Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Everyone saw with their own eyes how Qin Yu was sapping the power from the Spiritual Snake. However, after confirming that the Spiritual Snake was an innate spirit, Ye Xing was not anxious.

The reason was very simple. The old corpse of an innate spirit contained enough strength to fill many seas. Regardless of the method, how much power would an ordinary cultivator be able to absorb? How strong would he become? At the very most, Ye Xing would lose a limb in battle. It would be easy for Ye Xing to get rid of him.

As long as he blocked the eldest disciple of the Peach Garden and the Prince of Heavenly Palace, the outcome would be decided!

That's right. In Ye Xing's eyes, they were the only two cultivators qualified to compete with him. There was no need for him to fear everyone else.

Nonetheless, there may be hidden dangers and nothing would proceed perfectly smoothly. As such, it was best that the two came out to the field early.

After he repeated his words a third time, everyone was surprised when Ye Xing suddenly took action. He raised his head and yelled to the sky, and the illusion of the Nether Saint emerged above him with a bang. Numerous blood rays shot out.

As it flew, blood rays stretched and grew long and narrow. There was a terrifying aura as the rays cut out like knives.

When these blood rays flew by, one could hear the cries of numerous living beings. The pain within these cries was bone-chilling and a bloody path to the sky gradually appeared. There were countless corpses underneath the path that were all struggling miserably.

"Death's Path!"

"It is the Nether Half-Saint's inner root!"

"This is not possible!"

"Run, let's run!"

Screams pierced the air as many cultivators fled as fast as they could with panic-stricken faces.

However, they were significantly slower than the blood rays. As soon as a blood ray touched the back of the first cultivator, it flowed into his body. The cultivator's eyes widened and before he could react, he exploded into pieces.

Soon, like a ripe fruit that hung from a branch, it swayed from side to side with the wind. Booming sounds continued endlessly and the air was instantly filled with blood.

Elder apprentice brother wore a dark face and his body flashed as he tried to move to Lei Xiaoyu to protect her. Yet, before he could react, there was a painful cry and she flew backward quickly. Scarlet blood gushed out of a wound and stained her skirt.

Her pupils shrunk but confusion soon filled them. Elder apprentice brother rushed to raise a hand and block the front. In the next instant, blood rays rained down.

A loud boom shook the air and it felt as though a hammer had banged down on the earth heavily. Elder apprentice brother retreated backward at lightning speed as his sleeves flowed in the air. A flicker of a blood ray flashed past through his sleeves and suddenly disappeared.

The Prince of Heavenly Palace, Xu She, had also been forced backward with him. He had summoned a shield of golden light to protect himself and he barely managed to block the blow from the True Saint. Other than them, there was hardly anyone else who could stand their ground.

Before the altar, the many cultivators that had stared at the corpse of the Spiritual Snake with glowing eyes had exploded. They did not even have corpses left as they turned to dust.

There were a few who had some avatar ability to escape death. However, their true bodies had sustained injuries too. Most of them had lost limbs or whole parts of their bodies and they wailed and cried pitifully.

It was not that these cultivators were weak, but Ye Xing's attack was vicious. The blow seemed to be from him but he had actually used the Nether Saint's dao quintessence!

Dao quintessence, as mentioned before, was the root of a Saint and it could be viewed as the strongest and most mysterious thing in the world. Back then, Old Turtle had given his all in battle just to obtain a trace of dao quintessence from the Scholartree Saint.

Now? Ye Xing had killed so many people and expended a lot of dao quintessence. This was also the reason why the Nether Saint's illusion could last in the Lost Garden for so long. He used his own dao quintessence to combat the rules compression imposed on him by Lost Garden.

As the basis of a Saint, dao quintessence would self-destruct if it was overused. It could even result in the wrecking of one's cultivation base.

Unless he had no other choice, a cultivator would never use his own dao quintessence. As such, the Nether Saint was against this move but he had been forcefully kidnapped by his own son, Ye Xing.

Cultivators of the Netherworld had a Saint path characterized by killing. However, even though everyone walked down the same path, they went different ways. People were fundamentally different but they still had similarities.

With this as the basis, Ye Xing had come up with a way using his own blood as the medium. He stole a trace of the Nether Saint's Great Dao.

This was the reason why he could forcefully call upon the Nether Saint and his power in the Lost Garden to form the large illusion. While the Nether Saint was preoccupied with fighting against the rules of the Lost Garden, Ye Xing had destroyed the foundations of his Great Dao and conducted a killing.

With the True Saint Phenomenon as the price and a killing cultivation path from the Nether Saint, the power behind this was terrifying. It was a given that he was able to kill people in a single strike.

The Prince of Heavenly Palace's face was pale. He looked at the bloody figure that reformed after another explosion and said, "Nether Saint, should we take action?"

The Nether Saint replied, "You will be doing me a favor by killing that bastard." His voice was calm but the murderous intent behind it was evident.

It was obvious that Ye Xing's mad destructive ways had caused the Nether Saint a great deal of harm. It was nonsense that Ye Xing would inherit the Netherworld if he succeeded…it was truly dumb if anyone took it for real.

"Thank you for your understanding, Nether Saint." The Prince of Heavenly Palace stood up. His bright eyes turned a golden color and they looked like two tiny suns that burned with forceful energy. A terrifying aura erupted from his body and spread out over the air.

"Ye Xing, you have killed twelve men from the Heavenly Palace. As the Prince of Heavenly Palace, I have to seek revenge for them and maintain the honor of Heavenly Palace."

Ye Xing remained expressionless as he asked, "Aren't you afraid of death?"

The Prince of Heavenly Palace replied, "Dao quintessence from a True Saint is deadly, but in the end you have only obtained a trace of the Great Dao. How many times can you unleash such destructive attacks? You can't kill me."

There was a lot of confidence in his voice.

Elder apprentice brother was hesitant. Then, he slowly spoke, "Since Nether Saint doesn't mind, whatever happens today, I hope you won't take it out on me."

Because he had a premonition, he had observed a few things early on. Although he was still worried, he eventually chose cooperation. After putting on an act for so long, she was probably waiting for this moment. If he did not go along with her then she would hold it against him.

Therefore, he stepped forward together with the Prince of Heavenly Palace.

Ye Xing smirked, "Eldest disciple of the Peach Garden and the Prince of Heavenly Palace. It is true that I am not fully confident of killing the both of you with dao quintessence. However, I heard that the disciples of the Peach Garden are very close to each other. I wonder if that is true."

He reached his hand forward and curled his fingers in. A figure emerged in front of him.

"Junior sister!"

Elder apprentice brother's face filled with shock and the Prince of Heavenly Palace frowned.

Lei Xiaoyu's body was cracking apart and she was drenched in blood. She looked very pitiful and it seemed she was barely holding onto her life after the previous blow from the dao quintessence through some secret technique.

Oh no!

The Prince of Heavenly Palace had some understanding of the Peach Garden disciples and he looked at elder apprentice brother in concern. Elder apprentice brother had fear and worry written all over his face. If Lei Xiaoyu was killed, that was actually better. All the Peach Garden disciples would be so enraged, they would want to kill Ye Xing together.

However, she was still alive. How troublesome!

"Ye Xing, let junior-apprentice sister go. We can talk things through!"

Ye Xing had expected this.

Cultivators of the Peach Garden were different from others. Those who knew them well were very aware of this.

Sometimes, others would be jealous of the culture in the Peach Garden. But there were also times when people would just look down on them and be angered.

The Prince of Heavenly Palace laughed bitterly but did not say anything. He knew that he would only ruin his own impression in elder apprentice brother's heart if he said anything. It would not help their situation now.

Ye Xing smirked, "It is very simple. As long as elder apprentice brother comes out and helps me stop the illusion, I promise that your junior-apprentice sister will be alright. You guys can return safely to the Peach Garden."

Elder apprentice brother's voice deepened and he asked, "How can I trust you?"

Ye Xing replied, "You don't have any other choice."

There was a moment of silence and elder apprentice brother's lips twitched.

"Fine…" He uttered the single word in a deep but gentle tone. Though he only spoke one word, the conflict he felt was clear.

The Prince of Heavenly Palace closed his eyes. Would this day's spectacular event be handed over to Ye Xing because of this stupid reason? With the way the Nether Saint did things, if he really succeeded, would me and you both live?

Tall Sostrong, you have disappointed me!

Bam -

There was a muffled sound like a knife splitting flesh apart. Elder apprentice brother wore a stern face as he attacked.

Lei Xiaoyu, who was in Ye Xing's arms, flew back sharply. She had been hit and blood spurted out of her mouth and dripped from her nose. Yet, there was undeniable excitement on her face.

It was worth it!

She had played an act for so long and she did not waste it. It was not in vain.

"Ah! Who are you? You are not Lei Xiaoyu!" Ye Xing cried. There was an empty hole in his chest and blood poured out. Where his heart should be was an empty space.

Just then, elder apprentice brother's punch came.

Boom!

A loud bang sounded as Ye Xing was thrown back. The loss of his heart also greatly brought down his blood and qi. His small body was almost ripped apart by this blow.

He desperately reached out in the air, as though he was trying to grab ahold of his heart. Lei Xiaoyu smiled brightly, "You are smart, congratulations. I am not Xiaoyu."

She lifted her hand and changed her face. Instantly, a beautiful face appeared. She wore a sweet smile and stared at Ye Xing as he continued to spit out blood, "Look, I was so scared by you, I had to reveal my true face. You have to take responsibility! Oh…for the sake of everyone, I will just take your heart as payment. Don't be too touched, I am a good person!"

"Peach Garden Thousand Faces! It is you!" Ye Xing shrieked.

The Prince of Heavenly Palace froze. He was at a loss for words

He stole a glance at elder apprentice brother who was standing still with his fists closed. The Prince of Heavenly Palace's mouth twitched and his eyes turned black.

The anxiousness in elder brother apprentice's face earlier, the helplessness and look of seriousness back then, together with the severity of emotions when he spoke was a whole performance.

He had fully believed in it.

However, who knew… everything was fake! From the beginning to the end, this was a performance. They had dug a hole trap and were just waiting for an unlucky person to jump in. Then, the trap would snap and they would be buried cleanly.

The unlucky prey had appeared, and just a moment ago, this prey was a demon who stole a True Saint Phenomenon and conducted a massacre of many brilliant cultivators in the Saint circle. He, the Prince of Heavenly Palace, was the only person who experienced the whole thing so personally.

Tall Sostrong, I never knew this was who you were. You have changed. Or was it I who judged you wrongly from the start? Peach Garden, have you changed?

As the Prince of Heavenly Palace thought about this, he shivered subconsciously.

Was Ye Xing strong?

Of course he was. Not withstanding his own strength, the trace of True Saint Phenomenon that he had was already incredibly strong. He had been decisive today and he did not care about severing the relationship with his father to obtain the corpse of the Spiritual Snake before him. This was an extreme measure.

However, the Peach Garden disciples had pulled a good trick on such an incredible person. What if it was him? The Prince of Heavenly Palace's heart shuddered. He felt like he would not be able to see through the trick either.

It was too frightening!

Half of Ye Xing's body had been blown to pieces and blood spurted out of his mouth and nose. Yet, he laughed hysterically, causing more blood to pool out. He even spat out some gooey substances and it felt like they were his own organs.

"Ha ha ha! Unbelievable, this is unbelievable! I went through so much to come to today and I thought that I would succeed. Who knew that everything would be spoilt by this trick! Peach Garden disciples, you are incredible! However, it is lonely for me to die by myself. The road to hell would be too silent. Why don't you guys join me?"

The blood illusion of the Nether Saint gave an angry roar. Suddenly, the illusion shrunk and exploded.

Elder apprentice brother sighed deeply and his body flashed. A deep and serious look crossed his eyes as he moved to protect others.

He had never imagined that Ye Xing would be so extreme. Not only had Ye Xing stolen some Great Dao, he could even cause it to explode.

Dao quintessence was the foundation of Great Dao and Great Dao was the source of strength for a cultivator.

If the True Saint Phenomenon was destroyed, however small it was, it could instantly wipe out everything in the area!