Dirty tricks?

Xu Yang was taken aback, but his interest was piqued. He asked curiously, "What kind of dirty trick? Tell me!"

Seeing that Xu Yang was interested, Zhou Xiong instantly became smug. "I guarantee it'll open your eyes, kid!"

"However, the key to using this method is cultivating my cultivation technique." He glanced at Xu Yang, then quickly changed his words, "You don't have to cultivate it, but you have to use my blood essence!"

Spurt!

He squeezed out a drop right then and there.

The surface of that blood was bright red, but inside it was laced with black, as if a tiny worm was wrapped in it, twitching slightly, making one's skin crawl!

Seeing this, Xu Yang frowned slightly. Just one look at this blood essence sent chills down his spine—utterly evil!

He immediately became highly alert.

Zhou Xiong grinned at Xu Yang, and formed a seal with his fingers.

Whoosh!

That drop of blood essence mysteriously vanished into thin air.

He hadn't caught even the slightest trace.

Xu Yang's pupils contracted, and he quickly asked in his mind, "Teacher, did you feel that?"

"Strange, it's as if it really disappeared. That's quite a technique." Gu Jun was startled—even he hadn't sensed anything.

It could only mean: anyone locked up in here is far from simple!

Xu Yang felt a deeper shock; even his teacher couldn't sense it, let alone an ordinary True Monarch would ever find a trace?

This was astonishing!

Zhou Xiong said ominously, "This technique of mine—most True Monarchs can't detect it!"

"Because it's extremely well hidden, the explosion from this drop of blood essence won't be that powerful, but for those below the level of a True Monarch, without some serious defenses, if it doesn't kill them, it'll cripple them!"

"Appear!"

He shouted suddenly.

Suddenly, air dozens of yards away violently exploded, stirring up a shocking wave.

Zhou Xiong watched Xu Yang with a sinister grin, "During a fight, hit your enemy's weak spot with this out of nowhere. Hehe."

"For a man, what's most important? Imagine hitting that certain spot… what do you think would happen?"

His gaze subtly slid toward Xu Yang's lower body.

Hiss!

Xu Yang couldn't help but shiver, and in his mind he instantly pictured Song Yuanhao!

Song Yuanhao would absolutely lose it!

That's vicious!

That's devious!

The explosion might not be that strong, but the sneakiness—it kills your mind more than your body!

"Is that all there is to it?"

Xu Yang looked deeply at Zhou Xiong.

Zhou Xiong nodded faintly, then suddenly flicked his finger—a drop of blood essence and a spiritual rune flew to the edge of the spiritual seal.

"You can try it."

"With the spiritual seal in place, I can't do anything to you." Zhou Xiong looked completely unbothered.

"Kid, don't trust him!" Gu Jun reminded.

Of course Xu Yang wouldn't trust Zhou Xiong so easily.

Still, even if there's some trick in the blood essence, he's not afraid!

Then—

As the thought arose, the spiritual seal trembled and dropped its guard.

He curled his palm and grasped; the blood essence and rune landed in his hand.

At this, a barely detectable flicker of joy flashed in Zhou Xiong's eyes.

Xu Yang looked up and gave Zhou Xiong a smile, then let the blood essence and rune surge into his body!

"Hahaha, you naïve brat, you really are too simple."

"What a fool—so you're the Daqian Crown Prince? This is the kind of rubbish they have?"

"You're doomed, sooner or later!"

Zhou Xiong laughed maniacally, "Yeah, that's really my blood essence, and I really didn't lie about this trick—but inside it are curse insects! Once you touch it, you're doomed!"

"If you had the spiritual seal, it'd be useless, but you were dumb enough to lower your defenses yourself!"

"Kid, even ripping the Can Clan to pieces wouldn't ease my hatred—enjoy what's coming!"

Yet as his words fell, Zhou Xiong saw none of the expected fear on Xu Yang's face—instead, Xu Yang looked at him like watching an idiot.

Zhou Xiong was stunned, his brows furrowing at once.

"Why isn't anything happening?"

"Even the True Monarch's Supreme Treasure couldn't block a curse insect!"

Zhou Xiong's face darkened, his mind racing, and he tried to trigger the rune.

But his connection to that rune was gone.

Not a trace left!

"How is this possible?"

Zhou Xiong cried out in shock, "You brat, how the hell did you do that?"

Even someone with a supreme treasure couldn't suppress the curse insects and runes in the blood essence without causing some sort of disturbance!

And yet, Xu Yang sat unmoving, nothing happening at all!

Zhou Xiong found it utterly inconceivable!

Xu Yang wore a mocking smile. "You really thought I'd trust you?"

"If I dared take it, I obviously have my own way of handling it!"

"Thanks for the drop of True Monarch expert's blood essence—much appreciated!"

With that, Xu Yang ignored Zhou Xiong's now ashen face and closed his eyes abruptly.

Inside the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod, the blood essence and rune sat motionless!

Even Su Tai couldn't see through the Divine Tripod—how could Zhou Xiong possibly know its mysteries?

Forget anything else; after thoroughly refining just this drop of blood essence and rune, he'd be able to extract a tremendous amount of Purest Essence Qi!

In fact, when he's ready to trigger the calamity storm, adding the power of this blood and rune will boost it even more!

"Damn it!"

Zhou Xiong was furious, but powerless, a mix of grief and rage.

As time passed,

The thunderclouds in the sky suddenly turned turbulent.

Zhou Xiong's expression changed drastically.

Rumble, rumble!

Terrifying bolts of lightning crashed down again, and in an instant, waves of destructive tribulation energy engulfed heaven and earth.

But none of it affected Xu Yang in the slightest.

He acted as if nothing happened, calmly comprehending the Heaven Locking Three Seals in his confined state.

Like cultivating anew, starting from the Spirit Lock Seal, guided by the Barbarian God Hall, he continued to meditate.

In this state, Xu Yang's understanding of the three seals was completely freed from his previous shackles, extrapolating them from a much higher level.

The Heaven Locking intent—rooted in fusing the three seals—to transform the world itself!

Now, in confinement, he had an even deeper grasp of what sealing truly meant.

Time slipped by quietly.

Zhou Xiong was tormented endlessly, his body nearly torn apart, then secretly mended by unseen forces—he couldn't even pass out if he wanted to.

His agonized screams echoed through the heavens, mixed with coarse curses.

Xu Yang seemed isolated from the world, quietly sitting in meditation!

But at some point, Zhou Xiong's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief as he stared at Xu Yang.

"How is this possible?"

"Even if his martial arts involves sealing and binding, how could he possibly produce the same aura of confinement here?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

At this moment, wisps of sealing aura actually flickered around Xu Yang's body—faint, yet to someone sealed here for years, all too familiar.

The sight made Zhou Xiong's scalp tingle in shock!

Even True Monarchs are helpless here, but this kid could find another way within this condition and stir up change?

What does that mean?

If he could master this cultivation technique or divine art, in decades or a century, he might even escape from here!

At this thought Zhou Xiong's whole body trembled, his eyes went bloodshot, his breath coming fast.

He'd long resigned himself to being trapped here, but the sudden glimpse of hope was like finding a spring in a parched desert—jubilant, desperate, out of control!

"No matter what the cost, I have to get it!"

Zhou Xiong licked his lips, eyes now burning with unprecedented heat as he looked at Xu Yang—like he'd just seen a peerless beauty, and wanted to devour him whole!