Chapter 1918: Pei Yutian's Blade
At the bottom of Life-and-Death Cliff, countless caves abounded. A dense yin-sha energy continuously emanated from these caves, as if connected to the Underworld.
Between two strange rocks, outside a cave, numerous cultivators gathered, their gazes all locked onto Pei Yutian, who sat cross-legged at the cave's entrance.
This cave was extraordinary, having been hidden all along and only recently revealed.
From the outside, the cave resembled a massive serpent opening its mouth, its venomous fangs bared, looking ferocious.
The cave was dark and gloomy, with faint flickers of ghostly light and layers of shadow. No one knew how deep it was, nor where it led.
Pei Yutian sat cross-legged inside the cave, his stone blade resting flat on his thighs. As he breathed, powerful sacred energy surged forth, forming layers of protective barriers that enveloped him like dreamlike bubbles.
A strange field existed outside the cave. Although various experts had tracked him down, they couldn't break through for the time being.
"Shua."
A gray-robed Daoist passed through the strange field and appeared opposite Pei Yutian.
"Haha, this Daoist has made it in. Pei Yutian, I advise you to hand over the Eon Sacred Medicine obediently, so I don't have to do it myself," the gray-robed Daoist laughed loudly.
Pei Yutian's expression remained indifferent. He reached out, grasped the stone blade, and casually slashed out.
"Hua"
The gray-robed Daoist was startled, his pupils rapidly contracting. He raised a thick layer of sacred energy, but before the blade light, the sacred energy shield shattered like paper.
With a "pu chi" sound, the gray-robed Daoist's body was cut in half at the waist, falling into a pool of blood, his life force severed.
There were always many who weren't afraid of death.
Just then, another person broke through, offering a square seal to smash at Pei Yutian.
The seal radiated brilliant golden light, with countless inscriptions emerging, releasing the power of five-yao perfection.
Pei Yutian showed no panic, thrusting the stone blade vertically downward.
"Boom."
Tens of thousands of sharp blade qi burst forth from the ground, forming a terrifying blade qi domain.
The seal was struck by countless blade qi, its power drained, and it fell from midair.
The expert who had offered the seal was pierced by countless blade qi, his body shattered, leaving a pile of broken bones.
Neither the gray-robed Daoist nor the old monk wielding the seal were weak; both were strong among Saint Kings, yet neither could withstand a single strike from Pei Yutian.
Finally, some top-tier experts couldn't hold back and prepared to act.
Sensing the danger, Pei Yutian looked up and saw a multicolored tiger claw manifesting ten zhang away, accompanied by countless afterimages, making it hard to distinguish reality from illusion.
The tiger claw came fiercely, exuding a powerful oppressive force.
A hint of gravity flashed in Pei Yutian's eyes. He quickly raised his stone blade to meet the multicolored tiger claw.
"Bang."
The multicolored tiger claw struck the stone blade solidly, transmitting an extremely terrifying force.
Pei Yutian stood up, his external sacred energy shield shattering, and he quickly retreated three steps backward.
"Nine-Step Saint King, Rule Small World."
Looking at the imposing man walking toward him step by step, Pei Yutian's gaze tightened slightly.
The imposing man exuded an extremely dense killing aura, not hiding his powerful aura at all. Behind him, a faint phantom of a fierce tiger appeared, its ferocious aura chilling to the heart.
"Hand over the Eon Sacred Medicine, and this king will grant you a whole corpse," the imposing man said coldly.
Pei Yutian said nothing, only slowly raising his stone blade, continuously pouring sacred energy into it.
On the stone blade's surface, lines of patterns clearly emerged, and a strange power was activated.
"Kill."
Pei Yutian shouted softly, swinging the stone blade to strike.
A peerless blade light burst forth, slashing straight at the imposing man.
The imposing man snorted, "Struggling in vain."
He reached out with one hand, transforming it into a multicolored tiger claw.
The multicolored tiger claw grew with the wind, instantly expanding to dozens of zhang in size.
Countless black lightning bolts appeared, wrapping around the multicolored tiger claw.
"Crack."
The multicolored tiger claw grabbed the blade light, crushing it to pieces.
At the same time, hundreds of black lightning bolts shot out like venomous snakes.
Pei Yutian tried his best to defend, but was still hit by three black lightning bolts, leaving three charred bloody holes in his body.
In the renewed exchange, Pei Yutian was still completely on the defensive, only able to parry without any chance to counterattack.
"A mere Seven-Step Saint King dares to contend with this king."
The imposing man sneered, his eyes full of contempt.
The multicolored tiger claw grew larger again, reaching for Pei Yutian.
The strange field of this cave was weakening continuously; others would soon be able to break in. He had to kill Pei Yutian first and seize all the treasures before that.
At the very least, he was determined to obtain that Eon Sacred Medicine.
At worst, after seizing the Eon Sacred Medicine, he would leave Kunlun Realm, find a place to refine it, and then his cultivation and strength would skyrocket. Who could still do anything to him?
"Bang."
Pei Yutian retreated backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The gap between a Seven-Step Saint King and a Nine-Step Saint King was simply too vast. Even with his extraordinary talent, it was very difficult to fight across levels.
After all, he didn't possess a supreme perfect physique like Zhang Ruochen's. Being able to fight across one level at the Saint King realm was already extremely difficult, especially since his opponent was no mediocrity.
The imposing man launched a continuous onslaught, giving Pei Yutian no chance to catch his breath.
"Bang."
The multicolored tiger claw struck Pei Yutian, sending him flying backward into the depths of the cave, crashing heavily against the rocks.
"Pfft."
Pei Yutian spat out a large mouthful of blood, mixed with many internal organ fragments.
Deep in the cave, it was bitterly cold, instantly freezing the blood into red crystals.
The rocks he had hit shattered, emitting strands of divine light.
"Rumble."
Many rocks fell inside the cave, revealing an extremely strange sight.
The yin-sha energy dissipated instantly, sacred energy spread out, and countless divine lights bloomed, interweaving.
One could clearly see that at the cave's top, there were many extremely brilliant points of light, like stars, like pearls, like gems.
Those were divine stones.
Illuminated by the divine light, a pool of water appeared, with auspicious mists rising. The pool water was dark red, exuding a divine aura. It was a pool of divine blood.
"Divine stones, divine blood."
The imposing man's eyes widened, his heart filled with ecstasy.
For a moment, his attention was almost entirely drawn to the divine stones and divine blood. Ignoring whether the cave was dangerous, he immediately charged in.
"Die."
Seizing the opportunity, Pei Yutian suddenly rushed out, swinging his stone blade to slash at the imposing man's waist.
The imposing man reacted instantly, quickly turning both hands into multicolored tiger claws to block in front of him.
"Pfft."
The stone blade had no edge, yet it burst forth with peerless sharpness, severing the multicolored tiger claws.
"Breaking through to the Eight-Step Saint King realm?"
The imposing man showed surprise, finding it hard to believe.
According to the intelligence he had obtained, Pei Yutian should have just recently broken through to the Seven-Step Saint King realm. How could he have advanced so quickly?
"Could it be... the Eon Sacred Medicine."
In an instant, the imposing man had a realization.
How could Pei Yutian have fought so desperately for the Eon Sacred Medicine without using it?
Hiding at the bottom of Life-and-Death Cliff for four or five days was enough time for Pei Yutian to refine part of the Eon Sacred Medicine and break through to the next level.
Having broken through to the Eight-Step Saint King realm, Pei Yutian's strength had undoubtedly improved substantially. His attacks were now incomparable to before.
The imposing man, caught off guard, suffered a great loss. He now retreated rapidly, trying to avoid the edge.
How could Pei Yutian let go of such a golden opportunity? He pressed forward relentlessly, continuously pouring sacred energy mixed with essence blood into the stone blade.
He was already severely injured. If he couldn't take the opportunity to eliminate the imposing man, there would be big trouble.
The stone blade absorbed Pei Yutian's essence blood, and the patterns on its surface turned blood-red, like flowing blood vessels.
For a moment, the stone blade seemed to come alive, its rhythm perfectly matching Pei Yutian's.
Pei Yutian seemed to merge with the stone blade. He slashed out an ordinary-looking strike, and hundreds of blood-red blade qi burst forth, all striking the imposing man.
The imposing man's body froze, his eyes full of disbelief.
"Bang."
Countless rays of blood light burst from within the imposing man's body, instantly cutting him into pieces.
Pei Yutian's body swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground.
That strike had consumed too much of his essence, energy, and spirit. If not for his strong will, he would have fallen by now.
But the slaughter wasn't over.
"Shua."
"Shua."
...
The sound of wind breaking continued, and fifteen figures in succession passed through the strange field, entering the cave.
These people's eyes were all blazing hot, staring unblinkingly at the vast starry sky and the pool of divine blood behind Pei Yutian.
They had all come for the treasures on Pei Yutian, never expecting to find such an unexpected discovery at the bottom of Life-and-Death Cliff.
Whether it was the divine stones or the divine blood, both were priceless, and no one didn't want them.
But they were all somewhat wary of Pei Yutian, so for a moment, no one dared to step forward.
After all, Pei Yutian had just killed a Nine-Step Saint King. Who wouldn't be cautious?
"Don't be afraid of him. He's already severely injured, now just a spent force."
"He was able to break through to the Eight-Step Saint King realm so quickly; he must have refined the Eon Sacred Medicine. This king will suppress him into a sacred furnace and refine the essence of the Eon Sacred Medicine from him."
...
A group of experts eyed Pei Yutian covetously, their eyes full of greed.
Pei Yutian straightened his body, gripping the stone blade, and said coldly, "Even if I'm severely injured, I'm not someone you petty scoundrels can kill. Whoever wants to die, come forward."
"Pei Yutian, you still dare to bluff at a time like this. Everyone, attack together, kill him, and the treasures are up for grabs," said an Eight-Step Saint King.
Hearing this, the others were all tempted, exchanging glances.
Their cultivations ranged from Six-Step Saint King to Eight-Step Saint King, with no Nine-Step Saint King present. In single combat, none were confident they could handle Pei Yutian. Joining forces was the wisest choice.
"Attack."
At the same time, all fifteen Saint King experts struck.
Even in cooperation, they were very cautious. No one recklessly approached Pei Yutian; instead, they all offered sacred artifacts or unleashed sacred arts, attacking from a distance.
The aura on Pei Yutian suddenly became sharp. He slashed horizontally.
Countless blade qi burst from the stone blade, forming a blade qi storm that swept out like raging waves.
"Boom."
Sacred artifacts were drawn into the blade qi storm, instantly turning into fragments.
The sacred arts were also unable to withstand the blade qi storm, collapsing one after another.
"How can he be this strong? Didn't he just break through to the Eight-Step Saint King realm?"
"He was clearly heavily injured. Was he faking it?"
"It's that stone blade that's strange. It can actually draw on the power of heaven and earth."
"This man is too crazy. Retreat quickly."
...
Seeing Pei Yutian's overwhelming power, the fifteen Saint King experts were all shocked, choosing to retreat rather than confront him head-on.
The blade qi storm advanced rapidly, sweeping in all directions. It wasn't something one could simply avoid by wanting to.
"Ah."
"Ah."
...
Accompanied by six miserable screams, six Six-Step Saint Kings were torn apart by the blade qi storm, dying horribly.
"Ah."
Another scream rang out as a Seven-Step Saint King also met his doom.
Finally, the blade qi storm dissipated, and the other eight experts had retreated far enough.
Although the eight of them had survived, they were all seriously injured. In particular, two Seven-Step Saint Kings had half their bodies torn apart by the blade qi storm, having walked through the gates of hell.
Damaged by the blade qi storm, many rocks inside the cave shattered, revealing crystalline divine bones.
"Hmm?"
Pei Yutian suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on the outside.
Four terrifying death evil qi, like four black suns, flew over at extreme speed, exuding a majestic aura that made the eight Saint King experts all tremble, their souls quaking.
"It's experts from the Death Clan coming. Run."