"Ah!"
The dark-red-skinned World Master roared, countless tiny wounds appearing across his body. Each wound carried a chilling sword aura, preventing them from healing naturally and constantly draining his strength.
The other World Master, weaker than his dark-red companion, was losing strength even faster. He teetered on the verge of collapse.
Yaoguang's second son performed far better than Han Jue had expected. The clothing he wore seemed crafted from exceptionally high-quality material, perhaps comparable to Han Jue's own fifth-grade Force armor, neutralizing most of the attacks.
"Sui Han!"
Han Jue attacked again, unleashing his most powerful killing move.
The Ice Peak Master had once told Han Jue that before breaking through to World Master level, there was no need to create original secret techniques. It wouldn't be too late to develop one's own techniques after reaching the peak of World Master level.
Until then, learning the secret techniques of others would suffice.
The Binghuang Sword Technique wasn't considered exceptionally powerful among high-level techniques, but it was more than adequate for his current needs.
The Cloud Sea Sword's dark blue blade gleamed with cold light.
The countless snowflakes of sword energy surrounding the battlefield rippled, instantly coalescing into vast sword energy imbued with the laws of water and space. This energy merged into the Yunhai Sword, coating it with a layer of white light and amplifying its power dozens of times over.
Swish!
The sword swung forth.
This strike was incredibly fast, the blinding light obscured the blade's trajectory, making it nearly impossible to track.
The dark-red World Master's expression changed drastically. A solid shield materialized before him as his Earth Domain unfolded. He tucked his body behind the shield, attempting to block Han Jue's attack.
Bang!
The sword energy collided with the shield!
The sheer force of the aura alone crushed the ordinary World Master to the ground, leaving barely a limb intact. Yaoguang's second son fared slightly better, though he still sustained a severe blow to his waist. The strike nearly severed him in two, leaving only a sliver of skin holding his body together.
Han Jue gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing with focus as he instantly unleashed the secret technique "Mirage Sea."
His "Absolute Original Mind" had already achieved perfection.
The "Mirage Sea" secret technique was Han Jue's sole means of attacking the soul, and he couldn't abandon it lightly.
Currently, his cultivation of the "Mirage Sea" secret technique had only reached the sixth level of "Domain Lord-level Invincibility," still a step away from the seventh level capable of influencing a World Master's consciousness. But Han Jue couldn't afford to care about such limitations now.
"What!" the dark-red World Master gasped in shock.
His willpower was far weaker than Han Jue had imagined. Even with a World Master-level consciousness, his willpower seemed inferior to that of an ordinary Domain Lord from the broader universe.
Han Jue's current level of consciousness could be considered peak World Master-level.
Combined with his immensely powerful state of mind and willpower, even the sixth level of the "Mirage Sea" secret technique still had an impact on the dark-red World Master.
Whoosh!
The dark-red World Master's consciousness was instantly engulfed by the pink sea. The mirage sea suppressed his spirit, corroding his soul.
Damage to the soul was not easily repaired.
Trapped in the illusion, the dark-red-skinned World Master became like a fish on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others.
Swish!
Han Jue's sword ended the dark-red-skinned World Master's life.
Han Jue picked up the space ring the man had dropped as the strange phenomena in the surroundings caused by the Ice Wasteland sword techniques returned to calm. He quickly recovered his physical strength, having nearly exhausted all his energy maintaining his [No Limit] technique.
Among the items left by the dark-red-skinned World Master, apart from the Void Emperor Order, the only thing of real value was the shield. It appeared to be equivalent to a lower-grade fifth-level Force weapon, worth several Hunyuan units.
Han Jue slowly walked toward the remaining two survivors.
The first person he had to deal with was Yaoguang's second son.
"You can't kill me!"
Yaoguang's second son remained remarkably calm even as he faced death, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. His eyes locked onto Han Jue's.
"My grandfather is the Lord of Yaoguang City, a peak World Master who possesses the Origin Flame. If you don't kill me, I can find a way for my grandfather to grant you a Holy Flame!" Yaoguang's second son said with forced composure.
Han Jue could see that he was deeply uneasy despite his words.
The young man seemed worried that Han Jue would ignore him and strike him down without hesitation.
"As a member of the Yaoguang family, how could you not have a Holy Flame?" Han Jue asked, genuinely surprised.
He had assumed that the children of such a powerful family would have multiple means of survival, but it seemed that Yaoguang's second son had no backup plan.
"The Yaoguang family's ancestral teachings state that one must rely on their own strength to break through to the World Master level before being eligible to obtain a Holy Flame," Yaoguang's second son explained. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to a place like this to personally search for one."
"Is that so? You mentioned earlier that you were going to become a city lord?" Han Jue pondered.
"I'm about to take over Tianyan Prefecture City. What's wrong with that?" Yaoguang's second son looked puzzled.
"Nothing. Come, eat this, and I'll spare your life." Han Jue thought of a way to more easily obtain the Holy Flame, and perhaps even covet the Origin Fire itself.
"What is this?"
Yaoguang's second son watched as Han Jue produced a purple-black fruit. He swallowed subconsciously, his eyes filled with fear.
"Poison. If you consume it without the antidote, even a peak World Master will suffer suicidal pain," Han Jue said lightly.
He wasn't lying.
Since he didn't possess a secret method of soul enslavement, Han Jue had made preparations long ago.
This item, developed by a pharmacist at the Virtual Universe Company, was called the Moshu Poison Fruit. Consuming it inflicted soul-tearing pain, making it an excellent alternative to soul enslavement techniques. This fruit alone cost 100 Hunyuan Units, and if it weren't for the fact that it only worked when consumed willingly, the price would be significantly higher.
Han Jue had prepared a total of ten of these fruits.
"...I'll eat it!" Yaoguang's second son gritted his teeth.
He had no choice.
Han Jue's sword was already at his neck.
Seeing Yaoguang's second son obediently consume the Moshu Poison Fruit, a glimmer of hope appeared in the eyes of the other lingering World Master.
"Sir! I'm willing to eat that poison fruit too!"
"You?" Han Jue glanced at the man dismissively.
This World Master was even weaker than the dark-red one from earlier. His ultimate limit in this lifetime was probably only the first or second World Master level.
"What makes you think you're worth more than this poison fruit?"
It costs 100 Hunyuan Units!
The sword fell.
A chill ran through Yaoguang's second son as he watched.
How ruthless!
"Brother, this is the Void Emperor Order." Yaoguang's second son obediently handed over the token.
Han Jue nodded. His requirement to enter the second level of the Void Emperor Treasury was now fulfilled.
"Here, this one's not poisonous."
Glancing at Yaoguang's second son's severely injured body, Han Jue tossed out a Life Fruit.
"Thank you, brother!"
Yaoguang's second son swallowed the fruit and instantly felt much better. He approached Han Jue and expressed his sincere gratitude.
Even as a descendant of the Yaoguang family, he had never seen a healing item of this caliber.
Han Jue ignored him and instead made his way to the center of the first level of the Void Emperor Treasury.
There, a high platform had eighteen grooves, each corresponding to the shape of a Void Emperor Order.
He placed the eighteen Void Emperor Orders into each groove, one by one.
A circular opening appeared in the rock ceiling above. Then the ground beneath their feet shook, casting away the surrounding soil and medicinal herbs. The platform functioned like an elevator, carrying the two upward.
Above was the second level of the Void Emperor Treasury.
Han Jue felt that, given the nature of this Void Emperor, there was probably a third level that required certain conditions to be met before entry.