77: Third Life: How Am I the Villain? (Chapter 41)

A massive blade beam, a blend of pitch-black Evil Qi and dark-gold tribulation light, surged forth.

It seemed to originate from the depths of Hell, yet it carried the majesty of heavenly punishment as it tore through the sky.

With an unstoppable, all-annihilating, and terrifying Aura, it instantly split the dense pink mist, shattered the poisonous needle shadows, and then ruthlessly struck the Elder of the Hehuan Sect, whose eyes were filled with disbelief and terror!

"No—!!"

She only had time to let out a desperate scream before her protective spiritual light was easily torn apart like paper!

Boom!!!

The blade beam passed through her body, its momentum undiminished as it sliced into the ground behind her, leaving a bottomless, charred trench dozens of zhang long!

The Elder of the Hehuan Sect's movements froze completely. A fine line of blood appeared in the center of her forehead, spreading straight down.

In the next moment, her body and the Magical Artifact in her hand split apart simultaneously, turning into two charred halves of a corpse that crashed to the ground!

This Elder of the Hehuan Sect, a Cultivator at the Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage, had actually been killed on the spot by Xu Yuan, who was only at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, using the earth-shattering strike of the Heavenly Blade Calamity!

Xu Yuan leaned on his blade, half-kneeling on the ground and gasping for air. The Spiritual Qi within his body had been nearly drained dry by that single strike.

Forcing himself to endure the waves of weakness and the stinging pain in his Meridians, Xu Yuan did not hesitate. With a wave of his hand, a pink storage ring—stained with a bit of ash but still intact—fell into his palm.

Without time to check it, or even to collect the corpse of the Earth-Splitting Stone Ape, he forced a final sliver of Spiritual Qi to circulate and fled rapidly and staggeringly in the opposite direction from which he had come.

Xu Yuan knew that in this Desolate Domain, the commotion just now was like a lit torch in the darkness; it would inevitably attract countless prying eyes.

Less than ten breaths after he left—

"Awoo—!"

"Roar!!"

"Hiss—!"

One after another, violent and ferocious beast roars suddenly rang out from all directions, moving from far to near, rapidly converging on the Stone Forest area where the battle had just ended!

The ground vibrated slightly, and the sound of trees being crushed was constant.

More, more chaotic, and more powerful Demonic Qi permeated the air!

In an instant, the originally silent Stone Forest turned into a banquet hall for Yao Beasts.

They fought over the corpse of the Earth-Splitting Stone Ape and tore at the residual Spiritual Qi in the remains of the Elder of the Hehuan Sect, resulting in new conflicts and roars.

Had Xu Yuan been a moment later, he would have been surrounded by these beasts drawn by the scent of blood. In his state of near-total exhaustion, it would have been certain death!

Hiding in a concealed rock crevice several miles away, Xu Yuan felt the chaotic and violent Aura coming from that direction. Even with his mental fortitude, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

"That was close..."

Xu Yuan let out a long breath, his heart still pounding with lingering fear.

Xu Yuan sat cross-legged and first swallowed a Medicinal Pill. Then, while straining to circulate his Cultivation Technique to recover his Spiritual Qi, he reviewed the thrilling battle that had just occurred.

Killing a Mid-Foundation Establishment Cultivator while only recently reaching the Early Foundation Establishment Stage was a feat that would shock many if it were made public.

However, Xu Yuan did not feel the slightest bit of pride.

"Winning this time was purely a matter of luck."

"First, the Bewitching Arts and illusions that the Joyful Union Sect's techniques are best at were perfectly countered by my blade's Evil Qi, greatly reducing the power of her strongest methods."

"Second, this Elder of the Hehuan Sect was not a Combat Cultivator skilled in direct confrontation. Her experience in close-quarters combat was clearly weak. By using my blade techniques to force her into a melee, I gained the upper hand."

"Third, and most importantly, although the Heavenly Blade Calamity is powerful, its consumption is terrifying, and it requires time to build momentum and find an opening. It can only be used as a trump card for a decisive strike. If I encountered those Mid-Foundation Establishment Body Cultivators from Black Iron Mountain who specialize in physical tempering, I might not have had the chance to use the Heavenly Blade Calamity."

As Xu Yuan reviewed the fight, his eyes were incredibly clear: "The further one progresses in cultivation, the larger the gap between each minor stage becomes."

"The difference between the Mid and Early Foundation Establishment Stages seems like only one level, but there are significant gaps in total Spiritual Qi, purity, and the ability to manipulate Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi."

"My ability to win against a higher stage is a special case resulting from a combination of factors. It is by no means the norm, and it won't be as relatively easy as it was during the Qi Condensation Stage."

After realizing this, the slight restlessness in Xu Yuan's heart—caused by his rapid advancement and the killing of a higher-stage enemy—completely settled down.

Xu Yuan focused his mind, fully absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to nourish his withered Meridians.

Only after recovering slightly did he turn his gaze toward that pink storage ring.

The net worth of a Mid-Foundation Establishment Cultivator would surely not disappoint him.

Xu Yuan forced a thread of pure Spiritual Qi from his fingertip, easily erasing the faint residual Restriction left by the original owner on the storage ring.

He extended his Divine Sense into it and began to take stock of the spoils of war.

The first things his perception landed on were the neatly stacked Spirit Stones.

A rough scan revealed nearly ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and several hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones with even greater luster and denser Spiritual Qi!

This wealth was quite substantial for a Mid-Foundation Establishment Cultivator and was enough to support Xu Yuan's cultivation and consumption for a long time.

Beside them were several jade bottles containing various Medicinal Pills.

Xu Yuan identified them one by one: "Hehuan Pill," "Erotic Powder"... Most were pills unique to the Joyful Union Sect, geared toward Bewitching Arts or aphrodisiacs. They were useless to him and even somewhat sinister.

However, there were also two bottles of common "Qi-Replenishing Pills" and one bottle of "Azure Jade Pills" for healing. Their grades were not low, and they were exactly what he needed right now.

There were also some women's clothing, jewelry, and several spare Magical Artifacts of ordinary quality, which Xu Yuan bypassed.

His attention was finally drawn to an inconspicuous item in the corner.

It was a scroll made of a peculiar material. It wasn't ordinary paper or a Jade Slip, but rather the tanned hide of some unknown Yao Beast. It felt cold and tough to the touch.

With a stir in his heart, Xu Yuan took it out.

The scroll slowly unfurled. The patterns on it were not text, but a topographic map drawn in an ancient and even somewhat crude style.

Mountains, rivers, and canyons were simply outlined. One location was marked with a striking, peculiar symbol resembling a fang.

Xu Yuan's gaze carefully swept over the mountain ranges on the map. The more he looked, the more surprised he became, and his brow gradually furrowed.

The region depicted in this map... Xu Yuan was very familiar with it!

It was precisely the Desolate Domain he was currently in—the Bone-Withered Barrens!

And the location marked by the fang symbol seemed not too far from where he was currently hiding!

"This is..." A look of uncertainty flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes. "A map? Pointing to somewhere in this Desolate Domain?"

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, making everything clear to Xu Yuan in an instant!

"Could it be... that the Elder of the Hehuan Sect's main purpose in sneaking into the Desolate Domain wasn't to hunt me down?"

"While it's possible she came for me, it's more likely she was heading for the location marked on this map!"

"Hunting me down was perhaps just something she did in passing because she happened to discover my tracks?"

Thinking back carefully, the direction and timing of the Elder of the Hehuan Sect's appearance were indeed a bit subtle.

After all, Xu Yuan had only just left his Sect. The Elder of the Hehuan Sect didn't seem to have been tracking him all the way; it was more like she was already active in this vicinity!

The commotion from his battle with the Earth-Splitting Stone Ape just happened to attract her!

"So... this was a case of stumbling into trouble?"

"Seeking her own death?"