"Emperor, this is the place. Donghua Sanren died inside!"
The sword spirit stopped in front of the villa, still showing a trace of fear in its eyes, seemingly extremely afraid of touching anything inside.
Ye Ling briefly surveyed the dilapidated villa before him, then glanced at the surrounding residents who paid no mind to it. He asked the sword spirit, "Did you set up the barrier for this villa?"
The sword spirit shook its head, "It wasn't me. The killer set it up. I was having a pleasant conversation with Donghua Sanren when a young man suddenly barged in, shouting about acting on behalf of heaven. Right before my eyes, he killed Donghua Sanren in one move and turned him into a human pig."
"He finished him in one move?" Ye Ling was quite surprised. "Was Donghua Sanren truly a Saint?"
The sword spirit quickly replied, "Absolutely! That young man's cultivation wasn't high, but he used a wicked method that could reduce a person's cultivation!"
"I barely escaped with my life and found you, Emperor."
"Reducing cultivation? Interesting..." Hearing the sword spirit's words, Ye Ling became increasingly curious about the young man it spoke of.
The sword spirit continued, "Emperor... don't be fooled by the young man's extremely delicate appearance. His actions are incredibly brutal, like a beast that has lost its mind!"
As it spoke, fear lingered in the sword spirit's eyes, as if it hadn't yet recovered from the previous events.
Ye Ling chuckled, "Interesting... A young man who can easily kill a Saint, claiming to act on behalf of heaven, and then setting up such a barrier after killing someone... I'd like to see who this divine being is?"
Eager to see the other party, Ye Ling didn't linger at the entrance. He pushed the door open and walked into the villa.
Boom!
The moment Ye Ling entered the villa, an extremely pungent smell of blood assaulted his nostrils, making him feel nauseous!
Immediately, a deeply gloomy voice echoed from the living room, "Nameless Sword Spirit, it seems you've gone to fetch reinforcements... Hahaha..."
"No matter how many people come! It's all meaningless! You will all die!"
Hearing the noisy voice, Ye Ling looked in its direction. He saw a long-haired young man, bare-chested, holding a butcher's knife. He stood in the center of the living room.
At the young man's feet was a formation drawn with blood. Directly above him, where the ceiling light fixture should have been, was Donghua Sanren, dismembered, with his eyes gouged out and his tongue and ears cut off.
Even more horrifying was that Donghua Sanren was not dead. He still had a breath left, but it was precisely that breath that made him feel endless pain.
However, compared to Donghua Sanren's tragic state, Ye Ling was more concerned about the young man.
It wasn't because the young man was powerful. Quite the opposite, Ye Ling saw through the young man's cultivation at a glance. His strength barely reached the Mortal Immortal realm, not even the Heavenly Palace realm.
With this young man's cultivation, let alone a Saint, even a Mortal Immortal hidden deep within the Dragon Department headquarters could easily deal with him.
But...
According to the sword spirit, this young man had killed Donghua Sanren with a single strike... The gap between them was an insurmountable chasm. The young man couldn't possibly have defeated Donghua Sanren with his own strength.
Ye Ling was very curious about what kind of cultivation-reducing method could allow the young man to cross that seemingly impossible gap.
Ye Ling glanced again at the tragically fallen Donghua Sanren. Without directly judging the young man's actions, he asked the young man, "What is your name?"
"My name is not important. What's important is that today, you will all die..."
The young man looked up at Ye Ling. The blood splattered on his face made his originally delicate features appear incredibly ferocious.
A large amount of gray energy emanated from the young man's body. The formation below also lit up with a gray glow, and a peculiar power appeared in the air.
Seeing the power the young man was using, Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he sensed something. He murmured, "This power..."
The sword spirit's pupils contracted sharply upon seeing the gray energy surrounding the young man. It quickly warned Ye Ling, "Emperor, be careful! This fellow is about to start reducing our cultivation!"
As the sword spirit finished speaking, the formation beneath the young man spread out, covering the entire villa!
The sword spirit's Saintly cultivation, after being covered by the young man's released domain, rapidly declined at a visible rate.
The sword spirit's Saintly cultivation, under the influence of the young man's domain, soon dropped below True Martial, and continued to fall!
In less than ten seconds, the sword spirit's cultivation had fallen to the eighth rank!
"What kind of domain is this?" Ye Ling was utterly shocked to see the sword spirit almost crippled by the young man's domain, finding it hard to believe.
The young man, with only Mortal Immortal cultivation, could directly reduce a Saint-level expert to a "cripple" with that domain. Such a method was akin to cheating and hacking!
It was completely unreasonable!
Just as Ye Ling was astonished by the young man's methods, the young man's domain power covered Ye Ling as well, attempting to affect his cultivation.
Unfortunately, the gap in their strength was too immense. The young man's domain had no effect on Ye Ling whatsoever.
Ye Ling's aura remained unchanged.
Seeing that Ye Ling's cultivation was unaffected, the young man's pupils also contracted slightly. He exclaimed in disbelief, "Impossible... Why is the Barren Domain useless against you?"
"Barren Domain?"
Ye Ling looked at the young man with curiosity. "Is this the method you use to reduce the cultivation of Saints?"
The young man did not answer Ye Ling's question. He muttered to himself, "No, impossible... No one can escape my domain!"
He refused to believe what he saw. He tried his best to activate the formation beneath him, and a large amount of gray energy poured out from his body, filling the entire villa.
Under the influence of the gray energy, everything in the villa turned grayish-white. The sword spirit's cultivation plummeted again, and it even began to struggle to maintain its human form, its body becoming ethereal!
The sword spirit was a spiritual entity born from冥气 (ming qi - underworld energy). It had no physical body, and its existence in the world depended entirely on its cultivation.
Now that the sword spirit's cultivation had fallen below the third rank, let alone maintaining its human form, it was extremely difficult to even sustain its life. It was on the verge of dissipating into nothingness!
"Emperor... Emperor... Save me..."
The sword spirit knelt on one knee, trembling, and begged Ye Ling for help. Most of its body had already vanished.
"Truly pathetic..."
Seeing the sword spirit's miserable state, Ye Ling decided not to stand by and watch. He sent out a stream of spiritual energy to envelop the sword spirit, helping it maintain its human form.
However, the domain summoned by the young man seemed to directly reduce the upper limit of cultivation. Even with Ye Ling's spiritual energy enveloping the sword spirit, he couldn't restore its cultivation, only barely keep it alive.
The young man holding the butcher's knife, seeing that Ye Ling was still unaffected by his domain even after strengthening it, and had even intervened to save the sword spirit, his shock intensified. He exclaimed, "No... this is absolutely impossible! How can you resist the Barren Domain?"
"The Barren Domain is invincible!"
At this moment, the sword spirit, having regained its life, no longer cared about its lost cultivation. It quickly said to Ye Ling, "Emperor! That kid's methods are bizarre and varied. Quickly resolve him, don't give him a chance!"
Ye Ling ignored the sword spirit's words and said to the somewhat flustered young man, "I'm just here to watch the show. I'm not necessarily your enemy."
Unfortunately, after Ye Ling said this, the young man became even more hysterical. He roared, "You're trying to trick me! You can't escape the judgment of the Barren Domain! You must be faking it!"
Saying this, the young man raised the butcher's knife and swung it at Ye Ling!
"This guy..."
Seeing that the young man was completely unreasonable, acting like a complete idiot, Ye Ling couldn't help but sigh slightly. He easily disarmed the young man of his butcher's knife and used the blunt side of the blade to strike the young man's neck.
Bang!
Without any surprise, the young man was knocked unconscious by Ye Ling.
As the young man fell to the ground, the entire villa quickly returned to its original state. The formation on the floor disappeared, and Donghua Sanren, who had been hanging from the ceiling, fell down, landing in the pool of blood.
The Barren Domain vanished, and the sword spirit's cultivation rapidly recovered.
Seeing that the young man had been knocked out by Ye Ling, it immediately condensed a long sword in its hand and lunged towards the young man.
However, just as the sword spirit's sword was about to pierce the young man's head, Ye Ling placed the butcher's knife at the sword spirit's neck, stopping its attack.
The sword spirit glanced at the butcher's knife that had almost sliced its throat, swallowed, and asked Ye Ling tremblingly, "Emperor... what are you..."
Ye Ling said calmly, "Donghua Sanren is not dead yet. If you act now, you should be able to save him."
Seeing that Ye Ling had no intention of killing the young man, the sword spirit panicked and quickly said, "Emperor! That kid can strip away people's cultivation. His methods are extremely wicked. If we don't cut the grass and eliminate the roots, I'm afraid..."
"Does my actions require your commentary?" Ye Ling pushed his blade forward, directly severing the sword spirit's head.
The sword spirit frantically clutched its severed head, looking at Ye Ling in terror, and retreated repeatedly.
Only then did it realize that it had overstepped its bounds.
It was not qualified to point fingers at Ye Ling's actions. It had committed a grave offense!
Realizing its mistake, the sword spirit dared not reattach its head. It immediately knelt before Ye Ling and begged for mercy, "Emperor, spare me! I know I was wrong! I will never dare to do it again!"
Ye Ling glanced indifferently at the kneeling sword spirit and said, "Let this be the last time. Heal your injuries, and then save your friend. I have something to ask him later."
"Yes, yes..."
The sword spirit reattached its head, not daring to look Ye Ling in the eye. It quickly crawled to Donghua Sanren's side and began to treat his injuries.
While the sword spirit was treating Donghua Sanren, Ye Ling turned his attention back to the young man.
Earlier, when the young man used his domain, he had sensed a familiar power within him...
The inheritance of the Creation God.
However, unlike the inheritance Ye Ling received... the inheritance within the young man was incomplete.
It was precisely that incomplete inheritance that had affected the young man's mind, turning him into the brutal youth he was now.
Ye Ling squatted in front of the young man and placed his hand on his head. Demonic energy gradually seeped into the young man's head, touching his soul.
"Let me take a good look... at the secrets you hold?"