Qin Renhuang just became an immortal, and you told me this is the prehistoric time

"Seize Mount Ling and reclaim the mineral veins! We must not allow the human race to continue to grow powerful!"

Conflicts erupted in multiple regions, bloody and brutal. The human race's expansion was met with a counterattack ten times more ferocious than anticipated, and casualties skyrocketed! The nerves that had just breathed a sigh of relief after the destruction of the forbidden zone tightened again, even more so than before—because they discovered that their greatest support was completely unreliable.

Around the Undying Mountain, the small towns that had spontaneously gathered and begun to take shape due to Ying Xuan's stay and trade were losing their vitality at a visible speed.

Many people realized that this place would no longer possess any "holy land" atmosphere, that Ying Xuan would never return, and that staying here was meaningless except for mourning that enormous pit. The once bustling gathering place quickly became deserted, with only a few cultivators who had nowhere else to go or harbored ulterior motives lingering nearby.

……

Tai Xuan Sect, Xingfeng.

In a quiet and secluded courtyard halfway up the mountain, the sound of a guqin drifted out. Hua Yunfei, dressed in blue, sat in the pavilion, his fingertips flowing with an ethereal yet slightly melancholic melody.

He was handsome and had an ethereal air about him, like a celestial being descended to earth.

However, the music stopped abruptly without warning.

Hua Yunfei's slender fingers paused on the strings, trembling slightly.

He slowly raised his head and looked towards the entrance of the courtyard.

There, a figure had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Clad in green as before, with flowing black hair, a calm expression, and a slowly rotating black and white jade pendant hanging from his waist. It was none other than Ying Xuan, who had recently left the Big Dipper constellation!
Hua Yunfei's pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart almost skipped a beat! He forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, quickly stood up, bowed deeply to Ying Xuan, his posture extremely respectful, and his voice even carried a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

"Junior Hua Yunfei greets Senior Ying Xuan! I was unaware of your presence and have failed to welcome you properly. I hope you will forgive me!"

How could he not be shocked? How could he not be afraid?
The person before me is none other than the peerless evil star who just refined the Undying Mountain with thunderous methods, killed the Stone Emperor and the Longevity Heavenly Venerable, two ancient supreme beings, forced all forbidden zones to bow their heads, and whose ferocious power shook the entire Big Dipper! Moreover, news has already spread that this person acts entirely according to his own will, showing no favoritism towards the human race of the Big Dipper, killing at the drop of a hat, and is cold and ruthless.

Such a presence suddenly and silently appeared in his small courtyard, and Hua Yunfei felt his blood run cold.

He didn't even dare to think about why the other party had come. Was it because his cultivation of the Devouring Heaven Demon Art had been exposed? Or had the connection between the Tai Xuan Sect and the Ruthless Man's lineage been discovered? Either way, it would be enough to condemn him to eternal damnation!
Ying Xuan did not use his divine sense to investigate extensively, as if he had just casually strolled here.

His gaze calmly fell on Hua Yunfei, getting straight to the point without any pleasantries or preamble.

"I have come for your 'Devouring Heaven Demon Art'."

Hua Yunfei's body stiffened abruptly, and all color drained from his face! The thing he feared most had come to happen! The other party was indeed after the Devouring Heaven Demon Art! This demon art was the legacy of the Ruthless Great Emperor, the core secret of the Protectorate lineage, and also his greatest shackle and death warrant!

Ying Xuan seemed oblivious to his sudden pallor and continued speaking.

"In the world of Shrouding the Heavens, most top-tier cultivation techniques have strict requirements on physique. Although I can cultivate the Dao Scripture, other imperial scriptures may not be suitable for me. The Devouring Heaven Demon Art devours the origin of all kinds of physiques and evolves into a chaotic body. Its Dao is extremely inclusive and may enlighten me."

He paused, his tone still calm, yet it sent a chill down Hua Yunfei's spine.

"This skill originated from the Ruthless Great Emperor. To snatch it directly from her would be too risky and not worth the effort. You... are the most suitable choice at present."

Countless thoughts flashed through Hua Yunfei's mind in an instant: resist? escape? beg for mercy? In the face of such a being, any thought seemed pale and powerless.

He gritted his teeth and, almost without hesitation, carefully retrieved a jade slip from the deepest part of his sea of ​​suffering. The slip was jet black, seemingly capable of absorbing all light, yet it faintly exuded an indescribable, lofty, and ethereal aura.

He held the jade slip in both hands and respectfully handed it to Ying Xuan, his voice hoarse.

“Senior…this is the jade slip containing the inheritance of the Devouring Heaven Demon Art. This junior…is willing to offer it to you.”

He dared not resort to any tricks. Faced with an absolute disparity in strength, preserving his life was the top priority. As for the potential consequences of handing over the demonic arts, that was a matter for later; it was better than dying now.

Ying Xuan reached out and took the jade slip. The jade slip was icy cold to the touch and unusually heavy, as if it were holding a miniature black hole.

The pitch-black luster flowed continuously, seemingly drawing even divine consciousness into it. Yet, within this all-consuming darkness, a transcendent, otherworldly Daoist charm faintly emanated, contradictory yet unified.

Ying Xuan slowly probed the jade slip with his divine sense, not going deep, but only sensing the outside. Soon, his brows furrowed slightly.

The craftsmanship of this jade slip, and the faint yet terrifyingly powerful "spiritual essence" or Daoist imprint it contained, filled him with a chilling aura. The being who created this jade slip was likely far more powerful than he had previously estimated.

"The Tai Xuan Sect has long been infiltrated and corrupted by the Ruthless Empress's lineage, and Hua Yunfei is one of the key figures. We can't afford to offend the Ruthless Empress herself, but destroying her lineage... is not difficult."

Ying Xuan quickly weighed the options in his mind.

"But this jade slip..."

With a thought, the black and white jade pendant at his waist flashed, instantly enveloping him and Hua Yunfei. The next moment, the two appeared atop the highest star island in the core space of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Array.

Surrounded by a vast starry sky and endless blue waves, the 108 islands stand like stars surrounding them.

The sudden change in environment made Hua Yunfei even more frightened; he felt like a small boat in a storm.

Ying Xuan looked at the jade slip in his hand, then at Hua Yunfei, whose face was deathly pale and who was almost unsteady on his feet. He suddenly spoke, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"If I were to extract your soul and search your memories for your cultivation techniques, I doubt that the ruthless lineage protecting you would be able to detect it immediately."

These words were like a chilling wind from the depths of hell, instantly freezing Hua Yunfei to a standstill! He felt as if the blood in his body was about to freeze. In his eyes, Ying Xuan's back seemed to have transformed into a terrifying nebula that devoured the starry sky, ready to crush and devour him along with his skin, bones, and soul at any moment!
"Senior! Spare me!"

Hua Yunfei knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"This junior...this junior can rewrite the cultivation technique and offer it to you, senior! I will not hold anything back! I only beg you to spare my life!"

Ying Xuan shook his head slightly, his tone tinged with amusement.

"Recopy it? You can only copy what your current cultivation level allows you to understand. The higher realms are beyond your comprehension; how can you possibly copy them when your cultivation is too low?"

Upon hearing this, Hua Yunfei was speechless, his face drained of color, leaving only a despairing ashen white. Ying Xuan, however, stopped looking at him and focused all her attention on the pitch-black jade slip.

His brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

"This jade slip... it's an inanimate object, yet it can still send a chill down my spine. The person who created it must have possessed unimaginable strength. In the world of Shrouding the Heavens, who else could have such a profound connection to the Devouring Heaven Demon Art and possess such power... besides the Ruthless Great Emperor herself?"

Ying Xuan's mind raced with thoughts.

"This jade slip is probably not just a simple carrier of inheritance! It is more like a... 'monitor' or 'connection point'! Anyone who sends their soul into the jade slip to receive the inheritance will probably have the unique mental imprint of the Ruthless Great Emperor left deep in their soul!"
To a ruthless person, all a cultivator's comprehension, progress, and even changes in their soul regarding the cultivation technique might be completely transparent! In fact… under certain conditions, the ruthless person might be able to directly influence the cultivator through this mark, even… control their life and death!

Thinking of this, Ying Xuan felt a chill run down his spine, which then turned into a bitter smile.

"You're ruthless... Your methods are truly... meticulous and incredibly stingy."

Ying Xuan shook his head inwardly.

"Is this because they fear their inheritance will fall into the wrong hands, or that their successors will turn against them? Or is there some other deeper meaning?"

He had originally intended to explore the Daoist principles of the "Devouring Heaven Demon Art" to see if he could integrate it into his own system, or draw upon its concepts of devouring all Daos and evolving chaos. But now it seems the waters are far too deep!

To risk touching upon the potential contingency plans left by the Ruthless Great Emperor for a cultivation technique that may not be entirely suitable for oneself and carries unknown risks, and even potentially attract his attention or hostility... this is not a worthwhile trade.

At least, it's not worth it until you're prepared to confront someone like the Ruthless Emperor head-on.

“If it is not necessary, I really do not want to get too involved with the ‘Ye Fan’ of this world… Now it seems that even the cultivation techniques related to him are tainted by great karma.”

Ying Xuan recalled the pair of cold eyes that had appeared in her mind before, which strengthened her resolve to give up.

Without further hesitation, he conjured a thought, and the phantoms of the surrounding starry islands receded like a tide. In the blink of an eye, the two were back in the serene courtyard halfway up Star Peak, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

Ying Xuan casually tossed the ominous black jade slip back to Hua Yunfei, who was still kneeling on the ground, drenched in cold sweat, and completely bewildered.

"Enough, this merit is not for me."

Ying Xuan left those words behind, never looking at Hua Yunfei again. He turned around, took a step, and his figure disappeared outside the courtyard as if he had never been there.

Hua Yunfei knelt there, stunned, holding the black jade slip he had regained, which now felt even hotter than before. He remained in a daze for a long time. The experience he had just had, which felt like being on the edge of the starry sky and facing the terror of death, was too real and too shocking.

He couldn't understand why Ying Xuan suddenly appeared, demanding the demonic arts, but then seemed to realize something after receiving the jade slip, ultimately giving up and even returning the jade slip.

He knelt on the ground for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before he felt some sensation return to his cold limbs. He staggered to his feet, walked back into the house in a daze, and tightly closed the door, as if trying to completely shut out the terrible experience he had just had.

Not long after Ying Xuan left Xingfeng Courtyard, a thin, hunched figure appeared silently in the sky above Xingfeng, like a ghost. It was Li Ruoyu from Zhuofeng.

His cloudy old eyes swept over the small courtyard where Hua Yunfei was below. With a slight probe of his divine sense, he sensed Hua Yunfei's still-shaken and disordered state, and also "saw" the pitch-black jade slip that Hua Yunfei was tightly clutching in his hand, emitting a unique fluctuation.

Li Ruoyu's expression turned extremely solemn. He turned to look in the direction Ying Xuan had left, his eyes filled with deep apprehension and worry.

"Ugh……"

A long sigh drifted across the sky above Star Peak, audible only to himself.

“Young friend Ying Xuan…you…you really shouldn’t have provoked the forces and lineages associated with 'that one'…”

He clearly knew what kind of cultivation technique Hua Yunfei practiced, and even more so, what it represented.

Ying Xuan's physique, brimming with the power of a furnace after breaking through the Four Extremes Secret Realm, was like a beacon in the darkness in the eyes of veteran experts like Li Ruoyu.

His purpose in seeking Hua Yunfei is self-evident.

"The Devouring Heaven Demon Art... is the fundamental technique mainly cultivated by the Ruthless Protector lineage. Although it is said that no one has ever truly mastered its final form, the principles and laws involved, the cause and effect involved... are too great."

Li Ruoyu muttered to himself, his deeply wrinkled face filled with worry.

“Young friend Ying Xuan, although you are strong and your methods are extraordinary, if you rashly confront that lineage of protectors, and even offend that one in the forbidden area... no matter the outcome, it will be an immeasurable loss for our human race!”

He was worried that Ying Xuan would be robbed for trying to seize the demonic power, and he was also worried that the conflict between Ying Xuan and the Ruthless People would completely break the existing fragile balance of the Big Dipper, and might even trigger an unpredictable chain of disasters.

In his mind, although Ying Xuan acted ruthlessly and was not bound by the human race, his very existence was a powerful deterrent to the forbidden zone, and for the human race, it might not be a potential, alternative form of "protection".

If such a person were to perish because of a cultivation technique, or become opposed to the true "backer" of the human race, it would be an absolute tragedy for the entire human race.

Li Ruoyu's figure stood atop Star Peak for a long time, finally transforming into an even heavier sigh, slowly dissipating in the breeze. Only Star Peak remained shrouded in mist, the zither music ceased, and the courtyard remained tightly shut, as if nothing had ever happened. But perhaps some subtle ripples had already quietly spread beneath the deepest waters of this realm.

Ying Xuan's figure rose higher and higher in the starry sky, his speed increasing, like a shooting star moving in reverse, rushing towards the deep space barrier beyond the Big Dipper star field, a barrier that is difficult for ordinary people to reach or even perceive.

"boom!"

He easily broke through the first spatial barrier with pure physical strength combined with a trace of the laws of stars. The scene before him changed, and he entered a more desolate void interlayer with almost no spiritual energy.

Without stopping, he continued upwards.

"Crack!"

The second layer, the third layer... layer after layer of spatial barriers, law turbulence, and even some lost array restrictions, whether naturally formed or left over from ancient wars, were pierced through by him like paper!
He was enveloped in a faint starlight and yin-yang energy, which was the protective divine light emitted autonomously by the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends Formation, crushing and absorbing all the incoming spatial fragments and chaotic energy.

After overcoming countless obstacles, the surrounding scenery finally underwent a dramatic change. (End of Chapter)