Chapter 052: The Earth-Shattering Seal

  Crimson energy filled the air, churning violently above Yang Tian's head. The river of blood and qi condensed into a blazing sun, radiating countless rays of red light. The scorching heat waves surged outward, their intensity several times stronger than before.

  "Why is he using this move again?" Jiang Ling's eyes darkened as he stared at the blazing sun in the sky. The power emanating from it made his heart race—it was far stronger than the previous attack.

  With a swift motion of his hand, Jiang Ling commanded the massive sword shadow in the air. It rose like a divine blade, its overwhelming sword energy roaring as it slashed toward Yang Tian.

  "Break!" Yang Tian's eyes were cold as he threw a punch. The blazing sun rotated in the air, its heat distorting the void as it collided with the sword shadow.

  **Boom!**

  The two forces clashed with a deafening explosion. Countless sword energies and the blazing sun formed a swirling vortex, wreaking havoc in all directions. The ceiling of the chamber cracked, and debris rained down.

  The indestructible sword shadow relentlessly pressed down on the sun, its sharp energy slicing the sun into dozens of fragments. However, a glaring crack began to spread across the sword shadow.

  "Explode!" Yang Tian clenched his fist, and the crumbling sun burst apart, transforming into chains of fire that bound the sword shadow, immobilizing it in the air.

  "You little brat, do you think I'll fall for the same trick again?" Jiang Ling sneered. The trio spat out mouthfuls of essence blood, and the golden swords, which had dimmed, suddenly radiated with renewed brilliance.

  **Hum!**

  The three golden swords hummed like dragons, their energy converging onto the sword shadow. The bound sword shadow trembled, slowly breaking free from the fiery chains.

  **Boom!**

  As energy continued to pour into the sword shadow, Jiang Ling and his companions grew paler, their vitality draining rapidly. The sword shadow broke free from the chains, shaking off the remnants of the fire.

  The two-zhang-tall sword shadow stood in the void, weakened but still formidable. Jiang Ling shouted, "Slash!"

  "It seems I'll have to go all out," Yang Tian muttered, his face pale. He quickly swallowed a handful of pills, and the nearly dried-up river of blood and qi above him began to churn once more.

  "Awu!" Suddenly, Xiao Bai leaped out, his large eyes filled with ferocity as he stared at the sword shadow.

  "Little guy, get back inside!" Yang Tian reached out to grab Xiao Bai, but the little creature darted forward.

  "Whoosh!" Xiao Bai disappeared from sight, reappearing in front of the sword shadow. He opened his mouth and spat out a cloud of white mist, which enveloped the sword shadow.

  **Sizzle...**

  The white mist slowed the sword shadow's advance. With each subsequent puff of mist, the sword shadow became increasingly immobilized.

  After completing this feat, Xiao Bai's eyes showed signs of exhaustion as he leaped back onto Yang Tian's shoulder.

  "This little guy is truly extraordinary," Yang Tian murmured, patting Xiao Bai. His gaze then shifted to the stunned trio, a cold smile forming on his lips.

  "Let's go!" A chill ran down Jiang Ling's spine. The trio spat out more essence blood, their vitality nearly depleted. Facing Yang Tian, who still had strength to spare, they were no match.

  "Trying to run?" Yang Tian sneered. His body shot forward, his physical strength fully unleashed. In a few breaths, he appeared before the trio. "Stay here."

  "You can't kill me! I'm the young master of the Jiang family! Killing me will bring you endless trouble!" Jiang Ling's face was filled with terror. He was young—he didn't want to die.

  "If you kill us, our family elders will track you down through the marks we left. You can keep all the treasures here. Just let us go!" Jiang Yuan warned, his voice trembling with fear.

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  "Heh, I'm not afraid of offending people, especially major families. I'll kill anyone who comes after me," Yang Tian said with a cold, emotionless smile.

  "Attack!" Jiang Ling roared, lunging forward. The other two followed suit.

  "Die!" Yang Tian shook his head slightly and unleashed a series of punches. The trio's vitality rapidly dissipated as blood gushed from the holes in their chests.

  "You'll regret this! The Jiang family will hunt you down!" Jiang Ling screamed. His body turned blood-red and began to swell.

  "Not good!" Yang Tian's pupils contracted as he quickly retreated.

  **Boom!**

  Jiang Ling's body exploded, sending flesh and blood flying in all directions. A black light shot out of the cave.

  Yang Tian was thrown back by the blast, slamming into a rock. His robes were torn to shreds, and a faint cracking sound echoed.

  "Cough, cough..." Yang Tian struggled to his feet, his body covered in scars. He let out a bitter laugh, never expecting Jiang Ling to self-destruct.

  "This is going to be trouble. He must have used some secret technique," Yang Tian muttered, shaking his head as he surveyed the bloody scene. Even his protective robe had been destroyed. He walked over to the three corpses and picked up their spatial rings.

  "The core disciples of the Jiang family must have some good stuff," Yang Tian thought, emptying the contents of the rings onto the ground. The pile of items filled a space of thirty zhang.

  Yang Tian quickly sorted through the items, discarding the useless ones. Among the treasures were twenty thousand mid-grade blood stones and several rare spiritual herbs.

  "What's this?" Yang Tian's attention was drawn to a jade slip. The aura it emitted was ancient and powerful, reminiscent of the energy in this space.

  "The Earth-Shattering Seal!" Yang Tian's eyes lit up with excitement. He had witnessed the power of this technique when Jiang Ling used it. It was a formidable offensive skill, far surpassing his Wind-Splitting Palm.

  "Huh? Why is there only one move?" After briefly scanning the jade slip, Yang Tian realized it only contained the first form of the technique. He searched for the missing parts but found nothing.

  "The first form is already at the peak of the Profound-grade. The subsequent forms must be even stronger," Yang Tian murmured, holding the jade slip. Offensive seals were rare in the cultivation world.

  "Too bad these peak Profound-grade artifacts have been blood-bound. They're useless now. I'll have to find a way to remove the seals later," Yang Tian said, storing the three golden swords. He then headed to the pill chamber, where he had gathered countless spiritual herbs and pill recipes.

  Inside the pill chamber, Yang Tian sat down to recover his energy. Xiao Bai, looking slightly tired, stared at the vast array of ancient pills, occasionally swallowing a few.

  Within his dantian, the nearly depleted river of blood and qi rapidly refilled, fueled by the pure ancient aura. The energy in the river became denser, and his cultivation speed increased severalfold.

  **Boom!**

  After a night of cultivation, the river of blood and qi grew more crystalline, its energy solidifying. The river trembled, showing signs of an impending breakthrough.

  Feeling the restless energy in his dantian, Yang Tian suppressed it and opened his eyes.

  "What exactly happened in ancient times? Why were so many pills refined?" Yang Tian wondered as he packed away the pills. There were tens of thousands of pills here, a testament to the vast reserves of ancient aura that must have existed in ancient sects.

  "Sigh, back then, people directly absorbed ancient aura to cultivate. Now, we rely on pills refined from ancient aura," Yang Tian said, burying the two skeletons. If the boundless cultivation world still had ancient aura to absorb, the number of powerful cultivators would skyrocket.

  "If I could absorb ancient aura every day, my foundation would be incredibly solid," Yang Tian thought as he left the cave. Although he had tens of thousands of pills, the energy required to reach the Martial Warrior realm was immense. These pills wouldn't last long. He needed to find a way to obtain more ancient pills.

  **Boom! Boom!**

  Nearby, the sound of clashing energies and lewd laughter reached Yang Tian's ears. He frowned, recognizing the voices.

  A few miles away, three white-robed youths surrounded a green-robed girl. Their auras were fierce, especially the one holding a folding fan, whose lustful gaze never left the girl.

  The three youths looked disheveled, yet they showed no shame as they encircled the girl, their faces filled with greed.

  The green-robed girl's breathing was labored, her jade-like hands gripping a green sword. Her energy fluctuations were far stronger than the three youths. This was Xing Yun'er.

  "Hand over the inheritance, and I'll make your death quick," said the youth with the folding fan—Huang Hai. They had stumbled upon Xing Yun'er obtaining an inheritance from a skeleton, sparking their greed.

  Inheritances were powerful techniques or knowledge left behind by ancient experts, sealed within orbs. Whenever one appeared, it caused a stir, often leading to fierce battles among major factions.

  "If you want the inheritance, come and take it," Xing Yun'er said, her aura growing stronger. In her left hand was a golden glass orb, radiating immense energy.

  "Big brother, she's from the Thundercloud Sect, and her status isn't low. What should we do?" Huang Hai whispered to his elder brother, Huang Bo, though his eyes burned with desire.

  "So what if she's from the Thundercloud Sect? We're from the Yellow Dragon Valley. Why should we fear her?" Huang Bo's eyes gleamed with malice. Killing her would bring trouble, but the allure of the inheritance clouded their judgment.

  "Don't worry, little beauty. I won't kill you," Huang Hai sneered, lunging forward like a predator. Dark ripples formed in his palm as he attacked.

  **Clang!**

  Xing Yun'er leaped into the air, her green sword glowing with radiant light. She slashed downward, a surge of green energy shooting toward Huang Hai's chest.

  **Boom!**

  Huang Hai's dark energy clashed with the green sword energy. He clenched his fist and punched, meeting the green energy head-on.

  **Bang!**

  The collision sent Huang Hai stumbling back several steps.

  "Attack together! Kill her!" Huang Bo's killing intent flared as he and the third youth charged forward.