Zhi Xuan slowly raised his head. Beneath the dim purple glow of the abyss, his hidden Heavenly Eyes flashed for a fleeting moment. He did not see three humans before him; instead, he saw only three clumps of dull, stagnant energy obstructing the flow of Natural Laws he was observing.

  "This world truly never lacks those who seek their own demise," Zhi Xuan said flatly. He drew no weapon, nor did he form a mudra. He simply took one step forward into the empty air at the brink of the abyss.

  "Begone!" The word left Zhi Xuan’s lips carrying the immense weight of Soul Transformation energy, instantly vibrating the surroundings and causing the very bedrock to tremble.

  WHUSH!

  The spiritual wave rippled outward, striking the three would-be robbers. Under the raw pressure of a mid-stage Soul Transformation expert—unfiltered by any defensive artifacts—the souls of those Five Element cultivators were nearly torn from their bodies. Zhi Xuan glanced at them briefly, raising his hand. From the void, a giant hand etched with lava-like veins manifested and crushed the three men.

  KREK! BOOM! THUD!

  The sound of shattering bones mingled with stifled screams echoed through the silence of the abyss, but it lasted only a heartbeat before the giant lava hand closed completely. With one firm clench of his fist, Zhi Xuan obliterated their mental and physical defenses, turning them into a mist of blood that didn't even have the chance to touch the ground.

  Zhi Xuan subtly moved his hand, allowing the blood mist to drift toward him out of Li Chen’s sight. From that blood, three Slaughter Seals emerged and were etched back onto his body. He let out a soft sigh and formed a brief mudra to stabilize these new seals.

  Three storage bags still hovered in the air. Li Chen gave a low whistle and waved his hand. "Three storage bags from Five Element cultivators, let’s see what’s inside."

  Li Chen opened them with agile movements, letting several hundred Divine Black Jades and a few Earth-grade—or at the very least, Low-Heaven-grade—technical scrolls and artifacts spill into his palm. He snorted, then waved his hand to crush the Divine Black Jades, flicking his wrist as if discarding trash.

  "Gravel remains gravel," Li Chen murmured, tossing the empty bags into the yawning abyss. "Only trash tries to act like a mountain. Not bad, though—six Earth-grade artifacts and techniques, and two Heaven-grade artifacts. These rats were actually quite wealthy."

  "We can use these as supplements for the Heavenly Jade exchange," Li Chen continued, stepping toward the edge of the cliff. "Though it might be a bit difficult to trade only these low-level items."

  Zhi Xuan gazed at the remaining artifacts in Li Chen’s hand with a look that seemed to pierce through matter. To him, these Earth or low Heaven-grade items were merely toys for those still crawling on the mortal path. However, he understood the law of exchange; in a place like the Moonlight Lotus, every fragment of essence held its own weight on the scales of fate.

  "Just bring them all, Brother Li," Zhi Xuan said, stepping forward as if an invisible jade staircase supported his feet in the void. "A huddling flock of sheep often becomes the cloak for a powerful wolf. If these artifacts are not enough for a single piece of Heavenly Jade, then I have other ways to convince them."

  Li Chen stowed the looted artifacts into his own storage pouch with a wide grin. "Other ways? I hope those ways don't involve destroying the entire underground district, Brother Gu. The Dragon Shadow Union has 'Guardian Elders' whose cultivation is said to have touched the peak of Soul Transformation."

  Zhi Xuan did not answer. His body began to glide down into the darkness of the abyss, followed by Li Chen, who dived like a blue swallow. The wind howling in their ears gradually changed; the piercing cold turned into a damp warmth, carrying the scent of sandalwood incense mixed with the smell of rusting metal.

  As they descended deeper, the purple mist began to thin, revealing an underground city built into the steep walls of the rift. Hanging bridges made of giant iron chains connected man-made caves that glowed with the light of night crystals.

  In the center of it all, a building shaped like an inverted lotus made of pitch-black metal hung by chains as thick as a dragon's body—this was the Moonlight Lotus.

  "We’re here," Li Chen whispered as their feet landed on a slick stone platform.

  In front of them, two guards wearing silver dragon masks stood as rigid as statues. The pressure they radiated was at the early stage of the Soul Transformation realm, a testament to the Dragon Shadow Union's influence.

  Without a word, Li Chen produced a black badge engraved with the symbol of water ripples. One of the guards nodded slowly and shifted his halberd, allowing the gate—crafted from the bones of ancient beasts—to creak open with a mournful sound.

  Zhi Xuan stepped into the main hall of the Moonlight Lotus. The atmosphere was vastly different from the luxury of Master Taixuan’s Dragon Lotus Courtyard. Here, dim light and a heavy silence blanketed every corner. There was no lute music or fox dances; there were only dark-robed cultivators sitting in silence, observing one another through their hoods.

  "Look over there," Li Chen pointed to a high stage in the center of the hall where a wrinkled old man, skin like tree bark, was weighing a crystal on golden scales. "That is the Weighing Elder, He Long. He is the one who determines how much Heavenly Jade your artifacts are worth."

  Zhi Xuan shifted his gaze to the golden scales. Beneath his Heavenly Eyes, he saw that the scales were not just a measuring tool but a Heaven-grade artifact capable of detecting spiritual intent and the age of an object.

  As they approached the stage, several pairs of eyes from the dark corners of the hall fixed on Zhi Xuan. Even though he had concealed his aura, the dignity of his divine body radiated a subtle pressure that made the cultivators there uneasy, as if a predator had just entered their den.

  "Elder He," Li Chen bowed casually. "We’ve brought some merchandise. My friend here is in need of a large amount of Heavenly Jade to stabilize his Divine Soul’s foundation."

  Elder He did not look up; his bony fingers were busy brushing dust off an old bronze bell. "Heavenly Jade is the rare essence of the heavens, young man. In this underground market, we only accept items with a 'soul,' not just piles of metal forged without life."

  Li Chen placed the looted Heaven and Earth-grade artifacts on the marble table before Elder He. "This is the start. What do you think?"

  Elder He glanced briefly, then snorted in disdain. "Trash from street thugs. Its value isn't even enough to buy a single grain of Heavenly Jade dust. If this is all you brought, you’d best go to the flea markets on the surface."

  Li Chen’s face flushed with slight embarrassment, and he glanced at Zhi Xuan anxiously. However, Zhi Xuan remained calm. He stepped forward, his hand slowly extending from beneath his black-and-white robe.

  "Is a crystal that is not an artifact permitted here?" Zhi Xuan asked in a low, commanding voice.

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  Elder He slowly stopped his work. For the first time since they arrived, the old man lifted his head, revealing a pair of cloudy eyes that seemed to have witnessed thousands of years of betrayal and blood trades. He stared at Zhi Xuan’s hand, then at the youth’s face, which was as cold as eternal jade.

  "A crystal?" Elder He’s voice sounded raspy, like the scraping of old paper. "Young man, in this Moonlight Lotus, we have seen every type of gem from the Nine Plains. Crystals without an artifact function are usually just trinkets for mortals. Unless... the crystal contains a living Law."

  Zhi Xuan did not respond with words. He simply opened his upturned palm. Instantly, the air around the golden scales froze. From the center of his palm, a deep red crystal shard emerged, pulsing in rhythm with a majestic heartbeat.

  "I have this," Zhi Xuan replied flatly, holding the diamond-shaped object before He Long. "You surely know that if you sell this to a cultivator who uses blood and slaughter as their Path, how much you could gain?"

  Elder He Long was stunned; his hunched body immediately went rigid. His cloudy eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light, as if forced awake from a centuries-long slumber. He leaned closer toward Zhi Xuan’s palm, but before he could even inhale the air around the crystal, a wave of ancient, cold bloodlust struck his senses.

  "This..." Elder He’s voice trembled slightly, his thin hand reaching for the air around the diamond crystal. "Crystallized Evil Energy? No... it is more than that. This is a Slaughter Karma Crystal!"

  Elder He Long took a step back, his slow breath now coming in short gasps. The entire hall, once silent, was suddenly enveloped by a thin red aura seeping from between Zhi Xuan’s fingers. The Slaughter Karma Crystal vibrated softly, emitting a resonance capable of awakening the killing intent of anyone with a weak mental foundation.

  Several dark-robed cultivators in the corners instinctively stood up, hands gripping their weapons while their Divine Senses shivered in fear. They felt as if they were standing before the gates of hell that had just cracked open.

  "A Karma Crystal..." Li Chen murmured, his face pale. He looked at Zhi Xuan with a mix of horror and awe. He knew his companion was strong, but he hadn't expected Zhi Xuan to carry pure calamity in the palm of his hand.

  Elder He Long quickly formed a mudra with his ten fingers, activating a protective formation around the stage to suppress the leaking aura before it incited further chaos. His cloudy eyes now gleamed with a frenzied excitement.

  "Incredible... so pure," Elder He hissed. "This is not a crystal formed by human techniques. This is a crystal born from a sea of blood washed by Heavenly Law. Young man, do you know what you hold? For a practitioner of the Demonic Path or the Blood Path, this is the key to leaping through realms without the hindrance of inner demons!"

  Zhi Xuan remained composed, his face showing no emotion despite offering something capable of shaking the southern Yao Gu region. "I do not need praise for its origin, Elder. I can assure you this Karma Crystal has been purified and is free from any backlash. For those capable, it will strengthen their physical foundation to break through to Soul Transformation."

  Zhi Xuan waved his hand and handed over the Slaughter Karma Crystal, needing no weighing as he already understood its worth. "I ask Elder He Long to provide an equivalent amount of Heavenly Jade."

  Elder He Long quickly waved his hand, wrapping the oppressive yet stable crystal in dark silk before placing it into a box on the shelf behind him. "Young man, this exceeds anything I expected you to offer."

  "Five hundred pieces of Low-grade Heavenly Jade," Elder He Long continued. He patted his waist and floated a small bag filled with jade pieces toward Zhi Xuan. "This is a fair price for a pure crystal as magnificent as this."

  Zhi Xuan caught the pouch with a movement nearly invisible to the mortal eye. As his fingers touched the pouch’s surface, he felt a vibration of essence far purer and denser than Divine Black Jade. This was jade compressed by heavenly laws over millennia—true nourishment for a Soul Transformation expert.

  "Five hundred pieces," Zhi Xuan murmured, his voice echoing softly in the hall that now felt increasingly suffocating. "A fair price for a seed of destruction."

  Elder He Long nodded repeatedly, his face returning to its calm state. "If you ever possess such a Slaughter Karma Crystal again, sell it to me."

  Zhi Xuan did not answer with words, giving only a slight nod heavy with mysterious meaning. To him, the Slaughter Karma Crystal was merely the byproduct of purification from his Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron—cultivation waste that to others was a sky-high treasure. He turned around, his black-and-white robes sweeping across the cold marble floor of the Moonlight Lotus with a soft rustle.

  Li Chen followed behind, his face still showing remnants of shock. Once they were far from Elder He Long's stage and merging back into the shadows of the hall, Li Chen whispered in a strained tone, "Brother Gu, you are truly insane! Five hundred Heavenly Jades? That’s enough to stabilize a Soul Transformation cultivation!"

  Zhi Xuan continued walking calmly, his sapphire eyes scanning every corner of the hall, catching the glints of malicious intent beginning to surface from beneath the hoods of the dark cultivators. "This is indeed enough to stabilize myself. What about you, Brother Li?"

  "Me? I’m just here for the ride," Li Chen replied calmly. "I certainly don't lack Heavenly Jade as a disciple of a great sect."

  Zhi Xuan nodded slightly, not surprised by Li Chen's admission. A genius from the Blue Ocean Sect would undoubtedly have abundant resources from his sect elders. However, for Zhi Xuan, who walked alone under the Yao Gu sky, every piece of essence was a bullet and a shield for a life that was now the target of many parties.

  Their footsteps had just reached the threshold of the exit when a cold air, different from the toxic gases of the abyss, began to creep in. The air around them seemed to thicken, creating a pressure capable of making a Five Element realm cultivator fall to their knees instantly.

  "It seems your luck carries a price to be paid early, Brother Gu," Li Chen whispered, his jade fan now snapped shut, its tip glowing with a sharp blue light like a sword's edge.

  From behind the massive stone pillars supporting the cavern ceiling, four figures appeared, wearing dark grey robes embroidered with eyeless dragons on their backs. They wore no masks, but their faces were deathly pale with black lines creeping along their necks—a sign they had cultivated forbidden techniques from the Dragon Shadow Union.

  "The Talent Scouts of the Shadow Union," Li Chen murmured in a low voice fraught with vigilance. "They aren't guards; they are hounds tasked with 'reclaiming' treasures deemed too dangerous to leave this place."

  The leader of the group, a tall man with thinning white hair, stepped forward. His voice sounded like bone scraping on sand. "Young man, that Slaughter Karma Crystal... our Union feels that five hundred Heavenly Jades is too cheap a price for your life. Hand back the jade, and we will let you leave this abyss as a human, not a corpse."

  Zhi Xuan stopped. He did not turn around, but his left hand slowly rose, letting silver essence creep to his fingertips. Within him, the Divine Soul residing atop the Heavenly Samsara Wheel began to rotate dusky grey energy with a lethal rhythm.

  "The Dragon Shadow Union turns out to be nothing more than a band of thieves wearing the robes of rulers," Zhi Xuan said, his voice crystal clear and calm, yet containing a vibration that made the crystal lamps in the hall flicker violently. "I have paid the price with the item you desired. If you want this jade back, then you must trade it for your own lives."

  "Brother Li," Zhi Xuan called out, nodding slightly to signal before shooting upward.

  Li Chen snorted in amusement, a thin smirk gracing his usually relaxed face. "Understood! Being bait in a dragon's den is my specialty!"

  With a stomp of his foot that triggered an explosion of sea-blue essence, Li Chen shot upward, piercing through the purple mist of the abyss like a bolt of lightning splitting the night. Beside him, Zhi Xuan moved more fluidly—his body seemed to merge with the darkness, leaving only a faint trail of dusky grey glow as he glided up the jagged walls of the rift.

  "Excellent! Let’s see how fast these shadow dogs can run!" Li Chen shouted amidst the roar of the wind, his voice wrapped in spiritual essence to prevent it from dispersing under the air pressure.

  Zhi Xuan did not reply, but his speed increased drastically. He shot straight up, piercing through the Moonlight Lotus's protective formation, which trembled violently upon contact with his divine body. Behind them, four dark auras from the Dragon Shadow Union exploded with unrestrained ferocity, pursuing them like bloodthirsty shadows.

  "Holding them here is too dangerous; the Dragon Shadow Union has eyes in every crack of the stone," Li Chen hissed, glancing back at the four streaks of pitch-black light tearing through the purple mist at terrifying speeds. "We must lead them to the Dead Limestone Peak on the eastern side. There, the city's formation laws don't reach, and we can... take out this trash without interruption."

  Zhi Xuan nodded briefly, his eyes fixed ahead. "Lead the way. I will ensure they don't lose our trail."

  With a single thought, Zhi Xuan released his dusky grey aura bit by bit, as if he were struggling to maintain his speed. It was the perfect bait. The pursuers from the Dragon Shadow Union, sensing their prey’s "weakness," let out raspy laughs that echoed along the abyss walls.

  "Run as far as you want, little rats! Under this Yao Gu sky, there is no hole deep enough to hide the Karma Crystal from us!" roared the white-haired leader, his body suddenly turning into a plume of black smoke that surged faster, closing the distance in just a few breaths.