The hare leaped, and the falcon descended!

Victory and defeat existed within a thought. None could’ve expected that this move was actually able to annihilate a Dao Master’s strand of will! As they studied the supreme-grade spirit stone so closely, their souls seemed to be on the verge of being sucked in. Xu Yangyi had seen very clearly that the inside wasn’t solid, but nor was it liquid! Instead… it resembled a hazy denseness.

Taking a deep breath, he retrieved the spirit stone without a moment’s delay and tossed it in his storage ring.

Silence. The cultivators all around still didn’t appear to regain their wits. Lord Zhao looked dumbly at Xu Yangyi, his eyes wide and mouth ajar, and he sputtered out, “Why? Why?”

Why had the spirit-stone head suddenly fallen apart? Why was the head of Nether-Profound Heavy Water now alive behind Xu Yangyi, yet it dared not attack?

“There’s no why.” Mo Yeyu’s gaze smoldered over Xu Yangyi’s storage ring, his voice somewhat shaking. “Just now, the Nether-Profound Heavy Water suddenly rebelled and bit the spirit-stone head. However, they both have the same root. One’s loss is everyone’s loss, and one’s glory is everyone’s glory. To be frank about such an aimless attack, it’s ‘to kill a thousand enemies, but lose a thousand allies’. They’re like conjoined twins, only removing the focus of the spirit-stone head can actually disperse the Dao Master’s will.” [1]

“I guess…” The puppeteer glanced at Xu Yangyi, a wisp of extremely nebulous admiration flashing through his eyes. “Branch Master was thinking then that since the Profound-Nether Heavy Water engulfed the spirit-stone head and was bitten back… in that case, injuring the heavy water might’ve achieved the same result as killing the spirit-stone head.”

“You’re saying…” Zhao Fenglai drew a sharp breath, “when B-Branchmaster Xu just rushed ahead, he basically didn’t know if this would work or not? It was just a guess?”

Mo Yeyu pursed his lips and nodded. It was this that had him truly gasp with admiration!

Too decisive!

A guess, so long as it had a 60-70% chance of assurance, Xu Yangyi dared to immediately attack! But that was according to this particular situation. This probability was in no way considered low! As expected, the god of luck had shown care for him once again, and he had succeeded. Surprisingly, not one person objected that he took the supreme-grade spirit stone into his storage ring.

And this guess was merely a split-second determination! The temples of the heavy-water head had ruptured for no more than several seconds. If one didn’t even pay attention, they would be none the wiser that the spirit-stone head broke apart in the same place.

Fortune always considered those who dared to struggle. If struggle was not risked, from where would this fortune be sought amidst opportunity?

“That’s…” Zhao Fenglai glanced deeply at Xu Yangyi. “Barely a guess… He even risked that it was true… That’s too…”

Luo Sanfeng, Gao Ye, and Chu Zhaonan. These three were familiar with Xu Yangyi the earliest. Right now, they too watched the other’s silhouette with complex feelings. In these past years… their fellow graduate hadn’t done a thing yet had amazed the world and become an overnight celebrity by conquering Danxia Temple in one move. Presently, they suddenly felt as if they had missed the greater picture, merely taking note of a leopard through a narrow tube. At the beginning they were more or less the same, but now they were already gradually becoming further apart.

In perseverance, strength, and resolution, the demon slayer was shaking off all his classmates from back then, little by little. Even if they were originally the best, they were still no exception! On the contrary, they saw Xu Yangyi walking far away because they were elites. The feeling that their own great efforts to catch up were still a portion lacking caused them to sigh even more ruefully.

“He’s convinced me.” Luo Sanfeng rocked his head and smiled wryly. “One guess, and he just dares to do so much. He even succeeded. Really… I’ve seen a lot of students, but Brother Xu is the one I admire the most.”

“A Dao Master’s will, even if it was just a strand… If we forcibly resisted it, all of this would’ve been a bitter struggle.” Chu Zhaonan’s gaze shimmered, and he eventually nodded. “A seemingly ordinary move, courage, wisdom, strength, and timing, not a single one lacking… He’s fierce.”

“But I believe I’m absolutely not any worse, either!” He cracked his knuckles and laughed darkly. “Now I’ve got a real target.”

In the cavern, Xu Yangyi was already peering down coldly at the head of the Nether-Profound Heavy Water—no—it could no longer be called a head. Perhaps it was just a conscious drop of water, since the heavy water was pinched in Xu Yangyi’s hand.

“Do you want to live or do you want to die?” Xu Yangyi suddenly asked and laughed.

Such a simple multiple-choice question. The giant head immediately responded, “I want to live.”

“That’s good…” Xu Yangyi studied the drop of heavy water in his hand. “Without this drop of water, you should be able to survive, right?”

The head was reticent. After ages, it seemed to gnash its teeth and said, “Yes…”

Having just gained enlightenment not long ago, the water-demon still didn’t understand how to conceal its thoughts very well. Nonetheless, Xu Yangyi didn’t care at all. He only needed the water to stay here. When the time came, and that Dao Master’s will, or perhaps it could be said spiritual sense, descended, it would have a scapegoat. That high and lofty Dao Master would definitely have suspicions. Why did the water demonize here? Could it be a result brought by the supreme-grade spirit stone?

Yes and no.

Were it not for the water-demon’s body being the Nether-Profound Heavy Water, Longsu Province’s transformations of heaven and earth, and this supreme-grade spirit stone, it would be impossible for the lakewater to demonize had a single factor among these three sides been lacking. And yet, there was no spirit stone. The water-demon’s inherent and supreme treasure, the drop of Nether-Profound Heavy Water, had also been wrenched away into another’s hands.

At least it had been left with a life, however.

The water-demon’s gaze carried a killing intent that it strove to conceal at all costs, even if it couldn’t be considered hidden very well, and secretly measured man before it… This human… If there was a day in the future where its cultivation bore fruit, absolving the hatred in its heart would be difficult if it didn’t inflict upon Xu Yangyi a death of a thousand cuts!

“Branchmaster Xu.” Lord Zhao saw Xu Yangyi walk back, and the smile on his face was even more splendid that chrysanthemums. “I didn’t know that this was a supreme-grade spirit stone… hehe, the Zhao Clan does not covet it. Such a treasure is truly not even seen once by 90% of cultivators within their lifetimes. In any case, the Zhao Clan has some connections…”

“Wait until the Xingtian Legion gains a foothold in Longsu Province and then we’ll talk.” Xu Yangyi shot a glance at the cave. The richness of the qi here… unexpectedly allowed the heavy water to demonize. In that case… in several years, a decade, what kind of sight would Nanzhou be to observe?

“Relax, you’re helpers. I’ll remember it.” He stifled the longing in his heart and waved towards everyone. “Let’s go… We don’t have much time anymore.”

When the spirit-stone head had collapsed, the three screens of lights had all long since vanished.

The soldiers quietly forged ahead once more without a sound.

Ten minutes passed, thirty minutes passed, an hour had already passed since they went underground. The more Xu Yangyi walked, the more doubtful he was. There was nothing else, but this formation… was still creeping onwards!

“It was Longsu’s border when we just entered. Right now… its almost all the way to Nanzhou City, the heart of Longsu. This formation is seriously too much.” He contemplated in his mind, but a wisp of uneasiness surfaced again.

Such a massive formation embraced all of Longsu Province! What in the world did that mysterious figure want to accomplish? The second doubt… was that if a Core Formation master wanted to activate the formation, they could just directly issue the command. Why was a puppet even needed to do it on their behalf?

Shaking his head, Xu Yangyi didn’t allow himself to continue thinking because they were currently about to enter Nanzhou City’s border!

Ten minutes, twenty minutes… an hour passed quickly. The underground formation simply held no mark of end. On the other hand, they had already arrived a thousand meters away from the Xingtian Legion’s territory.

You sure this is the place? Xu Yangyi contacted Mao Ba’er through his spiritual sense.

I’m very sure, be good for me… How about we just stay here? The fireworks out here are pretty dazzling.

Xu Yangyi said nothing. Mao Ba’er hadn’t witnessed the underlying situation, and in fact… everyone now didn’t risk believing that the Xingtian Legion’s territory followed next! Where they were… was the second underground cavern!

Glub… Glub… Blazing magma boiled inside, illuminating grim faces. It was the same as the last cave. Countless talismans converged within. Furthermore… above the central pool of lava, there was a pure-white lotus gently swaying. In the middle of the blooming lotus, a golden sharp sword floated perfectly straight. It seemed as if it was being forged by the lava, golden rays even masking the blue talismans that filled the cave.

“Huff…” Zhao Wuye shook his head and looked at the majority of dumbstruck Zhao Clan cultivators. Were he not a survivor of Danxia Temple’s depths as well, he would’ve likewise been stunned by the scene before his eyes.

Who could expend this much work?! To turn Longsu Province into a formation?

The first formation eye brought forth the Nether-Profound Heavy Water and a supreme-grade spirit stone. Although no one knew what this white lotus and sword belonging to the second formation eye was… these items flooded the entire space with frightening qi oscillations. The grand beams of light above the white lotus in the magma were akin to heavenly might. All these elements told everyone that these two objects were undoubtedly precious treasures!

Crunch… Crunch… Xu Yangyi leveled his eyes over the molten field and approached the side of the lava pool. The solid-like qi coming from the sword and white lotus even caused his skin to throb involuntarily. He looked on calmly for very long and finally murmured, “Apart from Lord Zhao and Brother Chu, everyone else leave. Absolutely do not approach without the order to. Those who disobey will be executed.”

He spoke softly, but everyone could hear the undeniable power in his words. Without any resistance, the soldiers silently moved back and got ready to find a suitable place to construct a Transference Formation.

Everyone left, and Lord Zhao and Chu Zhaonan looked at Xu Yangyi suspiciously, yet they saw him clench his teeth and take out an item from his storage ring with extreme caution.

It appeared to be an ash-colored stone… but this stone was actually beating little by little!

“A thousand meters away from here… is Nanzhou’s heart.” He clutched the already-dead heart of Bai Suzhen and said indifferently, “The land of those four great clans’ bloody war, and there are only three days for this carnage.”

“Each day, each minute, is all forged from lives. And we are about to step into the heart of this storm. I don’t know when I’ll need to use this, and maybe I won’t need to at all. I don’t know how much power it has, either… The spiritual force of several thousand degrees of magma constantly tempered and stored might be next to nothing to the entire battlefield, but it’ll put this card in a state to save energy at all times. Its my best choice.”

His voice was serene, but everyone understood that this was the time for everyone to lay down all their cards.

From here onwards, on the verge of confronting Longsu’s blood war, any other reserve measures had to be known to these three leaders.

Chu Zhaonan seemed to think of something. He furrowed his brows and said deeply, “What about… after the spiritual force is done amassing?”

Xu Yangyi faced back and laughed, “Naturally… it’ll be a scene of magnificent fireworks. As for how magnificent, I don’t even know.”

As his voice fell, his finger gently released a terribly striking demon core. Following the sound of a plop, it sunk into the magma.

At this instant, a streak of godly demonic qi rumbled and burst out from the demon heart! The ashen demon heart had unexpectedly reddened in the blink of an eye! Very soon… the manifestation of a several-dozen-meters-long white snake boomed as it surged out of the heart!

1. “To kill a thousand enemies, but lose a thousand allies.” This is apparently a derivation from one chapter of Sun Tzu’s Art of War.