Chapter 32: This Seat is Willing to Gamble it All for You!

Qingzhou, the Central Region.

A lone altar stood here: the Eight-Part Blood Dragon Altar. This was the hallowed ground where the Blood Moon Holy Land conducted its disciple selections from the Five Gates and Three Sects of Qingzhou.

Atop the altar, eight colossal crimson Profound Heaven Stone Pillars pierced the sky. The blood-dragons carved into their surfaces were unique in form: they were savage and majestic. Standing beneath these giants, an ordinary cultivator would feel their soul tremble as if undergoing a terrifying baptism.

Not far from the base of the pillars, two figures stood with dark expressions. They were Yang Dianfeng and Liu Ruyan.

Three days ago, after fleeing from the back mountain of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, they realized that Wang Min had survived. Fearing her vengeance, they had retreated here to hide from her wrath. Over the past three days, Wang Min had sent numerous transmissions promising to slaughter them both: a fact that left them in a state of constant terror.

They chose this altar because it would soon serve as the selection ground for the Holy Land, meaning Elder Chi Yu would personally arrive to oversee the proceedings. If they wanted to survive Wang Min’s pursuit, they had to rely on the Elder’s protection.

“Things have come to this; we have no other choice. A man without ruthlessness is no man at all!” Yang Dianfeng whispered. After their secret plotting, his gaze became even more sinister.

“Senior Brother is right! That Wang Min is nothing but a vulture; she only wanted to use us to get that Soul-Breaking Fruit. I just don’t understand why Lu Jin didn’t finish her off!” Liu Ruyan spat.

Yang Dianfeng gave a cold snort. “It is better this way! Since he let her live, he gave us the perfect excuse to frame her. She is the first disciple, yet she secretly joined the Holy Tabernacle: and that Lu Jin is also one of them. With this accusation, Shizun will be in a towering rage. When that happens, even the gods themselves won’t be able to save her!”

“Senior Brother is brilliant!”

Liu Ruyan felt a surge of joy, yet her brow furrowed. “But just what kind of organization is this Holy Tabernacle? Could you tell me more?”

Yang Dianfeng gave a wicked smile. “You want to know?”

“I do.”

“Heh. You already know that I possess the Dual-Cultivation Saint Physique, and your Supreme Bone is perfectly compatible with my constitution. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have encouraged you to ambush Lu Jin back then. If you want to know more, you’ll have to cultivate with me first!”

“Oh…”

Above the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, heavy clouds roiled as a massive lightning tribulation prepared to descend once more.

Deep within the sect, on a secluded peak, a figure manifested like a ghost. The moment he landed, he retracted every bit of his aura, terrified of causing even the slightest fluctuation. He slowly removed his black mask, revealing the pained face of Sect Master Chu Tianxiong.

The webbing between his thumb and forefinger was caked in blood. When he pulled aside his robes, his body was covered in shocking, grisly wounds.

“Hahaha!”

Chu Tianxiong suddenly laughed toward the sky. “Good! Excellent! Blood Moon Ancestor, I have already assassinated half of your Ten Great Blood Venerables! I will spend the rest of my life hunting you: even if I must walk through seas of fire and mountains of blades, I will never turn back!”

He pulled a handful of pills from his spatial ring, but looking at them, he shook his head with a sigh of helplessness.

“The Primal Chaos Poison of the Five-Poison Blood Venerable is not something ordinary pills can resolve. Even if I use my sealing arts to trap it in my left hand, I can only maintain this state for ten days. After ten days, if I have no antidote…”

Chu Tianxiong’s eyes grew dim. Right then, another bolt of lightning crashed down from the void. He had assumed it was merely a storm, but he quickly realized the truth: this was a Spirit Pearl Tribulation.

“Wait… that is…”

“Is that brat advancing again? A Spirit Pearl Tribulation of this scale is far larger than an initial Jindan Tribulation! Lu Jin, I hope you can soar into the heavens. I hope you… stay safe…”

Chu Tianxiong scanned the surroundings, his brow suddenly knitting together. “Huh? What is that?”

In a bamboo forest not far from the sect, he sensed several hidden, ominous auras. Chu Tianxiong knew that these signatures were far beyond anything a disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect could possess. He immediately grew wary.

Qingzhou was the domain of the Blood Moon Holy Land, and nearly every sect within it had been infiltrated. The Ancestor’s claws were everywhere; no one with potential could escape his grasp.

“Now, it seems Lu Jin has been targeted as well…”

Chu Tianxiong’s gaze was resolute. Though he was heavily injured, he made a silent vow: if anyone dared to strike at Lu Jin, he would kill them.

Lightning erupted across the horizon. Inside the sect, Lu Jin was fully focused: he channeled every drop of his Lingli to withstand the tempering of the heavens.

The initial skin-tempering layer of the Great Derivation Dragon Transformation Art was operating at full capacity. As the lightning struck, his skin radiated a mysterious light. Within the thin Dragon Membrane, small, traveling scripts began to appear.

There were three stages of skin tempering: Dragon Membrane, Dragon Veins, and Dragon Scales. The phenomenon occurring now was the manifestation of the Dragon Veins!

“My Dragon Runes have condensed; my defense has surged! The eighth Spirit Pearl is filled with lightning: this time, I will charge straight into the ninth stage!”

“Supreme Dragon Runes, open to the limit!”

Buzz!!

The light of the Dragon Membrane intensified as the runes took shape. The thin, silk-like runes began to travel across Lu Jin’s skin, covering his entire body. It made him look like a phantom: ethereal and unreal.

Boom!

A massive bolt of lightning tore through the void, descending with the weight of the heavens. The defensive arrays of the cultivation site were shattered instantly. Dust and rocks filled the air, and the forest was turned into a wasteland.

An unknown amount of time passed before the mountain wind cleared the haze. A single figure sat cross-legged in the center: his Lingli flowed like water. He was motionless, like an old monk in meditation.

In the bamboo forest, two figures hid, unable to suppress their gasps.

“Incredible! Truly incredible! This Seat has roamed the continent for decades, yet I have never seen such a monstrous genius!”

“The Spirit Pearl Tribulation he just survived was enough to turn a fifth-grade Jindan into ash! Yet he survived it with a Spirit Pearl cultivation!”

“This child’s talent is extraordinary. If we present him to the Ancestor, our merit will be unmatched! It will be only a matter of time before we become Venerables!”

“His combat power is high, but he has just broken through. If we two eighth-grade Jindans work together, we can surely capture him!”

“It must be done silently. We cannot alert the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, or it will be troublesome. This time, use the Python Life-Sealing Array!”

The two nodded to each other, waiting for an opening. Their every movement was watched by Chu Tianxiong. He knew that with his poisoned wounds, engaging them would be extremely dangerous.

“Lu Jin, this Seat has never placed so much hope on a single person. No matter what you think of me, for your sake, I am willing to gamble it all!”

Chu Tianxiong took a deep breath. A mysterious light flickered in his hand as he slowly activated an invisible formation around Lu Jin’s cultivation grounds…