Zhan Tianji had always been supremely confident in his abilities, always believing that wherever he stood was the safest place possible! Since his birth, no enemy had ever succeeded in plotting against him!

Because he was Tianjizi! The legendary Tianjizi!

But now, at this very moment, this absolute anomaly had truly materialized! And the price for this anomaly would be paid with Zhan Tianji’s own life!

Sword light crisscrossed the heavens, falling with an overwhelming, disdainful aura of destruction! Zhan Tianji only had time for one fleeting thought: what appeared before his eyes were the tips of three long swords! But how could there be swords so bright in this world?

Before he could ponder further, the blade plunged deep into Zhan Tianji’s heart! Zhan Tianji let out a soul-tearing, furious roar! Though his voice was hoarse, its volume was earth-shattering!

Though his eyes were blinded, he knew he had suffered a potentially fatal injury, and due to previous exertions, very little residual Profound Qi remained for him to command. Yet, even a Saint Venerable expert like Zhan Tianji... The sudden, inexplicable long sword instantly pierced his heart; the killing intent adhering to the blade raged and erupted instantly, completely shattering his heart and blasting open his Dantian! Furthermore, the powerful Profound Qi at that moment acted like a destructive torrent, pulverizing his internal organs!

But even such injuries were not immediately fatal for a Saint Venerable expert! This meant Zhan Tianji still held a shred of hope for survival! If he could just carve out a final sliver of opportunity, he might still live!

Facing utter despair, Zhan Tianji fought with all his might for that last thread of life. With a sudden flip of his gaunt hands, two brilliantly shining short swords materialized in his palms! Simultaneously, they shot forward like venomous dragons emerging from water!

As the short swords appeared, a chilling light—beyond the blades themselves—shot out at high speed! This was Zhan Tianji's desperate, final gamble as a Saint Venerable expert! These two beams of light, if met head-on, would instantly cost even someone of Cao Guofeng’s caliber their life! And the result would be the utter annihilation of body and soul!

In truth, Zhan Tianji had never expected to kill the enemy before him! He harbored no such delusion! That thought was too extravagant, completely unrealistic! Since the opponent could successfully ambush him like this, their strength could not be weak; at the very least, they were on the same level as himself! More likely, perhaps... much stronger than him! Otherwise, he would never have been caught so completely unaware!

Zhan Tianji’s current wish was simple, almost minuscule; he only hoped the opponent would flinch! Yes, just a slight dodge would suffice! Even if the long sword was not withdrawn from his body, as long as his hand released the hilt, he would instantly be able to execute the Soul Transformation Grand Technique, converting all his cultivation and soul power into a Saint Infant, escaping his body. Once the Infancy was successfully formed, he wouldn't even need any time at all to instantly flee this stone chamber!

As for what followed, he could simply select a body from among the Zhan family disciples; it would only take a century or two of cultivation to return to his current level! For an expert at the Saint Venerable tier, a physical body was nothing more than a mere shell carrying the soul! Changing one was no great matter!

Perhaps this wish was too small, for the opponent actually dodged! Although Zhan Tianji’s eyes remained useless, his Saint Venerable perception allowed him to clearly feel the enemy's hand loosen the hilt, swiftly flashing sideways. Zhan Tianji was overjoyed! He immediately channeled his power, and with a bang, his flesh exploded from his Dantian! Although the long sword remained impaled, it posed no further threat to him! Because he had successfully condensed his Saint Infant! Even if that sword shredded his original body, as long as the Saint Infant escaped, he, Zhan Tianji, would still be Zhan Tianji! His confidence stemmed from the fact that the speed of the Saint Infant was unmatched under the heavens!

But then, Zhan Tianji was plunged into despair! The speed of the Saint Infant might indeed be unmatched, but that did not mean it could not be harmed, or that nothing could harm it! As Zhan Tianji successfully condensed his Saint Infant, immense joy flooded him, and he immediately soared away from his ruined flesh! But he instantly realized he wasn't flying as fast as he had imagined? Upon closer inspection, he saw that impaled upon his tiny Saint Infant body was a shining long sword! And from the gleaming blade emanated a mocking sentimentality, full of human-like derision—Yes, his feeling was not wrong! It was this very sword, mocking him!

Zhan Tianji’s mind instantly turned to chaos. Wasn't the Saint Infant formless, intangible, traceless? Wasn't it impossible for anyone to detect the Saint Infant’s existence? Why was it now impaled by a tangible sword?

Zhan Tianji thought in terror and panic. Then, he discovered another thing that filled him with terrifying despair! The body of the long sword embedded in his Saint Infant suddenly emitted a formidable, irresistible suction force! Like a great whale drawing in water, it rapidly devoured all the refined cultivation and entire soul power he had just condensed within his Saint Infant body!

In the next instant, he saw a youth in black standing silently in the void not far away, hands empty, a cold smile playing on his lips, watching him silently...

"No! I don't want to die! I beg you! Spare me!" I am the legend of Profound Arts, Tianjizi, I am willing to be your servant, your horse, willing to do anything for you, spare me..." "Ah..." Zhan Tianji begged hysterically, his tiny Saint Infant body flailing, begging for mercy, its face etched with terror... even streaked with crisscrossing tears. But the youth in black remained completely unmoved, standing there impassively, his gaze fixed only on that sword. And that malevolent sword never ceased drawing energy from his body...

"No!" Zhan Tianji's final, heart-rending shout echoed—shushuwang—his tiny body, so painstakingly coalesced, once again dissolved into nothingness, all energy completely devoured by that sword! All of it transformed into the purest essence within the Yanhuang Blood!

Zhan Tianji spent his entire life challenging fate; even at the moment of his death, he still attempted to rewrite destiny, to defy Heaven! But how could human effort contend against the supreme Heavenly Mandate? How could the inscrutable will of Heaven be altered by mortal hands? Thus, Zhan Tianji ultimately died by the very fate he tried to manipulate!

And Heaven's Will, "remained" Heaven's Will... With a clang, the Yanhuang Blood spontaneously emitted a satisfied sword chime. This nourishment had truly benefited it greatly! How insignificant could the total power of a Saint Venerable expert be?

"Are you satisfied now?" Jun Moxie smiled, though with a hint of complaint: "This time, you really took all the spoils; I didn't get anything at all..." The Yanhuang Blood chirped clearly with delight, circling him slowly once.

Then, Jun Moxie pointed a finger, and the Yanhuang Blood shot out with a swish. With a massive explosion, the Renewal Cauldron perched on the high platform instantly shattered under the sword's impact, spewing foul, dark-purple matter everywhere...

Then, without pausing, the Yanhuang Blood flew up again, straight to the ceiling of the stone chamber, where it slashed and pierced repeatedly (swish, swish, swish). The painting on the ceiling, identical to the Nine Peaks of the Illusionary Manor, was instantly riddled with holes, and then it crashed down with a rumble...

At this moment, the sound of hurried robes cutting through the air was suddenly heard from outside. Jun Moxie’s eyes darted, his right hand faintly glowing yellow as he pressed down. With a boom, the entire floor of the stone chamber flipped over, and the freshly dug earth from beneath surged up, burying all the corpses completely! Let them rest in peace first!

Having completed this, Jun Moxie immediately went invisible again. He then commanded the Yanhuang Blood to strike fiercely into the upper left corner of the stone chamber. A swirling, strange, indefinable gas billowed out, dissipating and then surging forth again, dissipating again... He struck the upper right corner with another blow, and this time countless red mists billowed out, instantly vanishing without a trace... The vast conspiracy of the Zhan family, spanning countless generations, years, and epochs, perfected through the sacrifice of countless lives, was utterly ruined by a few extremely reckless and unreasonable strikes from Young Master Jun! Even the Zhan family's own fortune had been damaged somewhat...

Man sows, Heaven watches. If Heaven brings disaster, there is recourse. If one brings disaster upon oneself, there is no escape! If the Zhan family knew that the root cause of all this was Zhan Qingfeng and Zhan Yushu provoking Jun Moxie, leading to this world-shattering catastrophe, they would surely regret establishing that conspiracy targeting possessors of the Ethereal Body in the first place...

Seeing that the arrangements here were beyond repair, and even forcing a reconstruction would require starting entirely anew, Jun Moxie recalled the Yanhuang Blood. With a swish, he activated the Yin-Yang Evasion technique, becoming invisible once more into the stone wall!

Clattering footsteps sounded. The first to rush in was Zhan Lunhui! He had only just returned to his private cultivation room when he heard the increasingly angry reports from the arriving subordinates!

"Still no sign of the intruder." "Nothing to the left either..." "Nothing to the right; the intruder seems to have quietly departed..."

Listening to these reports of non-discovery, Zhan Lunhui’s expression grew increasingly grim. When had the Zhan family become so incompetent? Even when someone broke into the most secret part of their clan, mobilizing all available personnel, they couldn't find a trace of the intruder! Had that person really left? I am continuing to strive for the third and fourth updates! So tired! My stamina seems to have reached its limit. Although I am stubbornly pushing through, my eyes are starting to blur... The third and fourth updates might not appear until after midnight. Please read these first while I fight on!