Staying in the sect, controlling beasts and cultivating immortals

Time passed little by little, the sun set and the moon rose.

The glow of "Six Beasts Guarding the State" in the direction of the imperial city cast a hazy light across the sky, making the ruins appear even more terrifyingly desolate.

suddenly!

Just as the moonlight was obscured by a dark cloud, the gray-black mist rippled extremely slightly. Had Wang Cheng not been completely focused, he would have been almost unable to detect it.

Immediately afterwards, the mist cracked open with an extremely fine rift, and a figure that was almost completely blended into the shadows and whose aura was extremely faint flashed out from it, moving as fast as a ghost, skimming along the ground and stealthily heading northwest.

The figure moved in an extremely eerie way, as if it had no physical form, more like a ghost leaping through the shadows, yet its speed was astonishing. The aura emanating from it was extremely subtle and chilling, carrying a strong sense of death, decay, and a sinister coldness that made one's soul feel uneasy!

This was definitely not the aura of a Qingzhou cultivator, nor was it the violent filth of the Filthy Source Hunt. This was pure, cold, and life-reaping stillness!

"Xuanming Sect!" Wang Cheng was shocked. Yu Changsheng's judgment was completely correct!

These rats were indeed hiding here! And judging from the scout's movements and aura, he was no ordinary person; he must have at least the cultivation level of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm and be skilled in stealth and assassination.

Wang Cheng suppressed the urge to immediately capture the enemy, remembering Yu Changsheng's advice—not to alert the enemy.

He followed silently, like the most skilled hunter, keeping a watchful eye on the shadow from a distance. He needed to find out where the other was going, and ideally, discover their hideout!

The shadow was extremely cautious, choosing the most secluded and chaotic paths to travel, changing direction suddenly several times, and even deliberately leaving false traces.

If it weren't for Wang Cheng's powerful physique, his near-perfect concealment of his aura, and his top-tier perception among those at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, he would have been detected or shaken off by his opponent several times.

After tracking for about an hour, they had traveled nearly a hundred miles away from the ruins of the Li family and entered an ancient mountain forest with complex terrain and miasma. The shadow stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary pile of rocks, made a very strange hand gesture, and ripples appeared on the surface of the rocks like water. Its figure instantly disappeared into the ripples.

"Entrance!" Wang Cheng's pupils contracted slightly.

This pile of rocks was clearly the entrance to an extremely sophisticated illusion array. Unless one witnessed the other party enter, it would be extremely difficult to detect anything using only divine sense. He could sense several powerful yet chilling auras emanating from within the entrance, one of which was deep and obscure, far surpassing the Nascent Soul stage, carrying a heart-palpitating sense of oppression!

"Refining to the Void?!" Wang Cheng's heart sank.

Was the intelligence incorrect? Or was the Xuanming Sect taking it so seriously that they directly dispatched a Void Refinement level elder to lead the team? He dared not approach any further; this place was already extremely dangerous. He had to send the intelligence back immediately!
He carefully backed away, preparing to leave.

However, just as his mind wavered slightly upon detecting the aura of the Void Refinement stage!

"Hmph, you ignorant little bug, you've been staring for so long, and you think you can just leave?"

A cold, hoarse voice, like bones grinding together, suddenly resounded in Wang Cheng's mind! This voice carried a terrifying impact on his soul, like countless ice needles piercing deep inside!

Wang Cheng groaned, his mind sea wracked with pain. His invincible golden body instinctively protected his soul, but his movements inevitably faltered!
In the blink of an eye, a strange change occurred!

The shadow beneath Wang Cheng's feet suddenly began to boil over!
Two shadowy figures, even more solid and sinister than the scout he was tracking, suddenly sprang up from the center like venomous snakes!
They had no physical form, yet they were imbued with the terrifying power of the laws of death. In an instant, they transformed into two enormous ghostly claws wrapped in pitch-black chains, one on the left and one on the right, tearing through the air with a chilling coldness that could freeze the soul, and viciously grabbing at Wang Cheng's head and heart!

Netherworld Claw! The signature killing move of the Shadow Assassination Hall of the Xuanming Sect!
Silent and stealthy, it devours souls and steals spirits!
At the same time, the air around Wang Cheng suddenly distorted, and three equally well-hidden gray-robed figures appeared out of thin air, forming a triangular formation around him.

The leader was a gaunt, skeletal figure with sunken eyes that flickered with two eerie green flames. In his withered hands he held a small banner covered with distorted human faces—it was Elder Yin Bone!
The two people beside him also reached the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage. One of them held a white bone dagger, and the other had his hands condensing a ghastly green Soul-Devouring Poison Flame!

A trap! This is a meticulously planned trap! The other party had already detected his tracking and deliberately lured him here, using the moment when his mind was off guard by the Void Refinement aura to launch a fatal attack!

"Roar!"

At the critical moment of life and death, Wang Cheng unleashed the full ferocity of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator with a powerful physique! His eyes instantly turned blood red, and the golden light on his body burned wildly like tangible flames!
"Overlord Blood - Shattering Star Strike!"

He held nothing back, his entire body's domineering power and surging blood energy instantly burning to their peak! He didn't choose to defend, but instead poured all his power and all his will into his right fist!

His body transformed into a burning golden meteor, carrying an unstoppable, star-shattering, and ferocious momentum, crashing headlong into the ghostly claw reaching out from the left and the gray-robed man in the late Nascent Soul stage behind it! This was an offensive, life-or-death fighting style!
Boom—Crack! The golden fist energy collided fiercely with the pitch-black ghost claw!
A pure torrent of power clashes violently with the insidious laws of death!
The ghost claw let out a piercing shriek, and was torn apart and shattered by the violent power of the domineering body! The remaining force of the fist slammed hard into the bone shield hastily erected by the gray-robed man wielding a white bone dagger!
The bone shield instantly cracked, and the gray-robed man coughed up a mouthful of black blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs, and flew backward, his aura instantly weakening! Wang Cheng's furious attack, while clashing head-on with the Netherworld Ghost Claw, also severely injured a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!
However, the price was also heavy!

puff!puff!
Another ghostly claw gripped Wang Cheng's left shoulder tightly!

The black chains that were wrapped around him instantly dug into his flesh and blood, and the laws of death frantically eroded him, trying to freeze his blood and tear his soul apart!
The pain was excruciating! Even more deadly was that the pale green Soul-Devouring Poison Fire condensed by another late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, like a leech, accurately struck Wang Cheng in the back!
"Ugh!" Wang Cheng let out a painful growl. The golden light of his Overlord Body dimmed violently, his left shoulder was a bloody mess, the wound so deep that bone was visible. The wound was filled with the eerie green light of death and poisonous fire, frantically destroying his life force and soul! His back was also in excruciating pain, as if his soul was being burned by poisonous fire!
"With the power of an ant, how dare he covet the Xuanming Realm? Capture him, and search his soul to refine his spirit!"

A cruel sneer appeared on Elder Yin Gu's skull-like face. He gently shook the small banner with human faces in his hand, and countless shrill vengeful spirits rushed out, forming a filthy soul shockwave that rushed straight into Wang Cheng's sea of ​​consciousness!

At the same time, he pointed his withered finger in the air, and a "Netherworld Finger" that was condensed to the extreme and carried a trace of the law pressure of the Void Refinement Realm silently pointed towards Wang Cheng's dantian!

A decisive blow! A pincer attack from both sides, sealing off from above and below!

With the personal intervention of a Void Refinement Elder, along with the combined efforts of two Shadow Assassins at the peak of the late-stage Nascent Soul realm and the sneak attack of the Netherworld Claw, Wang Cheng was instantly plunged into a desperate situation!
"You want to kill me?! Destroy me!"

Wang Cheng's eyes were bloodshot as he felt the deadly, chilling finger force in his dantian. The immense pressure of being on the brink of life and death ignited the madness in his bones! He completely disregarded the poisonous fire in his back and the erosion of the ghostly claw on his left shoulder, and abandoned all defense! He poured all the remaining strength, even the last strength he had gained by burning his life essence, into his right fist!
This time, it was no longer the Shattering Star Collision, but the even more destructive Overlord Fist Secret Technique that he comprehended after breaking through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage!

"Overlord Blood - Burning Heaven Ashes!"

His right fist, along with his entire arm, instantly burst forth with a blinding golden-red light!
That wasn't flames, but rather the destructive energy that erupted after the Overlord's Qi and Blood burned to their extreme and the power was compressed to its peak!
Wherever his fist struck, space itself distorted and collapsed! He neither dodged nor evaded, but instead, with a self-destructive attitude, he directly attacked the Netherworld Finger that Elder Yin Gu had pointed at him!
Boom——! ! !
The golden-red destructive fist energy collided violently with the gray-black nether finger force!
Like two tiny stars colliding!

A terrifying energy storm exploded instantly, turning the surrounding rocks and vegetation into dust! Two gray-robed figures at the late Nascent Soul stage were violently thrown away by the shockwave, and the remnants of the Netherworld Ghost Claw were also completely shattered!
puff--!
Wang Cheng was struck as if by lightning. His entire right arm bones cracked under the strain, blood gushed out, and his body flew backward like a kite with a broken string. His face turned ashen, and his life force plummeted to rock bottom!

His dantian and dantian were invaded by the Netherworld Finger Force, as if frozen by ancient ice, making it difficult to circulate! The death energy in his left shoulder and the poisonous fire in his back took the opportunity to retaliate wildly!

Elder Yin Gu swayed slightly, his eyes flickering with ghostly fire, a hint of surprise flashing in them. He hadn't expected that a body cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, after suffering such severe injuries, could still unleash such terrifying fist power, nearly damaging his very essence! This kid's invincible physique is ridiculously strong!
"That's a tough nut to crack! Too bad, it ends here!"

Elder Yin Gu's killing intent intensified. He took a step forward and appeared like a ghost above Wang Cheng, who was flying backward. His withered claws, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that tore through space, fiercely grabbed at Wang Cheng's crown!

He wants to directly search Yu Changsheng's soul! To obtain all the secrets about Yu Changsheng, the Ancient Ruins of the Burial Gods, and Qingzhou!
The shadow of death instantly enveloped Wang Cheng. The severe physical injuries, the depletion of his energy, and the erosion of his soul left him almost powerless to resist. The power of law contained in Elder Yin Bone's withered claws made him feel an unprecedented sense of suffocation.

However, at this critical moment, the "Original Mark of Chaos Force" bestowed by Yu Changsheng on Wang Cheng's blood-stained chest suddenly burst forth with an unprecedentedly scorching light!
It seemed to be completely activated by Wang Cheng's desperate situation and strong will to survive!
Om-!
A vast, profound, and seemingly all-encompassing chaotic aura suddenly erupted!
A miniature, hazy, chaotic vortex instantly formed in front of Wang Cheng! Elder Yin Gu's claw, which was determined to succeed, grabbed the vortex, but it was as if it had sunk into a quagmire!
The terrifying power of devouring and decomposition frantically tore at his claw shadows, and the death laws contained within were rapidly dissolved and transformed by the chaotic power!
"What?!" Elder Yin Gu was shocked. He felt as if he were gripping the edge of a black hole that was constantly devouring everything, his power rapidly draining away! "Chaotic power?! So pure?! This is bad!"

He acted decisively, abruptly withdrawing his hand. A burning pain shot through his palm as a wisp of chaotic energy clung to it like a maggot, eroding his magical power! The power of this mark far exceeded his expectations!
Taking advantage of this brief moment, a final glimmer of survival appeared in Wang Cheng's eyes! He used his last bit of strength to frantically pour all the remaining Overlord Body Qi and blood, and even burned a drop of his life essence, into the Chaos Mark on his chest!
"Walk--!!!"

He let out a beast-like roar!
The Chaos Mark's light surged, instantly transforming into an incredibly resilient gray cocoon that firmly enveloped the critically injured and dying Wang Cheng!

Ignoring the barriers of space, the cocoon of light, as if drawn by the strongest force, transformed into a gray meteor tearing through the sky, hurtling towards the center of the imperial city—where Yu Changsheng was—at a speed exceeding the limits of the peak of the Nascent Soul stage! Its speed was so great that it even left a brief spatial ripple behind it!

This was precisely the backup plan Yu Changsheng had prepared – the Chaos Mark not only contained protective power, but also, in times of crisis, could use the Chaos Source Power as a guide to forcibly open a spatial channel pointing to him, instantly pulling the mark holder back to his side!
"Trying to run?! Stay here!" Elder Yin Gu was both shocked and furious. The cooked duck was about to fly away! Ignoring the corrupting chaotic energy in his palm, he frantically shook the human-faced banner in his hand. Countless vengeful spirits converged into a huge, distorted ghost face, spewing out a filthy soul shockwave that chased straight after the gray cocoon of light! At the same time, he pointed a finger again fiercely in the direction the cocoon of light had fled!
Whoosh! Sizzle!
The filthy soul shockwave arrived first, slamming hard into the tail of the gray cocoon of light!

The cocoon of light trembled violently, and the gray light dimmed by more than half in an instant! Immediately afterward, Elder Yin Bone's Netherworld Finger Force also broke through the air and accurately pierced the cocoon of light!

Bang!
The cocoon of light emitted a muffled thud as it struggled to bear the weight, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface!
Wang Cheng, still wrapped up, coughed up another mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of internal organs. His soul felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, instantly plunging him into complete darkness.
But his last conscious thought was firmly locked on the command to activate the mark. Although the cocoon of light was teetering on the brink of collapse and the chaotic energy was dissipating from the cracks, its speed did not decrease at all. On the contrary, driven by the instinct of the chaotic source power, it burned its last strength and rushed towards the imperial city even faster!

"Damn it!" Elder Yin Gu watched as the cocoon of light, trailing a dim afterglow but still moving at an astonishing speed, vanished into the distant horizon. His face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He never expected that a mere peak Nascent Soul cultivator could escape from his personal intervention and meticulously laid trap! The power of the Chaos Mark, as well as the domineering power that Wang Cheng unleashed at the end, all shocked him.

"Elder, what do we do now?" Two gray-robed subordinates, clutching their injuries, gathered around with grim expressions.

Elder Yin Gu stared at the wisp of chaotic energy in his palm that was still stubbornly eroding his magical power, his eyes flickering with ghostly fire: "That Yu Changsheng... is indeed strange! This chaotic power is terrifyingly pure! This person definitely has a great secret, and the opportunity in the Ancient Ruins of the Burial Gods must be earth-shattering!"

He took a deep breath, suppressing his surging blood and anger. "The plan has changed! Shadow Seven, return to the base immediately, activate the 'Shadow-Piercing Shuttle' concealment array, enter the highest alert state, and notify the sect that the target's strength far exceeds expectations. Yu Changsheng is very likely to have mastered profound chaotic laws, and his protective methods are unpredictable! Request reinforcements, preferably... Elder Lock Soul or Elder Blood Netherworld in person!" (End of Chapter)