Chapter 165: Sudden Annihilation, The Bai Family Wiped Out

This trip was truly harrowing!

Emerging from the ruins, both Duanmu Wan and Mu Feng felt lingering tremors in their hearts.

Even Xia Jiuxuan felt that the ordeal had been intensely perilous. Had he not possessed a drop of imperial blood within him, he most likely would have perished in there.

"My strength is still too weak," Xia Jiuxuan muttered to himself, shaking his head.

In the few months since his rebirth, his power could be considered invincible within the mortal kingdom. Yet once stepping beyond the borders of the mortal realms, there were far too many entities capable of posing a fatal threat to him.

However, Xia Jiuxuan had no way to actively control the progression of his realm. Everything depended entirely on the puppets trapped within the Killing Arena.

Inside the spiritual artifact's manor, Xia Jiuxuan sat cross-legged, his consciousness projecting into the Killing Arena.

Beneath a dim crimson sky, hundreds of puppets were already imprisoned across the vast plaza.

Among them, quite a few were in the Leaving Mortality realm, while some had reached the Entering Sage realm.

Their cultivation aptitudes were fairly decent. Moreover, within the Killing Arena, they could enter a state of selflessness, accelerating their cultivation speed by at least tenfold—not a bad outcome at all!

"Seven million spiritual crystals, countless spiritual herbs and medicines, ninety-four thousand divine pills..."

Xia Jiuxuan was tallying his harvest from these past few days.

What he valued most, of course, were the spiritual crystals; they were the source of his realm advancement and the fuel for his spiritual energy attacks.

"The quantity is sufficient, but the quality is falling behind."

After these past few days, Xia Jiuxuan's realm had advanced once more, reaching the fifth layer of the Leaving Mortality realm.

However, as one's realm ascended, the demand for the purity of spiritual energy also increased. Even top-grade spiritual crystals no longer yielded extraordinary results for him.

"I need to acquire some purple crystals. Only with purple crystals will my realm advance rapidly."

Purple crystals were a higher tier of spirit stones superior to regular spiritual crystals, containing far purer and more potent spiritual energy. Yet, purple crystals did not exist within the mortal kingdom or the territories of the otherworldly sects; they could only be found in the sacred lands of martial arts.

"Cleaving Seas. Once I reach the Cleaving Seas realm, I will have the ability to protect myself upon entering the martial arts sacred lands."

The cultivation resources possessed by the sacred lands of martial arts were countless times more abundant than those in the territories of the otherworldly sects. Only by setting foot in the sacred lands could one hope to rise more swiftly.

However, greater resources were invariably accompanied by greater perils.

The martial prowess tier within the sacred lands was vastly superior to that of the otherworldly sects! Even a practitioner in the Returning Origin realm could only occupy the very bottom tier upon arriving at the sacred lands.

Therefore, even Xia Jiuxuan dared not venture to the martial arts sacred lands until he had reached the Cleaving Seas realm.

"Teacher, something has happened!"

Just as Xia Jiuxuan was organizing his thoughts, Han Yu walked straight in.

"What is it?" Xia Jiuxuan asked indifferently.

"The Bai family has been completely wiped out!" Han Yu stated bluntly.

"The Bai family? What Bai family?"

Xia Jiuxuan frowned slightly. He had no acquaintances bearing the surname Bai. What did the annihilation of the Bai family have to do with him?

"Uh..." Han Yu paused for a moment before continuing, "Teacher, do you remember the young man surnamed Bai from a few days ago? All the young talents were willing to follow you and cultivate, except for Bai Long from the Bai family who chose to leave."

Hearing Han Yu put it this way, Xia Jiuxuan recalled the matter.

"Did his Bai family suffer retaliation from some other aristocratic families?" Xia Jiuxuan asked.

"It doesn't look like it."

Han Yu shook his head and said, "The day you left, disaster struck the Bai family. I took some of Bai Long's friends to investigate. Over three hundred people of the Bai family, from the old to the young, died in extremely gruesome ways, as if they had been slaughtered by some malevolent demon."

"Oh?"

Xia Jiuxuan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, Could the Undying Valley be making trouble?

The next instant, Xia Jiuxuan dismissed the notion.

The entity in the Undying Valley demanded voluntary soul sacrifices; killing people arbitrarily offered no benefit whatsoever, so it couldn't have been the work of the Undying Valley.

Besides, as a secluded aristocratic clan, the Bai family possessed a fairly decent foundation. With an ancestor comparable to a mid-stage Cleaving Seas expert holding down the fort, low-level lackeys from the Undying Valley could never have shaken them.

Most importantly, Xia Jiuxuan had been right there in the Undying Valley over the past few days, and the Shen family had already been completely eradicated, making it even less likely for them to commit such an act.

"Describe to me what it looked like in detail."

Xia Jiuxuan's curiosity was piqued.

"Understood." Han Yu nodded.

"Those corpses were all in a desiccated state, having been drained of their blood before death. Furthermore, there were claw marks on the bodies, resembling the claw marks of fierce demonic beasts. Additionally, on every wound found on the corpses of the Bai family, there lingered an intense, heavy aura of blood and malevolence."

Han Yu gave a brief description.

"It was very likely the work of a powerful great demon."

Such was Xia Jiuxuan's judgment.

Generally speaking, demons only existed within certain specialized regions of the martial arts sacred lands. However, a small number of demonic clans occasionally wandered into the territories of the otherworldly sects and mortal kingdoms, so occurrences of demonic slaughtering humans were not entirely unheard of.

"Teacher, would you like to go and take a look in person?" Han Yu asked.

Xia Jiuxuan immediately shook his head. "Since that Bai Long chose to leave on that day, he has had no further ties with me. If he dies, he dies; why should I bother investigating the cause?"

"It's not that, Teacher," Han Yu added, lowering his voice. "There is a very strange detail. The entire Bai family of over three hundred souls was wiped out, yet Bai Long's corpse cannot be found anywhere. Moreover, Bai Long's friends said that a few days ago, Bai Long's personality became extremely bizarre, acting like a completely different person compared to before. Therefore, this disciple feels that something might be amiss here."

If it were up to Han Yu alone, he would never have cared about such minute details. It was mainly because Bai Long's friend had begged Han Yu to approach Xia Jiuxuan, hoping that Xia Jiuxuan could lend a hand.

Hearing this, Xia Jiuxuan remembered.

Before that Bai Long left, he had indeed given off a very strange impression. Now, his entire family was slaughtered while his whereabouts remained unknown; there was likely true mystery hidden within this affair.

Xia Jiuxuan pondered quietly, suddenly feeling as though some link had gone wrong, causing a faint, inexplicable sense of unease.

"In that case, I will take people to investigate."

Xia Jiuxuan thought for a moment and spoke.

"Teacher, I will go with you," Han Yu volunteered.

"No need. Luo Yan is currently in seclusion; you must stay behind to lead Mo Yongjian and the others to protect the young miss. The safety of the young miss is paramount," Xia Jiuxuan instructed.

"Understood, Teacher. This disciple obeys," Han Yu bowed deeply in acknowledgement.

...

A quarter of an hour later, Xia Jiuxuan selected three people to accompany him to the Bai family estate.

The Bai family, acting as a secluded clan, resided deep within a desolate mountain range in the northern part of the Immortal Martial Country.

After flying for an hour aboard a winged demonic beast, Xia Jiuxuan and his companions landed at the location.

As soon as they stepped into the village, a thick stench of blood and rotting corpses assaulted their noses.

"Something's wrong!"

Xia Jiuxuan sensed something amiss within that reek of blood.

"Big Brother Xia, Bai Long is my closest friend. Please, you must help me find him," pleaded a young man.

"Don't worry, Liu Hui. If your friend is still alive, Big Brother will surely find some clues," patted Xu Feiyue, comforting the youth named Liu Hui on the shoulder.

"Right! Thank you in advance, Big Brother," Liu Hui hurriedly cupped his fists in gratitude toward Xia Jiuxuan.

"Thank for what? It looks like we're in big trouble!"

Xia Jiuxuan's gaze burned as his spiritual awareness swept across the entire village.

When he inspected those corpses, his heart sank abruptly.

"Damn it, I was too careless!"

Xia Jiuxuan sighed with a gloomy expression.

"What is it, Big Brother Xia?" Qin Wei asked, noticing Xia Jiuxuan's solemn expression.

Since Qin Wei had known Xia Jiuxuan, he had seemingly never seen the latter wear such a grim countenance.

"It's nothing. Stay close to me from now on and be ready to defend yourselves at any moment," Xia Jiuxuan instructed.

Seeing how tense Xia Jiuxuan was, the other three also raised their guard with utmost seriousness.

Xia Jiuxuan strode deeper into the village, arriving before a thatched cottage.

Lying inside this cottage was the corpse of the Bai family ancestor.

Xia Jiuxuan squatted before the rotting corpse, projecting his consciousness deep into the remains.

"The Will of Slaughter!"

Xia Jiuxuan's expression darkened heavily.

His earlier judgment had not been mistaken; that entity had appeared!

"I was careless, all my fault for being careless. Back then, that old bastard must have seized three drops of my imperial blood!"

Xia Jiuxuan had wondered at the time whether his former master had snatched two or three drops of his imperial blood! Looking at it now, it truly must have been three!

Those three drops of imperial blood had all evolved into semi-living entities. Xia Jiuxuan had only destroyed two of them; the remaining drop had slipped away and burrowed into Bai Long's body!

Such an outcome was terrifying for Xia Jiuxuan.

It meant that in this lifetime, a super-potential rival who competed with him for the Dao of Slaughter had already been born!

Xia Jiuxuan's immediate thought was that he had to find him!

If he wasn't eliminated as soon as possible, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Yet, upon second thought, now that this imperial blood entity had already slaughtered hundreds of people, how much had its strength recovered?

Whether he could defeat him upon finding him was another question entirely!

"If he has completely fused with Bai Long's soul, he might no longer fear my projection of slaughter."

Xia Jiuxuan felt a trace of apprehension.

If the opponent no longer feared his slaughter projection, things would become even more troublesome.

Regardless of the difficulties, if he didn't track him down and kill him now, there would be even less of a chance in the future!

"Xu Fei, release your divine beast for use." Xia Jiuxuan looked at Xu Fei.

"Alright, Big Brother."

Without any hesitation and without asking for reasons, Xu Fei directly released Xiao Hei.

Xiao Hei was an unnamed juvenile divine beast possessing an extremely acute sensitivity to the scent of blood.

"Have Xiao Hei sniff this and let it lead the way to search."

Xia Jiuxuan cupped his palm over the corpse, and wisps of bloody malevolent aura floated out, gathering in his palm. This was the malevolent Qi left behind by the imperial blood entity.

"Xiao Hei, do as my big brother says, did you hear?"

The fluffy little creature nodded obediently toward Xu Fei. Immediately afterward, it flew over and inhaled that wispy trail of blood Qi into its nostrils.

"Achoo!"

Xiao Hei shook its head, looking dizzy and slightly uncomfortable.

"Bear with it for a moment, Xiao Hei. Hurry up and track down where this aura leads."

Whoosh!

The next instant, Xiao Hei darted away like a wisp of smoke toward the towering mountains behind the village.

"Keep up!"

Xia Jiuxuan quickened his pace, closely trailing Xiao Hei, while the others exerted themselves to keep pace.

...

Half a day later, Xia Jiuxuan and the three others had followed Xiao Hei deep into a desolate region.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

At this moment, Xiao Hei halted, crying out toward a cliff face ahead.

Xu Fei immediately communicated with Xiao Hei using his soul consciousness.

"Big Brother, found it! It's right inside a cave on that rock face!" Xu Fei reported.

Xia Jiuxuan's gaze had already locked onto a sealed cave entrance halfway up the precipice.

He could already sense that familiar aura of blood, that familiar will of slaughter...

His judgment had been correct!

"The three of you wait for me outside. I'll go in and return shortly. If I cannot defeat him, do not try to help—run directly!"

Xia Jiuxuan's expression was grim.

"This..."

The three exchanged glances.

Was there actually someone that Big Brother couldn't defeat?

"Big Brother, what kind of malevolent demon is causing trouble?"

"Big Brother, if it's too dangerous, let's forget it. My friend Bai Long stubbornly insisted on leaving that day; if he was harmed, it must be his predetermined fate."

Xia Jiuxuan shook his head indifferently. "This matter is beyond your comprehension. Once I return, I will explain the situation to you."

With that, Xia Jiuxuan flew toward the cliff face.

"Big Brother, be careful!"

The three of them felt extremely tense at this moment.

Flying to the front of the cliff, Xia Jiuxuan landed on a boulder. Behind that boulder lay the sealed cave entrance.

"Open!"

Easily locating the formation core, Xia Jiuxuan slashed out with his sword, shattering the seal.

Whoosh!

Following that, his figure plunged into the pitch-black darkness.

Walking deep along the cavern, the tunnel wound and turned, branching into countless passages. Relying on his sensory connection to the will of slaughter, Xia Jiuxuan selected the correct path at every single intersection.

Venturing more than ten kilometers deep underground, the surroundings grew bitterly cold.

Proceeding further, Xia Jiuxuan soon discovered various corpses.

Demonic beasts—corpses of all kinds of demonic beasts littered the path, including even the carcass of a great-demon-tier beast.

"The slaughter energy he has absorbed should be no less than mine!"

Xia Jiuxuan increased his speed.

The space ahead grew increasingly vast, and finally, Xia Jiuxuan stopped at the edge of a dark underground precipice.

Below that cliff was an immensely expansive subterranean cavern.

"A tomb... The tomb of a King-tier cultivator!"

Xia Jiuxuan had not expected this fellow to be so adept at hiding.

Within such a tomb, yin malevolence Qi was dense, and the tomb's master would generally have set up lethal formations or guardian warriors, making it extremely difficult to break in.

This greatly increased the difficulty of tracking down the imperial blood entity.

Yet, without hesitation, Xia Jiuxuan plunged downward.

The moment he landed, Xia Jiuxuan felt a piercingly cold murderous intent descend upon him.

Out of the darkness, two metallic guardian warriors surged from the ground!

Clang!

Xia Jiuxuan lashed out with his sword, fiercely cleaving against one of the warriors.

Sparks flew in all directions; the warrior was merely knocked back onto the ground, its surface armor completely unblemished.

"Incredible defense, and its combat power has reached the Returning Origin realm!"

Xia Jiuxuan shifted his stance, landing several yards away.

A King-tier cultivator was by no means a weak entity even within the martial arts sacred lands; it was only natural for their tomb to be guarded by warriors of this caliber. Metal puppets of this tier were frequently crafted by Grandmaster Artifact Refiners, possessing combat prowess far surpassing human cultivators of the same realm.

Xia Jiuxuan dared not take them lightly. After all, these were two Returning Origin realm puppet warriors!

"Mortal ants, this is the tomb of the Spiritual King. Retreat immediately, or face execution."

One of the warriors emitted a metallic voice, coldly rebuking Xia Jiuxuan as an intruder.

"Die!"

Xia Jiuxuan was hardly foolish enough to engage in conversation with a metal automaton, launching his attack immediately.

His spiritual sword burned with blazing spiritual energy; fire-attribute spiritual energy inflicted far heavier damage upon metal puppet warriors!

Swish, swish, swish!

Sword shadows fluttered continuously, incessantly hammering against the two metal guardians.

The two mechanical warriors instinctively parried, seeking an opening to unleash a full-power strike and annihilate their opponent.

While Xia Jiuxuan engaged in fierce combat with the two metal warriors, a pair of blood-red eyes hidden behind a gravestone deep in the darkness seemed to pierce through the gloom, locking its gaze relentlessly upon Xia Jiuxuan.