The Evil Heart of White Desire Mountain

At this moment, the void trembled again and Leon slowly walked out of the crack.

"Eh, who is this?"

His appearance immediately attracted the curiosity of many people.

When the Martial Emperor Tomb opened this time, experts from the various Domains had gathered here. Some knew one another from previous encounters, some were rivals with grudges stretching back centuries, while others had never crossed paths before.

Leon belonged to the last group.

To everyone present, he was a complete stranger.

His shoulder-length black hair drifted gently in the chaotic currents. Midnight robes embroidered with thin amethyst patterns fluttered around him, giving him an elegant yet mysterious appearance. His handsome face remained calm, while his deep purple eyes quietly observed everything around him.

Many people narrowed their eyes.

A young cultivator.

Too young.

Yet he had somehow reached this battlefield where pinnacle-realm experts gathered.

No one believed such a person was ordinary.

Leon took a step forward and instantly appeared beside Anna.

The moment he arrived, he felt countless gazes land on him.

Some were curious.

Some were cautious.

Some carried hostility.

Leon merely glanced around.

"Hmm... Why are there so many people here?"

His gaze swept across the battlefield.

Powerful auras filled every direction.

Some experts stood atop floating fragments of broken stone.

Others sat cross-legged in the void, silently observing the battle among the ancient beasts.

The chaotic space itself seemed unable to bear the pressure of so many powerful cultivators.

Leon pondered quietly.

These should be the top experts of the various Domains.

After all, only true elites could survive in such a place.

Leon didn’t know much about the experts from the other Domains. Since entering the Martial Emperor Tomb, he had spent most of his time searching for opportunities and tracking his targets.

Anna was the first major genius from another Domain he had properly met.

Through her, he had learned that another branch of Celestis Academy existed within the Celestial Crown Domain.

Since this was his first time meeting so many experts, Leon remained surprisingly low-profile.

At least on the surface.

He simply stood beside Anna without showing any arrogance.

Then—

His eyes paused.

He suddenly noticed a strange gaze.

It felt sticky.

Greedy.

Disgusting.

Leon followed that gaze and immediately found its source.

An old man.

The old man was staring directly at Anna.

Not glancing.

Not observing.

Staring.

His eyes crawled across her body without any restraint whatsoever.

Leon rubbed his chin.

Understanding instantly appeared in his eyes.

"Junior Sister, you’re really beautiful. You attract both old and young. Look, this old man hasn’t blinked since you came here..."

Anna’s expression immediately turned cold.

"Disgusting."

The surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

Leon became interested.

"Junior Sister, do you know this person?"

Anna looked toward the old man.

Disgust flashed through her beautiful eyes.

"This person is the Patriarch of the Empyrean Immortal Domain’s White Desire Mountain. His surname is Vartak, but his true name is unknown. Everyone calls him Daoist Vartak. His cultivation method can be described as despicable, disgraceful, and disgusting."

Leon raised an eyebrow.

His curiosity instantly grew.

Especially after hearing Anna describe it that way.

What kind of cultivation technique could make someone as proud as Anna show such obvious disgust?

"Junior Sister, can you tell me in detail? I’m quite curious about how despicable it is."

Anna turned around and stared at him.

For a moment, she looked conflicted.

Should she explain it?

It wasn’t exactly a topic she liked discussing.

Especially not with Leon.

The thought alone caused her ears to warm slightly.

After a long pause, she finally sighed.

"How else can he be despicable? The secret technique he cultivates is a Yin-Yang cultivation technique."

Her voice became colder as she continued.

"It is a forbidden cultivation technique based on dual cultivation. One Yin, one Yang. Yin serves as the support while Yang serves as the core. Through their union, the practitioner rapidly increases his cultivation."

Leon nodded thoughtfully.

"So far, it sounds normal."

Anna instantly glared at him.

"Let me finish."

Leon immediately raised both hands in surrender.

"Please continue."

Anna took a deep breath.

Then her expression became even colder.

"To cultivate this technique, he uses women as cultivation cauldrons."

The moment those words left her mouth, killing intent flashed through her eyes.

"He forcibly takes talented women, beautiful women, and even female geniuses. Then he turns them into cultivation resources."

"He harvests their Yin energy."

"He uses them as cultivation partners against their will."

"He drains their vitality, talent, and cultivation until nothing remains."

"Many never leave White Desire Mountain alive."

The more she spoke, the colder her voice became.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze.

"This is not ordinary dual cultivation."

"This is an evil cultivation art."

"A demonic cultivation method."

"A forbidden cultivation technique that treats human beings as tools."

Leon’s smile slowly disappeared.

His eyes darkened slightly.

Now he understood.

In many cultivation worlds, dual cultivation wasn’t inherently evil.

But using unwilling victims as cultivation cauldrons...

Treating people as resources...

Harvesting Yin energy by force...

That was a completely different matter.

That was no longer cultivation.

That was exploitation.

That was evil.

Anna continued.

"All these years, every beautiful female student taken into White Desire Mountain has entered his Primordial Chaos Hall."

Her hands unconsciously clenched.

"And none of them ever appeared again."

A chill passed through her body.

Even after all these years, the stories remained horrifying.

Leon remained silent for several seconds.

Then realization appeared in his eyes.

"Oh, so that’s what happened..."

A strange smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"I didn’t expect Junior Sister to know so much about this."

The moment those words left his mouth—

Anna froze.

Then her face instantly turned red.

"Leon!"

Her voice echoed throughout the void.

Several nearby experts immediately looked over.

Anna nearly exploded from embarrassment.

Was that the point!?

That wasn’t the point at all!

This shameless man.

Why did he always focus on the strangest details?

"Haha... Alright, alright. I won’t tease you anymore."

Leon laughed.

The sight of Anna’s furious expression was simply too amusing.

Anna turned away immediately.

"Hmph."

Her cheeks remained red.

She refused to look at him.

If she looked at him any longer, she might actually lose her temper.

Yet despite her anger...

Her heartbeat betrayed her.

Again.

Just like before.

Every time she spoke with Leon.

Every time she looked at him.

Every time he smiled.

Her heart seemed to lose control.

Anna secretly bit her lip.

Why?

Why did this keep happening?

This feeling was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Ah...

How annoying.

This detestable man truly seemed like her natural nemesis.

Meanwhile—

Not far away—

Vartak watched everything.

Every word.

Every smile.

Every interaction.

The greed in his eyes gradually transformed.

Into something darker.

Into something colder.

Into killing intent.

His gaze moved between Anna and Leon.

Especially when he saw Anna’s reaction toward Leon.

His expression became uglier and uglier.

To him—

Anna was already his prey.

A perfect cultivation cauldron.

The future foundation for his Yin-Yang cultivation.

Yet now another man was casually standing beside her.

Talking with her.

Laughing with her.

Making her blush.

How could he tolerate such a thing?

Nobody had ever dared touch something he wanted.

Nobody.

The surrounding chaotic energy began swirling around him.

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

He carefully observed Leon.

Young.

Very young.

Too young.

At most, Vartak guessed he was an early pinnacle-realm cultivator.

Perhaps slightly stronger.

But that didn’t matter.

In Vartak’s eyes, youth meant weakness.

Talent meant potential.

And potential meant nothing if one died before reaching greatness.

Over the years, he had personally buried countless geniuses.

Some were more talented than Leon.

Some possessed legendary physiques.

Some were even hailed as future rulers of their generation.

Yet they all died.

Because they lacked time.

Thinking of this, a sinister smile slowly appeared on Vartak’s face.

The smile resembled a poisonous snake preparing to strike.

"Hehe... another peerless genius is going to die in my hands."