"Life and Death Yin Yang Spirit? The first wisp of spiritual energy from a dying person?"

Peering through the air with his Eyes of Golden Flame, Qin Fan froze when he saw the black energy rising from Orochi’s body. He exclaimed in disbelief, his face a mask of horror.

As a cultivator whose goal was to ascend and become an Immortal, his knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary people. In a world with gods and immortals, there were naturally ghosts and demons as well. Heavenly Dao Reincarnation was the cyclical fate of all living beings.

To modern people, death was like a lamp being extinguished—an end to everything. But that wasn’t the truth. The Heaven, Earth, and Human Three Realms each had their own laws. The Earth Realm referred to the Underworld, and the Death Realm was the place that allowed souls from the Human World to be reborn after death.

The key to entering the Earth Realm to undergo reincarnation was the Life and Death Yin Yang Spirit manifested at the moment of death. Once that wisp of Yin Yang Qi Spirit was stolen, it meant not only that one could not be reborn, but that one wouldn’t even qualify to be a wandering ghost. That was the true, final end.

But now, so many wisps of Life and Death Yin Yang Spirit were emerging from Orochi. What did this mean? It meant that the chance for countless people to be reincarnated had been obliterated. As a Demon Beast, Orochi certainly didn’t possess such an ability. The only explanation was that this was the work of the Onmyoji who had revived it.

How despicable! Utterly despicable! To forcibly erase the reincarnation rights of countless people just to revive Orochi?

At that moment, even Qin Fan, the Shura Venerable who had ended countless lives, felt a chill run down his spine.

The vile nature of these Japanese devils is truly ingrained in their very bones!

However, knowing this, Qin Fan did not stop the Evil Spirit Zen Staff from its absorption. After all, these were the Life and Death Yin Yang Spirits of Japanese devils. If they couldn’t reincarnate, so be it. Why would he show mercy and spare them?

Watching as the Evil Spirit Zen Staff gathered every last wisp, Qin Fan heaved a heavy sigh. The battle with Orochi had simply drained too much of his True Yuan.

BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ—!

Once all the Life and Death Yin Yang Spirits within Orochi had been completely absorbed, the Evil Spirit Zen Staff began to tremble violently. The engravings on its body grew deeper and smoother. Without being summoned, the Evil Spirit Zen Staff flew back into Qin Fan’s hand, seemingly filled with joy.

"Tsk, tsk. Looks like this batch of Life and Death Yin Yang Spirits will keep you busy for a while," Qin Fan murmured with a chuckle, stroking the increasingly smooth and deep engravings.

As if it understood, the staff vibrated with a soft ringing sound.

"Alright, go back and behave yourself."

With that command, the Zen Staff vanished from his hand, returning to his storage space.

RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE—!

Just then, the sound of rushed footsteps came from behind him.

"Master Qin, is Orochi dead?" Hua Xiaotian asked, staring in absolute shock at the python-sized creature on the ground. If he hadn’t just witnessed Orochi’s utter defeat at Qin Fan’s hands, Hua Xiaotian would never have believed that this creature with a completely charred head was the colossal serpent from before.

"Yes. It’s dead," Qin Fan replied softly, his face still pale. He slowly turned around.

"Master Qin, are you alright?" Hua Xiaotian cried out in alarm as his gaze shifted from Orochi’s corpse to the distinct pallor on Qin Fan’s face. He had seen the moment Orochi entangled Qin Fan but hadn’t considered it a significant threat at the time, especially after witnessing the series of heaven-defying Divine Skills Qin Fan had previously displayed. Yet now, Qin Fan’s complexion looked so drained. This genuinely startled him.

"I’m fine. It’s nothing," Qin Fan said, waving a hand dismissively. He shook his head with a wry smile. "I underestimated the beast, but thankfully, I made it through unharmed."

With that, Qin Fan patted Hua Xiaotian’s shoulder and walked toward Orochi. For him, the Crystal Core inside the beast was the most important prize. Paying no more mind to the stunned Hua Xiaotian behind him, Qin Fan activated his Eyes of Golden Flame and scanned Orochi’s body.

After pinpointing the location of the Crystal Core, he formed a hand blade and gathered his Qi Force, then slowly sliced into the serpent’s body.

HSSSSSS—!

Now that its Vajra Body-like defenses had been broken, Qin Fan’s light slash with his hand blade was enough to split its flesh open. A seven-centimeter-long, oval, greenish object radiating a pure light emerged from the wound.

A smile touched the corners of Qin Fan’s lips. He reached in and pulled it out.

I was just worrying about how to stabilize my entry into the Golden Core realm! This Crystal Core is a godsend, arriving just when I needed it. With this and the Spiritual Medicines from the Spiritual Medicine Garden, stabilizing my new realm won’t be a problem!

Muttering to himself, Qin Fan flicked his hand. A streak of green light flashed, and the Crystal Core vanished into his storage space.

"Master Qin, what was that? One of Orochi’s organs?" Hua Xiaotian asked with curiosity, having seen the Crystal Core disappear from Qin Fan’s hand.

"You could say that," Qin Fan chuckled evasively.

This was unlike his previous encounter at Yanjing Ridge, where he had slaughtered a Jiao and taken its entire corpse. The Jiao had been a product of the natural forces of Heaven and Earth; Orochi, by contrast, had nothing else on its body that met Qin Fan’s standards besides its Crystal Core.

"Let’s go. The Japanese devils’ planes are arriving," Qin Fan said, his brow furrowing as his Divine Sense relayed the information. "Time to leave. We’ve done everything we needed to."

"Understood!" Hua Xiaotian replied crisply.

"You go first! Leave as fast as you can. I’m going to level Mount Fuji, then I’ll rendezvous with you on the way back," Qin Fan added.

"Yes, Master Qin!"

He didn’t waste time asking if Qin Fan needed help. Hua Xiaotian knew full well that flattening Mount Fuji was far beyond his abilities. With that said, his figure blurred into motion, unleashing the full, unrestrained speed of a Gang Realm master. In just a few moments, he vanished like a bolt of lightning.

Qin Fan glanced in the direction Hua Xiaotian had departed, then looked up at the sky, where the roar of approaching aircraft grew louder. A sinister, mocking grin spread across his face. Even though his True Qi was mostly depleted, he didn’t mind spending a little more.

WHOOSH—!

As the vicious smile formed, the immense, majestic pressure of his aura erupted from his body. Loose stones began to fly, and trees swayed violently. Three breaths later, Qin Fan fiercely lifted his foot and stomped down hard on the mountain peak.

BOOM—!!!

A deafening explosion rocked the landscape. In that instant, the entire Mount Fuji trembled. If any seismographs were present, they would have registered an earthquake of several magnitudes from that single stomp.

But Qin Fan wasn’t finished. He lifted his foot and stomped down again.

RUMBLE—!

With an impact even more ferocious than the last, Mount Fuji began to sway violently, shedding massive rocks from its sides. Still, Qin Fan wasn’t satisfied.

After he delivered the third stomp, the mountain’s trembling and swaying abruptly gave way to a full-scale collapse. The entire mountain began to crumble and sink at an incredible speed.

Just as the mountain started to give way, the roaring Japanese military jets finally reached the airspace above Mount Fuji.