Dongfang Xun had not yet grasped the gravity of the situation.

Although the blood pool monster's clone had told him during their last encounter at the five-star hotel that it wasn't Li Sanbai who had suppressed it beneath the Spirit Vein of Harbour City, Dongfang Xun still didn't believe his master had any connection to the filthy, man-eating monster.

Instead, he exclaimed in shock, "Master, you... you can't be planning to escape by yourself, can you? You can't do that! There are thousands of people on and below this mountain!" As he spoke, Dongfang Xun grew frantic.

Li Sanbai smiled, his expression growing ever more affectionate. "Dongfang, you know, out of all my disciples, you're my favorite."

Dongfang Xun was taken aback. He then heard his master continue, "After all, in all these years, only you were foolish enough to never notice a thing, as if you were blind and deaf."

"What... do you mean?"

"These people cannot be saved," Li Sanbai said softly. "Without their fresh blood, this Formation would be inert. And how could an inert formation become a Spirit Vein?"

BOOM!

Dongfang Xun's expression changed drastically. Gao He and Zou Qingsheng likewise turned deathly pale. To use thousands of human lives as the final touch for the Formation? What a monstrously cruel act!

Gao He rebuked furiously, "Li Sanbai, have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

"President Gao, don't get so worked up," Li Sanbai said with a smile. "It's only a few thousand lives. Oh... counting all of you, that makes it two thousand seven hundred and twenty-one. Not many at all."

Gao He's lips turned white with rage. Nearly three thousand lives, and to Li Sanbai, that was "not many"? He pointed at Li Sanbai, speechless for a long moment.

Though he was a powerful Eighth Grade Martial Ancestor, the mysterious blood pool and Formation beneath his feet were constantly sapping his Spiritual Energy. A full seventy percent was already gone! In at most five more minutes, the rest of his Spiritual Energy would be completely depleted.

"Master, why?" Dongfang Xun stared at Li Sanbai and asked blankly, "Why are you doing this? Why are you killing people...?"

"Jiangnan needs a Spirit Vein, and creating one requires death. It's that simple," Li Sanbai stated calmly. "Far more people died back then in Harbour City. Almost... ten thousand? It's been too long, I can't quite recall."

Dongfang Xun fell silent. The near-perfect image he held of his master had completely collapsed.

"Li Sanbai, stop it now! We don't need this Formation! These people cannot die, they absolutely cannot die!" an Eighth Grade Martial Ancestor from the Martial Dao Association cried out in desperation.

"It can't be stopped." Li Sanbai smiled and closed his eyes. He spread his arms wide and took a deep, greedy sniff of the air. The coppery tang of blood mixed with the clean scent of rainwater. Together, they formed an exquisite aroma.

"You're a madman! A complete madman!" one of the Eighth Grade Martial Ancestors yelled. With a look of grim resolve and unable to use his Spiritual Energy, he pulled a dagger from his robes and lunged at Li Sanbai.

However, within this Formation, Li Sanbai's use of Spiritual Energy was completely unrestricted. As the spiritual leader of Harbour City's Martial Artists and Feng Shui Taoists, he wasn't just 'morally noble'—he was a monstrous talent. Not only was he a Feng Shui Taoist, but he was also a peak Ninth Grade Martial Ancestor.

The instant his oppressive aura spread out, the desperate Eighth Grade Martial Ancestor's knees buckled, and he collapsed uncontrollably to the ground.

Then, countless eerie faces emerged from the blood pool, their mouths splitting into wide grins. An uncountable number of Skull Heads gathered just below the surface, their gaping maws opening wide as if in hungry anticipation.

"No, don't—!" the Martial Ancestor from Jiangbei screamed in terror, but it was too late. Hundreds of Skull Heads swarmed him, gnawing him away bit by bit until not even a shred of his clothing remained.

A deathly silence fell.

An Eighth Grade Martial Ancestor... dead, just like that? In such a humiliating way?

"Don't try to resist, or the Skull Heads will eat you. They're not very obedient, so please, try to behave," Li Sanbai said with a gentle smile. "Just sink to the bottom of the blood pool and die. My master is very gentle."

A devil. He's a devil! The rims of Zou Qingsheng's eyes turned blood-red. He didn't dare mobilize his Spiritual Power in the slightest, as it would only drain away faster.

But was he just supposed to sit here and wait for death? He was so unwilling, yet utterly helpless!

"My master..." Dongfang Xun mumbled the words, feeling as if he'd been struck by lightning. He gasped, his voice trembling. "Your... your master... is it No-Face?"

"Oh?" Li Sanbai said, a flash of surprise in his voice. "It seems you're not quite as foolish as I thought."

Dongfang Xun swayed, barely able to stay on his feet. A bitter smile touched his lips. That explained everything. No wonder the Faceless Demon's avatar had taken up residence in his body when he arrived in Harbour City. His master, Li Sanbai, had been its subordinate from the very beginning.

"Senior Xu, I beg you, please save everyone!" Dongfang Xun knelt directly before Xu Lai, his voice trembling. "There are still many ordinary people at the foot of the mountain! They... they're innocent!"

Once one entered the Cultivation World, life and death were no longer one's own to decide. That was why, when Dongfang Xun begged Xu Lai for help, he asked him to save the ordinary people, not everyone, and certainly not the Martial Artists.

"My foolish disciple, if you were to kneel and beg me for mercy, I might have spared your life. But asking Xu Lai for help..." Li Sanbai said with contempt. "He's already a dead man. My master would never let him go. This Formation... was designed specifically for him!"

A trap targeting Xu Lai!? Gao He's pupils contracted. No wonder Li Sanbai had come out of seclusion after so many years. Gao He had been wondering why he'd so readily agreed to come to the East Sea. So it was all... to kill Xu Lai!

"Xu Lai, it was you!" Zou Qingsheng spat venomously. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be dying here! You're the one who got us killed! You murderer!"

As soon as he said this, the dozen or so Eighth and Ninth Grade Martial Ancestors on the mountaintop—all except for Gao He—turned to look at Xu Lai with hostile glares.

One of them even turned to Li Sanbai, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "If we hand Xu Lai over to you, will you let us go?"

Li Sanbai tilted his head, looking at the man as if he were an idiot.

Xu Lai's Boundary might be high—high enough to have instantly killed the avatar his master spent three hundred years of painstaking cultivation to create—but trapped in this Formation, he was doomed. He couldn't possibly make waves here, not even if he were a Daluo Golden Immortal!

So Li Sanbai sneered, "And you think you're in a position to bargain?"

He suddenly stopped speaking. His master's alluring, feminine voice was echoing in his ears.

A moment later, Li Sanbai bowed deeply and said with utmost respect, "Yes, Master."

When he straightened up again, his voice was indifferent. "My master says that you are all innocent parties dragged into this because of Xu Lai. She will give you a chance to live, provided that..."

"Provided what?" The crowd looked on with anticipation. As long as they could live, they would do anything.

"All you have to do," Li Sanbai said with a smile, "is kill Xu Lai."

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