Chapter 125

"Go, remove the blood contracts from them." Qin Yu, slightly panicked, threw the injured little phoenix from his arms. The little phoenix fluttered in the air a few times before stabilizing. Its eyes full of resentment, it had just displayed its divine might, wiping out a batch of blood spirits—why must it now do this menial task? Yet deep inside, it felt a faint excitement. It had identified this Son of Heaven's Mandate, Qin Yu, as capable of concealing his own fate's aura, which was terrifying to the extreme. Even the spirits of the heavenly tribulation followed him.

"In the little phoenix's memory, barbarian people were always strong-limbed and simple-minded; the purer the bloodline, the less they liked to think, and anything solvable by force they would never waste thought on. But this barbarian young prince Tuoba Gou Dan before them, with a high ancestral bloodline purity, had followed Qin Yu not long ago and already opened his apertures? This is truly astonishing. Having followed only a moment, his intelligence had improved; perhaps he could truly help revive the phoenix clan. Thinking this, the little phoenix still resignedly continued doing the menial work."

"This young master... indeed has an extraordinary background; this is the legendary divine beast phoenix! In the ancient era when myriad races vied for supremacy, the phoenix clan stood supreme above all heavens, mighty beyond compare, yet now this young master casually tosses it about." Seeing this, many human cultivators couldn't help but draw a cold breath. If such a divine beast appeared in their sect, it would surely be worshipped like an ancestor, handled with utmost care, fearing even a speck of dust. But in Qin Yu's hands, it was merely an ordinary toy. Thus, their hearts became even more convinced of what the barbarian prince had said earlier.

"A resonant phoenix cry rang out across the heavens, clear and shocking. Countless flames surged and coalesced into terrifying True Fire, enveloping the twenty human cultivators. The powerful bloodline pressure made their hearts pound violently, even causing a feeling of suffocation. The blood-contract spirit plants in their palms withered rapidly under the True Fire's blaze, vanishing instantly, and the blood contracts dissipated as well. Of course, this was mainly because the blood spirits that had signed the blood contracts with them had already fallen, allowing the phoenix bloodline's suppression to work, then using True Fire to dissolve the contracts; otherwise, it would have been impossible to go so smoothly."

"At this moment, the fervor in the eyes of many cultivators could no longer be concealed. They truly felt that the suppressed power within their bodies had vanished, and the sensation of being restrained was completely gone."

"A booming rumble echoed between heaven and earth as obscure, hard-to-understand symbols slowly descended, forming an oath contract that merged into their bodies. From this moment on, they officially became followers of Qin Yu. Yet they gratefully exclaimed, 'Thank you, young master, thank you, divine beast, thank you, Elder Tuoba!' 'From now on, leave it to us; as long as we live, these blood spirits dare not harm the young master in the slightest.' Their eyes flashed with firm battle intent, already prepared to risk their lives for Qin Yu."

"They clearly knew their place. The Sword Sect's top true heir, Qing Xuan Zi, and the Nine Yang Holy Son had already become followers of Qin Yu. They were merely a step behind, and their backing forces were relatively weak. Most of them were like the elite disciples of the Floating Light Sect and the Ten Thousand Sea Gate; although they had centuries of cultivation foundation and some attainment in the Spirit Transformation Realm, their combat strength was only slightly superior to Qing Xuan Zi's. After all, the weakest among them had reached perfect profound-grade aptitude, and there were even one or two with earth-grade aptitude, plus a couple with heaven-grade aptitude talents. However, without the Tuoba Prince mediating, they would still have fallen into blood slavery, unable to escape this tragic fate. Now that they have become Qin Yu's followers, their status is naturally lower than Qing Xuan Zi's and the others, so they must exert themselves more to prove their worth."

"Thus, a group of peerless talents from a hundred years ago, now solemn in expression, each produced their spirit swords, forming a tight shield before Qin Yu, ready at any moment to meet the enemy's attack."

"No wonder he's a monster who survived the heavenly tribulation... the Profound Yang Sect should have been destroyed, yet unexpectedly a figure like Qin Yu has emerged, and he even managed to subdue twenty talents in the heat of battle." Zhang Wu shook his head with a bitter smile, his heart full of emotion, feeling that Qin Yu's fortune was like a rainbow, truly heaven-defying. Moreover, he understood that if these talents were to leave, the entire East Divine Province's situation would undergo a massive change. Although they are aging, their peers of the same generation have almost all become sect leaders. Here there are hardly any weaklings, and of course some are not cultivators of the Cangyuan Realm. Because the outer region of the Heavenly God Forbidden Zone is formed by the agitation of Bi Xue Mu and others, like an ancient relic that draws cultivators in. Such ancient relics are inaccessible to ordinary forces. Just as in this case, within the Canglan Domain, only those lineages with a venerable master seated have the qualification to enter. Without a powerful background, such resources are basically unattainable for loose cultivators. The miraculous encounters described in those cheap novels are all lies; if a truly astonishing encounter were to occur, where would an ordinary loose cultivator get a chance?

"Dong Fangyuan's heart also trembled violently. Looking at these newly arrived cultivators before him, each possessed outstanding talent. Had they not been sealed by the Heavenly God Forbidden Zone, they would all have achieved notable accomplishments; any one of them would surpass me."

"A booming rumble! At this moment, the situation on the field seemed to fall into a brief stalemate. The blood spirits and the Heavenly Feather Clan simultaneously ceased fighting. The commotion Qin Yu caused was no small matter, and all eyes turned toward him."

"'To dare break blood contracts right before my face—what gall!' Bi Xue Mu's face darkened as he let out a low, angry shout, slowly lifting his eyelids. In his view, since these human cultivators had already become his feast, why shouldn't they just wait obediently to die? With their meager strength, even the already heavily injured Heavenly Feather Clan could easily dispose of them."

"The Third Prince's face turned deathly pale. After fighting desperately for so long, he had only given these human ants an opportunity, and his anger flared up. He had fought to the death with this Dao Stage blood spirit, even sacrificing a feather given by his father, barely managing to hold his own, all to wait for reinforcements to arrive and then seize the divine beast. But now it seems the situation has become even more thorny."

"'Blood spirit, are you willing to cease? Let us first suppress this group of human cultivators; otherwise, the more of your fallen blood spirits, the more those blood slaves he can free from their contracts.' The Third Prince, suppressing his anger, spoke with difficulty: 'First slaughter them all, then we will contend for that divine beast—what do you think?' At this moment, his mind was filled only with the desire to suppress Qin Yu, and he felt utterly stifled. Nearly two-thirds of the geniuses following him had already fallen, which greatly increased the difficulty of his upcoming conquest plans. Even if he someday controlled a realm, he could hardly guarantee they would all be his trusted confidants."

"Just as the Third Prince's words fell, a flying boat sped toward them. Dozens of youthful cultivators at the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm stood upon the vessel. Though their auras were strong and their abilities quite respectable, they were still far inferior to the first batch of cultivators who had followed at the Third Prince's side."

"Bi Xue Mu saw this, and his expression instantly turned grim. He hadn't expected the Heavenly Feather Clan to still be able to transmit people in. If this delay continued, other mishaps might occur. We must first deal with this group of human beings; otherwise, if our blood spirits continue to fall, these human cultivators will turn against us."

"'Cease fire, first kill these human beings.' Bi Xue Mu snorted coldly, waved his hand, and a faint killing aura instantly blanketed the void, spreading rapidly. 'A bunch of early-stage Spirit Transformation ants actually think that after nullifying the blood contracts of these twenty cultivators they can walk out alive? Ridiculous.' At this moment, behind him were about thirty blood spirits and fifty to sixty blood slaves, swiftly moving to encircle Qin Yu and company."

"'I will personally take action.' The Third Prince's eyes flashed with a strange light as he shouted. He produced a flawless white feather in his hand, its surface etched with flowing patterns that seemed to merge with heaven and earth, making it extraordinarily remarkable. He intended, while slaying Qin Yu, to also seize that little phoenix by the same motion. With reinforcements present, he felt he would at least not meet with any mishap."

"Bi Xue Mu saw the Third Prince's move—how could he not know his thoughts? Yet he said nothing more. After all, these blood slaves were enough to consume a large number of the Heavenly Feather Clan's cultivators. As long as he had sufficient strength, he could still suppress the opposition. Know this: once he broke free and left the Heavenly God Forbidden Zone, with the restraint gone, he could restore his cultivation to a level comparable to a Dao Stage expert. The restrictions here are too severe; within, he could only mobilize dao intent, for the Spirit Transformation Realm's power cannot support stronger methods, the limitation being truly extreme. Even so, even if he reached the outside world, he could still easily suppress this crowd of ants. Therefore, the most important thing now is to maintain his advantage. Had the Third Prince not earlier sacrificed that feather, he would have already wiped out the Heavenly Feather Clan's cultivators entirely."

"At this moment, both sides harbored their own hidden motives."

"A boom! The Heavenly Feather Clan's flying boat slowly descended, many cultivators filing out in single file, swiftly forming battle formations with high fighting spirit."

The third young master had his hands clasped behind his back, standing at the very front of the troop, slowly lifting his eyelids, and coldly said, 'I alone am enough.' He did not make a move directly, because he knew reinforcements would continue to arrive; as long as he kept delaying, his advantage would only grow.

The twenty geniuses who had just submitted stood ready in strict formation, tightly guarding Qin Yu's side.

And at that moment, Qin Yu's expression was indifferent, his hand tightly gripping the Azure Mist Sword as he stepped forward slowly, one step at a time.

"Slay him, I alone am enough," Qin Yu thought to himself; he had been waiting for the chance to act, and now the opportunity had finally come.