“I…
I’m not dead!”
An unknown amount of time passed before Mu Fan slowly regained consciousness.
The moment his awareness returned, excruciating pain wracked his body.
His limbs felt as if they were being torn apart, and Mu Fan couldn’t help but grit his teeth.
Enduring the agony that swept through him, Mu Fan forced himself to sit up.
He scanned his strange surroundings, a look of bewildered suspicion flashing in his eyes.
‘Is this the Chaos Realm?’
He recalled that just before his consciousness faded to black, he had faintly heard his Master’s voice.
‘Could this be the real opportunity Master left for me?’
Mu Fan muttered to himself as he began to carefully examine the small world he was in.
The ground before him was riddled with sword scars.
In the distance, a colossal mountain had its peak sheared off.
A terrifying aura lingered beneath the sky.
Every detail proclaimed the extraordinary nature of this place.
‘Hm?
What’s that!’
However, when Mu Fan strained his eyes to look into the distance, he noticed a massive, shadowy silhouette looming indistinctly in the sky.
When he finally saw the silhouette clearly, Mu Fan’s jaw dropped, his eyes filled with utter shock.
“The Chaos Tripod!”
In an instant, legends of the Chaos Tripod flooded Mu Fan’s mind!
No one knew the origin of the Chaos Tripod, but tales of its miraculous powers were widespread throughout the continent.
It was said that whoever obtained the Chaos Tripod could reign supreme over the lands.
Both the Profound Sect and the demonic sects believed this without a doubt!
And now, the Chaos Tripod wasn’t just appearing before him—Mu Fan was stunned to find that he could feel a faint connection to it.
At this thought, Mu Fan no longer hesitated.
He tentatively tried to communicate with the behemoth before him.
HUMMM!
With a mere flicker of his will, the Chaos Tripod trembled violently.
Ripples spread through the surroundings, and the entire world showed signs of imminent collapse.
WHOOSH!
Before Mu Fan could retract his thoughts, the Chaos Tripod released a primordial aura, then abruptly shrank, transforming into a streak of azure light that shot into his body.
As the Chaos Tripod entered him, Mu Fan felt as though he could control this entire world.
‘Master, so this is the real opportunity you left for me!’
Mu Fan clenched his fists, overcome with emotion.
Only now did Mu Fan truly understand his Master’s intentions.
The Heaven-Mending Fruit was merely a diversion his Master had deliberately left.
The real opportunity was this small world, and even more so, the Chaos Tripod inside his body!
Now that the Chaos Tripod had accepted him as its master, Mu Fan understood its miraculous properties even more clearly.
The artifact contained nine layers of worlds, each holding its own unique opportunities!
Of course, with his current level of cultivation, Mu Fan couldn’t explore the deeper layers yet.
‘In that case, I can’t let Master’s good intentions go to waste.’
Mu Fan smiled calmly, his eyes filled with unprecedented anticipation and excitement.
With a thought, the Chaos Tripod inside him began to turn slowly.
Then, a drop of ink-black blood flew out from within it.
A drop of blood essence left behind by the Demon Ancestor Luo Hou!
And this!
This was the opportunity contained within the first layer of the world!
HUUU!
Heavily exhaling a breath of turbid air, Mu Fan solidified his resolve.
He sat down cross-legged, and the Chaos Tripod flew out from his body to hover above his head.
It continuously released streams of profound light, helping him refine the blood essence within him.
“URGH!”
The expected, excruciating pain arrived, and Mu Fan still couldn’t stop himself from crying out.
The wounds all over his body were torn open again, and streams of fresh blood flowed down his body and into the earth below.
Meanwhile, the sinister Demonic Qi released by the blood essence caused a chilling cold to spread through Mu Fan’s body, faintly suppressing the unbearable agony.
At this moment, Mu Fan’s body was constantly being torn apart and repaired in a repeating cycle.
Inside him, his once-shattered Dantian was slowly mending itself.
Above his head, the azure profound light released by the Chaos Tripod seemed to join in remodeling his physical body, directly confronting the black demonic light radiating from the blood essence.
The two forces treated Mu Fan’s body as a battlefield, constantly clashing with each other.
Mu Fan felt as if two giant beasts were savagely fighting inside him, a tearing sensation spreading throughout his entire body.
‘Hold on!’
Mu Fan knew how dangerous this moment was.
The slightest mistake could lead to his body exploding, killing him instantly.
However, he could also clearly feel his physical strength increasing at an unbelievably ferocious rate!
It was becoming far more formidable than even that of a pure Demon Cultivator!
Along with it, Mu Fan’s cultivation base was also rising continuously!
First level of the Spirit Absorption Realm!
Second level of the Spirit Absorption Realm!
Third level of the Spirit Absorption Realm!
In just a few moments, Mu Fan’s cultivation had risen to the third level of the Spirit Absorption Realm.
But it wasn’t over.
Torrents of Spiritual Qi began to converge on Mu Fan like a vortex.
HUMMM!
Above his head, the Chaos Tripod let out another soft hum, and a wisp of azure profound light flashed into Mu Fan’s Dantian.
HISS HISS HISS!
Inside his Dantian, which was now fully repaired and its flaws mended, the azure profound light acted like a millstone.
It drew in the already dense Spiritual Qi and ground it down relentlessly, making it even more concentrated.
Several hours passed in a flash.
Mu Fan had long since adapted to the pain in his body, and his tightly knitted brows had finally relaxed.
‘It’s finally over.’
Mu Fan gently exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes.
A flash of azure and a flash of black light vanished from the depths of his pupils.
Sensing the immense changes in his body, he couldn’t help but look overjoyed.
‘The blood essence of Demon Ancestor Luo Hou is truly formidable!’
‘And this Chaos Tripod, it can even help me condense my Spiritual Qi!’
Mu Fan’s heart settled.
‘With these two, my cultivation in both physical body and Spiritual Qi will far surpass that of ordinary people!’
‘Back then, you kicked me out of Profound Bright Peak.
You never would have imagined I’d receive such an opportunity, would you?
Just you wait.
Before long, I will return to the Inner Sect and bring Master’s wife back to Profound Bright Peak with me!’
Mu Fan’s eyes reddened as he recalled the past, and his fists clenched tightly.
A moment later, Mu Fan took a deep breath and stood up.
The scabs of dried blood covering his body immediately fell away, revealing a physique as tough as bronzed iron.
BANG!
With a single punch, Mu Fan didn’t use any of the Spiritual Qi in his body, yet the power was immense.
‘I’m afraid anyone below the eighth level of the Spirit Absorption Realm wouldn’t be able to withstand that punch.’
Mu Fan couldn’t help but grin.
He was now more like a savage beast that specialized in physical cultivation!
At this thought, however, a mist began to form in Mu Fan’s eyes.
From the destruction of his cultivation three years ago until today, the agony and torment Mu Fan had endured were beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.
Now, finally, his suffering had turned to sweet reward.
“Chaos Realm, withdraw!”
With a thought, Mu Fan reappeared on the desolate mountain.
“Master, rest assured.
With me here, Profound Bright Peak will not remain in decline.
I will also respect Master’s wife as my own mother and take good care of her!”
Mu Fan turned and kowtowed once more before his Master’s grave as he spoke.
However, before Mu Fan could get up, the Jade Pendant he wore on his chest shattered with a CRACK.
“Master’s wife!”
Mu Fan shot to his feet, a vicious glint in his eyes.
This was a communication Jade Pendant he had given to his master’s wife.
It was connected to her life force; if she were ever in danger, the pendant would shatter as a warning!
Master’s wife was just a mortal who had never cultivated in the slightest.
If someone in the sect was deliberately targeting her, how could she possibly resist!
“I don’t care who you are!
If you dare to touch my master’s wife, I’ll make you regret ever being born!”
Mu Fan’s heart burned with anxiety, his eyes turning bloodshot.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he bolted down the mountain.
No one could know the towering rage that consumed Mu Fan’s heart, just as no one could know the depth of his feelings for his Master and his master’s wife.
An orphan since childhood, Mu Fan had long considered his Master and master’s wife to be his only family.
How could he possibly stand by and watch her come to harm!
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Mu Fan had sprinted to the foot of Profound Bright Peak.
In a flash, he landed inside his master’s wife’s courtyard.
THUD!
“You damn wretch!
Hurry up and hand over Yunzhouzi’s belongings!”
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Mu Fan heard a dull thud, followed by a voice dripping with greed coming from the main house.
“I don’t have them.
I really don’t.”
Then came his master’s wife’s voice, full of grievance and fear.
Hearing this, Mu Fan’s heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife.
Since he was young, his master’s wife had treated him as her own son, caring for him meticulously.
Whenever his Master scolded him, she would protectively shield him like a mother protecting her calf.
When had his bright and gentle master’s wife ever suffered such humiliation?
“Bitch!
It seems you won’t shed a tear until you see your own coffin!”
The man’s voice came from the main house again, faintly accompanied by the soft ring of a blade being drawn from its sheath.
“Stop!”
Without a second thought, Mu Fan surged forward in a rage and kicked the door open.
An azure gleam flashed from his hand as a strand of Sword Qi, condensed from Spiritual Qi, shot toward the man.
SWOOSH!
The man hastily dodged.
The Sword Qi instantly pierced through the wall behind him before vanishing without a trace.
“What the hell are you?
How dare you interrupt my business?”
Seeing Mu Fan, the man’s eyes flashed with suspicion as he demanded sharply.
Mu Fan ignored him.
His gaze swept over the now-disheveled room and landed on his master’s wife.
He saw her lying on the floor, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.
“You dare!
You dared to lay a hand on my master’s wife…
You deserve to die!!”
The Profound Sect strictly forbids harming mortals without reason, and this man had hurt his most beloved master’s wife!
Mu Fan’s heart was overflowing with uncontrollable, towering rage.
He took a step forward, and a Longsword suddenly appeared in his hand.
The blade’s cold glint radiated killing intent as he pointed it at the man.