Chapter 249: Fatal Mistake, the Repercussions of a Killing Heart

Liu Yi observed the movements of the purple dragon before him while scanning the surroundings. Although the area was vast, there were still some low-growing plants. If any fight had truly taken place here, there would surely be some traces left. Moreover, the purple dragon before him wasn’t as formidable as before. After careful consideration, he concluded that Yu Chenxing hadn’t taken this path at all.
But right now, Liu Yi was in danger himself. Though the purple dragon was tough, his cultivation level should be enough to deal with it. The problem was that if this wild dragon detected him, the other clones of the purple dragon would quickly arrive. By then, even if Liu Yi had wings, he wouldn’t be able to fly away. He gripped his sword tighter as killing intent spread. Without further thought, he decided to resolve the immediate problem first and leave afterward.
Next, Liu Yi flipped his left hand, causing his black sword to create beautiful afterimages. As his right hand stroked the blade, the red light gradually faded. He lifted the seal on his magic sword. Then, with a clang, he swung the sword, and a red light burst forth from it. Although Liu Yi knew this wouldn’t do anything to the purple dragon, it was still the proper way to draw a sword.
It seemed the clone of the purple dragon across from him paused for a moment, perhaps unprepared for Liu Yi to act so quickly. But after all, it was a clone of a wild dragon—its strength was unimaginable. As Liu Yi’s sword light slashed toward it, the purple dragon let out a loud roar, its massive mouth opening as a purple lightning bolt was fired, colliding with Liu Yi’s sword light.
Strangely, the purple lightning didn’t stop or disappear upon hitting Liu Yi’s sword light. Instead, as it pierced through the red sword light, it quickly split into countless curved purple threads, shooting at Liu Yi in a overwhelming wave.
Liu Yi didn’t dare neglect this. Though the purple dragon was just a clone, its power was extremely strong. So, when the purple lightning was fired, Liu Yi had already noticed something strange. He then spun around, using the “Hidden Spin Nine Shadows” technique to create several afterimages. As purple petals drifted down, his body was already several dozen feet away.
It was clear that this wasn’t a battle between humans or swords. Here, strength, ability, and speed meant everything. If Liu Yi had hesitated even for a moment, the consequences would have been unimaginable. As soon as Liu Yi stopped moving, a strange sound came from the side of the purple dragon.
Liu Yi looked up and saw that the sword light he had emitted earlier hadn’t completely disappeared. The lightning had only weakened part of its power as it passed through. Yet this seemed sufficient, as a circular transparent barrier appeared in front of the purple dragon. The barrier disappeared and reappeared repeatedly, leaving purple sparks in the air and emitting a buzzing sound.

Although Liu Yi wasn’t sure what it was, he could at least guess it was something similar to when he had summoned a divine dragon to merge with his protective energy field. But it seemed that the opponent’s energy shield required no effort at all—when the sword light touched it, it made only a slight sound before disappearing.

Liu Yi sensed trouble. If things continued like this, even if he managed to defeat this purple dragon, other dragons would likely arrive. But what could he do? He couldn’t delay any longer. Thoughts raced through his mind, but in reality, they were like flashes of lightning. Without hesitation, Liu Yi accelerated the refinement of the “Lanerfina Qing” meditation technique. As his vital energy gathered, a killing intent swiftly enveloped him.

In the distance, massive red clouds appeared and rolled toward him at an astonishing speed. As the red clouds covered the sky, a fierce hurricane began swirling around Liu Yi. At the same time, the clouds in the sky spun rapidly around him. An aura of murderous evil spread throughout the space.

At this moment, Liu Yi’s eyes turned blood red. His white hair was blown wildly, and his black robe fluttered up and down. As his vital energy continued to accumulate, different colors appeared on his sword. Around him, dragon shadows of various colors and shapes circled. By now, Liu Yi no longer cared about anything. If he couldn’t quickly defeat the purple dragon, he wouldn’t even have a chance to become a puppet.

Finally, with a loud shout, Liu Yi twisted his body. The five-colored divine dragons, each carrying distinct powers, converged on a single target and shot straight at the purple dragon. Around them, sand flew, stones tumbled, and flowers fell without a trace. The dust on the ground was blown apart by their speed.

When the purple dragon saw the five-colored dragons charging at it, it showed no reaction—not even its dark green eyes flickered, as if it didn’t take them seriously. Yet Liu Yi seemed confident in these dragons, a faint smile on his lips. At least, with their combined power and his strong vital energy, they had the force to create a new world. He doubted they couldn’t even handle a small purple dragon.

With a loud boom, the combined power of the five-colored dragons struck the energy shield in front of the purple dragon. The intense impact lifted mud, dust, and debris into the air, creating chaos. In this chaos, Liu Yi couldn’t see the purple dragon, and the dragon couldn’t see Liu Yi either.

It was unclear how long this situation lasted. As a purple lightning bolt flashed across the sky, the wind gradually cleared the chaos. The flowers settled back to the ground, the dust dispersed, and the figure of the purple dragon slowly became visible again. What had happened earlier meant nothing, as the purple dragon hadn’t suffered any damage. Meanwhile, the energy shield around it had disappeared.

There was not a trace of surprise in Liu Yi’s eyes. His entire body stood there like wood, staring coldly at Zi Long. Regardless of the white hair covering his eyes or the hurricane blowing his long robe, he remained motionless.

At this moment, Zi Long slightly opened his dragon head, seemingly with a hint of arrogance and a sense of victory, and said, “Is this your strength? At best, you only managed to break my shield? It seems I overestimated you. Looking at your ridiculous moves, I have nothing to say— they’re simply too weak.” Clearly, Zi Long was very excited. Although his shield had been broken by Liu Yi’s Five-Color Divine Dragon, such immense power hadn’t harmed him at all.

Liu Yi continued to gaze coldly at Zi Long without saying a word, as if Zi Long’s mockery meant nothing to him. The only strange thing was that the sword in Liu Yi’s right hand had already returned to its sheath at his waist.

Zi Long, noticing Liu Yi’s strange expression, paused for a moment but quickly regained his composure and said, “I’ve seen your performance. Now it’s my turn. I wonder if you can endure it… But sooner or later, you’ll die. Rest in peace.”

Just as Zi Long finished speaking, Liu Yi’s voice came through, saying, “You have no chance.”

Liu Yi’s words were unclear, but when the voice ended, terror suddenly appeared in Zi Long’s eyes. No… how could this be? That voice didn’t come from Liu Yi in front of him—it came from behind him. What was this?

Then, Liu Yi’s voice came from behind him again, saying, “The gap between us isn’t in strength, but in how we use it. My retreat doesn’t mean failure; my sheathing of the sword doesn’t mean surrender. Just as my smile doesn’t mean happiness. And to use your words, you’ve disappointed me greatly. I overestimated you because you only see the surface of things.”

As Zi Long listened to Liu Yi’s words, he seemed to recall something. Yes, at the moment the Five-Color Divine Dragon touched his shield, Liu Yi hadn’t stopped. He had used another move—so fast that Liu Yi’s afterimage remained in place while his true body had already left a scar on Zi Long’s neck before reappearing behind him.

“Formless Sword Return,” controlled with a killing intent—although it belonged to the “Four Sorrowful Forms” of sword techniques—Liu Yi used it skillfully. What mattered most in “Formless Sword Return” was precision, speed, and power. Though using power with a killing intent wasn’t extremely strong, it was enough for this mindless Zi Long. Liu Yi’s smile wasn’t meant to deceive.

As fear appeared in Zi Long’s eyes, a yellow light—no, rather a mark—appeared beneath his dragon head. As the mark gradually became clearer, with a “thud,” the massive dragon head fell to the ground. It turned out that Liu Yi’s single strike had already killed Zi Long. The strike was so fast that even Zi Long hadn’t felt anything unusual. In fact, he had already died while speaking to Liu Yi; only a sliver of consciousness allowed him to finish speaking.

Liu Yi in front gradually disappeared, and his true form appeared behind the purple dragon. Looking at the purple dragon lying on the ground, Liu Yi said coldly, “This is just the beginning. Soon, I’ll make you submit to my sword.” As soon as he spoke, the purple dragon’s body slowly turned into several points of light before disappearing entirely.

Without further hesitation, knowing that if he stayed any longer, more purple dragons would chase after him and he would truly lose the ability to fight—at least not for now—Liu Yi grasped his long sword with his left hand and used the “Swift” technique from “Hidden Spin Nine Shadows” to create a swirl of black shadows, disappearing into the warm sunlight.

Purple flowers fell like petals, dust scattered in the air, a gentle breeze blew, and the moon shone—no end in sight…

By now, Liu Yi had stopped moving quickly. Although the area was spacious, he still needed to keep an eye on Yu Chenxing’s whereabouts. Unnoticed, the moon had already risen brightly. He didn’t know where he had gone, but Liu Yi wasn’t tired. While searching for the person he was looking for, he thought back to the battle with the purple dragon during the day.

Indeed, in this battle, Liu Yi hadn’t relied entirely on his own strength. Yet through this fight, he realized the terrifying power of strength. If he could possess a Dark Heart and become a true demon, he might find a way to regain the ability to use “Four Sorrowful Forms.”

Although he had always admitted that the power housed in the sword was far stronger than “Four Sorrowful Forms,” it seemed that mere strength wasn’t enough these days. If one had sufficient speed, they could prevent that power from erupting. “Four Sorrowful Forms” was the essence of the sword—endless variations for unmatched speed. But even now, using a Heart of Murder to imitate “Four Sorrowful Forms” didn’t yield its true effect.

If he could possess a Dark Heart and rediscover “Four Sorrowful Forms,” and then subdue the Eight Deserts Divine Dragon, no matter what form Pangu took, Liu Yi was confident he could fight him. But it seemed that mastering these three things was extremely difficult at the moment—the Dark Heart couldn’t be broken through without enough true energy, and “Four Sorrowful Forms” couldn’t be used properly yet. The most difficult obstacle right now was the Eight Deserts Divine Dragon. Compared to the previous ones, this dragon could almost be called divine. Thinking of this, Liu Yi couldn’t help but think of the seventh dragon and the final dragon.

If we ranked their powers in this order, the seventh dragon’s strength should be barely inferior to Pangu’s. What was the reason? Despite all these thoughts, Liu Yi wasn’t troubled. Though these tasks were difficult, he had already started them. Since he had begun, he would see them through, finding ways to complete them instead of dwelling on random thoughts.

With these thoughts, Liu Yi took a smooth breath. After walking for so long, though he didn’t feel tired, he seemed to want to stop for a while—perhaps because the scenery under the moonlight was simply too beautiful.

And so, as days passed by, Liu Yi wandered in this vast, unfamiliar world, searching for Yu Chenxing and the whereabouts of the King of Darkness. At the same time, he was avoiding the pursuit of the Purple Dragon and began absorbing chaos energy in large quantities through “Lanelfina Qing.” By now, he no longer cared about the backlash from his killing heart. Although even he could sense that his temperament was becoming increasingly violent, he persisted—otherwise, failing to overcome his killing heart would be his greatest regret.

Unaware of it, more than a month had passed, yet Liu Yi still had no news of Yu Chenxing or the King of Darkness. Along the way, he remained highly vigilant. Having already fought the Purple Dragon twice, he managed to evade it several times during that month. With his current level of cultivation, avoiding it wasn’t too difficult.

As time went by, aside from the occasional appearances of the Purple Dragon chasing him, it seemed there were no other people in this world. The old trees around, the floating mirrors, the grass on the ground, some birds, and some monsters—finally, one day, Liu Yi stopped in his tracks. Continuing this search was futile. Even if he found them, what then? Take them out? Not even the King of Darkness or the four elders could leave this place—what options did he have?

Suddenly, an idea struck Liu Yi. What if… this mirror world truly had no life and it was all the work of the Purple Dragon? Then, if he could kill or subdue that Purple Dragon, the world would return to peace. Once its power vanished, wouldn’t it be much easier to leave this mirror world?

Liu Yi slowly began to act on this idea. It seemed simple, but the Purple Dragon wasn’t easy to subdue. Moreover, even if he succeeded, where was the exit to this mirror world? But if the Purple Dragon’s power disappeared, Liu Yi might be able to try to slash through the heavens with his sword.

Just as Liu Yi sat down to think, he suddenly felt chaos within his body. What was it? He quickly realized it was the excessive vital energy. What to do? There was too much of this vital energy for his killing heart—should it erupt, it could instantly swallow his consciousness. But compared to the Dark Heart, it was too little. If he tried to advance now, he might not even have a 1% chance. With this in mind, Liu Yi hesitated and began to gradually suppress the vital energy within him.

But this time, Liu Yi was wrong. The vital energy wasn’t as simple as before. After expanding unchecked for over a month, it seemed impossible to suppress anymore. If he suppressed it now, what would happen later? Such powerful vital energy could erupt at any moment.

What to do? What to do? Liu Yi was truly panicked. This happened too suddenly; his internal energy was out of control, swirling everywhere. He couldn’t think anymore. He immediately closed his eyes and began guiding the vital energy, slowly condensing and focusing it.

In just a short while, the powerful vital energy gradually shrank and formed a vortex-like pattern swirling within his body. Liu Yi knew he couldn’t suppress this force—he could only channel it into his killing heart.

At this moment, Liu Yi elevated “Lanelfina Qing” to the Heart of Murder. Surrounded by powerful vital energy, Liu Yi’s body gradually emitted a red glow. As the Heart of Murder appeared, it resembled a black cloud that enveloped the swirling vital energy. Without overthinking, Liu Yi continued to channel energy outward to disperse it.

Yet the Heart of Murder acted like an bottomless abyss, rapidly absorbing that powerful vital energy and transforming it into another force that surged deep into his brain. Though anxious, Liu Yi realized now was not the time to panic. He calmed down, concentrating his vital energy and sending it toward the Heart of Murder, hoping to break through it before his energy was exhausted.

However, his vital energy was like a small stream—strong in Liu Yi’s eyes, but powerless within the range covered by the Heart of Murder. The Heart of Murder, like an endless abyss, kept absorbing his vital energy. Unnoticed, sweat began to appear on Liu Yi’s forehead…

Now, Liu Yi finally understood the terror of the Heart of Darkness. Initially, Nie Ren had feared that using a level-13 cultivation method would turn him into a puppet before he could accumulate enough vital energy, so he had slowly built up his energy using level-12 methods, hoping that with time and sufficient vital energy, he could overcome the Heart of Murder and enter the Heart of Darkness directly.

Liu Yi, on the other hand, had rushed his cultivation method straight to level 13. It was impossible to accumulate much vital energy at that level, otherwise, it would backfire—this became Liu Yi’s fatal mistake. His current vital energy was nowhere near enough to break through the Heart of Murder, meaning that in the next moment, he would become a puppet of the demon…