C1418

Lee Tihai, gaunt and withered in appearance, remained at the Middle Period of the Yang God Stage, never having ventured beyond the Vast Ocean. Beneath the white clouds, he joined Lin Tianming of the Voodoo Cult and several independent cultivators aboard a gilded treasure ship. Suddenly, their expressions shifted dramatically.

Lee Tihai's face quivered as he shrieked, "Yu, Yu Yuan?!" He could scarcely believe that he would encounter Yu Yuan in the boundless sea near the Nether Abyss within the Boundless Great World. "Shouldn't you be soaring through the Outland Star River? Why have you returned so unexpectedly, and why here of all places?" he wondered, overwhelmed with dismay.

Since the transformation of Bai Gu into a ghost, Lee Tihai had been exceedingly cautious upon learning that the bones in Horror Land belonged to the Evil King Yu Xi from seven centuries prior. Consequently, he had spent years secluded within the Fiend Sect, too fearful to wander.

He dreaded the possibility of attracting the attention of the Ghost King, a staunch defender of Bai Gu. He knew that figures like Chu Ling, Luo Yue, or the Hornet Queen could effortlessly obliterate him in some hidden corner of the Vast Ocean.

Only after hearing from Yun Hao that the five paramount forces had brokered a peace with the Divine Soul Sect and the Chamber of Commerce, agreeing to avoid conflict within the Vast Ocean, did he dare to emerge. Yet, he could never have anticipated that Yu Yuan, who had been active beyond the heavens, would manifest in the Vast Ocean—and right before his eyes, no less!

"Yu Yuan!" exclaimed Lin Tianming, clutching a grey clay jar with his three disciples standing behind him. Yu Yuan's abrupt arrival had them all visibly shaken.

Lin Tianming's eyes bulged as he observed the snake-shaped Witch Bug inside the jar, quivering uncontrollably. This Witch Bug was the progenitor of its kind, having consumed the essence of another to spawn a new generation of Witch Bugs, one of which had been implanted into Chiu Muge.

The Witch Bug, petrified by Yu Yuan's presence, recoiled to the furthest reaches of the jar. In the shadowy recess untouched by sunlight, the serpentine creature continued to tremble, exuding an aura of pure terror.

Lin Tianming didn't need to ponder the situation; he immediately realized that the Witch Bugs in Chiu Muge's body must have acted up because of Yu Yuan.

Just as Lin Tianming was about to erupt in anger, a sudden thought crossed his mind.

Yu Yuan... Medicine God Hong Qi!

The rage on his face slowly turned rigid. He managed to force a strained, awkward smile and bowed before the gilding treasure ship, "Lin Tianming of the Voodoo Cult, pays his respects to Senior Medicine God!"

"Have we met before?"

Yu Yuan gave him a cursory glance and said with a sardonic smile, "You must have felt it. The Witch Bugs you planted in Chiu Muge's flesh were all crushed by my hand. You've got quite the nerve, still addressing me as 'senior.' What exactly did you hear before you returned from the outer realms?"

"I was merely responding to an invitation from the Fiend Sect, accepting their money to avert their crises," Lin Tianming explained, his discomfort evident.

Indeed, he had heard of Yu Yuan's exploits, aware that this notorious troublemaker had never rested since venturing into the Outland Starry Sky.

The Oblivion Starfield, the Dim Starfield, the Illusion Starfield, the Deep Starfield...

He hadn't yet learned of the Firefly Starfield's demise, but what he did know was enough to suppress his Unrestrained Stage pride in Yu Yuan's presence.

"Elder Lin?"

Lee Tihai's expression turned grim.

"Lee Tihai, you're nothing but an independent practitioner! You're not in a position to demand that I deploy my venomous insects!" Lin Tianming scoffed, revealing the underlying situation in Yu Yuan's presence. "If it weren't for Sect Master Yun's intervention, do you think I'd bother with the Fiend Sect's traitors over a mere handful of herbs?"

He was blunt to a fault, openly disclosing the task Yun Hao had entrusted to him.

His three disciples, two men and a woman standing behind him, appeared unfazed by the revelation.

However, the two Soul Wandering Stage cultivators from the Fiend Sect and several other Soul Wandering and Yang God Stage practitioners accompanying Lee Tihai were thrown into an uproar by Lin Tianming's words.

"Lin, that's utterly disgraceful!"

"You've taken your payment. Surely you're not thinking of backing out now? Lin, is this how the Voodoo Cult conducts its business?"

"You're a cultivator at the Unrestrained Stage and an elder of the Voodoo Cult. Can you really say such things? What, do you want to disassociate yourself just because Yu Yuan is involved?"

The last one to speak was an old man with a fiery mane of red hair, his back adorned with three animal bones. He was a cultivator in the middle period of the Soul Wandering Stage. The bones embedded in his back seemed to be channeling streams of blood energy into his body.

Yu Yuan let out a derisive laugh. A sinister, deep red light shot out from his summoned Demon Blade, Blood Prison. He moved with the light, instantly appearing before the loudest of the old men. The blade light multiplied, forming a net of blades that ensnared the old man.

Within seconds, the old man, who hadn't even managed to scream, was reduced to a puddle of blood and bones right before their eyes. The three special animal bones that had been embedded in his back, Demon Bones from a Ninth Level demon, were devoured by Blood Prison, their demonic energy absorbed and reduced to bone dust.

Lin Tianming, his three disciples, Lee Tihai, and several other independent cultivators hastily moved aside. Yu Yuan stood alone next to the remains, at the center of the gilding treasure ship.

"He was the loudest, so I dealt with him first." Yu Yuan flicked the crimson Demon Blade and gave Lin Tianming a narrow-eyed glance. "You seem to know how to play it smart, ready to betray anyone when things go south. Heh, truth be told, I quite admire that, but..."

His gaze shifted beyond Lin Tianming to the female disciple standing behind the Voodoo Cult elder. "You have a scent on you that I recognize, and I must say, it's not one I'm fond of."

A massive blood soul erupted from the Demon Blade, transforming into a spectral blood-colored demon shadow in midair, which then plunged directly into the woman's forehead. She let out a piercing, heart-wrenching scream that sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it.

"Hong, Senior Hong, what is the meaning of this?" Lin Tianming asked, his voice laced with anxiety.

He was particularly fond of the female disciple because, although they were publicly known as master and disciple, in truth, they were lovers.

The female disciple attended to him with great care at night, leaving him thoroughly pleased.

"People from the Bright Sect."

A chill flashed in Yu Yuan's eyes. "I have no fondness for anyone in that sect. Years ago, on a Pirate Ship in the distant seas, I nearly fell prey to them. They caused trouble in the Great Swamp too. I thought they had been wiped out, but it seems I was mistaken..."

Whoosh!

The blood-red demonic shadow from the Devil Palace, having feasted on the woman's soul, contentedly returned to the Demon Blade.

"Bright, the Bright Sect!"

Lin Tianming's heart skipped a beat, realizing that his vitality had been waning, likely due to the female disciple's influence.

"Have you not managed a breakthrough in your cultivation, while she has been advancing repeatedly?" Yu Yuan taunted.

Lin Tianming remained silent, merely turning to glance at the female disciple's lifeless body with an icy stare.

"Now it's your turn."

Yu Yuan looked at Lee Tihai with amusement. "Your cultivation seems stagnant. How many years has it been since our paths last crossed? Still in the Middle Period of the Yang God Stage with no progress?"

Lee Tihai felt a chill run through him as he desperately sought help from Lin Tianming and a few fellow practitioners.

Those he looked to for support stepped back, avoiding his gaze.

"Yu Yuan, there's a secret pact between the Divine Soul Sect, the chamber of commerce, and us! Surely you know that internal conflicts at the Yang God level are forbidden within the Boundless Great World?" Lee Tihai protested, his voice a mix of anger and fear. "As a member of the Divine Soul Sect, you should abide by the rules!"

"Rules?" Yu Yuan burst into laughter.

With his laughter still echoing, he tightened his grip on the Demon Blade "Blood Prison." Under the watchful eyes of Lin Tianming, the other independent cultivators, and the young evil cultivators like Chi Nandou and Hou Tianzhao, he lunged at Lee Tihai.

"I've come to realize the exhilarating feeling of crushing you with my overwhelming power and cultivation level!"

The blood-red light from the Demon Blade enveloped Lee Tihai's small space completely.

No matter how Lee Tihai struggled, whatever Spiritual Spell or spiritual weapon he employed, he couldn't even make the blood-colored light cast by the Demon Blade flicker.

Lee Tihai's Yin God was trapped, unable to break free, and his Yang God dared not expose itself.

Within the blood-red light screen, amidst Yu Yuan's booming laughter, Lee Tihai's hope gradually faded. He was tormented by the blood-colored lightning that pierced his flesh and the relentless assault of blood souls eroding his soul sea.

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