South of Canglan City.
"Your Highness, that Liu Wuji might reveal your whereabouts. We can't take that risk," the young Martial King said.
"No matter. He won't live long," Yang Xiu replied. "I've already made contact with the Zhuang clan. They've secretly sent experts to help me in Chanzhou. I've informed them to keep watch on Liu Wuji and wait for the right moment to strike. He's dead for sure."
The Martial King let out a breath. "The Zhuang clan is packed with elites. Looks like Liu Wuji really can't escape this time."
One hour later.
Outside Canglan City.
After failing to kill Yang Xiu, Liu Wuji feared being exposed and left Canglan City without hesitation.
He avoided main roads, sticking to wild, deserted paths.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.
"Come out!"
Liu Wuji barked.
"Sharp senses," a voice responded.
Three figures appeared.
The moment Liu Wuji saw them, his pupils shrank.
Two peak Martial Kings, and one Martial Emperor?
Liu Wuji cursed inside.
'Heaven's screwing with me.'
If he'd had just a few more months of cultivation, he might not have feared these three.
But he'd only been reborn for less than ten days.
His cultivation time was far too short.
How was he supposed to take on such powerful enemies?
The three made no room for hesitation.
"Kill him!"
All three struck at once—every move a killing blow.
Boom!
In an instant, the area around Liu Wuji turned into a deep crater.
This kind of attack—let alone a Martial Master—even most Martial Kings wouldn't survive.
However...
As the dust settled, a bronze ancient cauldron was revealed at the center of the crater.
Space around the bronze cauldron was twisted so severely that light itself was being devoured. Above the cauldron, a black hole seemed to form.
"You... deserve to die."
Liu Wuji's voice, filled with rage and hate, echoed out.
All three attackers felt a chill run down their spines. A terrible feeling rose within them.
Buzz!
The next moment, a terrifying suction force erupted from the bronze cauldron.
The life essence of all three was instantly drained and pulled into the cauldron—then transferred into Liu Wuji's body.
Liu Wuji's cultivation surged, leaping from Martial Master to half-step Martial Emperor.
But there was no joy on his face—only fury.
That bronze cauldron was the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron.
With his current strength, he couldn't activate it at all.
The only reason he could now was because the cauldron contained a divine soul imprint he had left behind in his past life as a Realm God.
That imprint was his most powerful life-saving trump card.
With it, he could even slay True Gods.
But once used, the soul imprint would be completely destroyed.
And now, he had wasted this one-use trump card just to kill three nobodies.
What a massive loss.
Liu Wuji felt like his heart was bleeding.
"You... you're not human. You're a demon!" one of the attackers cried in terror.
"Tell me who sent you, and I might spare your lives," Liu Wuji said coldly.
The three were on the verge of death, but their life essence hadn't been fully extinguished yet. There was still hope of survival.
Hearing his words, that hope ignited.
"Why should we believe you?" one of them asked.
"You don't have a choice," Liu Wuji replied. "What I offer you... is a gamble."
"Hahaha, you clearly have no sincerity. I refuse to answer," said one peak Martial King.
Liu Wuji didn't even blink—he slapped him to death on the spot.
The other peak Martial King tried to flee, but Liu Wuji caught up and killed him too.
Only the Martial Emperor remained.
"I'll talk!"
He couldn't take the pressure anymore. "It was the Sixth Prince, Yang Xiu. He sent us to kill you!"
"Very good," Liu Wuji sneered.
The Martial Emperor thought he would be spared and quickly added, "Don't worry, I won't say a word when I return. I won't leak anything related to you—"
Boom!
Before he could finish, Liu Wuji smashed his skull and absorbed the last bit of his life force.
"Only the dead can truly keep secrets," Liu Wuji muttered, eyes ice-cold.
Then hatred twisted his face.
"Yang Xiu, you damn bastard."
That soul imprint from his Realm God days should've served a much greater purpose.
But thanks to Yang Xiu, he had been forced to waste it on nobodies.
Still, he wasn't reckless.
Seeking revenge on Yang Xiu now would be a foolish move.
The smarter choice was to strengthen himself in secret. Once he was powerful enough, he would return to settle the score.
He believed that with his past-life foundation as a Realm God, the more time passed, the bigger his advantage would grow.
"I need to get far away from Canglan City," Liu Wuji thought to himself.
This city gave him an overwhelming sense of danger.
And he always trusted his instincts.
Without a second glance, he left immediately.
In the distance, someone was quietly watching Liu Wuji from the shadows.
It was Hu Po.
Only someone like Hu Po—a Martial Saint—could tail Liu Wuji without being noticed.
Anyone else, even a Martial Emperor, would've been exposed instantly.
Liu Wuji's perception was just too sharp.
"His Highness was right... this Liu Wuji really is just as freakish as Yang Xiu," Hu Po thought with a chill in her heart.
She quickly sent a message to a Blood Shadow Guard stationed farther away, instructing him to report to Yang Cheng.
As for her, she continued tailing Liu Wuji.
Sending a Martial Saint just to watch a Martial King—and not even openly attack him.
Only Yang Cheng would go this far.
Yang Cheng didn't feel he was overreacting at all.
When dealing with someone like Liu Wuji, no level of caution was excessive.
Now, 1,000 Blood Shadow Guards had formed an extremely long information relay chain, one after the other. At the two ends of this chain stood Hu Po and Yang Cheng.
So half a quarter-hour later, Yang Cheng received Hu Po's report.
"Liu Wuji activated the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron?"
Yang Cheng's eyes turned dark. "That means he probably won't be able to use it again for quite a while. Still, we can't let our guard down. We need to confirm whether he has any other trump cards left."
Even now, Yang Cheng had no plans to strike directly.
Liu Wuji was just too dangerous.
If he were truly cornered, even a Martial Sovereign might not survive. In terms of threat level, Yang Cheng believed Liu Wuji was more dangerous than Yang Xiu.
Yang Xiu was hard to kill, but Liu Wuji could kill.
So next, Yang Cheng decided to make a move—redirect the threat.
He sent a message to Hu Po: "We have people inside the Southern Guardian Prince's estate, right?"
That estate was destined to rebel one day. He and Wu Cangming, the heir to the Southern Guardian Prince, were already enemies.
Yang Cheng had made up his mind—to pit the Southern Guardian Prince's estate against Liu Wuji.
"Yes," Hu Po quickly replied.
"Tell our people there to use the estate's name to commission the Seven Kill Society. Have them put a hit on Liu Wuji," Yang Cheng said. "Send them one Immortal Peach as a deposit. If they succeed, they'll get four more afterward."
This move was killing two birds with one stone.
He wanted to bring down the Southern Guardian Prince. And he hadn't forgotten the Seven Kill Society's past attempt to assassinate him.
Now he'd let both of them deal with the storm that was Liu Wuji.
Hu Po's breath caught.
She had eaten an Immortal Peach before. She knew just how powerful it was.
"The Seven Kill Society will definitely take the bait," she replied.
The very next day, the Seven Kill Society took it.
The Immortal Peach was too tempting.
And the Society was no slouch either—two days later, they found Liu Wuji.
In a small town, they launched a surprise attack.
Eight assassins struck one after another. Among them were both Martial Kings and Martial Emperors.
All eight were killed by Liu Wuji in the end.
His eyes were blood-red. "Who sent you to kill me?"
Most Seven Kill Society assassins were deathsworn.
The first seven all self-destructed once defeated.
But by the time the eighth came, Liu Wuji was already prepared. He used a strange method to seize control of the man's soul.
"Who hired you?"
Liu Wuji's tone was ice-cold.
"The Southern Guardian Prince's estate," the assassin answered.
Crack!
Liu Wuji snapped his neck without hesitation.
"Hahahaha—"
Liu Wuji burst out laughing.
When Prefect Yuan tried to kill him, he endured it.
When Yang Xiu tried to kill him, he still endured.
Now, out of nowhere, the Southern Guardian Prince's people came after him too.
That made Liu Wuji realize—he couldn't endure any longer.
'Looks like my silence has made these native ants think I'm weak and easy to bully. They think even if they hunt me, they won't be punished.'
'That's why they've gotten bolder and bolder.'
Liu Wuji's eyes burned red. "Southern Guardian Prince's estate... congratulations. You've completely pissed me off!"
With every battle, his strength had grown.
Now, he had fully stepped into the Martial Emperor realm.
The horror of the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron and the Heaven-Devouring Technique was plain to see.
"Since you lowly natives won't let me lie low, then I'll go all out."
Liu Wuji immediately snatched a spirit horse and galloped full speed toward Baiyun City.
That city was the base of the Southern Guardian Prince's estate.
At the same time.
Hu Po sent a report to Yang Cheng: "Your Highness, Liu Wuji has arrived at Baiyun City."
"Tell the Southern Guardian Prince's estate," Yang Cheng said.
Hu Po was stunned. "Wouldn't that give them time to prepare?"
"Exactly."
Yang Cheng said, "Otherwise, Liu Wuji might slaughter his way through them. If he gets too much out of it, it'll only feed him. That's not good for us."
"I understand," Hu Po replied.
Thinking of how terrifying Liu Wuji's growth had been, she felt a chill again.
But Yang Cheng's fear of Liu Wuji was actually fading.
Liu Wuji's growth was far too fast.
It clearly defied logic.
If Liu Wuji could grow this quickly, why hadn't he done so in the previous life from Yang Cheng's memories?
That alone proved—this rapid growth might not be a good thing for Liu Wuji.
Most obvious of all, every breakthrough Liu Wuji had made recently had burned through a vital trump card.
"Liu Wuji's normally extremely calculating and patient. He wouldn't lose control unless something was seriously off."
"If he's acting like a madman now, something must be wrong."
"The most likely reason—his trump cards are running out. That's why he's so desperate to grow stronger, fast."
"Otherwise, he'd just lay low for 100 years and eventually become unstoppable in the Wasteland Realm."
Yang Cheng had a strong feeling—his turn to act might be coming soon.