Chapter 81: Terrifying Dread

The nearby crowd scattered, watching He Chao’s every move closely to learn what had happened.

He Chao approached Mo Wuxie, staring into his eyes while releasing a special summoning force.

Mo Wuxie soon reacted, emerging from his catatonic state with terror and despair etched on his face.

“Wuxie, tell me what happened. Where’s Elder Lu?”

“Dead… all dead…”

The words “all dead” chilled Geng Qiuhua of the Xuanhuo Sect. Those two Blood Martial experts couldn’t have died so easily!

He Chao demanded, “How did Elder Lu die?”

“Dead… all dead.”

Mo Wuxie repeated the phrase like a broken record.

After multiple failed attempts, Mu Dawei growled, “The holy son’s useless now. Extract his soul memory to find the killer.”

He Chao snarled, “Let’s see who dares oppose the Heavenly Palace.”

Using a special technique, He Chao yanked Mo Wuxie’s soul memory into the open air.

Everyone stared at the ethereal and illusionary scene materializing before them.

At first blank, the memory soon revealed a glowing figure shrouded in light—sparking whispers among the crowd.

Mo Wuxie’s own figure then appeared in the void, growing clearer. Pale-faced, he pleaded, “I’m the Heavenly Palace’s holy son! Kill me, and they’ll hunt you down!”

The glowing figure flicked its hand. Mo Wuxie collapsed, bones crunching as he screamed.

“I’ll spare you today. Tell the Heavenly Palace: Step into Shiyang Town, and I’ll wipe them out.”

The icy threat tightened throats—even as a memory. Those with higher cultivation levels felt it sharper.

Mu Dawei scoffed, “Empty threats! I won’t—”

A crack split the air. He Chao howled, forehead bursting open as purple flames devoured him.

Mu Dawei lunged forward, pouring spiritual energy into He Chao while summoning a high-grade spirit artifact—the Soul Dew Bottle. Spiritual dew flooded out, but the flames roared hotter, blasting Mu Dawei backward. Blood sprayed from his mouth.

The bottle cracked, then exploded. He Chao’s screams died as his body vanished—leaving only ash.

The crowd recoiled. Yun Ao, Shi Busi, Hua Yuehong, and Geng Qiuhua paled, realizing what force Mo Wuxie had provoked.

Mo Wuxie’s memory dissolved in the void. Alive but unconscious, he slumped.

Mu Dawei swallowed a pill, staggering up with terror in his eyes. A seasoned Heavenly Palace inspector, he’d never faced such horror—the shadow of it clinging to his bones.

Caiyun stood on a distant pavilion, observing everything with a sense of shock.

Yu Wuchen’s methods proved overwhelming. She’d clearly anticipated the Heavenly Palace’s questioning and left a contingency to warn them further.

He Chao had perished completely, body and soul erased.

The high-grade spirit artifact Soul Dew Bottle lay shattered. Mu Dawei, at the peak of Blood Martial Realm, barely clung to life – had he been closer, he’d have shared He Chao’s fate.

All this destruction came from a mere thought Yu Wuchen left behind, capable of slaughtering Blood Martial Realm masters effortlessly. How fearsome would her combat power be in direct confrontation?

Caiyun sighed. This extraordinary figure had revealed new horizons, teaching her the endless nature of cultivation.

Mu Dawei retreated to the Heavenly Palace carrying the unconscious Mo Wuxie, all former arrogance gone.

Others dispersed swiftly without mockery or discussion, all wary of that indistinct figure.

Yunyang City knew days of peace after this incident. Even competition for Lanling Holy Palace’s treasures paused temporarily, factions fearing that hazy figure might appear.

…

In his secret chamber, Cheng Lingyu concentrated on cultivation. Having formed five True Essence Lakes, he reached the late Gathering Lake Stage but remained far from Thousand Layers of Snow’s perfection standards.

Thousand Layers of Snow demanded strict refinement phases: basic completion, major achievement, and extreme limits.

The Gathering Lake Stage proved crucial in True Martial Realm progression. Cheng Lingyu met basic requirements and approached major achievement, yet extreme limits still eluded him.

Thousand Layers of Snow’s ultimate standard required forming pyramids within each True Essence Lake, mirroring those in his dantian’s True Essence Sea.

These pyramids could manifest as single-layered four-vortex structures, double-layered seven-vortex forms, or three-layered ten-vortex configurations.

While Cheng Lingyu’s dantian housed a three-layered ten-vortex pyramid, Thousand Layers of Snow only demanded single-layered four-vortex versions for this stage.

Starting with his first True Essence Lake, Cheng Lingyu easily formed two aligned qi vortices. The third vortex completed a stable triangle, while the fourth – though challenging – fell before his experience.

Unexpectedly, the completed single-layered pyramid doubled his true essence’s purity while halving its quantity.

This pleased Cheng Lingyu – quality outweighed quantity for strength. With ample resources, replenishing reserves seemed manageable.

Over five days, he repeated the process for all five lakes, achieving Thousand Layers of Snow’s extreme standard. Filling these lakes would let him advance to True Martial Sixth Level – Meeting the Sea Stage.

Unsatisfied, Cheng Lingyu aimed higher – transforming all pyramids into three-layered ten-vortex structures.

Five days upgraded single-layered to double-layered pyramids, again doubling purity while halving capacity. The final upgrade to three-layered forms required nine grueling days, leaving essence quantity at one-eighth original levels but purity quadrupled.

With Gathering Lake Stage nearly complete, Cheng Lingyu consumed resources – twenty Xuan Yang Pills and thirty monster cores over three days refilled his lakes rapidly, enhanced absorption from the pyramids accelerating the process tenfold.

Standing with a mesmerizing smile, he declared: “One final step remains for ultimate perfection.”

This unprecedented step involved transplanting sword-shaped true essence from his dantian’s pyramid into each lake’s structure – an innovative fusion of Heart Sword Leaves No Trace with pyramid cultivation, born from his technique of origins insights.

The legendary Heart Sword Leaves No Trace spanned nine reincarnations. Cheng Lingyu sought to integrate it into every pyramid, pursuing flawless execution.

Adjusting his condition, he began this experimental fusion, aiming to elevate both sword art and cultivation through mutual enhancement. Throughout history, true masters forged unique paths – this would be his signature approach.

During cultivation, Cheng Lingyu unexpectedly entered a dreamless state, its mechanisms unclear even to himself.

Meanwhile, Caiyun made rapid progress nearby. Her innocent body cultivation showed marked results, and Skywing Escape mastery neared completion.