Chapter 24: Self-Destruction!

Once, Liu Xin was merely an ordinary disciple, one of many in the Chusheng Sect, living the life of a beast—performing tasks, cultivating, and taking out loans every day.

Until a chance encounter completely changed his fate.

It began with a bounty mission issued by a true disciple, who wanted to explore an ancient predecessor's cave dwelling and happened to be short on cannon fodder for scouting.

Unaware of the circumstances, Liu Xin was drawn by the mission's rewards and joined the expedition team. By the time he realized he was merely cannon fodder, it was too late; he was forced into the cave by the true disciple. However, he discovered that all the restrictions within the cave were inexplicably ineffective against him.

He made his way through unobstructed to claim his fortune.

It was a golden casket containing the *Precelestial Dao Scripture* and the *Precelestial One-Qi Myriad Spirit Banner*, alongside a letter left behind by the cave's former master.

In the letter, the master referred to himself as the "Precelestial True Person."

The Dao scripture and magical treasures within the casket were intended for a person of destiny. He had calculated that this person would be a true disciple of the Holy Sect, with the character "Xin" in their name.

However, he refused to submit.

In his letter, the Precelestial True Person cursed the shamelessness of the Chusheng Sect, accusing them of claiming a destiny that wasn't theirs and forcibly binding his legacy and karma to their true disciples.

Thus, he had deliberately obfuscated the karma, gifting the legacy to Liu Xin instead.

Furthermore, the letter stated that once Liu Xin obtained the treasures, he would face a life-or-death tribulation, so the master had left behind means within the cave to resolve the crisis.

In the original karma, the false "Xin" was not the true "Xin," which is why Liu Xin was meant to serve as someone else's cannon fodder—a mere delivery boy for treasures. Yet, through the Precelestial True Person's deliberate arrangement, the outcome was reversed: Liu Xin obtained the fortune and even usurped the position, killing the true disciple in return.

It was a breathtaking night.

By sunrise, only Liu Xin emerged from the Precelestial True Person's cave, completely transformed, while the Holy Sect's true disciple had vanished.

However, Liu Xin did not kill him outright.

Instead, with the help of the contingency left by the Precelestial True Person, he refined the true disciple alive, turning him into the strongest banner spirit in his possession.

As the banner fluttered, a figure in a billowing black robe stepped out. He did not look at Lyu Yang immediately, but instead looked around with a face full of nostalgia.

"The law of the jungle, disciples turning on each other... the Holy Sect is indeed the same familiar Holy Sect."

"Senior Brother, I hope you have been well," Liu Xin said, cupping his hands.

"A useless fellow. Have you encountered a formidable enemy again?" The black-robed figure sneered with disdain. "Giving you the *Precelestial Dao Scripture* was truly a waste."

"I cannot compare to you, Senior Brother."

Liu Xin did not take offense, remaining respectful and polite. "This person is a sword cultivator and has also practiced the *Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light*. I was indeed no match for him."

"The *Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light*?" The black-robed figure paused, his expression turning somewhat solemn before shaking his head. "To master that divine ability, he must be quite a character. A pity he applied his efforts in the wrong direction, making them all in vain... According to our agreement, this is already the third time you have acted."

"Please, Senior Brother, judge me fairly."

Liu Xin nodded. "After this matter is settled, I will let you enter reincarnation. With your merit and foundation, I believe you will surely re-enter the Dao in your next life."

"Fine."

Only then did the black-robed figure turn around to face Lyu Yang.

Seeing this, Lyu Yang and Xiao Shiye showed no reaction, but Fairy Qingchen's eyes widened as she stared fixedly at the black-robed figure.

She was no longer a newly joined disciple.

At first, she merely thought the figure looked somewhat familiar, but when his aura truly erupted, she snapped awake and recognized him.

"It's Chen Xin'an, Senior Brother Chen!?"

The son of the Peak Master of Heaven-Mending Peak, one of the four inner peaks. The missing true disciple!

When Chen Xin'an disappeared years ago, the Heaven-Mending Peak Master had been furious, personally attempting to deduce the karma only to find nothing, which had caused a massive upheaval.

To think he was in Senior Brother Liu's hands?

For a moment, Fairy Qingchen's expression shifted. As if realizing something, she instinctively took several steps back, attempting to distance herself from Liu Xin...

*Puchi!*

A blade entered and exited. Fairy Qingchen's beautiful face went blank, her eyes staring vacantly at the hand embedded in her abdomen before her head slumped, and she lost consciousness.

She had died again.

"A pity. Since you have seen this, you cannot be allowed to live."

With Fairy Qingchen's death, the surrounding formations immediately shook. However, as Liu Xin activated the Myriad Spirit Banner, her corpse was instantly pulled into the banner.

In moments, a perfectly intact Fairy Qingchen stepped out from the banner, having become a banner spirit.

Although becoming a banner spirit imposed many more restrictions than her life before, she could still manage the formations and quickly stabilized the shaking arrays.

Meanwhile, the black-robed true disciple, Chen Xin'an, approached Lyu Yang.

"Hmm?"

Looking at Chen Xin'an, Lyu Yang's gaze narrowed. The man's cultivation was not high—only the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, just like himself—but the feeling he gave off was different.

Chen Xin'an also glanced at Lyu Yang and shook his head. "The *Yin-Yang Great Joy Scripture* is a technique for harmonizing Yin and Yang, yet your true qi is chaotic and impure. It is clearly not the result of bitter cultivation. If the fifth-grade *Yin-Yang Dragon-Tiger Qi* had fallen to you, it would have been at most sixth-grade."

This critique caused alarm bells to ring in Lyu Yang's mind.

"May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Chen Xin'an. I am acting against my will this time, but if you can escape and bring news of me back to Heaven-Mending Peak, my father will surely reward you handsomely."

Before his voice had even faded, Chen Xin'an struck!

He pressed his hand down, and his aura instantly merged with heaven and earth. A massive surge of true qi roared out, actually drawing a response from the surrounding spiritual energy of the world!

At that moment, Lyu Yang's pupils shrank.

It wasn't because of the strength Chen Xin'an displayed, but because as Chen Xin'an moved, Lyu Yang clearly felt the flaws and deficiencies in his own true qi.

In an instant, Lyu Yang understood.

"My *Dragon-Tiger Intercourse Yin-Yang Great Joy Scripture* is not the limit; Heaven-Mending Peak must have even superior techniques! This man must be a true disciple of Heaven-Mending Peak!"

Lyu Yang's guess was correct.

As the son of the Heaven-Mending Peak Master, the technique Chen Xin'an practiced was called the *Heaven-Mending True Scripture*, an upgraded version of the *Dragon-Tiger Intercourse Yin-Yang Great Joy Scripture*.

Ordinary dual cultivation involved harmonizing with another person.

However, the dual cultivation of the *Heaven-Mending True Scripture* was with heaven and earth itself, focusing on intercourse with the universe. The *Heaven-Mending True Qi* refined through this method was ranked at the third grade.

Therefore, when Chen Xin'an struck with his palm, even without using any divine abilities, the sheer depth of his third-grade true qi was enough to make it difficult for Lyu Yang to defend.

Seeing this, Liu Xin flashed a confident smile.

After all, no one knew Chen Xin'an's strength better than him. In his view, even if Lyu Yang were ten times stronger, he could never be a match for Chen Xin'an.

"He will win!"

Liu Xin made a decisive judgment, failing to notice that in the distance, Xiao Shiye was watching him with a dark expression, seemingly contemplating something.

With Xiao Shiye's intelligence, he could naturally see that the situation was unfavorable to him.

"I didn't want to use it, but you all forced my hand..."

Xiao Shiye knew very well that he was the weakest, relying entirely on his collection of magical treasures to hold his ground. But now, it seemed that treasures alone would not be enough.

With that thought, Xiao Shiye took a deep breath and opened his storage bag. Instantly, a massive burst of spiritual light and treasure radiance erupted from the bag, drawing Liu Xin's attention. Even Chen Xin'an and Lyu Yang, who were in the midst of their battle, stopped and turned to look.

Immediately after, a small tower flew out from Xiao Shiye's storage bag.

The small tower appeared to be cast from solid gold and had nine layers. A spiritual light manifested at the top of the tower, taking a shape that closely resembled a human, with an expression full of vitality.

"Is that... a Spiritual Treasure!?"

The moment he saw this, the inexperienced Lyu Yang had not yet spoken when both Liu Xin and Chen Xin'an cried out in shock, their faces filled with horror.

When a cultivator forges an object, the object produces treasure light, making it a Magical Treasure. When the treasure produces spiritual intelligence, it becomes a Spiritual Treasure!

Magical Treasures are divided into lower, middle, and upper grades, possessing infinite uses; however, no matter how powerful a Magical Treasure is, it requires a master to command it to exert its power.

But Spiritual Treasures were different.

Spiritual Treasures possessed their own consciousness. Even without a master, they could exert power. More importantly, a Spiritual Treasure could cultivate on its own, constantly growing stronger!

In the next second, Xiao Shiye performed a hand seal, and the small Spiritual Treasure tower began to expand rapidly.

"You bastard!"

Chen Xin'an was the first to curse, completely losing his previous composure, because he realized that Xiao Shiye was actually trying to make that Spiritual Treasure self-destruct!

On the other side, Liu Xin nearly coughed up blood.

Such a treasure, a creation of heaven and earth, was typically only possessed by Foundation Establishment True Persons. It was one thing for you, Xiao Shiye, to have it, but to use it for self-destruction?

It was a sheer waste of a divine object!

Even more absurd was that the small Spiritual Treasure tower showed no intention of resisting; instead, it actively cooperated, moving so fast that he couldn't stop it in time.

*BOOM!*

In the next instant, an exploding flash of fire swallowed everything.