Chapter 863

But at this moment Yan Buji erupted directly, Immortal Essence and magical power simultaneously burst forth from his body; with his left hand he pulled open a rift with the Rift Scepter, his right hand gripping the Hai Kun Hammer, as he shuttled through the rift the other side released bee stings to interfere with their response.

Yan Buji gave a feral grin as he closed in on Yang Qing: 'Die!'

Yang Lan suddenly bit her tongue tip, spraying a mouthful of essence blood onto the long whip: 'Sister, use that move!'

The two sisters simultaneously formed hand seals, and their spiritual power actually began to merge. Yan Buji's expression shifted slightly, and the 'Blazing Fire Cooking Oil' technique transmitted a huge alarm—clearly they were employing some kind of 'Combined Strike Technique'.

He did not dare to be careless; above his head the Swallow Desire Pot lit up the characters 'folly' and 'sluggishness' simultaneously.

At this critical moment, the bronze wheel on the altar suddenly shuddered violently. A crack spread from the wheel's center, and the entire secret realm began to collapse with a roar!

"Oh no! The secret realm is going to collapse!" Yang Qing exclaimed.

Yan Buji, however, fixed his gaze on the azure light seeping from the crack in the wheel; that aura was all too familiar to him—it was the Slaughtering Sword of the Nethergod Emperor!

"I see..." Yan Buji exclaimed in realization, "The Nethergod Emperor intends to refine the fragments of the Wheel of Fate!"

The ground began to sink, countless green flames spewing up from the earth. Yang Qing and her sister had no time to keep fighting, hastily throwing out life-saving talismans. Yan Buji, however, went against the tide, aiming the Swallow Desire Pot at the wheel fragments on the altar as the six Dao seals flashed frenetically.

"Come here!"

At the very last moment before the secret realm collapsed completely, the bronze wheel fragments finally broke free, turning into a azure light that sank into the Swallow Desire Pot.

Before Yan Buji could even feel joy, he sensed a familiar sword aura locking onto him—again, the Slaughtering Sword!

"You old beast, you won't fade away!" Yan Buji gritted his teeth, casting the Net-Weaving Needle to tear through the void, while the Swallow Desire Pot atop his head released Immortal Essence power to shield him, the Rift Scepter opening a path for instantaneous shift—his form vanished the instant the sword aura made contact.

When Yan Buji reappeared, he found himself in a cave on the outskirts of the Myriad Dao Mountain Range.

He coughed up blood as he drew out the Swallow Desire Pot, noticing a fine sword scar on its body, while the wheel fragment hovered inside, forming a delicate balance with the six Dao seals.

"Nethergod Emperor..." Yan Buji wiped the blood from his corner of his mouth, his eyes blazing with furious fire.

This Nethergod Emperor clearly harbors no good intentions; Yan Buji now understands—whether it was earlier seizing the treasures of the Human Emperor clan or coming here to wrest that wheel fragment from him, the implication is that he's being treated as a treasure‑hunting rat?

"You old beast, you've taken all the good things, haven't you?" Yan Buji narrowed his eyes.

Although he had obtained the Wheel of Fate fragment this time, it also completely exposed his whereabouts. What's worse, after Yang Qing and her sister flee, they will surely try every means to cause him trouble.

Nevertheless, precisely for this reason, they absolutely dare not spread rumors about their possession of the Dao Strategy Mysterious Chapter.

He gazed toward the Profound Gate, a cruel smirk curling his lips: 'Since that's the case, let's muddy the waters even further...'

Soon after.

Yan Buji sat cross‑legged in the dark cave, the Swallow Desire Pot hovering above his palm, slowly rotating. The slash left by the Slaughtering Sword on the pot's body had healed, replaced by a sinuous, snake‑like azure pattern—the mark left after the Wheel of Fate fragment merged with the pot.

"Profound Gate... Fa Tian Sect... a fine ploy to divert disaster eastward." A cold light flickered in Yan Buji's single eye.

He had originally planned to spread the news that Yang Qing and her sister possessed the Dao Strategy Mysterious Chapter, but he hadn't expected the opposition to be one step ahead, fabricating the lie of a 'mysterious youth seizing treasures' and striking first. Now the entire Nangting cultivation world is searching for that nonexistent 'treasure‑seizing youth,' so instead no one pays attention to the rumors Yan Buji has been spreading.

A faint tearing sound came from outside the cave, and Yan Buji immediately restrained his aura.

He saw three Nascent Soul Cultivators patrolling low in the sky, each holding a bronze mirror that displayed a blurry image of a youth.

"I heard that thief last appeared around here..."

"Search carefully! The bounty offered by the Profound Gate is astronomical!"

"Rumor has it even the assassins of the Rain‑Listening Pavilion have been dispatched..."

"That old man.... Senior, have you seen a young person around here?"

"Never."

"Sorry to disturb you, thank you, senior!"

After the three hurriedly departed, Yan Buji slowly exhaled a turbid breath. He gently stroked the Swallow Desire Pot; its spout quivered slightly, pointing southeast—there lies the edge of the Myriad Dao Mountain Range, where habitation is sparse.

"Looks like I need to lay low for a while..." Yan Buji muttered to himself. The situation now is even more complicated than he imagined—not only the Profound Gate and Fa Tian Sect are issuing warrants for his arrest, but even some reclusive powers have surfaced.

What's worse, the Nethergod Emperor likely possesses some secret art that can sense him, meaning that old beast could show up at any moment.

Having made simple preparations, Yan Buji employed an escape technique to slip away unnoticed.

Three days later he appeared in the southeast's 'Bone‑Waste Wasteland.' Here spiritual qi is thin, year‑round shrouded in poisonous mist, a notorious cultivation desert that even the most destitute rogue cultivators avoid.

In a deserted ancient tomb, Yan Buji opened a temporary cave‑dwelling. After setting up three layers of restrictions, he could finally calm his mind to study the changes in the Swallow Desire Pot.

"First is this azure pattern..." Yan Buji's fingertip lightly touched the serpentine marking on the pot, and he instantly felt dizzy. In a haze he saw countless intertwined golden lines unfurling before his eyes, each representing a life's trajectory. This is the ability granted after devouring the wheel fragment—a brief glimpse of the 'Threads of Fate'.

But when he tried to touch those golden lines, the aberrant Dao Mark in his left eye suddenly flared with sharp pain, and the golden lines in his vision all twisted and distorted. Yan Buji grunted, hastily severing the connection.

"Looks like I still can't fully master it..." He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and turned to examine other changes.

The six Dao seals originally on the Swallow Desire Pot—greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, doubt, and view—now each bear a layer of azure light, their power greatly increased. Yan Buji tried to activate the 'greed' seal; the pot's spout immediately produced a terrifying suction, draining all spiritual qi within a ten‑zhang radius. Even more astonishing, that qi is automatically transmuted inside the pot into pure Immortal Essence.

"Good!" Yan Buji's eyes lit up. This meant he could henceforth replenish Immortal Essence anytime, anywhere, no longer limited to slaying cultivators.

Not right.

How could spiritual qi possibly become Immortal Essence?

Is it because of the aberrant Dao Mark, or because of that wheel fragment?

"Does the Wheel of Fate really exist?" Yan Buji found himself wondering, but the effect was undeniable, leaving him no room to dwell on it.

Just as he was preparing for further testing, he suddenly felt a pang of palpitation. The Blazing Fire Cooking Oil secret technique triggered on its own, a fierce sense of danger surging like a tide.

"Found me this quickly?" Yan Buji's face darkened; he swiftly stowed the Swallow Desire Pot, formed hand seals and chanted an incantation, and all traces inside the cave‑dwelling instantly turned to ash.

Just as he burst out of the tomb, a blood‑red blade light came down from above. Yan Buji hastily dodged, but his left shoulder was still sliced open, a wound deep enough to expose the bone.