181: Blood Mass

"Wh... what is this power? Who... who on earth are you?!" The Purple Mansion Cultivator's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with fear and disbelief.

"Your intelligence is quite accurate. I am indeed Lin Yan," Lin Yan said indifferently.

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step forward and instantly appeared before the Purple Mansion Cultivator.

"Ah!!!" The Purple Mansion Cultivator roared, fully activating his Purple Mansion power. "I'll take you down with me!"

The Purple Mansion Realm is fundamentally different from the Foundation Establishment Realm; a Purple Mansion Secret Realm is born within the Dantian, allowing one to channel Purple Mansion power.

At the critical moment of life and death, the Purple Mansion Cultivator directly shattered his Purple Mansion, erupting with his Purple Mansion Origin power.

This was a desperate, life-risking technique unique to Purple Mansion Realm Cultivators.

Even if he won, he would be crippled.

The Origin Purple Qi condensed into a giant purple hand, clawing toward Lin Yan.

"Spirit-Extinguishing Great Hand, Suppress!"

However, Lin Yan merely delivered a light sword strike.

"Flowing Cloud Style..."

With the Fusion of three Concepts, the sword light was like green lightning, accurately striking the giant purple hand.

With a crisp "crack," the giant purple hand instantly shattered.

The sword light's momentum remained undiminished as it pierced straight through the Purple Mansion Cultivator's chest.

"Pfft..."

The Purple Mansion Cultivator looked down in disbelief at the sword hole in his chest, his eyes filled with despair.

This wound was not fatal for a Purple Mansion Cultivator with tenacious vitality.

However, the Purple Mansion Qi Sea within his body was shaking violently and had already begun to collapse.

"No... impossible... I am at the Purple Mansion Realm..."

Lin Yan's gaze was cold. "So what if you're at the Purple Mansion Realm?"

As he spoke, he flicked his sword tip, forcibly crushing the Purple Mansion Cultivator's Purple Mansion Qi Sea and snapping his Meridians inch by inch.

His cultivation plummeted, and he was instantly reduced to a cripple. Losing even the strength to stand, he collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant.

Lin Yan sheathed his sword and withdrew his Sword Intent; the oppressive feeling within the cave immediately dissipated significantly.

He walked slowly to the Purple Mansion Cultivator, looking down at him from above, and said indifferently:

"Speak. Who sent you?"

A trace of resentment flashed in the Purple Mansion Cultivator's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by fear.

He was clearly gambling—gambling that Lin Yan would kill him with one strike to end this agony.

However, Lin Yan did not draw his sword. He simply stepped lightly on the man's chest, pinning him firmly to the ice.

"My patience is limited," Lin Yan's voice carried no warmth.

"You have two choices: confess truthfully, or I will slowly destroy your Divine Soul, making you wish for death but unable to find it."

These words completely shattered the Purple Mansion Cultivator's psychological defenses.

His whole body trembled as he finally realized that the person before him was no ordinary Spirit Plant Master.

Disciples from great Sects were rarely this ruthless.

"I... I'll talk..." he spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse.

"It's... it's Blood Mass..."

"Blood Mass?" Lin Yan's brow twitched slightly; he had never heard of this name.

"It's... it's one of the most secretive assassin organizations in the Canglan Realm, only taking on top-tier assassination missions... the price... the price is extremely high..."

As if grasping at a straw, the Purple Mansion Cultivator spoke rapidly:

"This time... someone paid a high price for your life... my brother and I... we just took the Bounty..."

"Who?" Lin Yan pressed, his gaze sharp as a sword.

"I... I don't know..." The Purple Mansion Cultivator shook his head.

"The Bounty only had your name and portrait; it didn't mention the employer... But... but Blood Mass always acts meticulously. Once they take a mission, they never stop until the target is dead... You... you're dead... No one can escape the pursuit of Blood Mass..."

His voice grew quieter and quieter, until he was almost muttering to himself, "To die under the pursuit of Blood Mass... can be considered... a kind of... honor..."

Lin Yan's eyes turned cold, and he kicked the man's face, interrupting him.

"Honor?" He sneered. "You certainly know how to flatter yourself."

He decisively finished off the Purple Mansion Cultivator, took the Storage Pouch, and turned toward the depths of the cave.

"Blood Mass..."

Lin Yan repeated the name softly, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Very well. Since you've come to my door, I'll see just how capable this Blood Mass really is."

He wasn't particularly afraid of this assassin organization.

If they were truly powerful, he would have surely heard of them long ago.

The only annoying thing about such shady organizations was their underhandedness.

He used his qinggang sword to extract the profound ice embedded in the ice walls one by one.

There were dozens of clusters.

"A pity... they're all just thousand-year profound ice." Lin Yan shook his head with regret.

He collected all the thousand-year profound ice.

This stuff was useful for brewing wine, so he didn't mind having more.

Then, his gaze locked onto the layer of milky-white spirit milk in the corner.

"glacier spirit milk... Its Spiritual Qi is extremely pure, perfect for charging toward the Foundation Establishment Ninth Level."

He took a deep breath and sank his mind into his body.

His Dantian Qi Sea surged, and spiritual power poured out like a tide, galloping and roaring through his Meridians.

With a wave of his hand, the spirit milk in the stone hollow turned into a milky-white stream, slowly guided out and entering his mouth through his fingertips.

"Such pure spiritual power!"

The spirit milk melted instantly upon entering his mouth, turning into a freezing yet pure energy that immediately swept through his entire body.

Lin Yan immediately circulated the Azure Emperor Longevity Art, guiding this spiritual power through his body.

"Chii chii chii..."

Wherever the spiritual power passed, the Meridians seemed to be washed by icy water. The minute Impurities left behind from years of cultivation were forcibly stripped away, seeping out through his pores with sweat, only to be instantly frozen into fine ice crystals in the extreme cold of the cave.

He focused all his effort on guiding the spiritual power to strike the invisible barrier blocking him from the Foundation Establishment Ninth Level.

Deep within his Qi Sea, the spiritual power was like a flood about to burst through a dam, waiting only for the final gate to open.

As his Dao Foundation improved and his Foundation became more solid, the Spiritual Qi required to break through each minor Realm also increased.

"Keep going!"

Lin Yan simply absorbed all the remaining glacier spirit milk into his body.

The spirit milk turned into a torrent of spiritual power, surging through his Meridians.

Where the torrent reached, the barrier made overburdened "crackling" sounds, and fine cracks spread rapidly.

"Boom!"

His Qi Sea shook violently as the barrier shattered.

The long-accumulated torrent of spiritual power instantly washed away the obstacle, spinning wildly in his Qi Sea and condensing into a more solid spiritual power core.

In an instant, Lin Yan's Aura climbed steadily, the shackles of the Eighth Level of Foundation Establishment were completely broken, and a brand-new power awakened within him.

"Foundation Establishment... Ninth Level!"

He slowly opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing through them.

He felt his Qi Sea had grown wider, and the circulation of his spiritual power was faster and more condensed. With every move, an incomparably sharp Sword Intent naturally flowed out.

The Foundation Establishment Ninth Level was the limit of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

After reaching the Ninth Level, one could directly enter secluded meditation to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm.

However, most Cultivators would spend some time refining and consolidating before attempting the Breakthrough.

Leaving the Extreme Cold Cave, he continued deeper into the glacier.

The surrounding environment became increasingly cold.

Lin Yan discovered another Extreme Cold Cave on his own, but unfortunately, it didn't contain any ten-thousand-year profound ice either.

There was plenty of thousand-year profound ice, though; it was in every nook and cranny, and Lin Yan had already collected a pile of it.

Continuing forward.

On the vast ice plain, as Lin Yan walked, a sudden gust of strong wind came from the side.

Something was flying toward him!