Shen Xian inadvertently stepped on a concealed node. The formation beneath his feet hummed, alerting the entire Black Tide to his presence.

Sigh. Troublesome.

Before the hum even faded, a black-robed elder materialized before him. The man moved with the speed of lightning, his late-stage Golden Core pressure rolling out like a suffocating blanket.

He stared coldly at Shen Xian, his face twisted with icy intent. “Daring to trespass on Black Tide territory? You are seeking death.”

Shen Xian didn’t bother to reply. He just looked bored.

His figure blurred. The Traceless Sword in his hand suddenly erupted with a blinding, frigid light.

Hum.

The sword tip trembled. A razor-sharp thread of sword qi shot through the air. Where it passed, moisture in the air instantly condensed into fine ice crystals. For a split second, time itself seemed to freeze.

The black-robed elder’s pupils contracted to pinpoints. He hadn’t expected the intruder to be this decisive—or this fast.

In a panic, he summoned a blood-red shield engraved with a ferocious, screaming ghost face.

Crack.

The moment the sword qi kissed the shield, a sharp fracture rang out. The top-grade magical treasure shattered like cheap porcelain.

“Ugh!”

The elder grunted, his body hurtling backward over a dozen zhang. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

“Such powerful sword intent!” The elder’s expression shifted from arrogance to horror. This young man wasn’t prey; he was a monster.

Commotion rose from all directions. The pirates were swarming.

Seeing his cover was blown, Shen Xian didn’t retreat. Instead, he charged straight toward the volcanic crater.

With his current cultivation, even if Guijiao came in person, stopping him would be a challenge. The priority was the treasure.

“Stop him!” the black-robed elder roared, crushing a blood-red jade talisman.

A crimson light screen shot up from the crater’s mouth. Countless distorted ghostly faces surfaced on the barrier, emitting piercing, soul-grating shrieks.

Shen Xian didn’t slow down. He thrust the Traceless Sword forward.

“Break.”

The instant the tip touched the barrier, the entire light screen shattered like glass. The ghostly faces let out miserable wails before dissolving into wisps of black smoke.

Without pausing, Shen Xian leaped directly into the mouth of the volcano.

“After him!” angry roars echoed from the rim above. “Tear him to pieces!”

Below, scorching magma churned. Shen Xian descended rapidly along the rock wall, soon landing before a massive cavern entrance carved into the side of the shaft.

Inside, a pool of molten lava bubbled fiercely.

The moment Shen Xian stepped in, a wave of scorching heat mixed with the thick, metallic stench of blood assaulted his senses.

His gaze swept the room, and his eyes narrowed.

Hundreds of desiccated corpses hung upside down from thick iron chains along the rock walls. Each was frozen in a posture of agonizing struggle—skin shriveled and blackened, eye sockets sunken, mouths agape in soundless screams.

Even worse, over a dozen barely-alive cultivators were nailed to the walls. Their blood trickled down the iron links, drop by drop, into the pool below.

“A Blood Sacrifice Array?” Shen Xian frowned. “Disgusting.”

In the center of the cavern, a massive blood pool boiled. Fresh corpses floated on the surface, some still twitching.

Ten formation masters stood at the edge, their fingers weaving strange, rapid hand seals. When they saw Shen Xian burst in, their faces went pale.

“Stop him!” the leader screamed, changing his seal.

The blood pool churned violently. Dozens of arrows made of blood shot out, twisting into ferocious ghostly faces mid-air as they pounced toward Shen Xian.

Shen Xian sidestepped, his movement minimal and efficient.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw more cultivators chained in the dark recesses of the cave. Their eyes were filled with despair. Their lips moved, pleading for help, but no sound came out.

Their vitality was being drained by the grand array, serving as nourishment for a single drop of mysterious essence blood hovering in the center.

“Whatever you’re plotting…” A cold light flashed in Shen Xian’s eyes. The Traceless Sword emitted a clear, melodious hum. “…it ends now.”

“Formation!”

The ten masters slammed their hands together. Hundreds of crimson chains shot from the pool. The imprisoned cultivators screamed as their remaining essence blood was forcibly ripped from their bodies, turning into a bloody mist that merged into the array.

At the same time, deafening battle cries erupted from the tunnel behind Shen Xian.

Thirty Foundation Establishment guards charged in first, followed by seven pirate captains at the early Golden Core stage. The black-robed elder from earlier swooped down from the ceiling like a bat.

“Young fool, die!” The elder’s face was twisted, a soul-shaking demonic sound radiating from the artifact at his waist.

The seven Golden Core captains summoned their treasures instantly. Blades, swords, and axes sealed off every inch of Shen Xian’s escape route. The Foundation Establishment guards formed a killing array on the periphery, throwing hundreds of talismans like a swarm of locusts.

Shen Xian stood still.

“Noisy.”

Boom.

The tip of his sword trembled. A frost-white fan of sword qi swept out.

The ten Foundation Establishment guards at the forefront suddenly froze mid-stride. They looked down, horrified, to find their legs encased in thick ice.

Before they could scream, the residual wave of sword qi swept past.

Crash.

The ice sculptures shattered. Piles of frozen debris fell into the blood pool, stirring up crimson waves.

“Change formation!” the remaining guards shouted, retreating in panic.

But Shen Xian’s stance shifted.

The Traceless Sword traced the pattern of the Big Dipper in the air.

Seven Stars Reflecting Snow.

Seven distinct strands of sword qi shot toward the seven Golden Core captains with the precision of a sniper.

A burly captain with a thick beard roared, raising a heavy black iron shield.

The sword qi hit the shield—and curved. It bypassed the metal entirely, piercing through his temple. He dropped instantly.

Beside him, a female cultivator wielding twin blades tried to block. The incoming sword qi exploded, transforming into dozens of ice needles that riddled her body like a sieve.

The most cunning captain, a thin, rat-like man, attempted to burrow into the ground.

Thwack!

Seven ice spikes erupted from the floor—manifested by the residual momentum of the “Seven Stars.” He screamed as he was pinned mid-air, his blood gushing down the spikes into the pool.

“Old scoundrel,” Shen Xian said, pointing his sword at the black-robed elder. “Your turn.”

The late-stage Golden Core devil went pale.

He shook his artifact frantically, producing layers of sound waves that condensed into three skeletal demonic effigies.

Shen Xian leaped up. The Traceless Sword traced a perfect, lazy arc.

The sword qi seemed slow, almost gentle.

The first skeletal effigy raised its bone blade—and was split cleanly down the brow.

The second tried to dodge—the sword qi accelerated, cutting it in half at the waist.

The third suffered the worst. As the qi passed through it, the skeleton cracked inch by inch like glazed porcelain before disintegrating.

The black-robed elder spat a mouthful of blood, the backlash from his destroyed artifact shattering his meridians.

Panic set in. He grabbed two nearby Foundation Establishment guards and threw them at Shen Xian as human shields, using the distraction to retreat violently.

Shen Xian didn’t blink.

He swept his sword horizontally.

A ring of white light expanded outward like an avalanche. The two human shields froze solid instantly, then exploded into bloody mist.

The elder reached the tunnel mouth. Hope sparked in his eyes.

Thuck.

Ice spikes materialized out of thin air, piercing through his legs.

“No—!”

Shen Xian pointed one finger.

Like a swimming dragon, the Traceless Sword shot from his hand. It pierced the elder’s dantian, bringing with it a string of frozen Golden Core fragments.

Silence fell.

The remaining formation masters were trembling so hard their teeth chattered. Their livers and gallbladders were shattered by terror.

“R-restart the array!” one screamed, frantically forming hand seals.

The blood pool churned violently. The corpses of the dead pirates dissolved, turning into bloody waves that surged toward the center.

Slash.

Sword light flashed like lightning. Seven heads flew into the air simultaneously.

But their resentment and blood injected themselves into the grand array in their final moments.

Boom!

An eerie red radiance erupted from the pool. The array was devouring everything—corpses, blood, even the residual spiritual energy from Shen Xian’s attacks.

The ancient patterns carved into the cavern walls lit up.

Crack.

A crisp sound, like breaking glass, came from the center of the magma pool.

“The restriction… is broken?” Shen Xian watched the magma bubble.

Suddenly, a message from the Mysterious Tortoise echoed in his mind.

Treasure. Below.

Shen Xian didn’t hesitate. He plunged straight into the boiling magma, letting the scorching lava swallow him whole.