Liuchuan Demonic Cavern.
Several terrifying figures appeared, every one radiating an exceedingly dreadful aura.
They seemed to blend seamlessly with heaven and earth, becoming one with this expanse of the world.
"A Sovereign?" Daoist Purple looked down at Sovereign Yu Bai's corpse, murder flaring in his eyes.
"And a Terrestrial Myth. Hmph, that such an insignificant insect dared infiltrate our headquarters—truly seeking death!"
The Sovereigns present all wore grim expressions.
For someone to strike right into their stronghold and assassinate a Sovereign through a sneak attack was not only an ominous sign of danger, but also a humiliation beyond compare.
This was especially true for Daoist Purple, who had only just arrived.
"To be capable of executing Sovereign Yu Bai, that Sovereign of the Southern Lands possesses some skill." Daoist Purple's eyes deepened as he stared at Sovereign Yu Bai's remains, his thoughts veiled.
"After slaying Sovereign Yu Bai, that southern Sovereign has surely fled toward Great Compassion City.
"Before long, our host will march upon Great Compassion City and teach those southern cultivators a lesson they will never forget!" one Sovereign declared in a heavy voice.
Yet right at that moment, another Sovereign suddenly blurted out, "A disruption has occurred at Xingyuan Demonic Cavern... A Sovereign is attacking!"
Xingyuan Demonic Cavern lay very close to Liuchuan Demonic Cavern.
Hearing this, the gathered Sovereigns found it utterly inconceivable.
"He hasn't fled, but dared head to another cavern?"
"Insolent in the extreme! He holds no regard for us whatsoever!"
Fury erupted among the Sovereigns.
To assassinate a Sovereign and, instead of running away, proceed to wreak havoc elsewhere—this was treating them like nothing.
Daoist Purple's eyes also flashed with killing intent.
Lightly tapping the stone slate tucked within his robes, he confirmed the absence of danger and proclaimed loudly, "Everyone, come with me to Xingyuan Demonic Cavern and slay this scoundrel!"
Daoist Purple was a Grand Sovereign; the moment he spoke, none present dared disobey.
Every Sovereign set out together, rushing straight toward Xingyuan Demonic Cavern.
Meanwhile, within Xingyuan Demonic Cavern, Qi Yuan had already fought until his eyes turned red.
Countless demonic monstrosities perished beneath his blade.
Under his devastating assaults, not a single demonic monstrosity could withstand a solitary blow.
Like a god of slaughter, he cleaved through the monstrosity hordes, utterly unstoppable.
Watching this unfold, shock filled Chen Huan's eyes. "This is... totally absurd."
He knew Qi Yuan was powerful, standing as a standout even among the Terrestrial Myth realm, but he had never imagined Qi Yuan could be formidable to such a degree.
In terms of culling demonic monstrosities alone, as long as Chen Huan held back his origin divine ability, Qi Yuan, a mere Terrestrial Myth, was faster than him!
And as a Sovereign, origin divine abilities were hardly limitless—how could one unleash them casually?
Just then, Qi Yuan's voice barked over: "What are you dawdling for? Hurry it up!"
Chen Huan blinked, and then reality struck him. "Brother, let's run!"
Having only recently attained the Sovereign realm and helped slay a Sovereign, Chen Huan had been feeling as though he were trapped in a dream.
His mind had been in a daze.
Only now did he realize that if they kept butchering here, they would end up encircled by the Sovereigns of the Northern Lands.
With a sweeping slash, sword light cascaded outward, eradicating every demonic monstrosity in its path.
Thick murderous intent burned in Qi Yuan's eyes.
His experience bar was surging violently.
He was tantalizingly close to Level 120.
"The plan concluded ahead of schedule, and we've already moved to step three. Why would we back down? We should strike while the iron is hot and see step three through! Once I break through to Sovereign, I'll hack that old dog Daoist Purple to pieces!" Qi Yuan snarled with ferocity.
The more demonic monstrosities he slaughtered, the more Monstrosity Origin he extracted, and the more negative emotions he had to suppress within himself.
"Brother, we'd better get out of here right now. Even if you step into the Sovereign realm, we... we..."
Chen Huan was genuinely growing frantic.
Daoist Purple was a cultivator at the Grand Sovereign realm.
The gulf between a Grand Sovereign and an ordinary Sovereign was vast beyond measure.
One could say that even if Daoist Purple stood motionless and allowed Chen Huan to hack at him freely, Chen Huan wouldn't even be able to breach his defenses.
Though his sworn brother was mysterious, he was still far too young.
Chen Huan believed that given a thousand years to cultivate, Daoist Purple would be trivial to him—but right now was another story.
"Run? It's too late to run. They're already here." Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes, yet his hands never ceased their carnage.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
His mind held nothing but slaughter, eager to pierce this entire world through and shatter the Liufeng Realm to pieces!
Hearing that, Chen Huan also sensed several overwhelmingly potent auras sweeping in their direction.
Among them, one presence stood out—obscure, profound, and fathomless.
A Grand Sovereign!
It was definitely Grand Sovereign Daoist Purple!
Fleeing... was truly no longer an option.
Chen Huan's face crumpled like a bitter gourd, feeling that doom was upon them.
His great-great-great-granddaughter was about to give birth, and he hadn't even had the chance to visit her.
He didn't know whether his dozens of concubines were thinking of him, either.
If he died here, this dazzling world would have nothing more to do with him.
"Brother, we're about to die anyway. Can I make one request?" Chen Huan asked meekly.
"Spit it out, and cut the crap!" Qi Yuan couldn't even be bothered to look at Chen Huan as he continuously decimated the demonic monstrosities, racing against time.
A sorrowful expression spread across Chen Huan's face as he declared with profound sincerity, "I have spent my whole life drifting alone, solitary and without kin. Before I die, could I perhaps have the honor of taking you as my adoptive father?"
"Get lost!" Qi Yuan cursed furiously.
The broken blade in his grasp lunged like an undulating dragon, roaring through the depths of Xingyuan Demonic Cavern.
Demonic monstrosities dropped by the hundreds and thousands.
And the auras of the Sovereigns were closing in at terrifying speed.
At long last, a long-awaited prompt rang beside Qi Yuan's ear once more:
[You have reached Level 120. You have gained one opportunity to comprehend your origin. Would you like to use it?]
After slaying demonic monstrosities in the Liufeng Realm for nearly a century, capped off by an enemy Sovereign, Qi Yuan's experience bar had finally hit Level 120.
Level 120 was a defining watershed.
Cross it, and one became a Sovereign.
Presently, Qi Yuan could be considered a half-step Sovereign.
Because he had yet to form his own origin divine ability.
"Comprehend." He naturally wouldn't pass up the opportunity provided by the level-up to gain his origin divine ability.
And this time, he would condense the strongest origin divine ability meant exclusively for him.
The scene of the mortal world froze in place.
When Qi Yuan opened his eyes, he found himself once again standing upon Mount Jiupan, a place he knew better than anywhere else.
However... the Mount Jiupan before him differed vastly from the mountain in his memory.
Weeds choked the slopes, brambles blanketed the earth, and not a soul was in sight.
The once lively Mount Jiupan looked no different from a desolate, wild ridge.
"How many years have passed?" Qi Yuan gazed about him, his expression turning bleak.
A profound sense of loneliness welled up inside him.
Looking up toward the firmament, his gaze abruptly turned resolute. "I will definitely become a Great Luo Golden Immortal, a Primordial Saint, and play the river of time like a little punk!"
Casting his loneliness aside, Qi Yuan swept his divine sense across Mount Jiupan.
Regrettably, he found nothing familiar.
"Canary... the Gate of Myriad Manifestations..."
"It seems I can no longer confine myself to Mount Jiupan this time. I should venture out and walk this realm myself."
His origin comprehension ought to be tied to the Gate of Myriad Manifestations.
Now at Level 120, his strength should be sufficient to enter the gate.
The closer he was to the Gate of Myriad Manifestations, the faster his comprehension would proceed, and the greater the benefits he would reap.
Clad in blood-red robes, Qi Yuan looked back upon the desolate Mount Jiupan with a nostalgic expression. "Sometimes, when there's no one blabbering incessantly in your ear, things really are rather dull."
Leaving Mount Jiupan, he walked down the mountain. Along the way, he deliberately slowed his pace, appearing no different from a novice who had just embarked upon cultivation.
Before a dozen breaths had passed, several human cultivators dressed in purple robes appeared, their faces flushed with excitement. "A remnant of the Blood Lord! Seize him!"
Five purple-robed cultivators lunged toward Qi Yuan; their cultivation seemed to be at the Hegemon realm.
Qi Yuan looked at the five of them, his expression frosty. "What did you just call me?"
At his words, the leader rolled his eyes and muttered to his companion, "He doesn't seem like a Blood Lord remnant."
Were he a true remnant of the Blood Lord, he would have fled long ago the moment they appeared.
"Who cares if he is or isn't? If he's lingering here, he's a Blood Lord remnant! Capturing him earns us the reward all the same!" said a purple-robed cultivator with a prominent mole on his face.
Reaching a consensus, the five turned fierce eyes upon Qi Yuan. "Brother, don't blame us—blame your own lousy luck!"
The five pounced toward Qi Yuan, aiming to capture him.
Yet at that very moment, a spear swept through the air as a black-robed youth materialized.
The spear struck like a viper, piercing clean through a purple-robed cultivator's chest.
Simultaneously, several throwing daggers whistled through the air, sinking straight into the foreheads of the others.
Before the five purple-robed cultivators could even mount a defense, they were wiped out with ruthless efficiency.
"Hmph, every dog in the Purple Sky Alliance deserves to die!" A girl in a short skirt with a high ponytail stepped forward, looking full of heroic spirit. It was her throwing daggers that had eliminated the remaining purple-robed cultivators.
A young man clad in crisp black garments, spear in hand, stood shoulder to shoulder with the girl. Looking at Qi Yuan, he said slowly, "Brother, my junior sister and I have slain these men. You should hurry along, or once more people from the Purple Sky Alliance arrive, you won't be able to leave."
"Thank you both for saving my life." Qi Yuan looked at the two of them, displaying a puzzled expression. "May I ask what these 'Blood Lord remnants' are, and what the Purple Sky Alliance is?"
"You don't know the Purple Sky Alliance?" The girl, Bai Luo, looked at Qi Yuan as though looking at an oddity.
"I have been cultivating deep in the mountains all this time and know nothing of worldly affairs," Qi Yuan replied.
Hearing this, the black-robed youth showed a flicker of wariness.
They had originally assumed the blood-robed man was merely a low-level cultivator and had intervened to rescue him.
Now, it appeared he was not so simple.
The young man said, "It's a long story. Why don't you leave with us, and we can speak on the way?"
Remaining here meant the Purple Sky Alliance would descend upon them shortly.
"Alright." Qi Yuan nodded.
The three departed Mount Jiupan briskly, conversing as they walked.
The youth, named Hei Yu, explained, "The Purple Sky Alliance is a powerful faction founded over the past few centuries.
"Its alliance master is known as the Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky.
"She claims to have come from the future."
"The future?" Qi Yuan was surprised.
He had also come from the future.
If the Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky truly hailed from the future, it did instill a faint sense of pressure in him.
Yet on second thought, he was a player—what was there to fear from an NPC? His composure returned immediately.
"Three hundred years ago, the Blood Lord disappeared. His followers established the Blood Palace, continuing to propagate his teachings and spreading the Demon Imprisoning Art across the world.
"This was originally a great blessing to all living beings!
"Yet unexpectedly, the Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky rose to prominence and asserted that the Blood Lord was the very root of all inner demons!" As Hei Yu spoke, his grip on his spear tightened.
Bai Luo added with bitter indignation, "Bullshit Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky! She simply concocted lies to smear Lord Blood Lord to fulfill her own ambitions!
"She claimed Lord Blood Lord is the reincarnation of the archdemon who is the source of all demonic monstrosities!
"Even more shameless, she argued that had Lord Blood Lord not felt guilty at heart, why would he ever have created the Demon Imprisoning Art to benefit the common folk?"
Hearing this, Qi Yuan couldn't help thinking that this last logic bore a striking resemblance to the ridiculous notion of 'if you didn't knock them down, why did you help them up?'
"With the Blood Lord branded an archdemon, the Blood Palace was labeled a Demon Palace.
"The cultivators of the Purple Sky Alliance have relentlessly targeted the Blood Palace ever since.
"Worse still, that old hag Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky claimed the Demon Imprisoning Art as her own, and now they are the ones distributing it to other clans!" Bai Luo fumed in fury.
Listening to all this, Qi Yuan grasped the gist of the matter.
The Purple Sky Alliance had set their sights on the Demon Imprisoning Art, desiring to claim credit for it all for themselves.
And so, they framed him as an archdemon.
"Are the two of you members of the Blood Palace?" Qi Yuan asked, looking at them.
"Yes." Hei Yu hesitated briefly before nodding in admission.
"How is the Blood Palace faring now?" Qi Yuan was somewhat concerned for Canary, hoping she was safe.
"The Blood Palace isn't doing well; we've been forced to retreat to a single continent," Bai Luo said.
"Is there a canary in the Blood Palace? How is she doing?" Qi Yuan asked the question closest to his heart.
Hei Yu looked at Qi Yuan with renewed wariness. "How do you know Senior Canary? Could it be... you were also a follower of the Blood Lord back then?"
Beside him, Bai Luo's eyes widened as well. "Are you a disciple of the Blood Lord?"
Qi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Judging by their reactions, Canary was still alive and unharmed.
In that case, things were not entirely lost.
"Is there any chance... that I am the Blood Lord?" Qi Yuan suggested.
Hei Yu froze for a moment.
Bai Luo quickly said, "Sir, that is not a joke to be made lightly."
"Oh?" Qi Yuan was surprised. Their reaction was unexpected.
Bai Luo explained, "The reason the Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky holds such absolute authority is that she obtained a supreme treasure of the mortal world... the Slate of Fate."
"The Slate of Fate?" It was the first time Qi Yuan had heard this name.
"When Buddha was born, myriad flowers blossomed and snow fell in the seventh month.
"A supreme treasure, the Slate of Fate, was born alongside Buddha.
"This slate is a transcendent artifact of the mortal realm, rumored to see into both the past and the future.
"Through the Slate of Fate, the Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky learned that the Blood Lord was no longer among the living.
"Only upon receiving this confirmation did she grow bold enough to target our Blood Palace.
"It is precisely because she wields the Slate of Fate that the Purple Sky Alliance commands such authority, enabling them to brazenly slander Lord Blood Lord and proclaim him an archdemon!" Bai Luo's anger flared hotter the more she spoke.
Hei Yu also said, "To create the Demon Imprisoning Art, the Blood Lord had exhausted all his vitality. His passing... was only reasonable.
"When the Slate of Fate confirmed the Blood Lord had fallen, the Blood Palace held a grand funeral in his honor."
"I... haven't even died yet. Isn't holding a funeral for me a bit premature?" Qi Yuan remarked helplessly. He then asked, "Where is Canary?"
"Senior Canary did not attend that funeral back then. Overcome with grief, she refused to accept that the Blood Lord had fallen.
"Presently, Senior Canary and the seniors of the Blood Palace are all at the Ends of the Earth."
The Ends of the Earth lay untold tens of thousands of li from Mount Jiupan, at the outermost boundary of the Liufeng Realm.
"All these years, the Purple Sky Alliance has relentlessly hunted the cultivators of the Blood Palace. Were it not for Senior Shang Yanran's extraordinary strength allowing her to stand against the Mystic Maiden of the Purple Sky, the Blood Palace would have perished long ago.
"Even so, our people were ultimately driven all the way to the Ends of the Earth." Mentioning this, Bai Luo spoke with bone-deep hatred for the Purple Sky Alliance.
Hei Yu added, "Just three months ago, the Purple Sky Alliance joined forces with the seven great sects and dispatched an allied army toward the Ends of the Earth, seeking to... completely annihilate the Blood Palace!"
Qi Yuan's heart tightened upon hearing this. "Do you have a map I could borrow for a look?"
"I have one." Bai Luo pulled out a crumpled map.
Qi Yuan unfolded it. The map was somewhat rudimentary, but the layout was clear.
The place where Qi Yuan currently stood was Mount Jiupan, located in the far north of the world.
The Purple Sky Alliance occupied the very center of the Liufeng Realm.
And the Ends of the Earth lay in the extreme south, the southern edge of this realm.
Traveling from Mount Jiupan to the Ends of the Earth would require crossing the entire Liufeng Realm.
A straight line southward passed directly through the Purple Sky Alliance.
"Thank you, both of you." Having understood the situation, Qi Yuan decided it was time to leave.
"Take this small gift for yourselves." With a flick of his wrist, a droplet of crimson liquid materialized out of thin air, split in two, and drifted into their hands.
In that same instant, Qi Yuan's figure vanished without a trace.
Hei Yu and Bai Luo exchanged glances, both wearing expressions of astonishment.
"He was definitely a supreme expert!"
"Could he be a Nation Protector?"
Filled with bewilderment, the two departed Mount Jiupan.
About half an hour later, they arrived back at a small village.
A furious shout rang out: "You two sneaked off again!"
A diminutive old man marched out, his face crimson with rage.
At the sight of him, both Hei Yu and Bai Luo shrank back timidly.
This old man was their master.
"Master, we didn't go out to cause trouble—we went to uphold justice! Today, we saved one of our fellow Blood Palace members from the clutches of the Purple Sky Alliance!" Bai Luo said smugly, playfully sticking out her tongue.
Hei Yu remained silent.
Hearing this, the old man's temper subsided slightly. "Sigh, how many times must I tell you? Never wander outside! If the Purple Sky Alliance discovers your master is here, you'll never see me again!"
"Master, we know! You're a big shot ranked in the top five hundred of the Purple Sky Alliance's wanted list. They take you very seriously!" Bai Luo chimed in flatteringly.
The old man shrugged. "The Purple Sky Alliance is blind! When the Blood Lord preached the Dao back then, I was among the first hundred to enter Mount Jiupan and listen, yet they actually ranked me four hundred and twenty-sixth on their wanted list! Utterly infuriating!"
Bai Luo offered a helpless smile.
Their master was great in every way, except for his love of... putting on airs.
Every once in a while, he would recount his glorious past, boasting about how he had sat among the top hundred when the Blood Lord preached.
And every time he finished, he would nervously warn them never to speak a word of this secret, lest they draw mortal danger if the Purple Sky Alliance caught wind of it.
Thinking of something, Bai Luo teased, "Master, we met a senior beneath Mount Jiupan today. From the looks of him, he might have listened to Lord Blood Lord's sermon right alongside you back then.
"He possessed an extraordinary demeanor—who knows, his seat might have been ahead of yours!"
Sure enough, hearing this, the little old man bristled instantly: "How could that be possible?! Those ranked ahead of me have all gone to the Ends of the Earth—who could possibly have sat closer to the Blood Lord than I did?
"That man is definitely an impostor!
"What did he look like? Tell me quickly—this old man is going to expose him!"
Chapter 114