The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

No restrictions on killing!

The second trial of Kunyun Palace actually permitted killing!

The corners of Qin Ya’s mouth curled up slightly, his eyes glinting with an extreme coldness. Like the sharpest blades in the world, his gaze pierced Xuer Kong, who stood not far away.

"You better pray you don’t run into me."

Xuer Kong’s body trembled slightly, and his skin prickled as if stung. Forcibly suppressing the chill in his heart, he grinned, his killing intent intensifying. A blood-red mist began to emanate from him, evoking a hellish scene—an Asura standing over a mountain of corpses in a sea of blood.

"The same goes for you. Otherwise, I’ll be sure to avenge that palm strike from a month ago."

"Then we’ll just have to wait and see."

Qin Ya knew that in a contest of pure strength, Xuer Kong was no match for him. The fact that he dared to act so brazenly meant he must have some ace up his sleeve.

"Young Master, this man is not to be trifled with. Perhaps we should..."

Just as the old man behind Xuer Kong was about to offer some counsel, Xuer Kong waved him off. His voice was laced with a vicious edge as he said, "Don’t forget, I still have *that* thing."

At the mention of "that thing," the old man’s body trembled slightly, and he said no more.

Xu Zhenhong cast a seemingly casual glance at Qin Ya and Xuer Kong, then announced in a heavy voice, "The second trial permits killing. You are all on your own."

Like streaks of flowing light, the crowd scattered, each choosing a different cave entrance to enter.

"Brother Muh, catch."

Qin Ya took out a bottle of Ninth-Grade Healing Elixir and tossed it to Muh Qing.

"Heh, thanks."

Muh Qing hesitated for a moment, but then grinned and tucked it into his Storage Ring.

’Brother Qin has plenty of Elixirs anyway,’ he mumbled to himself. ’What’s one bottle?’

SWOOSH! Suddenly, a streak of blood-red light shot into the mountain.

Seeing this, Qin Ya’s eyes narrowed and he followed close behind. But upon entering the tunnel, he found himself facing a three-way fork. Xuer Kong’s figure was nowhere to be seen. He extended his Divine Thought, but his perception was limited to about a thousand feet.

’A massive labyrinth that can restrict Divine Thought... Interesting.’

A small smile played on Qin Ya’s lips. He chose a passage and entered. The labyrinth was intricate and complex; every tunnel ended in several more forks. Combined with the restriction on his Divine Thought, the maze proved to be quite a hassle.

No wonder Xu Zhenhong had said that without the guidance of a Sword Artifact, finding their way out on their own would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens. As Qin Ya walked, he left a mark at every fork to avoid going in circles. Even so, he still found himself backtracking several times, much to his annoyance.

’A patternless maze. What a pain.’

Qin Ya took a deep breath and unleashed his Mysterious Speed, attempting to simply barrel through the labyrinth. The effect, however, was negligible. Frustrated, Qin Ya stopped and slammed a palm against the tunnel wall.

BOOM! Only a small pit appeared on the wall.

That palm from Qin Ya could split mountains and shatter peaks. He never expected the wall, constructed from some unknown material, to be so incredibly hard that it could withstand the blow.

CRACK...

Just then, a strange sound echoed through the dark tunnel.

Qin Ya tensed, instantly on guard. He spread his Divine Thought and saw more than a dozen Fierce Beasts, each the size of a human head and resembling a black hound, streaking toward him at incredible speed.

In the blink of an eye, the dozen or so black hound-like Fierce Beasts were upon him.

Their mouths were filled with a dense crisscross of fangs, their fur was like iron needles, and their eyes were as scarlet as blood. A rotten stench wafted from their gaping maws.

ROAR.

With a snarl, the small but incredibly ferocious black hounds lunged at Qin Ya. His brows furrowed slightly. In a flash, he moved, his speed like that of a ghostly phantom. The hounds were fast, their speed rivaling that of an Extraordinary Martial Artist.

But how could they possibly compare to Qin Ya? In the hounds’ scarlet eyes, Qin Ya’s figure vanished in an instant. Their own momentum sent them tumbling to the ground.

Qin Ya gave an indifferent smile and casually waved his palm.

A majestic wave of Palm Qi, imbued with Thunder Power, erupted outwards. The dozen or so black hounds were violently thrown back against the wall, arcs of lightning crackling over their bodies. Yet, they simply shook themselves and got back up, baring their fangs once more.

As if enraged, they let out a series of low growls.

Qin Ya was somewhat surprised. Although his last palm strike was casual, its power was more than enough to kill an Extraordinary. He hadn’t expected the black hounds’ bodies to be so tough that they could take a direct hit and remain unharmed.

’Let’s see just how tough you really are, then.’

Qin Ya drew his white spear and charged. With a single thrust, he pinned one of the black hounds to the wall. CLANG! The impact of spear on beast sounded like metal striking metal. Pinned to the wall, the hound was still full of life, its limbs flailing as it snarled and bared its fangs.

’This is a Ninth-Grade Profound Soldier. It’s incredibly sharp—cutting through gold and shattering jade is a simple matter for it. I can’t believe this hound has such a monstrously tough body.’

A flicker of surprise crossed Qin Ya’s eyes. Then, the Ting Xiao Sword at his waist vibrated gently, and a voice emerged from it, "Black-Gold Dogs. Their bodies are as hard as steel, and they feed on metal as if it were stone. I am surprised to see such a peculiar Fierce Beast in this place."

Seeing their companion subdued, the other dozen Black-Gold Dogs roared and pounced as one. Qin Ya dodged in a flash, simultaneously sweeping out with his spear. A dense flurry of spear shadows instantly struck the hounds, producing a continuous series of metallic clangs, like a torrential downpour on a tin roof...

However, the Black-Gold Dogs’ bodies were so resilient that they only sustained minor injuries. Still full of vigor, they charged at Qin Ya with reckless abandon, looking as if they wouldn’t stop until they had torn him to shreds. Qin Ya’s brow twitched, and he let out a cold snort.

A storm of violent Thunder filled the tunnel. In an instant, hundreds of Thunder Spears materialized, radiating a ferocious power as they rained down upon the dozen Black-Gold Dogs. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Amidst the thunderous explosions, the hounds let out continuous howls of pain.

When the Thunder dissipated, the Black-Gold Dogs were charred black. They shot a fearful glance at Qin Ya, let out a low whimper, and hastily retreated. Qin Ya himself was momentarily stunned. That attack should have been powerful enough to obliterate an ordinary practitioner at the Celestial Human Realm. He never imagined that not only would these dozen Black-Gold Dogs survive, but they didn’t even appear to be seriously injured.

He glanced at his spear, now covered in bite marks, and couldn’t help but marvel. ’So the part about them eating metal and stone wasn’t just talk. If one of these bit a person, it could probably chew right through a Celestial Human’s True Essence Body Protection Shield... Tsk, tsk... Huh?’

A flash of inspiration struck Qin Ya. ’They feed on metal and stone...’

He moved in a flash, thrusting his spear into the tunnel wall. With a CLANG, the spearhead sank halfway in. As he withdrew it, grayish fragments crumbled to the ground. Qin Ya looked closely and saw that it was some kind of hard mineral.

"’So the inside of this mountain contains metallic ores. No wonder the Black-Gold Beasts settled here. I wonder what else this labyrinth holds... And then there’s the rule about killing being permitted.’" A faint smile touched Qin Ya’s lips, his eyes flashing with a cold light. He put away his spear, and his figure shot off like a streak of white light.