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“Who said I wanted to kill you?”

Xu Zimo smiled faintly.

He took out the Codex of Life and Death, from which countless Chains of Fate surged forth, shooting toward the old man to bind him.

The water energy behind the old man surged again, but Shadow Tyrant floated above Xu Zimo’s head, and beneath its shadow, the power of the blade raged in all directions.

With a deafening boom, the water energy was split apart by the sharp force of the blade.

With Shadow Tyrant leading the way, the Chains of Fate met no resistance.

They wrapped around the old man’s arms first.

The old man struggled violently and managed to tear the chains apart by brute force.

Unwilling to continue the fight, he turned and fled into the sky.

Xu Zimo simply smiled, and once again, countless Chains of Fate burst from the Codex of Life and Death like a storm of writhing serpents.

They churned the clouds and winds, sealing off every escape route around the old man.

No matter how hard he struggled, more and more chains coiled around him, forming an inescapable prison.

Even as his water energy roared furiously, it was useless.

At last, the chains enveloped everything, dragging the old man helplessly before Xu Zimo.

“Go on then, keep running,” Xu Zimo said with a grin.

“You damn brat,” the old man spat, his eyes burning with hatred.

“Seeing you this angry only makes me more entertained,” Xu Zimo replied, amused.

He began walking back toward the thatched hut.

As he approached, the old man froze completely, even his breathing halting, his expression taut with fear, as though terrified that Xu Zimo would uncover some dark secret.

“What are you afraid of?” Xu Zimo asked lightly.

“What do you want? Name your terms, anything!” the old man pleaded.

“Where did the Water Beasts come from?” Xu Zimo asked.

“This… it was a technique passed down by our ancestor,” the old man sighed. “If you wish to learn it, I can teach you, but it’s not something mastered quickly.”

“You think I’m a fool? Or are you an idiot yourself?” Xu Zimo’s tone hardened. “Do you even understand what it means to create life? If your so-called ancestor could do it, perhaps that’s believable. But someone like you? Trash like you? Do you think this is some cultivation technique that can just be taught?”

The lie was crushed without mercy.

Perhaps even the old man himself didn’t grasp how world-shaking the ability to create life truly was.

Xu Zimo stopped before the thatched hut.

The bound old man grew even more panicked, shouting, “If you harm me, my ancestor will never forgive you! Our ancestor is invincible across the ages!”

“You’re nervous,” Xu Zimo said with a smirk.

He opened the door of the hut. The interior was simple, just a stone bed and a worn-out table, the entire place so fragile it looked ready to collapse at any moment.

He scanned the small room. Nothing seemed unusual.

Still, there had to be something he was missing.

He looked again, circling the room, then stomped on the floor.

Yes, there was a hollow echo beneath his feet.

Clenching his right hand into a fist, spirit energy surged around it.

With one powerful strike, he smashed the ground.

A thunderous crash shook the earth. Cracks spread outward like a spider web, and within them, Xu Zimo spotted a hidden passageway.

“Don’t go down there!” the old man cried in panic. “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you, just don’t go down there!”

Xu Zimo ignored him and descended.

The deeper he went, the more the air thickened with water-element spirit energy.

Though no water was visible, he felt as if he were standing at the bottom of the ocean.

The sensation was strange, almost tranquil, almost suffocating.

“You bastard!” the old man screamed. “That thing is mine! No one can take it, it’s mine! Mine!”

His expression twisted with madness. He mumbled incoherently, his mind teetering on the edge of insanity.

At last, Xu Zimo reached the bottom.

It was a sealed chamber, dark and silent, illuminated only by a single dim night pearl.

Chains lay scattered across the floor, but they were no ordinary iron chains.

They were forged from Myriad Year Fire-Soul Stone, tempered in molten skyfire.

Each chain was indestructible and carried a burning energy within.

Xu Zimo lifted his gaze.

At the end of the chains stood a massive cross, and upon it, something was bound.

He stepped closer, and when he saw the figure clearly, even he was taken aback.

It looked human, but its skin, eyes, scalp, and lips were all a deep, oceanic blue.

A blue man.

He was bound by the chains, his entire body covered in wounds, tortured beyond recognition.

Yet what shocked Xu Zimo most was that from those wounds flowed not blood, but blue liquid, like water.

“What is this?” Xu Zimo demanded, looking at the old man.

The blue man’s life was faint; he was barely conscious.

“That’s mine, you can’t take it! It’s mine, you can’t!” the old man muttered, still lost in his delirium.

Xu Zimo frowned, then struck him across the face.

Slap!

The blow jolted the old man back to his senses.

Seeing the scene before him, his face went pale.

“I’ll ask again,” Xu Zimo said coldly. “What is that thing?”

“Around a thousand years ago,” the old man began, his face ashen, “I was just an ordinary Empyrean Meridian cultivator. My lifespan was nearing its end, and I wandered into this land. That’s when I met… this strange blue man.”

He spoke slowly, trembling as though recalling a nightmare.

“At first, we became acquainted. He learned of my fate and gave me a single drop of his blood. After consuming it, I found that my life had been extended by a hundred years.”

His lips quivered as he continued. “For that hundred years, we became the closest of friends. He told me he had no memories, no past. I taught him about the world. But… good times don’t last. After a century, my end came once more.”

“So you imprisoned him, to feed on him endlessly, to extend your life without limit,” Xu Zimo said flatly.

“Yes… yes, I did,” the old man sobbed, clutching his head. “I was worse than a beast, worse than a dog. But I didn’t want to die!”

He wept openly. “Later, I discovered that his blood didn’t just grant longevity, it could also strengthen one’s cultivation. From the Empyrean Meridian realm, I advanced to the Grand Emperor realm in a short time. If I had a few thousand more years, I believe I could reach sainthood.”

“And what are you now,” Xu Zimo asked, “but a walking corpse? Then tell me, why did you attack Fire Bane City? What were those Water Beasts?”

“His blood can manifest as Water Beasts,” the old man answered weakly. “Each drop of his blood becomes a living creature.

“As for the attack on Fire Bane City… I had no choice. I’d used too much of his blood. If I didn’t replenish him in time, he would die. Later, I discovered the only thing that could sustain him, the flesh and blood of the Fire God Race.”