Chapter Ninety: The Slaughtering Tribulation

"Old blacksmith, what are you doing?"

Young Master Falling Blossom knitted his brows and stared coldly. In the end, it was he who stepped in to protect Violet Name, or else the latter would have been slain by the blacksmith’s ruthless strike.

"What am I doing? I am saving you all, in truth. Perhaps you do not yet understand why, but I can tell you this: sometimes death is the truest redemption."

The old blacksmith threw back his head and laughed, his former steadiness swept away, replaced by a faint touch of madness.

"I once heard that in ancient times, Mount King Furnace was the ancestral land of a great clan. Later, it was chosen by a peerless powerhouse as a place of fallen immortals, and the great clan that once occupied it was slaughtered to the last. If I am not mistaken, you should be a descendant of that clan."

Lin Fan stepped forward, his gaze brilliant as twin celestial lamps, dazzling to the extreme.

These were conclusions he drew after combining the information he had obtained from the Little Immortal. He feared that he had now arrived at that clan’s ancestral land.

"It seems you know many secrets. Can you tell me where you come from? As far as I know, there are not many people in the entire Great Jin Kingdom who know this secret."

The old blacksmith restrained his madness and narrowed his eyes, no one knowing what he was thinking.

"Is the Yin-Yang Pill I gave you still with you, Second Brother?"

Lin Fan smiled faintly. He did not answer the blacksmith’s question, but a killing intent, like a tidal wave, surged forth and nearly solidified into substance.

"Haha, haha, I never imagined I would actually be recognized by someone. Truly unbelievable. I am growing more and more interested in you. This is a secret art of my clan; without reaching the Heaven Human Realm, one simply cannot detect the flaw in it. How did you see through me?"

The old blacksmith suddenly burst into laughter. His features changed, the wrinkles of his face fading away one by one as his true appearance emerged. It was none other than the waiter Lin Fan had met earlier in the tavern.

"That is not something you need to know. What I want to know is why you brought us here."

Lin Fan shook his head. In truth, at first he had sensed nothing amiss. But after using the art of gaze and qi, he discovered that the blacksmith’s vital blood was brimming with vigor and did not carry the decay one would expect from his appearance. He had also sensed a trace of familiar aura from the blacksmith; only later did he identify him as the waiter from the tavern.

"I am doing this for your own good. This is my clan’s ancestral land, and it contains heaven-defying fortune. Even a mere trace of it would allow an ordinary person to leap ahead by leaps and bounds. Becoming a Heaven Human would be only a matter of moments."

The old blacksmith gave a harsh, guttural laugh. The soft sword in his hand shone brilliantly,吐出锋锐之芒, its killing edge surging and swallowing light.

"Hmph. If we keep going forward, I’m afraid it will be a dead end, won’t it? You really think I don’t know? The only purpose of this tomb is to devour flesh and blood. I don’t know what scheme you have, but it is certainly related to the dead."

Lin Fan swept his gaze around. His qi and blood roared like a flood, and he actually seemed ready to strike.

"I have to say, you are quite a figure. I, King Rock, have never seen anyone like you. Truly terrifying. That’s right, I intend to use your flesh and blood to awaken our ancient ancestor and lead our clan back to the peak."

The old blacksmith revealed his name; he was indeed a descendant of that clan as recorded in the histories.

"I once heard that your clan colluded with foreign races and was then erased by an invincible existence. And with just your lot, you still dream of becoming a peak race?"

Lin Fan’s expression remained unchanged. He had already begun speaking with the Little Immortal and learned even more hidden truths from her.

"That is slander! Someone is deliberately misleading the world!"

A furious shout rang out. King Rock was indignant beyond measure, waving his arm as he said, "Our king clan is supreme and peerless. We even possess ancestral realm experts. It was because someone could not stand our glory that we were wiped out. All of this is nothing but lies!"

King Rock did not admit it at all, or perhaps he truly did not know the secrets involved. In the eyes of the descendants of his clan, only the splendor of the past remained; the filthy truths of old had long been forgotten.

"It is not something you can decide by merely saying so. Everything is recorded."

Lin Fan sneered and made his move. A terrifying aura swept outward, and the entire passage trembled. Rubble fell from time to time, striking the ground with a piercing clatter.

From first to last, he had not taken even one step forward, because the Spear of Judgment had long warned him that there was great terror ahead and that he must not enter lightly.

A colossal finger descended, entirely condensed from vital blood and accompanied by currents of chaotic energy. As Lin Fan’s realm rose, he became ever more fearsome; every act of slaughter was incomparably sharp.

"Here, I am invincible. You cannot beat me!"

King Rock drew his sword. With a sweep of his hand, he hacked straight at Lin Fan’s finger. The sword rang in surges, enough to tear the eardrums apart.

An aura of the seventh level of the Vein Consolidation realm spread out. Perhaps because this was the ancestral land of his clan, his battle strength had also risen by one level, enough to face young prodigies such as Young Master Falling Blossom head-on. That was also why Violet Name had been completely unable to resist and had had one arm severed in the earlier strike.

"Divine Fist of Creation."

Lin Fan unleashed his full power and erupted with overwhelming force. He was already comparable to a seventh-level Vein Consolidation expert, and the Divine Fist of Creation was a fist art that came closest to the Three Thousand Great Daos, able to raise one’s battle strength by another level. In other words, Lin Fan at this moment was comparable to a great expert of the eighth level of the Vein Consolidation realm.

Blood splashed across the sky. King Rock’s body cracked apart and he was sent flying dozens of yards away. Blood streamed from him in miserable torrents, a tragic sight.

"Run!"

Lin Fan roared. The corner of his eye twitched violently as he sensed a thick and growing unease. Once more he struck, though this time a black long spear appeared in his hand.

A dragon’s roar shook the heavens. Under Lin Fan’s urging, the Spear of Judgment erupted with an exceedingly terrifying might. The entire spear shaft glowed red, as though it were burning.

Lin Fan did not continue attacking King Rock. Instead, he turned and thrust the spear into the stone wall on his right. A thunderous boom resounded through the entire passage; it was the sound of air being compressed and then erupting, far more terrifying than King Rock’s sword cry by countless times.

The mountains and stones split apart, and yet another enormous passage appeared before them. This was the route the Spear of Judgment had told Lin Fan to take, so he had hardly hesitated before choosing to believe it.

"Gah-gah, you won’t get away. So what if there’s another path? Our ancient ancestor has already begun to awaken. Do you really think a few Vein Consolidation cultivators can still escape?"

King Rock’s mad laughter rang out. His entire body turned blood-red, as though he had become a ferocious beast. He was using his own blood to awaken the ancient ancestor and exchange it for a terrifying attack.

A sacred radiance flared. It came from that place behind King Rock, and immediately after, a horrifying aura began to rise skyward, as though a prehistoric dragon were awakening.

The radiance blazed fiercely. From that space, a giant hand reached out, containing unimaginable supreme power. That peerless figure had finally awakened, and had done so with slaughter in mind. The great hand crossed the sky and slapped toward the few who had rushed into the passage.