Anyone the Bow Lady called a "handsome man" was definitely not a Demon Fiend. It had to be a cultivator—an Evil Cultivator with the filthiest of souls.

Although Yang An didn't know how the Bow Lady could judge whether a person's soul was sullied, if she said so, it had to be true.

'But encountering an Evil Cultivator in the middle of nowhere... we have no history or grudges. What if he has some powerful backing? Will this cause trouble?'

Yang An was a little hesitant.

But then he remembered that if they couldn't get information about the Treasure Temple Domain, they wouldn't be able to complete their mission, which would be an even bigger problem.

He had to weigh his priorities carefully.

With this in mind, Yang An made his decision. He immediately activated his Illusion Technique to conceal his aura, then said to his two companions,

"Let's go."

Wen Yin had clearly sensed the unusual aura ahead as well, but since Yang An was the one giving the order, she had no reservations.

The three of them continued onward.

Under the cover of night, all was silent save for the sound of their footsteps crunching on stones and fallen leaves.

Before long, the aura grew stronger as they advanced.

Just then, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness and appeared before them.

"Where are you little Junior Cultivators off to in such a hurry? Oh! And two fine, tender young sirs!"

"..."

They had all activated their True Eyes, and in the dark, they could see the man who had walked out of the shadows.

There was a pit in the ground nearby; he had climbed out of it. He was stark naked, covered in dirt, with messy hair hanging down beside his face.

The man's head and back were covered in a dense spread of lumps, each the size of a fist.

When he saw the group, the lumps instantly turned reddish, as if engorged with blood, and began to secrete a layer of translucent slime.

As the slime dripped down his body, he looked as though he'd been slathered in lubricant. It was a vile sight.

But that wasn't the most important thing... 'Something about this scene feels off!'

His gleaming eyes were fixated on Yang An and Zhou Quan, filled with lust, yet he didn't even glance at Wen Yin.

'Is Wen Yin not pretty enough? Or is this guy's orientation the problem?'

But in this world, all sorts of bizarre things could happen, and Yang An was already used to it. A smile couldn't help but cross his face.

'Alright! We didn't have a grudge before, but we certainly do now!'

Now that he was closer, Yang An could sense the man's Cultivation Level. The lumps on his body seemed to conceal his aura, but they couldn't escape Yang An's perception.

He was just a cultivator at the Late Stage of the Visceral Stone Realm. Yang An now knew where he stood.

"Why don't you two young sirs stay here with me and..."

the man said excitedly, his leg trembling in agitation. Drool seemed about to spill from his mouth.

But before he could finish, a round Light Wheel radiating white light shot out and instantly struck his body.

Before he could react, a solemn, sacred white light enveloped him. A towering Divine Aspect then appeared, its massive hand seizing him as it, too, blazed with light.

The Divine Aspect's large hand squeezed, and the man's body instantly disintegrated into countless specks of ash that scattered to the ground.

"Bow Lady, this guy is so ugly. Are you sure you want to eat him?"

Yang An couldn't help but ask after killing him.

"What do you know, you little brat? A soul is a soul, and a body is a body. Who cares what his body looks like!"

The Bow Lady was clearly impatient. Without seeing how she did it, Yang An sensed all traces of the soul vanish from his perception.

For Yang An, killing a cultivator at the Late Stage of Visceral Stone was simple, as easy as drinking water. It was just three simple steps: pick up the cup, drink the water, and put the cup down.

But in the eyes of Wen Yin and Zhou Quan, it was still a shocking display. After all, neither of them had been able to see through the man's Cultivation Level.

After a short wait, the Bow Lady quickly digested the soul she had just devoured and obtained some of its memories.

Yang An then received the information about the Treasure Temple Domain.

Ostensibly, the entire Treasure Temple Domain was in a two-sided standoff, with the Great Virtue Temple and the Golden Thread Pavilion fighting for sole supremacy.

In reality, the Great Virtue Temple's influence spanned a much larger area than the Golden Thread Pavilion's.

About two-thirds of the Treasure Temple Domain was dotted with Glazed Towers established by the Great Virtue Temple, all falling within its sphere of influence.

By comparison, the Golden Thread Pavilion's influence was much more limited.

The reason the Golden Thread Pavilion could still contend with the Great Virtue Temple was rumored to be a legendary Immortal Platform Great Power within their ranks!

Immortal Platform!

A realm above the Insect Dao!

This piece of information excited Yang An even more than the general news about the Treasure Temple Domain.

Resonance, Fake Food, Yuan Feeding, Visceral Stone, Corpse Transformation, Zombie God, Insect Dao, Immortal Platform...

He had finally learned about a higher realm. Although he was still a long way from reaching these levels, and he didn't know if there were other realms beyond Immortal Platform,

it at least gave him a better understanding of this world and a clearer path forward.

Moreover, it gave Yang An a clearer picture of the respective strengths of the Great Virtue Temple and the Golden Thread Pavilion.

If the Golden Thread Pavilion needed an Immortal Platform Great Power just to contend with the Great Virtue Temple,

it meant the Great Virtue Temple likely had no Immortal Platform expert of its own, but instead possessed a sufficient number of Insect Dao experts.

In contrast, the Golden Thread Pavilion probably didn't have many at the Insect Dao realm.

Only this could explain the balance of power that had allowed them to clash for so many years.

Of course, this analysis excluded external factors. After all, Yang An didn't know if these powers possessed anything stronger than a Forbidden Artifact Fragment.

"You little brat, if you want to get to the Golden Thread Pavilion's territory, head north. You'll reach it after crossing more than twenty State Territories!"

The Bow Lady pointed the way for Yang An.

Yang An had wanted to ask if she could provide a shortcut, like she had in the Fusheng Domain, to quickly reach the Golden Thread Pavilion's territory.

But then he remembered this was the Great Virtue Temple's turf. 'To avoid attracting their attention, it's better to travel honestly.'

Having obtained the information he needed, Yang An briefly considered their next steps before leading his two companions on their way.

「Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.」

When it came to traveling with his two companions, Yang An had to do all the work. Unfortunately, none of them had a flying Magical Artifact, which would have saved a lot of effort.

They encountered some unexpected situations along the way, such as accidentally wandering into the territory of a minor power or passing a gathering place for Demon Fiends...

Fortunately, with Yang An's strength, no major incidents occurred. They made it through safely, albeit with some delays. It took them twenty days to enter the Golden Thread Pavilion's territory, arriving in a State Territory called Zichuan.

Along the way, with Yang An's help, the Bow Lady had devoured a few more "handsome men" and obtained more information about the Treasure Temple Domain.

According to the old man's instructions, their mission in the Treasure Temple Domain was to find a new Mountain Gate for the Life Crane Sect to establish roots and build up its power. Yang An had planned to find an unoccupied location.

That way, they wouldn't provoke other Sects, and it would be convenient for the Life Crane Sect to set up.

However, after learning more about the Treasure Temple Domain, he discovered that things were not at all what he had imagined.

The entire Treasure Temple Domain was firmly controlled by the Golden Thread Pavilion and the Great Virtue Temple. From the major powers down to the minor ones, everything was structured in a hierarchy.

What did this mean?

It meant that within the territory of either major power, all Sects, whether mid-sized or small, had to abide by the rules of the Golden Thread Pavilion or the Great Virtue Temple. The number of available slots for Sects was completely fixed.

Take Zichuan State, where Yang An and his companions were now, for example. It was part of the Golden Thread Pavilion's territory.

The entire Zichuan State had three mid-sized powers and fourteen small ones. It was impossible to establish a new Sect here because the number of permitted powers was fixed.

The State Territory's resources were also limited. All powers were vassals of the supreme Golden Thread Pavilion. Adding even one more would mean the resources of the existing powers would be divided and diminished, which would naturally make the newcomer a target for all.

Therefore, trying to establish a new Sect by simply finding and occupying a random Mountain Gate was not feasible. There was only one path forward.

They had to use overwhelming force to uproot one of the existing powers and take its place.

The weakest dies!

That was the rule!

'How familiar,' Yang An mused. He also understood why the major powers operated this way.

Only by doing this could they ensure that a sufficient number of strong combatants could be mobilized at any time. Likewise, under the constraints of these rules, resources were completely controlled and distributed by the Golden Thread Pavilion, allowing it to maintain a firm grip on all its vassal powers.

'Speaking of which, the old man escaped from an Outer Continent. Could it be that this damned old man learned the Life Crane Sect's rules here and then took them back to Han State to found his Sect?'

It suddenly dawned on Yang An. Thinking about it, it was highly likely.

And so, after arriving in Zichuan State, they had now come to the territory of one of its minor Sects.

It was a Sect called the Jade Flesh Sect, also the weakest minor Sect in all of Zichuan State.

'Since we can't establish a new Sect, we have no choice but to take the only option available. But first, I need to find out what the situation is with this Jade Flesh Sect. How many cultivators do they have? And what is the Cultivation Level of their strongest expert?'

But just as Yang An was about to have Wen Yin and Zhou Quan stay behind while he went to investigate, an unexpected figure appeared in their perception.

At the same time, a voice that could not be more familiar reached them.

"My good disciples! Hehehe!

I, your master, have been waiting here for you for a long time. You've truly disappointed me!"