An overwhelming aura seemed to press down on the air itself.But the moment it appeared, it vanished as quickly as it had come. And yet, the crisp chime of a cauldron echoed faintly within Yi Tianxing's body. A strange divine light shimmered on the skin exposed beneath his clothes, with mysterious patterns flickering across his body's surface.
Three Chimes of the Black Cauldron — A realm equivalent to the third level of the Divine Sea Stage for Qi Practitioners, yet far stronger. Over 30,000 jin of raw strength, enough to pulverize stone to dust. His Divine Sea, spanning nine zhang in radius, had been completely filled with True Qi. This was nothing short of an immense harvest. With such a deep well of True Qi as his foundation, breaking through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians would now be smooth sailing. He could even use True Qi directly to temper his meridians.
The most critical development was in his Dantian Life Aperture, where the Spiritual Field had expanded to over three mu in size — a feat that would normally take an immense amount of time to achieve.
"Liu Bao... you're truly my fated opportunity," Yi Tianxing murmured, his eyes shining with a strange gleam.
This harvest was beyond massive — enough to make him smile in his dreams.
Liú Bào had been a great blessing in disguise.
His entire strength had undergone a radical transformation. His physical body? Ordinary weapons could no longer pierce even his skin. Not to mention that his bodily strength had multiplied several times over. He could now utterly overpower most cultivators in the Divine Sea Realm — even shatter magical powers purely through the force of his blood and Qi.
His Divine Sea, nine zhang wide, was larger than most. Filling it would usually take a terrifying amount of resources. Yet now, it was full — as if granted from the heavens. Within the Divine Sea Realm, he could now progress at lightning speed. His path was now nearly smooth. All he needed was time to refine it.
And most importantly, he had acquired the Mystic Armor Life Aperture (玄甲命窍) — an invaluable treasure.
Shua!!
Just as the blood light faded, several items appeared in front of Yi Tianxing. Without examining them, he waved his hand, storing them into his Spirit Pearl Space for later inspection. The blood light flashed once more — and that strange force enveloped his body again. In the blink of an eye, he was returned to the city wall, exactly where he'd stood before being transported to the life-and-death arena.
"My lord, are you alright?" Wang Dahu asked anxiously as he stepped forward.
"Don't worry, Dahu. I'm fine. In fact, my injuries have completely healed," Yi Tianxing replied with a smile and a nod.
His wounds had begun to heal rapidly the moment he received the "gift." Now, not even a scar remained. His body, essence, and spirit had all ascended to their peak.
"The life-and-death arena has vanished," said Huang Chengyan, pointing to the air.
They watched as the once-massive arena began to fade at a visible pace, quickly becoming ethereal. In the blink of an eye, the arena vanished completely. If not for having seen it themselves, they might not have believed it ever existed.
This world had changed. Strange phenomena kept emerging. Even cultivation was real. No anomaly could surprise them anymore.
"The life-and-death contract has been fulfilled. That agreement has lost its effect — it was bound to disappear," Yi Tianxing nodded.
"General Yang, rally the troops. It's time to put an end to the Xiongnu outside," Yi Tianxing said, his gaze turning toward the remnants of the enemy army.
Only a few thousand Xiongnu soldiers remained, all wounded. After a night of brutal combat, they were mentally and physically exhausted. The fact that they hadn't collapsed yet was a miracle in itself. To ask them to fight again would be impossible.
"Mere remnants — no threat at all. Allow me to capture and execute them for you, my lord," General Yang Ye said coldly, his eyes sweeping over the enemy camp.
To him, these Xiongnu were nothing more than livestock awaiting slaughter.
"Yi Tianxing!! You've destroyed the hope of the great Xiongnu! I will never forgive you! Our blood feud is eternal!!" the shaman Uma bellowed, seeing Liu Bao slain and the Xiongnu army completely broken.
The remaining soldiers were demoralized, on the verge of collapse. Many would simply crumble at Yi Tianxing's approach.
He, too, was Xiongnu.And now, before his very eyes, their army had turned to dust.
His eyes turned blood-red as he cursed, baring yellow teeth.
Then, he pulled something out of his robe.
A… bamboo dragonfly?!
Placing it atop his head, the small, intricate toy began to spin rapidly — like a helicopter. In moments, it lifted him off the ground and sent him flying into the air.
"What the— That thing's flying?!" Yáng Yándìng exclaimed, mouth agape. "I've played with bamboo dragonflies before, but when did they start being able to carry people?!"
"Another treasure," Huang Chéngyǎn said solemnly.
Bamboo Dragonfly (竹蜻蜓) — a strange artifact capable of allowing human flight. The Xiongnu truly had gathered quite a trove of mystical items.
"He's trying to escape," Yi Tianxing growled. He knew exactly what that bamboo dragonfly was — it had quite the reputation in the old world.
Without hesitation, he summoned his bow and arrow.
He drew it back — a bow capable of handling hundreds of jin of tension — but for Yi Tianxing, it already felt inadequate. After all, the bow's power was limited by how much force it could hold, and he was far beyond that now.
He nocked a steel arrow, infused it with True Qi, and let it fly.
Shua!!
Like a comet chasing the moon, the arrow shot through the sky.
U Mā's expression changed drastically. He tried to dodge, but it was too late.
Thwack!
The arrow pierced into him, and he let out a scream. But the bamboo dragonfly kept spinning, carrying his bloodied body swiftly into the distance.
"He got away," Huang Chéngyǎn muttered, frowning.
"This world isn't one where you can fly so freely," Yi Tianxing said coolly. "The skies belong to vicious predators. With that arrow wound and the scent of blood on him, staying alive will be no easy feat."
Flying in the air was far more dangerous than running on the ground. No one knew what kinds of monsters roamed the skies now.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
From outside, the sound of weapons clattering to the ground echoed. The Xiongnu in the encampment had watched even their shaman flee. Their minds collapsed. Their will to fight was gone. One by one, they dropped their weapons, blank despair on their faces.
"It's over. The Left Sage King is dead. Even the shaman abandoned us."
"Our army of tens of thousands — gone. These Han people won't spare us."
"I don't want to fight anymore. Just kill me…"
Their morale was shattered. At this point, even unarmed civilians could've finished them off.
"These men have lost all will to fight. Brother Yi, how do you plan to deal with them?" Cai Yan asked softly, frowning.
"There are thousands of Xiongnu left. They've eaten human flesh. By all rights, they should be executed. These people have long lost their humanity. If they no longer see themselves as human, I'll treat them as beasts. Unless... you feel mercy for them?" Yi Tianxing looked toward her.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "Thinking of what they did before... even if they were executed a thousand times, it wouldn't be enough. Don't let me influence your judgment, Brother Yi. Do what must be done. I was only struck by how swiftly such a powerful force was reduced to ashes. This world is too dangerous. So many are struggling between life and death. Human life feels so fragile."
Cai Yan felt no compassion for these Xiongnu.
They were monsters — inhuman. Death a thousand times would still be too lenient.
"Then it's settled. If you don't wish to watch, return first," Yi Tianxing said.
"General Yang — kill them all. Leave none alive."
His tone was icy and resolute.
If these had been ordinary soldiers, not cannibals, perhaps he might have spared them — made them slaves or laborers.But man-eating beasts? He could never allow them to live.
"Yes, my lord!" Yang Ye replied grimly.
With no hesitation, Yang Ye led his men into the Xiongnu encampment. Facing the defenseless, broken soldiers, they raised their weapons—
And killed. All of them.
Not one was spared.
The entire Xiongnu army was buried in that valley.
Yi Tianxing followed behind them, walking among the corpses. From his Innate Yin-Yang Eyes, a terrifying devouring force radiated outward, drawing the souls from the Xiongnu corpses and absorbing them into his mystical vision.Even their souls… he would not let escape.