Dusk.
Outside Baiyun City.
Atop a tall mountain, a figure stood against the wind on the summit.
The mountain wind howled, making his robes flap loudly.
His eyes sparked like lightning as he locked onto a grand estate below, within the city.
That estate covered nearly half the city and was unmistakably the Southern Guardian Prince's residence.
In scale and grandeur, it was no less than the imperial palace.
The figure was Liu Wuji.
"Southern Guardian Prince's estate."
His gaze was icy cold, but he wasn't planning to attack it directly.
There was a Martial Sovereign stationed there.
With his current strength, he still couldn't take on a Martial Sovereign.
His real target was the Southern Guardian Army camp outside the city.
There, he could unleash a massacre and rapidly raise his cultivation.
Once he reached the Martial Saint realm, he wouldn't need to fear a Martial Sovereign anymore.
"This will definitely destabilize my martial foundation, but I've got no other choice."
Liu Wuji's heart was cold. "Only by boosting my power first and making these local vermin fear me, will I have the peace to slowly mend my foundation."
For others, once a house was built, fixing its foundation was almost impossible.
But he had a way to do it.
Taking advantage of the night, Liu Wuji swooped down the mountain like a bat, silently closing in on the Southern Guardian Army camp.
He planned to go the assassin's route.
According to his plan, he'd kill at least 1,000 people before they even noticed.
But unexpectedly, after killing just 1, a wave of whistle blasts rang out across the camp.
And then—
A large number of fully armored soldiers poured out of the tents. They quickly formed a military formation and surrounded Liu Wuji in the center.
Liu Wuji's pupils shrank. "Damn it. I walked right into an ambush."
Without hesitation, he launched a breakout.
When he went all out, Liu Wuji was terrifying.
Even though the Southern Guardian Army had been prepared, he still carved a bloody path through them.
Just as he was about to break through, two figures descended.
Both were Martial Saints.
"You damn brat! You dared to stir up trouble in my Southern Guardian Army camp? You deserve to be sliced into 1,000 pieces!"
Their killing intent surged.
Liu Wuji's heart sank. This was now truly a life-and-death crisis.
"Why must you force me?"
His eyes turned blood-red.
In just a few days, he had burned through two of his life-saving trump cards.
First, the Upper Obscure Divine Flame. Then, the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron.
Now, he only had one life-saving card left—the remnant primal soul deep inside his spirit.
This soul force came from his original self before rebirth and held terrifying power.
But once it was gone, he'd have nothing left to save himself with.
He was extremely reluctant to use it.
It would be like using a world-ending thunderbolt to kill a mosquito.
Instead, Liu Wuji charged back into the camp.
He kept killing while using the life force from his victims to heal himself, fighting off the two Martial Saints.
But they were too strong. His healing couldn't keep up with the damage.
His injuries got worse and worse.
Outside the camp.
A man surrounded by subordinates arrived.
It was the Southern Guardian Prince.
He was a Martial Sovereign.
If he joined the fight, he could instantly kill Liu Wuji and minimize losses.
However, at that moment, his Martial Sovereign instincts screamed at him—the camp was extremely dangerous.
The Southern Guardian Prince had always been cautious.
He immediately gave up on entering the camp and decisively ordered, "Let's go. Leave now."
As it turned out, that was the right call.
Forced to the brink by the two Martial Saints, Liu Wuji had no other option.
Buzz!
A massive surge of spiritual power exploded from within him.
The two Martial Saints took the full brunt.
Even though they were Martial Saints, they couldn't withstand the impact of that soul force.
In just a blink, the souls of the two Martial Saints were wiped out.
Then came the surrounding soldiers.
Within moments, several thousand soldiers dropped dead, every single one with their soul destroyed.
Only those stationed farther away managed to survive by sheer luck.
Seeing this, they were scared out of their minds and fled in a panic.
Liu Wuji didn't chase them.
At that moment, the life force surging into him was too immense.
He had to desperately absorb it, or else he'd explode on the spot.
At the same time, Liu Wuji's cultivation exploded upward.
In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he broke through the Martial Emperor realm and ascended to Martial Saint.
In the distance, Hu Po, who had been secretly observing, was shocked. She no longer dared to continue her surveillance and immediately retreated.
When she delivered the report to Yang Cheng, the latter knew—the moment to hunt had finally arrived.
It had been just ten days since Liu Wuji's rebirth.
In such a short span, he had gone from a cripple to a peak Martial Saint.
That was terrifying.
But for Liu Wuji, it came at a massive cost.
He'd traded three life-saving trump cards for this cultivation.
"Southern Guardian Prince."
At this moment, Liu Wuji hated him to the bone.
Now that his strength rivaled a Martial Sovereign, there was no more need to endure.
He only wanted to kill the Southern Guardian Prince as fast as possible.
The Southern Guardian Prince's estate had already activated its defensive array.
Clearly, they were preparing for him.
"Southern Guardian Prince, get the hell out here!"
Liu Wuji roared, eyes fierce.
"Sir, there must be some misunderstanding between us," said the Southern Guardian Prince. "We've never even met. Why did you attack my army camp?"
"Shut up."
Liu Wuji's voice was cold. "It doesn't matter if it was a misunderstanding. Either way, I'm killing you."
The Southern Guardian Prince had already decided to hole up like a turtle.
It wasn't that he was truly afraid of Liu Wuji.
He just saw himself as porcelain—and didn't want to smash himself against a rough clay pot like Liu Wuji.
But he underestimated him.
Liu Wuji's understanding of arrays was extremely advanced.
"You think hiding in your shell will keep you safe? Then I'll just break your shell."
Liu Wuji immediately began breaking the formation.
Though it was a top-tier formation in the Wasteland Realm, it only took him about one hundred breaths to crack it.
Liu Wuji stepped into the Southern Guardian Prince's estate.
The Southern Guardian Prince had no choice but to unleash his killing move.
Dozens of black-clad figures appeared.
These were elite shadow guards he had raised in secret—each one a lethal assassin.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of top-tier shadow guards swarmed Liu Wuji at once.
Their coordination was seamless, and combined, their attack could even threaten a Martial Sovereign.
Liu Wuji's expression changed.
He had underestimated the Southern Guardian Prince, not expecting him to have such a hidden force.
By the time Liu Wuji had killed half of them, he himself was heavily injured.
What's more, the Southern Guardian Prince had clearly made preparations.
Every time one shadow guard died, the others would instantly retrieve the body, giving Liu Wuji no chance to absorb any life force.
As a result, Liu Wuji couldn't heal his wounds or replenish his depleted true qi.
"Damn it."
Liu Wuji realized the situation had truly turned against him.
'Looks like I'll have to bide my time. I'll get my revenge on the Southern Guardian Prince later.'
He calmed down quickly and made another attempt to break out.
And Liu Wuji was unbelievably tough. Even in this state, he managed to escape.
Outside Baiyun City.
Liu Wuji hunted beasts in a mountain forest.
He needed their life force to recover from his wounds.
That was when a woman appeared.
"It's you!"
Liu Wuji's face twisted in shock.
That woman was none other than Hu Po.