling. Instead, it was a deep black mottled with rust.

"A dragon?" Zhang Yuan exclaimed.

"Not a True Dragon. This is a manifestation of the [Iron Chain Baleful Force]," Xiao Yuanjun corrected him.

"According to my calculations, a Dragon-Trapping Well stood here long before the Bian Kingdom was founded. Though the True Dragon escaped long ago, the Dragon-Trapping Lock remained underground. As the years passed, the chain absorbed dragon qi and received the blessings of Heaven and Earth, eventually becoming this [Iron Chain Baleful Force] that has now emerged."

Xiao Yuanjun explained the earth dragon's origins.

Ordinarily, the Bian Kingdom's Capital City was where its national fortune gathered. Even if an earthly baleful force existed here, the national fortune would suppress it, preventing its emergence.

But now, with the Demon Empress bringing ruin to the kingdom and its national fortune in turmoil, the [Iron Chain Baleful Force] had gained an opportunity to emerge.

"I see. Then how do we refine this [Iron Chain Baleful Force]?"

Zhang Yuan spoke thoughtfully.

Both the [Stolen-Life Baleful Intent] and [Golden Carriage Baleful Intent], as well as the [Red Phoenix Baleful Intent] hidden within his body, were mild and tranquil. Once acquired, they could be refined simply by circulating his cultivation method.

The [Iron Chain Baleful Force] before him, however, clearly did not look so easy to refine.

The earth dragon formed by the [Iron Chain Baleful Force] emerged from underground and swept its tail. Before the cultivators surrounding it could even unleash their Divine Abilities, a great swath of them was sent flying.

The dragon's tail carried an astonishing imago. All the cultivators it struck seemed to become linked, each suffering injuries equal to those of the most grievously wounded among them.

Those with stronger cultivation could still climb to their feet. Those at third-turn qi refinement or below, like Zhang Yuan, were all severely injured without exception and could only leave in disappointment.

That single blow eliminated two-thirds of the Gang Sha Path qi refiners who had come. Those remaining had either been lucky, like Zhang Yuan's group, standing at the edges beyond its reach, or were at the sixth turn or higher, possessing two Divine Abilities.

"Whether heavenly dipper or earthly baleful force, cultivators must subdue it by their own means before they can refine it. People like you, who have Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Baleful Forces delivered right to their mouths, are exceedingly rare," Xiao Yuanjun said.

Gang Sha Path cultivators captured and subdued Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Baleful Forces, breaking their own shackles to prove the Dao and become Heavenly Beings.

The most crucial part of this was precisely "capture and subdue."

To capture meant to seek; to subdue meant to conquer.

Seeking Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Baleful Forces was one thing. Subduing them, however, depended on the abilities of the Gang Sha Path qi refiner.

This was the true difficulty in cultivation for Gang Sha Path Qi Refinement Perfected. More precisely, it was the difficulty faced by rogue cultivator qi refiners; aristocratic clan disciples could ask their clan's Heavenly Beings to subdue the forces for them.

Zhang Yuan nodded slightly. Looking at the rampaging earth dragon, then at the surrounding Qi Refinement Perfected, he whispered, "There are plenty of people here. Why don't we wait until they subdue the earth dragon, then act and reap the fisherman's reward..."

"Why make it so troublesome? The opportunity is right before our eyes. If we don't act now, what are we waiting for? Take action!"

A divine gleam flashed through Xiao Yuanjun's eyes. Before Zhang Yuan could finish, she shot into the sky, unleashing all three Divine Abilities to crush the earth dragon and the cultivators around it.

[Fivefold Body-Rending Qi] [Ninefold Harmonizing Qi] [Severing Past and Present, Leaving No Trace]!

Xiao Yuanjun's figure flickered, and every time she appeared, she felled a great swath of people. Finally, she reached the top of the earth dragon's head, extended her palm, and slammed it down.

With that single palm strike, the earth dragon, over a hundred meters long, crashed to the ground.

Following the earth dragon's back, Xiao Yuanjun located its spine, tightened her five fingers, and forcibly tore out its tendon.

The earth dragon's tendon was no tendon at all, but a hundred-meter chain.

Xiao Yuanjun turned her delicate hand, and the hundred-meter chain shrank into a two-meter iron chain held in her grasp.

"The [Iron Chain Baleful Force] is here! Come take it if you dare!"

Xiao Yuanjun raised the iron chain above her head and declared spiritedly to the dumbstruck Qi Refinement Perfected around her.

Qi refinement perfection—who was this woman?

Doubt and uncertainty filled the crowd. For a moment, not a single person dared move.

Xiao Yuanjun had acted far too quickly. From her first move to subduing the earth dragon, only three breaths had passed.

While everyone else was still discussing strategies, Xiao Yuanjun had already secured the [Iron Chain Baleful Force]. Anyone with a shred of intelligence could see the gulf in strength.

No one wanted to be the first bird to poke its head out.

"Whoa... Xiao Yuanjun is that ferocious?" Zhang Yuan exclaimed, even forgetting to call her Master.

"Yes, she's certainly very strong at the qi refinement level. Hey, what Dao lineage does your Master come from?" Li Huixi nodded and asked casually.

"I don't know." Zhang Yuan shook his head.

It was not that he refused to tell Li Huixi; Xiao Yuanjun had simply never mentioned it.

Besides, what sect had only two people?

Xiao Yuanjun had settled matters in a single stroke. The surrounding Qi Refinement Perfected dared not act rashly, and the [Iron Chain Baleful Force] was all but secured.

High in the sky, Li Houjin lowered his eyes slightly and cast a glance down.

"This earthly baleful force belongs to the Li Clan."

Li Houjin's words carried the authority of heaven.

The iron chain instantly left her hand and shot into the sky toward Li Houjin.

"Hm?"

Xiao Yuanjun froze. Once she realized what had happened, fury surged through her.

Damn the Eastern Bian Li Clan! They really were a pack of oath-breaking scum!

"You Eastern Bian Li Clan bastards! Give me back my [Iron Chain Baleful Force]!"

Grinding her teeth, Xiao Yuanjun cursed furiously and unleashed two streams of qi to catch the iron chain, attempting to drag the [Iron Chain Baleful Force] back down.