Your Spell Version is Too Low!

He watched as the Dao Foundation within his Purple Mansion—the vessel for his hopes from centuries of cultivation—was assaulted from both within and without.

It finally let out an unbearable, piercing sound like shattering glass and began to disintegrate piece by piece.

The last glimmer of reason in Wu Yushan’s eyes was completely extinguished, replaced by the vicious madness of a man with no way out.

His Dao Foundation was shattering. His path to survival, severed!

A century of arduous cultivation had gone down the drain, his dream of Foundation Establishment reduced to dust.

He was even about to lose his life in this desolate, ruined city.

Endless resentment and despair erupted from within him.

"You won’t let me live... so you can be buried with me!"

Wu Yushan let out a crazed roar, the muscles on his face twisting until his expression was as demonic as a ghost’s.

In the next instant, he completely relinquished control of his Dao Foundation.

He then actively began to guide and channel all the chaotic, violent power that remained in his crumbling Dao Foundation, as well as the energy generated by the detonation of Situ Huaji’s tyrannical intent.

"BZZZZZZ—!!!"

Instantly, countless streams of purplish-black light, containing shattered Daoist Intent and violent Demonic Qi, erupted from his seven orifices like an out-of-control volcano.

His body swelled dramatically, like an inflating balloon.

Twisted veins bulged on the surface of his skin, and countless distorted Demon Patterns appeared, emitting a terrifying, destructive aura.

He was going to self-detonate his Dao Foundation!

He would use his own body as a catalyst to detonate the "Keystones" that a Great Perfection Qi Refining Cultivator builds over a lifetime, along with the invading, foreign Demonic Qi and tyrannical intent.

He would drag the man before him, the one who had destroyed everything he had...

...down with him in mutual destruction.

However, faced with a terrifying scene that would have sent any other Qi Refining Cultivator’s soul scattering as they fled for their life...

...Qi Yun’s reaction was completely beyond Wu Yushan’s expectations.

He didn’t retreat. He advanced!

His figure flashed like a phantom, closing the distance to Wu Yushan in the blink of an eye!

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

Four streams of black Abyssal Iron Sand instantly condensed into sharp steel spikes as thick as a child’s arm. With a piercing whistle, they accurately impaled the joints of Wu Yushan’s four limbs.

The powerful impact sent his body flying backward.

THUD! He was pinned fast to a partially collapsed wall behind him!

The intense pain caused Wu Yushan’s swelling body to stiffen for a moment.

The self-detonation process faltered for an instant.

And in that fleeting moment, Qi Yun reached out, his five fingers curled like a claw. A strange power gathered in his palm as he slammed it onto Wu Yushan’s Dantian Purple Mansion.

’Refine!’

This was the source of Qi Yun’s confidence, the reason he dared to advance instead of retreat!

The moment Wu Yushan completely gave up control of his Dao Foundation, a familiar, immense throbbing erupted from his body.

’Flee?’

’The power of a Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator self-detonating their Dao Foundation... you didn’t need to be a genius to imagine how terrifying that would be.’

’The blast radius would far exceed the limits of my Escape Technique.’ 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

’There was no time to get away!’

’The only chance of survival was to seek fortune in the jaws of danger!’

’He had to forcibly refine the Dao Foundation before it could fully detonate.’

’It was the only way to remove the fuel from the fire and dismantle the self-detonation at its source.’

’Go big or go home!’

And in fact, Qi Yun’s gamble paid off!

The instant his palm pressed against Wu Yushan’s Dantian, the Magic Technique Panel in his Sea of Consciousness flared with brilliant light!

The Magic Technique Panel’s incomparably powerful Refining Divine Anomalies ability instantly shot through his palm, tyrannically invading Wu Yushan’s collapsing Purple Mansion!

This power ignored the raging Demonic Qi and the turbulent, berserk Daoist Intent.

It precisely locked onto the core of the Dao Foundation—the part that was disintegrating yet still contained the Daoist Intent from Wu Yushan’s century of arduous cultivation.

Suppress!

It was as if an invisible, giant hand had forcefully clamped down on the "volcano" that was about to erupt!

The panel’s Refining Divine Anomalies operated with unprecedented intensity, forcibly stabilizing the nearly-exploding Dao Foundation before calmly beginning to sort through it.

Like a great whale swallowing the ocean, it began to continuously extract the most fundamental and immense Daoist Intent within!

"Ugh...?!"

Wu Yushan, who had been reveling in the impending release of self-detonation and his resolve for mutual destruction, suddenly froze.

He clearly felt that terrifying power—the one he had been guiding, about to be completely unleashed to destroy everything—

had somehow... been forcefully "held down"?

And now, it was being frantically extracted and stripped away at a speed he couldn’t comprehend.

’How is this possible?!’

How could a mere Junior Cultivator at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer possibly suppress the self-detonation of his shattered Dao Foundation?!

The endless madness receded like a tide, replaced by a bone-deep chill and incredulous terror.

He struggled to lift his head, looking at the cold, indifferent face of Qi Yun, who was mere inches away. His voice trembled violently with extreme horror.

"Who... Who in the world are you?!"

’Such a heaven-defying technique, to forcibly suppress and refine another’s Dao Foundation...’

’This is absolutely not something a Qi Refining Cultivator could do!’

’Even a Foundation Establishment Master, when faced with a Dao Foundation self-detonating in this state, would most likely choose to temporarily retreat.’

In the next second, an absurd yet seemingly logical thought exploded in his mind like a clap of thunder!

"You... You’re a reincarnated Master!?" Wu Yushan’s tone was filled with a despair that bordered on certainty.

Only those engaged in "Reincarnation Cultivation"—those who had once reached profound Realms and possessed incredible foundations and Secret Skills—could possibly display such inconceivable techniques at a lower Realm.

He hadn’t lost. Or rather, he hadn’t lost to a cultivator at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

He had lost to a deeply hidden old monster who possessed the perspective and methods of a Master.

At this thought, a bleak smile spread across Wu Yushan’s face. The last trace of indignation in his eyes faded into ashen resignation.

"My defeat wasn’t unjust... not unjust at all..." he murmured, completely abandoning all resistance. He could no longer even feel the pain of being nailed to the wall.

To lose to a "reincarnated Master."

It seemed... not so hard to accept.

’Not unjust? You got royally screwed...’

Qi Yun gave Wu Yushan—who had completely given up struggling, convinced he had uncovered the "truth"—a strange look, snarking internally.

But he didn’t say anything to correct the misunderstanding.

After all, a willingly compliant "experience pack" that had given up all resistance...

...was far easier to handle than a madman who might have an emotional breakdown and try to pull some other trick.

With that, he stopped letting his mind wander and focused fully on pushing his Magic Technique Panel to accelerate the Refinement of this hard-won, "rich nutrient" of the Qi Refining Great Perfection Level.

A torrent of immense Daoist Intent flooded into his body.

The progress bar on the Magic Technique Panel shot up rapidly.

As his Dao Foundation was continuously refined, Wu Yushan’s aura rapidly faded.

Finally, his head lolled to one side, the light in his eyes vanished completely, and his life was extinguished.

A Great Perfection Qi Refining Cultivator, once a commanding figure, had perished bleakly in this nameless, ruined city, in a manner he himself considered "not unjust."

Noticing Wu Yushan’s death, Qi Yun formed a hand seal for a Spell.

Eighty-one White Bone Skeletons flew out in unison. They opened their mouths wide and, facing the Great Perfection Qi Refining Cultivator, collectively cast [Devouring Essence].

A Great Perfection Qi Refining Cultivator, even one riddled with wounds and with less than a tenth of his power remaining, was still a massive Treasure Mountain.

[Magic Technique Auto-Update Complete. This is a major version update. Magic Technique reworked!]

[Skull Curse has been removed.]

[New Magic Technique: Nether Spring Bone Technique]

[Nether Spring Bone Technique: The Netherworld is the final destination for all living things. Take the malevolent energy of the Nine Springs, refine the unyielding will of ten thousand spirits, and use death to command life!]

Qi Yun’s eyes glinted as he stared at the brand-new Magic Technique that had appeared on his panel.

’What a pity.’

’Wu Yushan’s Dao Foundation contained four types of incomparably immense Daoist Intent.’

’But I didn’t have the corresponding Magic Techniques to refine three of them.’

’Nearly seventy percent of the Daoist Intent went to waste.’

After a slight sigh, Qi Yun began to digest the information about the [Nether Spring Bone Technique], which had been transformed and born anew from the [Skull Curse].

As the vast and profound information from his Sea of Consciousness gradually integrated into his being, a flash of understanding surfaced in Qi Yun’s mind.

First, this brand-new Magic Technique had perfectly inherited all the abilities of the original [Skull Curse].

Controlling White Bone Skeletons, spewing Corpse Poisoning Yin Fire, activating the [Devouring Essence] anomaly to plunder Blood Essence, casting [Bone Corpse Explosion], and even using the skeletons for [Death Replacement] at critical moments...

Not only were all these abilities preserved, but their power and flexibility had also been significantly enhanced.

But what truly made Qi Yun’s eyes light up was the core of this new Magic Technique.

Refining the Nether Spring!

Using death to command life!

The White Bone Skeletons created by the [Nether Spring Bone Technique] would no longer be static, inanimate objects.

As they devoured more and more Blood Essence Qi, they would gradually evolve.

Their bones would become tougher, the Corpse Poisoning Yin Fire they contained would grow fiercer, their spiritual nature would heighten, and they might even develop unique abilities.

Just like living creatures, they now possessed the potential for growth.

Most importantly, the direction and intensity of this evolution were not fixed. They would vary depending on the characteristics of the targets whose Blood Essence was devoured.

Devour a Cultivator who practices Fire Skills, and the White Bone Skeletons’ Corpse Poisoning Yin Fire would become more potent.

Devour a Poison Dao expert, and the skeletons’ corpse poison might become more insidious and harder to defend against.

Devour a Body Cultivator, and the skeletons’ bone strength could increase dramatically.

Devour a Soul Cultivator, and the skeletons might even evolve the ability to interfere with the Divine Soul...

This meant that his Bone Army would no longer be uniform cannon fodder in the future. They could be cultivated into specialized Terror Dao Soldiers.

"What a good Magic Technique!" Even with Qi Yun’s temperament, he couldn’t help but praise it silently in his heart.

The potential of this [Nether Spring Bone Technique] far exceeded his expectations. Its value was immeasurable!

After the elation, a practical problem presented itself.

Qi Yun first flicked his sleeve, storing Wu Yushan’s lifeless corpse in his Storage Magic Bracelet.

Although he had successfully slain a powerful enemy and gained immense benefits, the process had been anything but easy.

While his True Essence had been fully restored thanks to the White Bone Skeletons’ Devouring Essence anomaly...

...the exhaustion and internal shock from the intense Magical Combat remained.

More troublesome was the faint, wrenching pain coming from his internal organs.

It was an internal injury left behind from the repeated impacts and shocks of Wu Yushan’s pure, sinister True Essence.

If his physical body hadn’t been tempered multiple times and protected by the Sand Iron Body Protection, his injuries would likely have been much more severe.

A life-and-death battle with a Great Perfection Qi Refining Cultivator, especially stopping his self-detonation at the last moment—how could that possibly be easy?

Every clash had been fraught with immense risk.

"I must find a safe place as soon as possible to heal my injuries and consolidate my recent gains." Qi Yun took a deep breath, suppressed the discomfort in his body, and scanned the battlefield, which was now a true ruin.

Such intense energy fluctuations had just erupted here; there was no guarantee it wouldn’t attract other prying eyes.

He was in poor condition and was not fit for another fight.

Without further hesitation, Qi Yun’s form flickered, transforming into a wisp of Pure Qi that was even fainter and more difficult to detect than when he arrived. He swiftly departed the shattered ruins, heading for a more hidden mountain stream he remembered, where the Spiritual Qi was relatively peaceful.

...