Three years of slavery had taught him a profound lesson: only the victors could enjoy everything, while the defeated could only suffer humiliation at others' hands.
"My forebears lost, so I spent three years as a slave."
"Now it's my turn to be the victor and conquer you."
Qin Tian formed seals with both hands, drawing on the Sacred Formation's last sliver of power.
The dazzling radiance grew brighter still. Splendor filled the center of the grounds, and four-colored light shot into the sky, as though the gates to the Immortal Realm had opened. Clouds of four-colored mist surged forth, enveloping this stretch of heaven and earth.
Not only the mine owner, but even the mine supervisors-anyone who had ever offended Qin Tian-would be spared.
He had never been particularly forgiving.
Rumble!
This was a terrifying surge of energy beyond imagination. The power of the Four Symbols seemed to return everything around it to its primordial state, becoming the sole presence between heaven and earth as it blazed fiercely.
"No, no, no!" The mine owner panicked and tried to flee, but it was already too late.
The power of the Four Symbols swarmed over him, erasing his physical existence outright. The shock waves struck the ground, instantly shaking the earth and mountains and sending ripples surging outward.
When the dust dispersed, heaven and earth became clear again.
Devastation filled their vision. The place where the leaders had stood was already a wreck, and many Mine Slaves caught in the shock waves had fallen to the ground.
"He's getting away! Stop him!" someone shouted.
At some point, "Qin Tian" had stepped onto the Profound Jade Platform.
The method for making a Profound Jade Platform had also been left behind by Cao Yusheng. That scripture was full of life-saving array formations and techniques; naturally, something as vital to survival as the Profound Jade Platform would not be missing.
As for the materials for the Profound Jade Platform, he had naturally dug them out of the mineral veins.
Unfortunately, with the Sacred Formation destroyed, Qin Tian's final strike had been unable to kill every cultivator of the Yaoguang Holy Land present.
The remaining experts in the Source Area flew into a rage and roared, "Catch him! Don't let him escape!"
"He dares defy the majesty of the Yaoguang Holy Land? I'll make him beg for life and be denied, beg for death and be refused!"
"A mere Divine Bridge cultivator-how dare he!"
"Quick, attack together! Kill him!" someone bellowed.
At once, streaks of radiance hurtled toward the altar, unleashing boundless killing intent. With a thunderous boom, Qin Tian exploded atop the Profound Jade Platform, turning into scraps of paper that filled the sky.
"He's not real! He's a paper effigy!"
Everyone stood rooted to the spot, staring at the paper effigy fragments fluttering through the sky.
"Someone as cautious as me? How could I possibly step out there for real?" Hidden in the shadows, Qin Tian grinned.
If no one appeared, they would definitely keep searching. What if they found him?
That made it essential to send a "person" out to draw their fire.
As for his real name? So what if they knew it? Let them come!
This was Shrouding the Heavens!
If he did not even dare give his name, he might as well go home, wash up, and get to bed.
Caution did not conflict with the path of invincibility.
Caution was necessary for survival, but it did not mean cowering in fear or hiding forever in the shadows, too frightened to show his face.
Having come to Shrouding the Heavens, how could he attain the Dao and climb step by step to the very summit without making an enemy of the entire world?
Soon, another Qin Tian appeared before everyone.
"Ciao!" This Qin Tian waved, then sent his divine power surging into the Profound Jade Platform.
The next instant, the formation lit up, connecting to the boundless void and shifting space. His entire figure vanished.
"Where do you think you're going?"
At that moment, a Half-Step Great Power soared into the sky and unleashed a lethal strike. Dazzling divine light surged forth in a mighty torrent, raising a thousand layers of wind and waves and twisting the space that had only just settled down.
Someone approached and asked, "My lord, what happened to that brat?"
"I interrupted the Profound Jade Platform at the last moment, disturbing the void. With his cultivation, he was most likely ground to dust," the Half-Step Great Power said gravely.
Crossing the void was extremely dangerous. Once an accident occurred, one could easily be smashed to pieces.
Among the crowd, Qin Tian watched that Half-Step Great Power unleash his dazzling attack and disrupt the void.
Yes, the Qin Tian who had appeared before them was still a paper effigy. His true body remained hidden in the crowd.
"That's why caution is what really counts." Qin Tian sighed ruefully. The paper effigy, whose vision he shared, had seen the Half-Step Great Power disturb the void at the last moment.
The void fluctuated, giving rise to turbulent currents. To living beings, this was an unstoppable "overwhelming tide."
Space collapsed into oblivion, something flesh could not withstand. It destroyed everything and extinguished all vitality, as though it would drive the world back to its original starting point.
The paper effigy Qin Tian sighed and opened his eyes wide, witnessing the onslaught of the void's turbulent currents.
He hoped to pass this nourishment on to Qin Tian, contributing something to Qin Tian's path.
Qin Tian gave a muffled groan. The backlash from the paper effigy's death left his head feeling as though it would split, as if needles were piercing it.
That had not been an ordinary paper effigy, but one imbued with a sliver of his divine sense and the concept of his Past Self.
In terms of time, the paper effigy was Qin Tian. Only this had allowed him to fool everyone present.
"As expected of the Yaoguang Holy Land. It really is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers!" Qin Tian clicked his tongue. The Profound Jade Platform he had buried beneath his feet well in advance activated, and he left without a sound.
Now that was caution!
Qin Tian departed safe and sound, but the storm had only just begun.
At the ceremony welcoming Yaoguang Great Power, blood had stained the skies, and the Great Power had been cleaved apart on the spot.
The Mine Slaves stood there in a daze. The shopkeeper was present too, hoping to use this opportunity to make connections with some high-ranking cultivators.
Who could have imagined something like this would happen—that Yaoguang Great Power and the "little Mine Slave" in his eyes would one day become connected?
Even that Yaoguang Great Power had been slain. It all felt like a dream, an illusion.
He instinctively slapped himself to confirm that he was not still half asleep, then exchanged bewildered looks with his employees.
"How is this possible? He was clearly just a Mine Slave!"
"How could he possess such tremendous power? This... this is simply unbelievable!" The shopkeeper stared blankly at the place where Qin Tian had vanished.
Suddenly, something seemed to occur to him. Silently, he took a bottle of beast milk out of his Bitter Sea, then... drained it in one gulp.
Then he turned and left. He was going to establish a rule for his family.
From this day onward, every young child would drink beast milk with all three meals every day!
A supreme elder of the Yaoguang Holy Land had fallen. The entire Northern Region, even the whole Eastern Wasteland, would be shaken. Shock swept through all ten directions!
Every cultivator in this region was stunned. This was an earthshaking event; the fury of the Yaoguang Holy Land would likely burn across the world.
"A Great Power of Yaoguang was killed. I heard the killer was merely a minor cultivator in the Divine Bridge Secret Realm."
"A Divine Bridge cultivator killing a Great Power? Even jokes should have limits! Not even an Ancient Great Emperor could have done that in his youth."
"No, it's true. But that youth didn't rely on his own strength. He borrowed outside power and used an array formation to kill him."
"How ridiculous. A supreme elder of the Yaoguang Holy Land actually got killed with his own holy land's Sacred Formation."
"It's truly hard to believe. He roamed the Eastern Wasteland unchallenged for years, and was once the Yaoguang Holy Son, yet someone killed him. Even his primordial spirit was cut in half, and his ashes were scattered."
"I wonder how the Yaoguang Holy Land feels about that!" someone at odds with the Yaoguang Holy Land said, gloating over its misfortune.
"Kill!"
It did not disappoint. The moment the news spread, the Yaoguang Holy Land issued an order to kill him without fail, and even offered a bounty.
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