Chapter 117: The Essence of Martial Arts is Plunder

"Blood Suppresses Mountains and Rivers!"

Baili Feihong clenched his fist, unleashing his most formidable divine ability. A sea of blood essence surged from his center, spreading outwards, staining the grey and white Mirror Corridor into a bloody hue. The entire firmament, the earth, and the void itself seemed to burn, melting everything before his eyes. Massive plumes of black smoke unfurled and dissipated.

Just as Baili Feihong, his fighting spirit surging, prepared to obliterate the Shadows of Desire with a single punch, the melted Mirror Corridor began to knit itself back together. Under the impact of his blood essence, the Shadows of Desire transformed into threads filling the sky. Like seven-colored clouds permeating the void, their brilliant and eerie hues took over the entire corridor.

He did not release the power gathered in his fist. He did not know if his strength could penetrate the Mirror Corridor and strike into reality. If this punch landed, Fireworks Lane would truly become fireworks—a moment of brilliance followed by absolute extinction.

He withdrew his fist.

His blood essence, radiant as the sun, bloomed with infinite light, shaking the heavens and earth as he sought to break through this prison. He could have shattered the sky with a single blow, but he hesitated.

"Mastering the power of desire, have you also mastered my weaknesses?"

"You are so certain you have me in your grasp? Fine then, let us see who consumes whom. Will I be swallowed by desire, or will I devour you as my dessert?"

The brilliance of the sky, where desire turned into threads woven into a net, pressed down upon Baili Feihong’s blood essence. After several minutes of back-and-forth struggle, Baili Feihong abandoned this method of annihilation. His blood essence calmed, and everything before him restored itself as if nothing had happened.

"It is not that you do not fear the blood essence; you have grown weak."

Baili Feihong flashed a brilliant smile. Employing the *Fable of the Carefree Wanderer*, his figure flickered like a ghost, flashing several times until he reached the end of the street—the ninety-eighth layer.

"Since you cannot harm me, then I shall show no mercy."

At this moment, the ninety-eighth layer of the Mirror Corridor turned into grey, distorted nothingness. It was a hazy void, devoid of scenery. There was no path to run to the end. There was no sound in his ears. His vision had no origin and no color, as if his eyes were closed. His breath could no longer smell the air. His five senses seemed to have vanished in that instant.

"Kunpeng Escape Technique, Wings Flapping Nine Heavens!"

Stepping forward, Baili Feihong unleashed his divine ability without hesitation. With a single leap, he traveled a thousand miles, unstoppable.

With another flash, everything before his eyes returned to normal. He stood in Fireworks Lane, amidst the heavens and earth; Feiyuan Island was as clear as ever. Yet, he knew he had not escaped the Mirror Corridor. Because, deep down, he had never intended to escape. When he unleashed his technique, he had only one thought: to bring himself to the very heart of the Mirror Corridor.

People came and went, bustling with life. The illusions were as real as the truth.

"Is this your true foundation?"

Baili Feihong’s expression turned cold. "You truly have manifested everything I hold dear."

This unknown, mysterious existence was like a deity. He had never imagined that a powerful entity could forge the entirety of Feiyuan Island to be so indistinguishable from reality. Destruction is easy; creation is difficult. Who, other than the legendary Immortals, could possess such great power?

The five realms of martial arts: Refining the Body, the Origin Embryo Realm, the Divine Ability Realm, the Dharma Aspect Realm, and the Dao Integration/Heaven Opening Realm.

Baili Feihong, realizing he was trapped in a phantom, was deeply shaken. Even if it were an illusion, the ability to manifest it this way already touched upon a trace of the mystery of creation.

"What exactly are you, mysterious entity?"

The Demon Suppression Office was empty; no one could give him the answer. The six elders were experienced, but their realms and strength were ultimately too low. They might not know of such mysteries. Did the Southern Navy know?

Baili Feihong pondered for a moment. He believed they should. The Southern Navy had seized Feiyuan Island. Once, it had been a forbidden land for sea merchants. There had been primitive tribes on the island, but given the nature of merchants and pirates, they would have looted and occupied it long ago if they could. The only answer was the presence of this terror, which forced those greedy souls to take a wide detour.

In his mind, thoughts raced. But Baili Feihong’s Dao heart remained unshaken. He still believed that the power of any existence was finite. "Infinite" is merely a term for the boundless. If such an entity truly existed, even the sun would pale before it.

He reached out and touched the wall of the Yihong Brothel.

"Cauldron of All-Origin!"

Within his dantian, the Cauldron of All-Origin rotated slowly, then faster and faster. Inch by inch, divine light burst from Baili Feihong’s body, dense as the stars. His acupoints became like cauldrons, swallowing everything in the four directions. In a single breath, the grand Yihong Brothel vanished, absorbed into his body.

"As I expected. All things are manifestations of the mysterious power. Hard-hitting divine abilities are not the best way to solve this. This martial arts supreme technique is."

*The Six Paths are hidden, suppressing all ages. All things return to the flow, into the Origin Cauldron.*

With one step, the earth beneath his feet turned to nothingness. The divine light from his body, radiating from his acupuncture points, illuminated this realm, manifesting as a giant cauldron. The cauldron hung above his head, its mouth a deep abyss, refining all things into the Mother Qi of the Origin Cauldron. The jade-white walls of the cauldron, covered in mysterious, mottled patterns, began to strengthen, turning into a deep, ink-like cyan. The cauldron felt more substantial.

Rolling Mother Qi boiled within, intertwining with his blood essence to refine his physique. With every step, Baili Feihong’s aura grew stronger, and the world around him dimmed.

"Kill him!"
"Kill the demon!"
"Kill this devil!"

In the Mirror Corridor, the million-strong crowd stared at the man beneath the giant cauldron, their eyes burning with yellow flames. "It is him! He is the one destroying all beauty!"

Hatred, like black ink and flaming smoke, engulfed their bodies and surged toward Baili Feihong.

"Well come."

He channeled his blood essence, releasing it entirely into the Cauldron of All-Origin. The blood essence acted like fire, boiling the cauldron. The Cauldron of All-Origin rotated, turning reality into void. The illusions of the masses dissolved into a torrent, flowing into the cauldron. Boiled by the fire of blood essence, they became his sustenance.

At this moment, Baili Feihong wanted to roar with laughter. After spending massive amounts of skill points and risking the destruction of his *Six Paths Demon Suppression Scripture* to derive this martial art through the *Blood Origin Technique*, it had finally revealed its true essence: Plunder, Refine, Return to Origin!

This was the core. The essence of any technique is to absorb the energy of heaven and earth to nourish oneself. This aligned perfectly with the philosophy of the Cauldron of All-Origin.

Baili Feihong’s greatest capital for this plunder was his body’s acupoints—the bridges connecting him to heaven and earth, and the reservoirs for his energy. With 365 bridges and 365 divine storehouses, he pushed his physical potential to the limit. Whatever he saw was plundered and refined.

Black fear and desire spread. The Feiyuan Island created by the mysterious entity underwent a bizarre transformation, turning into the color of terror.

"Do you feel fear?"

"What a powerful existence. Blessed by heaven and earth, born with the essence of a demigod. With enough time to grow, you could reach a peak that most humans could never attain."

Baili Feihong’s voice was like a chant, piercing through the illusion to reach the ears of the mysterious entity.

"No matter how fierce the gods and demons, no matter how the monsters ravage, no matter how the demigods control the hearts of men—it cannot change the fact that humanity governs this earth and created the mortal realm."

"As long as the Demon Suppression Office exists, you will never be able to raise your heads."

His voice grew cold. The giant cauldron swallowed everything, sweeping through the ninety-nine layers of the Mirror Corridor. The core of the corridor collapsed; the ninety-eight layers of reflected images, like duckweed without roots, could not withstand Baili Feihong’s plunder.

The Mother Qi of the Origin Cauldron fused into every corner of his body; his very pores emitted pure primal power. The Cauldron of All-Origin was growing stronger, and so was he.

"My heart... is broken..."

Inside the Yihong Brothel, the mysterious, uncanny figures looked up at their companions. The storm quietly subsided, the mountains and forests fell into silence, and the shadows of the night vanished. The spirits that leaped between heaven and earth returned to their lairs and fell into a deep sleep. Spirits possess a sensitivity to danger surpassing any human. This human radiated an aura and possessed a bizarre ability that could truly kill them. For the first time, their lives were under lethal threat.

Terror spread in their hearts. A feeling they had never known compelled them to flee instinctively.

The mysterious figure sighed faintly. It removed its head, which dissolved into a mist, traveling across Feiyuan Island and sinking into the depths of the West Island. Having lost half of its demigod body, it had been swept clean, becoming someone else’s sustenance. They had always been the ones to plunder humanity, to gain sustenance and enjoy their nature. Now, it was the other way around.

Baili Feihong opened his eyes again to see the familiar streets. The giant cauldron vision vanished, and his divine light retreated into his body.

*Rumble.*

Thunder rolled, and a sudden downpour drenched him. He did not repel the rain. The icy touch of the water on his skin brought a sense of rebirth to his perceptions. He took a deep breath, and the air tasted sweet.

"The mortal world is truly wonderful."

The mysterious entity had fled. The loss of power was enough to keep her from manifesting for decades, perhaps even a century. Having lost her core, she might fade into a lower form just to survive in this world.

"Find the mysterious entity and destroy them."

The cold rain could not extinguish the rage in his heart. He was Baili Feihong, a Garrison Commander of the Demon Suppression Office. To be attacked by unknown monsters—this was an affront to the heavens. He had always been the one to hunt them; when had they ever dared to come to his doorstep to bully him?

What truly made Baili Feihong resolute was that his tried-and-true "Blood Suppresses Mountains and Rivers" had not solved everything. If it could truly suppress all things, there would be countless blood-refiners in the world, all digging deep into the path of blood refinement.

He rested his left hand on his blade, stepping through the puddles as he walked slowly down Fireworks Lane. His figure gradually vanished into the night.

Long after, the street in front of the Yihong Brothel was silent and empty in the rainy night.

***

At the Governor's Mansion, Yan Fei held a piece of paper, his eyes fixed on the contents.

*[The Garrison Commander has left Fireworks Lane.]*

He burned the note immediately. Had they failed? Was the prophecy wrong? The prophecy was correct; it was the people who had misjudged. He had defeated the taboo overlord of the West Island, the Demigod of Desire. Who was this man?

For the first sixteen years, he was unknown. He joined a martial arts school, and thanks to Gongyang Yan’s expansion, he joined the Demon Suppression Office. As a trainee, he was appreciated by Gongyang Yan, who bestowed upon him the *Six Paths Demon Suppression Scripture*. From then on, his life seemed to be powered by a cheat. In just half a year, he had leaped to become a top-tier expert. Even the children of Saintly Clans and sect prodigies paled before him.

A desire suddenly surged in Yan Fei’s heart: to have Baili Feihong promoted quickly and sent far away from Feiyuan Island.

"Perhaps, this fellow should be promoted all the way to the feet of the Emperor, so his arrogant nature can be suppressed."

Unless they used the full foundation of the Southern Navy and paid the price of half of Feiyuan Island, they might not be able to kill Baili Feihong. Other than that, the best way was to promote him and send this plague god away.

A few days ago, Yan Fei had not been worried. The Demigod of Desire’s strength and uncanny nature lay in the fact that she did not fight directly, but her special ability, the Mirror Corridor, could trap any expert to death.

"Calculating the time, the naval battle in the Devil’s Strait has already begun." He looked at the clock. The plan was starting. The face that the Southern Navy had lost must be reclaimed.

***

"How did he break the Mirror Corridor of the Demigod of Desire?"

The shock on the face of Wang Qinyu, the brothel owner, had not yet faded. She had released the criminals and monsters from the North Island prison, and all of them had been slaughtered by the Garrison Commander. Now, he had provoked the ancient Four Gods of Feiyuan Island and defeated the Demigod of Desire. As a practitioner of the Flower School, she understood the terror of that ability.

"Wang Qin, has news come?" Chen Tao knocked on her door.

"Baili Feihong has left Fireworks Lane and returned to the Demon Suppression Building," she replied.

"What? The Four Gods of Feiyuan Island moved, and they couldn't capture him?"

"The Demigod of Desire was nearly killed by him. Do you think the remaining three ancient taboos can handle him?" Wang Qin whispered.

"It seems we must change our strategy. By the way, can we find that old immortal, Nangong Zhen?" Chen Tao narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.