A line of eleven martial artists moved slowly through the intense heat. Leading them was Xie Kui, with He Qingman trailing far behind, deliberately keeping her distance from him.

The few martial artists from Tianxie Cave Heaven clustered near Xie Kui, pointedly ignoring He Qingman.

It seemed these people already knew who the future master of Tianxie Cave Heaven would be. Ever since the conflict between Xie Kui and He Qingman, these disciples had sided entirely with Xie Kui, not even bothering to mediate the rising tension between the two.

The voluptuous He Qingman was now isolated at the very rear, her beautiful, delicate face etched with deep worry.

“Remember, if He Qingman holds back against the Yang family members again next time, you might as well restrain her to prevent her from becoming a hindrance,” Xie Kui commanded in a low, chilling tone to the Tianxie Cave Heaven disciples following him.

“Understood.”

The group nodded slowly, stealing discreet glances at He Qingman behind them, their looks harboring a complexity that spoke volumes.

A flicker of sorrow crossed He Qingman’s luminous eyes. She saw the wariness her own sect members held toward her but felt utterly powerless to change it.

At this moment, she desperately wished to leave the Abyss Battlefield and return to the Galo Sea Domain, severing all ties to this matter.

However, the way back was utterly lost to them all. Returning alone now, without any sense of direction, would be suicidal folly.

Helpless, she had no choice but to stick with them for the time being, even knowing Xie Kui and the others offered her no warmth.

The procession of eleven martial artists gradually approached a rising sand dune. The five disciples from Tianxie Cave Heaven followed Xie Kui closely, treating his commands as their sacred mission.

The remaining few, belonging to the Penglai Holy Land and Tianchi Holy Land, remained silent but also kept close to Xie Kui, hoping he could lead them to their comrades and find a way out of this bizarre desert.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Suddenly, violent rumbling erupted from the sand dune ahead.

“Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Tornadoes sprang up instantly around the group.

In a mere moment, these whirlwinds rushed toward them. Amidst a maelstrom of swirling sand, six massive tornadoes completely engulfed the area. The sand blinded them, making it impossible to see anything around them.

Martial artists were ripped into the vortices, entangled by the shrieking, spinning sands, their bodies held immobile.

“Who dares!”

Xie Kui roared, and a slender, snow-white precious sword materialized from his sleeve.

The snow-white blade suddenly burst forth with brilliant yellow light. Xie Kui slashed, and the yellow light scattered faint specks of white, forming an elegant arc that plunged directly into the dune before him.

“Bang!”

A figure abruptly shot out from the dune, darting toward Xie Kui amidst the dazzling yellow glow.

“Shi Yan!”

Xie Kui’s expression shifted instantly, then he let out a cold sneer. “Good timing! I was just looking for you! Coming out on your own—you’ve sealed your own doom!”

As the words fell, Xie Kui’s body flickered, then vanished into the sand dune without a trace.

Behind where Xie Kui disappeared, the martial artists were entangled by the tornadoes. These were magnetic-shock field vortexes formed and evolving within the desert, their chaotic energy paralyzing the fighters. They could only cry out in alarm as the flow of their vital essence slowed to a crawl.

A gust of wind swept through. He Qingman, trailing at the very back, moved like a wisp of smoke, deftly avoiding the sweep of the tornadoes as she flew toward Shi Yan’s position.

Complexity filled He Qingman’s eyes, yet she acted without hesitation, launching an attack on Shi Yan. Her graceful figure blurred, unleashing razor-sharp wind blades that whistled eerily through the air.

Simultaneously, Xie Kui, who had slipped into the dune, resurfaced opportunistically, his snow-white long sword radiating a blinding yellow light.

An earth dragon condensed from sand suddenly burst from the ground beside Shi Yan, as a wall of compacted earth rose up nearby.

“Shi Yan, my Martial Soul can control sand and earth. Here, killing you is as easy as turning over my hand!” Xie Kui sneered. “You should have died long ago! What right do you have to earn Xinyan’s trust? A beauty like her deserves only me, the future master of Tianxie Cave Heaven! You are unworthy!”

Shi Yan stood coldly amidst the swirling sand, his gaze sharp and icy.

He Qingman’s torrent of wind blades surged toward him, yet he remained rooted.

Only after the blades had passed through him did He Qingman realize they had only struck his phantom image.

Xie Kui’s pupils contracted in shock; the yellow dragon and earth wall he had painstakingly shaped from sand had also been attacking only Shi Yan’s illusion.

Shi Yan’s true body had already shifted elsewhere.

“I want a duel with Xie Kui, here in the dunes. Don’t interfere,” Shi Yan said, frowning. With a shift of his will, an invisible magnetic-shock field descended, instantly locking down He Qingman’s delicate form as she rode the wind toward him.

At the same moment, another magnetic-shock field silently crept toward Xie Kui, catching him off guard and instantly binding him as well.

“Ah!”

Activating Electric Current Transformation, Shi Yan shot like lightning toward Xie Kui at the center of the field.

“As long as my feet are on the ground, this thing has no effect on me,” Xie Kui scoffed, his body instantly sinking back into the sand, shaking off the magnetic-shock field’s restraint.

With both Earth and Wood Martial Souls, Xie Kui could easily vanish into the ground once his feet touched solid earth. Unless he was killed in one strike, eliminating him was nearly impossible.

Xie Kui’s form dissolved into the sand again, but his voice echoed from beneath the earth: “Shi Yan, I will cut off your head and keep it. The next time I see Xinyan, I will present it to her—won’t that be amusing?” Shi Yan stood still on the sand, his expression detached, but he suddenly channeled the Power of Negativity.

Three colossal fiendish illusions suddenly materialized from the dense negative energy. The moment these three phantom demons appeared, they charged toward the martial artists pinned by the tornadoes.

Shi Yan remained motionless, closing his eyes as if awaiting something.

To his surprise, Xie Kui made no move to save his companions trapped by the field! Xie Kui was slithering rapidly beneath the earth, stealthily approaching Shi Yan’s feet.

A cruel curve touched Shi Yan’s lips, and a fierce glint flashed in his pupils.

No matter what Xie Kui imagined, he could never have predicted that Shi Yan had already formed a Sea of Consciousness, allowing him to scrutinize every vital fluctuation within a certain radius! If Xie Kui remained hidden in the sand, even if Shi Yan detected his position, dragging him out to kill would be incredibly difficult.

However, if Xie Kui intended to strike, he would have to surface—and that was the opening Shi Yan needed.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Muffled thuds came from beneath the sand as several earth cones suddenly jutted up right beneath Shi Yan’s feet.

Shi Yan staggered precariously on the tips of the cones, then suddenly shot off in one direction.

Xie Kui moved quickly in the sand, burrowing toward where Shi Yan was about to land. His plan was to erupt from the earth the moment Shi Yan’s feet touched down, delivering a killing blow.

Mid-air, Shi Yan rapidly condensed hand seals between his palms. Before his feet even met the sand, the Seal of Life and the Seal of Death fused together.

The Seal of Life and Death slammed down toward the ground.

“Boom!”

A terrifying explosion roared from the spot where Shi Yan was about to land.

A disheveled figure was blasted outward by the detonation, and even his snow-white sword was knocked flying from his grasp by the ferocious impact of the Seal of Life and Death.

Landing deftly, Shi Yan thrust out a hand and precisely caught the sword that belonged to Xie Kui. Activating Electric Current Transformation, he surged toward Xie Kui like a bolt of lightning.

Xie Kui’s mouth was slick with blood. Under the full force of the Seal of Life and Death, his physical body was wounded. Had it not been for the earthen armor surrounding him, his internal organs would have been pulverized by that single strike.

Seeing Shi Yan flash toward him like lightning, Xie Kui attempted his usual trick, desperately trying to burrow back into the earth.

Just as one of his feet was about to touch the sand, Shi Yan sped forward like lightning, stomping his left foot directly onto Xie Kui’s right. As Xie Kui tried to retreat into the earth, he felt a piercing, bone-deep agony in his right foot.

He tried to sink into the sand, but found that foot pinned fast by the fine sword.

“Run? Go on, run for me,” Shi Yan sneered, his eyes fierce and cruel as he stared down at Xie Kui.

“You! You!” Xie Kui’s expression changed drastically.

His right foot was still firmly pinned by Shi Yan’s left, but the snow-white sword, belonging to Xie Kui, had first pierced Shi Yan’s left foot before anchoring itself into Xie Kui’s rear foot. The two men’s left and right feet were literally skewered together by the single blade.

To prevent him from sinking into the earth, Shi Yan hadn't hesitated to impale his own right foot!

“Boom! Boom!”

With both feet connected by a single sword, Xie Kui and Shi Yan faced each other, their internal powers surging. Fists and kicks began to fly in a storm of blows. Shi Yan’s foot was on top, pressing Xie Kui’s foot down with crushing force, rendering him immobile!

Simultaneously, Shi Yan activated his Petrification Martial Soul, rendering his own body hard as iron. The Second Heaven of Rampage erupted, doubling his internal strength in an instant.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Hand seals exploded between Shi Yan and Xie Kui. Yellowish light glowed around Xie Kui as he formed hand seals over his chest, creating a series of intricate ripples intended to deflect Shi Yan’s onslaught.

“Cut off my head?”

Shi Yan’s face was savage as he unleashed the full, untamed power of the Second Heaven of Rampage. He hammered repeated Seals of Life and Death onto Xie Kui’s chest, using the most violent and unyielding force to shatter every piece of Xie Kui’s defense.

With the Petrification Martial Soul refining his body, Shi Yan’s physical resilience was something Xie Kui could never match!

At the realm of the Second Heaven of Rampage, the power he could wield far surpassed Xie Kui’s. In this close-quarters battle, Xie Kui was completely suppressed, possessing absolutely no power to fight back.

“Explode!” Shi Yan roared, overlapping the Seals of Life and Death, driving them into Xie Kui’s head.

Xie Kui’s handsome skull shattered under the impact. Bone fragments and sprays of blood flew outward, and he died instantly.