Chapter 24: Self-Destruction!

The former Liu Xin was merely an ordinary disciple of the Initial Saint Sect, living a life of a beast of burden—completing missions, cultivating, and repaying loans every day.

Until a chance encounter completely changed his fate.

It began with a bounty mission posted by a True Disciple; he wanted to explore an ancient cave abode and happened to be short on a few cannon fodder to scout the way.

Unaware of the background, Liu Xin was attracted by the mission's reward and joined the exploration team. By the time he realized he was actually cannon fodder, it was too late; he was forced by the True Disciple into the cave abode. However, he discovered that all the prohibitions within the abode were ineffective against him.

He obtained the opportunity unimpeded all the way through.

It was a golden box containing the "Book of Innate Dao" and the Innate One Qi Ten Thousand Spirits Banner, alongside a letter left by the abode's master before his death.

In the letter, the abode's master styled himself "Innate Hermit."

The Daoist text and magical treasure in the box were left for a destined person; he had calculated that this destined person was a True Disciple of the Saint Sect with the character "Xin" in their name.

However, he was not convinced.

The Innate Hermit railed against the Initial Saint Sect's shamelessness in the letter, claiming a destined connection where none existed, forcibly binding his inheritance's karmic cause to the Saint Sect's True Disciple.

Thus, he deliberately confused the karmic cause, giving the inheritance to Liu Xin.

Furthermore, the letter stated that Liu Xin would face a life-or-death calamity after obtaining the treasure, so the master had also left a means to break the situation within the abode.

In the original karmic cause, the false "Xin" was not the true "Xin," so Liu Xin had to serve as someone else's cannon fodder, acting as a boy delivering treasures. However, under the Innate Hermit's deliberate arrangement, the result was that Liu Xin gained the opportunity, even usurping the nest and counter-killing that True Disciple.

It was a heart-stopping night.

By the time the sun rose, only Liu Xin walked out of the Innate Hermit's cave abode, transformed from the inside out, while that Saint Sect True Disciple disappeared forever.

However, Liu Xin did not completely kill the opponent.

Instead, with the help of the Innate Hermit's leftover hand, he refined the Saint Sect True Disciple alive, making him the strongest banner spirit in his hand.

The banner fluttered, and a figure in a black robe, with robes billowing, stepped out. He did not look at Lu Yang immediately but instead gazed around with a nostalgic expression.

"The strong devour the weak, and disciples killing each other; the Saint Sect is indeed the familiar Saint Sect."

"Senior Brother, long time no see?" Liu Xin cupped his hands in salute.

"A useless person has met a formidable enemy again?" The black-robed figure sneered disdainfully: "The Book of Innate Dao was given to you; it is truly a waste."

"I cannot compare to Senior Brother."

Liu Xin was not angry, remaining respectful and polite: "This person is a sword cultivator who also cultivated the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light. This junior brother is indeed no match for him."

"Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light?" The black-robed figure paused in surprise upon hearing this, his expression becoming somewhat serious, before shaking his head again: "To be able to cultivate that divine technique, he is indeed a figure of some merit. Pity he worked in the wrong direction, making useless efforts. According to the agreement, this is the third time I have acted."

"Senior Brother sees clearly."

Liu Xin nodded: "After this matter, I will release Senior Brother to reincarnation. With Senior Brother's merit and foundation, I believe you will surely re-enter the Dao path after your next life."

"Good."

Only then did the black-robed figure turn and look at Lu Yang.

Seeing this scene, Lu Yang and Xiao Shiyue had no reaction, but the Fairy Immortal Qingchen's eyes widened, staring straight at the black-robed figure.

She was not a newly entered disciple.

At first, she only felt the black-robed figure looked somewhat familiar. However, when he truly unleashed his aura, she suddenly woke up and recognized him.

"It is Chen Xinan, Senior Brother Chen!?"

The son of the Patching Heaven Peak Master, one of the Inner Sect's Four Peaks! The missing True Disciple!

After Chen Xinan went missing that year, the Patching Heaven Peak Master flew into a rage, personally manipulating the karmic cause to deduce the truth but found nothing, yet it stirred up a huge storm.

Who would have thought he was actually in Senior Brother Liu's hands?

In an instant, the Fairy Immortal Qingchen's expression changed slightly, as if she thought of something. She then subconsciously stepped back several paces, intending to put distance between herself and Liu Xin.

Pfft!

The blade entered and exited. The Fairy Immortal Qingchen's beautiful face was blank, her gaze dull as she looked at the hand embedded in her lower abdomen. Then her head tilted, and she lost all breath.

She died again.

"Pity. Since you saw it, you cannot be allowed to live."

With the Fairy Immortal Qingchen dead, the array formations around immediately shook. However, as Liu Xin activated the Ten Thousand Spirits Banner, the Fairy Immortal Qingchen's corpse instantly fell into the banner.

In no time, the intact Fairy Immortal Qingchen walked out from the banner, having become a banner spirit.

Although becoming a banner spirit imposed many more restrictions than in her life, she could still command the array formations, quickly stabilizing the shaking arrays.

At the same time, the black-robed True Disciple Chen Xinan arrived before Lu Yang.

"Hmm?"

Looking at Chen Xinan, Lu Yang's gaze immediately tightened. The opponent's cultivation was not high, only at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining like him, but the feeling he gave was different.

Chen Xinan also glanced at Lu Yang and shook his head: "The Yin-Yang Great Joy Scripture is a dual cultivation technique that emphasizes controlling three thousand women. Yet your true qi is impure and messy; it is clearly not obtained through dual cultivation. Originally, the Fifth-Rank Yin-Yang Dragon-Tiger Qi falling on you would at most be Sixth-Rank."

This commentary made alarm bells ring loudly in Lu Yang's heart.

"May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Chen Xinan. I am forced into this situation by circumstances beyond my control. However, if you can escape and bring news of me back to the Patching Heaven Peak, my father will surely reward you heavily."

Before the words finished, Chen Xinan acted!

He raised his hand and pressed down. In an instant, his aura merged with heaven and earth. Surging true qi roared out, even summoning the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual qi to respond!

At this moment, Lu Yang's pupils suddenly contracted.

It was not because of the strength Chen Xinan displayed, but because as Chen Xinan moved, Lu Yang clearly felt the flaws and defects in his own true qi.

In an instant, Lu Yang understood.

"My Dragon-Tiger Union Yin-Yang Great Joy Scripture is not the limit. The Patching Heaven Peak has an even superior technique! This person must be a True Disciple of the Patching Heaven Peak!"

Lu Yang's guess was very correct.

As the son of the Patching Heaven Peak Master, the technique Chen Xinan cultivated was named the "Patching Heaven Classic," an upgraded version of the Dragon-Tiger Union Yin-Yang Great Joy Scripture.

Ordinary dual cultivation is dual cultivation with people, emphasizing the union of Yin and Yang.

However, the dual cultivation of the "Patching Heaven Classic" is dual cultivation with heaven and earth, emphasizing union with Guan Qiankun, thereby refining the Patching Heaven True Qi, which ranks as Third-Rank.

Therefore, when Chen Xinan brought his palm down, even without invoking any divine ability, the sheer depth of his Zheng San Pin true qi alone was enough to make Lu Yang unable to cope.

Liu Xin, seeing this, immediately revealed a confident smile.

After all, no one knew Chen Xinan's strength better than he did; in his view, even if Lu Yang were ten times stronger, he could not possibly be Chen Xinan's match.

"We're going to win!"

Liu Xin decisively reached that conclusion, yet failed to notice that in the distance Xiao Shiye was at this very moment eyeing him with a dark expression, seemingly pondering something.

With Xiao Shiye's intelligence, he could naturally see that the situation was turning against him.

"I didn't want to use it in the first place, but you people forced my hand."

Xiao Shiye was well aware that his own strength was the weakest, and that he had been relying entirely on the magical treasures on his person to hold up appearances; but now it seemed that relying on treasures alone would not work either.

At this thought, Xiao Shiye immediately drew a deep breath, then opened his storage bag. In an instant, a torrent of surging spiritual energy and treasure-light burst forth from the mouth of the bag, drawing Liu Xin's attention over, and even Chen Xinan and Lu Yang, who had been locked in fierce combat, stopped their movements and cast their gazes over.

Immediately after, a small pagoda was seen flying out from Xiao Shiye's storage bag.

The small pagoda seemed to be cast from molten gold, divided into nine tiers; atop the pagoda a wisp of spiritual light had manifested, taking on a shape strikingly like a human figure, its brows brimming with vitality.

"This is... a Spirit Treasure!?"

The instant they saw this scene, before the unlearned Lu Yang could even open his mouth, Liu Xin and Chen Xinan both cried out in shock, looks of horror spreading across their faces.

When a cultivator refines an artifact and the artifact gives birth to treasure-light, it is a magical treasure; when the treasure gives birth to spiritual intelligence, only then is it a Spirit Treasure!

Magical treasures are divided into lower, middle, and upper grades, with boundless wondrous uses; yet no matter how powerful a magical treasure may be, it requires a master to drive it before it can display its might.

But a Spirit Treasure is different.

A Spirit Treasure possesses its own consciousness; even without a master it can display its might, and more importantly, a Spirit Treasure can cultivate on its own, growing ever stronger!

The next second, Xiao Shiye was seen forming a hand seal, and the Spirit Treasure pagoda immediately began to swell.

"Bastard!"

Chen Xinan was the first to curse out loud, his composure from moments ago completely gone, for he had seen that Xiao Shiye actually intended to make that Spirit Treasure self-destruct!

On the other side, Liu Xin nearly spat blood.

Such a treasure that plucks the creative force of heaven and earth is generally something only a Foundation Establishment True Person could possess; you, Xiao Shiye, having one is one thing, but you actually take it out to self-destruct?

It is simply a wanton waste of heaven's gift!

What was even more outrageous was that the Spirit Treasure pagoda showed not the slightest intention of resisting, and instead actively cooperated; the speed was so fast that he had no time at all to stop it.

"Boom—!"

The next second, the blazing blast of the explosion swallowed everything whole.

(End of chapter)