Xu Yunfan lowered his gaze, staring at the wisps of purple-black Demon Qi still escaping from the Purple Gold Pill in his palm. He curled his fingers, and his Ten Extremes True Qi, like a Melting Furnace, refined it into a Pill covered in flowing dark patterns.

Dugu Jiu finally understood the truth behind the Taoist Sect’s desperate gamble. Bi Yuan had used the Luotian Grand Sacrifice to forcibly seize the Dragon Vein Xuanhuang Qi, willing to be besieged just to push him into the Land Immortal Realm—all to forge this Celestial Sword capable of shattering the End of the Dharma.

Xu Yunfan was the Taoist Sect’s weapon against the Outer Heaven Demons.

The Land Immortals from ancient texts—those who could sever rivers and cleave mountains with their swords—seemed as clumsy as toddlers swinging a hammer before him.

"Elder Dugu, let’s go together."

Xu Yunfan strode forward. His True Qi pulsed slightly, and the air rumbled with a dull sound. "The things inside the Martial Arts Tower should be far more interesting than this Celestial Demon."

Dugu Jiu was silent, waves of regret washing over him.

He watched Xu Yunfan’s back, yet his feet followed involuntarily.

Right now, he wished he could flee a thousand miles away, far from this monster the Taoist Sect had created.

’If I hadn’t taught him the Ten Extremes Martial Arts, which allows one to bring their body to a state of flawless Perfection, perhaps his strength would be a notch lower than it is now.’

’If I had known it would come to this, I never should have taught him the Ten Extremes Martial Arts...’

Dugu Jiu sighed internally. ’I shouldn’t have tried to act like some lofty master. I thought it would take him five or six years just to get his foot in the door with the Ten Extremes Martial Arts, but the next time I saw him, he had already cultivated it to the Great Success stage.’

’Such speed was simply terrifying.’

’Who could have imagined that this young man would use the profound meaning of the Ten Extremes Martial Arts’ "Ten Thousand Laws Return to the Stream" as his foundation, innovating upon it to create a wicked path of devouring others’ True Qi for his own use.’

’Such actions were even more ruthless and tyrannical than those of the great figures of the Demon Dao.’

Xu Yunfan walked steadily ahead, completely unaware of the turmoil in Dugu Jiu’s heart behind him.

Even if he had noticed, in his current state of mind, he wouldn’t have cared in the slightest.

He was currently contemplating the Martial Arts Celestial Eye between his brows.

’The Ten Extremes Martial Arts is indeed profound, worthy of being called the pinnacle of the Martial Dao, but it is far from my true trump card.’

’The Attribute Panel that flickered in and out of view at a thought—that is the true foundation of my rampage.’

’As long as I cultivate any form of Martial Arts, the panel’s feature can analyze and absorb its entire True Intent, transforming it into the foundation of my own Martial Dao.’

’The Ten Extremes Martial Arts merely saved me a few years of detours. Even without this Cultivation Technique, given enough time, I could have reached the absolute peak all the same.’

"Daoist Master, spare me!!"

A shrill plea for mercy suddenly echoed from Nether Spring within the Purple Gold Pill, interrupting Xu Yunfan’s thoughts.

He felt a surge of excitement. His five fingers tightened abruptly, and spiderweb-like cracks instantly appeared on the Pill’s surface.

It was just as he had expected. The so-called body of this Outer Heaven Demon was merely a shell; its true form was the mass of purple-black Demon Qi he had just refined into the pill.

"Elder Dugu, you go on ahead. I’ll be there in a moment."

After tossing out that sentence, Xu Yunfan’s figure suddenly vanished from before Dugu Jiu, making the latter’s pupils shrink violently.

Dugu Jiu only saw a blur, and Xu Yunfan’s figure dissipated like smoke, vanishing completely before even an echo of his words could fade.

His pupils contracted. He instinctively tensed his Sword Intent but couldn’t even capture a single ripple of True Qi. There was no sound of parting air, no trace of rustling sleeves—not even the dust at his feet had been disturbed.

Without the slightest disturbance, without stirring even a faint breeze, he had disappeared right before his eyes.

’Is this... the Body Technique of the Ten Extremes Martial Arts? No, even the Taoist Sect’s most brilliant Body Technique, "Shrinking Inches," should leave some kind of trace...’

His knuckles unconsciously tightened on his sword hilt, his throat going dry.

The man’s power had long since surpassed the bounds of the Martial Dao.

He looked toward the distant Martial Arts Tower, his eyelids drooping slightly. After a few breaths of silence, he did as Xu Yunfan had said and headed toward the tower.

If he were to just leave now, heaven knows if Xu Yunfan would make an example of him upon his return. He didn’t dare take that risk.

-----------------

"Who are you?"

"Nether Spring! This humble one is called Nether Spring, a disciple of Hundred Desires Peak from the Primordial Sect."

Inside an empty room in the Imperial Palace, Xu Yunfan looked at the Purple Gold Pill in his hand, from which the voice was vibrating. He pondered for a moment before continuing his questioning.

Xu Yunfan’s fingertips traced the flowing Demon Patterns on the Purple Gold Pill’s surface. As a large amount of True Qi gathered, the pill’s surface emitted a crisp, cracking sound.

From within the Purple Gold Pill, Nether Spring’s voice trembled so much it was almost distorted, as if an invisible force was strangling him. "My lord, please see clearly! This humble one is merely a lowly Outer Disciple from Hundred Desires Peak, sent to the Divine Martial Realm Heaven on orders to collect some Blood Food..."

His tone suddenly turned shrill. "I was a good person!"

The Demon Qi churned inside the pill, and Nether Spring’s voice abruptly became venomous. "It’s all the fault of that Primordial Demon Sect! I was originally just a village farmer, hoeing at sunrise and cooking by sunset. I never imagined I’d be abducted one day by those Demon Cultivators!"

His words were laced with a hissing, demonic sound, like countless wronged souls crying out in unison. "They pierced my scapulae with iron hooks and forced me to swallow the Hundred Desires Demon Seed... This state I’m in now... I’m just trying to cling to life!"

Xu Yunfan let out a cold laugh. ’This bastard doesn’t have an honest bone in his body.’ The Pill in his palm suddenly constricted, and Nether Spring let out a bloodcurdling scream. "My lord, spare me! I-I’ll tell you everything! If the pill breaks, my soul will truly scatter!"

"Isn’t it the Primordial Sect? Why is it called the Primordial Demon Sect?"

Nether Spring caught his breath, his tone slightly awkward. "Primordial Sect is what we call ourselves. In the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, everyone calls us the Primordial Demon Sect."

Xu Yunfan understood. He continued to press, "And what is Hundred Desires Peak?"

Nether Spring explained breathlessly, "Hundred Desires Peak is one of the thirty-six outer path peaks of the Primordial Sect. We specialize in cultivating the Hundred Desires Devouring Essence Technique..."

His voice trailed off, and he hesitated for a moment. Seeing that Xu Yunfan remained silent, merely increasing the pressure of his True Qi, he finally continued speaking.

"The Hundred Desires Devouring Essence Technique uses the seven emotions and six desires of living beings as cultivation resources. The Peak Master is a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master with several hundred disciples under him, but tens of thousands of Human Cauldrons..."

A cold glint flashed in Xu Yunfan’s eyes. "Human Cauldrons?"

"J-Just mortals with good aptitude and bone structure..."

Nether Spring said hurriedly, "Hundred Desires Peak sets up ’Joyful Courtyards’ in various World Heavens. On the surface, they teach wonderful techniques of Dual Cultivation, but in reality, they secretly extract Essence Qi from the Human Cauldrons. Several hundred years ago, a junior brother got greedy for results and refined the people of an entire city into ’Desire Puppets,’ but he was discovered by a Patrol Envoy..."

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow. Of everything said, what concerned him most was Nether Spring’s mention of several hundred years.

"Can you live for several hundred years?"

"Several hundred years? Can’t live that long, no... Heh..."

Nether Spring’s voice warped within the Purple Gold Pill, tinged with a hint of bitterness. "Forget several hundred years. With the Cultivation of us Qi Cultivation disciples, even two hundred years is an extravagant hope!"

His Demon Qi surged as if recalling something terrifying. "It was a Golden Core True Monarch from the Primordial Sect who used the ’World Heaven Locking Life Skill’ to distort the flow of time! For us, this world actually speeds up the recovery of Spiritual Energy Nodes!"