The village sat in the shadow of the stone city, its people dressed in clothing from a bygone era. They were tall and broad, like Su Yan himself, with hands and feet larger than normal.
Children played with the bones of ancient beasts, swinging hundred-pound femurs like toys. One scrawny boy took a hit that sent him flying six zhang. His skull cracked against a boulder—which split in two. The boy stood up, eight-pack abs gleaming, and charged back into the fray.
A woman dragged him to a small altar at the village center. Upon it grew a spirit herb, nine leaves shimmering with faint light. She chanted, and the herb glowed. The boy's wound closed without a trace.
"They probably think they're weak," Yuan Qi muttered.
"Those beast bones at the village entrance," the bell mused. "Do you think the villagers killed them?"
"I think so," Yuan Qi shuddered.
Su Yan used his Heavenly Eye. These people possessed a strange innate power that had forced open their tailbone pass—every single one of them was at Gate-Breaking stage from birth. Yet they showed no signs of cultivation. Their Xiyi Domains were untouched.
The old immortal's voice rasped from the Zhu prison cart. "That herb is a Crimson Immortal Plant, nurtured by celestial energy. These fools don't cultivate. They simply grow strong by living near it."
Zhu Zhongquan's eyes lit up. "If I eat it, I can break through to Dual Refinement?"
"A single leaf would suffice," the old man cackled. "But its true value lies in breaking the Jade Pillow Pass—the final barrier before Ascension."
Zhu Zhongquan gave the order. A dozen Zhu nuo masters charged the village.
A young villager met them at the entrance. He struck each one with a single punch, sending them flying. But a sword qi flashed from a hidden nuo master, slitting the youth's throat.
The villager fell, blood gurgling. The nuo master kicked him aside and strode toward the altar.
The villagers grabbed bone spears and rushed forward. The ancient beast bones glowed with natural runes, shattering the nuo master's sword qi. Bone spears rained down, impaling him.
Then an elder Zhu nuo master stepped forward, opening three secret domains. Roots burst from the earth, wrapping around the villagers. Their bodies twisted, faces splitting, hearts multiplying. It was the Mud Pill nuo art—the very technique Zhou Qiyun had perfected.
"Kill them all," the elder sneered. "Leave no survivors."
A figure appeared between the villagers and their attackers.
Su Yan.
The sword qi hovering in mid-air froze. Then it reversed, streaking back into the attackers' sword cases. The Zhu nuo masters collapsed, dead before they hit the ground.
Su Yan turned to the elder. "You dare use the Zhou family's art?"
He moved. One punch shattered every barrier the elder threw up, broke his fingers, twisted his arm, and caved in his face. The man's brain splattered across the dirt.
"Seventh Master told me to kill first and lecture later," Su Yan said, wiping his fist on the corpse. "Did you think I was dead?"
Zhu Zhongquan's face twisted. He dropped to his knees. "Brother-in-law! This is a misunderstanding!"
Su Yan walked past him to the prison cart. "Old immortal. You're already imprisoned. Don't stir trouble."
The old man laughed. The black shroud ripped apart. He rose, chains clanking, his withered frame swelling with terrible power.
Su Yan's vision shattered. He found himself impaled on hooks, suspended in a cage. The old man's face filled the sky.
"I will blind your soul!"
Two fingers stabbed toward Su Yan's eyes—and snapped.
The illusion broke. Su Yan stood unharmed beside the cart. Inside, the old immortal writhed, screaming, two spectral fingers reduced to smoke.
"I broke two fingers this time," Su Yan said softly, crouching beside the cart. "Next time, I'll take your head. Understood?"