Chapter One Hundred and Four: The Great Tribulation

The Valley of Absolute Yin.

Zou Zihe soared into the sky, releasing his soul consciousness to sweep out in all directions as he gradually distanced himself from the Valley of Absolute Yin.

Beiming Shang’s expression was ferocious. He was just about to engage in a life-or-death battle with Chi Xiao when he suddenly noticed Zou Zihe quietly taking to the skies.

With a sudden realization, he recalled the scene he had witnessed in that strange space and understood that Shi Yan might not be far away.

"Chi Xiao, I will settle my score with you sooner or later!"

Beiming Shang gritted his teeth, his expression dark and fierce. However, he did not strike again. Retracting his Extreme Cold Ice Flame, he also flew up into the air, spreading his soul consciousness to search for Shi Yan's traces.

"Yin Kui, Jiu Shan, split up and search the outer perimeter of the Swamp of Deathly Silence. Remember, if you see Shi Yan, do not kill him immediately. I want him alive!" Beiming Shang ordered from midair, his voice bone-chillingly cold.

Yin Kui and Jiu Shan said nothing, immediately splitting up and departing the Valley of Absolute Yin.

In an instant, the vast Valley of Absolute Yin was left with only Chi Xiao, Zhao Qi, the members of the Zuo family, and the dazed Mu Yudie and Di Yalan.

"Master!" Zuo Shi glared at Chi Xiao. "Before we came, Grandpa Shi asked you to take care of Shi Yan. You aren't going to play dumb, are you?"

Chi Xiao looked helpless and sighed, shaking his head. "I already stopped Beiming Shang. But now, two Sky Realm experts want that kid dead. If I force my way in, I'll have to face both of them. Especially since they are in a state of extreme fury. If I interfere now, I'm afraid..."

"Master, are you actually afraid of them?" Zuo Shi tilted her head up and snorted.

"Xiao Shi," Wu Yunlian suddenly spoke up and sighed. "Master Chi Xiao has no choice. With his strength, he could easily escape even if he faced two Sky Realm experts. But he is worried about us. Don't you understand that?"

Zuo Shi froze. After a long moment, she muttered, "But what about Shi Yan? If he dies, Grandpa Shi will be heartbroken."

"There's nothing we can do; he can only fend for himself." Wu Yunlian knitted her brows and shook her head, thoroughly perplexed. "But how is it possible? How could that kid Shi Yan kill Beiming Ce? Beiming Ce possessed twin martial spirits and was at the Hundred Tribulations Realm. How did this happen?"

Chi Xiao was equally baffled, but he secretly suspected it had to do with that strange space.

Back in there, just as he was about to leave, he had clearly seen a pillar of light descend from the heavens onto Shi Yan, causing his body to vanish into thin air. He suspected that everything was related to the changes in that strange space.

"Eh?" Chi Xiao uttered a soft cry of surprise as a sudden realization struck him. "If there was any treasure inside, that kid must have obtained it. That must be why Beiming Shang and that other Sky Realm expert are so anxious to find him."

"Chi Xiao, I have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave. From this day forth, the grievances between us are written off." At that moment, Zhao Qi suddenly called out to Chi Xiao. Without another word, he hurriedly flew toward the outer edge of the Absolute Yin Plains.

"Zhao Qi!" Chi Xiao shouted.

"What is it?" Zhao Qi looked back, sounding impatient.

"I know what you're thinking," Chi Xiao said, frowning slightly. "If you really manage to find Shi Yan, you can take whatever treasure he has, but I hope you will show some mercy and spare his life."

The outer perimeter of the Swamp of Deathly Silence was filled with lush vegetation, swamps, and poisonous miasma. Many warriors also adventured there. Even for Beiming Shang and Zou Zihe, finding Shi Yan would not be an easy task.

However, Zhao Qi was different. He was the master of the outer Swamp of Deathly Silence. He could move freely through the marshes, manipulate the poisonous miasma, and even command the demonic beasts there. If anyone stood the best chance of finding Shi Yan first, it was him.

"If that kid behaves himself, I won't make things too hard for him," Zhao Qi sneered. "But if he doesn't know what's good for him, I won't show any mercy. Chi Xiao, this no longer concerns you, so you had best stay out of it. The wrath of two Sky Realm experts is nothing to play with. If you want your disciple to live, don't meddle in that kid's fate."

With that, Zhao Qi shot forward, vanishing from sight in an instant.

***

Late at night, the sky was filled with stars, and the moon shone brightly.

In the eastern part of the Swamp of Deathly Silence, amidst the dense foliage of a towering ancient tree.

Shi Yan had a grim face, staring blankly at the starry sky. A strange light flickered in his eyes, mysterious and profound.

In that strange space, a pillar of starlight had descended from the heavens and struck him, directly transporting him out of that wondrous space and dropping him here.

As soon as he landed, a glance at the nearby poisonous miasma and the ubiquitous swamps allowed him to immediately determine that he was in the outer area of the Swamp of Deathly Silence.

When he first emerged, it was still daytime. Shi Yan had checked his chest repeatedly, only to find that apart from a few specks of starlight on his heart, nothing seemed unusual. He could only faintly sense faint starlight drifting down from the sky, slowly gathering at his heart.

That was during the day.

But at night, when the stars began to twinkle one by one, Shi Yan's heart suddenly seemed to overflow with ten times its usual vitality, though its beating grew even slower.

However, the starlight power from the vast starry sky shot down, quietly surging into his body and pouring into his heart. The starlight power at night was far stronger than during the day. He could feel this profoundly.

He could clearly sense the faint starlight power emanating from the distant stars. Although this power was invisible to the naked eye—being a hundred times weaker than condensed starlight droplets and thus emitting no light—it was undeniably real.

He did not need to do anything, nor did he even need to focus his mind. Whether it was day or night, his heart would endlessly absorb the starlight power. It was just that it absorbed less during the day and more at night.

Shi Yan did not know how to utilize the starlight power in his heart. He had tried to channel it, but he could find no way to extract it.

Fortunately, the changes in his heart did not seem to affect him negatively. He did not need to do anything for his heart to absorb the starlight power, sparing him any mental strain.

Thus, after being curious for a while, Shi Yan temporarily put the changes in his heart out of his mind.

The reason he had killed Beiming Ce was that there was only one crystal block. Beiming Ce wanted it, and so did he.

Once he revealed his strength, it became even more certain that only one of them could walk away alive.

Shi Yan understood that Beiming Ce was the future head of the Beiming family—ruthless, calculating, and far-sighted. After seeing that Shi Yan possessed such power despite being only at the Human Realm, Beiming Ce had no intention of letting him live. Even if they hadn't fought inside the strange space, Beiming Ce would have done everything in his power to kill him once they got out.

—And Beiming Shang outside would definitely do the same.

They would do it for the future of the Beiming family, to eliminate any potential threats early on to secure their family's dominance for the next hundred years.

Whether he killed Beiming Ce or not, Beiming Ce would never let him go. Under such circumstances, what was there to hesitate about?

When he killed Beiming Ce, his acupuncture points had absorbed Beiming Ce's negative energy, breeding bloodlust and violent impulses in the depths of his heart.

However, when the pillar of starlight shone upon him, the negative emotions brewing in his heart were instantly swept clean, saving him from the danger of losing control.

After his acupuncture points purified Beiming Ce's essence, a strange power overflowed from them that evening. However, all of that strange power surged into his heart, merging with the countless tiny specks of starlight inside, leaving Shi Yan marveling in wonder.

Looking up at the sky, watching the stars and feeling the faint starlight power drifting down, Shi Yan let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. He closed his eyes to sense his surroundings. Confirming that no one was around, he climbed down from the ancient tree and continued heading east through the Swamp of Deathly Silence.

The Merchant Union lay to the south of Tianyun City. If he wanted to return to Tianyun City, he should have headed south, yet he was walking east.

And the east was the direction of the Endless Sea.

—He had no intention of returning to the Merchant Union at all.

Even if Beiming Ce and Mu Hui hadn't died, the Sky Realm experts in the Valley of Absolute Yin would not have let him off because he had obtained the crystal block. Shi Yan was well aware of this.

Although the Shi family was one of the five major families of the Merchant Union, they did not have a single Sky Realm expert and could not protect him.

If he returned to the Shi family, he would only bring disaster upon them. Because of him, the entire Shi family might be wiped out.

If he vanished or went elsewhere, the Shi family might actually stand a chance of escaping this catastrophe.

He knew very well that he was the real target of those people.

From Xia Xinyan, he had heard much about the mysteries of the Endless Sea. He knew it was the gathering center for countless warriors, countless times larger than the Merchant Union, the Fire Empire, and the God-Blessed Empire combined, and home to innumerable peak experts of the world.

—That was his true destination.

Under the cover of the night, carefully spreading his awareness to sense the surroundings, Shi Yan pushed eastward with unyielding determination.

***

"Still nothing!"

In the southern part of the Swamp of Deathly Silence, Beiming Shang's face was dark, his expression terrifyingly grim.

Not far away, Zou Zihe, the Nether Lord of the Dark Nether, was also brimming with murderous intent. "Over the past few days, we have searched this entire area. We have scanned every warrior and mercenary active here with our soul consciousness, yet we found nothing. Did that kid not return to Tianyun City?"

"He didn't return to Tianyun City..." Beiming Shang's face darkened as he cold-heartedly said, "It seems we need to change directions. I will head east. You do as you please."

With that, Beiming Shang shot forward, flying toward the eastern part of the Swamp of Deathly Silence.

***

"Miss, if that guy is in the Swamp of Deathly Silence, shouldn't he be in the south? If he doesn't return to Tianyun City, he won't be able to get any protection," a burly man beside Xia Xinyan asked in confusion near a pond in the eastern part of the Swamp of Deathly Silence.

"Return to Tianyun City?" Xia Xinyan curled her lips. "What use would that be? The Shi family doesn't even have a Sky Realm expert. If he goes back, not only will he fail to get protection, but he will also bring disaster to them. If I were him, I would never return to the Shi family until I reached the Sky Realm, and I would stay as far away from them as possible."

As Xia Xinyan spoke, she bent down to wash her face by the pond before standing up. "Let's go, we'll head east. The east is also the direction of the Endless Sea. If we really can't find him, we will just head straight back to the Endless Sea."

"Understood," the two burly men nodded.

*Buzz, buzz, buzz...*

Just then, a strange buzzing sound came from Xia Xinyan's breast pocket. Her beautiful face shifted slightly as she pulled out a wind chime. Staring at it, she gasped, "Shura King Xiao Hanyi is almost here!"

"Ah? Why would the Shura King come to the Swamp of Deathly Silence? Isn't he searching for Yang Hai?"

"I don't know either."

Xia Xinyan shook her head and said indifferently, "But it might be for the best. Xiao Hanyi is at the Second Sky of the Sky Realm, and he cultivates the Blood Fiend Path of the Five Shura Paths. By refining blood into fiendish energy, he can unleash power equivalent to the Third Sky of the Sky Realm. The Sky Realm experts here in the Swamp of Deathly Silence are only at the First Sky. Once Xiao Hanyi arrives, they will have to behave themselves. Otherwise, given the Shura King's temper, they will be in for a miserable time."

"The three Shura Kings of the Yang family are all madmen. Miss, you must be careful not to cross him."

"I know what I'm doing."