King of Ten Thousand Years

”What is this?”

Luo Tian was stunned.

The Guiyuan Cloud-Dispelling Hand definitely didn’t have this ability. Without a doubt, this was the power of that jade-green water droplet mark!

ROAR! ROAR! BOOM!

Near the Demon Beast group, the plants had become extremely deadly. Several Demon Beasts were caught off guard and fell into the trap.

The same happened to the Red-striped Giant Tiger. Dozens of vines wrapped around its limbs, while the leaves of nearby plants, sharp as blades, cut bloody gashes all over its body.

The situation, which had been unfavorable for Luo Tian, was instantly reversed!

”Kill!”

Without any hesitation, Luo Tian changed his strategy and took the offensive.

Sharp Sword and Wind!

The Ice Trace Sword, wreathed in a layer of fierce Sword Wind, transformed into a Gale Sword Light. As swift as lightning, he struck out, one slash after another, moving with electrifying speed.

This was the strongest killing move Luo Tian could currently execute, with explosive single-target damage!

But the Red-striped Giant Tiger’s Cultivation was at the Ninth Layer of Spirit Sea Realm. It tore its forelimbs free from the vines’ grasp, and a crimson vortex erupted from its red claws as it swiped out violently.

Luo Tian’s first Sword Light was shattered by the Red-striped Giant Tiger.

’Such hard claws!’

Luo Tian’s follow-up Sword Techniques came from cunning angles, avoiding the Red-striped Giant Tiger’s claws.

PSST!

A stream of Sword Qi slashed across the Red-striped Giant Tiger’s body, leaving behind a wound three inches deep and nearly a meter long. Blood sprayed out.

Aided by his Spiritual Sense, the Red-striped Giant Tiger’s movements seemed to slow down. Combined with Luo Tian’s agile and ferocious Sword Techniques, he managed to suppress the beast for a time.

ROAR!

The Red-striped Giant Tiger flew into a rage. A monstrous, blood-red aura surged from its body, and it exuded the presence of a king among Demon Beasts.

At this moment, the Red-striped Giant Tiger’s combat power was likely equivalent to a Ninth Layer of Spirit Sea Realm expert from among the ten Core Disciples—extremely dangerous.

”Beast, get down!”

But Luo Tian let out a sudden shout, an even more terrifying aura erupting from his body.

He seemed to transform into an Ancient Demon Emperor, his might shaking the heavens as he suppressed all living things!

The enraged Red-striped Giant Tiger was like a fire doused with a large basin of ice water. Its fury was extinguished, its body began to tremble, and its pupils revealed a look of utter terror.

PLOP!

Its hind legs went soft, and it plopped right onto the ground, scared into submission like a little kitten.

”Die!”

Luo Tian used the Demon Emperor Bone to simulate the Demon Emperor’s aura, but his attack didn’t pause for a single moment.

SWISH! BANG!

Three bone-chilling Gale Sword Lights pierced through the Red-striped Giant Tiger’s head like flashes of lightning.

The Red-striped Giant Tiger fell to the ground, dead.

Luo Tian then turned to kill the other Demon Beasts, but he didn’t use the Demon Emperor Bone again.

In the unknown and mysterious Xuankong Mountain, Luo Tian wasn’t sure if using the Demon Emperor Bone repeatedly would attract some kind of danger.

AWOO!

Suddenly, from the grass not far away, a Spirit Level High Tier Dark Cyan Giant Wolf howled and slowly got to its feet, its eyes filled with shock and confusion.

It had just been grievously wounded by a human boy and was on the brink of death, with only a flicker of consciousness remaining.

In its hazy state, it saw a wondrous power emanate from the human boy’s attack, which then merged into its body and rapidly healed its injuries.

’Isn’t this human trying to kill me? Why would he save me?’

The Dark Cyan Giant Wolf stared at Luo Tian, full of doubt.

Luo Tian looked back at the Dark Cyan Giant Wolf, surprised.

’Didn’t I kill this Dark Cyan Giant Wolf before entering these Ancient Ruins?’

’Even if I hadn’t killed it completely, there’s no way this wolf could be up and about so soon.’

Luo Tian swept his Spiritual Sense over it and discovered that the wounds he had inflicted on the wolf earlier were now sixty to seventy percent healed.

”Could it be the power of that mark?”

Luo Tian guessed inwardly.

Without another word, he stabbed out with his sword again.

The Dark Cyan Giant Wolf was still wondering why Luo Tian had saved it, but now it saw him charging over with a ferocious aura, his swordsmanship fierce, violent, and unstoppable!

The Dark Cyan Giant Wolf turned and fled, but it still couldn’t escape, as its injuries hadn’t fully healed.

CHISST!

A Sword Light flashed past, severing one of the Dark Cyan Giant Wolf’s legs.

Several more Sword Lights arrived in an instant, slaying it.

Before it died, the Dark Cyan Giant Wolf stared fixedly at Luo Tian, its mind on the verge of collapse.

’Are you freaking crazy? You healed me just to kill me again!’

A short while later.

Luo Tian had killed all the Demon Beasts.

He stared at the back of his hand. Of the original three water droplet marks, only two remained.

”What a shame to have wasted one here!”

Luo Tian sighed.

However, this had also taught him about the ability of the water droplet marks.

They possessed a powerful life force that could make plants grow wildly and also had an extremely potent healing effect.

It could be a powerful trump card and could even save his life at a critical moment. But unfortunately, he only had two uses left!

SWOOSH!

Luo Tian entered the ruins again and went underground, enveloping the entire Spiritual Pool with his Spiritual Sense.

”The power inside is recovering at an extremely slow pace!”

Luo Tian determined.

’I wonder how long it will take for this Spiritual Pool to fully recover. If I knew, I could come back here and get three more marks.’

But based on his observations, there was an eighty percent chance it was a hopeless endeavor.

”In the Xuankong Mountain trial, the Spiritual Pool is the key!”

Luo Tian contemplated this sentence again.

Obtaining the power of a Spiritual Pool granted a unique ability, which could indeed be of great use.

Whether for finding treasures or for surviving the trial on Xuankong Mountain.

”Is there really only one Spiritual Pool?”

A thought suddenly occurred to Luo Tian.

He believed that possibility was very small!

’If there really are many Spiritual Pools throughout Xuankong Mountain...’

Luo Tian’s fingers moved, performing his Calculation Technique.

A moment later.

Luo Tian stopped his calculations, having reached a conclusion. He smiled and said, ”As I thought, there’s more than one Spiritual Pool on Xuankong Mountain!”

”The more Spiritual Pool power one obtains, the longer one can survive in the Xuankong Mountain trial!”

Luo Tian now understood the meaning behind the phrase, ”In the Xuankong Mountain trial, the Spiritual Pool is the key.”

He pondered for a moment and decided to temporarily abandon his goal of treasure hunting and search for Spiritual Pools instead.

’As long as I seize the opportunities presented by the Spiritual Pools, I’ll have a chance to compete for a high rank in the Xuankong Mountain trial!’

Besides, Xuankong Mountain was full of opportunities, and no one knew where treasures might be hidden.

Calling it ”treasure hunting” was really just wandering around blindly.

Perhaps he could stumble upon other lucky chances while searching for Spiritual Pools.

”More Demon Beasts are coming back!”

Luo Tian sensed something and immediately left the ruins.

He hadn’t gone far.

Luo Tian saw a scorched black Crow not far away, flying and cursing angrily.

”Ugly Bird, what happened just now? Why did those Demon Beasts start chasing you the moment you started singing?”

Luo Tian was indirectly hinting to the Crow that its singing was terrible.

”Er...”

The Crow was a little embarrassed.

It gave a dry cough and said righteously, ”Boy, what nonsense are you spouting? That wasn’t a chase! Those are my fans, driven mad by my Divine Melody! They wanted my autograph, and some even wanted to sleep with me!”

”But I am the number one handsome man of the Ancient Times! I have self-respect! I don’t just sleep with any riffraff!”

”...”

The corner of Luo Tian’s mouth twitched.

’Who was it that slept with dozens of female birds in the Celestial Extreme Mountain Range? He even slept with a Demon King’s favorite concubine, triggering a Beast Tide ahead of schedule.’

”Boy, want to hear a song?”

the Crow asked.

”...Let’s just go. This is a land of treasures; let’s find some first.”

Luo Tian didn’t dare continue the conversation about singing with the Ugly Bird, so he immediately changed the subject.

The man and the bird moved forward quickly.

Along the way, Luo Tian carefully observed his surroundings, not letting any clue related to the Spiritual Pools slip by.

But Xuankong Mountain was vast.

Luo Tian and the Crow traveled for half a day, encountering many dangers. They only found a small amount of Spiritual Materials, with no other opportunities or clues about the Spiritual Pools.

”Let’s rest for a bit!”

Luo Tian stopped for a moment and once again used his Calculation Technique to deduce the locations of other Spiritual Pools.

Soon, he had divined a general direction.

”This way!”

Luo Tian led the Crow and headed south.

In less than half a day, a volcanic region appeared in Luo Tian’s field of vision.

Not a single blade of grass grew here. A scorching hot aura rushed to greet them.

’There’s a Spiritual Pool here?’

Luo Tian wondered.

He discovered many Fire-type Demon Beasts here, and even one or two extremely faint but chillingly dangerous auras!

’This area is very dangerous!’

Luo Tian put on his Shadow Cloak and approached stealthily.

”Hm?”

Luo Tian suddenly looked towards the base of a huge volcano. There was a cave there, and intense fluctuations of Spiritual Qi were pulsing from within.

He moved closer and entered the cave.

The cave led underground. The light was dim, the air temperature rose rapidly, and the walls and floor were scorching hot.

Just then.

CLANG! CLANG! BOOM!

The sounds of a fierce battle came from deep within the cavern.

’Is it a disciple of the Yunxiao Sect?’

Xuankong Mountain was both large and small.

With forty Yunxiao Sect disciples entering at the same time, the probability of encountering one another was high.

Luo Tian became even more cautious.

If he were to run into Han Yuan, it would be very bad for him.

Given the extent of Han Yuan’s hatred for him, he would never let Luo Tian go. And as one of the ten Core Disciples, his strength was nothing to scoff at.

Luo Tian moved forward slowly and soon saw a pool of lava.

On the bank, an elegant woman in white robes leaped back and forth like a swallow. Her hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her eyes were as black as ink, making her look like a beauty from a watercolor painting.

The white-robed woman wielded a black Jade Sword, cleaving out waves of dark, rippling Sword Qi that looked like freely splashed ink.

Fighting the woman were three crimson giant crocodiles. Scalding lava oozed from the gaps between their scales.

These were Molten Rock Crocodiles, extremely vicious and violent Ancient Demon Beasts among the Two-star Demon Beasts.

’One of the ten Core Disciples, the number one beauty of the Upper Sect, Yi Jingwen!’

Luo Tian’s eyes immediately lit up.

In terms of both bearing and appearance, Yi Jingwen ranked in the top three among all the women Luo Tian had ever seen.

The woman’s strength was also extremely formidable.

These three Molten Rock Crocodiles were all at or above the Ninth Layer of Spirit Sea Realm. Two of them had even reached the Peak of Ninth Layer of Spirit Sea Realm.

But even with the three Molten Rock Crocodiles working together, they were being steadily suppressed by Yi Jingwen, who left one shocking wound after another on their bodies.

”That’s... Fire Berries!”

Luo Tian’s gaze fell upon several fruits on the rock wall behind the three Molten Rock Crocodiles!

Fire Berries, Three-star Spiritual Materials, were even beneficial to those in the Earth Element Realm.

This fruit contained an extremely dense Earth Vein Flame Essence, making it immensely valuable to Fire Dao Cultivators. It was the main ingredient for refining several types of Fire Element Spiritual Pills!

In the Ancient Era, some special Secret Techniques could even use this fruit to refine an exceptionally unique Spirit Fire, which served as an auxiliary attack method with astonishing killing power.

For Luo Tian, the pure flame essence contained within the Fire Berries was an excellent and precious material for tempering his Celestial Furnace Treasure Body!

Next to the Fire Berries were several ”Red Fire Flowers,” which were top-grade Two-star Spiritual Materials and also extremely valuable!

Luo Tian was very tempted by these two Spiritual Materials, especially the Fire Berries!

Just then!

GURGLE! GURGLE!

The lava in the pool roiled, and suddenly, two more massive Molten Rock Crocodiles shot out. They opened their crimson maws and spat two blazing hot pillars of molten lava at Yi Jingwen.

In an instant, Yi Jingwen was surrounded by five Molten Rock Crocodiles.