In his previous life, his Sword Heart was enlightened, yet that did not mean his state of mind was truly seamless, without a single flaw. It was just that there were certain experiences he hadn't gone through. Certain things, he had never possessed. The attachment to that 'Zong Shou' was binding him now as well. Yi Ren, Xue'er—in his past life, no one had ever been this kind to him. Back then, he was nothing but a lone, wandering swordsman, a rogue cultivator, unable to secure any fallback or escape route for himself. Every time conflict arose, he poured out every ounce of his strength, fighting desperately, either forced or deliberately placing himself in a situation of near-certain death, only to ultimately survive. Because of this, he gradually ceased to value his own life. A man constantly walking the razor's edge has his fear of death lowered to the absolute minimum, looking lightly upon life and death. Indeed, if it weren't for his unwavering pursuit of the ultimate path of the sword, Zong Shou even suspected he might have long ago turned into a walking corpse before breaking through to the Heavenly Rank. And now, at this very moment, his sword hesitated, becoming soft. Even his Enlightened Sword Heart now held a crack. However, this was also an opportunity; without experiencing these things, he could never mend this deficiency in his lifetime. The reason the Qing Yin Sect sent all its disciples to the mortal realm, even places like brothels, for refinement, was for this very same principle: allowing the disciples to experience the myriad aspects of human life, thereby forging their own Way of Conduct through their Dao Heart.

A few groans suddenly echoed within the cavern chamber. Zong Shou finally remembered there were still two or three living people inside who hadn't completely perished. Raising an eyebrow, Zong Shou paced over to Zong Yang. He couldn't tell when this young man had broken through to the Innate Realm. Despite having his chest and abdomen blasted open, he hadn't died yet and was breathing heavily. Seeing Zong Shou approach, Zong Yang felt only despair. Half an hour ago, he thought Zong Shou was surely dead—nearly twenty Seventh Rank experts, several Black Tortoise Grandmasters renowned for a long time. No matter how he calculated it, this fellow shouldn't have an ounce of life left. But just as he felt a sense of relief, Zong Shou shattered his chest and abdomen with a single punch. Then he could only watch, wide-eyed, as a slaughter unfolded. The thick smell of blood assaulted his nostrils, mixing with the killing intent until his mind went blank. It made him nauseous, ready to vomit. Yet Zong Shou merely gave him a cold glance before turning to leave. Zong Yang’s heart sank. Feeling the searing pain in his chest and abdomen, his fear instantly vanished. "Don't go! Kill me!"

Zong Shou acted as if he hadn't heard, showing no intention of pausing. Zong Yang's chest and abdomen were shattered; nearly thirty percent of his internal organs were pulverized, his spine broken, rendering him completely unable to move his limbs. Unless it was an elixir of the Immortal Pill level, even the most skilled Medical Sage in the Cloud Realm could not save his life; he could only endure the pain and wait for death. Therefore, Zong Shou saw no need to bother with him further. But Zong Yang refused to wait any longer. Gritting his teeth, he spoke, "I know why Xue Suifan came to Julong Mountain! Ambushing you here was merely a spur-of-the-moment decision after being invited by Xiong Yu."

Hearing this, Zong Shou finally paused, raising an eyebrow. He mused that it was indeed this Xiong Yu who had invited these many experts, likely with the sole objective of eliminating him here. What a Princess Xuan Yu!

Zong Yang felt a flicker of joy, thinking Zong Shou was interested in the matter. However, at this moment, he dared not withhold any details. Before Zong Shou could ask, he blurted out, "About a century ago, there was a Venerable named Xuan Lang who defected from Canglang Sea for some reason. Legend has it he swept away countless treasures from within Dragon Extinction City—"

Zong Shou's brow twitched, laced with sarcasm. Treasures? Apart from those great aristocratic sects that had accumulated for over ten millennia, how many could compare to Zong Shou’s private reserves? He simply didn't bother buying the precious elixirs currently on the market. The spiritual artifacts didn't suit him, and he was unwilling to spend money on them. Thus, whatever Xuan Lang Venerable had taken, Zong Shou wouldn't care. But then, he immediately heard Zong Yang struggle to continue, "Reportedly, there are over a dozen spiritual artifacts among them, all above Seventh Rank, and a few were specifically forged to counter the True Dragon race. Most have already been recovered by Dragon Extinction City, but specifically, the nine drops of Ancient True Dragon Essence Blood remain unaccounted for."

"True Dragon Essence Blood?" Zong Shou whispered in shock. If it was this item, it was no wonder so many people had entered Julong Mountain.

He felt a sharp, searing heat in his right arm again. This was the Thunder Winged Serpent; ever since witnessing the sword marks on the wall carving, the creature had been reacting intermittently. If there were genuine True Dragon Blood, the Thunder Winged Serpent could likely instantly transform into a flood dragon, gaining the True Dragon bloodline, perhaps even reshaping its physical body.

"Exactly! Legend says Dragon Extinction City obtained it by slaughtering True Dragons ten thousand years ago and has kept it in their treasury ever since—" Zong Yang was nearly losing consciousness from the torment of the pain, yet he dared not hide anything in his words, lest Zong Shou simply walk away. In his heart, he felt ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart. He used to view Zong Shou as an ant, a useless nobody, never taking him seriously. But now, he depended on this very person just to grant him a swift death. In terms of strategy or personal strength, Zong Yang had suffered a complete defeat. He secretly resented that if Zong Shou hadn't concealed his true strength, he would have been the true favored son of Qiantian Mountain! How could he have conceived of harboring ulterior motives? No matter how great his ambition, it should have been set aside! This resentment extended even to the Xue family.

"Legend states that after executing Xuan Lang Venerable, Dragon Extinction City consumed countless beast cores and employed secret arts to search for the bloodline's whereabouts, but all efforts were fruitless. Thus, some suspect that Xuan Lang hid the True Dragon Blood in Julong Mountain. Before Xue Suifan came here, it seems he received reliable news that he had obtained a map, one that would surely lead him to it."

Zong Shou realized in his heart that Julong Mountain was the former retreat of the Hidden Dragon Elder; residual intent remained there, carrying the faint aura of the True Dragon. Hiding the True Dragon Blood here was indeed an excellent method. He then reached out and collected all of Xue Suifan's personal belongings. Inside, there was indeed a map drawn on a jade scroll. It was largely similar to the one Jin Buhui had given him earlier, but it included many more cave passages, especially the upper left section—the blank space missing from the Haoxuan Sect’s version was now perfectly complete. The location of the True Dragon Blood was marked within a passage in the upper left area.

Zong Shou was unsure if the map was genuine or not. After frowning slightly, he asked curiously, "Since he had the map, why didn't Xue Suifan rush to find the True Dragon Blood first, instead targeting me? Surely he wasn't the only one who received accurate information."

Zong Yang showed no surprise at this question and let out a mocking laugh. "Although he had the map, he could never enter. That fellow Xue Suifan spent a full thousand Fourth Rank Beast Cores on this map, only to find out it was fake."

Zong Shou knitted his brows but offered no comment. After thinking for a moment, he flicked a stream of refined energy out, completely shattering Zong Yang’s brain. Watching the man die before his eyes brought a sense of melancholy. Mentally, the part belonging to the previous 'Zong Shou' seemed to have faded away slightly more. Afterward, he changed into a clean set of clothes, discarding the blood-soaked ones, then touched his sleeve, letting out a sigh of resignation. Including the two he had used recently to kill the two mutated Magic Crystal Fire Ants, he had now consumed a total of four Cloud Flame Flying Daggers—those capable of unifying with his intent to replicate the Divine Destruction Sword Intent of the Startling Cloud. He had only nurtured a total of eight of these specialized daggers in the past few months. The remaining twenty could only manage a slight change in direction under his mental command, lacking the Sword Intent attachment, making their power vastly inferior. The situation in this outer cavern was treacherous and unpredictable; he didn't know if he could manage it all. In short, this place was no longer suitable for lingering. Zong Shou ignored the heavily wounded and dying individuals and strode away. However, when Zong Shou reached the location where he was first attacked half an hour later, Zong Yuan was nowhere in sight. Not just Zong Yuan, but even Gong Yue, who had followed him closely, was also gone. The only comfort was that besides three corpses and some scattered hidden weapons around the area, there were no other traces. It seemed those two had managed to escape unharmed. Zong Shou rubbed his temples; finding two people in these interconnected, maze-like caves would be as difficult as searching for a needle in a haystack. He could only shake his head secretly. Just as Jin Buhui had said, everyone had their own destiny. Perhaps Zong Yuan and Gong Yue would gain something after leaving him.

※※※※ "Zong Shou!"

His words carried a hatred that gnawed at the bone. Yue Linghuan struck the stone wall beside him with a heavy punch. His martial path did not lie in his fists. The full-force strike immediately left his fingers bloody and mangled. Yet Yue Linghuan was oblivious, feeling the pain was insufficient to suppress the hatred churning within, along with that faint sliver of fear—

"In all my life, I have never seen such a terrifying person!"

The speaker was an old man with entirely gray hair, clad in silver armor. The light in his eyes flickered, showing deep shock. "I have seen Heavenly Rank and Sun Roaming Realm experts before. But none gave me the same feeling as this man. A sword strike means instant death, a punch means instant demise. The height of this man's Martial Dao Intent probably surpasses even that of a Heavenly Rank Martial Ancestor. A figure like Xue Suifan, even three of me at the peak of the Black Tortoise Realm could suppress, yet he only withstood six of his blows—"

This silver-armored elder was also at the peak of the Black Tortoise Realm!

"—Soul Returning Realm! And he is only fourteen years old!" Another Spirit Master beside him gave a bitter smile, then pointed out the key to their failure: "If it were only that, it would be manageable! We could surely have killed him. The crucial point is that this boy acts decisively and strikes ruthlessly at vital points. His martial path is also 'all or nothing,' staking everything without regard for his own life or death. Precisely because of this, others can only die, but he alone survives. Observing this battle, his style is bloody and domineering, his techniques concise and sharp. Without hundreds, perhaps thousands of blood battles, he could never be like this! Seventy percent of those rumors must be true! I wonder how Zong Weiran's son could possibly have been a true cripple?" (To be continued)