"What’s going on?"

"That is..."

A pillar of light shot into the sky, and all the Loose Cultivators in the Market seemed to sense it.

Even those far away in the Mortal World could see the magnificent spectacle.

Before the stunned eyes of countless onlookers, the entire Jinyun Valley was sealed off by a massive, dark shroud. The space above the valley entrance became a deep and distant abyss that seemed connected to the Nine Netherworld Yellow Springs, endlessly spewing black qi.

CLATTER!

The teacup in Meng Qingxuan’s hand slipped and shattered on the ground, but she didn’t notice in the slightest.

’This is a Tier Three Array!’

...

WHAM!

The fleeing Foundation Establishment Cultivator crashed headfirst into the black barrier, the impact leaving him so dizzy he nearly plummeted from the sky.

"What’s going on?"

Lü Hong stared in utter horror.

He saw that at an unknown time, thirty-six steles forged from Wuyin Stone had appeared around the valley. Each stele stood over ten feet tall, covered in golden patterns from which a mystical light flowed.

The thirty-six steles projected a canopy of countless black, starlike motes, like a swarm of fireflies, sealing off the entire Jinyun Valley.

"You weren’t refining a Magical Artifact—it was an Array Artifact!"

Lü Hong snarled, grinding his teeth.

"That’s right!"

With a great laugh, Ye Jingzhou rose to his feet.

"This array is called the Vermilion Locking Array!"

"It took me several months and nearly all my Heart Power to refine this Array. Then, I feigned being on the verge of death to set this trap, just to wait for you to take the bait! Counting you, that’s a total of six at Foundation Establishment. Not a bad haul at all..."

BOOM!

While he had been sitting there, his presence had been unassuming. But as he suddenly rose, his aura surged, as if Tai Mountain itself were being uprooted, or a colossal wave were rising from the ocean to blot out the sky.

Though his face remained ancient, no one would dare treat him as a dying man now.

THUMP!

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator who had tried to flee glanced back at Ye Jingzhou, then abruptly formed a Seal Technique. His blade transformed into a startling Sword Rainbow that smashed into the Grand Array.

KABOOM!

A deafening crash echoed as a tempest of wind and sword light erupted.

A full-force strike from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could obliterate a hundred-meter-tall mountain, yet when it struck the Vermilion Locking Array, the Grand Array didn’t even tremble. On the contrary, the recoil sent his own Qi and Blood into turmoil, forcing him back in a hasty retreat.

"This is a Tier Three Magic Array! Ye Jingzhou is its core! Kill him, and the Array will break!"

shouted Leng Shaoyu, an expert in Arrays.

As he spoke, he gripped his long saber and charged through the air toward him.

SHING!

The saber strike began like a thunderclap, its power immense and seemingly unstoppable. Midway through its flight, however, it transformed into a gentle spring rain, soft and continuous. By the time it reached Ye Jingzhou, it was as light as a feather, seemingly devoid of any force.

However, the spectral image of a ferocious Jade-eyed Golden Tiger materialized behind him.

As the saying goes:

The greatest skill appears clumsy!

’This strike will definitely wound him!’

Leng Shaoyu was brimming with confidence.

If he could just tie up Ye Jingzhou for a moment, the remaining Foundation Establishment Cultivators could swarm and overwhelm him.

No matter how strong he was, he was only at the Foundation Establishment Third Layer and in a decaying body. How could he possibly fight them all at once?

But to his utter astonishment, Ye Jingzhou simply made a grasping motion. A massive, black-scaled claw appeared, catching the saber’s edge in a shower of sparks and effortlessly blocking the attack.

"How is that possible?"

Horror filled Leng Shaoyu’s eyes.

"You had the right idea!"

Ye Jingzhou’s gaze turned icy as he waved his hand.

SWOOSH!

A massive, pitch-black saber shot through the air.

He couldn’t dodge in time and could only twist his body slightly. As a result, the blade swept across him. He let out a wretched scream as half his body was torn asunder by the saber. Even for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, such a grievous wound meant instant death.

"This..."

Lu Yi was dumbfounded, feeling that the day’s events were just one shocking twist after another.

He had thought that with six Foundation Establishment Cultivators present, Jinyun Valley was doomed. He never imagined that Ye Jingzhou had already set up a Grand Array, and had even killed three of the attackers with lightning speed.

Though he didn’t understand what was happening, he felt it wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

However, the thought had barely formed when a series of screams erupted.

He looked up. The blood spraying from Leng Shaoyu, who had been cleaved in two by Ye Jingzhou, didn’t fall to the ground. Instead, it hung suspended in midair.

At the same time, the blood from the bodies of Shang Zhengyong, pinned by the Soul-Calling Banner, and Zhao Quxin, whose heart had been crushed, was completely stripped away. It all converged in midair into a bloody spring, which swirled three times before plunging directly into the Sacrificial Cauldron in the square.

Before he could even react, the apprentices in the valley began to scream. Their blood, drawn by a terrifying, unseen force, gushed out from their every pore, forming more sanguine streams that flew into the Pill Furnace.

"What’s happening?"

It wasn’t just them; even the injured cultivators could not escape this fate.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of people had been reduced to desiccated corpses.

"It’s the Grand Array!"

Chen Che’s eyes flashed. He, too, felt his own blood stirring, as if a power from the world itself was trying to pull it from his body. If he could feel it, then the other cultivators in the valley naturally couldn’t escape it.

Anyone unable to resist this force would have their blood drained in an instant.

In a flash, half the disciples in the valley had become desiccated corpses.

"Old Monster Ye, you’re going to sacrifice all of Jinyun Valley just to take us down with you?"

BANG!

A cry of pain echoed in midair.

Lü Hong staggered back several steps, five deep, bone-exposing gashes torn into his chest by a claw.

For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, such an injury would normally be nothing serious.

But under the influence of this bizarre Grand Array, even the smallest wound could be fatal. In a flash, forty percent of Lü Hong’s blood was siphoned from his body and drawn into the Sacrificial Cauldron. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

If this was happening to him, what hope did the ordinary Jinyun Valley disciples have? Those below the Qi Refining Fifth Layer had died within a few breaths. Even those at the Fifth Layer and above were struggling to hold on, but blood still continuously seeped from their pores, forming a red mist that flew toward the Pill Furnace.

Once their True Essence was depleted, their fate would be sealed!

"Take you down with me?"

Ye Jingzhou erupted into wild laughter, his eyes growing colder and colder.

"You think you’re worthy of that?"

BOOM!

The moment the words left his lips, he took a step forward.

In that instant, Lü Hong felt as if every pore on his body had burst open in terror. His heart seemed to stop as he desperately scrambled backward.

He managed to dodge, but another Foundation Establishment Cultivator wasn’t so fortunate. Ye Jingzhou grabbed him, took hold of both arms, and tore him in two. The blood surged into the Pill Furnace before it could even splatter.

In a mere ten breaths, four of the five Foundation Establishment Cultivators Lü Hong had brought with him were dead. Rong Zhongxuan had already moved to safety, leaving Lü Hong to face Ye Jingzhou alone.

"Master!"

Only then did Lu Yi finally snap back to his senses. He scrambled over to Ye Jingzhou. "I beg you, take down the Grand Array! If you don’t, the disciples will all be...!"

Ye Jingzhou looked down, his normally kind face now gone, his eyes filled with nothing but cold indifference.

"You once said you would give your life in exchange for a hundred years of my lifespan, did you not?"

"!?"

Lu Yi froze, then nodded subconsciously.

"Yes!"

"Then go die!"

With a flick of his finger, Ye Jingzhou sent a bolt of Strong Qi piercing through Lu Yi’s forehead. It blasted out the back of his head, killing him instantly. His eyes were wide, as if even in death he couldn’t believe he had died at the hands of his most beloved master.

"Master!"

Hu Yao cried out in anguish at the sight.

However, before he could react, Ye Jingzhou merely glanced his way. The Jade Pendant he had previously given Hu Yao suddenly erupted with countless black rays.

These black rays swiftly condensed, forming dark shackles that bound him to the ground.

"You are the body I intend to possess. I can’t have you getting damaged in the slightest!"

"The Valley Master has gone mad!"

Seeing this, the disciples who had been desperately holding on were plunged into absolute terror.

The air filled with sounds of crying, screams for their mothers, and the frantic pounding of feet...

Some fled, some begged for mercy, some prepared for a desperate, final struggle.

The entire valley descended into chaos.

Ye Jingzhou wasn’t just killing the outsiders; he had no intention of sparing his own disciples.

"Ye Jingzhou, you haven’t reached Golden Core, yet you dare attempt possession?"

Only at this moment did Lü Hong finally understand Ye Jingzhou’s true goal.

But he was already grievously wounded. Seventy percent of his blood had been drained away; the only reason he was still standing was a testament to his one hundred and fifty years of arduous cultivation!

"What do you know?"

Ye Jingzhou stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze arrogant.

"There are countless Secret Techniques in this world. One can achieve possession even without reaching Golden Core... This batch I’m refining is for the ’Possession Pill,’ a secret recipe left behind by True Master Chixia! Heh heh, and that Pill Furnace was his, too..."

"True Master Chixia?"

Lü Hong’s face was a mask of bitterness. Only now did he realize he had been completely played. If he had known, he would never have set foot in Jinyun Valley.

But it was too late now. Less than fifteen breaths had passed since the Grand Array’s appearance.

Not only were the six Foundation Establishment Cultivators almost completely wiped out,

but over half the people in Jinyun Valley were dead or wounded as well.

Though Ye Jingzhou’s body was failing, his cultivation had not faded. Who could possibly stop him now?

Despair flooded Lü Hong’s heart. Just as he closed his eyes to await death, he suddenly heard footsteps. Whipping his head around, he saw Chen Che striding forward.

"What is he doing here?"

Lü Hong was stunned.

Just then, Ye Jingzhou noticed him as well, turning his gaze to the Tributor who had been in the valley for less than a year.

’The Vermilion Locking Array is a Tier Three Grand Array.’

A Qi Refining Cultivator could never remain this composed within it. Ye Jingzhou’s brow furrowed slightly.

"You’ve reached Foundation Establishment?"

"That’s right."

Chen Che nodded slightly.

"To reach Foundation Establishment in just a year with a Middle Spirit Root... you must have had some great fortuitous encounter, haven’t you?"

Ye Jingzhou raised an eyebrow, a mocking half-smile playing on his lips.

"What are you doing? Do you intend to fight me, too?"

Facing this man—Ye Jingzhou, who had plotted for over a hundred years, laid a Tier Three Grand Array, killed four Foundation Establishment Cultivators with lightning speed, and presided over Jinyun Valley for two centuries—Chen Che’s expression was calm.

"To kill you."

"Kill me?"

Ye Jingzhou let out a choked laugh, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"You? A newly-ascended Foundation Establishment..."

However, the trace of mockery had barely appeared before it froze on his face.

He saw Chen Che take a single step forward and reach back to grasp his Pure Jun Sword.

SHIIING!

The sword left its sheath!

No words could describe the edge of this sword-strike!

As the sword swept out, it seemed capable of cleaving heaven and earth. In the eyes of all who watched, there was nothing but a single Sword Rainbow that connected the sky and the ground!

Like a blade slicing through water, the Sword Rainbow swept diagonally across the valley.

The grand hall in the center of Jinyun Valley trembled violently. Then, as if a scroll painting were being torn, it split in two. Half of the massive domed roof slid off and crashed to the ground. Ye Jingzhou, too, froze in place. His body, bisected from waist to shoulder, toppled to the ground like a felled tree.

"Killed... in a single strike?"

Lü Hong was dumbfounded.

Just then, Rong Zhongxuan finally reacted, exclaiming excitedly,

"Master, you’ve finally made your move..."

"We’re saved!"

The surviving disciples in the valley also began to cheer in excitement.

Yet Chen Che’s face held no trace of relief. Instead, his expression grew even more grave.

Because the Grand Array had not dissipated.