At the base of Life-and-Death Cliff, countless caves dotted the landscape, with thick yin baleful qi seeping endlessly from them, as if linked to the underworld.
Between two peculiar stones, outside one cave, numerous cultivators gathered, their gazes fixed on Pei Yutian, who sat cross-legged just inside the entrance.
This cave was extraordinary, previously hidden, only recently revealed.
From outside, it resembled a giant snake with its mouth agape, venomous fangs bared, menacing and grim.
The cave was dark, steeped in yin qi, with faint glimmers and shadowy ghosts faintly visible. No one knew its depth or where it led.
Pei Yutian sat within, his stone saber resting across his legs. As he breathed, potent saint qi surged, forming protective shields that shimmered like dreamlike bubbles around him.
A strange field existed outside the cave. Though various powerhouses had found it, they couldn’t break in immediately.
“Whoosh.”
A grey-robed Taoist breached the odd field, appearing opposite Pei Yutian.
“Hahaha, this Taoist has made it in! Pei Yutian, I suggest you hand over the Era Saint Medicine obediently, lest I take it myself,” the grey-robed Taoist laughed loudly.
Pei Yutian’s expression remained impassive. He gripped his stone saber and slashed casually.
“Swish.”
The grey-robed Taoist’s eyes widened in alarm, his pupils contracting sharply. He summoned a thick saint qi shield, but before the saber light, it tore like paper.
With a squelch, the grey-robed Taoist’s body was cleaved in two at the waist, collapsing in a pool of blood, his life extinguished.
Fearless souls were never in short supply.
At that moment, another figure charged in, hurling a treasure seal at Pei Yutian.
The seal blazed with brilliant golden light, countless inscriptions flaring, unleashing the full might of Five Yao.
Pei Yutian showed no panic, thrusting his stone saber vertically downward.
“Boom.”
Thousands of sharp saber qi erupted from the ground, forming a terrifying saber qi domain.
The treasure seal was struck by waves of saber qi, its power drained, tumbling from mid-air.
The powerhouse who’d unleashed it was pierced by countless saber qi strands, his body shattering, leaving only scattered bones.
Neither the grey-robed Taoist nor the old monk with the treasure seal were weak—both were Saint Kings—yet neither withstood Pei Yutian’s single strike.
Finally, some top-tier powerhouses could hold back no longer, preparing to act.
Sensing danger, Pei Yutian looked up. A multicoloured tiger claw, vivid and dazzling, appeared ten zhang away, trailed by countless afterimages, blurring reality and illusion.
The tiger claw bore down fiercely, exuding immense pressure.
A trace of gravity flashed in Pei Yutian’s eyes as he swiftly raised his stone saber to meet it.
“Bang.”
The tiger claw struck the saber squarely, transmitting a terrifying force.
Pei Yutian rose, his saint qi shield shattering, retreating three steps swiftly.
“Nine-Step Saint King, Minor Rule Heaven.”
Watching the imposing man approach, Pei Yutian’s gaze narrowed slightly.
The man radiated intense baleful qi, making no effort to conceal his formidable presence. Behind him, a faint tiger phantom loomed, its ferocious aura unsettling.
“Hand over the Era Saint Medicine, and this king will leave your corpse intact,” the imposing man said coldly.
Pei Yutian said nothing, slowly lifting his stone saber, channeling endless saint qi into it.
Patterns emerged clearly on the saber’s surface, awakening a strange power.
“Kill.”
Pei Yutian growled, swinging the saber in a lethal arc.
A peerless saber beam erupted, slashing straight at the imposing man.
The man snorted. “A dying struggle.”
He thrust out a hand, transforming it into a multicoloured tiger claw.
The claw swelled in the wind, growing dozens of zhang wide.
Black lightning crackled, coiling around it.
“Crack.”
The tiger claw seized the saber beam, crushing it to pieces.
Simultaneously, over a hundred black lightning bolts shot forth like venomous snakes.
Pei Yutian resisted fiercely, but three bolts struck him, leaving charred, bloody holes.
In their second clash, Pei Yutian was again outmatched, reduced to defending without countering.
“A mere Seven-Step Saint King dares challenge this king?”
The imposing man sneered, eyes full of disdain.
The tiger claw enlarged once more, lunging at Pei Yutian.
The cave’s strange field was weakening; others would soon breach it. He had to kill Pei Yutian and seize the treasures first.
At minimum, the Era Saint Medicine was his for the taking.
If he claimed it, he’d leave the Kunlun Realm, refine it elsewhere, and his cultivation would soar—who could stop him then?
“Bang.”
Pei Yutian stumbled back, blood trickling from his mouth.
The gap between a Seven-Step and Nine-Step Saint King was vast. Despite his exceptional talent, crossing tiers was near impossible.
He lacked Zhang Ruochen’s Supreme Perfect Physique. Reaching Saint King and fighting up one tier was already remarkable, especially against no ordinary foe.
The imposing man pressed his relentless assault, giving Pei Yutian no respite.
“Bang.”
The tiger claw struck, sending Pei Yutian flying into the cave’s depths, crashing against rock.
“Pfft.”
He spat a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments.
The cave’s depths were frigid, instantly freezing the blood into red crystals.
The rock he’d hit cracked, revealing strands of divine light.
“Rumble.”
Rocks fell within the cave, unveiling a wondrous sight.
The yin baleful qi dissipated, replaced by a holy aura as countless divine lights bloomed and intertwined.
At the cave’s ceiling, dazzling points of light shone like stars, pearls, or gems.
They were divine stones.
Bathed in divine light, a pool emerged, radiant mist rising from its dark red waters, exuding divinity—it was a pool of divine blood.
“Divine stones, divine blood.”
The imposing man’s eyes widened, his heart racing with ecstasy.
For a moment, his focus shifted entirely to the divine stones and blood. Ignoring potential dangers, he charged inside.
“Die.”
Seizing the chance, Pei Yutian lunged, swinging his stone saber at the man’s waist.
The imposing man reacted instantly, turning both hands into tiger claws to block.
“Squelch.”
The bladeless saber erupted with peerless sharpness, severing the tiger claws.
“You’ve broken through to Eight-Step Saint King?”
The imposing man stared in disbelief.
According to his intel, Pei Yutian had only recently reached Seven-Step Saint King—how could he advance so quickly?
“Could it be… the Era Saint Medicine?”
Realisation struck him.
Pei Yutian had fought desperately for the Era Saint Medicine—why wouldn’t he use it?
Hiding beneath Life-and-Death Cliff for four or five days gave him time to refine part of it, boosting his cultivation a tier.
At Eight-Step Saint King, Pei Yutian’s strength had surged, his attacks now incomparable to before.
Caught off guard, the imposing man suffered a grievous loss, retreating swiftly to regroup.
Pei Yutian wouldn’t let this opportunity slip, pressing forward, channeling saint qi and vital blood into the saber.
Gravely wounded, he had to eliminate the man now or face dire consequences.
Absorbing his blood, the saber’s patterns turned crimson, like flowing veins.
The saber seemed alive, pulsing in perfect harmony with Pei Yutian.
As if one with the saber, he swung a seemingly ordinary strike, unleashing hundreds of blood-red saber qi that slashed at the imposing man.
The man froze, his eyes wide with incredulity.
“Boom.”
Blood light burst from his body, slicing him into fragments instantly.
Pei Yutian swayed, nearly collapsing.
That strike had drained his spirit, mind, and energy; only his iron will kept him upright.
Yet the slaughter wasn’t over.
“Whoosh.”
“Whoosh.”
Fifteen figures breached the strange field, entering the cave.
Their eyes blazed with fervor, locked on the starry expanse and divine blood pool behind Pei Yutian.
They’d come for his treasures but hadn’t expected such finds beneath Life-and-Death Cliff.
Divine stones and blood were priceless; none could resist.
Yet they hesitated, wary of Pei Yutian.
He’d just slain a Nine-Step Saint King—who wouldn’t fear him?
“Don’t be afraid. He’s gravely wounded, a spent force now.”
“He reached Eight-Step Saint King so fast; he must’ve refined the Era Saint Medicine. This king will suppress him in my saint furnace and extract its essence.”
A group of powerhouses eyed Pei Yutian greedily.
Pei Yutian stood tall, gripping his saber. “Even wounded, I’m not prey for you vermin. Come if you want to die.”
“Pei Yutian, still bluffing at this point? Everyone, attack together—kill him, and the treasures are up for grabs,” an Eight-Step Saint King said.
The others stirred, exchanging glances.
Their cultivation ranged from Six-Step to Eight-Step Saint King, with no Nine-Steps among them. Alone, none could match Pei Yutian; uniting was wisest.
“Strike.”
All fifteen Saint Kings attacked simultaneously.
Even together, they were cautious, avoiding close range, unleashing saint weapons or techniques from afar.
Pei Yutian’s aura sharpened abruptly as he slashed horizontally.
Countless saber qi erupted, forming a storm like raging waves, sweeping outward.
“Boom.”
Saint weapons caught in the storm shattered into fragments instantly.
Their saint techniques crumbled, unable to resist.
“How is he so strong? Didn’t he just reach Eight-Step Saint King?”
“He’s clearly gravely wounded—is he faking it?”
“That stone saber’s odd; it draws the power of heaven and earth.”
“He’s insane—retreat!”
Seeing Pei Yutian’s dominance, the fifteen Saint Kings recoiled in fear, backing off rather than clashing head-on.
The saber qi storm advanced relentlessly, unavoidable.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
Six piercing screams rang out as six Six-Step Saint Kings were shredded by the storm, meeting gruesome ends.
“Ah.”
Another cry followed—a Seven-Step Saint King fell too.
Finally, the storm dissipated, the remaining eight retreating far enough.
Though alive, they were badly injured, especially two Seven-Step Saint Kings, half their bodies torn away, narrowly escaping death.
The storm’s destruction cracked rocks in the cave, exposing gleaming divine bones.
“Hm?”
Pei Yutian snapped his head up, gazing outward.
Four terrifying streams of deathly evil qi, like four black suns, streaked in swiftly, radiating overwhelming might that made the eight Saint Kings tremble, their souls quaking.
“Death Clan powerhouses—flee!”
