The man in green coughed up blood, his skin marred by countless cracks like fractured porcelain.

With great effort, he raised his head, his disbelieving eyes fixed on Lin Xun in the distance.

He had severely wounded him with just one palm strike!

“Now, do you accept defeat?” Lin Xun looked over from a distance, calm and indifferent as ever.

Breathing heavily, the man in green lowered his head and sighed, “I have to... “

“Where is the other half of the Dao Skyless Spear?” Lin Xun asked directly.

The man in green fell silent for a moment, then he said, “Once I tell you, I will die, am I right?”

Lin Xun did not deny it. “At least you will die quickly and painlessly.”

The man in green’s lips twitched as he said aloud, “To be honest, I have long guessed that this day would come, but I still held a glimmer of hope in my heart… Fine, it doesn’t hurt to tell you, if my memory before awakening my consciousness and intelligence is correct, then the other half of the Dao Skyless Spear should be in the hands of Silver Bat Ghost Emperor on the seventh level.

As he finished speaking, he seemed liberated, collapsing onto the ground. Closing his eyes, he murmured, “Grant me a quick end.”

Fragments of distant memories flashed across his mind.

At that time, he had just awakened his intelligence and consciousness, transformed from a savage and violent fiend spirit into a spirit form with the ability to think, perceive the world and embark on a cultivation path.

At that time, he felt extremely lost. Despite possessing intelligence, his existence was steeped in sin. His body was plagued by disordered dark thoughts, resentment, hatred, and his blood was tainted with filth.

However, he refused to accept the fate of just being an intelligent fiend spirit!

Just as he previously said to Meng Xingzi, if you were born a fiend spirit, must you do evil?

That question had troubled him for endless years.

He was in the Dark Hidden Purgatory, a cage that he could not escape. Here, he could only find himself surrounded by fiend spirits as his companions. If he wanted to distinguish between good and evil, black and white, right and wrong…

It was near impossible!

And now, he was about to meet death, yet he felt a sense of relief like a weight lifted off him.

Good and evil, black and white, right and wrong, all no longer mattered. He felt fortunate that... at the very least...he had truly lived!

Unlike those fiend spirits, who lived aimlessly, knowing neither the purpose of their birth nor the meaning of their death, lost in eternal confusion, unaware of their own identity!

He waited a long time until a sudden realization struck him. Why wasn’t he dead yet?

He couldn’t help but open his eyes, only to be met with the vast, boundless world and the same familiar scenery.

He raised his head with difficulty and looked around, but found that the young man was no longer nearby. Only a jade slip was lying quietly beside him.

He stared at it silently before picking it up. It was a record of an inheritance dao scripture called the Great Treasury Silent Scripture!

The man in green froze as if struck by lightning. He stood there in a daze, body quivering with indescribable excitement.

A long period of time passed. Finally, he got up, then dropped to his knees with utmost respect, bowing three times and kowtowing nine times toward the distant horizon. ℟Ａ𐌽𝔬𝐛Ês̈

From that day on, the Dark Hidden Purgatory lost a fiend spirit overlord and gained a scholar who spent all day in meditation and studying the dao.

Dressed in a humble green attire, his heart was steadfast and his mind was clear.

Countless years later, by chanting the supreme scripture he converted a group of fiend spirits in the Dark Hidden Purgatory. At the heart of all heavens, he was known as Confucian Buddha Emperor.

……

Every sip and every bite, was it not all predetermined?

A long time ago, Thousand Feather Sword Flower, who had just gained intelligence, was rescued by Fangchun Mountain disciple Xue Ya on a rainy night and was given the Hearing Snow Bamboo Sword.

Later, to repay the kindness, Thousand Feather Sword Flower stood up for Lin Xun at the Great Emperor Pass.

A long time ago, Fangchun Mountain disciple Li Xuanwei took notice of a fisherman who grew up by the seaside. The two became friends and the fisherman later became Bo Yazi, the founding ancestor of Xuanji Dao Sect.

A very long time ago…

For cultivators, good karma planted unintentionally might someday flourish into a towering tree!

Karma was a wonder that words could not explain.

……

“Brother Lin, I am sorry for lying to you and doing some stupid things.”

Meng Xingzi flushed with shame. When Lin Xun was fighting earlier, he actually did not run away and was even ready to support Lin Xun.

He did not expect that Lin Xun could single handedly wipe out all the fiend spirits and effortlessly crush the fiend spirit overlord!

“Let’s go, the fourth level is too dangerous.”

Lin Xun waved his hand.

“Brother Lin…”

Meng Xingzi was about to say something, when Lin Xun interrupted, “I have no ill feelings toward you, so you should not be so hard on yourself. I just hope you will not repeat the same mistakes in the future.”

As Lin Xun spoke, he drifted away.

To him, both sparing the life of the man in green and forgiving Meng Xingzi who had deceived him were no big deal.

He was merely acting accordingly.

What he was truly concerned about was where the other half of the Dao Skyless Spear was!

Meng Xingzi stood there in a daze for a good while, then finally let out a sigh, turned around and left.

He knew that the cause of this disaster could be summed up by one word: Greed!

If it was not because he wanted to keep the Dao Skyless Spear in his possession, he would never have lied and deceived Lin Xun.

It was no exaggeration to say that even if Lin Xun killed him at the moment, he had brought it on himself.

……

The fifth level of the Dark Hidden Purgatory.

Lin Xun moved onwards alone, cutting through the thick fiendish qi. The oppressive force was so great that even ordinary quasi-Emperors would struggle to take a single step.

However, the oppressive force dissipated before they neared Lin Xun.

Chi!

A figure, draped in a ragged daoist robe and with jade-green eyes that glinted eerily, strode forward. With a sweep of his rusty, broken halberd, he painted a scene of a mountain of corpses and sea of blood.

It was a fiend spirit equally as formidable as the man in green. Even a third-level quasi-Emperor would struggle to take it down.

Despite that, Lin Xun simply swung out a palm and the figure exploded into many parts.

With a clink, a dazzling Dao Essence Crystal fell and was caught by Lin Xun. Upon closer examination, he found a faint, almost perceptible fragment of Emperor dao law hidden inside the crystal!

“What Bochuan said is right. The further we go, the higher the grade of the Dao Essence Crystals...”

Lin Xun put away the Dao Essence Crystal and continued onwards.

The fifth level was no doubt more dangerous. The weakest of the fiend spirits on this level was comparable to third level supreme quasi-Emperors. Some even radiated a faint aura of the Emperor Stage.

Unfortunately, they were not true Emperors, thus, they stood no chance against Lin Xun.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick.

Lin Xun had traveled thirty thousand miles, eliminated fifty-nine fiend spirits along the way, and collected forty-three Dao Essence Crystals, six of which contained fragments of Emperor dao laws!

Additionally, after killing those fiend spirits, he also acquired many broken treasures, all of which were Emperor treasures from the primeval era.

Unfortunately, all of them were damaged and far from being comparable to true Emperor-grade weapons, so Lin Xun gave them all to Wuque and the Broken Blade spirit as ‘food.’

Huh?

Suddenly, Lin Xun noticed a fierce battle unfolding in the distance.

An exceptionally tall, imposing woman, dressed in black, held up a pair of fiery red curved blades in her hands. Her aura was ferocious and domineering, and she moved like a swift crimson lightning bolt.

Her opponent was a fiend spirit clad in tattered bronze armor, towering ten feet tall, his entire body surrounded in a storm of qi that emitted countless streaks of blood-colored dao light.

The fiend spirit was exceptionally powerful and clearly had awakened its intelligence. In combat, there was no difference between it and a true third-level supreme quasi-Emperor!

However, the woman in black was fiercer still. In the blink of an eye, her pair of blades had slashed through the fiend spirit, filling the world with its agonized howls. Before long, it was defeated and hacked into countless blood-red pieces.

At the same time, a colorful Dao Essence Crystal fell.

With a whistle from the woman in black, her blades retreated gracefully and she collected the Dao Essence Crystal. As she inspected it closer, a pleased smile curved her lips.

Then, she suddenly turned her head, staring into the distance. “Yo, it’s been many years since someone has come to the fifth level.”

As she said that, she waved her hand and said, “I am called Huo Lan. I entered the Dark Hidden Purgatory three hundred and fifty seven years ago, and only reached the fifth level three years ago. How about you, buddy?”

She exuded a heroic grace and her every movement reflected a confident and capable air. Her long, silky hair was tied back perfectly which framed her beautiful wheat-colored face, highlighting her strikingly sharp features.

“Lin Xun, I came two days ago.”

As Lin Xun walked towards her from a distance, he briefly studied her, and he found that the woman called Huo Lan had an extraordinarily powerful aura, far superior to the average cultivators at the same cultivation stage.

It made sense. How would someone who had been fighting and killing in the Dark Hidden Purgatory for over three hundred years be comparable to ordinary people?

“Two days ago?” Huo Lan looked startled, then her bright red phoenix eyes moved up and down, assessing Lin Xun carefully like a knife, and she asked skeptically, “Really?”

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. Please excuse me.” As Lin Xun said that, he darted away.

The fifth level was still not suitable for him to train in.

“Wait.” Huo Lan shouted, “Ahead is the territory of a giant crocodile fiend spirit. It has long gained consciousness and intelligence. It’s extremely vicious and… Hey, I’m talking to you!”

“Thanks for the reminder.” Lin Xun’s voice rang from afar.

Huo Lan raised her brows.

That arrogant guy won’t even listen to my warning. What? Is he in a hurry to die?

After a thought, she gritted her teeth and followed after him.

She had been fighting alone in this world for years. Finally she met a real living person. How could she be willing to just watch him die?

Meanwhile, Lin Xun sensed that Huo Lan was catching up with him. He was taken aback at first, but then he shook his head and continued onwards.

“Hey, wait for me! If you keep wandering around like this, you are going to run into danger!” Huo Lan’s voice rang from behind, tinged with a hint of anger, as though irritated that Lin Xun had failed to appreciate her goodwill.

“Girl, no need to worry. I know what I am doing.” Lin Xun’s voice showed that he had no intention of slowing down.

Huo Lan’s beautiful eyes almost spit fire.

He’s so arrogant! Too arrogant!

She had repeatedly reminded the other party, but he did not appreciate it at all. She wished that the ancient crocodile fiend spirit would appear and teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget!

The moment that thought came to her mind, a deafening roar sent the world trembling and a storm of sand and stone spiraling skyward.

Immediately after that, a murderous aura engulfed heaven and earth!

“That evil creature actually came...” Huo Lan went blank with shock.