One more catty, one more attribute point

Hunxi Mountain, stretching from south to north, spans thousands of kilometers.

It begins in the northern part of Yuezhou and ends in the Liuzhou area of Jiang'e.

Located within the thirteen states of Changyue, Northern Yuezhou was once the domain of the Emperor of Heaven, King Qingyang.

Since King Qingyang openly initiated a rebellion and betrayed the empire a year ago, his title of Heavenly King was revoked by the empire.

However, King Qingyang's power remained, and the several attempts by the empire to send masters to suppress him ended in failure. These incidents only made King Qingyang's authority even more formidable, to the extent that even ancient and influential families dared not offend him.

After all, though a Heavenly King is powerful, he still needs to compromise with various forces. But a Heavenly King who openly rebels against the empire has far fewer concerns.

Anyone who encounters such a powerful but unconstrained figure would be filled with dread.

At this moment—

In a border city outside Northern Yuezhou.

Outside the ancient towering city walls, Hunxi Mountain rose abruptly, thousands of meters high.

Its entire body was fiery red, devoid of any vegetation, with flames blazing upon it, sending up plumes of black smoke. It resembled the mythical Flame Mountain, and from a close distance, its impact was even more forceful. It was like a crimson wave of fire, overwhelming and sweeping everything before it.

Even a mighty one who had cultivated to the Heavenly Deceit Realm, standing before this ancient and majestic mountain, would feel their own insignificance.

But Qin Yi wouldn't—

Not because her cultivation was profound, but because the person next to her had an aura even more towering and grand than the Hunxi Mountain before them.

This person was clad in a black robe, tall and lithe. His loose black hair fluttered heroically, his deep eyes shimmering with a faint azure glow, as if he ruled the entire world. One hand stretched forward flat, while the other held an ancient spear covered with rust.

Behind him, a blue fierce sun hung in the void,

releasing endless light and heat.

Half of the sky seemed to be ablaze.

Boom!

Hunxi Mountain, sensing some threat from that person, trembled violently.

Massive cracks collapsed on the mountain, and giant boulders rolled down, the booming noise echoing like dull thunder. Smoke and flames formed a curtain, and monstrous fiery beasts roared as they charged out from within.

Bang!

Below the city walls, a group of burly warriors clad in dark iron heavy armor was already waiting.

Each of them nearly three meters tall, they were like towering iron fortresses, heavily armed with thick tower shields in their hands.

In the loud clanking of steel,

accompanied by the trembling of the ground, these tower shields were deeply planted into the earth.

And connected as one, they emitted a black light, rising upwards. The shield wall, which appeared somewhat flimsy before the monstrous beast tide, stood firmly in place like a reef in the tide, even managing to push back the beast tide.

A giant fiery bull over five meters long was thus sent flying into the air, crashing heavily to the ground.

Before he could even grunt, he was torn into pieces by the ferocious beast behind him.

While their collision sent blood flying through the air.

The archers on the city wall behind them, Martial Artists from Heavenly Deceit, and spearmen in military formations, among others, all took action. For a moment, the battlefield beneath Hunxi Mountain seemed like it was being bombarded with missiles, with continuous explosions sending herds of beasts flying through the air.

And as numerous beasts were slaughtered, with corpses strewn everywhere, the flames on the seemingly impassable Hunxi Mountain gradually dimmed.

Bang!

King Qingyang placed his palm on the city wall, his solemn gaze slowly withdrawing from the battlefield.

"My king," said a young girl named Qin Yi, who stood beside him with a gentle temperament, "there's something I don't quite understand."

"What is it?" King Qingyang asked.

His voice was deep and magnetic, not arrogant as his appearance might suggest, but instead, it carried a special charisma.

"Earlier, when Duke Dingxuan was fighting that young man, why did you choose to release your aura?" Qin Yi asked, "Among the next generation, some major families are still restless. If they had attacked in secret and the Prince had fallen, wouldn't that have solved a big problem for you?"

"Though a Prince as well, hehe, Duke Dingxuan is somewhat lacking and hardly a match for me," King Qingyang shook his head, "Rather, it's that young man who is somewhat impressive."

"Wouldn't taking this chance to eliminate an enemy be a good outcome?" Qin Yi shook her head, her face still puzzled.

"It would disrupt the balance in Changyue," King Qingyang responded, "I'm not afraid of challenges, but it would inevitably lead to a lot of trouble. Right now, attacking Hunxi Mountain and exploring Dragon Abyss is more important to me."

"Dragon Abyss..."

The girl looked worried and raised her head.

She stared at King Qingyang's composed face, bathed in the flickering flames, and momentarily spaced out before whispering, "Is it very important to you? There are great terrors inside, and even if you are a Prince, you might..."

"I have reasons I must do so."

King Qingyang interrupted the girl, his gaze profound, and he slowly continued, "Before the Martial Emperor had died, I had already started the rebellion. Everyone thinks I'm ambitious and impatient, but that is not actually the case."

"Sigh!"

King Qingyang sighed deeply before continuing, "The Crown Prince met his demise in the Eternal Heaven, and among the remaining heirs, the Third Prince lacks capability but is overly ambitious, wanting to prove himself not inferior to his brothers. The result of this will only hasten the empire's collapse."

"It's like a dam filled with water, with cracks spreading over it, yet the water inside keeps rising," Qin Yi said anxiously.

"Right," King Qingyang nodded.

With a slight exertion of his palm, the bricks in front of him crumbled as though they were made of tofu.

"When the Martial Emperor dies and the Third Prince ascends the throne, that will be the moment the edifice collapses, the flood breaks through. This calamity will be unprecedentedly severe, sweeping across the entire dynasty, and no one will be able to remain untouched. I must prepare in advance."

"In fact, if it were just me alone, it wouldn't matter. Even if I travel far to Eternal Heaven and stay out of it, living in a safe corner, it wouldn't be impossible."

"But although I have no desire to compete, I still understand the suffering of the common people."

King Qingyang added, "Since the people here are willing to call me a Prince and offer me their homage, then I cannot simply ignore them."

"Therefore, the Dragon Marrow, I am bound to obtain it!" King Qingyang's voice was soft yet carried an undeniable conviction.

"Recalling the days of the Eight-Armed Dragon King An Shelie, who had only a piece of Dragon Marrow and yet could establish the Dragon Guard and dominate far and wide. With a complete Dragon Marrow to aid me, perhaps I will have the foundation to protect a territory."

Boom!
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Just at that moment, the mountain collapsed.

Amidst rolling dust, a gigantic snake, over a hundred meters in length and covered in red scales, violently burst forth.

Its skin was marked with dark yellow stripes, and it spewed poisonous smoke from its mouth. Most peculiarly, this monster had a single head but two long bodies beneath it.

Qin Yi's expression changed slightly as she recognized the monster's origin, "Demon God Fei Yi!"

"I didn't expect there to be such a creature hidden within Hunxi Mountain. Was it sealed here, or—"

Before she could finish her sentence,

King Qingyang had already stepped forward.

He stood in the void, arms spread wide, and viciously hurled a long spear forward.

Bang!

The head of the Fei Yi was instantly pierced, pinning it in place.

Its two snake bodies struggled violently, tearing and submerging the vast land, dust billowing everywhere. Regardless of whether they were gigantic beasts or elite martial artists, all were flung into the air and torn into pieces. The battlefield immediately descended into chaos, bodies and horses overturned.

"Evil beast!" King Qingyang snorted coldly, a round of blue sun rising behind him, casting thousands of feet of blue light.

Where the blue light passed,

The flesh on Fei Yi's body melted like snow, leaving behind only a massive, ghastly white skeleton.

And with the death of the Demon God Fei Yi on the battlefield, the remaining monsters and strange beasts finally began to feel fear.

They all tucked their tails and fled back into Hunxi Mountain, leaping into the giant crevices within the mountain. Accompanied by the rumbling sound of rocks grinding, they disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield,

With the arrival of victory, cheers quickly erupted.

Looking at the flames on Hunxi Mountain gradually extinguishing, King Qingyang's face also revealed a smile.

...

...

...

Wuji Sword Sect.

Su Heng had spent over half a month here.

On one hand, he practiced the Sword Refining Technique, engraving it on his attribute panel.

On the other, during this half a month, Su Heng had also sparred with Meng Huan a few times. Although they were only minor sparring sessions, Su Heng learned much more about the realm above Heavenly Deceit, including how to restrain and guard against it, and many ideas emerged in his mind.

Overall, his gains were significant.

But the time for parting eventually arrived…

"I thank you for your guidance during these days," Su Heng bid farewell to Meng Huan.

"It won't be long before we meet again," Meng Huan smiled, "Here, take this with you."

He took a black object from his bosom and handed it to Su Heng.

Su Heng reached out to take it.

It was actually an ancient-looking sword scabbard.

"This scabbard is used for sword transmission," Meng Huan explained, seeing the puzzled look on Su Heng's face. "Keep this item with you, and if any urgent situation arises, you can contact me anytime."

"I see," Su Heng placed the scabbard in his bosom, "Then, I shall take my leave now."

Su Heng waved to Meng Huan.

With a leap, his robust body disappeared into the sea of clouds.

...

With Su Heng's current speed, traveling from Ezhou back to Jiangzhou would not take even half a day, even if he leisurely walked.

He set off in the morning, and by the time he reached Baihua County in Jiangzhou, it was not even noon yet.

Although it had only been a little over half a month,

The changes in Baihua County were significant. Firstly, the population had increased. Secondly, the environment had transformed; rivers had thawed, and flowers bloomed profusely, fully embracing spring. It was a beautiful scene of vibrant life everywhere.

Especially at the Demon Suppression Tower, where two strange beasts were circling.

One was a winged tiger, and the other was a colorful-feathered bird.

"Where did these things come from?" Su Heng wondered.

Li Hongxiu, sleepy-eyed, emerged and came up to Su Heng, glanced at them and said, "These are Little Golden Crow's animal friends."

Su Heng: "..."

"Don't let them defecate everywhere," Su Heng said somewhat exasperatedly, but did not comment further.

He returned to the Demon Suppression Tower, and as his stature had grown, the originally roomy Demon Suppression Tower gradually felt cramped.

"I need to find an opportunity to knock it down and rebuild it," Su Heng thought and then entertained another thought, "If I could overthrow that small world in the Longevity Heaven through the Mythical Battlefield and make it my own backyard, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

This thought ignited a flame in Su Heng's heart.

It took quite an effort for Su Heng to suppress it. He wedged himself into the fifth floor of the Demon Suppression Tower, in a secluded room meant for closed-door cultivation.

In the dark room, Su Heng took out the Seed of Destruction.

Although he had already emblazoned the Sword Refining Technique onto his attribute panel,

After much deliberation, Su Heng decided to first merge with the Seed of Destruction, attempting to initiate the Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique.

The formidable physique and the unique abilities of the Seed of Destruction gave him the confidence to take a radical approach.