Chapter 246: Kill!

Clearly, at this very moment, Yang Yan had no intention of holding anything back. Since the battle between the two had reached such a stage where both sides were resorting to desperate measures, Yang Yan did not hesitate in the slightest and directly mobilized the primordial spiritual energy within his body.

Now, as Yang Yan's strength had stepped into the peak of the Spirit Control Realm, the amount of primordial spiritual energy within him was considerably greater than before. Furthermore, with the enhancement of his overall strength, the previous condition—where he would lose his sanity due to the depletion of his primordial spiritual energy—did not appear again this time.

As Yang Yan mobilized his primordial spiritual energy, the energy between heaven and earth suddenly became extremely turbulent. Moreover, the terrifyingly chilling and cold aura radiating from Yang Yan instantly swept outwards. Sparkling snowflakes unexpectedly began to drift down from the sky, and a thick layer of frost formed upon the shattered bricks and tiles of the collapsed grand hall below, making it seem as though the entire world had instantly plunged into the depths of winter.

By now, Yang Yan had vaguely discerned why that abnormal condition had previously occurred after he utilized his primordial spiritual energy.

The fundamental reason was simply that the primordial spiritual energy was far too powerful; Yang Yan's strength at that time was simply insufficient to completely control it. Therefore, after forcibly urging it forth, his cultivation was unable to properly drive and command the primordial spiritual energy, and doing so by force naturally resulted in a loss of control over his own body.

However, the situation was different now. As his strength had reached the peak of the Spirit Control Realm, he could truly be considered to have formally entered the inner sanctum of the path of cultivation. Consequently, his exploration and understanding of his own special constitution had yielded entirely new results.

Such a situation could be described as tremendous news for Yang Yan, because from this day forward, he no longer needed to worry about falling into that state of losing self-control due to the overuse of his primordial spiritual energy.

The ability to mobilize and use his primordial spiritual energy entirely at will represented yet another massive boost to Yang Yan's combat prowess.

Given his current strength, even without employing his primordial spiritual energy, he could fight head-on against practitioners at the first or even second layer of the Spirit Sea Realm without falling behind. However, Sun Tianyang's overall strength had now been elevated to the level of the fifth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm through the activation of a secret technique.

Although the strength Sun Tianyang forcibly attained through this secret technique could not compare to that of a true practitioner who had cultivated to the fifth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm, his comprehensive combat power was still sufficient to rival experts at the peak of the fourth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm.

Facing a Sun Tianyang whose strength had skyrocketed, it would be far from enough for Yang Yan to rely solely on the water-attribute and wood-attribute spiritual energy within his own body to contend against him.

Realizing this, Yang Yan naturally did not hesitate at all. Not only did he mobilize all the primordial spiritual energy within his body to the fullest, but he also officially brought out the Black Dragon Seal, a middle-grade spiritual treasure he had previously acquired.

A middle-grade spiritual treasure was the highest-grade magical artifact Yang Yan had ever laid eyes on, and it was certainly no weaker than the pure spirit treasures found in the ancient ruins previously.

"Is that... a middle-grade spiritual treasure?"

High up in the mid-air, Sun Tianyang, whose form had already transformed into a crimson giant hound, stared with huge, scarlet beastly eyes at the black light seal appearing in Yang Yan's hand, feeling a wave of involuntary internal shock.

Between a middle-grade spiritual treasure and a low-grade spiritual treasure, although there was merely a difference of a single word, the gap in their value and the bonus they provided to practitioners in actual combat was as vast as heaven and earth.

Take practitioners of the Spirit Sea Realm as an example: an ordinary low-grade spiritual treasure only increased their combat effectiveness by less than ten percent, whereas a pure spirit treasure could barely reach the ten percent mark.

This was precisely why Sun Tianyang had not used any magical artifact; an enhancement of less than ten percent held no great value for him. Furthermore, using a magical artifact would instead hinder his speed, since magical artifacts were ultimately external objects and could never be used as smoothly and adeptly as one's own limbs.

However, a middle-grade spiritual treasure was a completely different story, because a middle-grade magical artifact was sufficient to boost a Spirit Sea Realm practitioner's combat effectiveness by a full twenty percent!

One had to understand that at this stage of cultivation, every minute improvement was extremely significant to them. Therefore, an enhancement of twenty percent could be described as utterly monstrous and formidable!

Yet, even as the master of the Kunyang Sect who had roamed the cultivation world of Qing Province for nearly forty years, he had never managed to acquire a single middle-grade spiritual treasure.

Thus, upon seeing that the youth before him, merely eighteen or nineteen years old, possessed a middle-grade spiritual treasure in his hand, Sun Tianyang's expression turned extremely unsightly.

For he could vaguely sense a trace of dangerous aura emanating from the black light seal; clearly, this middle-grade spiritual treasure was quite extraordinary, perhaps even approaching the tier of a high-grade spiritual treasure.

Even Yang Yan himself had not anticipated this.

The Tianlong Empire attached supreme importance to Spirit Assimilation. Therefore, after the old man Hu failed in his first attempt to intercept and kill Yang Yan, the empire immediately dispatched three black-clad assassins at the peak of the Spirit Control Realm to launch a coordinated attack on Yang Yan.

To ensure nothing went wrong, they had even taken out the Black Dragon Seal—the supreme national treasure of the Tianlong Empire's imperial family—and handed it to the black-clad assassin proficient in darkness-attribute spiritual energy, instructing him to capture Yang Yan by any means necessary and subsequently strip him of the Spirit Assimilation.

Yet, what they had failed to anticipate was that the strength displayed by Yang Yan far exceeded their expectations. Not only did the assassin fail his mission, but all of them were slaughtered by Yang Yan, leaving the Black Dragon Seal to fall smoothly into Yang Yan's possession.

Yang Yan naturally accepted this unexpected windfall without modesty. Driven at full power, this middle-grade spiritual treasure could enhance his strength by nearly thirty percent. Moreover, the primordial spiritual energy within his body was far stronger than the darkness-attribute spiritual energy of that assassin. Consequently, if he were to also drive the Black Dragon Seal with all his might, his overall boost would reach nearly fifty percent.

"Brat, once you are dealt with, all the treasures on you will become mine."

A shrill, cold laugh echoed from the giant beastly maw of Sun Tianyang.

Although he was quite shocked by the strength and methods Yang Yan had displayed, matters had already reached a point where he had no choice but to push forward. Moreover, the time limit for him to elevate his strength via the secret technique was extremely limited; if he failed to defeat Yang Yan within this window, he would truly plunge into a state of irrecoverable damnation.

As the angry shout faded, Sun Tianyang did not hesitate any longer. His massive form, measuring twenty to thirty zhang in size, suddenly spun like a top, carrying a pungent wave of blood stench as he whistled menacingly toward Yang Yan, who stood not far ahead.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wherever the massive crimson figure passed, it whipped up raging storms of spiritual energy. The entire world was permeated with an intensely bloody and berserk odor at that moment, and as that colossal form spun and flew, it even left pitch-black tear marks across the void itself!

"Black Dragon Roaring Heavens Seal!"

At this moment, Yang Yan could not help but let out a loud shout, a wild and incomparable battle intent surging within his heart. His gaze locked tightly onto the incoming massive figure, without a shred of fear or timidity in his pupils.

Right at that instant, the pitch-black light seal suddenly seemed to project five black figures. As these figures flew out and rapidly expanded, they transformed into five giant black dragons, each dozens of zhang in length.

The very moment the forms of the giant black dragons appeared, the entire space plunged into a dark and chilling environment, resembling the end of the world. It caused anyone situated within this space to feel a deep sense of desolation and loneliness in the depths of their hearts, as if even the courage to go on living had been stripped away.

Sun Tianyang, who was currently charging forward, saw his expression shift slightly. He had not expected that the martial skill attack unleashed by Yang Yan would actually induce mental turmoil deep within a person's mind!

Sun Tianyang had certainly heard of martial arts capable of affecting one's mind upon manifestation before, but the rarity of such martial skills far surpassed the one Yang Yan had previously displayed. They were basically in a state where they had a price but no market.

However, during the prolonged battle with Yang Yan, the shocks dealt to Sun Tianyang were simply too numerous. The more outstanding Yang Yan's performance was, the more excited Sun Tianyang became, because once Yang Yan was eliminated, everything he possessed would be converted into his own.

Clutching this thought in his mind, Sun Tianyang suddenly raised his head and let out a furious roar, expelling every last trace of negative emotion from his heart. The rich crimson light around his body deepened by another fraction, and with a visual impact of extreme proportions, he blasted head-on toward the five black dragons unleashed by Yang Yan.

Facing the attack of Sun Tianyang's crimson hound form, the five black dragon projections emanating from the Black Dragon Seal each raised their necks in piercing screeches, roaring as they charged toward the giant hound from five distinct directions.

As the saying went, all things possessed a spirit, and martial skills were no exception.

Within the Tianyuan Continent, aside from intelligent humans and magical beasts that cultivated to a certain level, magical artifacts could also cultivate their own intelligence.

Beyond that, some profound martial skills were capable of evolving their own sentience.

In essence, this was somewhat similar to the Myriad Manifestations Demonic Fist deployed by Yang Yan; once a deployed martial skill possessed its own intelligence, it could be commanded by its master to alter its attack form at any time, or even autonomously adopt certain offensive or defensive measures based on actual circumstances without human operation.

Just imagine, when someone learned a martial skill endowed with intelligence, it was akin to having an extra living, breathing helper when fighting enemies, giving them an overwhelming advantage.

Therefore, the value of such martial skills in the cultivation world of the Tianyuan Continent was inestimable, and such monstrous things could never appear in minor forces or small sects. Only ancient sects with long-standing inheritances or ancient ruins scattered across the continent might hold the legacy of such martial skills.

On the other hand, the Myriad Manifestations Demonic Fist utilized by Yang Yan gained its intelligence by absorbing the spirit within a magical artifact's vessel, which ultimately remained an external aid and was far inferior to the sentience naturally generated by the martial skill itself.

Naturally, this characteristic of the Black Dragon Seal did not escape Yang Yan's notice, and a trace of joy involuntarily surfaced in his heart.

Although the intelligence currently generated by the black dragons was extremely faint and weak, perhaps the roar issued earlier was merely an instinctive reaction.

Yet to Yang Yan, this was a clear signal, for he could vaguely perceive from the black dragons' roars that a subtle connection had been established between them and himself.

This connection was rather ethereal, giving one a feeling of being both real and illusory. Had it not been for the massive surge in Yang Yan's soul power, he truly might not have been able to detect it.

That sensation was similar to the bond he had previously established with the Moonlight Frost Blade. In the beginning, the connection between Yang Yan and the Moonlight Frost Blade was similarly ethereal and illusory, virtually undetectable unless one concentrated closely. However, as the time they spent together increased, their bond grew tighter and tighter, eventually reaching a state of near telepathy where the Moonlight Frost Blade could anticipate an attack Yang Yan intended to launch even before he executed it.

Nevertheless, as his strength advanced in leaps and bounds, the utility provided by the Moonlight Frost Blade grew smaller and smaller, ultimately causing it to be forgotten in a corner of his cosmos sack.

At this moment, Yang Yan had already made up his mind: once the affairs of Qing Province came to an end, he would definitely find a way to visit the Alchemist Guild once more and ask Master Fulan Ke to personally repair the Moonlight Frost Blade.

Because he had been busy increasing his strength recently, Yang Yan had allowed his practice of artifact forging to lapse. Moreover, improving one's proficiency in artifact forging was even more difficult than advancing one's cultivation realm, and it was certainly not something that could be achieved overnight.

Although Yang Yan's soul power had greatly increased, elevating his artifact-forging level to the point where he likely possessed a sixty percent success rate in refining high-grade spirit artifacts, he still harbored zero confidence when it came to refining so-called spiritual treasures.

To repair the Moonlight Frost Blade, a tier-five master alchemist was mandatory. The current Yang Yan could at best be considered a peak tier-three alchemist, leaving a considerable gap before reaching tier five.

Furthermore, Yang Yan firmly believed that the Moonlight Frost Blade was by no means an ordinary item, and as his strength continued to grow, this intuition grew increasingly intense.

Therefore, no matter what, he had to carve out time to have the Moonlight Frost Blade repaired.

Boom!

Just as Yang Yan's thoughts were racing, the gigantic crimson beast in the air had already violently collided with the five black dragons. Upon contacting the body of the massive crimson beast, the black dragons directly exploded, transforming into boundless, pitch-black energy storms that billowed outward simultaneously.

As the fierce spiritual energy storms swept across, carrying an intensely chilling aura, the crimson hound transformed by Sun Tianyang also let out a shrill roar of agony upon absorbing the impact of the black dragons. Under the continuous, fierce onslaught of the five black dragon light projections, the hound's body suddenly distorted violently, human features and dog faces flashing alternately across its head in an extremely bizarre fashion.

A few breaths later, the giant beast's form abruptly shrank, and the crimson energy enveloping its body completely disintegrated at that moment, eventually reverting to Sun Tianyang's original appearance.

Standing suspended in the void, Sun Tianyang stared blankly and dazedly at Yang Yan, showing no reaction whatsoever.

"Could it be that the attack failed to affect him?"

At this moment, Yang Yan was inwardly struck with immense shock. The offensive maneuver he had just executed could be said to be the most powerful means of attack he had mastered thus far. Moreover, fueled by the primordial spiritual energy within his body, the might of the black dragon attack was multiplied exponentially. Yet looking at Sun Tianyang's current appearance, he seemed entirely unharmed, giving Yang Yan a profoundly surreal sensation.

Even though Sun Tianyang had forcibly boosted his strength through a secret technique, he had still not broken free from the category of the Spirit Sea Realm. Yang Yan was confident that no practitioner in the Spirit Sea Realm would dare to treat such a terrifying attack with indifference.

However, just as shock and astonishment welled within Yang Yan's heart, Sun Tianyang, not far away, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Then, his entire body's skin abruptly seemed as though explosives had been planted beneath it; *pop, pop, pop*, bloody holes appeared one after another in rapid succession. In an instant, his entire person was dyed crimson with blood, and his trembling form began to tumble slowly downward toward the ground under Yang Yan's shocked gaze.

Witnessing this scene, Yang Yan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had maintained an appearance of supreme composure on the outside, only he himself knew that he had already reached the limits of his endurance. The strike he had just unleashed had completely exhausted all the spiritual energy within his spiritual core. Had Sun Tianyang successfully fended it off, Yang Yan would have had no choice but to summon Blue Snow to fight.

Fortunately, things had not reached the worst-case scenario. Seeing Sun Tianyang's aura begin to steadily wither, Yang Yan put his mind at ease. He stamped the soles of his feet against the void, his figure flashing toward the direction where Sun Tianyang was falling.

Sun Tianyang's appearance at this moment was utterly miserable. He lay collapsed on the ground like a bloodied snowman, trembling all over. Only his head retained the ability to sway slightly, as though he lacked even the strength to pull himself up.

Yang Yan's figure arrived in a flash, his cold gaze locked onto the blood-soaked Sun Tianyang as he spoke slowly.

"Tell me, who exactly instigated you to make a move on my father?"

His chilling voice rang out devoid of the slightest emotional fluctuation.

Sun Tianyang gazed at Yang Yan with a complex look in his eyes, before bursting into loud laughter a long moment later.

The laughter was shrill and desolate, resembling the howling of ghosts and crying of wolves, causing anyone who heard it to feel their hair stand on end. After a good long while, Sun Tianyang finally choked off his laughter, looking at Yang Yan with a mocking expression as he spoke.

"You killed my son and ruined the Kunyang Sect I spent decades painstakingly building. Did you honestly think I would tell you this news?"

"Everything you brought upon yourself is nothing more than your own doing. If you speak the truth, I can grant you a swift death."

Yang Yan stared coldly at Sun Tianyang, speaking slowly.

The current Sun Tianyang was exhibiting a somewhat morbid psychological state, and Yang Yan naturally had no time to lecture him on grand principles. Someone who could readily betray their own sworn brother was undoubtedly beyond saving.

"Hahahaha!"

Seeing Yang Yan's increasingly gloomy expression, Sun Tianyang instead threw his head back and laughed wildly. At the height of his hysterical laughter, he even involuntarily spewed out a few mouthfuls of blood, yet he cared not in the least, showing no intention whatsoever of answering Yang Yan's question.

With a cold flash in his eyes, Yang Yan flicked a finger, instantly releasing a sharp surge of vital energy that struck directly onto Sun Tianyang's kneecap.

Accompanied by a series of crisp snapping sounds, Sun Tianyang's kneecap shattered on cue. His loud laughter was abruptly cut short, replaced by a cry of agonizing pain escaping his lips, though the glare he cast at Yang Yan grew even more fanatical and mocking.

Yang Yan's temper had been thoroughly provoked by Sun Tianyang. In the span of seventeen years, he had never been closer to the truth, and Sun Tianyang was the sole living person he knew of who held the answers. If the man stubbornly kept his mouth shut, the lead would be broken right here, making it exceedingly difficult to ever track down the murderer of his father again.

Thinking of this, Yang Yan flicked his fingers repeatedly, successively striking Sun Tianyang's shoulder blades, elbow joints, and limbs. Accompanied by the continuous echoes of Sun Tianyang's miserable shrieks, the man stubbornly refused to utter a single word to Yang Yan.

The expression on Yang Yan's face grew increasingly ruthless. As his fingers kept flicking, spiritual energy attacks rained down upon Sun Tianyang's body one after another, and each strike was accompanied by the sound of shattering bones.

After continuing this process for several dozen minutes, Sun Tianyang lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, drawing only outgoing breaths without any incoming ones.

"You... don't even think about it... You'll never get the identity of your father's murderer out of my mouth. Even if you somehow manage to learn the truth in the future, you'll never be able to exact your revenge in this lifetime, because you simply lack the strength!"

Yet, facing Sun Tianyang's final, disjointed words, the expression on Yang Yan's face remained utterly unmoved as he spoke slowly.

"Perhaps. More than a year ago, my sister was nothing more than a cripple unable to cultivate, yet a year later, I was easily able to annihilate your Kunyang Sect. My father's revenge will undoubtedly be avenged, and your death is merely the very first chapter!"

As his voice trailed off, Yang Yan no longer intended to waste any more breath on him. He swept his palm through empty air, and a crisp cracking sound echoed from Sun Tianyang's skull. The man's eyes widened immensely before his body slowly slumped backward, the life force within his pupils gradually dissipating.

With a distant grab of his palm, Yang Yan retrieved Sun Tianyang's cosmos sack into his hand, then strode toward the grand hall where the man had resided.

Yang Yan understood that extracting information regarding his father from Sun Tianyang's mouth was no longer possible. Therefore, after eliminating him, he hoped to unearth other relevant clues from his cosmos sack or within the Kunyang Sect.

At this time, the Kunyang Sect was already completely deserted. Its members were far from fools; seeing Sun Tianyang defeated and killed, they had immediately scattered and fled in all directions like startled birds and beasts.

As for those escaping disciples of the Kunyang Sect, Yang Yan naturally had no time to hunt them down one by one.

(End of this chapter)