My Arts Evolve When Perfected

’Besides, I know my limits. Why would I go out of my way to antagonize the Yin Yang Great Realm? That’s a top-tier Great Realm, no weaker than the Nine Venerable Great Realm. They also possess an uncanny unity; when facing an external threat, they can instantly bury the hatchet and present a united front!’

’How could I have possibly offended a Unity Realm cultivator from the Yin Yang Great Realm!’

After considering numerous possibilities, Zuo Xuan still couldn’t figure out why Jiang Qiu was showing such intense killing intent toward him. However, a glance at the situation sent a natural chill down his spine.

’Three Unity Realm cultivators ganging up on me, and I’m already heavily injured,’ he thought. ’That Yang Lei’s strength is not to be underestimated. As for the other two, I have no information on them, yet their auras are no weaker than the Initial Tier of Unity Realm. They’re no small foes!’

’If we fought, I might not necessarily lose, but my chances of winning are basically nonexistent!’

"Hmph," Jiang Qiu stared at him coldly, not attacking right away. "The great are often forgetful, I see. You plundered my home world."

"Huh?" Zuo Xuan was taken aback for a moment. "With an expert like you guarding it, why would I have plundered it?"

He never took the initiative to plunder worlds where Unity Realm cultivators resided. Such worlds had a certain probability of birthing an extremely protective World Will. If he insisted on plundering them, a battle would be unavoidable, and it was far too risky.

Therefore, he usually plundered desolate, remote worlds—a practice known as "pioneering," which yielded substantial returns—or worlds already embroiled in conflict, where he could interfere and reap enormous benefits.

So, he truly couldn’t recall plundering any world that had a Unity Realm cultivator. Besides, he had plundered far too many worlds; he couldn’t remember them all...

Jiang Qiu could see that the man truly didn’t remember him. However, he had no intention of revealing his origins, so he didn’t mention he was from Blue Star. Instead, he changed the subject. "Did you, or did you not, obtain a Dusk Token in the Thunder Clan’s Ancestral Land?"

"Heh," Zuo Xuan’s tone turned cold. "So you’re here for the Dusk Token."

He instantly understood. The three people before him wanted to seize the Dusk Token. After all, in the current situation, the only way to get out alive was to escape the Thunder Great Realm.

And the most reliable way to escape the Thunder Great Realm was to use a Dusk Token!

’Three people, so they must be after three Dusk Tokens. Why else would they team up?’

’Besides, the Three-Life Race is known for being profit-driven. As long as the benefits are great enough, they’re capable of anything...’

At this thought, Zuo Xuan took a deep breath. His eyes suddenly widened, and a terrifying aura erupted from him completely. A blue radiance bloomed from his body, as if a black hole of ultimate depth had materialized.

At that moment, Yang Lei’s eyes twitched. He was just about to use his own technique to suppress Zuo Xuan when, with a SWISH, a Dusk Token shot out from the blue radiance and landed in his palm with a THWAP.

At the same time, Snow also caught a Dusk Token. A look of astonishment appeared on her pretty, aloof face. When she looked up again, Zuo Xuan had vanished, his aura completely gone.

This move stunned Jiang Qiu as well. The fury that had just been ignited was extinguished as if blown out by the wind. "He just ran away like that?"

’My aura was locked onto him the whole time,’ Jiang Qiu thought. ’It shouldn’t have been easy for him to flee. Space-Time Travel always leaves fluctuations. I could have tracked them, and he wouldn’t have gotten away so easily.’

But both Yang Lei and Snow were distracted for a split second. How could he possibly keep a super-expert at the Peak of Unity Realm pinned down all by himself?

With a WHOOSH, the man had vanished without a trace.

"Senior Brother, look, it’s a Dusk Token."

Snow giggled, floating over to hand him the Dusk Token. She seemed quite happy, since they had obtained what they wanted without even having to fight.

Meanwhile, Yang Lei stared at the Dusk Token in his hand, silent for a long moment. This thing was priceless, yet the man had just tossed it to him.

However, he didn’t intend to keep it, because he already had a Dusk Token of his own. He hadn’t been worried about getting one; he was here mainly to help Jiang Qiu.

Yang Lei spoke generously, "Sir Jiang Qiu, I already have a Dusk Token. If you still need this one in my hand, I can sell it to you."

Dusk Tokens were practically priceless. Who would be willing to sell such a thing out in the open? Most people would pray that no one ever found out they possessed one. Only those with immense backing would dare to reveal it. Thus, his willingness to sell was already a huge favor.

Jiang Qiu naturally understood this. In fact, Yang Lei didn’t even ask for a high price—he practically sold it to him for a pittance.

Soon, Jiang Qiu was holding two Dusk Tokens, feeling as if he were in a daze.

He had thought a heaven-shaking battle was inevitable. He had even been prepared to merge with Snow to try and achieve a combat power exceeding the Initial Tier of Unity Realm. He never expected Zuo Xuan to be so wary of the three of them that he would just leave!

"But this is for the best. If we had fought just now, we would have definitely been badly injured," Jiang Qiu said, taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Senior Yang Lei. Shall we head back now?"

"Alright."

Soon, the trio’s figures vanished from the entrance to the Thunder Clan’s Ancestral Land. At the same time, some of the cultivators who had sensed the intense auras disappear from a distance began to emerge from their hiding spots.

They had felt an intense pressure just moments ago, as if the sky was about to fall and the earth was about to shatter. But in the end, nothing had happened, and they couldn’t help but breathe a secret sigh of relief.

Some of the bolder ones still chose to enter the Thunder Clan’s Ancestral Land. The result was countless deaths and injuries. Cultivators with Cultivation Realms below the Fusion Realm were, without exception, suppressed and killed by the protective Laws of the Thunder Clan’s Ancestral Land.

And the one or two hidden Unity Realm cultivators who managed to enter with great difficulty discovered that all the resources were gone. There wasn’t a single good thing left. In such a vast place, there was basically nothing of value!

"Who in the world looted this place?!"

"The Thunder Clan’s foundation, built over tens of thousands of years, is just gone?!"

While the hidden Unity Realm mighty experts were enduring severe devastation without finding any treasure, and nearly dying inside the Thunder Clan’s Ancestral Land, Zuo Xuan had long since returned to his Eight-direction Reversing Ship and begun his plan of secluded recuperation.

He was currently heavily injured, but the resources he had plundered from the Thunder Clan’s Ancestral Land were enough for him to recover most of his strength in a little over two months.

As for why he had tossed out two Dusk Tokens, he had seen through their alliance long ago. Yang Lei and the other two couldn’t possibly be a true team; after all, they weren’t even from the same race.

Furthermore, the cultivator who looked like a Dragon Maiden and the furious black-robed man also seemed distant from each other. The Dragon Maiden’s temperament was exceptionally cold; one glance told you she was the impossibly aloof and arrogant type.

’As long as I tossed the two Dusk Tokens to Yang Lei and the Dragon Maiden, I could instantly dissolve their temporary alliance. After all, Yang Lei is one of the profit-driven Three-Life Race. Now that he has a Dusk Token, why would he risk making an enemy of me?’

’And once that mysterious Dragon Maiden got her Dusk Token, she would have no reason to fight me either. As for the one who was left... he was nothing to be afraid of!’

’That’s right. Even though I was heavily injured, and even though I couldn’t see through his cultivation, I figured his realm couldn’t be that high. At most, he was barely at the Initial Tier of Unity Realm, perhaps having broken through only recently. I’ve been plundering for so long and have never come across him, which means he’s a novice.’

And just like that, Zuo Xuan had escaped back to the Eight-direction Reversing Ship. Here, he was safe. Not even a full-power strike from a Unity Realm expert could dream of destroying the Eight-direction Reversing Ship’s defenses!

Next up was to enter seclusion and wait for the Dusk Holy Ruins to open—