Because the Blood Slaughter Three Demons were well and truly dead,

the disguises on their faces had vanished, revealing their original appearances.

And so,

when passing Cultivators saw the bodies of the Blood Slaughter Three Demons hanging from the flagpole at the entrance of Dawan Village, they were all astonished.

They immediately began asking questions and learned from the villagers a modified version of what had happened.

Afterward, as these passing Cultivators departed,

the news—that the Blood Slaughter Three Demons, who had been a scourge for many years, had been completely annihilated in one fell swoop—began to spread to the outside world.

As expected, this news caused quite a stir.

The Blood Slaughter Three Demons had run rampant for years, their crimes innumerable.

Many Cultivators had been their direct victims.

This was because among ordinary Tribulation Cultivators at the Qi Introduction Late Stage, there was an unspoken, unwritten rule: they rarely attacked the numerous Minor Immortal Cultivation Clans scattered throughout the wilderness.

Not only did these Minor Immortal Cultivation Clans offer little profit, but they were also weak. There was simply no point in bullying the powerless.

Even Tribulation Cultivators had some semblance of a code.

Of course,

it was also possible that causing too much bloodshed could provoke a full-scale pursuit from higher-level powers, which was a thankless task.

But whatever the reason, it was a fact that powerful Tribulation Cultivators rarely launched destructive attacks on the weak Immortal Cultivation Forces scattered across the land.

However,

the Blood Slaughter Three Demons were undoubtedly an exception.

They could massacre entire mortal towns without a flicker of emotion,

so why would they possibly feel any so-called mercy for those weak Immortal Cultivation Forces and scattered villages, and let them off the hook?

Of course not! They would strip them bare!

They’d take every last Spirit Stone!

The trio had caused more than one bloodbath in the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

Many small villages were annihilated during their rampages, their inhabitants’ blood and Divine Souls stuffed into the Blood Evil Gourd to become its nourishment.

As a result,

in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, the trio were essentially public enemies that everyone wanted to hunt down!

But even so,

the three of them had managed to live freely for many years without suffering any misfortune.

Even a Cultivator at the Qi Introduction Eighth Layer who ran into them was unable to capture them, and was instead wounded and forced to flee.

This showed

just how troublesome the Blood Slaughter Three Demons were.

And yet,

a group of Tribulation Cultivators this vicious and cunning had fallen to an obscure little mountain village?!

Oh,

no, wait!

Dawan Village wasn’t completely unknown.

After all, the previous incident there had caused quite a commotion. Even Loose Cultivators from the outside world had heard something about it, so it did have some fame.

But none of that was really important.

What mattered was that the Blood Slaughter Three Demons had fallen!

Fallen at the hands of a small village, when no one was even aware of it!

For the small villages and small cultivation forces that lived in constant fear in the regions where the Blood Slaughter Three Demons operated, this news was like having a massive weight lifted from their hearts!

It also made some of the victims who had been lucky enough to survive

fall to their knees and weep with joy.

Even the many other Cultivators in the nearby Immortal Cultivation Realm, those who had never been harmed by the trio, were discussing the matter animatedly.

The general consensus was to applaud and cheer.

After all, no one wanted to encounter madmen like the Blood Slaughter Three Demons, who had made themselves public enemies among Cultivators.

As a result,

the reputation of Dawan Village began to spread.

Some Cultivators were already planning to journey there to see the trio’s corpses for themselves.

This undoubtedly brought a great deal of traffic to Dawan Village.

And in the midst of all this,

although Shen Changchuan’s name also circulated somewhat,

it actually drew very little attention.

After all, he was merely at the Qi Introduction Fourth or Fifth Layer; he had dealt with the Blood Slaughter Three Demons by relying on hired help.

Given his status as a member of the Tian Nan Shen Clan, hiring a few helpers at the Qi Introduction Late Stage was not a difficult task.

Few of the people who heard the news paid any attention to Shen Changchuan’s existence.

Unless one deliberately inquired, they wouldn’t even know his name.

Compared to the enormous waves stirred up by the deaths of the Blood Slaughter Three Demons,

Shen Changchuan’s name was but a tiny splash in that great wave.

This fit perfectly with Shen Changchuan’s initial desire to keep a low profile.

...

「In the Border Desolate Land」

When some of the out-of-town Cultivators who had come for the Cyan Essence Water Grass heard the news about the deaths of the Blood Slaughter Three Demons,

they secretly raised their assessment of Dawan Village’s threat level.

’The master of Dawan Village might not be that strong himself,’

’but his Shen Family has extensive connections.’

’He can casually hire helpers at the Qi Introduction Late Stage. If we’re going to do anything, we should do our best to avoid that place called Dawan Village.’

Some of the more audacious and reckless types

also reined in their ambitions a little.

’Even wily old scoundrels like the Blood Slaughter Three Demons were taken down.’

’Best not to go looking for trouble.’

Thus,

while some Cultivators rejoiced, the news also achieved its purpose of deterring potential enemies.

「Meanwhile, in a certain location」

Unlike the outside world, where people were either celebrating the deaths of the Blood Slaughter Three Demons or growing wary,

when the news arrived,

this place instantly fell deathly silent.

The atmosphere grew taut.

The face of the Alliance Leader of the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance, seated at the head of the room, was ashen.

Below him, a figure known to the outside world as the formidable Sixth Master was now drenched in a cold sweat. He faced the silhouette of his "Big Brother" in the head seat, not daring to lift his head.

’A total disaster!’

’Who could have imagined that kid would be so damn cunning?!’

’He laid an ambush in the village ahead of time, and the Blood Slaughter Three Demons—whom I went through so much trouble to contact and paid a huge sum of Spirit Stones—walked right into the trap. Not only did the plan fail completely, but we also lost a fortune in Spirit Stones.’

’The mission I so confidently took on has ended in a miserable failure, and it might even stir up enormous trouble for us.’

Ahead of him, the fury of his big brother, the Alliance Leader of the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance, was practically palpable.

This made the man known as ’Sixth Master’

visibly squirm with unease!

"This matter won’t be exposed... it won’t be traced back to us, will it?"

The figure in the head seat

asked through clenched teeth, his face livid.

"Th-that... it shouldn’t be. The one who made the arrangements... your little brother has already... dealt with him permanently. It was always a single line of contact..."

The ’Sixth Master’ stammered, his gaze darting away evasively.

’In truth, he felt that the Blood Slaughter Three Demons had probably guessed their identities,’

’which was why they’d been asked to find the person who had mastered the Beast Taming Secret Technique.’

’But there was no proof, after all,’

’and he had to choose his words carefully.’

"Fine. This matter ends here. You will forget about it completely!"

"Afterward, lay low for a while. Do not appear again."

Hearing this ’judgment’ from his big brother above,

the ’Sixth Master’s’ face went pale,

but he could only bow with a cupped fist and reply respectfully,

"Yes!"