Burning Life essence!

"Please… spare us!"

Plop!

One of them begged, dropping his weapon and falling to his knees, his hands trembling as he pressed them together in a desperate plea for mercy.

But Su Xiaobai's eyes were cold, devoid of pity.

'Mercy? Would you have given me that?' His thoughts were as sharp as the edge of a sword.

"Mercy is for the weak," he said aloud, his voice echoing ominously through the mist. "And I have none to offer."

With a flick of his wrist, the wind intensified, and Su Xiaobai summoned another bolt of lightning.

This time, the two remaining cultivators had no chance to beg or fight back.

The lightning struck with a deafening crack, and the wind tore through them like a hurricane.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Their bodies were reduced to nothing but smoldering remains, the power of the elements overwhelming them entirely.

As the black mist began to clear, the battlefield slowly came into view, revealing a horrific scene.

The bodies of the slain cultivators were strewn across the ground, but they were not alone.

A Devouring Thorny Flower had sprouted from the earth, its dark tendrils coiled around the corpses, dragging them closer to its gaping mouth.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

The flower was a terrifying sight, its petals a deep, blood-red, and its thorns glistening with venom.

It feasted on the dead, the sounds of crunching bones and tearing flesh filling the eerie silence.

Amidst the carnage, Su Xiaobai finally stepped out from the dissipating smoke.

But as the crowd caught sight of him, a collective gasp rippled through the air.

"Look! He's injured!"

There was a sword lodged deep in Su Xiaobai's back, the blade embedded between his shoulder blades, blood oozing from the wound.

His clothes were torn and soaked in crimson, revealing numerous cuts and gashes across his body.

Blood dripped from a nasty gash on his forehead, and bruises covered his arms and chest.

Each step he took left a faint trail of blood behind him.

Despite the severity of his injuries, Su Xiaobai's expression remained cold, his eyes sharp as ever.

But the pain was evident in the way his body trembled slightly with each breath, the agony of his wounds clear despite his stoic demeanor.

"But how? He's still in the Qi Refinement Realm! This shouldn't be possible!" someone in the crowd shouted in disbelief.

"Maybe his bloodline is granting him these powers! But to wield such elemental qi… amazing !"

"Is he even human? Or some kind of divine being in disguise?"

"What are you all staring at?" Su Xiaobai's voice boomed, "Scram! Or I'll refine you all into a pill!"

Gasp!

The threat was enough to send the onlookers into a frenzied panic.

They scattered in all directions, desperate to escape the wrath of the man who had just slaughtered his enemies with such ruthless way.

As the last of the crowd fled, leaving the area deserted, Su Xiaobai finally allowed his composure to falter.

His hand instinctively reached for the sword lodged in his back, but he winced as a fresh wave of pain coursed through him.

"I'm tired of pretending," he muttered under his breath, his voice laced with exhaustion.

Cough!

His body convulsed as he coughed up blood, the crimson droplets staining his already blood-soaked clothes.

Even with his supernatural healing abilities—a gift of his Skyfather lineage—this time was different.

The damage he had sustained was far too severe.

Su Xiaobai glanced down at his trembling hands, feeling the sharp sting of reality sinking in.

'My True Qi… it's been completely depleted,' he thought, his mind flashing back to the desperate moments of the battle.

In cultivation, 'True Qi' is the refined form of qi that cultivators gather and store within their dantian.

It's this energy that powers their techniques, enhances their physical abilities, and allows them to manipulate the elements.

When a cultivator's True Qi runs dry, they are left vulnerable, their techniques shattering, their strength waning.

In a battle, running out of True Qi can mean certain death!

Su Xiaobai had pushed his True Qi to the limit, channeling it through powerful techniques like Thunderbolt and Aeolian Command to overwhelm his opponents.

Each strike, each surge of power had drained him further until there was nothing left but the hollow echo of his exhausted dantian.

'But I couldn't let them see my weakness,' Su Xiaobai reminded himself, recalling the moment when his True Qi finally ran out.

It was then, in the heart of the battle, that he had been forced to make a dangerous decision.

In the world of cultivation, there exist techniques known as Forbidden Arts—methods that tap into powers beyond the natural limits of the body and soul.

These techniques often come at a great cost, sacrificing something vital in exchange for a temporary surge of power.

Among these Forbidden Arts, one of the most feared and dangerous is the refinement of life essence.

'Life essence' is the very foundation of a cultivator's existence, the vital energy that sustains their life force and longevity.

It is closely tied to one's lifespan, and to burn it as fuel is akin to setting fire to the core of one's soul.

Once life essence is depleted, it can never be fully recovered, and the consequences are irreversible—shortened lifespan, weakened vitality, and a permanent scar on the soul.

Yet in that desperate moment, when Su Xiaobai faced certain death, he had no choice but to invoke this forbidden technique.

'I had to refine my own life essence into strength,' he thought grimly, recalling the searing pain that had accompanied the process.

It was like setting his very soul ablaze, the powerful energy tearing through his body, providing him with the strength he needed to continue fighting.

But the price… the price was steep.

Su Xiaobai had felt the burn deep within his dantian, as if a piece of his very being was being consumed by the flames.

The energy he gained was immense, a surge of power that allowed him to strike down his enemies with merciless ruthlessness.

But with each moment, he could feel his life essence slipping away, the years of his life burning like kindling.

'Burning a few years of my life essence… just to keep up appearances,' he thought, a bitter smile crossing his lips.

The earlier strength had been just that—a facade to keep his enemies and the crowd at bay.

Now, with no one watching, the full extent of his weakness was laid bare.

His legs wobbled as the pain intensified, his vision blurring slightly from the loss of blood and the ravages of the Forbidden Art.

'I was only pretending to be strong,' he thought with a weary chuckle. 'But the truth is… I've paid a heavy price.'

Su Xiaobai gritted his teeth and reached behind him, gripping the hilt of the sword still embedded in his back.

Plop!

With a sharp tug, he pulled the blade free, the pain nearly causing him to collapse.

Blood flowed freely from the wound, but he pressed a hand to it, channeling what little healing ability he had left to stem the flow.

'I have to keep moving,' he reminded himself, 'or this victory will mean nothing.'

He could already feel the effects of the Forbidden Art weighing on him.

His body was weaker, his vitality diminished, and though his cultivation might appear strong to others, he knew that his foundation had been scarred. 'This was a last resort… and it's one I can't afford to use again.'

With the battlefield now silent, and his energy nearly depleted, Su Xiaobai cast one last glance at the Devouring Thorny Flower, still feasting on the remains of his enemies. 'A fitting end for them,' he thought before turning away, his steps heavy and unsteady as he began to leave the desolate place behind.

As he walked, the weight of what he had done settled upon him. 'How much time did I just burn? A year? Two? More?'

But in the world of cultivation, survival often comes at a steep price, and Su Xiaobai knew this better than most. 'I'll recover,' he told himself, trying to ignore the doubt that had taken root in his heart. 'But for now, I need to find a place to rest… to heal.'