Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

"Go ahead and curse all you want! It won't cost me a single bone! Hahahaha!"

Ling Shanxiao patted the other person's face with a smile, completely ignoring the other person's crazy appearance.

"Alright! My time is precious, I don't have much time to play with you!" Ling Shanxiao took a deep breath, his eyes turning bloodshot.

"Blood Devouring Guide!"

A secret technique he obtained after joining the Blood Fiend Sect.

A powerful suction force emanated from Ling Shanxiao.

In an instant, all those locked to the black iron crosses began to tremble violently, their faces showing extreme pain.

Strands of bright red blood energy escaped uncontrollably from the top of their heads, as if drawn by a force, and directly merged into Ling Shanxiao's body.

"This is the feeling, it's so wonderful!!" Ling Shanxiao took a deep breath, a look of fascination on his face.

This process lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

When Ling Shanxiao opened his eyes again, the crimson in his eyes slowly faded, while the people around him who were tied to the cross had all fainted and seemed to have aged a few more years.

"Indeed, this secret technique obtained from the Blood Fiend Sect is quite useful." Ling Shanxiao clenched his fists, feeling a continuous surge of power erupting from his body. "As long as one can guard their mind and not be controlled by inner demons, one can continuously convert the cultivation of others into one's own!"

"I really want to kill you all... but killing you like this would be too wasteful."

"Becoming the medicine for this sect master is your ultimate destiny!"

Ling Shanxiao glanced coldly at the "medicine field" and then turned and left.

……

The next day, at the Qingyun Sect.

The bell tolled nine times, its sound reverberating through the mountains.

The mountain gate square was spotless; today was the grand day of their new sect leader's ascension to the throne. On the high platform in the square, the ancestral tablets of the Qingyun Sect's past masters were enshrined on an altar.

At this moment, Ling Shanxiao, dressed in a brand-new purple-gold robe, stood in the center of the high platform with a smile on his face.

The Grand Elder, as the presiding officer of the ceremony, loudly recited the text offered to Heaven and Earth.

"Sect Master, it's your turn to offer incense!" The First Elder nodded to Ling Shanxiao in front of him and then handed over the three incense sticks in his hand.

"Alright!" Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ling Shanxiao accepted the incense, bowed respectfully three times to the memorial tablets of the past sect leaders, and inserted the incense into the burner. Then, the Grand Elder presented the Qingyun Tongtian Crown, symbolizing the identity of the Qingyun Sect leader, and solemnly placed it on Ling Shanxiao's head.

With the crown atop his head, Ling Shanxiao wore a smug smile.

He turned around, facing the sea of ​​Qingyun Sect disciples in the square, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes.

The Grand Elder took a deep breath, gathered his inner energy, and loudly announced, "The ceremony is complete! From this day forward, Sect Master Ling will be the forty-seventh Sect Master of my Qingyun Sect!"

"Greetings, Sect Master Ling!"

"Congratulations on your ascension to the throne, Sect Master!"

"May the Sect Master live a long life!"

Below the stage, eight hundred Qingyun Sect disciples knelt on one knee in unison, their shouts surging like a tidal wave.

"Excellent! Today I assume the position of Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect. I believe that under my leadership, the Qingyun Sect will surely reach new heights in the future!"

Ling Shanxiao spread his arms wide, declaring his mission with boundless pride.

However, just when he was feeling triumphant...

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the direction of the mountain gate, instantly drowning out all the shouts!

"boom!!!"

Everyone turned to look and saw a huge black shadow fly overhead and then crash heavily onto the open ground between the crowd and the platform!

After everyone clearly saw the dark figure, they all gasped in shock.

It was a black coffin!

"What's going on?!"

"Who did this?!"

"Outrageous! How dare they be so presumptuous at the sect leader's enthronement ceremony!"

After a brief silence, the square erupted in chaos as the Qingyun Sect disciples glared angrily and began to discuss amongst themselves.

At this moment, on the high platform, Ling Shanxiao, who had been full of pride, froze completely with a smile! His face quickly turned into a hideous grin.

His carefully prepared moment was interrupted in such an insulting way!

This was tantamount to slapping him hard in the face in front of all the Qingyun Sect disciples!

"Who?! Get out here for me, Sect Master!!!" Ling Shanxiao roared, and the pressure of the second level of the Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm swept out like a storm, enveloping the entire square.

Just then, a figure walked slowly and unhurriedly from outside the gate of the Qingyun Sect.

Indeed, the person who arrived was Xia Jin, dressed in a black dragon robe.

With his hands behind his back, he completely ignored the Qingyun Sect disciples around him who looked like they wanted to devour him, and walked directly to the coffin before stopping. His gaze swept over Ling Shanxiao, whose face was ashen on the high platform, and the six Qingyun Sect elders behind him with different expressions.

Then, Xia Jin patted the coffin beside her and said with a smile, "What's wrong?"

"It seems... none of you people from the Qingyun Sect recognize me?"

"???"

Most of the Qingyun Sect disciples frowned, and some even pointed at Xia Jin and began to curse:

"You insolent scoundrel! Where did this madman come from, daring to run wild in my Qingyun Sect!"

"Offending the sect leader and insulting the sect is a crime deserving of death!"

"Take him down! Tear him to pieces!"

Amidst the crowd's outrage, before Ling Shanxiao on the high platform could even speak, the Second Elder, eager to prove himself, flashed a cold light in his eyes, pointed at Xia Jin, and shouted, "Ignorant brat, no matter who you are today, you are doomed. I will personally send you on your way!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped down from the platform, unleashing his full power as an eighth-level Grandmaster, and struck out with a palm, intending to smash Xia Jin's head.

"I must say, you lot really have no manners!! I was just trying to be helpful by delivering gifts to you, why are you trying to fight and kill me the moment we meet?" Xia Jin glanced at the Second Elder rushing towards him, shook his head and sighed softly.

Just as the Second Elder's right palm was less than a foot away from Xia Jin's head, Xia Jin finally moved.

He simply and casually lifted his right foot.

They started later, but arrived first!

"Bang--!!"

A muffled thud was followed by the clear sound of bone cracking.

The aggressive Second Elder didn't even see the other party's movements clearly. He only felt a blur before his eyes and a sharp pain in his back. He was slammed into the ground with even greater speed than when he came!

quiet!

Deathly silence!

Everyone in the Qingyun Sect stared in disbelief at this scene, their minds blank. The Second Elder, a Grandmaster at the eighth level, had actually... been kicked so hard he was embedded in the ground? Completely powerless to retaliate?!

"This guy..." On the high platform, Ling Shanxiao's face darkened, and the Qingyun Sect elders were even more shocked.

The Seventh Elder, standing at the end of the elders' ranks, froze the moment Xia Jin made her move. He sensed an incredibly familiar aura emanating from Xia Jin.

Four years ago, it was that man who severed his left arm with a single move!

His lips trembled, and with all his might, he managed to utter a few words:

"It's...it's him! The Great Xia...'Emperor of the Underworld'!!!"