Otherworldly Desert Dust

North Suburb of Tongtian City, Duanhai Cliff.

A group of individuals from the Holy Sect clad in splendid garments surged from their nest. They were members of the Qiujiang Sect, with several Bright Venerable within their ranks, already listed among the Cloud Holy Country.

The entire sect's experts were hunting down a young man who, cornered at Duanhai Cliff, had no path of retreat left.

"Hua Ziyang, your crimes are unforgivable. Today, we'll use the full force of our sect to grind you, this traitor, to ash and dust!" a Great Protector from the Qiujiang Sect shouted.

"Ha ha ha, ever since I joined the sect, you have ceaselessly trampled over my dignity. All I did was resist the pain you caused me, and for that, you want to exterminate me completely. Others may be willing to be your dogs, but I, Hua Ziyang, refuse to submit!" The young man's eyes were filled with disdain and fury.

"That's no reason for you to insult and murder your Master!" the Great Protector roared.

"If she had treated me like a human being, I would never have acted that way toward her!"

"You dare to continue with your sophistry? A treacherous and unfilial brute like you should be cast into the Beast Path to experience proper reincarnation. Now, we'll give you a chance. Tell us what method you used to kill your Master, whose Cultivation was higher than yours. If you continue to be stubborn, we'll make your life worse than death!" another elder from the Qiujiang Sect declared.

"You want to know??" Hua Ziyang suddenly burst out laughing, then his body abruptly released a massive amount of blood-red Qi.

This aura rapidly coalesced into a Blood Pond, and within the pond, long, slender bodies writhed.

Suddenly, the writhing creatures emerged from the Blood Pond. They were Ancient Blood Leeches, as thick as bowls and twisting like blood-red dragons!

The Ancient Blood Leeches flew out, using their bodies as chains and their heads as piercing drills, brutally perforating the chest of the Great Protector who had previously rebuked Hua Ziyang.

"You forced my hand!!" Hua Ziyang's pupils were filled with terrifying blood threads, which seemed to seep into his cheeks, emerging through his face and making his entire being appear as wild and domineering as an Ancient Blood Demon.

With a furious roar from Hua Ziyang, all the leeches in the Blood Pond surged out. They possessed an ancient suppressive force; anyone touched by their blood-poisoned presence would have their meridians and Holy Power immediately suppressed, as if a robust person were shackled with heavy iron fetters.

Then, these Ancient Blood Leeches would burrow into the people's Dantian, voraciously suckling their Holy Infants and Holy Children, turning their Cultivation into a powerful surge of bloodline energy, and channeling it into Hua Ziyang's body.

Upon the cliff, Hua Ziyang laughed maniacally!

He had waited a long time for this day.

From a nameless pawn to a Holy Sect prodigy, and then from the position of a prodigy to that of a prominent clan within the sect, he faced immediate suppression and humiliation from these scoundrels. Although he intended to endure it, not a single person in the Qiujiang Sect treated him as a human. Since that was the case, he would no longer hide!

The members of the Qiujiang Sect were completely perplexed. With their insight, they had never seen such a Holy Decision, nor could they imagine such an insignificant and powerless individual possessed such formidable Blood Divine Power.

Watching their own Cultivation regress drastically, the Great Protector and the elders of the Qiujiang Sect began to regret.

They just wanted to know Hua Ziyang's secret—how he was able to kill his Master who was far stronger than him. Perhaps the opponent had mastered some mysterious Evolution Method. Little did they know, Hua Ziyang had hidden so well, and that killing his Master was merely his first step. His true goal was to bury their entire Qiujiang Sect, turning everyone into his sacrificial offerings.

"I had no intention of harming you. I am clear on right and wrong; it is your own doing!" Hua Ziyang, like a Demon Lord, approached this group whose Cultivation he had drained.

At that moment, their Cultivation had declined, and they were as weak as chickens. It was extremely easy for Hua Ziyang to take their lives.

Hua Ziyang naturally wouldn't let his secret spread, so he showed no mercy.

He went to each member of the Qiujiang Sect, cruelly murdering them in various ways.

Twisting their necks.

Crushing their cranial vaults.

Hammering their hearts.

Stomping on their chests and lungs...

He vented all his years of resentments.

Before long, the cliff was strewn with human tissue, bloody corpses draped over the rocky ledge. The surging tides crashed upwards, wetly washing some body parts together, adding a hint of Purgatory to the place.

"Huuu~~~"

Hua Ziyang tilted his head back and let out a long breath.

Never had he felt so exhilarated as today; the vast energy inside him was making his Cultivation break through to new heights. Although he could feel mysterious shackles surrounding his Holy Pills, these shackles were shattered by the mighty energy influx, and he ascended to the Holy Origin Realm, which even in the whole of Tongtian City was considered exceptional!

Suddenly!

A streak of Holy Light shot down from the dark clouds above the sea, followed immediately by a massive Light Mallet, crashing heavily before Hua Ziyang.

The Light Mallet created ripples of extremely powerful golden light that even pushed the seawater backwards.

Facing the exposed sea cliff, a continental shelf was revealed, and the fierce brightness continued to ripple in all directions, filling the murky world with sharp Holy Light, leaving no place for all evil spirits to hide!

Hua Ziyang was utterly shocked. He raised his head to look at the sky, only to see a figure descending. This person had the face of a youth, resembling a Buddha's disciple from a mural. He walked step by step from the sky to a position beyond the cliff, above the sea, slightly higher than Hua Ziyang, solemnly surveying the Blood Demon who had slaughtered over a hundred people.

"Who... who are you??" Hua Ziyang stared at this mysterious and powerful Heavenly Being, speaking with a hint of panic.

At this moment, he stood amid a pile of bloody corpses, surrounded by ferocious Ancient Blood Leeches, indeed resembling a hungry Blood Demon that had just awoken.

The youth—Yan Tianren standing beneath the glowing clouds, however, appeared as if his skin was cast from gold and jade, exuding an aura no different from that of a living God, forming a striking contrast to Hua Ziyang.

"Are you out of breath?" The young Yan Tianren asked with a smile.

"Have you been watching me all along?" Hua Ziyang immediately realized something.

"Since you ran away, I have been."

"Then why didn't you stop me?" Hua Ziyang asked, puzzled.

"Why should I stop you? At the end of the day, you are my Taoist disciple. How could I bear to see my pupil be bullied by those old farts of the Holy Sect?" the young Yan Tianren said.

Hua Ziyang was clever, and he immediately understood the intentions of this Heavenly Being. His eyes suddenly sparkled with a keen light.

From the manner in which the other party appeared, it was evident that his strength far exceeded his own. Hua Ziyang had thought that his brutal actions had attracted the attention of a higher entity from the Holy Sect and that he was sure to be annihilated, yet this Heavenly Being turned out to be stealthily aiding him!

"Great Master!!" Hua Ziyang immediately knelt, exclaiming excitedly, "Please guide me on a bright path once more, I don't wish to be trampled underfoot."

"You are quite impressive. Given more time, you would surely become a Dragon and Phoenix among men. Unfortunately, there have been some minor changes. I need to sort out these lingering issues and elevate my realm further. You... you are unwilling to be trampled underfoot, then in your next life, don't believe in any miraculous encounters falling from the sky!" Jiang Heng revealed a hint of cruel mirth, and then extended his hand.

His hand suddenly expanded like a canopy of heaven, heavily pressing down on Hua Ziyang. Hua Ziyang wanted to resist, but he found that his Blood Pond Bloodsuckers were terrified like little sea worms, huddling under his feet, daring not to attack the young Yan Tianren.

The Xuantian Saint Technique, which could suppress an entire Sect in a moment, now seemed like child's play, bursting into nothingness before this opponent.

This sudden realization hit Hua Ziyang, awakening him to the fact that it was all a deceit, a grand scheme by the Heavenly People, intentionally allowing these powerful Magic Formulas to scatter to the Mortal World, letting those who believed they could defy fate and change their destinies get their hands on this 'golden finger'. Once they climbed to a certain height, grown fat enough, they would simply be slaughtered!

In the end, it was all for naught; he was not some child of destiny, just an expensive dish carefully fattened with feed by others, to be served on a table when the time came.

"Ha ha ha ha, you, to call yourself a Heavenly Being? You're just playing with some conspiratorial tricks, you're destined not to achieve true success!" Knowing he was powerless to resist, Hua Ziyang began to mock with the last of his Qi.

Jiang Heng said no more, but squashed Hua Ziyang like a fly and then absorbed his Blood Pill through the Holy Mace.

The Holy Pills of those who practiced the Xuantian Saint Technique always appeared blood-red. Jiang Heng could clearly see these blood-red Holy Pills wandering and growing in the Lower Realm from the heavens above.

"Within the territory of Tongtian City, there should be just one left. That fellow is quite peculiar; I need to provoke all his tricks without causing a disturbance like Leng Shu did. Otherwise, it would be tricky to explain to the Heavenly Witch." As Jiang Heng savored his luxurious dish, he pondered.

Suddenly, Jiang Heng looked towards another direction of the cliff.

It seemed something was watching him there, his subconscious tagging the gaze.

"Wuuuah~~~~"

A sea crow flew out from a hole in the cliff and chased after a school of fish in the distance.

Jiang Heng snorted coldly.

Scaring oneself.

Ever since the incident with Leng Shu and the appearance of the Qilin Girl, Jiang Heng suspected the Qilin Girl had noticed his arrangements. Fortuitously, he deliberately lay low for several months, waiting until he heard that the Qilin Girl had left the Cloud Holy Country, before he quickly took care of everything.

"That person is quite a character, probably harder to deal with than Leng Shu..." Jiang Heng's thoughts returned to the last sacrifice before riding the wind away, leaving the place.

...

Back at the cliffside cave, Wu Hen's head emerged, confirming Jiang Heng had left before stepping out fully.

"At critical moments, we still have to rely on this Immortal!" Bai Ze, transformed into a sea crow, flew back from the other direction and reverted to his original form, covering Wu Hen's head.

"What Jiang Heng has done is an outrage against both men and Gods. Who knows how many Cultivation prodigies he has harmed." Qingxi, who had witnessed everything, grew increasingly abhorrent of Jiang Heng.

"Everyone has a dream of turning the tables; the more they are stepped on, the more they want to rise. Once someone obtains such a Magic Formula that absorbs Cultivation by chance, few normal people could resist this temptation... So, even Cultivators should install an anti-scam app," Wu Hen said.