An Minxia, clouded by various desires and thoughts of revenge, hadn't considered the consequences of consuming a Spiritual Beast's spirit core for a human.

As soon as the spirit core rolled into her stomach,

An Minxia felt as if a raging fire had been added to her intestines.

From the Green-eyed Stone Beast's divine body, the violent Primordial Power, like countless blades, shredded and tore her intestines apart.

She fell on all fours, her ornate Martial Robe ripped apart by her rough skin, and her slender limbs became bulky.

Her hair grew inch by inch, and a third eye emerged on her forehead.

"How... what's happening to me…"

An Minxia felt that the consciousness belonging to her was slowly being devoured in her mind.

Fragments of broken memories infiltrated her mind.

Her mind seemed to be injected with some parts of memories that didn't belong to her.

Likewise, in this Stone Chamber, an elder who had been imprisoned for many years, at every moment, yearned to leave the Stone Chamber.

Taiyi Devouring Beast Technique, such a brilliant cultivation technique, why should it never see the light of day due to the suppression by the Sect Leader?

Those people, clearly envious of his talent.

He was truly the strongest within the Taiyi Sect.

Harboring such insane thoughts, the spirit core of the Green-eyed Stone Beast inside that elder was finally activated, until the elder completely transformed into a Green-eyed Stone Beast.

It burst out of the Stone Chamber, like a Fierce Beast out of control, killing everyone it saw, forcing those disciples who refused to submit to also consume the Green-eyed Stone Beast's spirit core, like him.

It was like a terrible plague, within just a day and a night, countless people either turned into stone statues or lost their reason, becoming wild beasts.

The once thriving Taiyi Sect turned into a gathering place for Green-eyed Stone Beasts.

With no choice left, the Sect Leader of the Taiyi Sect activated the Sect Suppressing Weapon, and in one night, the Taiyi Sect was awash with blood.

The activation of the Sect Suppressing Array sealed forever the Ancient Artifact Sect, once incomparably prosperous in the Ancient Times.

Until… until the map of the Taiyi Secret Realm, thanks to the alliance of the Six Great Forces, brought the Taiyi Secret Realm back into peoples' view.

Those were the memories of that Green-eyed Stone Beast, and also the final fragment of memory from that elder before his insane beastification.

It's also the truth about Taiyi Devouring Beast Technique; those who consumed the beast core, though gaining the formidable physique and powerful Martial Arts of the Spiritual Beast, also, as a price, lost the reason that made them human.

"Father… Prince Feng… gurgle"

Remorse was too late now, An Minxia, like a Green-eyed Beast, knelt down, and gradually, her human form completely disappeared, turning wholly into a Green-eyed Stone Beast.

Hatred, endless hatred towards humanity, desiring to slaughter all the enemies who enter the Taiyi Sect.

A blood-red color clouded the green eyes.

A burst of angry roars sounded, and a large number of Green-eyed Stone Beasts crowded in like a tide, rushing towards the entrance of the Taiyi Sect.

Those invaders would finally perish.

Bo Qing and Ye Lingyue didn't walk for long, soon Elder Huo Yan and Boss He along with others caught up.

After resting for a night, everyone continued forward the next morning.

On the way, they encountered people from Kaijiang Prince Manor and Crown Prince Hong.

Duke An searched for an entire night but could not find his daughter. He knew deeply that his daughter's chances of survival were slim.

Upon seeing the people from Fire Control Sect, including Bo Qing and Ye Lingyue, who caused his daughter's death, Duke An's eyes were like those of a venomous snake.

The forest gradually disappeared and a sect's mountain gate appeared ahead. Ascending from the mountain gate, there were cobblestone steps, as many as a thousand steps in total.

Even though the Taiyi Sect had been annihilated for hundreds of years, the steps known as Taiyi Stone Stairs were spotless, without a trace of the ravages of time.

At the base of the mountain gate, there was a pool, next to which stood a stele bearing the inscription: Sword Relieving Pond.

As a major sect during Ancient Times, outsiders or visitors must relinquish their weapons and armor upon reaching the mountain gate of the Taiyi Sect and could only retrieve them after descending.

Chen Tuo, the son of the King of Kaijiang, glanced at the crystal-clear Sword Relieving Pond and sneered lightly through his nose, then stepped towards the stone stairs of the mountain gate.

Crown Prince Hong also proceeded with a proud gait, directly climbing the steps.

It goes without saying that even if the Taiyi Sect still existed, influential figures like the King of Kaijiang and Crown Prince Hong wouldn't regard a sect without imperial power highly.

After all, they had already encountered the Green-eyed Stone Beast. Entering the Taiyi Sect, who knows what perils were hidden inside—discarding weapons would be tantamount to disabling oneself.

"Master?" a few disciples of the Fire Control Sect inquired of Elder Huo Yan.

"Be cautious," Elder Huo Yan advised seriously after looking at the Sword Relieving Pond.

Boss He and Third Brother He exchanged glances; they were much more cautious than Crown Prince Hong and others, holding a certain reverence for the Taiyi Sect.

Both of them removed their armor, but their weapons could not be discarded.

As for Bo Qing, she blatantly ignored the Sword Relieving Pond and hopped up the stone steps barefoot.

When it was Ye Lingyue's turn, she didn't have any weapons except for Star Saliva, which was her last line of defense for preserving her life, and naturally, she was unwilling to part with it.

The Sixth Junior Brother from Fire Control Sect, who had previously caught Ye Lingyue's attention, now closely followed Elder Huo Yan, stepping forward one step at a time.

The nearly thousand-stairs of the mountain gate started off easy for everyone.

However, after approximately a hundred steps, everyone started feeling something was amiss.

Their steps became heavy, and the weapons in their hands felt increasingly heavier.

From the initial tens of kilograms, it progressed to hundreds, and then continuously reached thousands, even tens of thousands of kilograms.

Those carrying weapons and wearing life-preserving armor felt the weight increase substantially.

"Ah! Brother, I can't do this anymore."

Chen Xuan from Kaijiang Prince Manor couldn't endure anymore and fell heavily to the ground, her two long swords clanging loudly, and her knees suddenly hit the ground with a crushing sound of breaking bones.

Hearing the sound, Ye Lingyue knew Chen Xuan's legs were broken.

"Quick, everyone remove the weapons and light armor from your bodies," Elder Yue from Kaijiang Prince Manor finally showed concern.

Those martial artists, who were previously unmatched in their pride, were now like frightened birds. All their life-preserving weapons and armor were hastily stripped off and discarded on the side.

Once the weapons and armor were removed, they felt as if a huge weight was lifted, feeling like the tons of weight had been taken off their shoulders.

Seeing the people of Kaijiang Prince Manor taking such actions, the group accompanying Crown Prince Hong did the same. In no time, those splendidly equipped noble youths were stripped down to just their undergarments, looking quite ridiculous.

~ Additional chapters for 840 and 860 monthly tickets, last two days, still have this month's tickets to crush ~