"This old man believes... since we all harbor murderous intent towards Chen Yuan, why not temporarily join forces? We can act against him directly, while the Wusheng Sect creates disturbances in other prefectures to divert the imperial court's attention."

The imperial court has labeled the Wusheng Sect as a cult, but for these Jianghu martial artists, that's insignificant. As long as there's profit, who cares about such things?

Lin Zhidong's gaze slowly swept across the seated figures as he softly said,

"As for the one who relayed the message, let's leave that to all of you."

Someone among them definitely has connections with the demonic figures of the Wusheng Sect. After he finished speaking, many fell silent, looking at each other, seemingly searching for something.

The one who broke the silence was the Jia-surnamed man who had spoken earlier. He stood up and said,

"Elder Lin, what do you think about hiring assassins from the Seven Killing Hall to intercept and kill Chen Yuan?"

For many people, wanting to kill but having reservations, they would generally hire the Seven Killing Hall to act.

Lin Zhidong said in a low voice,

"I have already contacted the Seven Killing Hall in the past two days."

"What was the result?"

Everyone shifted their gaze to Lin Zhidong.

"After the Seven Killing Hall assessed the situation, they quoted a price of one hundred and fifty Yuan Crystals."

"What?"

"Are the people from the Seven Killing Hall crazy?"

Everyone was shocked and bewildered, their eyes filled with disbelief.

What kind of price is one hundred and fifty Yuan Crystals?

Converted, that's over one million taels of silver!

None of them, even two or three families combined, could come up with that many Yuan Crystals. Even if all the forces present could gather it, it would definitely be a severe blow.

It's true that they each have their own accumulation, but what about the expenses of their sects and clans?

And what about their daily cultivation needs?

They can't possibly exhaust everything just to intercept and kill Chen Yuan, right?

"What makes Chen Yuan worth this price?" Someone asked, puzzled.

Among those present, even Lin Zhidong, the one with the strongest cultivation, wasn't worth one hundred and fifty Yuan Crystals.

Not even one hundred.

"The Seven Killing Hall previously attempted to intercept Chen Yuan, but they failed. They believe that Chen Yuan's strength is likely even more concealed. Coupled with the demonstrated strength of the late Tongxuan stage,

Silver-ranked assassins at the Tongxuan level would only be sending themselves to their deaths, damaging the reputation of the Seven Killing Hall. Therefore, these one hundred and fifty Yuan Crystals are actually for hiring a Golden-ranked assassin at the Dan stage to kill Chen Yuan with a single blow."

That makes sense. Only a Dan stage Grandmaster from the Seven Killing Hall would be worth a hundred Yuan Crystals. It's just unexpected that the Seven Killing Hall would be so cautious about Chen Yuan.

Willing to send a Dan stage Grandmaster to assassinate a Tongxuan mid-stage martial artist.

Just this point alone puts everyone present to shame.

At the same time, they were also shocked by Chen Yuan's strength. After all, he's someone whom even the Seven Killing Hall is so cautious about.

"In addition, the Seven Killing Hall also considered Jiang He's reaction..." Lin Zhidong continued.

No matter what, Jiang He is a state Golden Envoy, a powerful existence at the peak of the Heavenly Dan stage. If such an existence is dissatisfied with the Seven Killing Hall, it could cause significant losses.

At least in Qingzhou, that's the case.

"Therefore, I had to refuse. The price of one hundred and fifty Yuan Crystals is too high. Using that as the price to kill Chen Yuan would be a loss, and Jiang He would likely hold this grudge against us."

"Elder Lin is right. Why would we need more than a hundred Yuan Crystals just to kill Chen Yuan?" Someone agreed.

"Since none of you have any objections to my earlier suggestion, then let's proceed according to the plan and strive to drive this boy out of Tangshan within seven days!"

Lin Zhidong made a final decision.

The people below all nodded.

......

......

Within the Tangshan Prefecture.

In a remote mountain range, a small palace, entirely painted black as ink, was hollowed out. Black-clothed men, wearing long robes and covering their faces, were busy with their tasks.

The ground was covered with many un-dried bloodstains, and a stench filled the air, but the black-clothed men didn't feel disgusted.

Their eyes even flashed with a bloodthirsty light.

The ground was covered with streaks of blood, like the patterns of a formation. The entire palace exuded an aura of evil.

Deep within the palace, a burly middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a blood-red robe. A scar ran down the left side of his face, cutting across the corner of his eye.

In front of him was a blood pool, several meters in size, bubbling and boiling like water being heated, but the blood in the pool was only one-third full.

"Subordinate greets Holy Envoy Yang!"

Behind the middle-aged man, a man in a black robe knelt on the ground to pay his respects.

"What is it?"

The burly man, addressed as Holy Envoy, slightly turned his head and glanced at the man.

"Someone from Tangshan has sent a message. That old fox Lin Zhidong..."

Then, the man repeated everything Lin Zhidong had said in the Blood Sabre Sect that day.

Holy Envoy Yang's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That old Lin is not stupid. He even knows to drag the Holy Sect into this."

"Does the Holy Sect want to..."

"Heh... just a Tongxuan martial artist and these people are already frightened, truly a bunch of trash. Sitting on so many resources in Tangshan Prefecture, they still can't produce a Dan stage Grandmaster.

Go back and tell those guys who cooperate with the Holy Sect that the Holy Sect won't be judged and plotted by them. A mere Tongxuan can be destroyed by the Holy Sect at any time."

Having advanced to the Dan stage for over a year, even though he used unorthodox secret techniques to advance his cultivation, dealing with a Tongxuan martial artist is still easy.

Therefore, Holy Envoy Yang only found it laughable.

"But Elder Yue over there..."

The man kneeling on the ground said hesitantly.

Yue Xinghe had previously told the branches of the Wusheng Sect in Qingzhou to be honest and not to start disputes rashly recently. In the previous battle,

If someone hadn't saved him, he would have died under Jiang He's sword.

Few people knew about that battle, but the people of the Wusheng Sect were aware of it.

"This Holy Envoy will speak to Elder Yue. Chen Yuan directly killed Song Jingang, obviously targeting the Holy Sect. If we give in, wouldn't we be looked down upon?"

Then, Holy Envoy Yang turned his gaze to the blood pool in front of him and said lightly,

"The blood pool is almost dry. It's been nearly a month since the last blood sacrifice. Let's use Chen Yuan's blood to replenish it. The blood pills I need for my recent cultivation are not enough.

I heard that Chen Yuan is a 'Blood Qi Like Dragon' realm existence. It must taste good."

As he spoke, he licked his lips with the tip of his tongue, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

"When will the Holy Sect take action?"

"Don't rush. Let's see what Lin Zhidong does first. If he can really get rid of Chen Yuan, it will save this Holy Envoy the trouble of acting. If he can't, then I will take action."

Holy Envoy Yang said softly.

"Also, don't delay the blood sacrifice. We can't ruin the Holy Sect's plan because of a Chen Yuan. Not a single blood pill from Tangshan can be missing."

"Understood."

"Go..."

Holy Envoy Yang slowly closed his eyes.

Inside the Great Buddha Cave of Tangshan, Chen Yuan was still cultivating diligently.

At this moment, his bare skin was blood-red, as if he had been smeared with blood. He exuded a burning aura, and at the same time, Chen Yuan's cultivation and momentum had increased significantly compared to before.

Inside the jade box in front of him, there were still sixteen Blood Bodhi remaining, shimmering crystal clear.

After a long time, Chen Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, shooting out a sharp light.

Soon,

It's almost reached the limit.

Letting out a breath, a touch of ruthlessness flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes. This time, he would raise his cultivation to the limit he could reach!

Then, he reached out and directly took out six Blood Bodhi from the jade box, swallowing them in one gulp. Such a powerful and terrifying force directly exploded within his body.

His momentum rose steadily, his body swelled, making rumbling sounds.

Tiger and Leopard Thunder!

Chen Yuan's physical body had almost reached the limit of the 'Blood Qi Like Dragon' realm.

Finally, under his ferocity, the power contained in the six Blood Bodhi was converted into Chen Yuan's cultivation. At this moment, he had reached the peak of the Heavenly Yuan stage!

Reaching out, Chen Yuan clenched his right fist, able to clearly feel how strong the power contained within was.

The Blood Bodhi is worthy of being a worldly treasure, with great effects on both the physical body and cultivation.

Just half a day of cultivation saved Chen Yuan half a year of hard cultivation, and his strength skyrocketed!

The peak of the Heavenly Yuan stage is the current limit Chen Yuan can reach. Going further is not as simple as hard cultivation. Otherwise, the Tongxuan stage wouldn't be such a difficult hurdle.

Looking at the Tongxuan experts he had seen, most of them were below the Heavenly Palace realm, and only a few Tongxuan late-stage martial artists also indirectly verified how difficult this hurdle is.

The Heavenly Palace realm, according to records, is located above the Spiritual Platform, representing 'Spirit'.

Understanding the true meaning of martial arts, the spirit in the heart.

These were the words Jiang He said when he instructed him.

He had always kept them in mind.

The three realms of Tongxuan: Heavenly Profound cultivating Qi, Heavenly Yuan cultivating Essence, and Heavenly Palace cultivating Spirit.

And only when Essence, Qi, and Spirit all reach their peak state can one begin to prepare for the formation of the Dan.

So the next step in Chen Yuan's cultivation is to cultivate 'Spirit'.

However, he only vaguely understands this realm now. He knows some of the situation, but he doesn't quite understand which direction to enter from.

He can only slowly explore how to condense the true meaning of martial arts.

Letting out a breath, Chen Yuan discarded some distracting thoughts. There will always be a way, and besides, he has a cheat. Perhaps the next time he encounters Destiny,

It will be when he condenses the true meaning.

The power of surging blood energy within his body, Chen Yuan wanted to try out the power in the cave, but after thinking about it, he thought he should wait until he got out.

He couldn't use it freely here.

There were ten Blood Bodhi left in the jade box. Now that his cultivation has reached its peak, even if it can still grow, it will only grow a little.

It's too wasteful to use Blood Bodhi to improve it.

However, this doesn't mean that this thing is useless. According to records, the Blood Bodhi is a spiritual object for serious injuries, something that can save lives. If it were sold,

It would be worth at least a few Yuan Crystals.

Of course, Chen Yuan would definitely be reluctant to sell it. He doesn't lack Yuan Crystals or silver now, and there are many Yuan Crystals waiting for him to discover outside.

Staring at the Blood Bodhi in the jade box, Chen Yuan's eyes flickered. Entering the Great Buddha Cave is not that simple. You can only enter once a year.

Only when the water floods the knees of the Great Buddha.

Since that's the case, why not explore more?

What if there are more Blood Bodhi deeper in the cave? Wouldn't it be too much of a loss if he left like this?

Thinking of this, Chen Yuan decided to explore deeper to see if he could find treasures that satisfied him.

As soon as he thought of it, Chen Yuan waved his hand and put on his clothes, then took out the night pearl, held it in his hand, and began to go deeper into the cave.

He hadn't gone far when Chen Yuan felt an extremely hot wave sweeping in from the depths. A strange thought flashed in his mind. It is well known that the depths of caves,

Are usually more humid...

Before Chen Yuan could think more, a deafening roar erupted from the depths of the cave. Standing in place, Chen Yuan immediately blocked his ears with Gang Qi, a touch of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Mysterious roar!

Could it be that the thing inside was awakened?

The roar continued, as if an ancient ferocious beast was awakening. Chen Yuan felt as if he had been electrocuted, sensing an aura that even made him tremble.

That aura was much more terrifying than the scenes of Jiang He and others fighting that Chen Yuan had seen before.

The temperature in the cave was rising, and the terrifying roar was still echoing in the depths. Chen Yuan couldn't understand what that existence was, but it was definitely something he could only look up to at present.

Then, the cave suddenly shook violently, as if the ferocious beast had stepped lightly.

Without hesitation, Chen Yuan immediately turned around and rushed out of the Buddha cave at his fastest speed. If he was late, this would be a danger that could cost him his life!

At the same time, in the deepest part of the Buddha cave that Chen Yuan couldn't see, a pair of lantern-sized blood-red eyes opened. A ferocious beast with horns on its head and covered in flames seemed to sense the presence of living people in the Buddha cave.

Stepping with both hooves, the Buddha cave shook violently, and then it opened its mouth and spat out a flame.

The fiery and explosive flames erupted, spreading along the cave towards the outside...

Like a volcanic eruption, the fiery temperature began to melt the things on the ground. Chen Yuan's speed was extremely fast, leaving behind afterimages in the cave.

Now he understood how the bones on the ground came to be. If the mysterious ferocious beast below erupted every time the water flooded the knees of the Great Buddha,

It could indeed burn some of them. Presumably...

The true bodies of those bones must be extraordinary, otherwise, not even bones would be left.

Compared with the speed he had come in, Chen Yuan's current speed had increased dozens of times, erupting with unprecedented power, and he also saw the flames behind him when he turned back.

Rush!

Seeing the light outside, a hint of joy appeared on Chen Yuan's face. The exit now represented a way out. He didn't dare to try to resist the flames head-on.

The aura exuded by the ferocious beast was too strong, and these flames must be extraordinary.

Finally, just as the flames were about to burn Chen Yuan, he jumped out and left the Buddha cave.

But the powerful flames that were spewing behind him seemed to be blocked by some mysterious obstacle and did not come out with him, but gradually extinguished...