Eternal Evil Emperor

Beast Cliff had no beasts.

When Xie Tian stepped onto this burial ground of many martial artists, he only saw, by the silvery moonlight, two pairs of ghastly green eyes.

A snake and a tiger, the snake being a Qiannai snake, its body uniformly dark red; the tiger a Green-striped tiger, its body striped yellow-green.

Stared down by those green ghastly eyes, Xie Tian considered retracing his steps; the owners of the place didn't seem too welcoming. However, even though he had never experienced such a stand-off, the idea of Xie Sha within kept telling him, "Don't move; a single move means death."

So the two beasts and one man stood, in a three-way stalemate.

Seizing this moment of deadlock, Xie Tian suppressed the terror in his heart and began to sum up the gains and lessons of the day. Besides the relics of several corpses, he gained much more. For example, the fear, bloodshed, and backstabbing amidst life and death struggles were far more significant than those relics.

At the same time, he also came to understand himself more clearly. Losing his fundamental yang had both good and bad points. The good was that others couldn't discern his cultivation level at a glance. The bad, however, were too numerous—like his current situation of facing off against two terrifying wild beasts, where the worst aspect was that he had the strength for only one strike.

And the beasts had two.

Thinking this, Xie Sha closed his eyes. Simultaneously, the Qiannai snake hissed softly, its body undulating lightly while the Green-striped tiger growled continuously, its body growing taut.

A simple act of closing his eyes almost provoked an attack from two beasts with the might equivalent to the seventh layer of the Barbaric Strength realm, illustrating the peril of the situation.

A hundred paces away, through the layers of leaves, a crazy old man looked on silently, his breath held, not realizing his palms were drenched in sweat. He was very anxious, not for Xie Tian's peril, nor the threat of the beasts, but he was anxious from a sense of expectation for Xie Tian's response, despite knowing Xie Tian couldn't handle this situation.

The moment he opened his eyes, Xie Tian looked toward the Qiannai snake while his feet began to move toward the Green-striped tiger. Seeing this, the crazy old man couldn't help stepping forward—he considered Xie Tian's action too reckless; it was akin to courting death!

The two beasts hissed and roared; Xie Tian's move had them on edge. But soon, the Qiannai snake's hiss softened a bit, as it found Xie Tian was no longer looking at it, but charging towards the Green-striped tiger!

A perfect opportunity!

Wild beasts lacked intelligence but had instinct. Nearly at the same time as Xie Tian rushed the Green-striped tiger, the Qiannai snake shot like an arrow towards its archenemy, the Green-striped tiger. From the serpent's widely opened mouth, a blood-red tongue writhed ferociously, and in those ghastly green eyes was full of excitement and cruelty.

"Miscalculation, miscalculation!" the crazy old man approached Beast Cliff with great strides, lamenting, "You thought since the snake lacks legs, it wouldn't be fast, and by cooperating with the Qiannai snake, you could finish off the Green-striped tiger and escape. But you didn't realize that the Qiannai snake is faster than a four-legged tiger. However, this is also due to your lack of experience. It seems I need to stuff a few more books into the cave..."

With a heart-wrenching roar, the Green-striped tiger locked its green eyes on Xie Tian in front. It was furious. Not only had this human dared to intrude upon Beast Cliff, but he also dared to team up with its enemy. Even though the tiger knew it might die by the Qiannai snake's fangs, this human would not be forgiven!

Ao!

With a ferocious howl, the Green-striped tiger's hind legs forcefully thrust off the ground, kicking up dust; it turned into a green lightning bolt. And in the path of that lightning was its six-inch-long, cold-gleaming tiger claws!

It was determined to shred this human!

"Damn it!" The crazy old man grew anxious and, without further hesitation, made himself light on his feet, transforming into a gust of wind, shooting towards Beast Cliff!

The six-inch cold claws were so piercing that it hurt Xie Tian's eyes to look at them. He instinctively wanted to close his eyes but forced himself to keep them open, his eyes narrowed to slits, fixating on the tiger claws about to hit. At the same time, he quickly adjusted his direction, yet his speed toward the oncoming tiger remained unchanged.

He felt that if he slowed down even a bit, the Qiannai snake behind him would shift its target to him. Then, caught between two beasts, he would truly be doomed!

The crazy old man was like the wind, but when he floated above the two beasts and one man, he didn't immediately stop Xie Tian, who seemed to be seeking his own death. Because he saw Xie Tian's eyes, which, despite the fear, were filled with courage and intelligence.

"Could it be, he really has a way..."

In an instant, the six-inch cold claws of the Green-striped tiger sliced through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the Qiannai snake's gaping jaws struck out like lightning.

At this shaking moment for the crazy old man, Xie Tian surged forward one step! Bending! Side-stepping! The thick paw of the Green-striped tiger slammed hard onto Xie Tian's back, and the six-inch cold claws that could tear anything apart missed their mark!

Puh! Puh! Puh!

Three mouthfuls of fresh blood spewed out, Xie Tian's complexion flushed at first, turning pallid as he was sent flying backward!

"Moving forward to dodge the claws' edge, only to be struck by the paw, that was close! A smart calculation!" Seeing this, the crazy old man got goosebumps all over. It was beyond his wildest dreams that after experiencing just one skirmish that barely counted as battle, Xie Tian had grown to such an extent, showcasing such tremendous battle wisdom!

It wasn't over, he knew that Xie Tian's plan wasn't over, he widened his eyes, staring intently at a young Martial Artist who had lost all his primordial yang, and continued to defy the odds with a stunning miracle!

Seeing his swipe miss, the Patterned Green Tiger lost balance, while the Qiánjī Snake slightly adjusted its angle and accelerated again, its gaping maw shooting towards the tiger's neck.

It had no interest in Xie Tian, who had been sent flying, even though his trajectory took him right under the snake.

Intense pain caused Xie Tian to lose himself for a moment, but only for a moment. After enduring the torture of having his life's primordial yang drained, there was little pain left in the world that could make him forget what he needed to do, so when he saw the soft underside of the Qiánjī Snake's jaw, an eight-inch blade slid out from his sleeve.

He stabbed with all his might, the blade sinking in up to the hilt!

The force of Xie Tian's momentum from being struck by the tiger, combined with the Qiánjī Snake's own swift speed, meant that the time for it to be gutted was exceedingly short, so short that the snake didn't even register the intense pain. It was so brief that Xie Tian, who had rolled far away, didn't even realize that his body was covered in warm snake blood.

The gaping maw finally bit cruelly into the Patterned Green Tiger's neck, almost simultaneously the venom from its fangs injecting into the tiger's bloodstream. As the Qiánjī Snake began to coil around its prey, it finally realized something was wrong; why was its body so powerless, so light?

When both beasts collapsed to the ground, gasping their last breaths, the mad old man knew everything was over.

All of this, from Xie Tian opening his eyes to the beasts' impending death, unfolded in just six breaths. During these six breaths, the balance of the three-way standoff shattered, the weakest side survived while the two strongest sides perished together.

This was a superb display of combat intelligence. The mad old man was speechless, his eyes and heart filled with shock.

Resting for a full quarter of an hour, Xie Tian struggled to his feet. He didn't look at the battlefield; if there was any danger, Xie Tian would let him know. So the first thing he did after sitting up was to pull out two broken pieces of Dragon-Leopard Wood, consume them, and then practice the Primordial Cultivation Technique.

He decided that from now on, he would spend most of his time practicing the Primordial Cultivation Technique for two reasons: first, the primordial yang greatly limited his combat capabilities, and second, after that battle, he had some enlightenment. Strong cultivation didn't mean strong combat capabilities; the two beasts were stronger than he was and yet dead, while he, with the weakest cultivation, had survived. So, he intended to hone himself through countless battles, which would require ample primordial yang, both for fighting and healing.

The two beast carcasses held little value. After removing the snake gall and tiger claws, Xie Tian walked down the mountain without a backward glance. As for the Cultivation Technique hidden beneath Beast Cliff in the Hundred-Zhang Stream, he was not in a hurry.

Even though he had killed beasts on par with the seventh level of the Brutal Strength Realm, Xie Tian knew this was just a lucky break. In a one-on-one fight, he would have no chance against either beast. Thus, he planned to start his trials at the foot of the mountain, where the beasts were much weaker.

Bathed in enchanting moonlight, Chen Qin, unable to sleep, stood by the window, gazing at Anlan Mountain shrouded in the dark, thinking of the person who instilled fear in him.

Whether it was the torment of unrequited love or the guessing game between rivals, both were forms of torment. Chen Qin, who had never experienced such agitation before, felt restless and desperate to do something, yet he was also fearful. After struggling through till dawn, with red eyes, he gathered his people and headed up the mountain once more.

Seeing Xie Tian as his rival, he finally resolved to go to Beast Cliff to see for himself.

Meanwhile, Xie Tian had already started his training at the foot of the mountain. To avoid attracting attention, he didn't follow the paths trampled by other Martial Artists. Although this made the journey much more difficult, he preferred it that way, starting from scratch and learning bit by bit.

As Chen Qin cautiously made his way to Beast Cliff, he was immediately drawn to the remains of the two mutilated beasts.

The Patterned Green Tiger and Qiánjī Snake, each comparable to a Martial Artist at the seventh level of the Brutal Strength Realm. That didn't mean a Martial Artist at that level could necessarily take down one on their own; cultivation level was one thing, combat ability another. In terms of combat ability, it would take at least three experienced seventh-level Martial Artists working together to stand a chance against one.

In other words, if Chen Qin encountered one of them, it was certain death.

Slowly approaching the carcasses, the Chen family disciples formed a circle on guard while Chen Qin squatted down to investigate. The scene looked quite normal, much like the aftermath of a fight to the death between the two beasts—if not for the pile of Qiánjī Snake entrails on the ground.

Clearly, the Qiánjī Snake had been gutted on the spot. Besides the blood and organs as evidence, Chen Qin knew something else—only a living Qiánjī Snake could be gutted like that; once dead, its skin was impermeable, even to a hundred-refined weapon.

After a lengthy silence, a weary Chen Qin stood up, walked to the edge of Beast Cliff, and while he gazed into the distance, he also calmed the shock that had reached its peak within him.

He was a genius, after all. Based only on the clues left on the scene, he reconstructed the battle. Like before, there was a three-way standoff, but he couldn't understand how the stalemate was broken.

Putting aside that puzzle, what amazed him even more was the third party's tactics. Tiger claws were sharp, but they weren't the culprit behind the Qiánjī Snake's disembowelment. Only a sharp blade would do.

So the third party was human, but the Qiánjī Snake was no fool and was known for its agility. Who could seize such a fleeting opportunity and pull off such a miraculous strike? Most crucially, was this move intentional or accidental?

There was a big difference between the two.

When he smelled the lingering stench of Dragon-Leopard Wood, Chen Qin felt like he had his answer. He was reluctant to believe the third party was the Xie family's Xie Tian because it meant he was not as adept as Xie Tian, at least in terms of combat, by far.

"Xie family's Xie Tian, makes his stand at Anlan Mountain, ruthless in technique, slaughters Qiánjī and Patterned Green, suspected to possess high-level cultivation…" Chen Qin turned around, his expression extremely solemn as he addressed the group, "Send this message quickly back to our family, and besides, let everyone split into groups of three and search for Xie Tian's traces. If you find him, under no circumstances should you engage, remember that!"