Chen Che had not originally intended to interfere in the affairs of Jinyun Valley. After all, a shift in power within the valley didn’t require him to stick his neck out.

But Ye Jingzhou’s cunning was deep, his methods truly venomous. Now, not only was he trying to kill Lü Hong and the others who plotted against him, he was even going to sacrifice every disciple in Jinyun Valley to refine a ’Possession Pill’.

Moreover, given his nature, he certainly wouldn’t leave any survivors. That was why Chen Che had no choice but to act now.

But this move...

"Huh?"

Just then, Lü Hong also realized something was wrong.

"Ah?"

The disciples in the valley felt their joyous surprise turn into shocked suspicion.

"Why hasn’t the Grand Array faded? Could it be that Ye Jingzhou isn’t dead?"

Rong Zhongxuan was also completely stunned.

The black Grand Array still loomed over Jinyun Valley, seemingly cutting them off completely from the rest of the world.

As everyone was still confused,

"BOOM!"

A terrifying suction force suddenly erupted from the ’Sacrificial Cauldron’. Instantly, dozens of disciples let out blood-curdling screams. They felt the Grand Array’s power suddenly surge several times over, and their blood began to gush uncontrollably from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses.

Even Lü Hong couldn’t resist this power.

All the blood in his body rushed out.

He turned into a dried corpse on the spot, like a piece of weathered wood or a monk who had been in seated meditation for a hundred years, utterly silent.

Before the horrified eyes of Chen Che, Rong Zhongxuan, and Hu Yao, all the blood that had left the bodies was pulled by the Grand Array, converging in midair like a hundred rivers flowing into one. Then, as if being swallowed by a great whale, it plunged directly into the Sacrificial Pill Furnace!

"Haha!"

Amidst a burst of wild laughter, the Furnace Cauldron erupted with a bloody light, and a Pill shot toward the sky.

But this Pill was wrapped in a wave of blood, which coalesced in midair to form a face.

It was Ye Jingzhou’s.

The waves of blood surged endlessly, next forming a torso, then limbs...

In less than half a finger-snap,

a giant, seventy-foot-tall body of blood had formed, like a colossus made of gore. This blood-body had a youthful face, powerful muscles, and even its hair drifted in the air. Where was the slightest hint of his previous decrepitude?

"I bet you didn’t expect this! My Divine Soul was integrated into the Possession Pill long ago!"

Ye Jingzhou floated in midair. Although he had lost his physical body, there was no sign of dejection on his face. On the contrary, he laughed heartily.

"I misjudged you. Who could have imagined a Pill Master would possess such strength? Your Qi and Blood are surging, your True Essence is immense—what a fine body! Tsk! ... But it’s only a Middle Spirit Root! Otherwise, I might have just taken yours!"

He had painstakingly selected his possession target; why would he change it at the critical moment?

"Oh?"

Chen Che’s gaze was sharp.

"Using yourself as the main ingredient? With blood as a supplement? That day, the Pill Book you had Tributor Li complete was for this, wasn’t it?"

"Correct!"

Since things had come to this, Ye Jingzhou made no effort to hide the truth.

"And I have you to thank for killing him. It’s how I learned that the blood of a Cultivator can also be used in a Pill!"

When he had left the valley before, he wasn’t actually looking for Alchemy Materials, but for Array Refining Materials to set up the ’Vermilion Locking Array’. Once the Grand Array was complete, he immediately spread the news that he was on his deathbed to lure Foundation Establishment Cultivators here.

The Longevity Pill, the benevolent master and his filial disciple—it was all just a play for outsiders.

"So, you’re saying all of Jinyun Valley was just a backup plan you prepared for yourself?"

Chen Che said in a cold voice.

"Unfortunately, I only have an Inferior Spirit Root. Even after obtaining True Master Chixia’s legacy, I spent half my life stuck at the Foundation Establishment Third Layer. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have needed to go to such lengths. Who would willingly risk possession and rebirth if they had a choice?"

Ye Jingzhou sighed, but as he looked at the mutilated corpses littering the ground, his face showed not a shred of remorse.

"As for these people, they served to pave my immortal path. Theirs was a worthy death, nothing more!"

When he was a child, he stumbled into a Cave Mansion.

He later learned that it was one of the nine Cave Mansions of True Master Chixia!

From then on, he spent decades cultivating and finally broke through to Foundation Establishment before his sixty-year lifespan was up.

At the same time, aware of his poor aptitude and fearing his immortal path would be cut short, he founded Jinyun Valley. It was partly to support his own Cultivation and partly to groom candidates for his own possession. This is why the valley only accepted disciples with Upper Spirit Roots!

If any disciple was about to reach Foundation Establishment, he would personally cripple them.

Lu Yi wasn’t the only one.

Several disciples in the valley had either been killed or personally crippled by him over the years.

But as his own lifespan neared its end, he was still only at the Foundation Establishment Third Layer, which was why he had to plot for a second life.

"This... this..."

Rong Zhongxuan’s hair stood on end as he listened. How could he have ever imagined that Jinyun Valley was founded under such circumstances?

"It’s not worth it! None of it was worth it!"

Hu Yao was overcome with grief, so distraught he wanted to smash his head against the ground.

To learn that Jinyun Valley, the place he had lived since childhood, existed only for this purpose... he felt his very Dao Heart was about to shatter.

"RUMBLE!"

At that moment, Ye Jingzhou attacked again.

Though he had lost his physical body, his strength was not the least bit affected. In fact, he was even stronger than before. With a simple swat of his hand, a massive, black-scaled claw materialized in the empty space, looking like the hand of a vengeful spirit!

The claw was a hundred feet wide, covered in countless black scales. One could only imagine how monstrous the full creature would look.

"Break!"

Chen Che swung his Pure Jun Sword, slashing through the air.

The sword and claw collided with the ringing sound of metal striking stone, sending countless sparks flying. In the clash, the Pure Jun Sword proved superior, forcefully cleaving through the Scale Armor and splitting the claw in two!

But by then, Ye Jingzhou’s second attack had already arrived.

He waved his hand, and the Black Scale Saber that had previously killed Leng Shaoyu came charging down from the sky. The saber was pitch-black, its material unknown, so dark and deep that it reflected no light at all.