Thinking for a bit, Ye Chen took out a black iron ore from his storage ring: it was Death Qi Iron Ore.

Death Qi Iron Ore was found in the Life and Death Secret Realm and contained the Death dao. If it were placed on the ground, the soil around would become completely devoid of life force; if it were placed near vegetation, the trees and plants would completely wither; if it were dropped in a small river, the entire river would gradually dry out, and the river water would turn into dead water.

With this Death Qi Iron, Ye Chen had confidence to comprehend a bit more of Death Dao.

…

In the boundless starry skies, a light beam was streaking across rapidly. It passed through meteors, many small stars, and finally arrived on a destroyed blazing star. The star was extremely small, with merely a diameter of sixty li. Its whole surface was covered in cracks, oozing lava. It seemed to have suffered heavy damage, giving off a deathly silence.

Swish!

The light beam landed on the star, revealing a black-robed man.

“Yin Sky King, you’ve something for me?”

As soon as the black-robed man landed on the star, another light beam flew in from the other end of the star, stopping before the black-robed man. It was a yellow-haired old man with an extremely contorted face filled with pockmarks. His two strange eyes were almost white, with merely a hint of black, giving him an extremely sinister appearance.

“Poison Fire King, seems like your cultivation base has improved again!” The black-robed man smiled.

Poison Fire King was also a King of Blackwater Alliance.

Poison Fire King rolled his eyes, “Cultivating for more than thirty years inside the core of a star…If I still didn’t make any progress, I might as well die. But you, Yin Sky King, look quite idle. Well, that’s alright. Your cultivation base has long attained nine hundred years, unlike us. If my cultivation base can exceed five hundred years, I’d also be leisured. I’d look for a few hundred beautiful women and vent.”

Hearing these words, the black-robed man sneered. ‘You want to look for women here? Even the bones of women on this star are at least a thousand years old!’

“Is there something wrong for me to look for you?”

“What is it that you can’t do on your own?” Poison Fire King immediately turned vigilant.

“I want your help in killing a person.” The black-robed man turned serious.

“Hahahaha…”

Hearing these words, Poison Fire King erupted in laughter, which caused the black-robed man to increasingly frown, and even his face sank.

“My apologies!” Poison Fire King was somewhat apprehensive of the black-robed man, who was Blackwater Alliance’s Yin Sky King—one of the few tycoons of the alliance. He immediately stopped his laughter and asked, “Yin Sky King, don’t blame me. You know my strength is not even one-tenth of yours. If it’s something even you can’t do, how can I do it? Aren’t you sending me to my death?”

“Even if I’m not your opponent, I’ll not let you send you to my death.”

Although Poison Fire King was a King of Blackwater Alliance, he was not under Yin Sky King. As an alliance, although some small matters in the alliance could be considered as favours, the big matters were decided by meetings.

“Who said I’m sending you to your death?” Yin Sky King’s expression eased,”I’m not asking you to kill a King or a Beast King, but a human kid in the third layer of life-and-death-chamber.”

“That’s even more strange. Why are you looking for me to kill him? You can just go yourself and take care of him easily?” Poison Fire King rolled his eyes, and his face became suspicious.

“This kid’s strength can’t be looked down upon. He is ranked first on Life and Death Substitute List, and is unrivalled under Life and Death Realm. As for why I’m not going myself, that’s because his backing is the Dragon King and Mysterious Queen. You also know that my actions represent the entire alliance. I can’t act freely on some matters even if there is no danger!”

Yin Sky King was indeed not afraid of the Dragon King and Mysterious Queen. After all, nobody would be able to tell who killed Ye Chen in Blood Sky Continent. What he was apprehensive of was that peak existence defending Eternal Sky Sect. He’d already thoroughly investigated Eternal Sky Sect and naturally knew some details,

Having reached such heights, Yin Sky King had always been an extremely cautious person. Although that existence in the Eternal Sky Sect might have already left, he had no intentions of probing himself. If he fell, there was no meaning in anything else.

“Yin Sky King, if you want me dead, just do it now. You’re telling me to offend Dragon King and Mysterious Queen…You think I can be pushed around?” Poison Sky King turned furious and opened a distance.

Yin Sky King choked, “Hear me out first! This kid is not in the True Spirit Continent, but in the Blood Sky Continent. Nobody will know you killed him.”

“Blood Sky Continent?” Poison Fire King thought for a few moments but still shook his head, “I still can’t. This is your matter, so what does it have to do with me? Find someone else!”

He was still not convinced that this matter didn’t have any danger involved.

“What about two Infernal Star Crystals? Moreover, he has two million Zhen Yuan crystals of our alliance. I can give you a tenth.” Yin Sky King’s true thoughts were obviously to monopolize the Zhen Yuan crystals and treasures on Ye Chen’s body. In any case, only two people aside from him would know about the crystals—Poison Fire King and his own disciple Wang Taiyi.

“You have Infernal Star Crystals?” Poison Fire King’s eyes brightened, almost gleaming with greed.

A single Infernal Star Crystal could increase his cultivation base by ten years. A twenty year increment of cultivation base could save him a bitter cultivation of several years. But, these crystals were extremely rare. Moreover, two hundred thousand Zhen Yuan crystals were nothing to scoff at either. They could increase his cultivation base by at least several years.

“Of course, I have!” Poison Sky King took out a resplendent fire crystal, which was giving off an illusory, star-like radiance.

“Infernal Star Crystals, damn it! Why didn’t I find them?” Poison Fire King was itching to snatch it. After thinking for a bit, he said, “I want one fifth of the crystals.”

“Not possible. One tenth is already a lot.”

“One sixth.”

Finally, the two agreed on one eighth.

“What a greedy fellow!” Yin Sky King couldn’t help but feel a pain in his heart as he was leaving the star.

The price of Infernal Star Crystals was extremely high. Although he couldn’t use it himself, he could exchange it for treasures suited to himself. Fortunately, he and Poison Fire King came to an agreement. Ye Chen’s pseudo supreme grade sword and armor would belong to him. Two pseudo supreme grade treasures were still quite good for Life and Death Kings.

As for that supreme grade sword, he couldn’t get Poison Fire King off the sword even if he wanted to. Yin Sky King agreed to give him a fifth of the sword’s worth.

“Who would have expected somebody will have a supreme grade treasure before reaching Life and Death Realm; it’s an unexpected delight. A pity I can’t take the risk myself.”

One Poison Fire King was not enough. Using the Sky Scorpio Sword, Ye Chen even defeated Giant Wolf King, Although Poison Fire King was much stronger than Giant Wolf King, he was not enough of an insurance. However, Yin Sky King already had a good candidate in mind. That person was not as greedy as Poison Fire King, and if not for his help, that latter would have been dead long ago.

Streaking across the sky, Yin Sky King disappeared in the depths of starry sky.

…

Ye Chen still didn’t know that one of Blackwater Alliance’s tycoons was sending two Kings after him. Of course, even if he knew, he would not be afraid. Although his own strength was not enough of an insurance, with Yuan Emperor’s painting, even if Yin Sky King came himself, he would only suffer.

He didn’t know about the wind and storms outside, nor did he want to. He was wholeheartedly immersed in comprehending Death Dao.

“Death Dao, Death Qi!”

Swish!

Observing Death Qi Ore for a few moments, Ye Chen pulled out the Evil Shattering Sword and thrust out. With that, an incorporeal death Qi rippled in the sky, spreading out.

“Wrong…Not contained enough.”

If the Death Qi spread out, its destructive power would be small. It must be combined with Congealing Sword and should erupt inside the enemy’s body; only then it would create enough damage.

“What a pity! If I had the ability to forge a Death Qi sword from this ore, I could have comprehended Death much quicker.” With a supreme grade sword forged from Death Qi Ore, one could slowly comprehend Death Dao amidst all the slaughter.

…

“This guy’s masks are pretty good. Seems like I need to learn how to make masks as well, it just takes a bit of time.” Ten thousand li away from Eternal Sky Sect, three figures were shooting forward. The white-faced middle-aged in the middle stroked his face and chuckled.

“Poison Fire King, Blood Hand King, I’ll wait for you here. Remember the teacher’s words: kill him swiftly, don’t attract attention.” An ugly-faced young man spoke.

“Stop it! It’s just killing a kid. I alone am enough, much less to say a sneak attack.” Poison Fire King, who had changed his face, curled his lips.

“I wish you a smooth success.” The ugly-faced young man was Wang Taiyi. Although he was not a Life and Death King, Yin Sky King had asked him to come.

“Rest assured, my blood profound will instantly kill him.” The other black-faced middle-aged man said coldly.

“Good, then go on!” Wang Taiyi hid himself in the forest.

“Let’s go!” Poison Fire King and Blood Hand King pierced the space and disappeared.

For the past several days, Ye Chen had been forging swords and cultivating sword dao in the rear mountain range of Eternal Sky Sect. Nobody from the sect came to disturb. But at this moment, his brows suddenly creased as a soul power had just swept through the region.

‘A King grade soul power!’

A King’s soul power was extremely concealed, and was impossible to be detected under Life and Death Realm. However, as a soul genius, Ye Chen’s soul power was not inferior to a King’s in essence, and thus he could detect it.

‘Again…There are two this time!’ Ye Chen’s expression gravened. However, on surface, he nonchalantly continued to forge swords.

‘Who is trying to kill me?’ Ye Chen guessed inwardly. ‘Is it because of the Sky Scorpio Sword?’

Ye Chen’s first thought was that some Kings had come to kill him and snatch his Sky Scorpio Sword away. However, reasonably speaking, there hadn’t been a single person who was audacious enough to brazenly loot inside Eternal Sky Sect for many years. This was because a titled Monarch had declared a few hundred years ago that an invasion of Eternal Sky Sect was prohibited.

All Life and Death Kings and Beast Kings naturally knew that.

From the void, the soul power of Poison Fire King and Iron Blood King penetrated the spatial wall and landed on Ye Chen’s body.

“Peak of the third layer? Wasn’t he supposed to be just in the early stages of the third layer?” Poison Fire King softly exclaimed. Although the peak third layer and initial level was the same realm, the difference between the two phases was not small. At the peak of the third layer, the energy within the body would have combined with the flesh, allowing the body to carry a lot more energy. Moreover, it was the full circle of the realm, which meant that the body could use this energy much better, increasing his battle power by a lot.

“Poison Fire King, are you scared?” Blood Hand King sneered.

Poison Fire King almost jumped as if someone had stepped on his tail, “Blood Hand King, what are trying to say? No matter how powerful he is, he is not a Life and Death King. I was just a bit surprised. And let me offer you an advice—don’t be too careless. He has a supreme grade sword that even beat Giant Wolf King. Although we both are much stronger than Giant Wolf King, there is still a chance of one of us getting injured.”

Poison Fire King had always been prudent in handling affairs, and he treated his life with extreme regard. If the reward had not been so big this time, he would never have accepted this task.

“Rest assured, I will not be careless against anybody, or Yin Sky King would not have chosen me.” Blood Hand King was an assassin before becoming a King. For assassins, it was imperative to have a calm heart, even if the target was an ordinary man. They always went for a swift kill.

Poison Fire King curled his lips. He also knew that Blood Hand King was a frightening character, not because of his strength, but because of his heart that never rippled. This kind of a person didn’t act easily, but when he did, he struck like thunder.

“Alright, let’s move! Make sure to use your ace.” Poison Fire King licked his lips, revealing a sinister expression. Blood Hand King’s eyes remained calm without any ripples. However, the disregard seemed even more terrifying.

The two operated their Zhen Yuan, and their auras soared.

“Go!”

Kacha!

Space split opened, and Poison Fire King and Blood Hand King appeared, their auras already pushed to the limits. Poison Fire King’s mouth slightly swelled, a red purple glow flickering within. Meanwhile, Blood Hand King’s both palms turned blood-red like jade.

“Bewitching Mirror Shattering!” They were quick, but Ye Chen was even quicker.

The moment two had decided to act, before they had even opened the space, Ye Chen was already ready with the Sky Scorpio Sword, waiting to greet them with Bewitching Mirror Shattering. With a slash of his sword, huge spatial ripples and sword Qi containing space profound compressed the space, locking it fully!

Heh!

Sealed within the ‘mirror’, Poison Fire King and Blood Hand King were a bit stupefied. How did Ye Chen know that someone was coming for his life? And how did he know that they would come from this direction?

Coincidence?

Even an idiot could tell that it was no coincidence.

The only explanation was that Ye Chen had a soul power comparable to that of Kings. By relying on this soul power, he had already sensed their arrival, and was waiting for them. There was no other explanation for them to be attacked as soon as they appeared.

“Damn it!”

Thinking all this within a thousandth of a second, Poison Fire King and Blood Hand moved, struggling to escape the restrictions of the space. However, they underestimated the might of Bewitching Mirror Shattering. Coupled with them being caught off-guard, they wasted a lot of time. By the time they reacted, the ‘mirror’ shattered.

It shattered into millions of pieces, each of which was like a blade.

Rip Rip Rip!

How did being cut by millions of blades felt like? The two were feeling exactly that right now.

The two’s Protective Zhen Yuan was pierced, and countless scars appeared on their armors. Every region of their bodies not covered by the armor was slashed, turning their whole bodies into a bloody mess. Their masks were completely ripped, and their faces were covered in blood. Within an instant, the two had suffered a frightening blow.

“Kid, I will chop your body into a thousand parts!” Poison Fire King roared. Even the spatial power couldn’t isolate his sound, and the entire mountain range began trembling, seeming as if it would crumble in its entirety.

“Still not enough!”

Bewitching Mirror Shattering rendered the two incapable of not only using their aces, but even moving freely. However, Ye Chen knew that this was still far from enough. Both had the Undying Body, and they would heal this much of an injury in no time. Once the two healed, he would be greatly disadvantaged while fighting one against two.

Thinking all this, his forehead parted, and his erect silver eye opened. Without a noise or movement, a silver beam shot out. Disregarding spatial power and physical defense, it directly invaded Poison Fire King’s Sea of Soul. The latter’s muffled groan didn’t make Ye Chen pause for a second as he shot forth and thrust with the Sky Scorpio Sword at Blood Hand King.

Autumn Water Sword Arts, second style—Congealing Water.

In terms of pure destructive power, Congealing Power was far above Bewitching Mirror Shattering. This was because this move contained the metal profound, water profound, as well as Death dao. Facing the sword, a sense of deathly crisis surrounded Blood Hand King.

As a previous assassin, Blood Hand King’s mental endurance as well as reactions were fairly better than Poison Hand King’s. At the moment of peril, he folded his hands before his head.

Rip!

Sky Scorpio Sword pierced his hands, stopping an inch short of coming out of the other side.

Peng!

Light speckles covered the sky like rain as Blood Hand King’s two hands changed into crystalline purple and shattered. In addition, a life-extinguishing power invaded his body through his arms.

“It’s the Death Dao!”

Despite losing both hands, Blood Hand King’s face showed no suffering as if the hands didn’t belong to him. However, the Death dao in Ye Chen’s sword surprised him. This Death dao was far above what he’d comprehended when he entered Life and Death King. If Ye Chen could comprehend an equivalent Life Dao, he would enter Life and Death Realm and become a True King.

“Just the Death Dao is not enough.” A Death Qi erupted in Blood Hand King’s body that was much stronger than Ye Chen’s, and swept it away.

“Unfortunate!”

When Blood Hand King had raised his arms to defend his head, Ye Chen already knew that he’d lost the best opportunity. If the sword had struck his vitals, Ye Chen had confidence that Congealing Water containing Death Dao would have fatally wounded him, or even directly killed him. Failing his strike, he swiftly retreated and released his Sword Domain. The compressed space around the two made the might of Sword Domain even more frightening.

“Go!”

Thousands of cyan-colored swords assembled and shot at Poison Fire King and Blood Hand King. Ten thousand swords flew across in neat arrangement; the aura they exuded could not be described in words.

Blood Hand King, whose hands had regrown and wounds closed, emotionlessly stared Ye Chen. However, in the depths of his eyes was a trace of fear. As an assassin, he was most afraid of the people who were calm regardless of what happened. These people could bring out their strength to the very limits, or even surpass it.

And Ye Chen undoubtedly belonged to this kind. From the moment they met, it was one attack after another like links of a chain, and each of these attacks was more dangerous than the previous one. If they had been even a little careless, the consequences would have been unimaginable. In such a short time, Ye Chen’s mind had already crafted such a well-rounded plan.

Clang Clang Clank Clank!

The Protective Zhen Yuan of Life and Death Kings was extremely sturdy, so all the swords were bounced off while setting off huge sparks, each of which was big enough to incinerate a huge rock.

“A mistake…I should have gone for the other guy.” Blood Hand King’s composure and reactions amazed Ye Chen. The other guy seemed a lot inferior in this respect, only comparable to normal Life and Death Kings.

Of course, Ye Chen couldn’t be blamed for such an error. He hadn’t researched his attackers before. If he could, he would have certainly chosen the other guy.

Puff!

Ye Chen shot another silver light bream, trying a soul attack against Blood Hand King. Under the suppression of Sword Domain, no matter how fast the latter’s reactions were, his body couldn’t keep up, and the silver light directly entered his Sea of Souls. Consequently, his face turned a bit pale and dazed.

The soul membrane of Life and Death Kings was extremely strong, but Ye Chen’s innate skill couldn’t be looked down upon either. Blood Hand King’s soul membrane heavily shook under the assault of the silver light, dizzying the soul.

“Kill!”

Once he decided, Ye Chen could not change his number one target. With his soul power, it would be extremely challenging for him to use Soul Light three times. If not for his cultivation base reaching the peak of the third layer, which caused his soul power to increase slightly, and his immortal sword reaching fifth step and resonating with the destruction sword intent, even two uses of Soul Light would have emptied his soul power. And if that happened, the situation would have turned extremely dire.

Right now, only one-tenth of his soul power was remaining, which was almost at the critical level.

‘

With his body acting as a sword, Ye Chen shot straight at Blood Hand King. Meanwhile, the Sword Domain increased his speed even more, allowing him to arrive ten meters away from Blood Hand King in an instant.

Thrust!

Congealing Water!

“Kid, die for me.”

At that moment, Poison Fire King had already sobered up. He operated his Zhen Yuan, deflecting the cyan swords while his mouth opened at the same time, glimmering with a purple glow.

Fused profound martial skill—Poison Fire Explosion!

“I have to kill him.”

Ye Chen’s face turned stern, and he completely disregarded the frightening attack of Poison Fire King, piercing through Blood Hand King’s forehead. A huge power containing death Qi erupted, exploding inside the latter’s brain.

Peng!

Blood Hand King’s body exploded apart, losing all vitality.

But in the next moment, Poison Hand King’s attack landed on Ye Chen’s body, creating a frightening explosion. Those red purple flames were not only extremely hot, but also extremely poisonous.