Bloodlight tore through the sky, and baleful qi flooded the wilds!
Like a blood-red meteor, Blood Skull Old Man descended before the mountain gate with a thunderous crash, wrapped in towering fury and the immense pressure of the Spirit Transformation Late Stage. Rage twisted his withered face, and bloodthirsty red light danced in his sunken eyes. His blood-red robes billowed without wind, snapping loudly. The stench of blood around him was so thick it seemed impossible to disperse, leaving the nearby Blood Skull Stronghold cultivators gasping as they lowered their heads in fearful reverence.
"Stronghold Master!"
"We pay our respects, Stronghold Master!"
Amid greetings that roared like mountains and seas, Blood Skull Old Man's icy gaze instantly locked onto Ye Chen, who still stood with his hands behind his back, looking as calm as if he were strolling through his own back garden.
It was him? A green brat who looked barely weaned? And those few followers beside him, whose auras revealed nothing?
The fury in Blood Skull Old Man's heart burned hotter, but years of licking blood from the edge of a blade kept him from lashing out immediately. He could sense that anyone this fearless must have something to rely on. In particular, the old man standing behind the youth with his hands lowered like an ordinary elderly servant gave him an exceedingly dangerous feeling, as though he were facing a sleeping primordial beast.
"Were you the one barking just now?" Blood Skull Old Man's voice was hoarse and carried a bone-piercing chill. His Spirit Transformation Late Stage spiritual pressure surged toward Ye Chen and the others like a tide, seeking to probe their strength. "You disturbed my secluded cultivation, destroyed my mountain gate formation, and still dared to spout such outrageous words? Boy, state your origins! I do not kill nameless ghosts!"
Facing spiritual pressure that would have made an ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivator blanch, not even the hem of Ye Chen's robes stirred. Emperor Xuanwu behind him did not so much as lift an eyelid. When that surging pressure reached three feet in front of Ye Chen, it struck what seemed to be an invisible wall of sighs, silently collapsing and vanishing.
Only then did Ye Chen raise his eyes and look calmly at Blood Skull Old Man. His gaze was appraising and assessing, as though he were examining an object.
"It seems you have no intention of valuing the chance I gave you." Ye Chen shook his head lightly, a trace of regret in his tone, as though lamenting a piece of porcelain about to be shattered.
"Arrogant!" Blood Skull Old Man was utterly enraged. He had dominated the Wasteland for centuries; when had anyone ever treated him with such contempt? Especially before so many of his subordinates! He hesitated no longer. His withered hand shot out, all five fingers hooked into claws. Bloodlight condensed at his fingertips and became five vicious blood-red streaks that tore through the sky, shrieking like ghosts as they shot straight toward Ye Chen's face!
"Netherworld Blood Claw!"
This claw contained the power of the Blood Fiend Demon Art he had painstakingly cultivated for years, enough to shatter mountains and rivers and corrode the soul! He would tear this brat who knew neither the height of heaven nor the depth of earth into pieces in the cruelest possible manner, making an example of him!
The vicious blood-red streaks arrived in an instant. The foul stench and destructive aura they radiated brought excitement and cruelty to the faces of the Blood Skull Stronghold cultivators watching from afar, as though they could already see Ye Chen being torn limb from limb.
Yet, facing this terrifying blow, Ye Chen merely raised his right hand slowly and extended a single finger.
His index finger was like jade, with a barely perceptible wisp of purple mist swirling around its tip.
He flicked it lightly toward the five vicious blood-red streaks tearing toward him.
There was no earth-shaking explosion, no brilliant flare of bursting energy.
There was only an exceedingly faint sound that seemed to ring directly in the depths of everyone's soul—
"Pop."
Like a bursting bubble.
The five streaks of the "Netherworld Blood Claw," which would have forced any fellow Spirit Transformation cultivator to brace for battle, seemed to encounter their nemesis the instant they touched that wisp of purple mist. Their bloodlight dimmed and disintegrated at once, reverting to the most primitive blood fiend qi. Then the purple qi swept over it, and it vanished completely, as though it had never existed.
Deathly silence blanketed heaven and earth.
The wind stopped, the clouds froze, and even the excitement and cruelty on the Blood Skull Stronghold cultivators' faces congealed.
The savage grin froze on Blood Skull Old Man's face. His pupils abruptly contracted to pinpoints, filled with unparalleled horror and disbelief!
His full-powered Netherworld Blood Claw had actually... actually been flicked out of existence by a single finger, so casually...?
How was that possible?! Even a mighty Void Insight cultivator could not have neutralized his attack so easily! Unless...
A thought that made even his soul tremble rose irresistibly in his mind.
Ye Chen slowly withdrew his finger, as though he had merely flicked away a speck of dust. He looked at Blood Skull Old Man, whose face had turned deathly pale and whose whole body was trembling slightly, and spoke without emotion:
"Can we speak properly now?"
His voice remained calm, but in the ears of Blood Skull Old Man and every Blood Skull Stronghold cultivator, it now sounded like thunder crashing from the nine heavens, shaking their minds and nearly shattering their Dao hearts!
Blood Skull Old Man's throat was dry. He opened his mouth but could not make a sound. He looked at Ye Chen's calm, unruffled eyes, then glanced at Emperor Xuanwu, who had never moved from beginning to end yet filled him with a sense of mortal danger. A bone-deep chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head!
He understood now. This time, he had truly kicked an iron plate—no, he had kicked divine iron that had remained immutable since time immemorial! If the other party wanted to kill him, it would probably be little harder than crushing an ant!
His instinct for survival overwhelmed all his anger and pride.
Thud!
Before the disbelieving eyes of countless subordinates, this Blood Skull Stronghold Master, notorious for his ferocity and ruler of Black Wind Mountain for centuries, suddenly buckled at the knees and dropped straight to the ground!
"S-Senior! This junior had eyes but could not see and offended your heavenly might! Please spare my life, Senior! Spare me!" Blood Skull Old Man knocked his head against the ground, his trembling voice filled with terror and pleading.
Seeing even their stronghold master kneel, how could the Blood Skull Stronghold cultivators behind him dare remain standing? They dropped to their knees in a wave, their heads bobbing against the ground like pestles pounding garlic, their cries and pleas for mercy ringing without end.
Ye Chen watched Blood Skull Old Man prostrate on the ground, his eyes barely rippling. The weak were prey to the strong; that was an iron law of the universe. Before absolute strength, so-called dignity and ferocity were nothing but laughable masks.
"Get up," Ye Chen said calmly. "I did not come here to wipe out everyone under your roof."
Blood Skull Old Man felt as though he had received a grand pardon, yet did not dare actually rise. Still kneeling, he said in a trembling voice, "Thank you for sparing my life, Senior! Whatever you command, this junior... this junior would die ten thousand deaths without refusal!"
"There is no need for ten thousand deaths." Ye Chen's gaze swept over the mountains steeped in baleful qi. "I need a place to stay, and people to handle matters for me. Your Black Wind Mountain is in a reasonably good location."
Blood Skull Old Man instantly understood Ye Chen's meaning. He wanted to... take over everything he had built? A trace of resentment flashed through his heart, but with life and death at stake, it immediately dispersed like smoke. Keeping his life was already a tremendous stroke of fortune!
"Yes! Yes! From this day onward, everyone on Black Wind Mountain will follow your lead, Senior! This junior is willing to accept you as my master and spill his liver and brains upon the earth in your service, without hesitation!" Blood Skull Old Man hastened to declare his loyalty.
Ye Chen nodded, reasonably satisfied that Blood Skull Old Man knew how to read the times. He flicked his finger, and a stream of pure purple qi entered Blood Skull Old Man's body.
Blood Skull Old Man shuddered. He felt a warm current instantly sweep through his limbs and every part of his body. The reversed flow of blood and qi and the damage to his meridians caused by forcibly emerging from seclusion were actually repairing and healing at a speed visible to the naked eye beneath that warm current! Even the Spirit Transformation Late Stage bottleneck that had trapped him for years showed faint signs of loosening!
He abruptly raised his head. His gaze toward Ye Chen was filled with boundless shock and... fervor!
Shattering his divine ability with a flick of a finger, curing his deep-rooted ailments with a thought! What heaven-reaching power was this?!
At that moment, the last trace of resentment in his heart vanished completely, replaced by unwavering submission! Following such a master might... be the greatest opportunity of his entire life!
"Lead the way to your Blood Skull Cave," Ye Chen instructed.
"Yes! Master, please follow me!" Blood Skull Old Man hurriedly scrambled to his feet and bowed as he led the way, his manner respectful to the utmost.
Ye Chen strode forward, and the others followed closely behind.
Wherever they passed, every Blood Skull Stronghold cultivator lay prostrate, trembling and not daring to look up.
In the flick of a finger, Black Wind Mountain had changed masters.
Standing atop this mountain wreathed in baleful qi, Ye Chen looked across the layers of peaks toward the deeper reaches, in the direction of the Demon-Burying Abyss shrouded in dense demonic presence.
He had placed a piece upon the chessboard of the Primordial World. Next, he would secure his position step by step, until... he commanded the entire board.
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