Chen Xuan emanated a fiery, powerful aura. He stood like a towering bronze pillar, his body blazing with a searing heat that blocked the courtyard, seemingly sealing off every escape route.

At the same time, waves of intangible pressure radiated from his body.

Lin Fengye’s heart sank as she keenly sensed something was wrong.

’This Chen Xuan... his aura is wrong.’

Although her Yin Spirit was also at the True Qi Ninth Layer, facing Chen Xuan gave her an instinctive tremor of fear, as if she were being stared down by a terrifying beast.

’She’d never felt this way before...’

"Chen Xuan, how did you find this place? Where are my Four Protectors and the Yin-Yang Elders?"

Lin Fengye forced herself to remain calm as she demanded coldly.

"Stop your damn yapping. Do I need to answer your questions?"

Chen Xuan stared at her and said bluntly, "Weren’t you going to ’play’ with me? Well, I’ve delivered myself to your door. Let’s get to it. Don’t waste my time!"

"You!"

Lin Fengye was choked speechless.

But she truly didn’t dare to step forward.

Chen Xuan’s aura was too oppressive, filling her with a faint sense of terror.

"If you won’t make a move, then I will!"

Chen Xuan frowned and strode forward.

’How absurd.’

’Trying to use me as a cultivation cauldron. She’s got some real fucking nerve.’

’Let’s see if these iron fists of mine agree to that.’

BOOM!

A nearby wall suddenly exploded. A chaotic aura shot out in all directions as a massive figure, two-point-three or four meters tall, lunged ferociously at Chen Xuan with immense, savage power.

"Saintess, go! I’ll hold him off!"

the newcomer roared, the sound deafening.

It was none other than the "Copper Hammer Hand," Wuu Bao.

He was also the only True Qi Ninth Layer expert left by Lin Fengye’s side.

To buy time for Lin Fengye, he immediately completed his demonization. His body rapidly swelled, becoming rock-hard as thick blood vessels bulged all over, filling him with an indescribable, immense strength.

He immediately swiped at Chen Xuan with incredible speed.

At the same time, the South Forest Saintess, Lin Fengye, turned to flee. Executing her Body Technique, she shot off rapidly into the distance.

Although she didn’t know what had happened to her Four Protectors, she didn’t dare to linger.

Because the aura coming from Chen Xuan was seriously wrong.

SLAP!

"Aaargh!"

A dull, explosive sound rang out, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream.

Wuu Bao, who had just completed his demonization, let out a hysterical scream as one of his arms instantly exploded into a bloody mist.

And this was just from a casual backhand from Chen Xuan.

His so-called demonization, which tripled his strength, was as fragile as rotten wood before Chen Xuan, unable to withstand a single blow.

Chen Xuan followed up with a second slap.

BANG!

Wuu Bao’s body was sent flying sideways. A series of cracking sounds echoed as his bones and organs shattered. He spun a dozen times in place before being violently thrown aside, smashing through a wall and crashing into the distance.

He couldn’t have been more dead.

[You have killed a True Qi Ninth Layer Evil Cult master. +9000 retribution points!]

"Run? Where can you possibly run to?"

Chen Xuan’s tone was flat as he began to walk, unhurriedly pursuing the Evil Cult’s Saintess.

’With my Indestructible Fist Intent (Level 2), you think you can escape?’

’Anyone I so much as glance at, I can remember their Spirit’s fluctuations.’

’I can track my enemies from anywhere at any time!’

’Even if I give them a full day’s head start, I can still find them.’

At this very moment, the Evil Cult’s Saintess was terrified. She circulated her True Qi and pushed her Body Technique to its absolute limit, focused only on frantically escaping into the distance.

She cursed inwardly.

’What the hell is going on?’

’Just how strong is this Chen Xuan?’

’Why couldn’t all the masters I sent take him down? How did he end up finding me instead?’

’And Wuu Bao just now!’

’Even though I had already escaped, I still heard his scream.’

’Could the information on the Human List be wrong? Is his Cultivation level incorrect?’

Terror seized Lin Fengye’s heart.

’Damn that Celestial Secret Pavilion!’

’They think they can just rank all the world’s heroes.’

’How could they make such a colossal mistake?’

Just as she was cursing inwardly and wondering how to escape,

a calm, indifferent voice suddenly rang out beside her ear without any warning.

"I say, you’ve been running for so long. Shouldn’t you have had enough?"

The hairs on Lin Fengye’s body instantly stood on end. Terrified, she swung her hand behind her without a second thought.

But it was useless. A large hand had already clamped down firmly on her shoulder, containing boundless power. A Fire Attribute aura erupted like a volcano, vast and endless.

RUMBLE!

PTHH!

Lin Fengye screamed and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her entire body was slammed face-first into the ground, which shattered and caved in, forming a massive crater three or four meters wide.

Clusters of crimson-gold flames burned within the crater.

They even ignited parts of Lin Fengye’s black gauze dress.

Her face contorted in pain as one of her arms exploded into a mist of blood.

"True... True Essence! You’re at the True Essence Realm!"

’This is definitely the power of the True Essence Realm!’

’She had fused with the top-tier demon blood of a ’nine-tailed fox.’ Her Spirit and physical body had both been reforged to be far stronger than an ordinary person’s.’

’Her physical body was more than three or four times stronger than a typical True Qi Ninth Layer cultivator’s, and she was an expert in spiritual seduction and Yin-Yang Harvesting. Yet against Chen Xuan, her arm was crushed in a single move.’

’Besides someone with True Essence, there was absolutely no one who could inflict this kind of damage on her.’

"Still want to use me as a cultivation cauldron? You’re not very good at it, are you?"

Chen Xuan’s tone was light. Ignoring her agonized screams, he bent down, grabbed one of her ankles, and began swinging her around, violently smashing her against the ground.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

"AAAAARGH..."

A continuous series of blood-curdling screams rang out.

Along with the screams, swathes of rock and trees were obliterated as flames swept through the area, creating a gruesome scene.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Xuan had smashed her against the ground an untold number of times.

[You have heavily injured a True Qi Ninth Layer master. +9000 retribution points!]

’Oh? Her spirit hasn’t broken yet?’

’Pretty tough, are we?’

Just as Chen Xuan was about to switch tactics, he suddenly saw a smile spread across the Evil Cult Saintess’s blood-stained face.

Yes, she was smiling.

"Hehehe... Good, good. Chen Xuan, you’re really something else."

A seductive look reappeared in the Evil Cult Saintess’s eyes. She stared intently at Chen Xuan, ignoring her own pitiful state, and a smirk played on her lips. "I’ll remember this. I will definitely remember this. I will repay you for today’s events a thousand, ten thousand times over. I hope you remember me too. Don’t you regret this!"

"Hm?"

’Is she going to self-destruct?’

That was Chen Xuan’s subconscious thought.

But he quickly sensed something was amiss.

The Evil Cult Saintess he was holding suddenly turned into a large cloud of black mist. With a POOF, her body completely dispersed, as if she had never been a person at all, but merely a cloud of black mist.

The dense black mist carried a chilling aura as it rose, corroding the ground and the forest. A venomous, ice-cold voice echoed from within it.

"You damned bastard! You made me destroy the Yin Spirit I worked so hard to create! I’ll make you suffer eternal damnation, never to be reborn! I’ll drain you until you’re a dried-up husk, drain you until you’re no better than an animal!!"

WHOOSH!

All the black mist quickly dissipated, leaving no trace behind.

’Yin Spirit?’

Chen Xuan frowned.

’What kind of strange thing is that?’

He quickly recalled the ’Puppet Master’ he had killed before, only to see him again in the courtyard later...

’In other words...’

’These evil cultists are completely different from the ones he encountered on Black Dragon Mountain.’

’They can be revived?’

"You dare threaten me?"

Chen Xuan’s tone was ice-cold. Watching the spot where the black mist had just dissipated, he immediately activated his Indestructible Fist Intent (Level 2) and began to sense carefully.

Intangible fluctuations of Spirit instantly spread out from his mind, causing faint ripples in his sea of Spirit.

Soon, a cold glint flashed in Chen Xuan’s eyes. He suddenly turned his head and looked to the east.

Under the perception of his Indestructible Fist Intent (Level 2),

he could clearly sense an identical aura located dozens of miles to the east.

"Courting death!"

SWOOSH!

Without hesitation, Chen Xuan shot off toward the distant east.

’I don’t give a damn whether you’re a Yin Spirit or the real body. You threatened me, and you think you can run?’

’Want to drain me dry? Drain me into an animal?’

’I’ll beat you into a pulp first!’

...

「Dozens of miles away, in an unremarkable inn.」

A woman in a black dress spat out a mouthful of blood. Her body, which had been sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. Her face was deathly pale, as if she had been struck by a severe internal injury.

Her appearance was identical to that of the Evil Cult Saintess who had just died a miserable death.

Her aura was also much more potent than the other’s.

Without a doubt.

This was her true body.

"Damn that bastard! He forced me to self-destruct my Yin Spirit... ruining eighteen years of my hard work!"

She gritted her teeth, a deep chill in her eyes.

Heaven knew how much effort and resources she had poured into refining that Yin Spirit. To see it all vanish in a single day made her heart bleed.

But soon, a seductive smile returned to her face.

’Good, good, good.’

’Losing my Yin Spirit is no big deal.’

’To think I’ve encountered a prodigy like Chen Xuan!’

’Chen Xuan’s potential is even greater, even more terrifying than she had imagined.’

’He’s a True Essence Realm master.’

’If I can drain his Yang Essence dry, it will definitely make up for the loss of my Yin Spirit.’

"Saintess, what’s wrong? May I come in?"

Outside the door, a concerned voice suddenly called out, having apparently noticed the commotion inside.

"Come in."

Lin Fengye’s tone was chilly.

CREAK. The door was pushed open.

A burly, exceptionally muscular man walked in, holding a newly copied ranking list.

"Saintess, are you alright?"

The man’s expression changed. He could tell at a glance that the Saintess’s aura was in disarray and that she had just vomited blood.

"My Yin Spirit has been destroyed. The Four Protectors, the Yin-Yang Elders, and Elder Wuu who were with me are all dead. And I have no idea who has the Eight-headed Fire Python now..."

Lin Fengye spoke lightly, her almond eyes sweeping over the burly man and landing on the list in his hand. "What is that you’re holding?"

"Something that major happened?"

The burly man looked astonished. He quickly and respectfully handed the list to her. "Saintess, the Human List has been updated again."

"Updated again?"

Lin Fengye frowned. "But it was just updated yesterday."

"Yes, and it was updated again today."

The burly man nodded. "The news just came in. Chen Xuan defeated Xie Xinghe and killed Ye Guiyuan... His Cultivation is at the True Essence First Layer!"

"True Essence First Layer?"

The smile on Lin Fengye’s face grew even wider, her eyes becoming so bewitching they seemed to bloom like a hundred flowers.

"I see."

Lin Fengye chuckled softly. "So the one who destroyed my Yin Spirit and killed my Four Protectors and the Yin-Yang Elders was that Chen Xuan... I desire him even more now."

’A True Essence Realm master who is only twenty years old.’

’How abundant must his Yang Essence be?’

’I’m afraid I couldn’t drain it all even in ten days and ten nights!’

’Just the thought of it is exhilarating.’

"What? It was Chen Xuan who destroyed your Yin Spirit?"

The burly man’s face was a mask of shock.