41: Chapter 41 You bury the knife, I pull out the stake

The entrance to the Black Rock City mine was like a gaping, pitch-black mouth, exhaling gusts of cold, biting wind.

As soon as Ye Feng landed, before his feet had even settled on the gravel, twelve shrill whistling sounds tore through the darkness.

Those were the Royal Family's specialized "Break-Qi Crossbows," their arrowheads tipped with deadly poison, capable of piercing the protective spiritual power of a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

But in front of someone at the Golden Core stage, they were nothing more than slightly faster toothpicks.

Ye Feng did not stop, nor did he even blink.

"Clang! Clatter!"

A series of dense, crisp sounds rang out.

Those crossbow bolts, which could easily pierce steel plates, hit an invisible iron wall three inches from his body and instantly shattered into a sky full of iron filings.

Although the newly condensed Purple Thunder Golden Core was violent, this layer of Protective Aura was a genuine, impenetrable wall of iron.

A collective gasp of cold air echoed from the darkness.

Before the twelve Royal Death Soldiers dressed in black could pull their triggers a second time, a gray sword gleam swept across them.

There were no screams.

Only the dull thuds of twelve heads landing neatly on the ground, the cuts at their necks smooth as mirrors, while blood sprayed like pillars, staining the pitch-black mine walls a glaring, scarlet red.

Ye Feng stepped over the headless corpses, his soles leaving a trail of wet footprints in the pool of blood.

Such trash did not even qualify to make him draw his sword.

The deeper he went, the denser the Spiritual Qi in the air became, but the sickening stench of blood also grew heavier.

In the cavern at the very depths of the mine, there were no piles of Spirit Stones as expected, only a massive Formation slowly operating.

The ground was etched with bizarre runes, and flowing through the grooves was not water, but dark red blood.

Thousands of High-Grade Spirit Stones were embedded in the center of the Formation, and the massive Spiritual Qi they radiated did not dissipate but was forcibly pressed deep into the earth by an invisible force.

"Spirit Gathering Blood Sacrifice Formation."

Ye Feng narrowed his eyes, and the knowledge from the Chaos Sword Body Legacy in his mind instantly provided the answer.

This was not for mining; it was for feeding.

Someone was using the Spiritual Qi of the entire mine and the blood of living people to nourish something beneath the ground.

Hurried footsteps sounded from behind.

Iron Madman rushed in, sword in hand, his armor clattering as he ran, his face covered in cold sweat.

Seeing Ye Feng standing still before the Formation, this border general clearly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, gritting his teeth, he took a few large strides to the edge of the Formation and swung his blade, fiercely severing several Spiritual Qi conducting pipes buried in the soil.

"Pfft."

Spiritual Qi leaked out, emitting a shrill, piercing whistle.

"If you don't want to die, don't touch that Formation eye!" Iron Madman gasped for breath, that single strike seemingly having exhausted all his courage. "This is a trap. Your Majesty... no, that foolish monarch buried 'Beast-Attracting Incense' down below."

Ye Feng turned his head, his gaze so calm it made one's skin crawl.

Iron Madman felt his scalp tingle under that gaze, but he still braced himself and said, "This Formation is channeling energy into the ground to awaken the 'Earth Fire Dragon Lizard' that has been sleeping for three hundred years. According to the plan, once your period of weakness arrives, the Beast-Attracting Incense will be sent down through the Formation. When that happens, a beast tide will erupt, and the entire Black Rock City will be buried with you."

Ruthless enough.

To kill one person, he was willing to use the people of an entire city as bait.

This is the power of the throne.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Crisp applause echoed from the shadows in the corner.

Su Xiaoxiao swayed her waist as she stepped out, her face wearing that signature, alluring smile, though there was a hint of wariness in her eyes.

"General Ye is truly heroic; even the Royal Death Soldiers couldn't stop you for even half a step."

She extended her lily-white hand, holding a pale blue bead in her palm, its surface shimmering with a gentle luster.

"This Formation connects to the toxic fire of the earth's lungs; the slightest carelessness could trigger a Spiritual Qi riot. This is a 'Lightning-Avoidance Bead' that can suppress the Formation's fluctuations. This humble one only has one small request: when the Formation activates later, I only want that bottle of 'Earth Core Spirit Marrow Fluid,' and the rest..."

Before she could finish, a rough, large hand reached out and grabbed it.

Ye Feng took the bead without even glancing at it.

His five fingers suddenly tightened.

"Crack."

The priceless Lightning-Avoidance Bead instantly turned into powder in his palm.

Su Xiaoxiao's smile froze on her face, a flash of astonishment and irritation crossing her eyes.

"You..."

"Lightning-avoidance?" Ye Feng curled his lips into a mocking arc, a black vortex of engulfment surging from his palm, instantly draining the lightning-avoidance properties from the bead completely. "I just swallowed a Heavenly Tribulation; is there anything in this world more lightning-proof than me?"

If you want to get something for nothing, you have to know who you're dealing with.

He had no interest in such calculated transactions.

Ye Feng took a step forward and sat cross-legged directly on top of the blood-drenched Formation eye.

Forcibly shattering and recasting his Golden Core earlier might have looked majestic, but in reality, his Golden Core was still vibrating violently, desperately needing a massive amount of Spiritual Qi to fill the void.

When a fat piece of meat is delivered to your door, it would be a waste not to eat it.

"Since it's a blood sacrifice, let me see if the beast beneath the ground has a bigger mouth, or if my appetite is larger."

Chaos Devouring Sword Body, fully activated.

The Formation, which had been rotating clockwise to channel Spiritual Qi into the ground, suddenly emitted a groan of unbearable strain.

A terrifying suction force erupted from Ye Feng's body, forcibly reversing the flow of the Formation.

Thousands of High-Grade Spirit Stones simultaneously erupted with blinding light, and the vast, ocean-like Spiritual Qi surged into Ye Feng's body like a broken dam.

It was not just the Spirit Stones.

Even the Spiritual Qi contained within the entire mine's rock walls was forcibly stripped away by this domineering suction.

"Madman... he's swallowing the entire mine alive!"

Su Xiaoxiao's face paled, and forgetting about any Spirit Marrow Fluid, she turned and ran for the exit.

Iron Madman was even more terrified, his legs trembling as he scrambled and crawled toward the exit.

This was not Cultivating; this was clearly demolition.

As the massive amount of Spiritual Qi poured in, the Purple Thunder Golden Core in Ye Feng's Dantian spun faster and faster, and his previously unstable aura became solid and heavy at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But the price was that the entire Black Rock City mine began to tremble violently.

Countless cracks split open on the rock walls, and huge boulders crashed down, filling the air with dust.

Having lost the support of Spiritual Qi, the rocks here became more brittle than dregs of tofu.

The floor in the center of the Formation completely shattered.

Just as Ye Feng stood up, preparing to leave this soon-to-collapse ruin, a huge boulder smashed through the partition layer beneath the ground, and a strange fragrance, sealed in a pottery jar, wafted up through the crack.