"Big Brother," the second brother steadied his breath before speaking. "That Yu Lin is among the group. I think he's trying to send us a message, but he hasn't found the chance yet."
Yu Lin.
The three brothers fixed their gaze on Yu Lin within the water screen. His expression was visibly anxious. His fingers twitched slightly. Was that... a signal for them to leave immediately?
The black-faced man frowned.
The Sacred Flower had already taken deep root in Luohua Mountain. How could they just walk away now?
Even if those people were disciples of a Holy Land, they had no choice but to fight it out.
"Too many of them gathered together, it's hard to act. We'll need to break them apart first," the black-faced man said coldly. "Separate them one by one."
"They're about to step into the array's range. Once they enter, I'll activate the trap. We'll split them up individually. First, we deal with the Holy Land disciples—once they're gone, the rest pose no threat. The ones near Yu Lin seem to be from Yuehua Sect. Holy Land disciples never lower themselves to collaborate with others. These Yuehua Sect members were probably just brought in to guide the way. Their cultivation is weak. Third Brother, you handle them. Second Brother and I will take care of the Holy Land disciples."
"Got it," the third brother let out a breath of relief. Facing a Holy Land disciple still made him nervous.
"Go. Everyone, take your positions," the black-faced man said, a glint of cruelty in his eyes.
He didn't want to go up against disciples of a major sect either, but they'd left him no choice.
As long as they killed these people and offered their flesh and blood to the Sacred Flower, the flower would finally mature. Once it did, they'd take it and leave. As long as they joined Xuedao Sect, they wouldn't have to fear anyone anymore.
So what if there were four Holy Lands?
In this world, it was the demon race that ruled now, and the heretical paths ran rampant.
They were just pursuing greater power, nothing more.
The group continued their ascent.
When they neared the summit, massive stone walls suddenly rose before them, splitting the group into smaller clusters.
Yun Jin, Yu Songnian, and Jin Yu ended up together.
The others were also separated into groups of two or three, cut off by the stone walls.
From above came a cold, vicious voice: "Since you've come courting death, don't blame us for being ruthless. I've long wanted to see what the disciples of a Holy Land are really made of."
The black-faced man had deliberately isolated Duan Yiwei.
He had already pinpointed Duan Yiwei's position. With a flick of his hand, a golden wheel shot from his palm, hurtling toward Duan Yiwei.
The black-faced man reminded himself—this was a disciple of Qingxiao Pavilion. But he himself was already at the Unity stage, just a step away from Tribulation. No matter how strong Duan Yiwei was, with this gap in cultivation, there was no way he could match him.
Duan Yiwei merely sneered.
If this had been a proper Unity stage cultivator, he might have had some reservations.
Unfortunately—
The man's spiritual energy was floating and unstable, clearly the result of forced elevation through external means.
This so-called Unity stage was a false one.
"As expected, a practitioner of the heretical path," Duan Yiwei murmured, then raised his fingers and casually caught the golden wheel between them.
The black-faced man's heart leapt with glee.
That golden wheel was his lifebound weapon, refined with all his spiritual power over hundreds of years.
This fool dared to grab it barehanded—he was asking to die.
The black-faced man could already picture the scene of Duan Yiwei's head being lopped off.
But the next instant—
The golden wheel stopped, completely still between Duan Yiwei's fingers.
His fingertips flashed with silver light, suddenly gleaming and unbreakable.
The wheel didn't move at all.
The black-faced man's expression darkened.
Impossible.
He was a whole major realm higher, and this was a full-force strike. Yet it had been stopped so effortlessly?
"Here, take it back," Duan Yiwei raised a brow and flung the wheel back at him.
Instinctively, the black-faced man tried to retrieve it.
But in that moment, the golden wheel spun out of control. Not only did it resist his command, it suddenly erupted with terrifying power. Completely unguarded, the golden wheel slashed clean through the black-faced man's neck. His Yuányīng fled from his shattered skull, desperately trying to escape. But it was too late. The frenzied wheel ground it into dust.
The black-faced man—dead, body and soul.
Yun Jin narrowed her eyes as she watched the scene unfold in the sky.
So this was a disciple of a Holy Land.
No wonder they dared to claim that everyone outside the Holy Lands were mere ants.
The difference in combat ability was a chasm.
Jin Yu arched a brow and said coolly, "He practiced a heretical technique. His spiritual energy was forcibly raised and unstable, which is why Duan Yiwei could kill him so easily. If he had truly cultivated up to the Unity stage, even Duan Yiwei would not have had such an easy time."
Yun Jin nodded, her smile sweet. "Still, Senior Brother Jin is way more impressive than that guy."
Jin Yu chuckled softly. This little Junior Sister really did know how to talk.
"Big Brother!"
From the sky, the remaining two attackers screamed in fury as they saw the black-faced man fall. They moved to strike.
Jin Yu snorted, raising his sword.
Golden light flared. In a flash, the other two men were reduced to dust.
Only their Yuányīng remained, drifting helplessly in the air.
They stared in horror at the group below.
So this was what Holy Land disciples were capable of?
Even cultivators a whole major realm above them were crushed so easily?
"Senior Brother Jin, keep their Yuányīng for now. We'll need to question them later," Yun Jin quickly said.
Jin Yu nodded, producing a porcelain bottle and sealing the two Nascent Souls inside.
Then—
No one hid their cultivation anymore. A wave of terrifying auras erupted into the air. Inside the jade bottle, the two Yuányīng trembled uncontrollably.
What was happening?
Moments ago, they'd only sensed Divine Transformation-level auras.
But now—
Unity stage. Tribulation stage. Even Mahayana stage auras—dozens of them burst out at once.
In their hearts, they screamed in despair.
What the hell is this?
This kind of lineup could take out an entire sect of the heretical path. Why use it on us?
Wasn't this massive overkill?
As the two Yuányīng looked on in hopeless silence—
The Yuehua Sect elites began unleashing their spells, demolishing every last hidden formation on Luohua Mountain.
Then—
Following the lingering aura, they found a hidden cave. They followed the path deep inside, only to discover a massive chamber at the end.
Far larger than it appeared from the outside.
In its center stood a monstrous flower.
Its stalk was as thick as the combined waists of four or five grown men.
Its height reached all the way to the cave ceiling—easily over ten meters tall.
But it wasn't rooted in soil.
It grew from a blood-colored lake.
Within the lake floated countless corpses, some bloated and drifting, some reduced to bone, others missing entire halves of flesh—some just a single head remained. The scene was ghastly and horrifying.