Quinn Shepherd burst out of the temple, howling as he reached the steps of the divine mountain. He immediately threw himself sideways, hiding his body beneath the stone steps. Two thick beams of divine light swept just above him, scorching the mountain’s stone slabs a blazing red!
Quinn waited until the two beams had swept past, then rolled twice and landed a few steps lower. Only then did he leap up, charging down the mountain like a furious dragon, mist billowing behind him as he raced downward.
He sprinted at full speed, channeling his yuanqi (cultivation energy; vital force) to generate thick fog behind him—locking the whole mountain in mist.
However, blood kept leaking from the wound on his neck, drawn outward and flowing into the mountain itself.
The wound had been clawed into his neck by Chi Creek’s fingernails. On this Execution Platform, any small injury can neither heal nor be treated with medicine; as long as the wound exists, the platform will siphon away your blood and vitality. The only way out is to escape while you’re still alive!
Quinn’s blood and vitality drained at a terrifying rate. He didn’t dare look back to see whether it was the Execution Platform or Chi Creek absorbing him—he could only grit his teeth and keep running.
At last he reached the foot of the mountain. His mind was a blank; blood loss left his ears ringing like thunder and his vision pitch-black.
Quinn’s Primordial Spirit left his body to survey his surroundings. With his right hand, he quickly pulled Dragon Spittle Elixir from his Glutton Dragon Pouch and poured it over the wound on his neck, then swallowed a blood-restoring Ling Buddha Pill at lightning speed.
He felt his body and was horrified—just in that brief moment, he’d become gaunt as a skeleton. It would take serious recovery before he could regain his strength.
Both the Execution Platform and Chi Creek were draining his blood and vitality. The fact that he hadn’t been completely sucked dry was already a remarkable feat.
Twin beams of divine light shot from Chi Creek’s eyes, but missed Quinn; he could only watch helplessly as Quinn sped away.
Quinn, thin as a bamboo pole, tucked the little box under his arm and staggered forward, putting distance between himself and that uncanny divine mountain. He thought, "I put Blood-Dissolving Powder in the water. Chi Creek first absorbed Zechariah Lee and Young Master Cyrus Qi’s blood to awaken himself, then used my three water skins to moisten his body. The powder should have seeped into every corner of his flesh along with those three bags of water. If he absorbs my blood, the powder will dissolve all the blood he stole—including mine. He relies on blood to wake; if it’s dissolved, he’ll sink back into dormancy. But if Chi Creek is clever, he might have saved a bit of clean blood. Water—!"
As a master of medicine and poison, Quinn knew exactly how to save a little clean blood—and where Chi Creek would hide it. Furious and exhausted, Chi Creek staggered and collapsed. The saying goes: “A mountain kills a horse; a lake exhausts an ox.” After all his effort to reach the lake, Quinn had poisoned the water. To reach another source might take months, even years if luck failed.
It was in Chi Creek’s eyes—the very eyes that had just fired beams of divine light. Just then, thunder rumbled overhead, startling Chi Creek awake. He rolled over, opened his three mouths toward the sky, and waited in delight for rain.
He probably only had clean blood left in one pair of eyes. Dark clouds gathered, lightning flashed, and the sky grew ever more overcast and low.
So, whether Chi Creek would fall dormant again, Quinn couldn’t say—he just had to get far away from that mountain. Suddenly, fire dragons erupted from a distant mountain and soared into the clouds, driving the rain away. Soon the sky cleared, turning bright blue, with white clouds drifting past.
"If he’s smart, he’ll expel all the water from his body, let himself shrivel up completely, then use the last drops of blood in his eyes to get back on his feet." Chi Creek turned with difficulty, firing two beams of divine light from his eyes that blasted huge holes in the mountain’s peak!
Quinn circulated his remaining yuanqi to dissolve the Spirit-Embryo Pill inside him, thinking, "Let’s hope he isn’t that clever… If I ever find you…"
Inside the temple, Chi Creek knelt motionless like a wooden statue. Milky, cloudy water trickled from the fingertips of his six hands—murky fluid streaked with pale, spoiled blood. Elsewhere, after dispersing the clouds and rain, Quinn hurried down the mountain. The mountain behind him had suffered for no reason—its peak blasted open in two places.
Quinn’s Blood-Dissolving Powder couldn’t dissolve Chi Creek’s divine blood—only the blood he’d absorbed from Zechariah Lee, Young Master Cyrus Qi, and Quinn himself. All that stolen blood was being liquefied and drained away. He had recovered somewhat, but his body was still far from its peak condition.
Twin beams of divine light shot from Chi Creek's eyes, but missed Quinn; he could only watch helplessly as Quinn sped away.
Water—!
Furious and exhausted, Chi Creek staggered and collapsed. The saying goes: 'A mountain kills a horse; a lake exhausts an ox.' After all his effort to reach the lake, Quinn had poisoned the water. To reach another source might take months, even years if luck failed.
Just then, thunder rumbled overhead, startling Chi Creek awake. He rolled over, opened his three mouths toward the sky, and waited in delight for rain.
Dark clouds gathered, lightning flashed, and the sky grew ever more overcast and low.
Suddenly, fire dragons erupted from a distant mountain and soared into the clouds, driving the rain away. Soon the sky cleared, turning bright blue, with white clouds drifting past.
Chi Creek turned with difficulty, firing two beams of divine light from his eyes that blasted huge holes in the mountain's peak!
If I ever find you...
Elsewhere, after dispersing the clouds and rain, Quinn hurried down the mountain. The mountain behind him had suffered for no reason—its peak blasted open in two places.
He had recovered somewhat, but his body was still far from its peak condition.
There won’t be rain for a while now. I should be safe for some time—enough to recover and study this little box.
He turned into a ground-hugging shadow, erasing all traces as he fled far away. Even if Chi Creek wakes when it rains, he won’t be able to find Quinn’s hiding place.
After a long time, Quinn dropped his shadow-state and revealed himself, sitting down to study the little box.
The little box was the control hub of the Execution Platform. Its surface bore ancient, archaic rune patterns—clearly marks from the Chiming Era, very different from current rune systems.
Divine arts from the Chiming Era must differ from those of today. Quinn examined the runes carefully, trying to decipher their secrets, but he had no foundation in Chiming runes and could only give up.
A faint, harmless halo revolved around the box; Quinn had already tested it with spirit weapons and found the glow had no power—likely just the natural radiance of the treasure inside.
There was no lock, yet the box was tightly sealed, with no place to pry it open.
No matter how Quinn tried, he couldn’t open the box. Even slashing it several times with the Worryless Sword left no mark.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded—a familiar voice drifted to Quinn’s ears: “Brother Quinn, your abilities are truly vast. Even in such danger, you managed to escape. I am impressed.”
Quinn tucked the box under his arm, turned around, and greeted Young Master Cyrus Qi with a broad smile.
Though Young Master Cyrus Qi still looked elegant, he too had lost much blood to the divine mountain and Chi Creek, growing thin. Compared to the now-gaunt Quinn, however, he still seemed relatively robust.
Quinn had first been drained by Chi Creek, then by the divine mountain; his body was dangerously depleted.
Cyrus Qi and Zechariah Lee had trapped him in the temple for a short time, nearly killing him. He’d lost even more blood than they had.
This time, Cyrus Qi had come fully prepared. Behind him stood a Phoenixwood tree wreathed in fire, its nest built of golden straw and phoenix branches. In the nest, nine phoenixes rested, each head breathing fire to refine itself.
His great divine art was ready; the momentum was set.
“Where is Senior Brother Zechariah Lee?” Quinn glanced around and asked.
Cyrus Qi replied calmly, “He challenged me, but I wounded him badly and he had to flee. Brother Quinn, you probably don’t recognize this little box, do you? Let me explain.”
Quinn’s expression turned solemn. “I’d love to hear the details.”
“I don’t know what the Chiming Heavenly Court called this box 350,000 years ago. But in our Heavenly Court, it has a notorious name: the God-Slaying Headsman’s Blade.”
Cyrus Qi stopped. The nine phoenixes in the Phoenixwood nest raised their heads to look at Quinn, while Cyrus Qi’s gaze fell on the box. “Do you know what the box is for, Brother Quinn? Since you’ve never served in the Heavenly Court, you may not know. It’s usually used to hold severed heads.”
“Severed heads?”
Quinn shook the box in surprise—there was no sound of heads rolling inside.
Cyrus Qi raised an eyebrow, smiling. “It’s for Emperor’s-Throne experts’ heads—the God-Slaying Headsman’s Blade. If you don’t know how to open it, why not give it to me? I can open it and show you.”
Quinn held out the box with both hands, sincerely saying, “Here, take it.”
Cyrus Qi’s gaze fixed on the box as he inhaled deeply. Suddenly, the Phoenixwood tree behind him rose into the air—his Emperor’s-Throne scripture activated!
Quinn let go, and the box fell to the ground—revealing a spinning Sword Pill in his palm beneath it.
Cyrus Qi retreated, passing through the Phoenixwood tree as it surged upward to sixteen zhang tall. In the nest, nine phoenixes shrieked and soared at Quinn in a stream of blazing light!
Whummm—
Suddenly, sword-light blazed; the Open the Calamity Sword erupted, meeting the nine phoenixes. For an instant, fire and sword-light blotted out the sun, exploding among the mountains like a miniature sun expanding madly!
Cyrus Qi sprang forward, forming a phoenix mudra and blasting it ahead. The Phoenixwood tree crashed down after the nine phoenixes, smashing everything in its path!
“Severed heads?”
Quinn shook the box in surprise—there was no sound of heads rolling inside.
Cyrus Qi raised an eyebrow, smiling. “It’s for Emperor’s-Throne experts’ heads—the God-Slaying Headsman’s Blade. If you don’t know how to open it, why not give it to me? I can open it and show you.”
Quinn held out the box with both hands, sincerely saying, “Here, take it.”
Cyrus Qi’s gaze fixed on the box as he inhaled deeply. Suddenly, the Phoenixwood tree behind him rose into the air—his Emperor’s-Throne scripture activated!
Quinn let go, and the box fell to the ground—revealing a spinning Sword Pill in his palm beneath it.
Cyrus Qi retreated, passing through the Phoenixwood tree as it surged upward to sixteen zhang tall. In the nest, nine phoenixes shrieked and soared at Quinn in a stream of blazing light!
Whummm—
Suddenly, sword-light blazed; the Open the Calamity Sword erupted, meeting the nine phoenixes. For an instant, fire and sword-light blotted out the sun, exploding among the mountains like a miniature sun expanding madly!
Cyrus Qi sprang forward, forming a phoenix mudra and blasting it ahead. The Phoenixwood tree crashed down after the nine phoenixes, smashing everything in its path!