142: Midnight old man breaks through, evil cultivator base

Crimson Purple watched as blood mist spread from the dense black mist, as if hundreds of corpses lay within it, the foul, nauseating aura forcing her to frown deeply, wishing she could leave this place immediately.

As time passed, the blood mist gradually solidified into a shape, like large hands, with five fingers spread, reaching outwards, like the final struggles of unjustly deceased people. Crimson Purple's heart skipped a beat, it was truly too bizarre.

"Is this an Immortal Foundation? What kind of Immortal Foundation would manifest in such a way?"

Yan Xiao also frowned, the sight before him made him very uncomfortable.

Suddenly, a muffled sound came from the sky, and dark clouds rapidly churned, with faint rumblings of thunder visible.

Yan Xiao and Crimson Purple looked up simultaneously. Crimson Purple was bewildered, not knowing what was happening, but Yan Xiao's eyes widened abruptly, revealing an incredulous expression.

"Teacher... Is this a Lightning Tribulation? Can an Immortal Foundation also attract a Lightning Tribulation?"

The soul body, however, showed no surprise: "A normal Immortal Foundation naturally wouldn't trigger a Lightning Tribulation, but an exceptionally powerful Immortal Foundation, or one that the Heavenly Dao cannot tolerate, will trigger Lightning Tribulations, whether big or small. Only by passing the Lightning Tribulation can one truly achieve an Immortal Foundation."

As he spoke, there were bursts of thunder in the sky, but they quickly dissipated, and the dark clouds vanished with them. Once again, the sky was clear, but it was again shrouded in blood Qi.

"The Lightning Tribulation disappeared? What happened?"

"Alas, the world has undergone a great change. The authority over the Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation has been seized by someone. Now, even if Cultivators can summon heavenly thunder, they cannot make it descend. Some Prodigies have no choice but to use thunder-summoning talismans to call forth inferior heavenly thunder to temper themselves. But for Evil Path Cultivators, this is truly a 'golden age'..."

Yan Xiao heard such a secret for the first time, and for a moment he was at a loss: "No wonder the Righteous Path is increasingly declining and the Evil Path is rampant; it turns out it's related to heavenly thunder..."

As they were talking, they saw a Cultivator cloaked in black emerge from the blood mist, stepping on blood hands. His face was hidden by a hood, making his appearance unclear, but the strong smell of blood and the nauseating, foul aura emanating from him clearly revealed his identity; he was precisely the Evil Path Cultivator who had just undergone a Breakthrough.

"Phew, that was close. I really thought there would be heavenly thunder..."

Midnight Gao Sou looked at the dissipating dark clouds and finally let out a sigh of relief.

After the game had been running for so long, players had uncovered many rumors about the Xuanhuan World, including those about heavenly thunder. It was said that when Evil Path Cultivators underwent a Breakthrough, heavenly thunder would descend and turn them to ash.

Although no one had ever confirmed this rumor over the years, Midnight Gao Sou was still somewhat worried about it. Fortunately, it turned out just as Star Fiend Daoist had said: the Heavenly Dao no longer punished Evil Path Cultivators.

Thus, Midnight Gao Sou felt even more at ease. In his view, the Heavenly Dao was the game planner, and if the Heavenly Dao didn't punish Evil Path Cultivators, it meant the planner condoned them. So, he was still playing normally, with no moral issues.

"Is this the power of an Immortal Foundation?"

Midnight Gao Sou waved his hand, and several more blood-colored large hands shot out, unfolding in layers, carrying him outwards at an extremely fast speed. They also emanated wisps of blood-red Qi mist, which could serve as defense and even be used to kill enemies.

After achieving the Immortal Foundation [Blood Coagulation Fiend], Midnight Gao Sou felt that his combat power had undergone a qualitative change. His entire being was invigorated, and he thought about rushing back to the Great Love Alliance to show off to Old Potato and the others.

Just then, he saw a figure rapidly approaching through the air. A huge black ruler blocked his path, and the young Yan Xiao stood in mid-air, almost without a word, directly brought the giant ruler down!

Midnight Gao Sou was startled. Before he could react, he was struck by the giant ruler and involuntarily retreated a few steps. But his Immortal Foundation was truly formidable; this blow did not hurt him, and instead, Yan Xiao was entangled by the blood Qi, forced to circulate his Cultivation Technique to dispel it.

"Elder Yan, this person's Cultivation Technique is very strange."

Crimson Purple, who had been watching from the side, quickly flew over to support him. She stared at Midnight Gao Sou, also somewhat alarmed.

She could see that Midnight Gao Sou had clearly not reacted just now and had not cast any spells. It was entirely the autonomous operation of his Immortal Foundation's power; the blood Qi had seized the opportunity to spread to Yan Xiao and even infiltrate his body, forcing him to retract his hand.

This fighting style was too bizarre, completely different from that of ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators, somewhat sinister.

"Fellow Daoist, leave now, and I won't kill you."

Midnight Gao Sou was initially furious, wishing he could use all his abilities to subdue Yan Xiao. But once he clearly saw the other party's face, his heart trembled.

'It's Yan Xiao... Of course, I killed his entire clan, so I am in the wrong.'

Midnight Gao Sou thought to himself that since he had killed Yan Family's entire clan, he deserved that blow from Yan Xiao.

But now his combat power was clearly stronger, so his not pursuing Yan Xiao was already a show of mercy and a settlement of their grievances.

"Let me leave?"

Yan Xiao glared furiously: "Evil Path Cultivator, today, even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will keep you here!"

With that, Yan Xiao's entire body's fighting Qi surged, and holding the giant ruler, he charged at Midnight Gao Sou like a collapsing mountain.

Midnight Gao Sou had just undergone a Breakthrough, and normally he would need time to stabilize his cultivation. However, he cultivated the Evil Path, and at this moment, not only was he not at a disadvantage, but he was exceptionally strong due to the excess blood Qi that had not yet dissipated, making it his peak combat strength.

Seeing Yan Xiao attack, he finally no longer held back, fully mobilizing his Immortal Foundation. In the blink of an eye, numerous blood-colored large hands materialized, enveloping his entire body like a bizarre, giant blood-hand armor, and then countless slender blood hands abruptly extended to attack Yan Xiao.

His blood hands were too numerous, and the emanating blood Qi was highly corrosive. They instantly disintegrated Yan Xiao's offensive and quickly gained the upper hand, forcing Yan Xiao into a desperate state.

If Crimson Purple had not intervened in time, using the power of her Immortal Foundation to counter, Yan Xiao might have fallen on the spot, as his current strength indeed still had some gap compared to a top-tier Immortal Foundation.

Bang!

Yan Xiao's fighting Qi was exhausted, and he fell from the sky, crashing to the ground, creating a large pit. He was in a sorry state.

Crimson Purple, however, dared not go to his aid, only blocking Midnight Gao Sou in the air, her body wreathed in purple Qi, her eyes filled with vigilance.

Midnight Gao Sou looked at Yan Xiao, who was groaning in pain on the ground, remained silent for a moment, then finally flicked his sleeves, no longer bothering with Crimson Purple, and flew directly into the distance.

'Am I doing this...? Oh well, it's just a game anyway. Yes, this is just a game.'

Midnight Gao Sou left directly.

Yan Xiao looked at his retreating figure, filled with unwillingness. Before he could even speak, the soul body within him said: "Little Yan, it's not that I don't want to act, but that Evil Path Cultivator also has a soul body on him. Although not a Nascent Soul, he is still a top-tier Golden Core, one who extended his life through the 'golden body statue' method. If I were to act, he would surely detect me."

"At that time, he would directly Possess that Evil Path Cultivator, and the strength he could exert would be even greater than yours or mine."

Yan Xiao gave a bitter smile: "Teacher, I don't blame you, I just... feel unwilling."

He clenched his fists, staring intently at the Evil Path Cultivator: "I will find him, defeat him, kill him. If he also has clansmen, I will kill them all as well."