Chapter 110: Advanced Heart-Calming Technique

Seeing the three men suddenly turn back, their faces twisted with intense murderous intent, Xia Jiuxuan did not show the slightest sign of weakness. He stood up, gripping his broken black sword.

"Are you sure you’re looking for death?" Xia Jiuxuan asked, his expression indifferent.

In truth, he possessed no combat strength at all; his injuries were so severe that even movement was a struggle.

"Hmph, you’re at the end of your rope. Do you think we can’t tell?"
"Stop the act. You must be Xia Jiuxuan, right? Kid, we advise you to surrender, and we’ll make it quick."
"Don’t blame us for being ruthless; your head is simply worth too much."

The three exchanged words, their desire for the two half-saint artifacts fueling their resolve to kill him. Xia Jiuxuan’s heart sank. It was clear that this battle was inevitable, and he could rely on no one but himself.

Xia Jiuxuan closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the Slaughter Arena. A massive quantity of spirit crystals was poured into the space.

"Whether I live or die depends on you now!"

His soul consciousness sat cross-legged in the arena, chanting obscure and profound scriptures. Ancient runes emerged, suspended in the void above the arena.

*Whoosh—*

The chains of order above the arena began to sway, channeling a strange power into the bodies of the puppets. Suddenly, a serene aura emanated from them.

*Break through, you must break through for me!* Xia Jiuxuan chanted internally.

The technique he was using was a high-level auxiliary meditation mantra. It could force the puppets beyond the state of "self-forgetfulness" into the state of "selflessness." In this state, their cultivation speed would increase more than tenfold. However, the drawback was severe: since the puppets lacked powerful souls, once the effect of the mantra faded, they would burst and dissipate into nothingness.

At this critical juncture, Xia Jiuxuan could not afford to care. Even if he lost all his puppets, he had to do this. Only in the moment his own realm elevated would he have the brief burst of power needed to slaughter his enemies.

Spirit stones suspended before the puppets dissolved at a speed visible to the naked eye. Finally, Xia Jiuxuan felt a surge of powerful energy transferring into his body. His breakthrough was imminent. Time in the Slaughter Arena moved differently; he had chanted for half an hour inside, while only ten breaths had passed in the outside world.

"What? Are you still planning to resist?" Zhao Gui, seeing Xia Jiuxuan remain unmoved, took a few steps forward with his saber raised.

Suddenly, Xia Jiuxuan snapped his eyes open, his gaze swirling with wild, murderous intent. Zhao Gui was startled by the fierce look and recoiled.

"Senior Brother Zhao, this kid seems a bit odd."
"Hmph, it’s an illusion! It must be! We’ve only been in here for half a day; even with the highest talent, reaching the fifth level of the Xiantian realm is the limit. He’s severely wounded—how could he possibly fight the three of us?"
"Senior Brother Zhao is right. We are all at the fourth level of Xiantian, and with our superior physiques, killing him will be easy."
"You two, block him from the sides. Don't let him run. I’ll go cut him down!"

Zhao Gui stepped forward again, ready to strike.

Xia Jiuxuan, still expressionless, suddenly grinned—a smile that made Zhao Gui feel as though he were staring at a demon from hell.

"Playing tricks? Die!"

Zhao Gui charged, unleashing his full power as he swung his saber. *Whoosh!* The blade descended, aimed directly at Xia Jiuxuan’s forehead.

*Clang!*

The powerful strike stopped dead, hovering an inch from Xia Jiuxuan’s brow.

"What!"
"How is this possible!"
"He… he caught Senior Brother Zhao’s blade with his fingers!"
"Bad news! Senior Brother Zhao, retreat!"

Zhao Gui and his companions were gripped by terror, but it was already too late. *Boom!* Xia Jiuxuan struck back with a palm, slamming it onto Zhao Gui’s head. With a sickening crunch, Zhao Gui’s skull shattered like a smashed watermelon.

"You! How are you so strong!" The remaining two were stunned. In the moment Xia Jiuxuan had struck, they had sensed his true realm: the sixth level of the Spirit Sealing realm!

Xia Jiuxuan retracted his hand, wiped the blood away with spiritual energy, and calmly looted the top-tier spirit artifacts from Zhao Gui’s corpse. Seeing this, the other two collapsed to the ground in fear. How could he have reached such a high realm in such a short time? It was terrifying.

"Brother Xia, we were wrong! Please don’t kill us, please!" The two knelt, begging for mercy.

"Brother Xia," the young woman said, tears streaming down her face as she looked up pitifully, "it’s all Zhao Gui’s greed. He forced us to come back and kill you. I had no choice. Please spare me, please!"

Xia Jiuxuan remained cold, his murderous intent overflowing.

"Brother Xia, I’ll do anything you want," she sobbed, tearing at her shoulder to expose more skin.

"Yes, yes! Brother Xia, my junior sister is very obedient. Let her serve you, as long as you can—"

*Flash!*

A single sword stroke, and a head fell to the ground. Seeing this, the girl nearly lost her mind. She frantically clawed at her dress, crawling on her knees toward Xia Jiuxuan’s feet. "Brother Xia, I..."

*Splat!*

A palm strike, and her head exploded. "Bitch."

After collecting their treasures, Xia Jiuxuan kicked their bodies aside. *Hiss!* An unbearable pain surged through his back. The burst of power from his temporary breakthrough faded, and he collapsed to the ground, pale. "The injuries are worsening."

He checked his storage space. There were plenty of high-grade healing pills, but they were useless against wounds this severe without rare herbs. His consciousness began to blur. A long time passed, and still, Duanmu Wan did not appear.

"Sigh," Xia Jiuxuan breathed out. "Is this how this life ends?"

The shadow of death enveloped him. His awareness faded, his eyelids grew heavy, and he slipped into darkness.

He did not know how much time had passed when he suddenly snapped his eyes open.

"Get lost! Come any closer and I won't be polite!"

Xia Jiuxuan raised his head and looked ahead. Duanmu Wan was there, but he felt no joy, for she was surrounded by eleven armed men preparing to attack her! Duanmu Wan’s red dress was stained with blood, and she stood holding her spirit sword, confronting the twelve opponents.

"Stinking woman, you killed our brother, do you think you can still run?"
"We want to play with you; it’s a compliment. Who do you think you are to fight back?"
"Run! Go on, run!"

The men pressed in step by step. Duanmu Wan was frantic, deeply worried about Xia Jiuxuan’s condition. Had it not been for him, she would have fought to the death long ago, taking a few of them with her. She backed away until she was only a few feet from Xia Jiuxuan. Seeing how weak and near-death he looked, tears streamed down her face.

"Haha, look, there’s another half-dead one over there."
"No wonder this woman kept running this way; her lover is here."
"Perfect. Let’s play with his woman right in front of him. How exciting, hehe."

These men belonged to the same sect. When they discovered this mysterious valley was not being monitored by the elders, their evil desires had been unleashed. Duanmu Wan reached Xia Jiuxuan’s side. She opened her storage space, handed him a blood-red flower, and whispered, "Brother Xia, I will fight them. If you survive, please avenge my father!"

"Huh? What did that woman hand over? Go grab it!"

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…*

Several figures lunged forward, blades raised, charging toward Xia Jiuxuan and Duanmu Wan.