171: The Corpse Fire of Tiandu and the Fragments of the Great Jin Dynasty

Extreme Yin Island, Main Hall Square.

The air was filled with a nauseating stench of corpses. Facing the Spiritual Pressure from Zhou Wannian (Old Man Han) which, though not intentionally released, was enough to crush one's mind, Old Ancestor Extreme Yin's withered face finally revealed a hint of madness born of despair.

"Ten million Spirit Stones?"

Old Ancestor Extreme Yin gave a miserable laugh, slamming his bone staff onto the ground.

"Han Li! Don't be too arrogant! This ancestor has roamed the Chaotic Star Sea for hundreds of years. Am I someone a Junior who just formed his Nascent Soul can handle as he pleases?!"

"Want to kill me? Then let's go to Hell together!"

"Tiandu Corpse Array! Rise!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Along with Old Ancestor Extreme Yin's roar, the ground around the main hall suddenly exploded.

Eighteen Refined Corpses, covered in eerie Talismans, their bodies dark green and emitting a suffocatingly malevolent aura, shot out from underground.

Each of these eighteen Refined Corpses possessed an aura no weaker than the Late Stage of Core Formation. Furthermore, their bodies were as hard as Refined Iron, fearing neither pain nor death.

This was Old Ancestor Extreme Yin's trump card technique—【Tiandu Refined Corpse】.

"Explode for me!"

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Old Ancestor Extreme Yin's eyes. Instead of controlling the Refined Corpses to attack, he directly triggered the "Tiandu Corpse Fire" cores within them, intending to make all eighteen Refined Corpses self-destruct simultaneously!

This level of power was enough to blow half of Extreme Yin Island into the sky. Even a Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator at the center of the explosion would lose a layer of skin if they didn't die.

"A bit interesting."

Zhou Wannian hovered in mid-air, looking at the eighteen monsters that were rapidly expanding and emitting black corpse fire.

"Tiandu Corpse Fire is said to burn anything and is incredibly toxic."

"It's a pity to use it just as fuel."

Zhou Wannian raised a hand and lightly snapped his fingers.

"Star Lord, lend me your 'chill'."

The Star Lord Clone standing behind him suddenly spread its arms.

The residual aura of the 【Azure Blue Ice Flame】 from previously grappling with the void heaven cauldron in the Void Heaven Palace was released without reservation by the Clone at this moment.

Whoosh—

A blue, frigid storm instantly swept through the entire square.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The moment the black corpse fire on the eighteen Refined Corpses that were about to explode met the blue ice flame, it was like boiling oil meeting liquid nitrogen.

Crack, crack, crack... there was no earth-shattering explosion.

Only the tooth-grating sound of freezing.

The eighteen Tiandu Refined Corpses, maintaining their bloated and hideous postures, were instantly turned into eighteen crystal-clear blue ice sculptures.

Even the destructive energy within them was completely sealed by that extreme cold.

"Qian... Azure Blue Ice Flame?!"

Old Ancestor Extreme Yin's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, his body trembling uncontrollably. "How is it possible for you to control the ghost fire from the void heaven cauldron?!"

"Because I am a professional recycler."

Zhou Wannian waved his wide sleeve.

The eighteen ice sculptures instantly shrank and were collected into his Storage Pouch.

"The Materials of these eighteen Refined Corpses are not bad. Even if I don't practice the Corpse Dao, taking them back to use as external armor for 'Tie Zhu', or dismantling them to refine 'Corpse Fire Thunder Beads', they are excellent Materials."

After collecting the "trash," Zhou Wannian finally looked at Old Ancestor Extreme Yin, who was already paralyzed with fear on his throne.

"Alright, Extreme Yin."

"Now, your trump cards are gone."

"Time to go."

"No! Wait!"

Old Ancestor Extreme Yin fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing frantically. "Fellow Daoist Han! Senior Han! Don't kill me! I know I was wrong!"

"I'm useful! I'm a Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator! I can swear a Heart Demon Oath to be your servant! To be your dog!"

"I can help you manage Extreme Yin Island! Help you scavenge resources!"

"Spare my life! I'm more useful alive than dead!"

Looking at the weeping, dignity-less demonic overlord, there was not a single ripple in Zhou Wannian's eyes.

"A dog?"

Zhou Wannian shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

"I already have a fox (Purple Spirit), a Puppet (Tie Zhu), and an enforcer (Ling Yunxiao) at home."

"The only thing..."

"I don't lack is a backstabber."

Shoo!

A golden bolt of lightning shot from Zhou Wannian's fingertip without warning.

【Evil-Warding Divine Thunder · Instant Kill】.

Old Ancestor Extreme Yin's pleas stopped abruptly.

The golden lightning instantly pierced his brow, and even the Nascent Soul within his Niwan Palace was reduced to ashes in an instant by that supreme yang lightning.

This time, Zhou Wannian didn't even bother with soul searching.

The Divine Soul of such a fickle villain was full of junk information; looking at it would only dirty his eyes.

A generation's overlord had fallen just like that... Half a day later.

Extreme Yin Island Treasury.

The heavy Dragon-Severing Stone door had long since been smashed to pieces by Tie Zhu's fist.

Zhou Wannian walked among the mountains of Spirit Stones and Materials with his hands behind his back, as if strolling through his own back garden.

"I must say, although this old ghost had terrible character, his ability to amass wealth was truly top-tier."

"Three hundred thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, five thousand high-grade Spirit Stones... and so many demonic Magic Treasures."

Purple Spirit followed behind, holding a massive Storage Pouch and filling it frantically. Her eyes were sparkling; this was ten times more than the total assets of the Wonderful Sound Sect in its prime!

"Sir, what about these demonic Cultivation Techniques?" Purple Spirit pointed at the rows of Jade Slips on the shelves that emitted an ominous aura.

"Burn them?"

"No."

Zhou Wannian waved his hand. "Pack them all. Demonic Cultivation Techniques have their merits too, especially the parts regarding Divine Sense training and Body Refining. I'll modify them back home, remove those cruel and harmful methods, and they can serve as basic textbooks for the 'Qingyun Sect'."

"Qingyun Sect?" Purple Spirit was stunned.

"Since we're opening a branch, we need a resounding name," Zhou Wannian said casually.

Just as the two reached the deepest part of the treasury.

Zhou Wannian's footsteps suddenly stopped.

His gaze fell on an inconspicuous corner, where a dusty, old stone platform stood.

On the platform lay half of a broken green jade plate and a yellowed beast-skin map.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Wannian's heart stirred, and the Heavenly Secret Dao Disk within him vibrated slightly.

【High-value item detected.】

【Item: Great Jin · Cross-Sea Teleportation Array Fragmented Map (Unique).】

【Association: Leads to Great Jin Cultivation World · Liaozhou.】

"Great Jin?!"

Zhou Wannian's pupils constricted.

In the ancient records of the Chaotic Star Sea, there had always been a legend. The Chaotic Star Sea was just a remote corner of the Human Realm, and on the distant shore, there was a cultivation Holy Land called "Great Jin."

It was vast and rich in resources; Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators were not unheard of, and there were even spatial nodes leading to the Spirit Realm!

"So this was the secret that the Six Paths Extreme Sage and Old Ancestor Extreme Yin wanted to keep from the Star Palace."

Zhou Wannian picked up the half jade plate and the map.

The map showed a nameless sea area in the Far West Region of the Chaotic Star Sea, with a red dot marked there.

"It seems this old ghost died before he could repair the teleportation array."

Zhou Wannian carefully put away the map.

Although the Chaotic Star Sea was good, its resources were limited after all, and the Soul Transformation Stage was the ceiling. Moreover, after hundreds of years of turmoil, the high-grade Spiritual Veins had been depleted.

If he wanted to go further on the path of cultivation, or even ascend to the Spirit Realm... Great Jin was a necessary stop.

"Have you finished packing?" Zhou Wannian turned and asked Purple Spirit.

"I've even pried up the floor tiles." Purple Spirit patted her bulging Storage Pouch, smiling like a little fox.

"Very good."

Zhou Wannian nodded.

"Let's go."

"The feng shui of this Extreme Yin Island is too poor, and the Yin Qi is too heavy."

"Tie Zhu."

"Present."

"Before we leave, leave a souvenir for this island."

"Detonate the Earth Fire Spiritual Vein beneath the treasury."

..."BOOM ——————————————!!!"

Fifteen minutes later.

As the 【dragon bone ghost ship】 turned into a streak of black light and disappeared into the horizon.

Behind it, Extreme Yin Island, which had stood for hundreds of years, completely sank into the seabed amidst an earth-shattering explosion.

A massive mushroom cloud rose, signaling the end of an era in the Chaotic Star Sea... Back in Tianxing City.

Zhou Wannian was in no hurry to rest.

He went to the fiftieth floor, to the "Qingyun Sect" headquarters (formerly the Qingyun Recycling Station) that was being rebuilt with great enthusiasm.

Inside the secret room.

Zhou Wannian sat cross-legged, with the Great Jin Fragmented Map from the Extreme Yin treasury laid out before him.

"Cross-Sea Teleportation Array..."

"It requires Top-Grade Spirit Stones as energy and voidstone to repair the array patterns."

"Top-Grade Spirit Stones, I have (pried from the Void Heaven Palace)."

"voidstone... it seems very rare in the Chaotic Star Sea."

Zhou Wannian rubbed his chin.

"It seems I need to make some preparations before setting out."

Just then.

Ling Yunxiao knocked and entered.

"Sect Leader, a strange guest is asking to see you."

"A strange guest?"

"Yes, a Mortal old man, wearing a tattered scholar's robe and holding a bamboo staff." Ling Yunxiao frowned. "He says he's a 'fortune teller' and predicted that the Sect Leader's Peach Blossom Star is moving today... bah, I mean he predicted that the Sect Leader has 'intentions of a long journey' today."

"He also said he knows where to find 'voidstone'."

"A fortune teller?"

Zhou Wannian's gaze sharpened.

A Mortal could see through his movements? And know he lacked voidstone?

This was definitely no ordinary person.

Perhaps... not even human.

"Invite him in."

Zhou Wannian put away the map and straightened his robes.

A moment later.

A slovenly old man with a mouth full of yellow teeth and an extremely lewd smile walked in.

As soon as he entered, he familiarly found a chair and sat down, even pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Tsk tsk tsk, good tea! Good tea indeed!"

The old man smacked his lips. Those seemingly cloudy little eyes flashed with a sharp light that saw through the world in an instant.

"Little friend, I see your forehead is glowing and the spiritual light atop your head is piercing the heavens; you're about to strike it rich."

"However..."

The old man chuckled and pointed at Zhou Wannian's chest (where the Inverse Star Nascent Soul is located).

"This Nascent Soul of yours is cultivated a bit 'strangely'."

"Going against heaven will surely bring heavenly retribution."

"If you don't find someone who knows the ropes to show you the way..."

"This road to Great Jin might not be easy to travel."

Zhou Wannian looked at the old man.

The Heavenly Secret Dao Disk within him spun frantically, but only showed a patch of Chaos.

【Unable to deduce.】

【Target Rank: Unknown.】

【Danger Level: Extremely High (Unbeatable).】

Soul Transformation Stage?!

Or even... that legendary Soul Transformation Late Stage old monster who wanders the world—【Xiang Zhili】?!

Zhou Wannian took a deep breath, stood up, and gave a respectful bow.

"Junior Han Li greets Senior."

"May I ask what guidance Senior has for visiting?"

The old man scratched his foot and smiled even more happily.

"Guidance is out of the question."

"This old man just wants to hitch a ride."

"I heard you're going to Great Jin?"

"Coincidentally, this old man also wants to go home and take a look."

"As for the fare..."

The old man pulled a fist-sized, completely transparent stone from his robe, within which space seemed to be flowing.

"Is this piece of Top-Grade voidstone enough?"

Looking at the stone, then at this unfathomable old man.

Zhou Wannian smiled.

"It's enough."

"More than enough."

"Senior, please take the seat of honor."

"Let's... have a good talk."