High in the sky, a man shrouded in a golden aura floated. In his right hand, he gripped Ye Xuanhan’s head, while his left held the body. As the man’s red eyes focused on the head, he spoke in a low voice, yet one loud enough for Liu Xing to hear. "What a useless son. Didn't you say that you were strong and would someday kill me easily?" He shook his head slowly. "Have you finally realized that you're merely a frog in a well?"

  Several crimson tendrils, shaped like worms, began to emerge from the man's arms. After looking left and right for a while, the worms noticed the blood gushing out of Ye Xuanhan's neck and propelled themselves toward his neck, lodging themselves on it and greedily consuming his blood.

  Liu Xing thought that perhaps this man was about to devour the corpse, as would befit a demonic cultivator. But then, the worms dislodged themselves from their master and attached their other ends to Ye Xuanhan's body, forming grotesque bridges between them.

  Liu Xing pushed himself up, planting his feet firmly on the ground as he clenched both of his weapons. The man above wore a black robe accentuated by red patterns and adorned with gold. His skin was pale, his arms and legs were thin, and his black hair was slightly curly.

  He looked down at Liu Xing with crimson eyes as the worms pulled themselves taut, reattaching Ye Xuanhan’s head to his body. Soon, the head met the severed neck, and the moment they touched, the worms began to sew themselves into his flesh, truly reattaching the severed head. A moment passed where no one moved. Then, Ye Xuanhan sucked in a breath and began coughing, like a drowned man who had just been rescued and was finally expelling water from his lungs. A moment later, the violent coughing ended, but instead of waking, his eyes remained closed, and he fell into a deep sleep with an even breath, floating in a golden aura right in front of the man with crimson eyes.

  "My name is Ye Xuanming," the man said, as he and Ye Xuanhan descended slowly from the sky. "This person is my son," he said, pointing down toward Ye Xuanhan. "He is an insolent, lustful child, and too arrogant for his own good. However, he is quite talented and competent. And while it's no problem for me to beat him black and blue, it's a problem if someone else does."

  Soon, Ye Xuanming’s feet touched the ground, while Ye Xuanhan floated motionlessly behind him. The man's eyes bored into him, and Liu Xing felt an aura so heavy and ancient it was as if he were suddenly standing in the shadow of a snowy mountain, one that could crush him and freeze him to death.

  Liu Xing observed the man further. From his qi sense, he knew that this man was a Sun Refining cultivator. It was true that Liu Xing had fought creatures as strong as Sun Refining cultivators, but this man was in a league of his own. Not only was he not a zombie controlled by a demonic cultivator—meaning he could think, strategize, and decide for himself—he was also immensely strong, perhaps the strongest opponent Liu Xing had ever faced.

  Liu Xing gripped his weapons tightly. His heart was beating fast yet steadily.

  "Come back, all of you," Ye Xuanming said to the air. "How long will you indulge in your desires? It's true that my son decided to bring you along without expecting you to obey his command. But I'm not my son. So come here and pay me some respect."

  His voice was soft, yet stern. For a moment, the only sounds Liu Xing could hear were his own heartbeat and the wind.

  Liu Xing thought about how to proceed, his heart beginning to fill with worry and anxiety. Not only was the man strong, but he was also fast. That golden light that had made him suddenly appear and punch him in the face was akin to Han Jiulao’s teleportation, which indicated this man likely had a spatial affinity and could teleport.

  He hoped that was not the case.

  Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps and rushing wind. At first, it was only one or two people, but as time passed, more and more sounds joined in, until finally, the commotion of a group of people stomping through the forest, destroying rocks, trees, and anything in their way. Liu Xing looked to his left, and there, in the distance, he saw around ten men hastily moving toward the clearing. Each wore a black robe, and none of them pristine. One man had lost the top half of his robe; some had their robes torn, burned, or caked with mud and blood. One man's condition was especially severe; he and his robe were covered in what looked like bite marks, as if he had just fought a feral beast.

  Soon, they arrived at the clearing, stopped in their tracks, and each of them knelt and clasped their hands.

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  "We greet the Patriarch! We have heard your summons and have come at once. Please forgive our tardiness!"

  "Where are the rest of you?" he asked.

  A bald man with muscular arms and a necklace of prayer beads replied to his question. "Reporting to the Patriarch. Aside from us here, the rest have died. Either by spirit beasts that suddenly emerged from the sea, a particularly wild and strong shark that was likely a treasure beast, or killed by... accidents," he finished in a soft voice, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

  "None of them were killed by this man here?" the man with crimson eyes and curly hair asked, pointing at Liu Xing.

  The man with the prayer beads looked at him and shook his head. "None--"

  Before he could finish his words, black veins suddenly bulged on his neck, as if worms had appeared inside his body. The moment the black veins emerged, the man grabbed his own neck with both hands as if trying to choke himself. His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. The veins on his hands began to bulge as he fought against his own grip, but before he could do anything, his head exploded as if a grenade had been inside it. Blood, gore, and fragments of skull splattered the area around him, and the headless body fell to the ground with a soft thud.

  Upon seeing the corpse on the ground, Liu Xing could not help but gulp. He didn't understand how the patriarch of the Nether Lotus Sect had killed his disciple. He hadn’t projected any of his qi, nor cycled it. It was as if he had simply thought about killing the man, and the world had obeyed him. What is this? Is this the true power of a Sun Refining cultivator?

  "Wrong. He killed one of you," the patriarch of the Nether Lotus Sect stated calmly. "We are indeed a demonic sect. I stand by my words that once we revealed ourselves to the world, you were free to pursue things. Whether it was power, knowledge, or even pleasure. Feel free to free yourselves and pursue what you desire. However, you don't need to act like savages. Think with your brains. Coordinate and work together to achieve your mission. Is it truly that hard to do? Did the heavens truly punish me by granting me a bunch of idiots like you as disciples?"

  A man with white hair and yellow eyes was about to open his mouth. "We--"

  However, the Patriarch of the Nether Lotus Sect held up his hand. "Spare your excuses. You will be punished once you're back at the sect."

  "Yes, Patriarch," the demonic cultivators answered in unison.

  "Beifeng, reveal yourself," the patriarch said as he looked to his left.

  Liu Xing, likewise, turned his head to the side, in the opposite direction from where the disciples of the Nether Lotus Sect had gathered. There, a man emerged from the shadows. His hair was white, his eyes were crimson, and black circles surrounded them, as if the man hadn't slept for a week straight.

  Upon seeing him and noticing his qi, Liu Xing narrowed his eyes. The man emitted a heavy and malevolent aura, and Liu Xing instantly knew that this was the man who had created the ink snake that chased them earlier, the one who held the brush, as well as the one responsible for teleporting him and his friends back to this island. At that moment, Liu Xing decided to pay special attention to him. This man, like the Patriarch, possessed a technique that could create portals and teleport. While the most dangerous man here was the Patriarch, and thus his main obstacle, this Beifeng was the second biggest threat if he wanted to escape from this island with his friends.

  Beifeng took several steps, but instead of kneeling like the other demonic cultivators, he crossed his arms. "I am here. Is there anything you want?"

  "My son almost died," he said. "In fact, his head was severed. You saw that, didn't you?"

  "Yes," he nodded. "But I don't see any problem with it."

  "Hua Beifeng," the patriarch called, his tone cold. "You are indeed talented. You are a valuable asset to me. But that doesn't mean you are irreplaceable. You don't see yourself as a part of my sect, and I have no problem with that. However, while my son is stupid and arrogant, and I don't quite like him, did it ever cross your mind that your inaction would anger me? You seem to think that I'm soft, and that the only threat to you is my foolish son. Indeed, for the past couple of years, I have had no time to manage my sect and have left it to run without much interference. You seem to have interpreted that as weakness. But you are wrong. I am the patriarch of the Nether Lotus Sect. I am the strongest and the most dangerous."

  As he spoke, a heavy aura began to spread from him. It was black, like smoke, and it felt so terrifying that Liu Xing, Hua Beifeng, the disciples of the Nether Lotus Sect, and even the unconscious Ye Xuanhan trembled. The aura felt cold, sinister, and terrifying, as if the world were suddenly flooded by the darkest, chilliest water from the depths of the sea. It was vast and encompassing, and Liu Xing could not help but swallow hard once again. In that moment, he finally understood that he had been a bit too arrogant. He thought he had a small chance to kill this man? He was wrong, dead wrong.

  "As for you," The man looked at Liu Xing with his crimson eyes, and Liu Xing felt dread crawl across his spine. "While you have taught my foolish son a valuable lesson, you still tried to kill what is mine, so you will be punished with death. However, your timing is quite fortunate. I need to remind people that I am strong and that I built the Nether Lotus Sect from the ground up. Let me use you to demonstrate my power."

  keep the lights on.