One more catty, one more attribute point

"Once the Mythical Battlefield is fully opened and the Blood Realm descends, our warriors will swoop in with howls. By then, if you want to surrender, you won't get the chance." Ralph looked straight at Su Heng, smiling with a consoling tone in his voice.

"Is that so?" Su Heng laughed, "Sorry, my knees are too stiff, I can't kneel, not for anyone."

A hint of pity crossed Ralph's face.

Phut!

Su Heng lifted his foot and stomped down hard.

Ralph's head exploded, but there was no blood, only a handful of ashes dispersing in the air.

"When the Seventh Army of Fear and Brilliance slaughters you and your family to near extinction, you'll regret the choices you made today," Ralph's final words echoed from the void, resonating in Su Heng's mind.

"Tch!" Su Heng said, "Annoying like a buzzing fly."

Whew!

He exhaled a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky.

With Ralph's fall, the blood-colored moon that hung in the sky vanished.

Bright sunlight once again poured down. Around him, the screams of terror resounded as some of the Wu Family, as if awakening from a dream at this moment, screamed non-stop at the sight of the buildings reduced to ruins.

Su Heng glanced over and saw that among these people, not one was a martial artist of the Heavenly Deceit Realm level.

They were clearly the ones who had been abandoned.

The true core of the Wu Family had already been secretly moved before the battle began.

However…

Even so,

These people who committed all sorts of evils also deserved to pay the price.

Su Heng waved his hand, and the authority of the Seed of Destruction's erosion activated once again.

As the cold black mist spread from under his feet, the ground churned, and a horde of hideous Deceit Beasts, each with their own bizarre appearance, was created.

They began a wanton slaughter, with continuous screams ringing out. Yet in just a short time, the entire ancient house returned to silence.

"How nice!"

A distant breeze blew over the lake, and Su Heng's hair was lifted backward.

Gazing at the glimmering ripples on the lake, a sense of openness and ease unfurled within him.

Crack!

A sound of muscles quivering came from within Su Heng.

He deactivated the various enhancements of his overpowering martial state, returning to normal. After that, his body further shrank to a compact three meters and six, not too intrusive for daily activities.

"You really saved the day this time," Meng Huan sheathed his longsword, patted Su Heng's arm, and bitterly smiled, "If you had been any later, my situation here would have gotten dicey."

"That's what I should do," Su Heng replied.

"How are your injuries? Can you handle them?"

"A bit tricky, but should be no big problem," Meng Huan answered.

"Are you thinking about something?" Su Heng noticed his smile was somewhat forced and couldn't help but ask.

It wasn't that he was particularly empathetic, but Meng Huan had always seemed carefree to Su Heng, rarely ever appearing somewhat gloomy as he did now.

"I..."

Meng Huan sighed but didn't hide anything, "I feel that this matter is more serious than I initially thought."

"What makes you think that?" Su Heng raised an eyebrow.

"Under normal circumstances, an Earth Immortal would be able to halt the flow of their lifespan in the Heavens of Longevity. But the situation with Wu Chenghua wasn't like that; he was rejuvenated back to his prime, and all of that happened in less than a month."

"So…"

"The other side of the Mythical Battlefield, which is what the demon god mentioned just now—the Blood Realm—must be a world with a complete inheritance and a unique cultivation system, posing a high level of danger," Meng Huan spoke earnestly, with a serious expression.

Seeing Su Heng pondering in silence, Meng Huan paused for a moment before continuing, "That guy claimed to be a Blood Sacrifice Demon God. Just a projection of him had the strength topping an ordinary Earth Immortal. If he were to come in his prime, descending directly, I'm afraid his strength might approach or even surpass that of an ordinary Heavenly King."

"And normally, the one who comes to scout isn't the strongest being from a world."

Meng Huan rubbed his temples, troubled, "That means there are even more terrifying existences within the Blood Realm."

"Are you scared?" Su Heng asked.

Meng Huan took off the gourd of alcohol from his waist, tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

With a "ha!" he wiped a bit of spilled liquor from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and earnestly replied, "A little."

"It's normal to feel fear before the unknown terror, that's human nature. But still choosing to stay in spite of fear, that's truly commendable," Meng Huan offered the alcohol gourd to Su Heng.

Su Heng shook his head, declining the offer.

Meng Huan didn't mind and reattached the gourd to his waist.

"What do you plan on doing?" Su Heng asked.

"We can't delay any longer," Meng Huan's eyes glinted and he suddenly appeared much more determined.

"The remaining immortal sects and noble families in the seven states of Jiang and E must unite."

"And Skull Plain," Su Heng added, "Since the Blood Sacrifice Demon God could find the Wu Family, it's possible he could collaborate with the people of the three Esoteric Sects. It might become troublesome, so we need to prepare in advance to prevent any mishaps."

"Good point!" Meng Huan nodded.

In fact, Su Heng had some additional thoughts.

Cultivating the Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique required the spiritual power contained within god statues. And the extensive heritage of the three Esoteric Sects could help Su Heng rapidly accumulate spiritual essence to fill in his final gap. But since that matter was aligned with his goals anyway, there was no need to specify it.

"Then, without further delay!" Meng Huan declared, "I intend to summon the leaders from the immortal sects and noble families to discuss our next course of action."

"It's right on the ruins of the Wu Family." Meng Huan took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with a glint of murderous intent, "Not only the Wu Family harbors ulterior motives among the immortal sects and noble clans. This incident also serves as a perfect opportunity to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, letting them know the consequence of betrayal!"

"Good!" Su Heng nodded, thinking it was a good idea.

"How much time will probably be needed?"

"About two or three days." Meng Huan thought for a moment and nodded, "That should be more or less enough."

"Then I have some things to take care of, I need to leave for a while." This would be the perfect chance to check all the locations of the statues provided by the Demon Elephant Sect.

After all, harnessing the power of the Seed of Destruction to cultivate the Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique was just an initial concept for Su Heng.

Whether it could succeed and what the final effects would be could only be confirmed after he actually got started.

And one more thing.

The Mythical Battlefield was a war between two worlds.

Although the might of an individual could make a huge difference, the development of one's forces was also crucial.

"Relying solely on the Dragon Marrow, the Dragon Guards we can create are limited."

Recalling the promise he once made to An Shelie, a gleam shone in Su Heng's eyes, and looking at the shimmering Mirror Lake before him, he murmured to himself, "After flattening Skull Plain, I'll head to Dragon Abyss and attempt to absorb and refine the Dragon Corpse of the Ink Dragon!"

With that thought, Su Heng no longer hesitated. He waved to Meng Huan and stepped forward.

In a few bounds, Su Heng's burly figure gradually disappeared under the grand sunlight, becoming an inconsequential speck. Find your next adventure on empire

Meng Huan stood on the slope.

Watching Su Heng's figure disappear into the distance.

Only when he was completely out of sight did Meng Huan draw back his gaze and let out a soft sigh.

In fact.

If it weren't for the sudden emergence of a monster like Su Heng.

Faced with the same situation, Meng Huan's first consideration would certainly have been how to preserve the strength of the Sword Sect.

This was not selfishness but a reluctant compromise.

Because the gap was too vast, facing the power of a mighty world like the Immortal Heavens, a barren and impoverished land like the Jiang E's Seven States simply had no qualification to resist.

The only option was to first preserve their fighting force and then find opportunities to struggle and resist.

But the emergence of Su Heng gave them a glimmer of hope.

Thinking about the terrifying achievements the other had gained in less than a year, as well as the confidence and strong aura he exuded.

Perhaps he could truly lead them to victory.

And possibly, on top of victory, to go even further. To counterattack the Immortal Heavens, to rise from there, reaching a new peak.

"It seems I really am getting old!" Withdrawing his thoughts, Meng Huan chuckled bitterly.

If it were his younger days, where would he have thought so much. He would have simply followed his heart and instincts.

It's just that now, with too much to consider, his hesitation made him feel somewhat alien from himself.

...

...

...

Elsewhere.

In the ravaged stronghold of the Demon Elephant Sect.

Seeing the burly figure suddenly appear before her, Ke Yulan was startled at first, then bowed respectfully, "Master, you've returned!"

"Yes." Su Heng nodded, "How did things go?"

"Everything has been taken care of, we can leave at any time." Ke Yulan bowed her head and replied.

"Good." Su Heng said, "Then let's not delay any further, we'll depart now."

Ke Yulan moved ahead, and Su Heng followed. The first statue was not far from the Demon Elephant Sect headquarters, just beyond a few mountains.

For ordinary people, it would take about half a day's journey. For Heavenly Deceit powerhouses like Ke Yulan and Su Heng, it was even simpler; they would reach in just a few breaths' time.

"Hiss..."

Looking at the Buddhist statue on the mountain wall, Su Heng's pupils contracted slightly.

"I've seen this statue before." Su Heng spoke softly, a look of surprise emerging on Ke Yulan's delicate face, but she did not ask further.

Su Heng stroked his chin.

The statue before him was the very one he'd seen in the memories of Xie Linyuan.

In the center was an ancient Buddha, flanked by bodhisattvas and arhats whose names he didn't know. The Buddha's head had fallen off the neck, rolling on the ground, covered with a thick layer of moss and sprawling cracks from being there for quite some time.

Su Heng reached out to touch the statue but didn't feel any special power emanating from it, the miracle was gone.

"It seems its owner has taken back that portion of power." Su Heng speculated in his mind that the owner of the statue must be terrifyingly powerful, reaching an exceedingly profound realm.

Initially, Su Heng had only glanced at them in Xie Linyuan's memory. The other had vaguely perceived something and decisively destroyed their own golden body, abandoning this "anchor point" straightaway.

And moreover...

Looking at the statue before him, a doubt that had long plagued him resurfaced.

The history of humanity in this world seemed too short. Recorded history only spanned some four or five thousand years. Before that, it was darkness.

The key issue is that for many powerful cultivators, living for a few thousand years within the Immortal Heavens wasn't difficult.

In such a world where martial arts could lead to godhood, how could there be no information passed down?

What exactly happened on this land during that unrecorded dark age?