Mo Jian sat exhausted on a broken wall as he watched the now-quiet ruin.
His last action—turning the Sunlight Dispersion Array into an Ember Flame Dispersion Array—was a risky move.
A dangerous gamble, but it paid off.
The Nether Gate Formation used strong yin energy to open a gateway to the demon world, but he had reversed it.
Instead of allowing the formation to gather yin energy, he replaced it with the yang energy of the Ember Flame.
Thus, the formation turned into a hellfire.
"Young Master, the sun is rising!" the young man shouted with a bright smile on his face.
Their ordeal through the night had nearly given him a mental breakdown. Seeing the sun brought a breath of freshness.
More importantly, they could finally return to the border.
"I see..." Mo Jian nodded. "Go back and wait for me."
When the two men heard they could leave, they breathed a sigh of relief and departed with large strides.
As for what Mo Jian intended to do, they did not care. Right now, all they wanted was to return to the border and enjoy their hard-earned reward.
Mo Jian did not dilly-dally after they left. He stood, and a light groan escaped from his lips.
Though he had taken a healing pill and a recovery pill, his injuries were too severe to heal quickly.
He took out the Pulse-Seeking Compass and activated it. Instantly, the compass vibrated and pointed to the center of the ruin.
"I knew it!" Mo Jian nodded.
Such a powerful Tier-2 array would need a strong energy source. Quickly, he began to dig, creating a tunnel.
An hour later, he found the spirit vein. Compared to the one on the hill, this was much smaller, and its purity could not compare at all.
Without the Nether Gate Formation, the spirit vein would have been close to a high-grade middle spirit vein, but now, it had dropped to a low-grade middle spirit vein.
Still, he was quite pleased.
He took out the array flags and began setting up the Five Element Sealing Formation, the Concealing Array, and the Spirit Essence Transfer Array.
With the arrays in place, he left the tunnel and sealed it. Apart from that, he attacked the nearby ruins to cover his actions.
With that, he left the ruin at the best speed he could muster.
An hour after his departure, an old, withered man appeared in the sky, looking down at the empty ruin in shock and confusion.
"What happened?" His voice was hoarse and eerie.
"Where are my minions?"
His deep, hollow eyes scanned the ruins, but he could not find anyone. Veins protrude on his withered forehead, and he howled in anger.
He had planned for decades just for a chance to advance to the Nascent Soul, but now, everything was in vain.
The Nether Gate Formation had been destroyed.
"No matter who you are... I will catch you and make you beg for death." A devilish grin appeared on his face, revealing two missing teeth.
He did not believe that, in this small and backward western region, he would fail to find the one responsible for the destruction of his formation.
With that, he disappeared.
Shortly after, he appeared over the Dust Valley Sect outpost. He was surprised to see bustling activity at the border.
"What’s going on?" He was confused.
When did such a town appear?
He squinted, watching the happy mortals for a moment, then sneered. "The Dust Valley Sect is behind the destruction of the formation. Hmph!"
"If not for that old guy, I would have destroyed you long ago. But just wait—all of you will become a tonic for my breakthrough."
Thinking of his backup plan, a sinister grin spread across his face, and he vanished.
Unaware of the old man’s presence over the outpost, Mo Jian was rushing back to the border. Three hours later, he arrived, drenched in sweat.
He returned to his room in the Blood Fury Arena, took a cold bath, and fell asleep.
Six hours later, Mo Jian woke up refreshed, his injuries almost fully recovered.
"Were there any changes while I was gone?" Mo Jian asked, seated behind an expensive wooden table, looking at his assistant.
"Yes, Young Master," Hao Yang replied respectfully. "In the Foundation Realm, we have the first person to achieve a ten-win streak."
"Really?!" Mo Jian was shocked. He had not expected a ten-win streak to appear this quickly.
"Yes, Young Master. His name is Peng Zhao, a core disciple."
"Good, good. How were our sales? And did he challenge the twenty-win streak?"
"No, he left decisively. But many of his fans have been clamoring for his return."
When Mo Jian heard this, he creased his brow and pondered for a moment.
"We can’t lose our cash cow. Invite five powerful Foundation Realm warriors to challenge him. I don’t care if they win or lose," he instructed.
"Just make sure Peng Zhao continues to fight." He paused, tapping the wooden table, then added, "Spread the challenge throughout the region. Also, how’s the betting pool?"
Hao Yang’s smile deepened upon hearing Mo Jian’s plan. Under such a nasty scheme, how could anyone remain calm?
"Young Master, your idea of betting is pure genius. Our daily profit is over one million spirit stones."
"Hahahaha!" Mo Jian laughed, attempting to stroke his beard like a wise expert—only to realize he had no beard.
Hao Yang chuckled and averted his gaze, amused by Mo Jian’s comical gesture.
"Ahem!" Mo Jian cleared his throat, realizing how foolish he looked. "Get me the construction company. We have a new project at hand."
"Yes, Young Master," Hao Yang bowed and left the room.
Ten minutes later, a middle-aged man entered. "Young Master, you called for me?"
"Yes," Mo Jian nodded. "How long will it take you to build a ten-story building, three five-story buildings, and more?"
When the middle-aged man heard this, he froze for a moment, his jaw slightly dropping.
When he recovered from his shock, he cleared his throat and asked in a trembling voice,
"Young Master... where are you building them?"
"Around five to ten kilometers inside the forest."