Chapter 25: Tragic Hei Tian, Generous Hei Tian

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Wang Ping's face turned pallid, he braced his hands on his knees, and gasped heavily.

At the last moment, his internal spiritual power was almost completely drained, causing his legs to tremble and nearly making him collapse to the ground.

He hurriedly drew a drop of spiritual liquid from the silver-white space and swallowed it.

The pure spiritual liquid entered his body and instantly transformed into vast spiritual energy.

The Azure Wood Longevity Technique circulated, and strand after strand of spiritual power refilled his dantian.

After recovering enough to regain over a hundred strands of spiritual power, Wang Ping approached the black-clothed person's body.

The Heaven-Overturning Seal had returned to the form of a three-inch seal, still crystal clear, and under sunlight it actually displayed a rainbow of colors.

Beneath it lay a pool of bloody flesh.

He recalled it, suspending it above his head, and strands of crystal light fell once more.

Suddenly, Wang Ping's face tightened; he hurriedly used spiritual power to push aside the flesh and carefully searched the ground.

Only when a red pouch appeared before his eyes did Wang Ping let out a breath of relief.

He had been close to smashing the storage bag to pieces.

After putting away the storage bag, he also collected the Heaven-Overturning Seal atop his head; just as Wang Ping was about to turn and leave, a jet of green light shot suddenly from the blood mud, heading straight for his brow.

This change came too suddenly; Wang Ping never expected that even a rotting mass of flesh could still launch an attack.

He was struck directly in the brow by that dark light, and his eyes, once bright as stars, instantly lost their luster.

His body, as if losing control, toppled straight downward.

In Wang Ping's mental space, he stared, bewildered, at the green-colored figure before him.

That cluster of green light, after striking his brow, actually appeared within his mental realm.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! You young brat, still so immature—since you destroyed my flesh, take your flesh in exchange!"

That green light was obviously the black-clothed person's soul; his soul light was dark green, while Wang Ping's was indeed light green.

Wang Ping silently watched the black-clothed person laugh maniacally, feeling a sense of tragedy for him.

He was not versed in the art of spiritual assault, yet he feared no one attempting to seize his body.

He gazed at the energy gauge occupying the center of his mental realm, and beside it, the silver block.

He inexplicably felt a hint of confidence.

So he remained silent; in the quiet, dark mental realm, only the central king's land glowed with light.

That was his soul's light.

Now another strand of dark green light blossomed within his mental realm.

"Kid, I am Hei Tian; I will surely devour your soul completely, then seize all your fortunes, and slaughter your parents and kin—hahaha!"

Hei Tian was even more rampant within Wang Ping's mental realm than outside.

His spiritual power is strong precisely because his soul strength has reached the limit of the Qi Refining stage.

Outside he possesses top-grade artifacts; here, what does he have?

Look at his fragile soul light—it's pitifully weak.

Thinking thus, he hesitated no longer, lifted his soul light, and lunged at Wang Ping's light-green soul.

At this moment, Wang Ping's eyes actually showed a hint of doubt as he gazed at the excitedly lunging Hei Tian and asked:

"Can't you see?"

That abrupt remark inexplicably sent a chill rising from the depths of Hei Tian's soul.

The rushing soul halted abruptly, warily scanning the surroundings, and realized that aside from his and Wang Ping's soul forms, nothing else existed here.

"You stinking brat dare to toy with my lord Hei Tian—you're asking for death!"

Now Wang Ping was certain the other truly could not see the silver energy bar and the silver-white block.

If so, Wang Ping gave Hei Tian a slight smile, gestured, and the silver-white block appeared above Hei Tian's soul form.

"Seize!"

Hei Tian had been suspicious and on edge; Wang Ping's single 'seize' startled him, and then something terrifying occurred.

Above him, a mysterious suction suddenly appeared; its force was so great that he had no power to resist.

"No! Release me! I am a member of the Soul Refining Hall; kill me, and you will surely be hunted to death by the Soul Refining Hall!"

In terror, he could no longer suppress his fear and shouted loudly.

Soul Refining Hall?

I've never heard of it; Wang Ping sneered repeatedly, letting you go would be the real trouble.

"No!"

The black-clothed person again roared in unwillingness, his heart filled with regret over why he came to ambush the young cultivator before him.

He regretted having given rise to greed!

After sealing the black-clothed person inside the silver-white block, his consciousness directly returned to his physical body.

In the wilderness, one cannot linger; after Wang Ping awoke, he did not linger, but fled straight toward the distant mountains.

Not long after Wang Ping departed, another black-clothed cultivator arrived at the scene; seeing the blood-soaked ground, his complexion shifted slightly.

He slowly crouched, extending a pallid finger from his black embroidered robe, pinched the blood mud, and a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes.

The cultivator's flesh, tempered by the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, though not as formidable as a body-refining cultivator's, was still sufficiently tough.

Hei Tian had already reached late Qi Refining, his spiritual power condensed into twelve hundred strands; the Red Heart Scripture he cultivated formed a protective light shield whose defensive strength rivaled a top-grade defensive artifact.

Just how much force would it take to shatter him into minced flesh with a single blow? Such force, even if he faced it, might not guarantee victory.

Finding no clues, he directly took a black candle from his storage bag and lit it.

After lighting this strange candle, it actually emitted a black glow; the black-clothed person, holding the black candle, continually searched outward from the red blood mud as center—first one zhang, then two directions, until after searching ten zhang he returned with an ugly expression.

Looking at his companion's miserable state, the black-clothed man muttered doubtfully to himself,: 【62】 "Strange, there is no soul fluctuation of Hei Tian around, but we can be certain Hei Tian performed a body seizure, so why does the Black Nightmare Candle show no reaction at all?"【63】 "It shouldn't be! Even if the seizure fails, given his soul strength there is a chance to plant a Soul Hook."【64】 "But now, there isn't a single clue?"【65】 "Hei Tian! What enemy have you provoked exactly?"【66】 "Damn it, your death is trivial, but delaying the hall's important affair is unforgivable—worthy of ten thousand deaths."【67】 The black-clothed man kept muttering to himself; after speaking, he finally glanced at the black-clumped blood mud that was Hei Tian, a flash of killing intent crossed his eyes, and he whispered: 【68】 "Anyone who kills a member of the Soul Refining Hall, I will pursue you to the heavens and depths of earth, extract your soul and refine your spirit, making you suffer endless torture until death."【69】 After saying that, he flicked his right sleeve, and a white small boat the size of an ordinary fishing boat appeared floating in the air. 【70】 This small boat was actually an extremely precious flying magical artifact. 【71】 The black-clothed man leapt onto the boat, and in the next moment, he piloted the white small boat shooting up into the sky. 【72】 Wang Ping didn't know that the silver-white block had indirectly saved his life. 【73】 At this time he had already hidden in a mountain crevice; after activating the No Shadow Formation and the Mysterious Light Infinite Formation in succession, he held a spirit stone in each hand to recover his spiritual power. 【74】 The value of the spiritual liquid is too precious; even though he can obtain three cubic centimeters every three years, he cannot squander it like this. 【75】 Qi Refining needs it, Body Refining needs it, and recovering spiritual power needs it. 【76】 These spiritual liquids are far from enough. 【77】 Drawing spiritual Qi from spirit stones to restore spiritual power is also a quick method. 【78】 In the blink of an eye, three days have passed. 【79】 The spiritual power in his dantian had recovered again to two hundred and three strands. 【80】 Only then did he feel like opening Hei Tian's storage bag. 【81】 Hiss! What a good fellow! 【82】 Seeing the items inside the storage bag, Wang Ping gasped in shock. 【83】 In the storage bag lay ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, neatly arranged. 【84】 The ten thousand spirit stones piled together released a dazzling light. 【85】 If Wang Ping had just looked at it with his eyes, he might have risked being blinded! 【86】 Damn! 【87】 Wang Ping cursed loudly, "You're so rich, yet you still come to rob me, a mid‑Qi Refining cultivator—greedy beyond measure, you deserve your bad luck."【88】 Actually, Wang Ping had somewhat wronged Hei Tian; the ten thousand spirit stones in his storage bag were the operating funds of the Soul Refining Hall, and he dared not touch even a single one. 【89】 Setting the low‑grade spirit stones aside, Wang Ping continued to examine Hei Tian's storage bag: three black flying nails, five medicine bottles, one jade slip, and additionally five medium‑grade magical artifacts. 【90】 They were respectively a red‑and‑green flower basket, a pair of pure white gloves, a jade‑green flute, a dull‑black small bowl, and a black small bell. 【91】 I've struck it rich! 【92】 Wang Ping never imagined that one day he would be this wealthy. 【93】 Hei Tian is really generous! 【94】 Wang Ping actually felt a hint of gratitude toward Hei Tian at this moment.

Strange, there's no soul fluctuation of Hei Tian around, but we can be sure he performed a body seizure; why then does the Black Nightmare Candle show no reaction at all?

It shouldn't be! Even if the body seizure failed, given his soul strength there is still a chance to plant the Soul-Seeking Guide.

Now, yet there is not a single clue?

Hei Tian! What enemy have you provoked?

Damn it, your death is minor, but delaying the hall's major affair is unforgivable—even ten thousand deaths cannot atone for it.

The black-clothed man kept muttering to himself; after speaking, he finally glanced at the bloody mud that was Hei Tian, a flicker of killing intent crossed his eyes, and he whispered:

Anyone who kills a member of my Soul Refining Hall, I will hunt you to the heavens and the depths of the earth, extract your soul and refine your spirit, making you endure endless torture until death.

After speaking, he flicked his right sleeve, and a white small boat the size of an ordinary fishing boat appeared, floating in the air.

This small boat turned out to be an extremely precious flying magical artifact.

The black-clothed man leapt onto the boat; the next moment, he piloted the white small boat shooting up into the sky.

Wang Ping didn't know that the silver-white block had indirectly saved his life.

At this point he had already hidden himself in a mountain crevice; after activating the No-Shadow Formation and the Profound Light Infinite Formation in succession, he held a spirit stone in each hand to recover his spiritual power.

The spiritual liquid is too precious to waste; even though he can obtain three cubic centimeters every three years, he cannot squander it like this.

Qi refinement needs it, body refinement also needs it, and restoring spiritual power also needs it.

These spiritual liquids are far from enough.

Drawing spiritual energy from spirit stones to restore spiritual power is also a quick method.

In the blink of an eye, three days have passed.

The spiritual power in his dantian had recovered again to two hundred and three strands.

Only then did he have the mood to open Hei Tian's storage bag.

Hiss! What a good haul!

Seeing the items inside the storage bag, Wang Ping gasped in shock.

Inside the storage bag, ten thousand low-grade spirit stones were neatly arranged.

Ten thousand spirit stones piled together released a dazzling light.

If Wang Ping had just looked at them with his eyes, he might have risked being blinded!

Damn it!

Wang Ping cursed loudly, "You're so rich, yet you still came to rob me, a mid Qi Cultivation cultivator; your greed is insatiable, you deserve your misfortune."

Actually, Wang Ping had somewhat wronged Hei Tian; the ten thousand spirit stones in his storage bag were the operating funds of the Soul Refining Hall, and he dared not touch even a single one.

After setting the low-grade spirit stones aside, Wang Ping continued to inspect Hei Tian's storage bag: three black flying nails, five medicine bottles, one jade slip, and five middle-grade magical artifacts.

They were respectively a red-and-green flower basket, a pair of pure white gloves, a jade-green flute, a dull black small bowl, and a black small bell.

I've struck it rich!

Wang Ping never imagined that one day he would be this wealthy.

Hei Tian is really generous!

At this moment, Wang Ping actually felt a hint of gratitude toward Hei Tian.