A head rolled and fell, landing at Chen Xia's feet.
The fighting before his eyes had undoubtedly reached a fever pitch, with increasing numbers of cultivators falling dead or wounded.
However, none of the twelve Heaven Mending Realm masters had yet appeared injured since the backlash from the half-severed immortal sword. Feeling that the sword had become somewhat rebellious, they had lost interest in vying for it.
The Great Elder had indeed suffered heavy injuries, though he still had strength to counterattack, he no longer posed much of a threat.
What concerned them more now was the change happening with the Quasi-Saint ruins.
Spiritual energy flowed strangely, sinking down towards their feet.
They were all widely learned Heaven Mending Realm masters, naturally able to guess what this signified - the long sought after true Quasi-Saint ruins were about to appear.
This was more important than a half sword that could backlash.
Furthermore, the true opening of the Quasi-Saint ruins - whether by fortune or danger - could not be taken lightly.
Within the Great Death Realm, dangerous ruins were numerous. Sometimes, a single ruin could wipe out all the cultivators who went to explore it.
As casualties mounted, the frenzied fighting slowly calmed.
The cultivators became more concerned with the flowing spiritual energy.
And the last person had arrived on scene.
The blue-robed figure kicked aside the head in front of him. The crimson glow in his left eye appeared somewhat evil, a faint smile playing on his lips as he chuckled at the Great Elder.
"It doesn't look it'll take thirty years."
The Great Elder, clutching his severed arm, had felt his mind quaver and expression darken since the moment Chen Xia appeared. He roared furiously,
"You still dare show up before me, do you really not fear death?!"
Chen Xia maintained his grin, nodding. "Arrogantly complacent yet weak in ability - no different from the other cultivators I've killed. I must say, you guys are really good at overestimating yourselves."
With his broken arm, the Great Elder couldn't free up a hand to kill Chen Xia on the spot. He could only glower darkly and growl in a low voice.
"If not for this ambush and heavy injuries today, I would crush your soul where you stand!"
"Really?" Chen Xia chuckled lightly, then suddenly whistled and beckoned with his hand.
The half-severed immortal sword suspended above abruptly plummeted down beside him.
At this, all the gathered cultivators were left completely shocked beyond belief.
Chen Xia counted down the seconds, speaking slowly. "A simple scheme with a huge bait was enough to inevitably lure you to take the hook, leaving you in your current state."
"It wasn't that my scheme was particularly ingenious itself, just that the bait was too big for you not to take. The reason being your distorted personality - incapable yet unable to stand the success of others."
The Great Elder's expression had darkened extremely, his mind state not just unstable, but starting to jump around. For a moment, he even thought of trading his life for Chen Xia's.
Hearing these words from Chen Xia, the gathered cultivators were left with expressions of unprecedented shock.
In Chen Xia's telling, they had been schemed against by a mere Heaven Returning Realm cultivator?!
Could it get any more preposterous?
The crimson color in Chen Xia's left eye grew increasingly rich, until it finally overflowed, slender tendrils extending outwards full of evil aura.
"I can hear the voice of the spiritual energy..."
"It's time."
He uttered softly, while at the same time holding a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture.
Behind him, greyish mists gradually diffused, like the curtain drawing closed before the final act, soon to obscure his figure.
The only bright spot left was a slash of crimson glow.
"Follow me..." he uttered.
"Descend!"
Space suddenly collapsed and the cultivators all fell.
Heading deeper within!
Into the realm!
Wang Yangzi waited by the Star Gates for the second phase opening of the Great Death Realm.
Every great epoch opening of the Great Death Realm was divided into two phases.
The first phase was only open to Quasi-Saints and under, serving as a trial ground for the top geniuses of each realm and greater heaven, allowing them to seek fortune amidst the many ruins.
With sufficient talent and luck, it was possible for these outstanding geniuses - after overcoming the perils of the Great Death Realm - to directly step past the Heaven Mending Realm and achieve Quasi-Sainthood, transforming from the top geniuses into the top powers.
The 'Saint' character represented entry into a whole new domain, with comprehensions far beyond what those of the Heaven Mending Realm could compare to.
This was the first phase skirmishes of the Great Death Realm's opening, just child's play.
The second phase represented the top powers of each realm and stars of the greater heavens entering the fray.
With such peak combatants exchanging blows, no one below the Saint Realm dared set foot here, and even some ancient Saints and Quasi-Emperors would make appearances.
By the final phase, what occurred was a rare sight even once an epoch - the battle of Emperors.
This represented a clash at the pinnacle of power, not even Saints or Quasi-Emperors had the qualifications to interfere.
Of course, this was certainly not something Wang Yangzi needed to be concerned about. His duty was merely to receive the Interface's cultivators after the second phase opened.
The group of Interface cultivators entering the Great Death Realm's fray this time could be considered a rather luxurious lineup. The leader, Great Elder, was himself once a top genius with formidable strength at the peak of Heaven Mending Realm masters.
The other cultivators accompanying him were also one in a million true top geniuses.
Additionally there was Chen Xia, this cultivator of passable strength but grandmaster alchemist, as well as Ma Xiaohong, an ace arranged at great effort.
Looking at it this way, their harvests from the Great Death Realm should not be too shabby, obtaining decent rankings among the Quasi-Saints.
The only thing Wang Yangzi felt slightly worried about was Chen Xia not getting along well with those other genius cultivators.
These Heaven Mending Realm geniuses represented the cream of the crop in the Interface, long accustomed to arrogance and dominance. They only bothered with pleasantries among those of similar status. Although Chen Xia's records showed victory over a Heaven Mending Realm fifth heaven cultivator, he was after all still only at the Heaven Returning Realm. It would be difficult to avoid looking down on him.
If looked down upon, isolation might follow and group atmosphere could turn negative.
Wang Yangzi sighed. He could only hope the Great Elder leading them could smooth out tensions and prevent too much awkwardness developing.
He persuaded himself not to overthink things. Perhaps after associating together for a period, once familiarity developed, contempt and estrangement would disappear. Moreover, empathy tended to grow in perilous life-or-death circumstances. It was possible that upon returning, strong camaraderie would have formed between them.
Wang Yangzi was right in part of his guess, but also wrong halfway.
There was contempt, there was danger to life, but no camaraderie developed.
It wasn't that the Interface cultivators had done wrong per se, just that they had encountered a truly ruthless character.