Saintess of the Southern Border, Blue Butterfly

His aura had astonishingly broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm!

And it was no ordinary Foundation Establishment.

Behind him, a nine-tiered Dao platform forged from countless white bones and fresh blood faintly emerged—a Heavenly Dao Foundation!

Although it could not compare to Gu Yang's flawless Primal Chaos Lotus Platform, this Asura Blood-Bone Platform was still a top-tier Dao foundation capable of crushing ninety-nine percent of the geniuses in the Eastern Region!

"Congratulations, kid."

That ancient voice echoed in his sea of consciousness, carrying a hint of exhaustion. "Although you lost the Primal Chaos Five-Element Lotus, it was a blessing in disguise. Finding this Asura Blood-Bone in the Myriad Burials Pit can be considered an opportunity tailor-made for you."

"An opportunity?"

Mo Bufan slowly landed, not showing the slightest hint of joy.

He raised his hand and stared dead at his newly formed demonic arm, the venomous resentment in his eyes practically overflowing.

"If getting this opportunity meant I had to be played and framed like a dog..."

"Then I would rather not have it!"

Mo Bufan's facial features instantly twisted as an agonizing memory surged into his mind once again like a nightmare.

That was supposed to be the closest he had ever been to a flawless Heavenly Dao Foundation.

He had exhausted all his trump cards, even having the Demon Venerable burn his soul power just to break into the core. He was so close that the Primal Chaos Five-Element Lotus was practically within his grasp.

But that damn Scarface!

Not only did he snatch the divine lotus right in front of him as easily as plucking a weed, but before leaving, he maliciously kicked awake the slumbering Five-Colored Peacock, leaving behind a flippant remark: "This scapegoat burden is quite heavy, hold onto it well."

What made him want to vomit blood the most was that when he was sent flying by a slap from the enraged peacock's wing, dozens of geniuses rushing in from the perimeter happened to witness the scene.

"The demonic cultivator stole the divine lotus!"

"Kill him and loot his gear!"

He couldn't defend himself even if he had a hundred mouths! He was clearly empty-handed, yet he took the biggest blame for that bastard and was hunted down across the entire map.

Although he ultimately managed to escape with his life by relying on the Demon Venerable burning his divine soul origin to use the Blood Shield Art, the humiliation of being publicly shamed and played like a pawn was a fate worse than death.

"Sooner or later, I will settle this score."

Mo Bufan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the furious rage in his heart.

He turned around and cast his gaze toward the distant north.

That was the direction of Holy Heaven City.

It was also where the Immortal Burial Forbidden Ground was located.

"Demon Venerable, is that plan... truly feasible?"

Mo Bufan's voice became incomparably sinister.

"Hmph, are you doubting this Venerable?"

The voice of the Demon Venerable's remnant soul was somewhat weak, clearly having expended a great deal to save Mo Bufan last time.

"That Evernight Empress Tantai Jin possesses the Nine Nether Extreme Yin Demonic Physique, rarely seen even in ten thousand years. If we can take advantage of the moment before her awakening when her true spirit is weak to refine her..."

"Not only will you obtain an invincible corpse puppet with Soul Formation potential."

"You will also be able to use secret arts to harvest her Yin, making up for the innate deficiencies of your Asura Blood-Bone, and perhaps..."

"It might even help you break through to the Golden Core realm in one fell swoop, allowing you to glimpse the legendary Nascent Soul Grand Dao!"

Hearing this, the venom in Mo Bufan's eyes gradually transformed into greed and ambition.

He stuck out his scarlet tongue and licked his lips.

"The Evernight Empress, huh..."

"A female demon from three thousand years ago is now nothing more than dry bones in a tomb."

"Once I refine you into a corpse puppet, I'll see who in this world still dares to stand in my way!"

"When that time comes, that Scarface..."

Mo Bufan clenched his demonic arm, emitting a teeth-achingly loud crack of bones.

"I will let you know what true cruelty is."

His figure blurred, transforming into a streak of bloody light as he sped away toward the north.

...

Half a month later.

Three hundred miles north of Holy Heaven City.

The perimeter of the Immortal Burial Forbidden Ground.

The sky displayed a sickly dark red hue, resembling a patch of congealed, blackened blood.

Fierce winds howled, sweeping up the black sand from the ground and battering against the cultivators' protective spiritual auras, emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound.

This was a forbidden zone for life, and also an Asura arena of desires.

The mass grave that was originally devoid of human presence was now occupied by densely packed streaks of flowing light.

Hundreds of various flying ships stretched across the void, casting massive shadows.

The golden warships of the Righteous Path Alliance, the white bone magical artifacts of the Six Demonic Sects, and countless rogue cultivators swarming like carps crossing a river had completely surrounded this dead land.

Most of the auras were at the Foundation Establishment realm, but there was no lack of Golden Core experts either.

A restless, scorching heat permeated the air. It was the omen of a heaven-and-earth anomaly about to emerge, and even more so, the greed exuding from the bodies of thousands of cultivators.

...

On the perimeter, atop an inconspicuous barren mountain.

Gu Yang, dressed in a gray robe and wearing a bamboo hat, had concealed his entire aura to the absolute limit.

He was like a lifeless rock, seamlessly blending into the surrounding environment.

Right now, he was still wearing the Scarface of Li Feiyu.

"So this is the so-called opportunity."

Gu Yang lowered his bamboo hat, his gaze sweeping across the distant cultivators with fanatic eyes.

Some were wiping their magical treasures, some were forming alliances and making oaths, and others were secretly observing fat sheep to slaughter.

They all thought they were the mantis stalking the cicada, little did they know that this Immortal Burial Forbidden Ground was a giant spider web.

Without intelligence, this place was a true graveyard.

Buzz.

Gu Yang's gaze slightly focused.

In the northwest corner of the crowd, demonic energy loomed ominously.

That was the gathering place for the demonic cultivators.

Among them, a thin figure draped in a black cloak caught his attention.

Although that person used a brilliant disguise technique to camouflage his aura as an ordinary early Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator.

Perhaps because he was the victim of his daily intelligence reports, Gu Yang faintly felt a peculiar connection to him.

Mo Bufan.

It was definitely him.

This tenacious leek had indeed arrived.

At this moment, Mo Bufan had his head lowered, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, his right hand was constantly clenched inside his sleeve, his knuckles turning slightly white.

He was enduring.

He was suppressing the thrill of impending revenge and his thirst for that perfect corpse puppet.

"Work hard."

The corners of Gu Yang's mouth curled into a playful arc. "The road ahead is very slippery, remember to fill in the potholes for me."

...

His line of sight shifted.

Gu Yang looked toward the other side.

There was a group of cultivators wearing bizarre clothing, and within several feet of them, no one dared to approach.

They were the Eastern Gu Sect from the Southern Borders.

The leader was a pale-faced young man with dark circles under his eyes, exactly Li Qingzhe from the intelligence reports.

He looked somewhat neurotic, muttering to himself in the air from time to time, his fingers involuntarily twitching inside his sleeves.

But standing beside Li Qingzhe was a woman.

The Holy Maiden of the Southern Borders, Lan Caidie.

When Gu Yang's gaze landed on this woman, his pupils contracted slightly.

The woman was not wearing the fairy skirts or Daoist robes commonly seen on female cultivators in the Central Plains.

Her upper body was only wrapped in a palm-sized deep purple bandeau, sewn from some unknown beast skin, tightly binding her full, almost overflowing chest, with bizarre silver totems embroidered along the edges.

Large expanses of snow-white skin, smooth as congealed fat, were exposed, radiating a delicate luster like cold jade under the dark red skylight.

Especially that slender and supple waist.

Without any fabric covering it, it was flat and taut.

Embedded at her navel was a blood-red gemstone the size of a fingernail. As she breathed, the jewel rose and fell with a rhythmic glint, like a spectral eye peering into the depths of the human heart.

She wore a high-slit skirt woven from silver threads that resembled flowing clouds. Its long hem trailed across the gravel-strewn ground, yet remained entirely untainted by the dust.

Whenever the wind blew, the fabric would flutter and dance.

Through the parting silver tassels, her long, straight, and utterly flawless thighs would faintly reveal themselves.

Tattooed in cinnabar near the root of her left thigh was a slender red snake. Its head vanished deep into the folds of her skirt, while its tail meandered all the way down to her knee, exuding an indescribable aura of wickedness and decadent allure.