The soul at the Chaos Realm significantly boosted Dongbo Xueying’s comprehension and cultivation speed. He calmed his mind to study the newly acquired Crimson Cloud Divine Spear. As the weapon wielded by the Crimson Cloud Venerable at his peak, this spear possessed boundless might. The complete divine spear was no less valuable than the ‘Cloud Heaven Hammer’—in fact, the latter had been abandoned by the ‘Po Nu Venerable’ in favor of crafting a more suitable treasure. The Crimson Cloud Divine Spear, however, had never been discarded. If traded, its price might even slightly surpass that of the Cloud Heaven Hammer.
In short, this was a weapon that even a Cosmic God would have to exhaust their treasures to afford. Dongbo Xueying, through sheer luck—and also due to his own cultivation level—had managed to obtain the spear shaft in a minor place like Firestorm City.
Following the clues from the shaft, he later discovered the spearhead in the imperial capital, which was purchased with the help of the Yingshan Matriarch.
Only then did the spear truly fall into his hands.
In truth…
The Heart Realm Continent’s history was far too ancient, and its ruins were countless. The casualties from the First and Second Ancient Kingdom Wars were staggering, leaving behind countless lost treasures gathering dust. Some required luck to uncover, while others demanded keen insight.
“Whoosh, whoosh.”
Inside the Void God Tower, Dongbo Xueying freely wielded the spear, practicing his techniques. At times, he would quiet his mind to ponder and deduce.
As time passed, he grew increasingly awed by this spear.
“I was wrong. I initially thought the secret patterns within the Crimson Cloud Divine Spear could only deduce two techniques—one for a domain and another for a killing strike. But that was my first impression, before the shaft and spearhead were even fused. Now, upon deeper contemplation… there are far more than just two.” Dongbo Xueying was exhilarated.
In reality, as the Crimson Cloud Venerable’s weapon of war, it naturally contained his most refined techniques, allowing him to unleash his full combat prowess.
This spear embodied the majority of the Crimson Cloud Venerable’s methods.
However, weapons were different from secret arts. They were forged for battle, not to pass down teachings. Deciphering them was far more challenging than studying a secret art.
“Haha, what a tremendous opportunity, truly tremendous,” Dongbo Xueying sighed in amazement.
Even the complete *Twelve Sacred Forms of the Southern Cloud* primarily consisted of just two combat techniques.
Yet, with his initial study of the Crimson Cloud Divine Spear, he had already uncovered three.
Clearly, the *Twelve Sacred Forms of the Southern Cloud* was a public teaching by the Southern Cloud Monarch, accessible even to outer disciples. Simplified versions were spread across the entire Heart Realm Continent, obtainable with a modest amount of cosmic crystals. Even the complete version could be acquired at great cost without joining the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect.
Such publicly disseminated teachings naturally couldn’t contain all of the Southern Cloud Monarch’s methods.
Techniques like *Doppelganger Art*, *Great Void Transference*, and *Three Lives Method*—each was far more valuable than the *Twelve Sacred Forms of the Southern Cloud*.
Thus—
The *Twelve Sacred Forms of the Southern Cloud* was merely an external teaching, containing two formidable techniques. Including the body-refining method, *Southern Cloud Sacred Body*, it amounted to three.
The Crimson Cloud Divine Spear, however, held the majority of the Crimson Cloud Venerable’s combat techniques. The difference was stark.
—
As Dongbo Xueying immersed himself in fervent cultivation, time flowed silently onward.
His zeal was understandable. Back in his homeland, he had already reached a bottleneck after creating two ninth-layer techniques. Even sitting in meditation for a hundred billion years would yield little progress. But now, whether studying the *Twelve Sacred Forms of the Southern Cloud*, deciphering the Crimson Cloud Divine Spear, or delving into the numerous precious texts he had obtained from the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, he was advancing almost every moment.
This sense of progress intoxicated him.
“Remarkable.”
The deeper he cultivated, the more he marveled at the profound heritage of the Heart Realm Continent. In the Chaos Void, he had already become the foremost master of the Void Illusion path, with no one to learn from but himself. Yet, among the Void Illusion texts he had acquired from the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, two were even capable of guiding one to the Cosmic God realm. Another sixteen were highly valuable for his research.
—
Dongbo Xueying had announced that his seclusion would be long.
Indeed, it far exceeded the expectations of Firestorm Marquis, Yingshan Liehu, and Rong Xinglan. To ancient cultivators, this duration was trivial, but for a young practitioner who had only cultivated for five million years prior, this seclusion was extraordinarily prolonged.
—
In the blink of an eye, fifteen billion years had passed.
**Blackmoon Lake.**
The lake itself was vast, rivaling the size of a kingdom. It teemed with countless fiends, and in terms of power, Blackmoon Lake far surpassed any of the four Blackmoon Nations. Even the six ancient kingdoms struggled to eradicate them. Across the Heart Realm Continent, it stood as one of the foremost gathering places for fiends.
Deep within Blackmoon Lake, inside a grand palace—
A sickly pale man in green robes sat loftily upon a throne, surrounded by a massive, coiling crimson phantom that occupied nearly half the hall. Its aura was terrifying, causing the surrounding space to tremble faintly.
Below, two figures sat on either side.
One was a colossal stone giant, his eyes burning like fiery stars.
The other was a gaunt, green-haired elder, a smirk playing on his lips as a slender black serpent coiled around his body.
“By tradition, the next blood sacrifice shall be in the Southern Cloud Nation,” the green-robed man on the throne said coolly.
“The Southern Cloud Monarch is not to be trifled with,” rumbled the stone giant.
“Hmph, so what if he’s formidable? The blood sacrifice cannot be stopped. The four Blackmoon Nations must understand that it is *we* who rule here,” the green-haired elder sneered. “We frequently slaughter cities in the Flamebright Nation, wiping them out one after another. For the Southern Cloud Nation, we act only occasionally—already a great courtesy to their monarch.”
The stone giant said gravely, “I know we must act. I merely suggest targeting a minor city, as a token gesture.”
“Agreed,” the green-haired elder nodded. “A minor city will suffice. A major one might drive the Southern Cloud Monarch to madness.”
“Our faction must execute this flawlessly,” the green-robed man declared.
Blackmoon Lake housed countless fiends, divided into factions.
The blood sacrifices rotated among the three major factions.
“A minor city, executed impeccably,” the green-haired elder mused. “Then it must be a special one. I propose Firestorm City. It recently birthed a prodigious talent, remarkable even by Southern Cloud standards. Wiping out such a city would serve as a warning to the entire nation—reminding them of Blackmoon Lake’s might.”
“Agreed,” the stone giant assented.
“Then Firestorm City it is. You two handle the arrangements. Ensure the entire city is sacrificed cleanly,” the green-robed man commanded. With both his companions in agreement, he saw no reason to oppose.
—
“Ancestor.”
A towering figure with black curved horns bowed respectfully before the seated green-haired elder. The slender black serpent coiled around the elder filled the horned figure with dread.
“Rest assured, your request has been settled,” the green-haired elder said. “Blackmoon Lake rarely conducts blood sacrifices in the Southern Cloud Nation. This time, it’s our faction’s turn, and I’ve arranged it—Firestorm City. Your vengeance shall be fulfilled.”
“Thank you, Ancestor.” The horned figure trembled with excitement.
He had spent years currying favor with the ancestor, even exhausting most of his wealth to procure rare poisons the elder coveted. Only then had his plea been granted.
Exacting revenge alone was nearly impossible.
Attacking a Southern Cloud city was no small feat, let alone succeeding. Only by leveraging Blackmoon Lake’s might could it be done. The lake’s massacres served dual purposes: to intimidate the realms and to fuel the blood sacrifices.
“Chen Wu, you will participate in this battle. Do not disappoint me,” the green-haired elder said. “Leave no one alive in Firestorm City.”
“Yes!” The horned figure’s eyes blazed with anticipation and bloodlust. He had waited too long for this day—to see the Firestorm Marquis’s despair, to witness his fury, and finally, to slay him with his own hands.
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