Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire

  Inside the treasure cauldron, Qin Wentian was closing his eyes in comprehension. He discovered that these tyrannical innate techniques were, without a doubt, all immortal-ranked arts.

  Qin Wentian saw the runic diagrams of many ancient demons. Among them were the Great Demon Dragon, the sky-sovereign divine bird Great Roc, and the Divine Turtle, Xuan Wu. These diagrams transformed into scenes that played out in his mind.

  He saw a Vermillion Bird spread out its wings of flame, shaking the heavens and earth with a single strike.

  He saw a Shenxiang transform into an unparalleled demonic beast, stomping upon the sky.

  He saw a Kirin warring the heavens, akin to a battle god that exuded an unmatched magnificence.

  He saw Zhenkong roaring, and its cry had the power to destroy entire worlds.

  He saw a Hundun galloping, causing time and space to change. With its open maw, it devoured the stars, possessing a supreme boundless might.

  Demon Dragon, Great Roc, Xuanwu, Divine Statue (Shenxiang), Vermillion Bird, Kirin, Zhenkong and Hundun!

  Carved into the interior of the cauldron, Qin Wentian saw eight supreme and ancient demonic beasts that possessed the power to ravage the heavens and earth. The boundless runes transformed into ultimate Greater-Demon innate arts, all of them immortal-ranked and unparalleled in their power. However, Qin Wentian could barely see the scenes, and didn’t know how to comprehend any of them.

  Maybe he had to reach the realm of immortal kings and emperors; only then would he be able to comprehend this supreme and desolate might. He’d be able to use these Greater-Demon techniques to shake the heavens themselves.

  Qin Wentian entered a state of deep contemplation. Right now, even though his cultivation base was limited, these ultimate Greater-Demon arts still stirred his heart intensely. This was a sacred ancient treasure, and as long as he could comprehend a trace of insight, he would be able to unleash a terrifying might. With his current cultivation, the power he could unleash was merely the tip of the iceberg for immortal-ranked techniques like the Immortal Vanquishing Swordplay, but his attacks were still extremely powerful compared to people of the same realm.

  Qin Wentian continued immersing himself as time flowed by. The formation was still active in his cultivation grounds and no one would be able to interrupt him. After all, the Sacred Luminance in this sacred cauldron was an extreme secret; he had to do things cautiously.

  In the City of Ancient Emperors, the commotion caused by the changes to the Immortal Ascension Rankings had yet to die down, but on the second day, another more shocking piece of news circulated around the city, causing the hearts of everyone to tremble as they felt chills all over.

  Countless experts gathered at the headquarters of the Violet Sect. Their eyes were all focused on a crater in the ground. There lay a headless corpse, with blood stains splashed all over. This body belonged to Zi Daoyang.

  The news was real. Zi Daoyang had died, assassinated by someone in the City of Ancient Emperors.

  After Qin Wentian had defeated him, his ranking dropped from first place. And now he was dead.

  This was none other than Zi Daoyang, the ex #1 ranker on the Immortal Ascension Rankings, the son of the Violet Emperor. He’d actually died in the City of Ancient Emperors, and in such a brutal manner. His head had exploded from an attack, leaving behind only an incomplete corpse. Nobody felt happy that he’d died; they only felt chills run down their spines.

  Who was it that killed Zi Daoyang?

  For a moment, this question flashed through the minds of all the geniuses.

  Who would kill Zi Daoyang?

  Who had the capabilities to kill Zi Daoyang?

  Who dared to kill Zi Daoyang?

  "Was this done by Qin Wentian?" someone asked. Qin Wentian had publicly defeated Zi Daoyang, and the immortal sense of the Violet Emperor was destroyed by the law energy of the City of Ancient Emperors. In addition, Zi Daoyang was heavily injured, only managing to get away with the use of a treasure. Did Qin Wentian pursue him all the way to the Violet Sect to finish him off?

  "Previously, Qin Wentian had even dared to kill Xuan Xing, so it’s natural that he would also dare to kill Zi Daoyang. Coincidentally, his demonic beast companion requires the portion of Zi Daoyang’s inheritance of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor. There’s a possibility that this was done by him." The crowd speculated. Right now, Qin Wentian had the highest probability of being the murderer.

  "There’s a possibility Mo Xie did it too. Mo Xie has always been ruthless and extremely dangerous. He has also obtained a portion of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance, and on the day when Qin Wentian fought Zi Daoyang, Mo Xie didn’t even show up. He might have launched a sneak attack on Zi Daoyang after the latter was injured," someone suggested, bringing up Mo Xie.

  Right now, only Qin Wentian and Mo Xie were above Zi Daoyang in the Immortal Ascension Rankings. Their strength was undoubtedly terrifying. If there was anyone who could kill Zi Daoyang, the two of them were the greatest suspects. And only the two of them would have enough guts to do this. After all, not many people would dare touch a son of the Violet Emperor.

  The news soon circulated to the Qin Sect. Everyone from the Qin Sect felt their hearts shuddering; none of them had expected that Zi Daoyang would be assassinated.

  Very soon, a piece of news started to spread from the Qin Clan. Ever since Qin Wentian had defeated Zi Daoyang, he’d been in closed-door seclusion and hadn’t left the Qin Sect’s headquarters for even half a step. It was basically impossible for him to kill Zi Daoyang. Naturally, there were also people who said that Qin Wentian did kill Zi Daoyang, he just wouldn’t admit to it.

  After Qin Wentian finished his cultivation, he also heard the news from Jun Mengchen and his companions. Upon hearing that Zi Daoyang had been assassinated, Qin Wentian frowned and said, "This must have been done by Mo Xie."

  "How can you be so sure of that?" Nanfeng Yunxi stared at Qin Wentian.

  "Have you forgotten about that last battle in the Underworld Mountains? Mo Xie waited until both our Qin Sect and the Violet Sect had heavy casualties before showing up to reap the benefits. After I crushed the Eastern Sage Immortal Sect, I publicly proclaimed a challenge to Mo Xie, but he didn’t turn up. Zi Daoyang was different. After our battle ended, the strand of his protective immortal sense had already disappeared, and the entire Violet Sect had dispersed. According to what you guys said, Zi Daoyang was alone in the Violet Sect recovering from his injuries. If Mo Xie wished to seize the inheritance, that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him."

  "That’s right, Zi Daoyang was heavily injured because of you. He would have been at a disadvantage if he were dragged into a fight. Mo Xie would never have found a better opportunity than that night to plunder the inheritance." Nanfeng Yunxi agreed with Qin Wentian’s words. Mo Xie was an ambitious and ruthless character. He would never give this chance up. And if she was Mo Xie, she would also have chosen that precise time to act.

  "In that case, Mo Xie is truly dangerous. Although Zi Daoyang was incomparably arrogant, he was still willing to discuss matters with us out in the open," Jun Mengchen added.

  Qin Wentian’s gaze flickered. "Tell Little Rascal to be more cautious. There are only nine portions of the Brahma Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance. If Mo Xie really did kill Zi Daoyang, then he already has three portions. He would never spare Little Rascal."

  In the outside world, people continued to speculate since no one could determine the identity of the killer. After that, the people who headed into the depths of the Underworld Mountains came back feeling disappointed. They had found the Antiquity City, but had no way to enter it. The ancient pathway had already been sealed off, leaving them with no chance at all.

  Time slowly flowed by, and the commotion caused over Zi Daoyang’s death gradually faded away. Qin Wentian and the others were busy cultivating. Nanfeng Yunxi, Qing`er, Jun Mengchen, and the others were busy consolidating their foundations. Now that they were at the ninth-level of Celestial Phenomenon, they could already start making preparations to establish their immortal foundations.

  For their current level, the target of all stellar martial cultivators would be to break through to the immortal realm.

  In the blink of an eye, another two months had passed. During this period of time, Qin Wentian consolidated his cultivation and raised his strength in all other aspects, all while trying to comprehend the ultimate arts of the Greater-Demons from the treasure cauldron. The situation in the City of Ancient Emperors was no longer a time where the Qin Sect were going through their meteoric rise, and it seemed to have returned to the era where Zi Daoyang dominated the City of Ancient Emperors. The only difference was that the Violet Sect had been replaced by the Qin Sect—there were no other powers that could shake their position.

  Qin Wentian was the #1 ranker, while Mo Xie was #2. There was no one else that could threaten their rankings in the City of Ancient Emperors.

  In fact, for the other eight members of the Qin Sect who were in the top eleven, their rankings were as stable as the mountains. It was impossible for them to fight among themselves, and therefore, even if some of them had grown stronger than before, the rankings still wouldn’t change.

  Mo Xie seemed to have disappeared completely. It had been a very long time since anyone had seen him. As for Qin Wentian’s challenge, it seemed like Mo Xie had either ignored it, or he was completely unaware about the matter.

  And even now, people were still speculating whether Zi Daoyang’s killer was Qin Wentian or Mo Xie……

  The night was as heavy as still water.

  In the air, voluminous flowing black robes could be seen. Silently and without any presence, a beam of light shot forth from within the robes, as bright as starlight, shooting towards the Qin Sect. An instant later, the beam of light vanished, and the black robes continued to float forward.

  In a courtyard, Little Rascal was lying on the ground. Thunderous rumbling sounds echoed from his body, and he radiated a brilliant light. It felt like Little Rascal was currently cultivating, and he seemed completely unaware that danger was near.

  Because of the late night, a majority of the Qin Sect’s members were all cultivating. The silent black robes immediately appeared in the sky, blending completely with the night. No one had detected its presence.

  Not far from Little Rascal, Purgatory was there. She seemed to have sensed something, and her eyes opened as she stared at the sky. All of a sudden, a blazing glow filled the sky and she issued out a long screech, instantly startling the entire Qin Sect.

  But at the very same instant, a saber of darkness appeared from within the robes, immediately slashing down with crushing force like a bolt of black lightning.

  "Yi!" Purgatory clawed the ground and layers of runic light abruptly filled the sky as a grand formation was activated, forming a screen of light that enveloped the area. This was something that Qin Wentian had inscribed. After learning that Zi Daoyang had been killed, he made some preparations because he understood how dangerous Mo Xie could be.

  Little Rascal was already awake when Purgatory screeched. His body instantly turned small as he prepared to flee. The terrifying devil saber smashed down on the screen of light, only pausing for a moment before slashing the grand formation apart. And an instant later, a deafening boom sounded out. A crater appeared on the ground where Little Rascal had been just moments ago. Because Little Rascal transformed into his ordinary size, the saber had missed narrowly him. Just a few inches more and Little Rascal would have been beheaded.

  —BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!— Numerous powerful auras gushed forth from the members of the Qin Sect as they all started to rush to Little Rascal’s location. However, the figure in the black robes had already descended. He slashed out with his saber once again as boundless darkness surged forth. A protective talisman appeared in Little Rascal’s paw as runes manifested, transforming into a fearsome golden wall that possessed a terrifying defense, blocking the saber’s strike.

  Qin Wentian and his companions had killed countless experts in the City of Ancient Emperors, and then seized their interspatial rings. Hence, all of them possessed an immense amount of treasure. It was only natural that they’d all have at least one protective treasure on them.

  However, although the protective treasure on Little Rascal was powerful, it was apparently not powerful enough. The golden wall couldn’t endure the slash from the devil saber, and it was directly cleaved apart. With a roar of rage, Little Rascal transformed into a golden-winged great roc, and explosively retreated with a speed akin to lightning!