Cultivation Begins with Skill Points
Chapter 312 - 311: Blood Demon Array

Chapter 312: Chapter 311: Blood Demon Array

With his eyes tightly closed, there was no sign of Divine Light, yet every speck of dust in the secret chamber was reflected in Zhong Lin’s mind, as if the texture of the stone beneath his feet was also crystal clear, something absolutely unparalleled to the naked eye.

With a thought, his Divine Thought continued to probe towards the Dragon-breaking Stone, and in the blink of an eye, it penetrated the Stone Gate several feet away.

"Divine Thought covers a range of ten feet, not bad."

Zhong Lin slowly opened his eyes, satisfaction written all over his gaze.

After breaking through the Yunling Realm, many mystical phenomena began to manifest, such as the Divine Thought, which was the most direct manifestation, blending as if it were the five senses: visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, and cognitive.

The sensing range of the Early Stage of Yunling Realm is ten feet, which means that within ten feet, nothing can escape Zhong Lin’s notice. If used in battle, it gives an innate advantage of being undefeated, as if he had eyes on the back of his head compared to others.

"It increasingly feels like Immortal Cultivation, or perhaps, myriad paths lead to the same destination."

Zhong Lin touched his chin, muttering to himself.

"Next, I need to forge my Lifebound Spiritual Artifact, then consume it into the Soul Palace and nurture it with Soul Power. I must think carefully about what weapons to use in the future."

In high spirits, Zhong Lin didn’t ponder for long. With a flick of his finger, he triggered the mechanism, and as the Dragon-breaking Stone rose, strands of sunlight poured in.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Zhong Lin’s face changed, and he strode out of the secret chamber, looking up at the sky.

What should have been a blue sky was now shrouded in a blood cloud, like a giant overturned bowl, enveloping the entire Seven Stars Sect.

"What’s happening?"

Zhong Lin looked bewildered at the blood-colored Light Shield above, wondering how the sky changed color after his seclusion.

With a step, he soared into the sky, reaching that light barrier in an instant.

A wisp of Sword Qi shot from his fingertips, hitting the light barrier heavily. The barrier trembled, shattering the Sword Qi but remaining unchanged itself.

"This..."

Zhong Lin’s expression finally changed, a feeling of conspiracy rising in his heart.

From afar came screams of misery, and further an intense stench of blood wafted from Golden Square Mountain.

"Not good, junior brother."

Zhong Lin’s face changed drastically, quickly flying towards Golden Square Mountain.

Before getting close, the pungent smell of blood rushed into his nostrils, provoking a nauseating urge.

When Zhong Lin arrived at the Golden Palace, he was greeted by all kinds of corpses, with rivers of concentrated blood flowing—a stench of blood emanating from here.

What shocked Zhong Lin most was the identity of these corpses; some were disciples of the Seven Stars Sect, while others were people from various island forces who came to pay their respects. Now, all were slain, regardless of force or status.

Rumble!

"Hahaha, I didn’t expect you, little rat, to hide in my Seven Stars Sect. Truly got everything without much effort."

"Hmph! Feng Lan Sword Lord, I didn’t expect you to practice Evil Techniques, attempting to break through with Demon Technique. Aren’t you afraid the Heavenly Sword Sacred Land will kill you?"

Zhong Lin raised his head gravely to see two figures standing above, one of whom was the supposedly "deceased" Feng Lan Sword Lord.

The other wore a black robe, looked utterly ordinary, and his Cultivation was merely at the Yunling Realm, yet he held a mystical black iron stick, from which a violent aura emanated.

"Mystic Sky Stick? Is it that thief?"

Although Zhong Lin had never seen this black iron stick, it was famously known as the source of the conflict between the Luoxing Islands and the Sea Ape tribe—the Mystic Sky Stick.

Several years ago, a thief intruded into the Sea Ape tribe’s territory, killing many Sea Ape tribe experts, then stole the heirloom treasure, the Mystical Artifact Mystic Sky Stick, from their forbidden area.

This incited a war between the Sea Ape tribe and the Luoxing Island martial artists. In a battle at Sea Harbor, although the Sea Ape tribe was annihilated, the Luoxing Islands suffered heavy losses too.

After the war, the treasure-stealing thief vanished, and the Mystic Sky Stick disappeared without a trace. It was assumed the thief had left the Luoxing Islands, yet who would have thought he remained and even came to the Seven Stars Sect.

In mid-air, Feng Lan Sword Lord suddenly took a step forward.

Rumble!

An imposing aura swept across like something tangible, shaking the eight directions, a palm strike aimed at the treasure-stealing thief.

Boom!

Azure Spiritual Origin surged, sweeping the air like tidal waves, forming a ten-foot giant hand.

"Well met."

That treasure-stealing thief showed no fear, raising the Mystic Sky Stick in his hand to strike into the void.

Rumble!

The gigantic palm and iron stick collided, instantly tearing the air apart for miles around, the space gently shaking, layer upon layer rippling outwards.

The ground rocked, the earth cracked.

It was dreadfully unimaginable.

"It’s truly a Mystical Artifact, possessing such power. Again."

Feng Lan Sword Lord gazed at a Yunling Realm martial artist daring to wield such disdain and oppose him, eyes gleaming with greed.

"I’m not afraid of you."

The treasure-stealing thief also showed a malicious grin, using the power of the Mystic Sky Stick not to advance but to retreat.

In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged hundreds of blows, the fierce power rocking the entire Seven Stars Sect’s sea domain, surging incessantly. Were it not for the cover overhead, it might have caused a massive tsunami.

Zhong Lin quickly dashed across Golden Square Mountain, his Divine Thought sweeping around until he found Shi Yunyi’s position, where not only he but even Wan Pu and others were.

However, each one was in poor condition, some dead, some wounded, all showing faces of despair.

"Elder Zhong."

"Senior brother."

Seeing Zhong Lin’s arrival, the two expressed joy, calling out aloud, while Wan Pu looked at Shi Yunyi with a puzzled gaze.

"Elder Zhong, it’s good that you’re unharmed."

Wan Pu looked at Zhong Lin with surprise and joy.

"Wan Pu, what’s going on? How did Feng Lan Sword Lord resurrect? And what is that blood shield above?"

Zhong Lin had numerous questions; it was supposedly just two days of seclusion, yet outside seemed entirely turned upside down.

Wan Pu showed a bitter expression and said, "A conspiracy, it was all a conspiracy. Feng Lan Sword Lord didn’t die; his supposed death was to lure us all here. Elder, your suspicions were correct."

"Explain in detail."

Wan Pu took a deep breath and quickly said, "Feng Lan Sword Lord faked his death to gather the strong from Luoxing Islands, intending to refine us all with the Blood Demon Array to break through the Xuandan Realm."

At these words, Zhong Lin also showed shock, realizing he always thought Feng Lan Sword Lord’s demise was suspicious. Who knew everything was awaiting here, intending to capture all Luoxing Islands’ experts in one fell swoop, aiming to break through using the Demon Array.

Feng Lan Sword Lord’s Cultivation was at the half-step Xuandan Realm. A so-called half-step Xuandan refers to a failure to break through the Xuandan Realm due to the Imperfect Trinity—essence, qi, spirit—though allowing one to progress somewhat by condensing a Void Pill.

The Xuandan Realm is known as the foundation of Martial Arts, the embryonic form of the Dao; breaking through is exceedingly difficult, requiring the Trinity of essence, qi, spirit to be perfect. The so-called half-step means insufficient foundation, only condensing a Void Pill, not a true Xuandan, yet a tier above the Transcendent Realm.