betray

The figure in green instantly merged into the shadows of the cliff wall, even their aura assimilating with the surrounding hot wind.

This was the Concealment Art he created by merging the Wind Law and the Myriad Laws Art, making it a hundred times more sophisticated than Su Mei's Wind Concealment Talisman.

Qin Yue, seeing this, also activated his Tortoise Shell Jade Pendant, and his figure transformed into a faint golden streak of light, sticking to the back of the rock.

A moment later, three black figures darted out from the mountain crevice. They were all Late Stage Soul Transformation cultivators from the Blood Shadow Sect, their faces covered by blood-colored masks, and they held curved bone blades.

The leader raised a hand and waved, and the blood patterns on the bone blade lit up: “There was clearly an aura here just now, how did it disappear?”

“Search! The Sect Master said it’s better to kill the wrong person than to let one slip away!”

The three spread out in a 'pin' formation, and the sharp whistling of the bone blades cutting through the air echoed between the cliffs.

When the leftmost black shadow approached White Night's hiding spot, a flash of azure sword light suddenly shot out from behind the rock. The space rift contained within the sword light instantly severed his neck. The blood-colored mask rolled off, revealing a young face covered in blood patterns.

The other two turned back in alarm, only to see Qin Yue's Tortoise Shell Jade Pendant suspended in mid-air. The golden light emitted by the pendant was like a rope, tightly binding their figures. “Fellow Daoist Bai, act now!”

White Night didn't need further prompting. His Iron Sword spun out an azure arc, and wherever the arc swept, the two black shadows, along with their bone blades, were instantly shredded into bloody mist.

The magma pool in front of the mountain crevice bubbled, as if swallowing the bloody aura.

“Xue Wuya really brought a lot of people.” White Night picked up the blood-colored token on the ground. The words “Shadow Guard” were carved on it. “These are his most elite personal guards. It seems he is determined to obtain the boundary gate.”

Qin Yue wiped the sweat from his brow: “The tortoise shell shows that the cliff summit platform is right ahead, and those two Void Returning auras are right in the center of the platform.

We must be careful. Xue Wuya's 'Blood God Transformation' is rumored to temporarily boost him to the Late Stage Void Returning Realm.”

Passing through the mountain crevice, the view suddenly opened up.

The summit of Burning Heaven Cliff was a platform spanning a hundred zhang. In the center stood a zhang-high black stone stele, engraved with distorted spatial runes, which were the coordinates for the boundary gate of the Nine Heavens Realm.

Nine magma rivers encircled the stone stele. Golden flames rolled in the rivers—that was the purest Fire Spirit Vein energy of the Burning Heaven Cliff.

And in front of the stone stele, two figures stood facing each other.

On the left, Xue Wuya was clad in a blood-colored robe, the corners flapping loudly in the hot wind. His exposed arms were covered in dark red veins, looking as if living things were crawling beneath his skin.

In his hand, he was toying with a fragment of the blood god pearl. Countless vengeful spirits could vaguely be seen howling inside the pearl body—it was the remnant of the blood god pearl that White Night had previously shattered.

The figure on the right caused White Night's pupils to contract slightly.

It was an old man wearing the robes of a Burning Heaven Valley Elder. Flame totems were embroidered on the gray robe, yet blood-colored patterns were wrapped around the edges of the totems.

He held a Bronze Cauldron in his hand. The flames burning within the cauldron were a strange purplish-black, clearly contaminated by Blood Fiend energy.

“Liu Chengfeng? You actually defected to the Blood Shadow Sect!” Qin Yue cried out in shock. “Burning Heaven Valley treated you well, why did you betray them?”

Liu Chengfeng turned his head, his aged face devoid of shame, showing instead a fanatical smile: “Treated me well? They crippled my cultivation and expelled me from the sect just because I practiced the 'Exotic Flame Art'! Only Sect Master Xue was willing to give me a chance to reconstruct my Dao Foundation!”

He patted the Bronze Cauldron. “This 'Blood Prison Cauldron' is the gift Sect Master Xue bestowed upon me. It can devour the Fire Spirit Vein and help me break through to the Late Stage Void Returning Realm!”

Xue Wuya sneered: “Old Ghost Liu, stop wasting breath on these juniors. Once we absorb the Fire Spirit Vein of Burning Heaven Cliff and obtain the world gate key, the entire Southern Continent will be ours!”

His gaze suddenly locked onto White Night, and a cruel smile appeared on his blood-patterned face. “Little brat, you actually dared to show up. You killed my Vice Sect Master and shattered my blood god pearl. Today, I will certainly let you taste the flavor of having your soul and spirit annihilated!”

White Night wasted no words, pointing his Iron Sword directly at Xue Wuya: “The boundary gate Coordinates are not something you can touch.”

“Arrogant!” Xue Wuya fiercely tossed the blood god pearl fragment into the air. The Blood Qi erupting from the fragment instantly enveloped the entire platform. The golden flames in the magma rivers actually twisted into a bloody color within the Blood Qi. “Today, I'll let you witness the power of the Void Returning Realm!”

Before his voice faded, he had already transformed into a Blood Shadow, instantly appearing before White Night, his five fingers clawing forward.

The blood patterns on his fingertips lit up, and dark red ice crystals actually condensed where the air was torn apart. This was the advanced move of the Blood Ice Claw, “Blood Prison Ice Seal,” which could simultaneously utilize Blood Fiend and Ice Law, making it extremely bizarre.

White Night's reaction was as fast as lightning. An Earth Wall suddenly rose from the ground beneath his feet, and at the same time, his Iron Sword slashed out an azure Wind Blade, which was also entwined with golden flames!

The three laws of Myriad Laws Return to One erupted simultaneously, forming a three-colored barrier.

“Bang!”

The moment the blood claw collided with the barrier, the platform trembled violently.

The Earth Wall shattered inch by inch, the Wind Blade and flames were swallowed by the Blood Fiend, and White Night was forced to retreat repeatedly, the web of his hand numb, his Iron Sword nearly slipping away.

“To be able to take one of my moves while only in the Late Stage Deity Transformation, you have some skill.” Xue Wuya grinned menacingly as he pursued. The Blood Threads shot out by the blood god pearl fragment coiled toward White Night's limbs. “But next, you won't be so lucky!”

Seeing this, Qin Yue immediately activated the Tortoise Shell Jade Pendant: “Fellow Daoist Bai, there is a Spatial Weak Point three zhang behind you to the left!”

White Night understood. His figure suddenly reversed, and the Wind Law and Space Law erupted simultaneously, allowing him to slip into a tiny space rift just before the Blood Threads coiled around him.

The moment the rift closed, the Blood Threads missed, stabbing fiercely into the rock, corroding the entire crimson rock into honeycomb-like holes.

“Space Law? Interesting.” Xue Wuya licked his lips. “Old Ghost Liu, stop watching the show, attack!”

Liu Chengfeng gave a sinister laugh. The purplish-black flames in the Bronze Cauldron suddenly surged, transforming into a Giant Flame Wolf that lunged toward White Night, who had just emerged from the space rift.

Wherever the giant wolf passed, the golden flames in the magma river were swallowed, and even space was scorched and distorted.

“Silver Wolf!” White Night shouted.

The Wind Howling Silver Wolf could no longer hold back. Its entire body shone brightly with silver light as it charged toward the Giant Flame Wolf.

The moment the two wolves collided, silver sound waves clashed violently with the purplish-black flames. While the sound waves shattered the flames, they were also constantly dissipated by the scorching fire.

Most of the Silver Wolf's fur was scorched black, but it held tightly onto the Giant Flame Wolf's neck, refusing to let go.

“You're courting death!” Liu Chengfeng roared, tilting the Bronze Cauldron again. More purplish-black flames poured out, intending to swallow the Silver Wolf whole.

Just then, White Night suddenly scattered star marrow iron Powder into the air, while simultaneously forming hand seals: “Chaos: Devour!”

The black and white Chaos Flow spun like a vortex, forcibly sucking the purplish-black flames into it.

The flames struggled and perished within the Chaos Flow, ultimately transforming into pure Fire Element Energy, which was fed back to White Night's Nascent Soul.

“This is... the Devouring Law?” Liu Chengfeng's face changed drastically. “Impossible! How could such a lost Ancient Law reappear?”

White Night didn't give him time to be shocked. The Nascent Soul, having absorbed the flame energy, suddenly burst forth with strong light. Nine Law Halos instantly expanded to about a zhang wide, and within the halos, the Law Embryos, typically only seen in the Void Returning Realm, could be faintly discerned!

“Using the Fire Spirit Vein of Burning Heaven Cliff to break through to the Void Refining Realm!” White Night's heart pounded wildly. The Heavenly Heart Imprint operated at high speed, guiding the golden flames from the magma river into his body.

“Don't even think about it!” Xue Wuya sensed his intention. The blood-colored robe billowed without wind, and countless Blood Threads shot out from it, forming an airtight Blood Net that isolated White Night from the magma river.

Seeing this, Qin Yue resolutely threw the Tortoise Shell Jade Pendant toward the Blood Net: “Fellow Daoist Bai, I'll help you hold him off!”

The pendant erupted with dazzling golden light. Countless Runes appeared within the golden light, forming a massive Tortoise Shell Phantom that forcefully propped up the Blood Net.

But Qin Yue himself spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face pale as paper. Confronting the Void Returning Realm while only in the Middle Stage Deity Transformation was extremely taxing for him.

“Qin Yue!” A fierce look flashed in White Night's eyes. He no longer hesitated, circulating the Chaos Law to its maximum.

The golden flames inside his body intertwined wildly with the Chaos Flow. The Wind Patterns and Space Patterns on his Nascent Soul completely merged, transforming into an azure-black Law Imprint.

The moment the imprint formed, the pressure of the Void Refining Realm spread out like a tsunami. The magma rivers on the platform boiled because of it!

“The Void Refining Realm?!” Xue Wuya and Liu Chengfeng cried out in shock simultaneously. They had never seen anyone jump directly past the Early Stage Void Refining Realm from the Late Stage Soul Transformation, stepping straight into the Middle Stage Void Refining Realm!

White Night opened his eyes, and azure-black light flowed within them.

With a casual wave of his hand, the Chaos Flow turned into a Giant Palm, easily tearing the Blood Net apart. At the same time, a wisp of Wind Law flicked from his fingertip, landing precisely in front of Qin Yue, blocking Xue Wuya's counterattack for him.

“Now, it's my turn.” White Night's voice carried the tremor of Law Resonance. His figure flickered, appearing before Liu Chengfeng. The Chaos Flow wrapped around the Iron Sword made space itself wail.

Liu Chengfeng was terrified out of his wits, holding the Bronze Cauldron horizontally in front of his chest to block.

But in the face of the Chaos Law of the Middle Stage Void Refining Realm, his defense was as fragile as paper.

“Pfft!”

The Iron Sword pierced through the Bronze Cauldron and plunged into Liu Chengfeng's heart.

The old man looked down in disbelief at the sword in his chest. Purplish-black flames erupted from the wound, eventually vanishing into ashes within the Chaos Flow.

Having dealt with Liu Chengfeng, White Night turned to look at Xue Wuya. The Sect Master Xue no longer had his previous composure; his eyes were filled with dread and madness: “Little bastard, so what if you broke through to the Void Refining Realm? This 'Blood God Body' of mine was forged using the Essence Blood of three thousand cultivators. It is immortal and indestructible!”

He violently tore open his blood-colored robe. On his exposed chest, the blood god pearl fragment had merged into the location of his heart. The fragment's pulsing frequency was perfectly synchronized with the flames of the magma river.

“Blood God Transformation: Ultimate Form!”

Xue Wuya's body began to swell, eventually transforming into a three-zhang-tall blood-red monster. It had horns on its head, double wings on its back, and its hands transformed into sharp bone claws. Every breath it took expelled dense Blood Fiend Qi.

“Today, only one of us will leave Burning Heaven Cliff alive!” the monster roared as it lunged. The bone claws tore not only space but also the Origin of the cultivator's Soul and Spirit!

...