The three ninja planned to sever Li Wenfeng’s hand, taking both the hand and the gemstone; truly cruel and insane.

Suddenly, the golden light in Li Wenfeng’s hand trembled, and several beams of black light burst out from the golden light cluster, striking first at the three ninja, hitting them all in the face.

Ah... ah...

Horrific screams immediately sounded, and the three ninja dropped their daggers, covering their faces with their hands. Then, a terrifying scene unfolded: when they touched their faces, the skin was torn away, revealing the bleeding flesh underneath.

Even more miserable screams came from the mouths of the three ninja, echoing through the cave and grating everyone’s eardrums. The other ninja were almost frightened to a stupor, staring blankly at their companions’ faces as the flesh peeled away.

However, the gory scene did not last long. Their faces quickly aged and withered, resembling dried corpses. Ultimately, the three lay motionless on the ground, having breathed their last.

At this moment, death was perhaps a great relief for them; being tortured alive was truly a fate worse than death.

The black light also shone on Li Wenfeng, but the golden light on him spared his life. However, each time it shone, the golden light thinned a bit. Even though the golden light temporarily shielded him from the black light, each blast caused a burning pain.

The black light erupted for a few seconds and then suddenly stopped. The ninja exchanged looks, unsure whether to retreat or advance. Li Wenfeng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had finally suppressed the Eye of the Creator.

Just as this thought emerged, the gemstone trembled again. This time, instead of bursting with black light, it emitted a black mist, which broke through the golden light cluster and wound up Li Wenfeng’s arm.

This black mist seemed alive, autonomously seeking out any target it could destroy. The mist spread rapidly, winding its way to his neck, and only then did Li Wenfeng realize how suicidal it was to attempt purifying the Eye of the Creator.

"Help me... help me..." Li Wenfeng began to cry out in terror because he found himself unable to move. He wanted to throw the gemstone away, but it was as if his whole body were immobilized, unable to channel any energy.

This sudden situation startled the ninja into retreating. It wasn’t that they lacked courage, but that the Eye of the Creator was too eerie, and the unknown is what inspires the most fear.

"Master..." Charlotte looked at Lin Tian, hesitating over whether to take the gemstone.

Lin Tian didn’t respond but instead turned his gaze to Xu Feibai before moving. A blurry shadow flashed past, and he appeared in front of Li Wenfeng.

He raised his hand, forming a claw. A purple flame suddenly emerged from his palm, enveloping it. Then, he unhesitatingly reached for the Eye of the Creator.

The black mist seemed to sense the threat and wound around Lin Tian’s hand, but as soon as it touched the purple flame, it was immediately incinerated into nothingness. Lin Tian encountered no hindrance, successfully grasping the gemstone and forcibly pulling it from Li Wenfeng’s hand.

Li Wenfeng instantly collapsed to the ground, convulsing. Lin Tian glanced at him, turned around, and walked back, saying to Xu Feibai, "The Eye of the Creator is mine; the remaining curse power on Li Wenfeng is enough for you."

"Master, that gemstone..." Yasuo looked at the gemstone, then at Xu Feibai, full of reluctance but not daring to seize it.

Xu Feibai glanced at Yasuo with profound meaning: "Lin Tian is right; I only need you to cultivate Gu Worms. Are you so concerned with the gemstone because you plan to use it to gain power and then betray me?"

Startled by Xu Feibai’s gaze, Yasuo thudded to his knees, almost prostrating himself: "I wouldn’t dare... I am utterly loyal to you, Master!"

"Hmph!" Xu Feibai snorted coldly and ignored him, walking instead towards Li Wenfeng.

He too raised his hand, and his palm instantly wreathed in a blood mist, which he grabbed onto Li Wenfeng. The black mist was immediately captured by him, and finally gathered in his palm, turning into a black ball the size of a ping pong ball.

"Lucky for you." Xu Feibai looked down at Li Wenfeng, speaking coldly.

Seeing the crisis averted, Li Wenfeng exhaled in relief, but soon a wave of weakness took over, causing his head to tilt as he fainted. This scion of the Li Family, who thought he was smart and took a reckless risk, ultimately ended up losing by trying to gain, with his powers compromised and the gemstone robbed.

"Charlotte, the Eye of the Creator is yours now." Lin Tian extended his hand, putting the gemstone in front of her. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"You’d better give us the gemstone," San Valley suddenly said.

Before Lin Tian could respond, Xu Feibai walked over, coldly declaring, "If I can’t get the gemstone, what makes you think you can? Are you saying I’m inferior to you all?"

"Our San Valley already explained it to you; if you don’t take it, we naturally will," a short ninja stepped up, retorting at Xu Feibai.

Xu Feibai sneered, shaking his head without even looking at them, instead gesturing at Yasuo. Yasuo, still kneeling on the ground, crawled over to kneel at Xu Feibai’s feet.

"The curse power is yours, and as for nurturing a new Gu Worm, don’t you need blood? Whoever spoke earlier, take that," Xu Feibai casually tossed the black sphere to Yasuo as he spoke.

Yasuo was thrilled; even though the gemstone was gone, this bit of curse power was a consolation. He dared not touch it directly, instead taking out a crystal skull to contain it.

Yasuo stood up, turning to look at the short ninja, who sneered, "Hmph, coward who kneels at a drop of a hat, what are you looking at?"

A trace of bloodthirsty cruelty flashed in Yasuo’s eyes, and he suddenly flicked his hand, shooting a thin black line that landed on the ninja’s face—a tiny worm.

The ninja instinctively tried to wipe it away, but the worm moved, biting through his skin and burrowing into his flesh.

Ah...

A piercing scream erupted as the ninja clawed desperately at his face, rending it into a bloody mess. In no time, his body withered away, becoming a dried corpse, completely silent.

A worm emerged from the dried flesh, having turned from black to blood-red, flying back into Yasuo’s hand. Yasuo turned to look at the other ninja, his eyes bloodthirsty. Terrified, they shuddered and collectively turned to flee out of the cave.

"Ignore them. Charlotte, quickly absorb the power of the Eye of the Creator," Lin Tian said once more, dismissing the ninja as trivial.

Charlotte, excited, brandished two daggers, each swirling with black mist, slashing at Lin Tian’s hand. Naturally, she wasn’t trying to harm Lin Tian, but rather the Eye of the Creator he held.

Upon contact with the gemstone, the two streams of black mist merged. Then black mist continually flowed from the gemstone, being absorbed by the Soul-devouring Blade. Before long, there was a soft crack, and the gemstone shattered into fine powder; its power completely absorbed, it became useless.

"Only one left," Charlotte said excitedly, looking at the dagger in her hand.