The gigantic skeleton lay still across the wide, elevated square. Each part of it was lying neatly, making it seem as if a real dragon was watching the humans below. Its posture was natural; it was noble and sacred, just as if it was alive. There wasn’t even the slightest trace of discoloration on the pure white skeleton that would’ve been expected due to the several million years that passed. On the contrary, it looked quite shiny.

　　Mo Tiange felt like she was watching a scene from several million years ago; a real divine beast lay on the square, quietly watching the humans below. It looked lazy and at ease as if it was accepting human worship. Each and every one of its movements would’ve carried the sacredness and majesty of divine beasts. Even now, its momentum was still astounding.

　　As Mo Tiange slowly made her way forward, she looked up at this ancient divine dragon’s skeleton.

　　Both its momentum and spiritual aura were still lingering there. It felt sacred and majestic, just like the divine dragon’s breath outside but it was more intense, rendering Mo Tiange hardly able to breathe.

　　But why, why would Ren Yufeng have turned out like that? According to reason, divine dragon’s breath shouldn’t make people possessed by the devil. However, aside from being possessed by the devil, how else could Ren Yufeng’s appearance be explained? Or… did he maybe use the wrong method?

　　Before she could think of a reason, Mo Tiange acutely sensed a thread of… murderous intent approaching. Under the pressure of the divine dragon’s breath, she couldn’t spread her divine sense, but that murderous intent didn’t need to be sensed by her divine sense—it openly spread to her.

　　The moment she sensed it, Mo Tiange immediately pressed the space between her eyebrows to activate the Virtual Sky World then hid inside it.

　　This murderous intent didn’t come from anyone else; it must’ve undoubtedly come from Ren Yufeng.

　　Sure enough, a short while later, someone dashed over from the entrance. It was Ren Yufeng. He was holding the two people he’d caught; one was Qiu Zhiming, and the other was Xiahou Yuan.

　　Upon seeing this scene, Mo Tiange felt herself relaxing. It wasn’t Jiang Shanghang; maybe he really escaped.

　　Outside the Virtual Sky World; Ren Yufeng threw his two captives to the ground. He said coldly, “You wanted to run? Hmph!”

　　Ren Yufeng didn’t show any mercy, causing Qiu Zhiming and Xiahou Yuan, who were suddenly thrown to the ground, to release awful screams. From his momentum, Mo Tiange estimated that Ren Yufeng’s cultivation level must be in the Core Formation realm at least.

　　A wrinkle emerged on Mo Tiange’s brows as she watched the scene outside.

　　“Senior Martial Brother!” Xiahou Yuan crawled up. When she saw the obvious murderous intent on Ren Yufeng’s face, she pleaded, “Senior Martial Brother Ren, in any case, we came from the same sect, and my master and Martial Uncle Buqi also have a good relationship—please consider our old friendship and let me go!”

　　With a face filled with black aura, Ren Yufeng looked at her then revealed a disdainful sneer. “Let you go? Xiahou Yuan, have you forgotten how you ridiculed me before? Based on the fact that Xiahou Clan has some status in Zhengfa Sect, you secretly ridiculed me in front of Ai Xian, saying that I wouldn’t have any prospects of making a realm-breakthrough because of my age. Don’t you remember? You see…I remember it very clearly!”

　　“I…” Xiahou Yuan was stunned but soon entered a state of panic. “Y-you… heard…”

　　Good or bad, Ren Yufeng was a late stage Foundation Building cultivator, and on the surface, his status was also higher than hers, so Xiahou Yuan certainly wouldn’t say such a thing in front of him. She looked completely astonished at the moment; she never expected this piece of gossip she talked about with her fellow martial sisters in private would’ve been overheard by the object of said gossip, and he even wanted to retaliate.

　　A ferocious smile emerged on Ren Yufeng’s face. His originally fair face was covered with a black aura, making his smile even more horrendous. “Since you’re a member of Xiahou Clan, I couldn’t do anything to you before and could only swallow my anger. But now…!” He opened his hand, and a ball of black aura emerged on his palm. Under Xiahou Yuan’s frightened gaze, that black ball was lightly tossed at her.

　　The black aura seemed to be thrown lightly, almost without any force at all, but once it touched Xiahou Yuan, she immediately let out an “AH—” blood-curdling scream. Her scream sounded tragic, and it even made Mo Tiange shiver.

　　Xiahou Yuan was completely enveloped by the black aura; her screams rang out incessantly. The pain and misery her screams conveyed were really unbearable to hear. Immediately after, the pain seemed unbearable for Xiahou Yuan as she started to roll on the ground.

　　They were deep under the ocean, but because she ate Bubble Fruit, she had a layer of waterproof enchantment on her body. Now that she was enveloped by the black aura, the enchantment gradually faded. Mo Tiange saw that when Xiahou Yuan lost the enchantment, her whole body sank, water entered her eyes, ears, nose, and lips, and the small bits of skin left exposed were covered by the black aura—her face revealed the unbearable suffering she was experiencing.

　　Mo Tiange wrinkled her brows. Compared to mortals, cultivators had a much higher tolerance for pain, so they absolutely shouldn’t look this miserable. How cruel was this torture she was experiencing now? And what was this black aura about? How could it make a cultivator suffer to this extent?

　　Qiu Zhiming was already petrified from watching Xiahou Yuan’s pain-filled expression. On the other hand, Ren Yufeng looked satisfied; he looked like he was enjoying her suffering.

　　Xiahou Yuan clenched her teeth while enduring the pain. She’d gone from hissing to screaming, and when her waterproof enchantment disappeared, her screams didn’t even make any more noise. He ears and nose were flooded with seawater, causing her face to swell and turn purple immediately. She automatically grabbed her own neck, struggling in pain.

　　After a long time—probably because he felt he had enjoyed enough—Ren Yufeng lightly withdrew the black aura. He then smiled and looked compassionately at her. “Say… Why did you do it? If you spoke less back then, maybe you wouldn’t have ended up like this today…”

　　Since she was no longer covered by the black aura, Xiahou Yuan’s body once again revealed itself to them. She still had no waterproof enchantment, so she was completely soaked in the water. Although she wouldn’t drown to death, whatever injuries she had would certainly worsen. Xiahou Yuan was most likely a lady from a cultivation clan who basically hadn’t experienced any suffering before today; now that she underwent such torture, she was pretty much half dead already.

　　Mo Tiange continued watching as she frowned. This Ren Yufeng was unexpectedly so cruel—he morbidly pursued the pleasure of torturing others! She was almost certain that these two people wouldn’t leave this place alive. Although Mo Tiange was hiding inside her Virtual Sky World and Ren Yufeng definitely wouldn’t discover her whereabouts, what if he really did absorb the so-called divine dragon’s breath and possessed an ability she didn’t understand? Considering Ren Yufeng’s current behavior, he certainly wouldn’t let her have an easy time.

　　But what was going on with Ren Yufeng? His cultivation level was already in the late stage of the Foundation Building realm, and he was a disciple of a Core Formation cultivator—why did he actually have such resentment when even Jiang Shanghang was satisfied with how Zhengfa Sect treated him?

　　Once Ren Yufeng had his fill of torturing Xiahou Yuan, he turned towards Qiu Zhiming. He stared Qiu Zhiming up and down expressionlessly. Qiu Zhiming, on the other hand, turned white, then red, then white again.

　　Based on what she’d seen so far, Qiu Zhiming had a rather fierce character, but he also had integrity; he was willing to take the injured Yu Xiaoran with him when they wanted to run, even though doing so would slow him down, and he also showed much abhorrence for Ren Yufeng’s actions. Nevertheless, Mo Tiange still couldn’t predict what he was going to do now.

　　Ren Yufeng suddenly walked forward, approaching Qiu Zhiming step by step. His pace was extremely slow but it was very intimidating. In fact, his slowness actually made him more frightening. He seemed to find frightening people very enjoyable, so he deliberately made each step firm.

　　As Qiu Zhiming’s fear grew, his face also became paler. His lips were quivering, and huge beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead. Mo Tiange also noticed his breathing was erratic; his nostrils were expanding and deflating quickly but without much strength.

　　Right when Ren Yufeng was about to reach him, he suddenly bent his knees, thus kneeling on the ground. His face was wrinkled, revealing a pathetic and miserable expression. Both tears and snot were running down his face. He said while trembling, “Senior Martial Brother Ren, Senior Martial Brother Ren, I’ve never done anything wrong to you, please just spare me…”

　　Ren Yufeng stood still, looking at him condescendingly.

　　He didn’t say anything. He just looked on coldly, watching the arrogant and fierce Qiu Zhiming crying until his face was crumpled, until he had a hard time even breathing.

　　Wanting to be arrogant was simple. As long as your life wasn’t threatened by anything, you’d naturally be able to appear arrogant and place yourself in a pure and clean position. When faced with your own mortality, however, releasing this arrogance was also very easy. Almost without even thinking, people would lower their arrogant heads and bend their knees.

　　Mo Tiange softly heaved a sigh. She knew Qiu Zhiming couldn’t be blamed for behaving like this. His willingness to take the injured Yu Xiaoran with him already demonstrated his character wasn’t bad, but faced with a likely imminent death, who could really harden their spine without any hesitation? Mo Tiange believed she also had to consider the situation before she could make a choice.

　　For cultivators, life was extremely important. What was the point of cultivating? Of course it was to have a long life. Since this was the case, life was the most important thing for cultivators. Affection, benefits, and even dignity couldn’t top this “most important” priority.

　　Ren Yufeng seemed very satisfied. The corners of his lips slowly curved upward, creating a half mocking, half satisfied smile but soon afterward, his gaze became cold.

　　“Qiu Zhiming, you’re all good, though you think too highly of yourself. However, you indeed haven’t done anything wrong to me, so I won’t torture you.”

　　Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhiming felt his nerves loosening in an instant. He said repeatedly, “Thank you Senior Martial Brother Ren! Thank you Senior Martial Brother Ren!”

　　“Don’t be happy so soon.” Ren Yufeng’s gloomy, cold gaze was once again fixated on him. “What I want to say is—I can allow you to die less painfully!”

　　Qiu Zhiming’s expression froze.

　　Qiu Zhiming’s expression made Ren Yufeng burst out laughing. He said, “Rest assured, both of us were originally mortals with no backgrounds; I won’t torture you. I’ll let you die a painless death.”

　　Qiu Zhiming’s gaze finally changed. His eyes became rounder as he glared, his lips were pursed tightly, and his brows were wrinkled in fury. Apparently realizing that he ultimately wouldn’t be able to escape, his fury flourished. All of a sudden, he stood up, pointing at Ren Yufeng. “Ren Yufeng, you—”

　　“What about me?” Ren Yufeng stopped laughing and stared at Qiu Zhiming contemptuously. “You’ve even knelt before me, but now you still want to lecture me?”

　　Qiu Zhiming flushed and paused for a second. He then shouted angrily, “Senior Martial Brother Ren, you’re obviously already in the late stage of the Foundation Building realm; your prospects of advancing to the Core Formation realm are bright—why did you have to do something like this? Among us, the one with the highest status was you. Was it really all because of Junior Martial Sister Xiahou’s gossip?”

　　“Gossips?” A mocking expression appeared on Ren Yufeng’s face, but it sharply shifted into a fierce one. “I’ve had enough of gossip! What do you think I’ve done, and what do you think I’ve gotten in return? Ever since I entered Zhengfa Sect, I’ve always worked hard to cultivate and develop good relationships with others. My aptitude wasn’t good, but I dare say there were no disciples more hardworking than me!”

　　As his breathing quickened, he started to walk back and forth in front of Qiu Zhiming. “I entered Zhengfa Sect when I was ten years old. I cultivated with my all every day, every night, until I finally succeeded in building my foundation when I was forty years old. I originally thought since I already built my foundation and a Core Formation senior was also willing to accept me as a disciple, my future would be bright and no one would dare to look down on me anymore. But what was the result? What was the result?” His voice grew louder and louder. “Nobody said anything in the open, but as I grew increasingly older, everyone stopped respecting me! They said my aptitude was mediocre, so I certainly wouldn’t advance to the Core Formation realm! Although I advanced to the middle stage and even to the late stage, they still held onto such beliefs! My cultivation eventually got stuck in a rut, so they felt proud; they felt satisfied! They were incredibly proud to see me cultivating every day, every night without any result! In the end, even my most respected master also gave up on me!”

　　After he said all that, Ren Yufeng’s voice became quieter, but it seemed to contain a hopeless sorrow. “I’m not young; I’m already three hundred years old. If I don’t form my Gold Core now, I’ll never have the chance!”