Vessel of Worlds

Half a month remained before Dragon Descent Valley's exit would open, and Andy had no intention of taking further risks. By his reckoning, the valley was now at its most blood-soaked, and having already completed two reward tasks, he saw no reason to court danger. If he ran into a true elite disciple, another fierce battle would be unavoidable.

Bitter Cold Pool was a considerable distance from the exit at Peaceful Valley—nearly a thousand li in a straight line. If he flew on his artifact the entire way, he could arrive in a single day. But he had no intention of doing that. Detours around dangerous forbidden zones would add to the journey, bringing the total to four or five days at least.

And in the final days of the month, the killing inside the valley would reach a frenzy. By then, the routes to Peaceful Valley would likely be staked out by elite disciples lying in ambush. So Andy set out with half a month still remaining. His plan was to find a well-hidden spot somewhere in the valley and wait out the remaining time in peace, then dash for the exit the moment it opened.

Andy was traversing a slope studded with bizarre rock formations, his Concealment Technique active, when his spiritual sense detected a cultivator flying toward him on an artifact. He ducked behind the rocks to hide.

But when he realized the newcomer was alone—and someone he recognized—he dropped the Concealment Technique, stepped out, and planted himself squarely in the man's path.

"Dragon Descent Valley is an enormous place, and yet here we are, face to face. I wonder whether this is fate—or just enemies destined to cross paths." Andy regarded the thirteenth-layer cultivator before him, his voice calm.

"You! Andy—heh." The cultivator had been extending his spiritual sense as far as possible while flying, scanning for threats, but had detected nothing. The sudden appearance of a cultivator blocking his way gave him a start. When he saw it was only Andy, a mere twelfth-layer cultivator, his alarm subsided considerably. "Hard to say whether it's your lucky day or my unlucky one. There's a pack of Heavenly Wanderer Sect cultivators behind me—they'll reach this spot in less than an hour. Otherwise, I might have taken the time to end your life while I'm at it!"

"An hour? That's more than enough." Andy's expression was blank. "Tell me, Senior Brother Bai—why would you want to kill me?" The thirteenth-layer cultivator was none other than Bai Chuli, the fellow sect member who had once pestered Jian Xin'er and crossed paths with Andy before.

"Do you even need to ask?" Bai Chuli snorted. "If I don't kill you, how is that Jian girl ever going to commit herself to me wholeheartedly?"

"Good. Since you're being so direct, I won't waste words either. We're short on time, so I'll make this quick." Andy swept both hands outward. A streak of silver light and more than ten streaks of red burst from his sleeves simultaneously.

A silver sword, just over a chi long, erupted skyward with terrifying spiritual pressure. The red streaks merged into a fire python as thick as a water bucket and lunged at the Bai cultivator.

Andy had resolved to kill this man long before entering the valley. Meeting him here, the decision was instant. Intent on finishing the fight as quickly as possible, he held nothing back, opening with his most reliable killing move.

"A peak-grade artifact!" One glance at the horrifying spiritual pressure radiating from the silver sword told Bai Chuli exactly what he was facing. The color drained from his face.

He frantically aimed a purple bronze mirror artifact—already prepared in his hand—at the oncoming silver sword while sending a gleaming golden longsword slashing at the fire python.

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"The Dragon Spring Sword!" Andy let out a sharp, involuntary exclamation the instant he saw the golden blade. His normally impassive face twisted with undisguised shock.

That golden longsword was unmistakably the high-grade artifact he had personally forged and given to Jian Xin'er. He recognized it at a glance.

He immediately directed the fire python to self-detonate rather than let it clash with the Dragon Spring Sword and risk destroying both. Just as the fire python was about to collide with the golden blade, it veered sharply upward, then exploded with a thunderous boom, dissolving into motes of red light that faded to nothing.

Meanwhile, the purple mirror fired a beam of violet light as thick as a bowl's mouth, striking the silver sword and freezing it in midair. But after a single breath, the sword tore free of the beam's hold and continued streaking toward Bai Chuli.

At the sight, even with several defensive barriers layered over his body, Bai Chuli's heart turned to ash. He simply closed his eyes and waited to be cut in two.

"Where did you get this sword?" Instead of striking the killing blow, Andy held the silver sword hovering four or five chi above Bai Chuli's head, trembling faintly, and pointed at the golden longsword.

"Hmph—kill me if you're going to. Spare me the talk! I never imagined you'd have a peak-grade artifact. That Jian girl underestimated you!" Bai Chuli opened his eyes, saw the silver sword above him, and flinched with fear. But his tone remained defiant, with not a word of begging.

"Underestimated? Didn't you steal this sword from Jian Xin'er?" Andy said coldly.

"Steal?" Bai Chuli recoiled as though he'd been struck. The accusation seemed to cut deeper than the threat of death; his paper-white face flushed crimson. "Jian Xin'er gave me this sword with her own hands—so I'd have an extra high-grade artifact in Dragon Descent Valley!"

"Gave it to you? Why would she do that? She's always ignored you completely!" Andy let out a cold laugh, his expression one of open contempt.

Andy's mocking tone infuriated Bai Chuli. He bellowed: "How should I know why she gave it to me? I only entered Dragon Descent Valley because of her!"

"Because of her?" Andy's brow furrowed.

"That's right! The morning before the Foundation Establishment competition, she came to me herself. She said that even though we're both three-root cultivators, anyone who wanted to be worthy of her would need Foundation Establishment cultivation at the very minimum—only then could he protect her and stand by her side in a world where the strong devour the weak. So after I failed the competition, I signed up for this Dragon Descent Valley expedition to earn a Foundation Establishment Pill. She gave me this sword after she learned I'd registered." Bai Chuli couldn't stand being falsely accused, and the whole story came pouring out.

"She was telling you that if you reached Foundation Establishment, she'd be with you. Is that right?" Andy asked, his voice like ice.

"Exactly! She didn't say it outright, but that's what she meant. Hmph—I don't know how you got your hands on a peak-grade artifact, but with your five-root aptitude, even if someone handed you a Foundation Establishment Pill or two, breaking through would be nothing but a dream! And Jian Xin'er has probably already emerged from seclusion as a Foundation Establishment cultivator by now. You think a five-root waste like you is worthy of her? Ha! What a joke—the joke of a lifetime! Hahahaha—" Bai Chuli's words grew wilder as he went, until he was laughing like a madman.

"Very well." Andy's voice was quiet, almost as if he were speaking to himself rather than to Bai Chuli. "If you hadn't seen my peak-grade artifact, I might actually have let you go. After all, you're nothing more than a petty man who wears his heart on his sleeve—still more likeable than the hypocrites of this world." He extended a finger toward the silver sword. A flash of silver, and Bai Chuli's layered barriers shattered like they were made of nothing. His head left his shoulders; blood fountained three chi into the air.

Andy recalled the purple bronze mirror, the golden Dragon Spring Sword, and the silver sword into his storage pouch, then deftly removed the storage pouch from Bai Chuli's waist. A flick of his finger sent a small fireball arcing out, reducing the body to ash.

After quickly tidying the signs of battle, Andy activated his Concealment Technique and retreated to a hidden crevice among the rocks some distance away.

Half an hour later, with his spiritual sense extended to its fullest, Andy detected a group of cultivators entering the rocky slope—more than twenty of them.

A formation that large should never have appeared in Dragon Descent Valley. Twenty-odd cultivators searching for treasure together was absurdly inefficient. Even if they found one or two treasures, there would never be enough to share.

Alarmed and bewildered, Andy pushed his Concealment Technique to its absolute limit, suppressing not only every trace of spiritual power but even the faintest signs of breathing and heartbeat.