Nangong Qi's face was gloomy as he cut the third Source Stone, the Big Stupid Elephant.
Shi Kai, the Divine Source reappeared, and there was actually a head of an Primordial Royal Clan sealed inside, with purple hair and bronze skin, and the neck was cut cleanly, clearly by a sharp blade.
"Remains of the Primordial Royal Clan! Their research value is immeasurable!" Even the Mighty Figure present were moved.
The pressure shifted to Ye Fan.
Ye Fan, however, appeared much more composed. His gaze swept across the area and finally settled on a " Honeycomb Stone " in the corner, riddled with holes and appearing to have been eaten by insects.
This type of stone is generally considered "waste" in the field of Source Arts because its internal structure has long been destroyed, making it difficult to nurture rare treasures.
"Kid, you've given up, haven't you?" someone from an ancient Source Arts family mocked.
Ye Fan remained silent and stepped forward to begin cutting the stone.
The stone skin was brittle and peeled off layer by layer, quickly revealing the interior. Sure enough, countless holes pierced through the entire center of the stone, leaving it completely empty.
The onlookers booed in disappointment or schadenfreude.
However, just as Ye Fan peeled away the last thin layer of stone wall that connected several holes, a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of seven-colored light shone through the depths of one of the extremely tiny holes.
Ye Fan paused, his expression grave, and carefully removed all the stone around the hole.
Seven tiny grains of sand, no bigger than a grain of rice, and shimmering with a dreamlike iridescent sheen, lay quietly among the stone chips.
"This is..." An old royal uncle from the Central Continent Dynasty suddenly stood up, his voice trembling.
"Seven, Seven-Colored Divine Sand, a legendary primary material for forging Inherited Saint Weapon and even the highest-grade auxiliary material for Quasi-Emperor Artifact. Although there are only seven grains, their value is immeasurable!"
The entire hall fell silent, then erupted in a deafening gasp.
The Seven-Colored Divine Sand has only appeared in the oldest records and has long since disappeared from the world!
Even a single pill is enough to drive King- level figure mad!
Ye Fan looked at Nangong Qi: "Still want to gamble?"
Nangong Qi's expression shifted, and he finally sighed, "The younger generation is truly formidable; I, an old man, have lost."
With the million-jin bet settled, the Divine Source, the Ancient Insect Divine Source, Seven-Colored Divine Sand belong to Ye Fan.
Three wins!
Ye Fan won this Source Arts duel that shocked the Holy City with an absolute advantage.
The members of the Nangong Clan, the Source Earth Master, looked ashen-faced. Under the watchful eyes of countless people, they gritted their teeth, paid their bets, and hurriedly left, looking dejected.
"Young Ye, you've struck it rich!" Black Emperor rushed over, his dog eyes gleaming as he stared at the seven colorful grains of sand, his mouth practically watering.
"This is not a safe place to stay." Duan De also came closer, his small eyes scanning the surroundings warily.
"You won the bet, but trouble has come too. Hurry, I smell several ominous odors, including the stench of those rats from Hell!"
Soon, the claim that Ye Fan, the Sacred Body, was comparable to the Source Heavenly Master spread, causing a stir both inside and outside the Yaoguang Stone Workshop.
The name of another of the " Three Scourges of the Eastern Wasteland " also quietly and thoroughly spread.
That night, undercurrents surged in the Holy City.
Ye Fan and his two companions found a secluded place to take stock of their spoils.
Black Emperor's eyes gleamed. " Divine Source the size of a human head can help you break through the Four Extremes Realm, Ancient Insect Divine Source can be used to refine a life-extending pill, and the Seven-Colored Divine Sand is priceless. This trip is a huge windfall!"
Duan De rubbed his hands together. " Boundless Heaven, but today the limelight is too intense. This humble Daoist senses no less than ten killing intents fixed on us, among which there must be remnants of Hell."
Ye Fan nodded, preparing to leave that very night.
Suddenly, a deep, rumbling sound came from the sky, like the collapse of some massive structure, accompanied by subtle but unsettling spatial fluctuations, coming from an extremely distant direction.
Shortly after, another similar muffled thud came from another direction.
Within the Holy City, some highly skilled and perceptive elders paled, looking up at the sky with astonishment and uncertainty.
"What happened (⊙?⊙)?"
"It seems to be the fluctuation of a collapsing small world?"
"And not just one place! The direction seems to be west of the Holy City?"
Well-informed major powers quickly received a shocking secret report via communication devices.
"Report! An unknown upheaval has occurred in the Withered Bones Mountain Range of the Northern Region. Spatial disorder has occurred, and it is suspected that a hidden miniature world has completely collapsed!"
"Urgent report! In the ' Lava Dead Sea ' region, where the Southern Ridge meets the Eastern Wasteland, subterranean fire is erupting for thousands of miles, the sky appears to be shattered, and the laws of nature are running rampant, as if an ancient formation has been destroyed!"
A massive spatial rift appeared above the " Desolate Wasteland of Nirvana of the Northern Region," emanating a chilling, deathly aura. The rift subsequently closed, but the Dao traces of that area were permanently altered!
Three anomalies occurred in quick succession, with extremely short intervals between them, and all were accompanied by typical characteristics of small-world collapse.
Considering the recent backdrop of the alliance's purge of the Assassin Divine Dynasty, a startling guess emerged in the minds of a few insiders, sending chills down their spines.
Could it be that someone has directly attacked the small world created by the Saint of the Assassin Divine Dynasty?
Moreover, three places were breached in one night.
The undercurrents within the Holy City were temporarily diluted by this sudden celestial phenomenon.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ye Fan, along with Black Emperor, Duan De, and others, quickly disappeared into the crowd, leaving behind the legend of the " Three Scourges of the Eastern Wasteland " and a mess for future generations to talk about with relish and grit their teeth in disgust.
Somewhere in the Big Dipper, above an endless sea of clouds.
Li Qingshan stepped out from a slowly closing spatial rift, his black robes still clean, as if he had just taken an ordinary stroll.
Behind him lay the third small world on the verge of shattering, the thirteenth prison, the " Frigid Ice Prison."
This place is now filled with Eternal frigid storm and shattered ice laws; the assassin's hall, training ground, and treasure vault that once hid here have all been reduced to ice crystal dust.
Similar to the process of flattening the Nether Spring Prison and the Lava Prison, the process was not particularly eventful.
The assassins guarding the area were merely top-tier Mighty Figure, the strongest of whom was only at the peak of the Second Heaven of the Immortal Platform, no different from ants in his presence.
When Ye Fan arrived in the original story, there were already Immortal King of the Immortal Three. This was because the suppression of the heavens and earth by the Azure Emperor had dissipated, and some Saint Lord-level assassins at the peak of the Immortal Two level of the Immortal realm broke through to the Immortal Three realm and Severing the Dao paths.
We're still in the final, difficult stage of the game; these players haven't broken through yet, and the game version hasn't been updated. But they've encountered a player who's cheating, so it's fair to say they died for good.
One punch was all it took.
The only difference was that, deep within the ancient ice palace at the heart of the Frigid Ice Prison, Li Qingshan found an altar carved from ten-thousand-year-old black ice.
On the altar, ancient cryptic script was engraved with emergency communication runes between some of the different levels of Hell, as well as the approximate spatial coordinates of the other six levels of Hell!
Although not as precise as the memories of the Lord of the Nether Spring Prison, the information he obtained from previous soul searches and his own Cause and Effect deductions were sufficient to pinpoint the location.
"The seventh, thirteenth, and third locations have been destroyed. Now, we have obtained six more coordinates."
A cold glint flashed in Li Qingshan's eyes. "Perfect, let's press on with this momentum."
He did not stop. In fact, conquering three levels of Hell in succession was as easy as eating and drinking for his current level of cultivation.
His solid foundation at Severing the Dao seventh level of the Dao-Slaying Realm, the terrifying affinity between his Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo and the primordial energy of heaven and earth, coupled with the pure life essence generated by the continuous resonance of the three Immortal Divine Medicine in the Bitter Sea, kept him in a peak state at all times.
Guided by the newly acquired coordinates and Cause and Effect lines, Li Qingshan's figure once again merged into the Void.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one for the Big Dipper cultivation community, especially for those ancient lineages that knew of the existence of Hell.
Following the initial three unusual phenomena— the Withered Bones Mountain Range's Nether Spring Prison, the Lava Dead Sea, the Lava Prison, and the Desolate Wasteland of Nirvana, Frigid Ice Prison—
At the border of the Eastern Wasteland and the Central Continent, the latest plot developments are as follows: Click to follow the updates. Deep within a swamp shrouded in poisonous miasma year-round, a soaring death aura suddenly erupts, followed by the collapse of the swamp's center, forming a bottomless, light-devouring giant pit—the Fifth Prison, " Poison Miasma Prison," has collapsed.
In the Western Regions, there lies the ruins of an ancient temple complex, once filled with the sounds of Buddhist chants but abandoned due to an ancient war. From underground, continuous sounds of collapse emanate, and countless ravines crack open in the ground. Dark demonic blood seeps from the fissures, polluting the " Demon Buddha Prison," the eighth prison within a hundred miles, causing it to shatter.
In the frigid Northern Plains, an ice peak perpetually shrouded in blizzards suddenly exploded from within, sending ice fragments mixed with frozen corpses and building debris flying hundreds of miles into the sky. The Eleventh Hell, " Blizzard Prison," shattered.
On the edge of the ancestral land of the Southern Ridge Demon Clan, in a forbidden forest believed to contain the burial remains of an ancient demon saint, all the trees withered in an instant, the ground churned, revealing the destroyed and complex underground labyrinth structure beneath, as well as a large number of mutilated assassin corpses. The Fourteenth Prison, " Demon Shadow Prison," collapsed.
Three hundred miles underground in the capital of a densely populated dynasty in the Central Continent, a hidden space expanded from an ancient imperial tomb experienced a violent rumbling. Although it did not affect the people on the surface, the minor earthquake and earth vein changes it caused still terrified the cultivators of the dynasty's Body Attachment Observatory. The Sixteenth Prison, " The Royal Tomb Burial Prison," was destroyed.
Deep within an ancient Ancient Mine near Life Forbidden Zone in the Eastern Wasteland, an entrance disguised as an abandoned mine, along with the small world behind it, completely evaporated, leaving only the chilling remnants of the Eighteenth Prison of the Dao, " Mine Ghost Prison," on the pit walls.
Nine places!
From nightfall until dawn, nine small worlds, suspected to be the locations of the main branches of Hell, experienced a series of earth-shattering collapses! The impact covered the Five Regions of the Big Dipper!
At first, people thought it was a coincidence or some unknown natural disaster.
However, as one after another collapsed, with such short intervals and such similar characteristics, all exhibited typical spatial fluctuations and signs of the collapse of Dao principles characteristic of small worlds. Moreover, the locations were all sensitive areas vaguely related to the activity areas of the Assassin Divine Dynasty in the intelligence of various major forces.
A shocking and unbelievable conclusion gradually emerged in the minds of all those in the know:
The Assassin Divine Dynasty's " Hell," its most core and secretive eighteen main branches of Hell, had nine of them breached in a single night with overwhelming force!
At least five of them were small worlds that were directly blasted apart and completely wiped out of the world!
The other four levels also suffered devastating damage; their cores were destroyed, and all the assassins were wiped out.
What kind of tactic is this? What kind of power is this?
Terrifying!!!
What kind of tactic is this? What kind of power is this?
Terrifying!!!
It is important to know that each main branch of Hell is protected by terrifying ancient killing formations, guarded by living fossils of assassins from the Second Heaven of the Immortal Platform, and may even contain forbidden artifacts of King!
Its location is so secret that it has never been accurately known by outsiders for hundreds of thousands of years.
Even ancient King would need to spend time and plan carefully to break through one level; it would be impossible to do so quickly, let alone break through nine levels in one night!
Who made the move?
The answer is almost obvious.
The one who has recently clashed most sharply with Hell and has demonstrated an unbelievable speed of growth and strength is none other than the one from Jade Pool!
"It's him, it must be him!"
" Eastern Exalt, he actually dared to go to the lair of Hell all by himself? And he even broke through nine levels!"
"A madman! He's a madman! But also a madman so powerful it's terrifying!"
"This time, Hell has truly been breached!"
Shock, fear, disbelief, and ecstasy – emotions of "being an enemy of Hell " – spread wildly among the top echelons of the various factions in Big Dipper.
The Jade Pool Holy Land, Immortal Pool nestled deep within.
The Queen Mother of the West and several living fossil-level Tai Shang gathered in front of a huge water mirror.
The water mirror displays a summary of brief information from various places regarding the strange phenomenon of the small world's collapse, as well as the increasingly intense speculation from the outside world.
An elder with an aura as deep as a bottomless Tai Shang pointed his trembling finger at the water mirror:
"Nine places, a full nine places! Eastern Exalt, he really did it? And it's only been one night!"
Another elder murmured:
"According to the ancient records of Jade Pool, in ancient times, a King wielding Saint Weapon attempted to annihilate the main altar of a Assassin Divine Dynasty. After three months of effort and heavy losses, he only managed to severely injure the enemy, failing to achieve complete victory. The Eastern Exalt, however, was alone, without Emperor Weapon, and in one night, he was imprisoned in the Nine Hells! This!!!"
The Queen Mother of the West appeared calm, but her hands, hidden in her sleeves, were already clenched tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white.
She took a deep breath and slowly asked, "Has the news been confirmed?"
An Tai Shang said:
"I have confirmed the residual aura at three of the collapse sites through special channels. There are traces of Eastern Exalt's actions, as well as fragments of Dao principles from the collapse of the Hell Killing Array. As for the remaining six sites, although I haven't been there in person, I should be fairly certain. Eastern Exalt should be able to provide detailed information upon his return soon."
The hall was completely silent, save for the sound of heavy breathing.
She paused, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes:
"Once Qingshan sends back the intelligence we've gathered regarding the remaining secondary strongholds and peripheral forces in Hell and the Human World that haven't yet been eliminated, compile it into a booklet and distribute it to all members of the alliance. Tell them that we must eradicate evil completely and pursue the fleeing enemy relentlessly! Qingshan has already broken through their main force; this is the perfect opportunity for us to sweep away their branches!"
"Yes!" The elders were greatly encouraged and responded in unison.
They seemed to foresee that in the coming period, the entire Big Dipper cultivation world would be swept by an unprecedented storm of purges against the remnants of the two Assassin Divine Dynasty.
Jade Pool will undoubtedly take the initiative and lead in this storm.
Murder and arson bring wealth and power.
The ancients were right.
The sky was just beginning to lighten.
Li Qingshan stood on a piece of Void that had just calmed down, with the ruins of the eleventh level of Hell, " Blizzard Prison," beneath his feet. That hidden little world had completely collapsed, chaotically intertwined with the ley lines of the main world, forming a huge pit that constantly emitted yin energy and the aura of death and blood.
He was toying with a pitch-black token he had just found in the heart of the ruins. The token was neither gold nor jade, and it was icy to the touch. The front was engraved with a ferocious character for "prison," while the back was covered with complex star runes.
This is proof of the identity and communication of high-ranking assassins in Hell, and also the key to unlocking certain teleportation arrays.
He already possessed several similar tokens, from assassins of different ranks.
The nine levels of Hell have been trampled flat.
A very fruitful harvest.
Besides these identity tokens, there are also a large amount of Divine Source, rare materials, ancient books and jade slips, as well as seven or eight high-quality King weapons, and even two incomplete saint-level forbidden artifacts. Their power has been damaged, but the materials are precious and can be reforged.
More importantly, by searching souls and deciphering the ancient array diagrams and communication artifacts at the core of each hell, he obtained more clues about the headquarters of Hell, that ancient hall, and the other remaining layers of Hell.
"Nine floors remain, and so does the oldest temple."
Li Qingshan gazed in a certain direction of the Big Dipper constellation, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
The Nine Hells in one night was certainly shocking, but he knew that this was far from over.
The true core essence and highest level of power of Hell are yet to be revealed.
The Human World still hides in the shadows.
However, after this night, the Hell Assassin Divine Dynasty will surely be severely weakened and live in constant fear.
"It's time to go back." Li Qingshan withdrew his gaze, his figure slowly fading away.
"I'll digest what I've learned, consolidate my cultivation, deduce the seventh seal, and, by the way, see what kind of mess that Ye Fan has made of the Holy City."
He knew that his actions that night would be like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, creating towering waves in the Big Dipper.
But he was fearless.
The Severing the Dao; the road ahead is now open.
Demons and monsters, swept away with a single punch.