Ten thousand I am across the heavens

Liu Qingyu's smug expression froze instantly. Without hesitation, she raised her hand and unleashed the strongest attack she could muster, showing no mercy whatsoever.

The crimson beam of light warped the ground beneath their feet, leaving a long trench in the earth.

Dao Tian's figure was instantly engulfed by the blood-red pillar of light. He vanished in a flash, seemingly utterly annihilated.

However, the ever-present sense of crisis hadn't disappeared, and Liu Qingyu still felt a chill run down her spine. She launched another chaotic attack, but still couldn't find her target.

He attacked indiscriminately in all directions, even unleashing area-of-effect attacks that covered almost the entire area around him. Yet, this didn't dispel the intense sense of danger he felt. Until his body began to tremble violently. Veins bulged on his skin, and his entire body became contorted with bulging veins.

"No, this is impossible! Who are you? Why? Why can't I sense your presence? I can sense everyone who participated in this battle. Why can't I sense you? I clearly schemed against everyone, I clearly found the strongest tool, how could I possibly lose to you? Ahhh!" She screamed hoarsely, but she couldn't stop the blood in her body from boiling and being forcibly drawn out.

"Tsk tsk tsk, using insidious means to kill those who love and protect you, and you still have the nerve to criticize me? I've been an innocent victim all this way, I haven't killed a single person. As for you, you can't be considered innocent by any measure. You're far more disgusting than those demonic cultivators." Dao Tian's figure then appeared, but no one knew whether it was the real him or just a projection.

With blood boiling, Liu Qingyu roared hoarsely, "You can't kill me! How dare you kill me? My sect will avenge me! You've ruined the demonic path's grand plan, and the demonic path won't let you off the hook either! Even if I die today, you'll suffer a terrible death! Ahhhhh!"

"Sigh, what a vicious woman. What a pity! Why didn't you think about it? I dared to scheme against you, dared to scheme against the demonic path behind you. I already foresaw that they would hunt me down, and I already had a way to deal with their pursuit. I won't die a horrible death. On the contrary, I will live well. I will live a more and more comfortable life. Sigh, aren't you angry?"

Liu Qingyu's blood was already boiling. This sudden surge of blood rushed to his head, and he exploded with rage. The blood he spat out crystallized, but instead of being extracted, it floated in mid-air, coalescing into a larger crystal. Dao Tian touched the crystal. Countless circuit-like patterns appeared on its surface, harmonizing the Dao traces within and altering their original distribution, rendering almost all the hidden mechanisms ineffective. They could no longer be forcibly extracted. However, he retained a portion: the tracking mechanism left by the creator of this thing. Since he was to pretend he was being chased and forced to flee, he had to make it convincing. If even his pursuers couldn't be found, then finding a smuggler and sneaking into the East Sea wouldn't make sense.

After absorbing this bloodline power, Dao Tian clearly felt a significant improvement in his physical attributes. His overall strength became extremely abundant. Although these Dao traces were chaotic, absorbing them would actually hinder his future growth. If he were to truly cultivate according to the Mountain and River Republic's system, he would have to cleanse these chaotic Dao traces upon returning. But at least for now, without using the Mountain and River Republic's unique killing moves, this was a huge boost to his strength, giving him a combat power that could be considered among the top in the mortal realm.

Having done all this, he continued eastward, feigning an attempt to evade pursuit. But only a day after he fled eastward, a figure in black robes appeared at the battlefield where the previous battle had taken place.

"The stench of blood is strongest here. My three disciples died here too. Tsk, seven years of planning ruined in an instant, and outsiders even reaped the benefits. What a bunch of good-for-nothings."

The figure in black robes closed his eyes tightly, and then a furry, rat-like Gu worm flew out of his body. As the Gu worm floated out, it was still dozing, as if asleep. A huge snot bubble, resembling a nostril, contracted and expanded with its breath.

The figure in black robes touched the Gu worm, and the bubble instantly grew larger and larger, expanding to the size of a human head before floating out of the Gu worm. On the surface of this bubble, an image appeared. The figure in black robes seemed to be dragging a progress bar, moving through the content of the image. Soon, they found a figure in the image—a scene from the past of this place.

Then he saw the woman with the special bloodline. He had used a righteous genius to kill three disciples of the demonic path, only to have the newcomer reap the benefits. He was so enraged that he exploded on the spot, leaving not even a complete corpse. His face grew increasingly grim. Not only had he lost the fruits of seven years of planning, but he had also failed to capture the Holy Maiden with her special constitution. Worst of all, the Holy Maiden's soul had been scattered, her body shattered into pieces, and so much time had passed. There was no way to revive her.

"Ha! You think our things are so easy to take? When I catch up with you, I'll make sure you suffer a terrible death. I want to see what kind of so-called 'method' you have to deal with me!"

The figure in black robes retracted the Gu worms, then vanished into the robes. A rumor quickly spread throughout the martial world: a young man in white had seized the fruits of the demonic path's years-long scheme and possessed a powerful treasure. Anyone who killed him would obtain the treasure, and whoever acquired it would experience a meteoric rise in power, at least reaching the fourth rank.

The portrait of the white-clad youth was also released and circulated among the various powerful forces in the surrounding area. Both the legitimate and illegitimate factions issued warrants for his arrest, and no one cared. Whether this was to rid the people of a scourge or for some other reason, everyone only knew that capturing him would grant them unparalleled power in the mortal realm. As for the cost, given the prospect of gaining such power, almost no one cared about the price.

In a small town in eastern Zhongzhou, thugs hired by the demonic path are posting wanted posters everywhere. Even the entrances of taverns and inns are plastered with notices.

A crowd gathered around the notice outside the tavern, marveling, "Just providing a clue gets you a thousand spirit stones, what kind of serious crime has this guy committed?"

"Are wanted posters this clear now? They're drawn like real people. I remember the old-fashioned wanted posters that were drawn with a pen. Even if the criminal was standing right under the poster, we might not be able to recognize them."

"Indeed, it's drawn so clearly, we might even find some clues. By the way, don't you think the people in this picture look a bit familiar?"

"Heh, do you recognize the people in the painting? You recognize the money, don't you?" Amidst the murmurs, a burly man drinking in the inn's lobby sneered, "What's so interesting? Even if you had a clue, would you dare report it? Aren't you afraid of making money but not living to spend it?" The crowd looked at the man, noticing his imposing figure, full beard, and a massive sword leaning against him. They immediately fell silent. This guy, who looked like Li Kui, was clearly not someone to mess with. He slammed his wine cup down on the table, stood up, and walked over to the notice board.

"Just providing clues is worth a thousand Yuan Stones. Don't you think that a thousand Yuan Stones is enough to train a second-tier cultivator? If they have a second-tier aptitude and good talent, training them to a third-tier cultivator is not a problem. The money for providing clues alone is enough to buy the life of a third-tier cultivator. How many lives do you have to dare to get involved in this?"

These words were undoubtedly a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's enthusiasm; such a powerful figure was indeed beyond their reach. Many people dispersed in disappointment. The burly man, however, stroked his beard, finding its texture incredibly appealing, becoming increasingly addictive with each touch.

He then stared at the image on the wanted poster, marveling at it as he looked: "It looks like it, it really does!"

"I didn't expect my photo to look so good on a wanted poster," he muttered to himself, without a trace of panic. Clearly, this bearded man was Dao Tian himself. Changing his appearance was a piece of cake for him; he only needed to control his muscles, bones, and hair growth, and manipulate the melanin deposition in his skin. The young swordsman could instantly transform into a burly, bearded man, and even if the wanted poster was as clear as a photograph, no one would recognize him.

"It seems that even if Zhongzhou is resisting us, technology diffusion is inevitable. This color printer looks like it's already in civilian use, but it's the same quality as this concert poster. A wanted poster plastered in this quaint town... it's really jarring." Dao Tian glanced around, then returned to his seat, paid his bill, and left the shop. He then wandered around the town and found a shop selling rare items. The goods sold there were all smuggled goods, illegal items transported from Southern Xinjiang—basically gadgets incorporating modern technology.

Dao Tian searched around and quickly found a camera inside. It was the kind of large camera that old men often took to the park to shoot birds; the long lens looked like a telescope, and the 500mm focal length was enough for him to use as a telescope.

"Hmm... that's enough, that's enough. Now it's time to make some moves."

Dao Tian, ​​camera in hand, ventured deep into the mountains and forests. He found a valley, built a campfire, and erected a makeshift shelter. Then, he unleashed his ultimate technique, sculpting a human figure from clay. In the blink of an eye, he had created a doll that perfectly resembled his real self. Even up close, the doll was incredibly lifelike, almost like a life-size figurine. The only problem was that its eyes didn't move. A closer look revealed it wasn't a real person. But it was more than enough for taking pictures.

After doing all this, he retreated to a distance, pretending to be hiding in the jungle and filming the scene with a camera that looked like binoculars. The footage was slightly blurry, but faces were still discernible.

After doing all that, he immediately took the film and printed out the photos, and he printed many copies.

Then he was seen riding his motorcycle at high speed between various towns, reporting people everywhere. Different towns had different strongholds of different factions. He first went to Xianhemen, submitted the photos, and received half of the bounty on the spot. Then he went to Wanlongwu, reported people there, and received another bounty.

He then visited the remaining ten ancient sects as well. The Heavenly Lotus Sect, the Ancient Soul Sect, the Spirit Affinity Pavilion, the Wind and Cloud Mansion, the Battle Immortal Sect… and even the major and minor local forces, righteous and demonic, he went to every place where he could report and claim the reward. To this end, he even used his clone skill to ensure he could gather enough forces.

After learning that the target was hidden in the nearby mountains, disciples from all the major sects were dispatched. Both righteous and demonic paths converged here, for this was a treasure capable of granting someone nearly a fifth-level power in one fell swoop. Even if this item was morally reprehensible, it was someone else's doing, not their problem to use. Both righteous and demonic paths coveted this item immensely, and a frenzied search of the mountains ensued. However, the relationships between the various sects were far from harmonious. Not only were the righteous and demonic paths irreconcilable, but even among the ten major sects, there were frictions. If it were done privately, ensuring no one would discover, it was perfectly normal for righteous disciples from different sects to resort to underhanded tactics against each other.

However, this time they were all after the treasure and initially had no intention of fighting. Even when the righteous path encountered the demonic path, they restrained themselves as much as possible. They pretended not to see each other and continued their search for their target.

The masters of the demonic path could vaguely sense the presence of blood here. Using tracking techniques, they could pinpoint their targets. The righteous experts, having spotted this group of demonic cultivators, were like sharks drawn by the scent of blood, lingering there, further confirming their suspicions that the reported information was true.

Meanwhile, at the Immortal Crane Sect, the eldest disciple was on this mission with three junior brothers. His peak fourth-stage cultivation was more than enough to handle most problems. However, after trekking through the mountains and forests, they inevitably became hungry and thirsty. Just as they stopped to rest, the youngest disciple saw many wild fruits in the forest, greeted them, and prepared to pick some. Since the other disciples all possessed fourth-stage cultivation, they weren't worried.

Little did they know that their junior brother had just entered the woods when a figure covered his mouth, dragged him deep into the forest, knocked him unconscious, and stripped him naked.

Dao Tian carefully observed the details of the person's clothing and body, and his facial features changed rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he transformed himself into an almost identical appearance.

[To be continued]

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