"NOOOOO!"
A heart-wrenching scream tore through the air. Yu Han's eyes bulged, bloodshot, as he roared until his voice broke, spitting blood. The world seemed to collapse around him.
The Devouring Dog was his first beast, raised from infancy, their bond transcending master and servant. Yu Han always cradled it, never storing it in a beast bag.
Watching it die to save him, obliterated by the Spirit Fusion Palm—its soul erased by Tri-Color Tribulation Lightning and Emperor Flame—shattered him.
Though the Devouring Dog's Corrosive Devouring was formidable, it faltered against supreme forces like Tri-Color Tribulation Lightning and Emperor Flame.
Lan An felt no pity. His killing intent solidified.
To kill and rob required resolve to be killed. During the third trial of the Saint Spirit Academy, Yu Han had fled, hurling threats and coveting Lan An's Purple Thunder Lion.
"I'll fight you to the death!" Yu Han lost all reason. The battle had left him with nothing—no beasts, no pride.
His Peak Spirit Transformation power erupted, his body swelling as he charged Lan An.
"Junior Brother's gone mad—he's going to self-detonate!" Yu Guo cursed inwardly, fleeing frantically. He wasn't foolish enough to stay and die.
To Yu Guo, beasts were mere tools. If he escaped to the Beast Taming War Sect, elders could capture new ones. Why risk his life?
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Space quaked as Yu Han's body exploded like a bomb.
But a Spirit Transformation self-detonation was nothing to Lan An. With multiple Speed Shift activations, he evaded the blast's core, never glancing back.
In his eyes, Yu Han, once his defeated foe, would always be so. Killing him was merely to avoid future annoyances.
Like a meteor, Lan An pursued Yu Guo at terrifying speed.
"No!" Yu Guo screamed, his initial arrogance gone. Chased by this demon, he was terrified beyond measure.
"You'll join him!" Lan An smiled coldly, his Heavy Sword unleashing Earth Rend.
ROAR!
Certain of death, Yu Guo was saved as the Earth Prime Shark surged from below, its massive jaws aiming for Lan An.
Lan An frowned, redirecting his attack to the shark.
BOOM!
The clash numbed his arm, forcing him back several steps.
The Earth Prime Shark roared in pain, a third of its teeth shattered.
Seizing the chance, Yu Guo fled, cackling venomously, "I'll expose you to the world! Tri-Color Tribulation Lightning, three Strange Flames, soul and body cultivation, the Extreme Ice Demon Monarch's legacy—all revealed! You'll be hunted by countless experts! HAHAHA!"
"Star-Piercing Finger!" Lan An condensed lightning and flame into a piercing strike, aimed at Yu Guo.
The Star-Piercing Finger tore through space, brimming with killing intent.
ROAR!
The Earth Prime Shark intervened, spewing an earthen vortex to block the strike.
With its Peak Sixth-Grade strength, it could stall Lan An long enough for Yu Guo to escape.
As Yu Guo's figure receded, Lan An's face darkened.
Yan Yue Qi was locked in battle with the elder.
Hua Qing Zhu was pinned by the Iron Scorpion's formidable defense.
As the enemy neared escape, a stir came from the Spirit Realm Pearl.
"Her?" Lan An sensed it, overjoyed.
With a thought, he summoned a figure.
The beauty's arrival illuminated the battlefield.
Clad in shimmering Golden Mysterious Armor, her elegant form was accentuated. Her black hair was pinned high with a jade hairpin, her slender neck radiant, lips red, cheeks peachy, eyes clear and refined.
Unlike Hua Qing Zhu's cold maturity or Yan Yue Qi's fiery allure, she exuded refined grace, like a noble lady—approachable yet untouchable.
Sensing her aura, Lan An nodded, satisfied. Pointing at the fleeing Yu Guo, he said, "Uyển Dung, kill him with all your strength."
Indeed, this refined beauty was Nam Cung Uyển Dung, the first of his women to emerge from seclusion.
Fresh from breakthrough, Nam Cung Uyển Dung felt her progress was dreamlike. Recalling Lan An's trust, her heart warmed.
Summoned abruptly, she assessed the chaotic battlefield. Hearing Lan An's command, she focused, her eyes locking onto Yu Guo's retreating form. Her lips parted, "As my lord wishes."
Her graceful body transformed into golden light, streaking across the sky, leaving radiant afterimages.
Golden Radiance Shadow—a Mid Spirit-Grade movement art Lan An had acquired for her.
"Metal cultivator?" Hua Qing Zhu exclaimed, surprised.
Metal spiritual roots were rare and hard to cultivate, but once mastered, they excelled in speed, lethality, and endurance.
The only metal cultivator who impressed Hua Qing Zhu was Tian Die Dao. She hadn't expected another by Lan An's side.
"Hmph, what a romantic devil!" Hua Qing Zhu snorted, intensifying her assault on the Iron Scorpion, overwhelming it.
Yan Yue Qi, aware of Nam Cung Uyển Dung, was stunned by her progress—from Nascent Soul to Peak Spirit Transformation.
The Spirit Realm Pearl's cultivation environment, paired with Lan An's curated techniques and resources, made such leaps inevitable. Yan Yue Qi's anticipation surged.
Above, golden light streaked like a meteor, closing in on Yu Guo.
Satisfied with her speed, Nam Cung Uyển Dung's eyes turned icy, locking onto Yu Guo with tangible killing intent. She thought, "He wants you dead."
Her delicate hands rose, metal spiritual power surging.
Eight razor-sharp golden needles, brimming with lethal intent, formed.
"Golden Needle Dance!"
Without mercy, she unleashed the needles.
"What in the heavens?" Yu Guo felt madness creeping in. He was so close to escape, yet another woman pursued him—absurd!
"He has a living storage space!" Yu Guo, no stranger to the Beast Taming War Sect's knowledge, grasped the key.
Seeing the needles, he knew he had to fight.
His Peak Spirit Transformation power erupted. Despite her beauty, he roared, "Same realm, you can't stop me!"
Flame spiritual power surged—a fire cultivator.
"Peak Mysterious-Grade Technique – Great Fireball!"
He spewed a massive fireball at the needles.
WHOOSH!
To his horror, the needles pierced his fireball effortlessly.
Panicked, Yu Guo raised an arm to block.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The needles stabbed through, embedding in his arm, pain searing the heavens. His other hand tried to pull them out, but they were stuck, barbed with countless tiny spikes.
Unseen, the needles were tethered to transparent threads, their ends in Nam Cung Uyển Dung's hands.
With a cold smile, she tugged.
SPLAT!
Yu Guo's arm was torn off like a doll's, blood spraying.
"AAAAH! Such vicious methods!" Yu Guo screamed, staring at his arm, suspended by threads, nearly fainting.
This gentle-looking woman was terrifying.
"You're too weak," Nam Cung Uyển Dung said softly, done with games.
Her eyes chilled, lips parting, "Imperial Needle Six Killing Scripture – Chain Slaughter!"
Her hands danced, metal spiritual power surging, conjuring countless needles in a relentless stream.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
In a breath, thousands of needles filled the sky, each brimming with killing intent.
Yu Guo paled, scalp numb. The thought of countless needles piercing him was horrifying.
"If I die, you're coming with me!" Knowing escape was impossible, his dantian swelled, intent on self-detonation.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Needles pierced every cell, every pore, as his body continued to expand.
Pain overwhelmed Yu Guo, his senses numbing, driven by one thought: "I must self-detonate, take her with me."
Cackling maniacally, his face twisted, "Die with me, little beauty!"
His grin froze.
Countless transparent threads appeared in Nam Cung Uyển Dung's hands, linked to the needles in his body.
Dread consumed him, but before he could scream, she pulled.
RIP! RIP! RIP!
Yu Guo's body tore apart like rotten cloth, flesh and blood scattering across the sky.
A gruesome scene, indescribable.
Plop! Plop!
His organs, skull, and bones fell, intact, his flesh completely shredded.
With a thought, the threads vanished. Nam Cung Uyển Dung turned, flying to Lan An.
She never glanced at the carnage she caused, her heart unmoved.
Raised amid the Nam Cung Clan's deceit, her resolve was ironclad. She'd lacked only suitable techniques, resources, and a stage to shine. Lan An gave her freedom, the perfect platform. Her only duty was not to disappoint him.
"Vicious! Cruel!" the elder screamed, maddened by his disciples' gruesome deaths.
Regret surged. If they hadn't coveted the Extreme Ice Demon Monarch's treasures, they'd be alive.
But in the brutal cultivation world, there was no medicine for regret.
"Distracted while fighting me?" Yan Yue Qi snapped, her Thunder Emperor Scepter striking.
The elder gritted his teeth, facing a Peak Void Refinement cultivator more terrifying than any he'd met.
Elsewhere, the Earth Prime Shark, cunningly using its earth-burrowing ability, vanished after each failed ambush.
SNAP!
Another bite from below, countered by Lan An's Savage Star Fist, forced it back underground.
Growing impatient, Lan An sneered. An ancient, mysterious bell appeared in his hand.
The Motionless Bell.
Its chime echoed across the mountain range, terrifying countless beasts.
Without a word, Lan An descended, aiming the bell's mouth at the ground.
The Earth Prime Shark, swimming below, shuddered, an ominous feeling gripping it.
DING! DING! DING!
The bell rang, the mountains quaking…