Chapter 861: Calculations and Schemes

Dongbo Xueying rarely used his flying daggers these days, relying more on the combined power of the Multi-Layered Dark Realm and the Ripplewave Diagram.

The Multi-Layered Dark Realm had several advantages over the flying daggers.

For instance, its attacks were far more sudden.

Flying daggers had to traverse space to strike, whereas the Multi-Layered Dark Realm descended directly from the illusory into reality, enveloping enemies before they could even react! Just moments ago, he had abruptly unleashed this technique to trap the Undying City Lord—each of his nineteen bodies was encased in three layers of the Dark Realm. After their earlier exchanges, Dongbo Xueying had gained some understanding of the defensive capabilities of the enemy’s mist-like forms.

Three layers alone wouldn’t be enough to kill him.

But that was precisely what Dongbo Xueying wanted—for him not to die.

*Crack! Crack! Crack!*

All nineteen bodies were struck by three layers of the Dark Realm, totaling fifty-seven layers—far fewer than the maximum of one hundred twenty he could unleash.

“T-This…” The Undying City Lord shuddered as all nineteen of his bodies were simultaneously assaulted by attacks materializing from the void, filling him with the dread of death.

“Your combined threat isn’t enough, and your moves are just the same old tricks,” Dongbo Xueying remarked, his voice echoing through the second layer of the treasure vault. “Since that’s the case, let’s end this.”

He had longed for a battle that would push him to his limits, one that could temper and force him to evolve.

If only he could execute the second form of the Dark Realm—*Heaven’s Execution Blade*—that would be perfect! It frustrated him endlessly that he had grasped the concept yet remained unable to manifest it.

But alas, neither of his opponents posed enough of a threat.

The burly man was strong, but his attacks were simplistic.

The Undying City Lord relied solely on the *Seven Undying Disks*, which, while profound, was still just a single killing technique. Not that it was unusual—practitioners of the Witch or Rule-Oblivion paths might wield diverse methods, but most experts from other systems specialized in a singular, refined killing move.

“You can’t do anything to us,” the Undying City Lord sneered.

Neither he nor the burly man would admit defeat.

There was no escape here—defeat meant death.

“Fools,” Dongbo Xueying scoffed.

Had they not noticed? The Multi-Layered Dark Realm he had used against the burly man consisted of a full one hundred twenty layers, whereas each of the Undying City Lord’s bodies had only been struck by three. Then again, the attacks were too swift—like a single Dark Realm shattering—so perhaps they hadn’t discerned the difference in the number of layers.

“Descend,” Dongbo Xueying commanded, unleashing another wave.

This time, all nineteen bodies of the Undying City Lord were struck by three layers each. Simultaneously, Dongbo Xueying conjured sixty-three additional Dark Realms in the surrounding space—though none of them attacked. It was purely a display of overwhelming force.

As the Dark Realms shattered one after another, the Undying City Lord stood frozen.

“H-He can still unleash so many shattered realms?” A chill ran down his spine. Seeing so many Dark Realms that hadn’t even targeted him filled him with despair. If all of them had struck, could his nineteen bodies have endured?

“You might kill him, but you can’t touch me,” the burly man growled, though his icy gaze betrayed his unease. His companion, the Undying City Lord, was already thoroughly intimidated.

Dongbo Xueying glanced at him. “Oh?”

With a flick of his wrist, a black gourd appeared in his hand. He uncorked it.

*Whoosh!*

A palm-sized fireball shot out like a meteor. The burly man’s heart clenched at the sight, but under the suppression of the Ripplewave Diagram’s domain, he couldn’t evade. The fireball struck his chest, blasting a gaping hole through his otherwise indestructible body. Dongbo Xueying even deliberately allowed the flames to linger and ravage his insides.

The burly man’s eyes bulged as he stared at the massive wound in his chest and the devastation within.

“If I wished, killing you would be effortless,” Dongbo Xueying stated.

His mastery had reached such heights that even the trajectory of the fireball carried traces of the Ripplewave Diagram’s undulations, making it nearly impossible to dodge.

Silence fell.

In the second layer of the treasure vault, the Undying City Lord and the burly man stood dumbstruck. They weren’t fools—they now understood that this opponent could annihilate them both with ease.

“If you can kill us, why haven’t you?” the burly man rumbled.

“Why didn’t you act in the first layer? Were you afraid I’d escape?” the Undying City Lord added. “But now, with nowhere to run, you still spare us?”

Dongbo Xueying replied, “If I’d revealed my full strength in the first layer, you’d have been too terrified to enter the second.”

The two finally grasped his scheme.

Had they sensed death looming, they would never have stepped into the second layer, placing their lives in another’s hands.

“I *wanted* you here,” Dongbo Xueying said, gesturing to the meteorite mound nearby. “Alone, I couldn’t destroy this within three days. I need help—and your strength is exactly what I require. So of course I won’t kill you.”

The burly man and the Undying City Lord exchanged bitter smiles.

So…

He had concealed his power until the end, all to conscript them as laborers.

Dongbo Xueying sighed inwardly. His battle with them had been an attempt to push himself to a breakthrough—ideally, to manifest *Heaven’s Execution Blade* and attain the combat power of the sixth level of the Star Tower. That would have made entering the treasure vault’s third layer far easier. But alas, he had failed. Now, these two “helpers” were crucial.

“You have two choices: die, or aid me in destroying this meteorite mound. If you help, I swear to spare your lives in the end,” Dongbo Xueying declared.

They glanced at each other. There was no real choice.

“Fine.”

“You win. We’ll help,” they conceded.

“Before we begin, tell us your name,” the burly man said. “At least let us know who defeated us so thoroughly.”

Dongbo Xueying smiled faintly. “Call me Feixue.”

The two immediately recognized it as a pseudonym—no renowned expert by that name existed.

*Whoosh!*

Dongbo Xueying directed the black gourd’s fireball toward the meteorite mound, but an invisible spatial barrier repelled it before contact.

“As expected, external forces won’t work,” he muttered.

The intelligence had been clear: the meteorite mound could only be destroyed through one’s own mastered techniques, not external artifacts.

No matter how powerful a talisman or treasure, if it wasn’t an extension of the cultivator’s own strength, it was useless here. Emperor Jiuyun’s trial tested the individual, not their equipment.

“Get to work. We don’t have much time,” Dongbo Xueying barked.

With resigned sighs, the two began their labor.

Dongbo Xueying added, “Give it your all. I know exactly how strong you are—you fought me fiercely enough earlier. Slack off, and I’ll have no choice but to end you.”

“Understood,” they replied, even more disheartened.

So even their earlier battle had been a test—to gauge their limits and prevent them from holding back.

Watching their efforts, Dongbo Xueying nodded in satisfaction. “Their attacks are potent. Combined, they match my own destructive speed. With luck, we’ll demolish this mound within three days.”

Yet the pressure weighed heavily on him.