Slaughter on the Yellow River

Xiao Chen faced more than a dozen cultivators alone, without the slightest trace of fear. He regarded them with cold indifference, a palpable aura of slaughter coiling around him—a power that could shake the soul itself.

"Young man, you are quite arrogant. Have you heard of the phrase 'dying before your time'?" Two middle-aged cultivators stared at Xiao Chen. Though their words were calm, their killing intent was unmistakable.

Xiao Chen gave a cold laugh. "Enough nonsense. If you want to kill me, then do it."

"No hurry. Fine food is always best savored slowly. It is rare indeed for a practitioner of your level to appear in the Mortal World—a pleasant surprise. We can take our time, kill you slowly." As he spoke, a murderous aura erupted from his body.

The other middle-aged cultivator added grimly, "Practitioners generally should not appear in this world. The Mortal World is primarily inhabited by low-level martial artists. Your appearance surprises me."

Xiao Chen gave a heavy snort, twin beams of cold light shooting from his eyes. He deeply resented these cultivators belittling the Mortal World.

"Do not take offense. Martial arts have indeed been eliminated, forever withdrawn from the stage of history. To this day, pure martial artists have been completely exterminated—not a single one remains."

Xiao Chen said nothing. Their contempt for martial artists made words pointless. Only action could serve as the best answer and proof.

"What a pity. Your aptitude is not bad. If you had once bowed at the gate of cultivation and learned our arts, it would be far superior to those crude body techniques and divine abilities you practice now." Seeing Xiao Chen about to act, one of the middle-aged cultivators stopped him. "Young man, do not be rash. Rashness is a demon..."

"You talk too much!" Xiao Chen no longer wished to hear their arrogant boasts. As he spoke, he flicked a finger. The Lingxi Sword Wave erupted, shooting straight at the two middle-aged men.

The destructive sword waves spread through the sky like ripples. Though they seemed soft, everyone's expression changed. There had just been a bloody precedent: two young cultivators never even had time to scream before they were shattered by the sword waves, their flying swords and bodies pulverized into nothingness in an instant—not even a trace of blood or flesh remained. It was utterly horrific.

Yet, while the crowd found the sword waves terrifying, they also resented Xiao Chen's arrogance for attacking the two middle-aged cultivators simultaneously. It was a naked insult.

One of the middle-aged men snorted. A brilliantly shining purple-gold shield rose from within his body. At first only the size of a palm, it swiftly expanded outside, soon as large as a millstone. Purple-gold light swirled, emitting rays of radiance as it turned, blocking the incoming destructive sword waves.

With a thunderous crash, the purple-gold shield met the undulating sword waves. The mighty collision churned the Yellow River below, sending up towering waves, and a burst of brilliant purple light shot into the sky.

The Lingxi Sword Wave was blocked. The middle-aged cultivator withdrew his purple-gold shield, stopping Xiao Chen. "Do not act so hastily. I have questions for you."

Xiao Chen had only flicked a single finger's worth of sword wave; he now had a sense of their strength and was no longer in a hurry to fight. He coldly regarded the middle-aged cultivator.

"You… are you from the World of Immortality? I find it hard to believe that the Mortal World could produce a practitioner like you." The middle-aged cultivator was clearly fishing for information.

"Why do you ask?" Xiao Chen's killing intent was unabated, but his voice was calm.

"The World of Immortality is a world of practitioners. Any top-tier practitioner is likely from there…" He eyed Xiao Chen suspiciously, as if trying to read his thoughts.

"The World of Immortality is a world of practitioners?" Xiao Chen felt a surge of doubt even as the killing intent burned within him.

"Correct. There are spiritists, spellmasters, later-generation martial artists, qi-refiners... but all paths converge, and in the end, they all walk the road of divine abilities."

Xiao Chen was silent. It seemed that all the various cultivation systems in the World of Immortality could be summed up by the single word "practitioner."

In the World of Immortality, there were no longer any pure martial artists. When later-generation martial artists reached a certain level, they gradually developed divine abilities, deviating from the original path of martial arts. The same was true for spiritists, spellmasters, and qi-refiners—though their initial cultivation systems were different, in the later stages they too evolved their own divine abilities.

Xiao Chen had already encountered spiritists and spellmasters. He was less familiar with qi-refiners but had seen many great figures among them—Tongtian, Primordial, Laozi, Zhunti Daoist, and others.

"Pure martial artists are completely extinct. Practitioners arose as the times demanded," the middle-aged cultivator said, looking at Xiao Chen as if recalling the past. "One could say that practitioners evolved from later martial artists and some weaker cultivation systems."

"If pure martial artists no longer exist, then what of the War Clan?" Xiao Chen asked.

"The War Clan... a very ancient race. They cannot be considered pure martial artists either. They are a transitional race from martial artists to practitioners." As he spoke, the middle-aged cultivator's eyes brightened. "You... you are indeed from the World of Immortality. How else would you know of the War Clan?"

The other middle-aged cultivator laughed coldly. "Capture him. Torture him. We must find out how he came from the World of Immortality to the Mortal World."

"Do you think I am already meat on your chopping block?" Xiao Chen stared at the two men ahead of him.

"You are merely a practitioner. Even if you have mastered some top-tier divine laws, what trouble can you cause against cultivators like us? And this is the Mortal World—only a few low-level martial artists remain. Who can help you now?"

The condescending posture of the two middle-aged cultivators, looking down on the mortal realm, filled Xiao Chen with intense disgust. They seemed to think cultivators were the true kings, and all other cultivation systems were utterly worthless.

"Are you done? Even if I told you I came from the World of Immortality, what then? Only you dozen cultivators have heard it. Do you think you can spread the news?" Xiao Chen's voice was calm but filled with boundless killing intent. "Since you want to kill me, then let me send you on your way."

"Such an arrogant brat! Today I will refine your soul and seal it into a magic artifact I am forging." The cultivator's voice turned vicious.

"You talk too much!" Xiao Chen roared, striking like thunder itself. Now that he had learned what he wanted to know, there was no need to delay any longer.

He pressed his palms together—the Fearless Lion Seal struck with decisive force!

A lion's roar split heaven and earth. The visage of the Golden Lion King appeared, golden divine light surging everywhere. The three-headed furious lion lunged forward, straight at the two middle-aged cultivators.

Both cultivators blanched. This time, Xiao Chen's power seemed far greater than the sword waves from before.

The purple-gold shield was summoned, crashing into the Golden Lion King. At the same time, they spat out their flying swords—one purple, one blue—two blinding bolts of light shooting toward Xiao Chen.

Boom! The purple-gold shield slammed into the Golden Lion King with tremendous force. The Fearless Lion Seal was not broken, but the shield was sent flying.

At the same moment, the two palm-length flying swords reached Xiao Chen, murderous aura pressing in. Purple and blue light shot into the sky, freezing cold and oppressive, even causing snowflakes to drift above the Yellow River.

But just then, golden divine light exploded from Xiao Chen's right hand. A divine halberd appeared in his grasp. Though the halberd was covered in cracks and seemed on the verge of shattering, it still radiated a terrifying fluctuation that made the Yellow River's waters surge back with thousand-foot waves.

The moment he gripped the golden divine halberd, it was as if Xiao Chen's whole body blazed with sky-scraping golden divine fire. He stood bathed in towering flames, his black hair whipping like mad, his eyes cold and piercing. He swept the halberd sideways.

Clang! The golden divine halberd struck the two oncoming flying swords with solid impact. Beyond anyone's expectations, the halberd—looking like it would fall apart—ferociously smashed the two sparkling, translucent, coldly gleaming flying swords into pieces.

The purple and blue flying swords were broken, crashing down from the sky.

Both middle-aged cultivators spat blood and flew backward, staring in disbelief at the broken golden halberd in Xiao Chen's hand.

"What… is that?! It severed our flying swords!"

"This is a martial artist's weapon," Xiao Chen said. "Today, this lowly martial artist will see just how impressive the supposed kings among practitioners—the cultivators—really are." As he spoke, he shot forward with blinding speed.

His Eight Aspect Worlds activated, moving with incredible swiftness. In an instant he appeared before them, sweeping the golden halberd in a devastating arc.

Panicked, the two cultivators sacrificed a purple-gold shield and a blue-light hammer, both thrown at Xiao Chen.

Clang! Clang! The golden halberd split the purple-gold shield in two and cut the blue-light hammer in half. The two artifacts fell, destroyed, into the Yellow River.

Though the golden divine halberd was badly damaged and could hardly display its true power, it was still a peerless weapon of slaughter. In terms of sheer toughness and sharpness, it far surpassed ordinary magical artifacts.

The two middle-aged cultivators retreated again, shouting, "Relying on a treasure like that is no true skill! Dare you fight us on equal terms?"

"I rely on a treasure? Were your flying swords and purple-gold shield not treasures too?" Xiao Chen did not pause. He charged forward, halberd raised, and brought it down in another vertical cleave.

Brilliant divine light blazed skyward. Vast energy fluctuations shattered the void, causing even the dozen cultivators to pale. Only now did they realize that Xiao Chen had been hiding his true strength—he was far more powerful than they had imagined.

The two middle-aged cultivators unleashed all their arts. Beams of divine light shot from their bodies. Flying swords, bronze hammers, dragon-trapping locks—all manner of treasures smashed toward Xiao Chen.

In the blazing golden divine light, Xiao Chen swung the halberd continuously. The sound of clashing rang out without end. The halberd cut through every treasure like a knife through tofu, shattering them all.

In the sky, glowing and sparkling magical artifacts were destroyed one after another, tumbling into the surging Yellow River.

The tens of thousands of slaves on the banks and the nearby villagers were stunned. This man… was too terrifying. He had shattered the "immortal's" treasures and defeated the "immortals" themselves. The Yellow River shore fell into deathly silence.

Su Ying, initially dazed, watched the figure that dominated the sky above the Yellow River. Without a word, two streams of tears traced down her face.

"Is this the king among practitioners? Nothing more than this!" Xiao Chen's contempt was unconcealed. His attitude and tone were a perfect repayment of their earlier arrogance.

"You… if you did not have that golden halberd, we would have cut off your head with our flying swords! Cultivators are invincible at the same level!" The two middle-aged cultivators' faces alternated between pale and red, unwilling to admit defeat.

"Invincible at the same level? Such brazen boasts! There is no one in this world who dares to say that!" Xiao Chen put away the golden halberd. "Even without it, killing you would be as easy as taking something from my pocket. Because… you are not worthy."

Measured by the cultivation levels of the World of Immortality, although the two middle-aged cultivators were also at the demigod realm, they were at least three heavens lower than Xiao Chen. So his claim was not empty.

Seeing him put away the golden halberd, the two cultivators bellowed. They spat out streams of vital energy that condensed into flying swords, shooting at Xiao Chen.

His expression unchanged, Xiao Chen sent out the Lingxi Sword Wave again. This time, it was not just a single finger—both hands vibrated continuously, and terrifying sword waves spread out like ripples.

Silently, the vital-energy flying swords were reduced to nothing. Then, to their horror, the two cultivators found their legs had vanished, dissolved into blood mist.

With two crisp sounds, their skulls split open. Two palm-sized infants shot into the sky.

Those were… infant spirits!

Xiao Chen remembered the ancient legends. When cultivators reached a certain level, they could condense an infant spirit within their body. If the physical body suffered fatal damage, the infant spirit could escape and later seize another body to be reborn. Their cultivation would hardly be affected, as all their power was concentrated in the infant spirit.

"Stop him! Stop him!"

The two fleeing infant spirits saw Xiao Chen rocket into the sky and screamed at the disciples. These cultivators were utterly terrified. In their understanding, cultivators should be superior to martial artists and practitioners. Yet the young man before them, at roughly the same cultivation level, was horrifyingly strange, inspiring fear beyond measure.

Some of the disciples hesitated, but a few still charged at Xiao Chen.

"Whoever blocks me dies!" Xiao Chen roared, and the Lingxi Sword Wave erupted once more with full force.

Bursts of blood mist exploded in the sky. The young men and women, whose cultivation was equivalent to the first or second heaven of Spirit-Treasury, were constantly shattered by the sword waves, their bodies dissolving into bloody haze.

"Is this what cultivators are?" Xiao Chen shouted from the sky. "This is the king among practitioners?"

"When you meet a true cultivation master, you will kneel before him!" The two infant spirits ahead, seeing almost all the disciples annihilated in an instant, cried out in fury.

"Before that happens, let me kill you first." Xiao Chen used the Eight Aspect Worlds to instantly block their path. He deployed the Space Divine Law, crushing one infant spirit with spatial force.

Just as he was about to destroy the second, he suddenly held back. He let it flee, then followed unhurriedly.

The infant spirit flew upstream along the Yellow River, quickly heading toward a Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge under construction hundreds of li away.

When it arrived, it shrieked, "Senior brother, save me!"

A middle-aged cultivator stationed there, leading a group of disciples on patrol, asked in shock, "Junior brother, what happened?"

"Someone is hunting me!"

"What? Could it be those low-level mortal martial artists who want to hold a secret martial gathering on Mount Hua to deal with us?"

"No, it's—" The infant spirit's words were cut short as Xiao Chen caught up with the Eight Aspect Worlds and crushed it on the spot.

"Who are you?" The middle-aged cultivator in the air blocked Xiao Chen's path with his disciples.

"Your executioner." Xiao Chen wasted no words. He needed action now, to set an example for the mortal world's martial artists. He deployed the Space Divine Law.

The legendary Space Cleave!

In one stroke, he cut down all the young disciples from the waist!

Then he cried out again, "Dimensional Slash!"

Spatial power rippled. A blue, deathly arc streaked through the sky. The dimensional slash struck, shattering the middle-aged cultivator's flying sword, then severing his body, and finally pulverizing his infant spirit.

Xiao Chen did not stop. He continued upstream along the Yellow River, heading toward the upper reaches. Today's action would not end here.