It was common knowledge that only a Transcendent could defeat another Transcendent in battle.
Upon transcendence, a cultivator would undergo a complete transformation. It might not even be an exaggeration to say that they would become an entirely different entity from before.
Facing a Transcendent, no amount of techniques or talent would matter. Just the spiritual pressure from a Transcendent alone would be able to suppress all others.
The moment Ke Huofen revealed his cultivation level, the other cultivators present fell into absolute despair, with no choice but to accept the fact that their fates would now be dictated at his whim.
They were unwilling. They were indignant.
However, none of that changed the fact that the outcome had already been decided!
"Lord Ke, please..." the red-haired woman slowly retreated in fear. "I don't need any of the benefits. I just wish to serve you! I promise that I can be useful! Whatever you ask of me, I will do without question! E-Even if nothing else, you can use me as a human cauldron as well!"
She did not hesitate. The moment she finished her sentence, her loose black robes fell to the ground, revealing her snow-white skin in all its splendour. Plentiful breasts, a slim waist, rounded hips, and slender legs – all of that combined with her beautiful face and seductive eyes made her a human doll that would be coveted by all men.
No one could deny that she was a top-quality beauty.
The red-haired woman could not care less that her body was being exposed to the hundreds of men present. She was well aware of Ke Huofen's strength and knew in her heart that if he wished for it to be so, then there would only be one man walking out of this chamber alive.
Ke Huofen paused for a moment, his gaze scanning the red-haired woman's naked body from top to bottom.
"I can be your slave forever! I will swear absolute obedience!" the red-haired woman quickly added after seeing Ke Huofen's hesitation.
She bit her lower lip in a seductive manner and walked slowly towards Ke Huofen, opening her arms to reach out for a hug.
Regardless of their strength or power, all men were the same – that was her belief after spending years of making full use of her superior appearance.
This would be in the bag once Ke Huofen felt the softness of her skin. At that point, there was no way that he would be able to resist her charms any longer!
It was fine even if he only wanted to use her for a night before getting rid of her. At the very least, it was better than dying right here and now. As long as she could live past this moment of crisis, there would at least be some hope of escaping!
"Here, I am yours," the red-haired woman's eyes lit up in excitement as she wrapped her arms around Ke Huofen.
Her soft breasts pressed against his chest, and her fragrance drifted up to stimulate his brain.
Success! She was safe now!
Or so she thought.
Stab-!
The red-haired woman's eyes widened in horror before staggering backwards, now with a red sword impaling her through the side of her bare waist.
"Lord... Lord Ke, why...?" the red-haired woman asked with blood streaming out both from her mouth and wound.
"You know, Blueflag Mountain used to be a place of serenity – a mountain that could not be more ordinary. But that slowly changed over time," Ke Huofen nonchalantly turned his back to the red-haired woman, slowly walking towards the centre of the chamber. "No one knew when it started, but the aura of corruption suddenly started to grow stronger, eventually reaching the current point in time when it has become dense enough to shroud the entire mountain."
"Are... are you saying that you know the reason behind this...?" the red-haired woman struggled to ask, her feet now starting to sink into the ground as well.
"No, that remains a mystery to me as well. However, there is one thing I do know that both of you are unaware of," Ke Huofen shook his head. "This array doesn't summon artifact spirits. Instead, it summons forth this extraordinarily strong aura of corruption that has accumulated here at Blueflag Mountain, amplifying it further and drawing it into the sword that I have placed here before, ultimately imbuing it with the power of blood and corruption."
"You lied to the sect...?" the red-haired woman questioned while feeling her consciousness slowly slipping away.
"Bastard, you lied to me...!" Ren Xiexing cursed while trying to get to his feet. However, his efforts were in vain as he, too, started sinking.
"There's no helping it. The two of you are key to completing the refinement process. Or perhaps I should say that your Dao Rune realm cultivation bases are the key. With your sacrifices added to the mix, I don't even need the rest of them anymore. That said, I have to concur with you on one thing," Ke Huofen glanced at Ren Xiexing. "With everyone dead, there is no way that word will get out about what happened here. As for those orthodox cultivators, the Scarlet Leaf Sect could not care less about their 'baseless' accusations."
"You bastard, so we were the targets this whole time?!" Ren Xiexing cursed. "Mark my words. I will come back and haunt you even in death!"
Ke Huofen ignored his words, casually stepping into the centre of the array. By now, the group of mortals from before were nowhere to be seen, likely to have already sunk into the ground completely.
Standing right where they once were, Ke Huofen slowly stretched out his right hand, which prompted a storm of energy to form within the chamber – with him at the very centre.
It was a tornado of pure energy, though the blood on the ground was also picked up in the process, turning it into a red tornado of blood.
Ke Huofen stood alone in the eye of this blood tornado, his expression calm and serene. The rocky surface beneath his feet began to break open, and a sword started rising out from the ground to return to his hand.
The sword looked simple – the same dark red from end to end and without any intricate engravings. However, it contained a dark energy that seemed to be emitting an aura that was both oppressive and ominous in nature. It felt almost as though the sword was nothing but a shell that was incubating an ominous spirit within.
"Time to finish this," Ke Huofen gave the sword a light swing, and a ring of sword light was sent out in all directions.
Slash-!
Wherever the sword light reached, bodies were severed into two.
Be it the red-haired woman, Ren Xiexing, or the other members of the main strike force, none of them were any exception.
Fountains of blood emerged in the chamber, pouring out from the corpses that fell limply to the ground in droves. Without any will to resist left within them, these corpses sank straight into the ground like rocks into a lake and were directly converted into pure energy. With each body that fell, the tornado of blood and energy only grew larger and fiercer.
This wild form of energy and blood turned into countless small streams that were rapidly absorbed by the red sword. With each passing moment, the ominous aura coming from the weapon continued to grow stronger.
However, not everyone was struck by that sword light.
As though it were alive, the sword light actively avoided the fifteen companions who had come with Ke Huofen, sparing them from what could have been certain death.
Bang-!
The sword light smashed against Cong Liexian's barrier, causing the latter to tremble violently. Trembled, but remained standing.
And by hiding behind it, Zhao Yunxiao Two somehow avoided the fate of death, just like the many members of the vanguard party who were currently within Cong Liexian's barrier. As for those who had been protected by Ke Huofen and his companions earlier, which was essentially the majority of the trailing group, they shared the unfortunate fate of the other cultivators now that their guardians had turned – instant death.
"Damn it! Screw the promise!" Fei Qing stepped forward, only to feel Cong Liexian holding him back by the arm. "What? Don't you see what's happening around us? Do you still think that we should just keep watching?"
"I know what you mean, but what do you think you can do against him? He is at the Transcendent realm!" Cong Liexian reminded.
"So what? It's not like I haven't faced Transcendents in the past! Given the current circumstances, if I still stand by and watch, then how would I be any different from an accomplice?" Fei Qing paid no heed to the reminder. "Let me out!"
Without waiting for Cong Liexian's response, Fei Qing crushed a pill, releasing a strange energy that shrouded him in a protective shield. This freed him from the suction effect of the array, and he flew straight towards Ke Huofen. Helpless, Cong Liexian could only release the barrier for a brief moment to allow Fei Qing to leave.
Zhao Yunxiao Two wanted to take this opportunity to sneak into the barrier, but Cong Liexian was simply too quick in reactivating the barrier.
"Fool," Ke Huofen did not bat an eye at Fei Qing's approach. "You are not my match."
"Save the big talk for when you actually win!" Fei Qing flicked his wrist, and eleven orbs appeared to orbit around him like planets to a star.
Each of these orbs was of a different size and colour, and emitted auras of different elements. Had they not appeared at the same time, it would have been difficult to associate them as part of a set. But now that they were all concurrently present, one could feel a form of chaotic synergy that bound them all together.
"Fei Qing – personal guard of Princess Gao Yufei," Ke Huofen said nonchalantly. "Cultivation level – Dao Rune realm. Law affiliation – Law of Stars. Life-bound treasure – the Eleven Stars of Chaos."
"What?" Fei Qing was visibly shocked for a moment. "How did you-?"
"Damn it, this is what I feared...!" Cong Liexian cursed under his breath.
"Maybe you shouldn't have been so obnoxiously loud if you didn't want others to look into you," Ke Huofen said. "Let me guess. You already know that you are not my match, and is simply betting on me dealing you a fatal strike that would end up activating your life-saving trump card – the Royal Blood Insignia. You can dream on."
"What? Are you afraid?" Fei Qing taunted. "Cultivating to the Transcendent realm, only to be afraid of hitting a mere Dao Rune realm junior? How pathetic!"
"Don't misunderstand, I never said that I will be letting you off," Ke Huofen answered. "Instead, I shall grant you the honour of experiencing the power of my reborn sword – the Essence Reaper."
Fei Qing immediately frowned.
For Ke Huofen to attack despite already knowing all about him, the former must have devised a way to bypass the Royal Blood Insignia. That was not part of the plan!
Indifferent to Fei Qing's worries, Ke Huofen raised the red sword and pointed it forward. The power of corruption erupted from within, materialising into visible black streams of corruption that shot towards Fei Qing.
"Run, Brother Fei!" Cong Liexian shouted in horror.
Fei Qing did not need to be told twice. He immediately retreated, but how could he possibly outrun Ke Huofen's attack?
The streams of corruption caught up to him in an instant, wrapping around him like chains. The protective shield around him failed to last even a single breath before shattering.
"Damn it!" Fei Qing pulled out a jade slip and crushed it just before the streams of corruption closed in around him, completely restraining every last bit of his movements.
"Argh!" Fei Qing screamed in pain as he felt his mind being invaded.
It was like a separate entity was trying to enter his brain and rewrite everything within, turning him into a mere shell of what he had been. And the worst thing was that he was completely powerless to resist it!
So, this was the power of corruption?
How terrifying!
By seeking to corrupt his mind instead of taking his life, this method actually managed to bypass the Royal Blood Insignia's activation criteria of receiving a fatal strike!
"Sending a rescue signal?" Ke Huofen scoffed, having noticed the jade slip that Fei Qing had crushed earlier. "Too bad, but there's no chance of you surviving until reinforcements arrive."
"Damn it, let him go!" Cong Liexian crushed a similar pill that released him from the array's suction force. Deactivating the barrier altogether, he charged towards Ke Huofen as well, determined to rescue his companion.
Ke Huofen simply glanced over, and streams of corruption shot over to meet Cong Liexian mid-flight.
Cong Liexian responded by unleashing his own attacks, all of which disappearing into the streams of corruption like pebbles being thrown into a river.
"Ugh!" Cong Liexian gritted his teeth in agony as he, too, was swept up and bound by the streams of darkness.
"The outcome is inevitable, but the sooner you stop resisting, the faster the agony will end," Ke Huofen said, his eyes shining in glee. "This is the power of corruption..."
This was his first time activating the Essence Reaper's corruption effect after imbuing it through the summoning array, so even he could not help but feel pleasantly surprised by just how effective it was.
The effort that he had put into this had certainly not been in vain.
With this power of corruption at his fingertips, his journey on the cultivation path would definitely become much smoother in the future!
Roar-!
At this moment, the roar of a dragon suddenly reverberated through the entire chamber.
And with that roar, Ke Huofen lost control over the streams of corruption for the slightest of moments, causing the chains of corruption around Fei Qing and Cong Liexian to loosen.
It was only for a mere moment, but that was enough for Fei Qing and Cong Liexian to shoot out of the chains of corruption. Nevertheless, fear was apparent in their eyes as they quickly retreated a good distance away from Ke Huofen.
Ke Huofen did not choose to pursue them.
Instead, a deep frown appeared on his face for the first time today as he glanced down at the one responsible for what just happened – Zhao Yunxiao Two.
He was not the only one, either. Fei Qing and Cong Liexian similarly turned their attention towards Zhao Yunxiao Two. The last thing they had expected was for Zhao Yunxiao Two, who had still been hiding behind their barrier like a coward earlier, to actually be able to get them out of such a tight spot!
"What did you just do?" Ke Huofen questioned solemnly.
Of course, Zhao Yunxiao was not intending to answer that question. That said, even he was astonished by what just happened.
To think that it actually worked!
Zodiac Scripture – Dragon Aspect. This aspect focused on energy manipulation, both in the form of offensive blasts and in the form of energy resistance.
In this case, it was the latter.
Through the Zodiac General Long Shiqian's memories, he had the opportunity to indirectly experience multiple battles with the Soul Devil Luo Qin, who could be considered a master when it came to utilising the power of corruption. And in those battles, this was the exact same move that Long Shiqian had used to deal with Luo Qin's corruption techniques.
That said, Zhao Yunxiao had yet to fully master this aspect, and had used it mainly out of curiosity – to test out its effect in such a situation.
Yet it still managed to leave such an impact, and on the Transcendent realm Ke Huofen to boot...
The Zodiac General Long Shiqian truly lived up to his reputation as a genius. It would appear that his Zodiac Scripture had far more to it than being a mere complement to cultivating the body strengthening system!