The youngster’s body was mangled, and his clothes were ripped and drenched with blood, yet he stood tall and proud in the air. Clasping the broken blade shrouded in starry brilliance, he resembled a fiendish god.
No one dared to test their strength against him. Even two Heaven Ascension cultivators had perished, so who would be able to stand a chance against such a ruthless youngster?
“Who else wants to compete for this blade?”
Lin Xun’s voice reverberated throughout the area like a rumble of thunder, but no one answered him.
Many people’s faces blanched with terror, and their bodies stiffened with fear when the youth swept his eyes over them. No one dared to make direct eye contact.
That was power!
First, he had subdued the heaven-defying broken blade, then he had slaughtered a dozen cultivators, and finally he had killed two experts of the Heaven Ascension Stage. Lin Xun’s ruthless abilities had chilled everyone to the bone.
Shua!
Lin Xun withdrew his gaze and activated the Hornless Ice Dragon Step without any hesitation. He sped into the distant void like a streak of a rainbow.
Many cultivators bitterly wanted to act, but they restrained themselves in the end knowing that they couldn’t stop him.The ruthless youth’s power had intimidated everyone.
Only when the boy had completely vanished from their field of vision did they wake up from their shock. They broke into a clamor of discussion as they saw the mangled bodies strewn across the battlefield and the destruction their fight had caused to the mountains, rivers and ground.
“Why is that young man so terrifying? He can be called invincible in the Spirit Sea Stage! He killed even Heaven Ascension cultivators! Unbelievable!” someone exclaimed.
“He has to be a reclusive descendant of an ancient immortal sect. Otherwise, why would we have never heard of him before?”
“Yes, I have also heard that there are similar peerless geniuses as the ruthless young man in some ancient forbidden places and sacred cultivation land!”
“Say, if you compare the ruthless youngster to the current unparalleled geniuses such as Ling Zinuo of Cloud Jade Sky Mountain, Tie Qianhan of Solitary Star Sect, Yun Ke of Spirit Yuan Sword Sect, Yuan Zhan of Blood Divine Sect, Lian Dieyi of Myriad Spirit land…who do you think is most powerful?”
“It’s hard to say. The reason the ruthless youngster can kill Heaven Ascension cultivators is because the forbidden power within the Treasure Drop Blood Plain has restricted them from mobilizing their divine powers. Also, he has the heaven-defying broken blade in his hand. Ling Zinuo, Tie Qianhan and the others would also be able to do the same if they were in the same situation.”
“I can’t wait for the ruthless youngster to go up against those geniuses to see who is the most dazzling.”
The feats of the ‘ruthless youngster’ spread throughout Treasure Drop Blood Plain and set off many heated discussions.
No one thought that the quiet youngster would be so fierce. However, no one knew what the youngster’s name was or where he was from.
……
Around a collapsed ruin-like mountain, not a blade of grass grew. The boulders and rocks around it were all blood-red, emitting a fiendish qi that fogged the area.
It was a place of great danger that any ordinary cultivators would avoid if they spotted it from afar.
Swoosh!
Soon, Lin Xun appeared there.
Unlike before, when he had demonstrated his unrivaled mighty powers, his face was ashen and his brows were creased with fatigue, worry, and helplessness.
The previous battle had stunned everyone, but no one was aware that he had exhausted himself and couldn’t withstand much longer!
The reason lay with the Origin Aeth Artery.
Although Lin Xun had eventually formed an Origin Aeth Artery through the earthshaking battle with the heaven-defying broken blade, an unexpected change had happened.
The newly formed Origin Aeth Artery seemed desperate for energy and started to devour the aeth power in his body!
Lin Xun was originally delighted to see that happen. He had thought it would be great if the Origin Aeth Artery could refine the violent, uncontrollable aeth power in his body.
Only later did he find that his Origin Aeth Artery was like a bottomless pit, constantly swallowing and refining the aeth power within his body.
If he became squeezed dry of his aeth power, his cultivation would also be exhausted!
That was the reason why he had to leave in a hurry after the battle and give up on the chance to search for spoils.
Fortunately, his fierceness had deterred many cultivators. If they refused to give up, they could have taken advantage of his weakened state.
“I must quietly self-cultivate for a while…”
Unhesitatingly, Lin Xun darted into the depths of the mountain enveloped in fiendish mist.
Dozens of days had passed since his Origin Aeth Artery had appeared, his battle with Qian Huai, and his entry into the Treasure Drop Blood Plain, but he hadn’t rested a single time.
He wanted to settle the violent, explosive power within his body.
However, he had successfully formed the Origin Aeth Artery and resolved a crisis only to be plunged into another.
His Origin Aeth Artery was madly devouring his cultivation base!
If it continued, Lin Xun wouldn’t be able to survive. He would constantly be weakened until he collapsed.
He had moved from one crisis to another, from one extreme to the other. Everything had originated from his Origin Aeth Artery, so Lin Xun felt speechless regarding his situation.
However, on the other hand, it was precisely because of the birth of his Origin Aeth Artery that he was able to form the four heart acupuncture points, which helped his strength to skyrocket. He had grown stronger and stronger, and his strength had been transformed time and time again.
It had made it possible for him to fight against Qian Huai, Daoist Bear and other Heaven Ascension cultivators. It also allowed him to subdue the heaven-defying broken blade and stun many cultivators.
Lin Xun had a hunch that his strength would soar to an unprecedented height if he could resolve his new crisis and stabilize his Origin Aeth Artery!
The mountains shrouded in the fiendish mist were terrifyingly quiet. Not a single soul seemed to exist there. The ground was covered with strange, dark-red, blood stains.
Although Lin Xun urgently needed a safe place to cultivate quietly, he didn’t dare to lower his guard in such a chilling and danger-ridden place.
Soon, the huge skeleton of a monster beast came into his view. It was over ten feet long, and its head had been smashed, leaving only its body.
The skeleton was pale golden color with fiendish qi lingering around it. It had been lying there since ancient times.
Roar—
An earth-shattering roar rang out from the skeleton. Lin Xun felt his hair stand on end, and a suffocating danger enveloped him.
The skeleton had to have been a monstrous beast before its death. It was still exuding unparalleled ferocity and a terrifying aura despite years of corrosion.
Lin Xun didn’t dare to approach the skeleton and avoided it from afar.
Not long after that, a river of blood loomed in the fiendish mist, flowing silently and without the slightest ripple on the surface.
Lin Xun was terrified to see that the river was made up of thick, glistening blood like it was from ancient times.
Ancient corpses occasionally bobbed to the surface of the blood river, and broken ancient treasures drifted down the river to the depths of the mountains.
Lin Xun felt his heart palpitate. It was as though a terrifying, forbidden power existed within the river of blood, burying everyone and all the frightening things that had happened in the world.
What kind of river is that?
He scanned the area and noticed an ancient corpse. It was a woman in rainbow-coloured clothes with an azure bone sword pierced into her neck. The bone sword glowed a dreamy hue.
Lin Xun froze to the spot, and his heart pounded rapidly. He felt chilled to the core.
He didn’t dare to take another glance and headed deeper into the mist, avoiding the river. His vigilance increased even more.
Before long, he spotted an ordinary-looking tomb. A broken stone tablet was inserted into a pile of loess.
The stone tablet was covered with moss and had no lettering.
However, Lin Xun felt fear flood his heart, and goosebumps spread all over his body as he stood at the lonely tomb. It was as though he had fallen into an ice cave. The ordinary-looking tomb must have buried a powerful figure who mustn’t be disturbed.
Where am I?
Lin Xun avoided the tomb.
His heart churned like the choppy sea. The ruins-like mountains were deathly still and not a blade of grass grew, but there were unfathomable monster skeletons, ancient corpses floating in blood rivers, and solitary tombs.
If it weren’t for his steely determination to leave the danger-ridden area, he would have been caught in a sticky situation already.
Eventually, he stopped in front of a cave, where a terrifying battle had taken place as indicated by the unfaded dark-red blood stains on the ground.
Hu—
Lin Xun drew a deep breath, sat cross-legged in the cave, and began to meditate.
The depths of the mountain were extremely strange, dangerous, and frighteningly quiet. No one would think that Lin Xun would be cultivating there.
Rumble—
The Origin Aeth Artery glistened brightly in his heart, releasing a sacred aura and swallowing the surging aeth power in his sea of qi. The process resembled hundreds of rivers merging with the ocean.
Following that, the Origin Aeth Artery grew visibly stable, solid, and splendid. Moreover, the sacred aura around it was extremely mysterious and unfathomable.
For many years, Lin Xun had been thinking about what his stolen Origin Aeth Artery had looked like.
Now, it had been reborn. It occupied his heart meridian, flowing with a sacred aura. Lin Xun was now finally seeing its true face for the very first time!
Very mysterious—
After careful observation, he could sense that he had gained a supreme wondrous power. It was like he now possessed a mysterious treasure trove in his body after forming his Origin Aeth Artery.
However, Lin Xun couldn’t care about that anymore. His chest tensed up because his surging aeth power was on the verge of being drained.
His Origin Aeth Artery hadn’t stopped devouring his aeth power!
It was thirsty for power to stabilize and replenish itself after being formed.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Xun took out the elixirs and aeth medicines from his storage ring. He swallowed some to replenish the sea of qi that had almost dried up.
However, the tremendous medicinal power was all used up within a short span of time!
Lin Xun trembled inwardly. He had no choice but to take out more aeth medicines and refine them.
Whenever his aeth power was almost drained, he would swallow and refine aeth pills and elixirs. The process continued endlessly for several hours.
Even so, his Origin Aeth Artery never stopped devouring the incoming power!
Soon, Lin Xun used up his storage of aeth medicine and elixirs. He was flabbergasted at his Origin Aeth Artery’s devouring ability.
The Origin Aeth Artery has…such a good appetite…