The night was as cool as water.
In the frigid underground palace, the structure itself was already vast, but through the void array formations within, it revealed an even more expansive space.
The palace had six levels.
The upper three levels were entirely reserved for the Palace Master and his disciples.
The lower three levels were designated for experimentation.
Now, in the deepest level, the space was shrouded in darkness, the ground stained a deep crimson, permeated with the stench of blood.
“Finally, the experimental materials are gathered,” murmured the black-robed Palace Master, his eyes brimming with anticipation. He produced a jade vial and uncorked it. Instantly, countless figures poured out—billions of cultivators, all disoriented and uneasy as they surveyed their surroundings.
The dim, blood-red ground and the overwhelming scent of blood only deepened their unease.
“I must act quickly. Delay invites disaster.”
“Damn that Xueying Sovereign, meddling in affairs that don’t concern him. Why must he care about the lives of these ants?” the black-robed Palace Master thought bitterly. “His interference has forced me to proceed with extreme caution, limiting the scale of my experiments. But this time is too important—I need enough test subjects! There’s no choice. I must proceed swiftly.”
The Palace Master was frustrated.
His research focused on the bodies and souls of cultivators, conducting repeated experiments to uncover the secrets of the cultivation path.
Ever since the emergence of ‘Daoist Tianxin,’ he had grown far more cautious, drastically reducing the scale of his experiments. Small-scale killings were commonplace in the Heart Realm Continent—vendettas and conflicts often claimed tens of thousands of lives. Even Dongbo Xueying couldn’t intervene in every case. Only truly large-scale massacres drew his attention.
But some experiments required an enormous number of test subjects.
“The other materials I’ve gathered are only enough for one attempt. This must succeed.”
“I have no choice.”
The black-robed Palace Master suddenly manifested in midair within the chamber, his colossal phantom form casting terror upon the countless beings below. His massive figure loomed over them, his icy gaze amplifying their fear with a dread-inducing technique.
“I only need ten subordinates. Those who cannot endure will perish!”
As soon as he spoke, the Palace Master unleashed a rain of purple light particles.
But before the particles could descend, a white-robed youth appeared in midair, his cold gaze fixed upon the black-robed figure.
“Xueying Sovereign!” The Palace Master’s legs nearly gave way.
This was his worst fear—yet despite his caution, he had been discovered.
“You cannot kill me!” the Palace Master roared desperately. “I am only pursuing my cultivation!”
With a wave of his hand, Dongbo Xueying dispersed the purple particles into nothingness with a ripple of void energy.
“For your cultivation?” Dongbo Xueying’s voice was icy.
“I study the body-refining path and the soul. I need experiments!” the Palace Master bellowed. “I am no demon—I am merely conducting research!”
Dongbo Xueying swept his gaze across the chamber. “Three hundred and eighty billion cultivators—just for one of your experiments? And you claim you’re not a demon?”
“Using a few ants for experiments—is that wrong?” the Palace Master growled.
“Ants? Then in my eyes, you are nothing but an ant as well!” With another wave, Dongbo Xueying compressed the space around the Palace Master into a painting. As the image disintegrated, so too did the Palace Master, vanishing into nothingness.
Dongbo Xueying’s expression suddenly darkened. “No!”
**BOOM!!!**
The entire palace erupted in a cataclysmic explosion.
Acting swiftly, Dongbo Xueying manipulated the void to shield all the innocent lives—even some of the Palace Master’s disciples and subordinates whose karmic resentment was minimal. Those steeped in overwhelming malice perished in the blast.
In an instant, he teleported the survivors to a desolate wilderness.
“So he left a failsafe—self-destruction upon death?” Dongbo Xueying snorted. While the explosion might threaten an ordinary Cosmic God, his mastery of the void allowed him to protect any life he chose.
“Quite the commotion.”
A voice echoed.
Dongbo Xueying’s expression tightened. The wilderness, moments ago filled with the relieved murmurs of the rescued, was suddenly engulfed by an overwhelming darkness. The inky void blotted out the sky, sweeping over everything. The countless lives vanished without a sound, erased in an instant. Dongbo Xueying himself was sent flying, blood spraying from his lips before he steadied himself midair.
“Quite the commotion,” the mocking voice repeated, lingering in his ears.
Dongbo Xueying glared into the distance.
A figure materialized in the sky—a handsome youth clad in resplendent golden robes, a crown upon his head. It was the Undying Underworld Emperor, smirking at him.
“Watching the billions you saved perish in an instant—does it anger you?”
Dongbo Xueying’s face darkened with fury.
Of course he was enraged. Countless innocents, annihilated in a heartbeat.
The Undying Underworld Emperor laughed carelessly. “I warned you—leave Xueying City, and I will destroy everything you try to save. You want to rescue ants? Then I will crush them. Had you not intervened, some might have survived. But now? None.”
“This time, I was careless. Next time, I’ll take them straight to Xueying City,” Dongbo Xueying said coldly.
“Take them to Xueying City?” The Undying Underworld Emperor grinned. “Then I’ll simply orchestrate more massacres.”
“Kill too many, and Emperor Yuan might intervene to end you,” Dongbo Xueying warned.
“Oh, I won’t dirty my hands. My subordinates will handle it,” the Undying Underworld Emperor replied smoothly.
“Then I’ll slaughter every last one of your subordinates,” Dongbo Xueying shot back.
The Undying Underworld Emperor’s smile widened. “Starting wars, inciting slaughter—these are my specialties. Watching countless lives perish—does it pain you? Anger you?”
Most ruthless cultivators cared little for the weak, treating them as mere insects. The truly selfish wouldn’t bat an eye.
But the Undying Underworld Emperor knew Dongbo Xueying’s nature. And after the disastrous failure of his last sacrificial ritual—thanks to Dongbo Xueying—his fury knew no bounds.
“When I was weak, I faced the bloodshed and slaughter of the Heart Realm Continent with calm,” Dongbo Xueying said evenly. “I act when I can. When I cannot, I accept it. I do what I must, with a clear conscience.”
With that, he turned to leave.
“Leaving?”
The Undying Underworld Emperor struck, his palm unleashing an abyssal darkness.
Dongbo Xueying merely smirked as his current avatar dissolved. With countless clones at his disposal, losing one meant little.
—
True to his word, the Undying Underworld Emperor began inciting chaos and bloodshed—never directly, but always pulling strings from the shadows.
Fortunately, those with any power or backing knew better than to provoke the wrath of the Xueying Sovereign. Large-scale massacres were rare.
“Damn him.”
“Madman.”
Dongbo Xueying seethed within Xueying City. “His hatred for me runs deep.”
A figure appeared before him.
“Lord Swordmaster.” Dongbo Xueying looked up as the Swordmaster descended, seating himself casually across from him. The Swordmaster poured himself a drink from Dongbo Xueying’s wine jug, took a sip, and grinned.
“The Undying Underworld Emperor’s recent provocations—all aimed at you, I presume?”
“Yes,” Dongbo Xueying replied coldly. “He’s lashing out like a petulant child.”
“He suffered a great loss at your hands. To him, it’s a humiliation,” the Swordmaster said. “If you were strong enough to threaten him, he’d tread more carefully.”
Dongbo Xueying nodded.
Outside Xueying City, he was utterly outmatched by the Undying Underworld Emperor. That was why the tyrant acted with such impunity.
“Also, Xueying,” the Swordmaster continued, “though our homeland still has time before the Great Annihilation, you must reach the Ultimate realm soon. I’ve attained it, but I lack the Great Shattering Void Teleportation technique. Only you can master it and lead our people to safety.”
“I know,” Dongbo Xueying said. He had never slackened in his efforts.
“Locked in seclusion, you’ve hit a bottleneck. Perhaps you need life-and-death trials to break through,” the Swordmaster suggested. “I plan to venture into the Broken Tooth Mountain Range. Join me. And if Ba Tuo Chen is willing, bring him along.”
“The Broken Tooth Mountain Range?” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes gleamed.
The range was perilous—even invincible beings could fall there. But with his clones, death held no fear for him.
“Now that I’ve reached the Ultimate realm, I wish to explore it further,” the Swordmaster said. “And I have a destination in mind. The Xiawind Empire’s knowledge of the range far surpasses the Southcloud Kingdom’s.”
“You already have a target?” Dongbo Xueying nodded. “Good. I’ll gladly accompany you. As for Ba Tuo Chen, I’ll ask him.”
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