Chapter 287: Great Bloodline Art, Summoning the Stone King
"Who are you?"
The silver-armored man frowned when he saw Shi Jian step forward. As a cultivator of the Self-Severing Realm, he couldn't discern this person's cultivation, which made him wary.
The remaining soldiers tensed, their hands gripping their weapons. The Shi Clan tribe members huddled back, their faces pale with terror.
"I am the one you are looking for," Shi Jian spoke calmly, his voice clear and steady. "The person of the Sin Blood Collapse."
[Inorin's Note: "Sin Blood Collapse" (or Sin Blood Collapsing Cloud) is a term referring to the powerful, visible phenomenon of Shi Jian's 'Sin Blood' (罪血) aura, which is suppressed by most but unleashed by him.]
The silver-armored man's wariness instantly turned to contempt. "Hmph, so it's just a descendant of the Sin Blood. Kid, you'd better honestly enlist and go to the front lines. Atoning for your ancestors' crimes is your only value. Otherwise, today…"
The man's threatening words were cut short. Shi Jian raised his hand and slapped him.
The motion was simple, almost casual. Shi Jian was capable of fighting against the Self-Severing Realm even when he was in the Heavenly God Realm. Now, having broken through, the gap was immeasurable.
The silver-armored man's eyes widened in horror. Shi Jian's aura had already locked onto and suppressed him, a weight like a collapsed universe rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move, couldn't dodge, couldn't even circulate his energy.
He could only watch helplessly as the palm struck him.
"Bang!"
His head didn't just explode; it vaporized into a mist of blood and bone fragments.
The Hell Furnace, Shi Jian's devouring Dao, instantly unfolded as a shadowy vortex. It consumed all of the man's essence blood and his terrified, fleeing Soul.
A master of the Self-Severing Realm, a figure of authority in Emperor Pass, had fallen. In just one move.
The rapid, brutal efficiency of the execution caught everyone off guard. The surrounding people, both the remaining silver-armored soldiers and the Shi Clan tribe, were stunned silent.
The soldiers, who had been sneering seconds before, now trembled, their armor clattering.
The Shi Clan tribe members stared, their fear momentarily replaced by disbelief.
"Child, hurry and leave!" the old clan chief was the first to react, his voice frantic. "You killed him! You killed an envoy from the Pass! Emperor Pass will be enraged! They will send people to kill you immediately!"
The other tribe members, though terrified, surged forward, instinctively trying to shield Shi Jian.
Shi Jian felt their genuine, selfless concern and smiled. He turned to the elder and spoke, his voice reassuring, "Don't worry. With me here, these people won't be able to stir up any trouble."
He came to Emperor Pass to cause a big commotion. The bigger the commotion, the better. With Liu Shen as a fallback, what was there to fear?
Moreover, those few remnant Immortals didn't dare to show their faces now. The strongest in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands were merely Supremes. With his own battle power, he was roughly the strongest person beneath an Immortal. What was there to fear?
The Shi Clan tribe members didn't know what to do, but they still firmly stood behind Shi Jian.
The other silver-armored men, seeing their leader obliterated, were paralyzed with fear.
Shi Jian's gaze swept across them. He didn't bother with words. The remaining silver-armored men all died instantly, their bodies collapsing as their souls were extinguished.
He then flew into the air, his black robes fluttering, and looked towards the distant, impossibly large Emperor Pass.
At that very moment, changes were occurring at the Pass. The previously calm, ancient city seemed to be activated. A brilliant, cold light emanated from its depths, and a vast, boundless, and indifferent voice rang out, pressing down on the land like a divine decree.
"The Sin Blood Shi Clan, defying the Emperor Pass's order and killing an Emperor Pass member… shall be executed!"
This voice spread far and wide, echoing across the plains and into the city itself. Many cultivators, ascetics, and soldiers within Emperor Pass heard it.
They were astonished. The Shi Clan? That dying, forgotten tribe of sinners? They dared to openly refuse an order and kill an envoy?
"They are already a sinful clan. Given a chance to atone, yet they dare to refuse. They deserve to be annihilated!"
"Exterminate the Shi Clan! Completely exterminate them! Let these sinful clans see the consequences of defying the Emperor Pass's order!"
Discussions like this spread like wildfire. The entire Emperor Pass was in an uproar.
Shi Jian's expression didn't change at all. He didn't know who uttered that voice, but their reaction was very fast. It seemed they were already prepared.
Clearly, the arrival of those silver-armored men was not accidental. The commotion he'd caused by arriving and his "Sin Blood Collapse" phenomenon had attracted attention.
Beams of divine light now flew out from within Emperor Pass, streaking across the sky like meteors. These were knights guarding the Pass, their armor gleaming with sacred runes.
Leading them was a great cultivator, a man whose aura was as vast as an ocean. His cultivation had reached the Escape One Realm.
[Inorin's Note: The Escape One Realm (遁一境) is a peak-level realm just below Supreme. Experts at this level are often the highest active battle power in the world, as Supremes rarely intervene.]
This was the strongest normal battle power in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands. Without Immortals appearing and with Supremes in seclusion, the Escape One Realm was the highest authority on the surface.
The deployment of such a group, led by such an expert, was enough to show their "fear"—or rather, their determination to crush this problem.
"Descendant of sin blood, defying the Emperor Pass's order, slaying an Emperor Pass law enforcement officer! Why do you not quickly surrender and face execution!"
The voice of that great master of the Escape One Realm resounded throughout heaven and earth, heavy with authority and killing intent. Dozens of other knights fanned out behind him, sealing off all avenues of escape.
As soon as this person spoke, he immediately took the moral high ground.
Within Emperor Pass, the attitude towards the Shi Clan was complex. Some forces wished to crush them. Some protected them. Some stood by and watched. The previous middle-aged Supreme was from the neutral faction.
The ones making a move now were naturally those who targeted the Shi Clan.
Upon seeing Shi Jian slay the silver-armored man, they were delighted. They thought Shi Jian was still too young, too impulsive. His action pushed him directly to the opposite side of Emperor Pass's authority.
So they made their move. First, announce the crime to everyone. Second, send a powerful force to apprehend him.
They were directly taking the moral high ground to deal with Shi Jian, painting him as a "rebel." By opposing Emperor Pass, the neutral and protective factions would be forced to stand down. In fact, Shi Jian's actions could even be used to confirm his ancestors' "crimes."
Look, their ancestors betrayed the Pass. Their descendants also defy it. They wanted to use this power to suppress and wipe out the Shi Clan, and incidentally, eliminate this emerging genius.
Did Shi Jian know all this? Of course he did.
But so what?
Who the hell wants to play by their rules? He came here to flip the table.
"What kind of thing are you, to dare to condemn me?" Shi Jian sneered, his voice instantly spreading. "What kind of thing is Emperor Pass, to dare to conscript my Shi Clan?"
His voice, backed by his Void Realm cultivation, boomed like thunder. The terrifying and boundless Qi and blood burst forth, almost solidifying. The very stars in the sky were shaken by his voice.
Countless invisible waves spread out. Among the cultivators who came to encircle him, the weaker ones in the Self-Severing Realm couldn't even withstand the sound. They instantly exploded into a mist of blood in mid-air.
In a single instant, half the squad was wiped out just by his roar.
These men may have guarded the border and shed blood for the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands. But so what? What did that have to do with Shi Jian? If they chose to be his enemy, they would die.
Shi Hao might have hesitated, but he, Shi Jian, was not Shi Hao.
"How dare you! Is your Shi Clan rebelling against Emperor Pass?!" The cultivator of the Escape One Realm was instantly enraged. He hadn't expected such a terrifying sonic attack. He roared, stabilizing his remaining men.
Shi Jian coldly glanced at him, then took a step forward, directly charging the Escape One expert. He held nothing back.
The Dominator Domain instantly erupted.
The world itself seemed to change. The Escape One expert, charging forward, suddenly found himself in a different space. A dual-layered domain slammed down on him.
The first layer was a vortex of pure darkness: the Great Devouring Art, Devouring Domain. A powerful, boundless devouring force tore at him, trying to rip his essence blood, his soul, and his very Dao from his body.
The second layer was a world of crimson slaughter: the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, Immortal Slaughtering Domain. Uncountable wisps of sword Qi, sharp with Grand Luo Tribulation energy, materialized from nothingness, enveloping him. The killing intent was so thick it stripped away his five senses, entering his body and impacting his Physical Body.
"What is this domain?!" the expert roared in shock. As soon as he entered it, his cultivation was completely suppressed by 50% or more. The runes on his precious battle armor flickered wildly before shattering completely under the combined assault of devouring and slaughter.
He was almost powerless. He tried to unleash his own Divine Abilities, but the devouring force pulled them apart, and the sword Qi shredded them before they could even form.
In the next instant, Shi Jian was before him. He held the Nethergod Spear in one hand and the Grand Luo Sword Embryo in the other, a terrifying killing Qi making him look like a god of death.
"Break!" The Escape One expert burned his own blood essence, trying to shatter the domain with a final, desperate attack.
Shi Jian simply swept horizontally with the Nethergod Spear. The spear, wreathed in darkness, easily shattered the man's desperate defense. At the same time, the Grand Luo Sword Embryo thrust forward, a simple, perfect strike.
It pierced through the great cultivator's forehead.
The Dominator Domain continuously expanded, stretching for tens of thousands of miles, a sphere of absolute death.
Those few knights who had survived Shi Jian's initial roar were now caught within it. They didn't even have the right to struggle. They were easily swallowed by the Great Devouring Art or shredded into particles by the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation.
"Ah!"
"Save me!"
Their screams lasted only a fraction of a second before their bodies and Primordial Spirits were destroyed and devoured, turning into cultivation nourishment for Shi Jian.
Cultivators below the Escape One Realm would die instantly upon entering this Domain. Their Magic Treasures and Divine Abilities were like paper.
This was the Dominator Domain. An absolute forbidden zone.
In just a moment's time, the mighty cultivator army that had just arrived, led by a peerless Escape One Realm expert, was completely annihilated.
This was the progress Shi Jian had made since leaving Immortal Ancient. When he first emerged, he only had the battle power of the Self-Severing Realm. Now, he could easily slay an Escape One expert.
His Void Realm was terrifyingly strong. Others might "shiver" once when breaking through. Shi Jian had shivered for several months, his foundation incomparable. These quick-acting men of Emperor Pass simply couldn't comprehend his power.
At this moment, heaven and earth fell silent. On the battlefield, not a single drop of blood remained. Lord Shi had always been frugal.
This scene fell into the eyes of the countless cultivators within Emperor Pass. Everyone was silent, a cold fear gripping their hearts. They hadn't expected Shi Jian to be so strong, nor so ferocious.
"This is bad." In a high tower within the Pass, the middle-aged Supreme and Meng Tianzheng's expressions turned grim.
The middle-aged Supreme had immediately told Meng Tianzheng everything. But they hadn't even discussed it thoroughly before someone within Emperor Pass made a move.
Both sides acted too quickly. The Pass's "punishment order" was issued too fast, and Shi Jian's counter-kill was even faster. By the time they came to their senses, the situation was already irreconcilable.
The main reason was that the matter Shi Jian spoke of—the Stone King's existence—had too great an impact. It was so great that even these two Supremes couldn't imagine the consequences.
The Shi Clan still had an Immortal King? Still resisting the Foreign Realm? And their descendants were labeled sinners?
The more they thought, the more alarmed they became, and they were briefly lost in thought. Otherwise, with their cultivation, they could have intervened.
But now, it was too late. Shi Jian had killed Emperor Pass knights and openly defied a direct order.
"With such strength, yet not contributing to the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, but instead betraying them. Truly hateful!"
"The Nine Heavens and Ten Lands nurtured you, yet you show no gratitude. You deserve to be executed!"
Finally, a Supreme expert made a move. His figure stood in the Void Realm above Emperor Pass, his entire body like a heaven-supporting pillar, immeasurably majestic. An indifferent, ancient voice emanated from his mouth, spreading throughout heaven and earth.
"The Nine Heavens and Ten Lands nurtured me? What a huge joke," Shi Jian's voice boomed in response. "If we're talking about the grace of nurturing, what nurtured me was the Lower Realm cage. What does it have to do with the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands?"
Shi Jian was not to be outdone. He employed the Dharma Idol of Heaven and Earth. His body expanded rapidly, growing larger and larger, until he, too, was a colossal giant standing tens of thousands of feet tall, confronting the Supreme's aura as an equal.
The Supreme's voice continued, pressing down on the masses: "Descendants of prisoners, descendants of sinners. You were given a chance to atone, yet you showed no ambition, and instead resisted Emperor Pass. Your ancestors betrayed, and your descendants also betray. Indeed, the blood of sinners flows in your veins!"
This voice seemed to sway the emotions of all who heard it.
"That's right! Sinful clans are indeed sinful clans!"
"Their ancestors committed a grave mistake... they didn't cherish the chance to atone!"
"Sinful clans deserve to die! Such a race should be completely exterminated!"
"Ungrateful scoundrels! Indeed, filthy blood!"
Listening to these words, Shi Jian's colossal face grew colder. "Sinner? Who condemned my Shi Clan? What kind of crime did my Shi Clan's ancestors commit?"
That Supreme seemed to be waiting for this question. He didn't make a move, but seriously replied:
"The sin of the Shi Clan has existed since ancient times. There was once someone who personally witnessed the Shi Ancestor slay the Emperor Pass leader and flee towards the desolate border."
"The Nine Heavens and Ten Lands were merciful and did not completely obliterate the Shi Clan. Instead, they gave you a chance to atone for your sins, to fight in the desolate border to make up for your transgressions."
"You don't show gratitude, which is one thing, but you defy the Emperor Pass's order and slay an Emperor Pass law enforcement officer. This crime deserves execution, and the Shi Clan's guilt is compounded. It should be completely wiped out!"
The people of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands became even more indignant. Slaying an Emperor Pass leader? That was a crime as vast as the heavens, equivalent to killing your own emperor during a war. It was a great crime punishable by wiping out nine generations.
The Nine Heavens and Ten Lands had left a glimmer of hope. And now, the people of the Shi Clan dared to be dissatisfied?
Shi Jian laughed, a deep, rumbling sound from his giant form. It seemed information among Supremes wasn't very fluid. No wonder this person dared to jump out. If he had known what Shi Jian told the middle-aged Supreme earlier, he would be hiding right now.
"Ancestors made mistakes, descendants are punished. What you said is very good!" Shi Jian applauded the Supreme.
"Since it was my Shi Ancestor who wronged these Nine Heavens and Ten Lands… then I will summon him back, and give you a chance to punish the traitor!"
As soon as he said this, Meng Tianzheng and the middle-aged Supreme's expressions changed drastically. Everyone else was confused. Summon back the Shi Clan's ancestor? What era was he from?
Shi Jian ignored them. He first used the chat group's borrowing power function, his aura surging once more.
Then, he raised his hand. The numerous drops of True Blood he had collected from the Shi Clan tribe floated up, merging with a drop of his own glittering, golden essence blood. The blood formed a complex, ancient array in the void.
"Great Bloodline Art!"
He poured his power into the array. The blood hummed, connecting to something ancient, distant, and impossibly powerful across the river of time.
"Summon the Stone King!"
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